USA > New York > Dutchess County > The history of Dutchess County, New York > Part 72
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The numerous family of Travers of the towns of Clinton, Hyde Park and Rhine- beck are largely descendants of this family.
WILLIAM J. TRAVER was born in the town of Hyde Park September 1, 1863. He received his education in the district schools and De Garmo Institute. He then engaged in the occupation of farming on land which had been in the Traver family for a century. Mr. Traver disposed of this property in 1905, and after travelling extensively accepted a position with Mr. Odgen Mills, and is now acting superin- tendent of Mr. Mills' country estate in Dutchess county.
EVERETT HUSTIS TRAVIS, attorney, Poughkeepsie, was born at Garrison, N. Y., a son of Rev. Richard H., and Hannah M. (Hustis) Travis. He prepared for college at the Hudson River Insitute, Claverack, N. Y. and graduated from Wesly- an University, Middletown, Conn. in 1889, with the degree of A. B. He read law in the office of Judge Daniel W. Guernsey, and was admitted to the Bar in 1891, after which he formed a partnership with the late Judge Horace D. Hufcut.
Mr. Travis was elected Justice of the Peace in 1894, and served four years. In November 1908, he was elected on the Republican ticket a Member of Assembly from the second Dutchess district. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Poughkeepsie Yacht Club, Chamber of Commerce and Civic League and a trustee of Vassar Brothers Home for Aged Men.
September 5, 1894, Mr. Travis married Mary E. Tabor, They have one child, a daughter, Lois.
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H. B. TURNBULL, who is engaged in the real estate business in the city of Poughkeepsie, was born in New York City, March 22, 1860, where he attended the public schools, and later the military school at Norwalk, Conn. He was then for some years connected with the real estate firm of Quincy & Co., of Boston and New York. He then entered the employ of the New York, Susquehanna and Western. Railroad as auditor, remaining with this company until it was merged with the Erie Railroad. In 1898 Mr. Turnbull came to Poughkeepsie, where he has built up an extensive and lucrative real estate business. He is a member of the Pough- keepsie Chapter of Masons, of the Y. M. C. A., and secretary and treasurer of the Sunday School of the Second Reformed Church.
ROBERT K. TUTHILL, M. D., son of Samuel Tuthill, M. D., who came to Poughkeepsie in 1848, and was a leading physician here for many years, was born in Newburgh, N. Y. He was trained to follow in the footsteps of his father by thor- ough classical and preliminary courses, and graduated from the New York Medical College in the class of 1859. He commenced practice here that year, but respond- ing to the call of his country early in 1861, was appointed Assistant Surgeon of the 80th N. Y. Vols. In April, 1863, he was promoted to the post of Regimental Sur- geon of the 145th N. Y. Infantry, and in June of the same year was advanced to Brigade Surgeon of the First Brigade (six regiments), First Division, Twelfth Army Corps. Early in 1864 he was made Surgeon in Chief of the First Division (fourteen regiments) of the twelfth Army Corps. He was in all the principal battles of the Army of the Potomac, and also did duty in the Army of the Cumberland. By his devotion to sanitary regulations, and his general ability as a surgeon he made and kept his regiment and brigade in such a healthy and efficient condition that he re- ceived special commendation from the War Department therefor. Resuming pri- vate practice in Poughkeepsie in 1864, Dr. Tuthill soon attained the highest emi- nence in his profession by the same watchful and faithful care which won him dis- tinction in the field.
Dr. Tuthill 's hospital service was extensive and notably successful. He had charge of the Fredericksburgh Hospital in 1862, was member of the surgical staff of St. Barnabas Hospital in Poughkeepsie from its organization in 1870 until its close in 1887, was one of the surgeons selected by the founders of Vassar Brothers' Hospital, on its opening in 1887, and served until 1898, and since been a member of its consulting staff. He visited many hospitals and attended many clinics in Europe, viz: in London, Paris, Berlin and Vienna, seeking to gain new methods and experience for home work.
In politics Dr. Tuthill was a staunch Republican, but never sought or desired public office, and accepted none except the position of Health Officer of the city, which post he filled for four terms. He was president of the Dutchess County Medical Society for two terms; was a member of the New York State Medical So- ciety from 1880 a member of the New York Commandery, Loyal Legion of America, and a charter member of Hamilton Post, No. 20, G. A. R. He was also affiliated with Masonry, and was a Knight Templar. Dr. Tuthill had hosts of friends who believed in him, because he proved himself a true and sincere man and a con- scientious, faithful and vigilant physician and surgeon.
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HENRY HOWELL VAN CLEEF, attorney, Poughkeepsie, N. Y., was born in this city June 8, 1871. After attending Bishop's and Leslie's private schools and the Poughkeepsie High School he entered Cornell University, from which he was graduated in the class of 1893. His legal education was acquired in the office of his father, the late J. Spencer Van Cleef, and at the New York Law School; he was admitted to the Bar June 8, 1898.
Mr. Van Cleef was united in marriage with Mary T. Thompson November 4, 1905, and they are the parents of two children: Henry Howell and William Reed Thomp- son.
DANIEL VAN DE BOGART, for many years a prominent resident of Red Hook, and one of the leading contractors and builders of the county, was a descendant of one of our most distinguished pioneer families, the name of his old Dutch ancestors, being closely interwoven with the early history of Dutchess County.
The great-great-grandfather of the deceased was Myndert Van de Bogart, who in 1702, with his brother Jacobus, emigrated from Amsterdam, Holland, and settled on the site of Poughkeepsie. They acquired a large tract of land, and built one of the first eleven houses in that city. In 1726, Myndert Van de Bogart was chosen as the first sheriff of Dutchess county.
The two brothers, Jacobus and Myndert, gave the land and contributed liberally to the support of the first church in the village, which was to be a Reformed Dutch meeting house.
The property on which the first court house was built was conveyed by Jacobus Van de Bogart to Barendt Van Kleeck, in 1718, but the earliest record to the pro- perty seems to be that of Nov. 13, 1747, a "lease and release" of the land with the court-house and "gaols" already built on same, to four of his Majesty's Justices of the Peace. The parchment release is preserved in the County Clerk's office among the maps. It provides that the property shall revert to the Van de Bogart family if used for any other purpose than that for which it was granted.
The first book of the supervisors and assessors shows that a meeting of the "frie houlders" was held at the house of Leonard Lewis, June 22, 1717, and that Jacobus Van de Bogart and Barendt Van Kleeck were chosen as a building commit- tee for the first court-house and gaol. As the ancestors of the late Daniel Van de Bogart gave the land and helped build the first court-house, it would have been eminently fitting, had his name gone down in the history of the County as the builder of the present one, but his being a member of the Board of Supervisors, at the time of its erection, made that impossible.
Myndert was, in 1744, married to Gretchen Kipp, daughter of Jacob and Engellge Pells. His son, Myndert, Jr., was married in 1765 to Hanna Velie. Peter, son of Myndert, Jr., was married in 1807 to Mary Maria Wilcox.
James Van de Bogart, our subject's father, was a lifelong resident of Poughkeep- sie, following the trade of mason. He married Miss Mary I. Windover, of that city, and had seven children: James K., who died in infancy, Ellen, Lydia Ann, Daniel Eugenie, James and Harriet.
Daniel Van de Bogart, the last surviving member of the above family, was born in Poughkeepsie, Dec. 25,1849,and after availing himself of the excellent educational
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advantages offered in the schools of that city, he learned the trade with William Sague, a prominent builder. For a few years he worked at his trade, and then went into business for himself at Verbank, where he met with such success that he looked about for a wider field of operations. In 1873, he moved to Red Hook, and maintained his residence here to the time of his death.
Mr. Van de Bogart erected many of the finest structures in Eastern New York and his home vicinity. Among the most notable are the two beautiful residences at Summit, N. J., built for Miss Donaldson and Mrs. Bronson; St. Paul's Lutheran Church and the Methodist Episcopal Church at Red Hook; the residence of John Henry Livingston and the De Peyster Memorial Church at Tivoli; St. Paul's Train- ing School and the Hospital for Consumptives at Verbank; the country homes of Stuyvesant Fish at Garrison, and of Mrs. Hastings at Staatsburg; and the Red Hook High School building. This building in architectural beauty and skillful workmanship is said to be the finest school building in the county.
On Sept. 3, 1873, Mr. Van de Bogart was married to Miss Estelle Pulver of Red Hook. Of this union eight children were born: Allard A., Mary I., Edna, Daniel, Earnest, Lucinda, who died in infancy, and Myndert Jacobus.
In politics he was a staunch Democrat, and to the day of his death was the recog- nized leader of the strong, conservative element of that party in his town. In 1893 he was nominated for Supervisor of his town, and in 1901 he was again nominated and elected by an overwhelming majority, the first Democrat in twelve years to attain that honor. When the village was incorporated in 1894, he was one of the chief promulgators of this movement, and was chosen one of the trustees, and held the office of President of the Village
Mr. Van de Bogart died April 8, 1909, in the prime of his manhood. It is one of the consolations of a useful life thus suddenly terminated that the memory of a good man shall not die; that the remembrance of his services and virtues shall be preserved as an inheritance to his children, and an incentive to those who knew and loved him.
DR. FEDERAL VANDER BURGH was born in the town of Beekman, Dutchess Co., N. Y., May 11, 1788, and died at Rhinebeck, Dutchess Co., N. Y., January 23,. 1868. He was the son of Colonel James Vander Burgh and Helena Vander Burgh. His father (born 1709- died 1794) had a long and distinguished career. He be- came a member of the Provincial Congress, and a Colonel in the American Army in the War of the Revolution. He entertained General Washington at his home in the town of Beekman on a number of occasions.
Dr. Vander Burgh's grand-father, Henry Vander Burgh, was one of the first set- tlers in Poughkeepsie, and among the most prominent men in the country in his time. He was one of its first Board of Assessors in 1716; the first supervisor of the territory between Wappinger Falls and little Esopus Island in 1720, and County Clerk in 1721. His will shows him to have been possessed of a large property for those days. Dr. Vander Burgh's father in his will expressed the desire that his son "be prepared for the study of Physics, if he shall be agreeable, when he comes of suitable age" and wisely following his father's will, he became one of the most dis- tinguished physicians of his time. He enjoyed a large, fashionable and lucrative
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practice in New York City for many years, and was the author of many valuable publications on medical subjects. He was the founder of Homeopathy in this coun- try, and devoted his life to spreading its beneficent methods.
Dr. Vander Burgh married March 5, 1812, Esther Orinda Boardman, daughter of Homer Boardman of New Milford, Connecticut. Only two of his children grew to maturity,-Mary Helen, who married John B. James, of Albany, N. Y., and Char- lotte, who married Robert McKim of Baltimore, Md.
The latter years of his life were passed at his beautiful country home, on the banks of the Hudson River, about three miles from the village of Rhinebeck, Dutchess Co., N. Y. Dr. Vander Burgh had a very attractive personality. He was tall (over six feet), erect, finely proportioned; had very regular features, very charming manners, and made friends wherever he went. He was greatly beloved by his many patients, as he stopped at no personal sacrifice in working for their re- covery. His love and enthusiasm for his profession was very great and above all for the great principles of Homeopathy, which he did so much to establish in this country.
HOLMES VANDERWATER, attorney, of Wappingers Falls, N. Y., was born at Hyde Park, Dutchess county, May 27, 1886. His preliminary education was ob- tained in the public schools of his native place and at Poughkeepsie. He continued his studies at Cornell University, from which institution he was graduated in 1907. Mr. Vanderwater was soon after admitted to the Bar and immediately began the practice of his profession with offices at Wappingers Falls and Poughkeepsie.
Socially Mr. Vanderwater is a member of Poughkeepsie Lodge, F. & A .M.
THE VAN DYKE FAMILY: Francis Van Dyke, grandson of Franz Claissen Van Dyke, who came to New Amsterdam before 1655, was an early settler in the Crom Elbow Precinct. He purchased a lot of 1000 acres in the westerly part of the Great Nine Partners bordering on the Crom Elbow creek. It comprised what is now the farms of Mrs. H. Schultz, Lount Lattin, William F. Odell, M. Hayes, J. Z. Frost, George H. Schultz, W. L. Traver, and part of the C. W. Carpenter farm. Francis Van Dyke was born in New York, November 25, 1683. He married, De- cember 8, 1713, Rensule Montros. Their children were: Franz, baptized October 17, 1714; Magdalena, baptized October 21, 1716, married Joost Garrison; Petrus, baptized October 5, 1718; Jacobus, baptized April 18, 1721, married Catharina, daughter of the first Albrutus Schryver; Margaret, baptized April 25, 1724, mar- ried Richbill Williams; Cornelius, baptized June 24, 1727, married Mercy Phillips; Cathalina, baptized June 19, 1731, married Peter Storm.
GARRET VAN KEUREN who was born at Rhinebeck, N. Y., was descended . from a long line of patriots and of men of public affairs.
With Abram Van Keuren, grandfather of Garret, the Revolutionary record of the family begins. Abram was elected Supervisor of Kingston, N. Y. for six- teen terms, when having signed the agreement to maintain the Constitutional rights he enlisted in the Ulster Militia holding the rank of Captain in Colonel Jo-
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hannis Snyder's Regiment in which his son Abram Van Keuren, Jr. served as Cor- poral, having previously served in Col. Levi Pawling's Regiment.
With Abram Van Keuren, Jr., the family came to Rhinebeck, for in May 1783 he purchased the farm now known as Springbrook which for a century and a quarter remained the home of his descendants. In 1777 he married Eve Dumont also the daughter of a Revolutionary soldier in whose veins flowed the blood of the Rutgers. and the Schuylers.
Their son, Garret Van Keuren, served once as Sheriff of Dutchess County. He was not a lawyer, yet was constantly interviewed for legal advice. He was as- sociated always with the most influential men and women of his day. Morgan Lewis, Mrs. Janet Montgomery, (wife of General Richard Montgomery), Mrs. Edward Livingston as well as Edward Livingston himself were his intimate friends. Among his private papers are their powers of attorney, giving him unlimited power in the management of their affairs.
In 1822 he married Sarah Hagadorn, who was the daughter, the grand daughter and great-great-granddaughter of Revolutionary soldiers, the three generations enlisting for the colonies.
Garret Van Keuren lived all his life in Rhinebeck, dying on the old farm where he had been born, and in the house which he had helped to build with his own hands ..
He died April 10, 1868, leaving four children, Mary, wife of Isaac Kirby; Julia, wife of Thomas Reed; Cora Livingston and Sarah, both of whom were unmarried ..
THE VAN VLIET FAMILY. About 1740 Aurie Van Vliet and Art Mastin pur- chased lot No. 5 and a similar division of the Great Nine Partners' Patent consist- ing of 760 acres near Pleasant Plains. Van Vliet and his four sons, Dirck, John, Cornelius and Benjamin, settled on this land. John returned to Ulster county and settled on lands of his father near Eddyville; Benjamin removed to Fort Hunter, in the Mohawk Valley, in 1772; Cornelius died a bachelor, and Dirck remained where he settled and kept the first tavern in the town of Clinton. His wife was. Helena, daughter of Johannes Weaver of Rhinebeck. Their children were: Cath- erine (probably the first white child born in what is now the town of Clinton); she married John DeWitt; Charity married Abram Freligh; Anna married, first, Dennis Reylea, second, William Brink; Cornelius married, first, Helena Garrison, second, Susan Platt; Elizabeth married, first, Benjamin Relyea, second, Conrad Sharp; Helena married Ebenezer Babcock; John married Helena - -; Der- rick married Sarah Mastin; Lydia married Jacob Sleight; Mary married Henry Sleight, and Henry married Mary Seaman. Of the above children Cornelius Van Vliet alone remained at Pleasant Plains. His children were: Cornelius married Mary Russell; Levi married Mary Uhl; Rachel; John married Mary Beadle; Elizabeth; William B .; Clarissa Maria married John Caswell; Henry Hiram mar- ried Jane Harris; Richard Garrison; Platt Garrison married Nancy Lamoree. Of the above children Levi Van Vliet remained on the old homestead. His children were: George married Helen Bard; Lewis U. married, first, Jane Ann Brown, second, Mary J. Caswell; Henry Richard married Hannah M. LeRoy. Lewis U. and Henry R. both located on portions of their father's property, Lewis where his father lived, and Henry where his grandfather lived. Henry R. had one child
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George S. who married Mercedes Tremper of Rhinebeck; their children are: Clara Helena Garrison; Henry Richard, 2d, who is the seventh generation of the direct male line of Van Vliet's of Pleasant Plains, the line being Anna, born June 10, 1686; Derrick, born November 26, 1721; Cornelius, born December 21, 1760; Levi, born January 6, 1786; Henry R., born December 8, 1833; George S., born September 17, 1865; Henry R., born November 22, 1904.
WALTER VAN WAGNER, who is a descendant of one of Dutchess county's oldest residents, was born at Van Wagner's Station, Dutchess county, January 1, 1883. He was educated in the public schools and worked for a time on his father's farm, and later was employed in the hardware store of J. W. Feedy at Highland, Ulster county. Mr. Van Wagner now operates the farm of his aunt, Mrs. Brincker- hoff, in the town of Poughkeepsie.
January 2, 1906 he married Ada Humphrey of Bangall, N. Y., and they are the parents of one son, Charles Humphrey.
J. I. VIGEANT, M. D., is a native of Lee, Mass., where he obtained his pre- liminary high school education. He then entered the Albany Medical College, from which he was graduated with the degree of M. D. in 1896. He began practice at Elizaville, Columbia county, N. Y., where he remained seven years, and in 1903 located in the village of Red Hook, Dutchess county.
Politically Dr. Vigeant is a Democrat, and in 1908 was the nominee of that party for the office of coroner.
He was united in marriage in 1901 with Clara L. Shook, and they are the parents of two children: Clarence H. and Helen Elizabeth.
PETER H. VOSBURGH was born in the Town of Stuyvesant, Columbia County, March 5, 1850, the eldest son of Aaron and Elizabeth Vosburgh. His education was obtained in the district school of his native village, Stuyvesant Landing. At the age of 16 years he left school and went to work on his father's farm, and a few years later learned the printer's trade and followed that business continuously un- til October 1, 1904.
For a number of years he was local editor of the Matteawan Journal, and in February 1901, he, in connection with Morgan H. Hoyt, purchased that news- paper, and together they conducted it for a period of three years, after which Mr. Vosburgh sold his interest to Morgan Hoyt, and retired from the printing busi- ness.
In 1890 Mr. Vosburgh was appointed postmaster at Matteawan by President Harrison. After serving in that capacity for four and a half years, he was re- moved on account of a change in the administration, but was re-appointed by President Mckinley in 1899, and has received two appointments to the same office since, from President Roosevelt.
When he took possession of the office in 1899, the fixtures were antiquated, and he threw them aside and purchased a complete new set of modern fixtures and in- stalled them in place of the old worn out outfit. This increased the availability of
CHARLES F. WANZER.
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the office for easier and greater work, and greatly improved its appearance. The business of the office has doubled during his administration as postmaster, and has been advanced in grade from a third to a second-class office.
He is a member of the Board of Education, and for three years was president of the Board. For eight years he was president of the William H. Mase Hook and Ladder Comp., and at present is president of the Board of Trustees of the Mattea- wan Methodist Episcopal Church. He is also a member of Beacon Lodge F. and A. M. In politics he has always been a Republican, ever zealous for the success of his party in National, State and local affairs.
DANIEL L. WALKER, superintendent of the Wappingers Falls plant of Sweet, Orr & Co., was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., February 17, 1865, and came with his parents to Wappingers Falls in 1872. After finishing his education at the public schools he entered the employ of Sweet, Orr & Co., and by diligent effort on his part was pro- moted from time to time, accepting his present position in 1900.
In 1898 Mr. Walker was united in marriage with Jennie Croak of Wappingers Falls, and two children have been born to them: Howard and Esther.
Socially Mr. Walker is a member of Wappingers Lodge, No. 671, F. & A. M .; La- fayette Lodge No. 18 of Odd Fellows, and is affiliated with the Foresters, the Royal Arcanum, the American Mechanics organizations, and the village Fire Department.
CHARLES F. WANZER. Among the energetic business men in the town of Fishkill, N. Y., none stands higher than the subject of this sketch.
Mr. Wanzer was born in Phillipstown, Putnam County, January 29, 1828, and is a son of Floyd and Jane (Foster) Wanzer, who were also natives of Phillipstown.
Mr. Wanzer attended the district schools, and in 1849, moved with his parents to Matteawan, where he engaged in the grocery business. May 1st, 1858 he succeeded to the business formerly conducted by Jacob Palmer, and for over half a century has continued in the grocery trade at the same location in Matteawan, meeting with an unusual degree of success.
Mr. Wanzer has never sought or cared for public office, preferring to devote his time to the interests of his trade, and in his eighty-first year is hale and hearty, and enjoys the highest esteem of a host of friends.
JOHN S. WARREN, of the town of East Fishkill, Dutchess county, was born in that town September 1, 1872. He received his education in the schools of his native place, and then became associated with his father in the management of the home- stead farm, and with his brother, Charles H., is now engaged in the management of two farms which have been in this family for many years.
Mr. Warren was united in marriage with Minnie B. Stevens, and they are the par- ents of two children: Ralph J. and Lewis F ..
Charles H. Warren, brother of John S., was born November 8, 1876, and has been engaged in agricultural pursuits since attaining manhood. He married Miss Helen J. Barrett.
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FRED BAIN WEAVER, M. D., Hyde Park, N. Y., was born at Galatinville, N. Y., April 12, 1875. Dr. Weaver graduated from the Seymour Smith Academy in 1895, and began the study of medicine with Dr. H. C. Wilber at Pine Plains. He then entered the Albany Medical College, from which he was graduated April 19, 1898, and served one year as house surgeon in St. Peter's Hospital, Albany. Dr. Weaver began practice with his preceptor at Pine Plains, and in September, 1900, accepted a position as interne at the Mothers' and Babies' Hospital, New York City. He was also connected with the New York Polytechnic Hospital until January, 1901. He then served for six months on the surgical staff of Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York, and in June, 1901, began practice at Hyde Park. Dr. Weaver was appointed surgeon at Hyde Park for the New York Central Railroad Company in 1903, which position he still retains. He is a member of the Medical Society of Dutchess County; the New York State Medical Society; the American Medical . Association, and the New York and New England Association of Railroad Surgeons. He is also affiliated with the Masonic fraternity.
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