USA > New York > Orange County > The history of Orange County, New York > Part 73
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97
FRED P. BLIVEN was born February 22, 1871, at Michigan Corners, Orange County. His parents were Ulysses and Caroline Bliven. There were six children in the parents' family. Fred attained his early education at the district school, and at an early age worked on a farm, which occupation he has always followed. He married Nettie Clara, of Middletown, March 22, 1897. Their one child, Pearl, re- sides at home. His father died in 1888 and the mother in: 1880.
JOSEPH BOARD, merchant, was born at Chester, N. Y., November 9, 1842, son of Peter Seeley and Madeline C. (Conklin) Board, grandson of General Charles Board, of Boardville, N. J., and great-grandson of Captain Joseph Board, of the Revolutionary Army. He was graduated from Amherst College as A.B., with Phi Beta Kappa honors in 1867. He has been a merchant, selling coal, feed and lumber since January 1, 1868, and is a member of the firm of Board & Bryan. He is a director of the Watertown Water, Light and Power Company of Watertown, South Dakota ; director and secretary of the Chester (New York) Telephone Com- pany, and director of the Chester National Bank (and secretary of the board ). Since 1868 he has acted as executor or administrator of over twenty different estates of deceased persons. He was excise commissioner of the town of Chester, N. Y., in 1876; member of the board of supervisors of Orange County, New York, from 1878 to 1880, and 1883 and 1884; candidate for member of assembly, 1884, but de- feated ; and member of over twenty years and president five years of the Board of Education of Chester Village; clerk of villege of Chester, from 1892 to 1894. He was superintendent of construction of the Chester Waterworks in 1892 and 1893, trustee of Chester Village one year, and he is trustee of the Chester Free Library of Chester, N. Y. He made summer tours of the Pacific Coast, in 1869, Texas, Mexico,
787
BIOGRAPHICAL.
New Mexico and Wyoming in 1883, British Isles and Continent of Europe in 1887. Arkansas and Missouri in 1904, Dakotas and Minnesota in 1905; also frequent sum- mer journeys through New England. He is a republican in politics and a Presbyte- rian in religion (Liberal School). He is a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Society, Amherst College, Delta Kappa Epsilon Club of New York City, member of the Sons of the Revolution, also a member of the American Geographical So- ciety. Mr. Board married twice, first, June 1, 1868, Josephine Bradbury Curry, and second, October 2, 1870, Hannah A. Curry (both of Tilton, N. H.), and they have three children : Joseph Orton, born in 1873; Anna Tebbetts, born in 1880, and Jo- sephine Clough, born in 1885.
JAMES BONNYMAN was born September 1, 1854, in Batriphnie, Banffshire County, Scotland. He received a common school education in Scotland, and came to America in 1872. He located in Philadelphia and worked at his trade as florist nearly nine years. He moved to Warwick in 1880, and after working for J. E. Cropsey for some time, started for himself in floriculture. He is a large grower of roses and carnations, which are mostly sold in the home market. He is a member of the Reformed Dutch Church, has been one of its deacons eight years, and is a member of the Y. M. C. A. He is an earnest church worker, and active in public affairs. In politics he is a republican. He married Miss Catherine Amelia Mc- Peek, daughter of Lewis and Sarah McPeek, September 16, 1883. They have four children living, one having died while young. Those living are: Alexander M., born May 17, 1885, a graduate of Columbia College of Pharmacy: Amy R., born May 31, 1887, a graduate of the Warwick Institute, and Douglass, born May 27, 1893.
FRED BOOTH, secretary and general manager of the Firth Carpet Company at Firthcliffe, Orange County, N. Y., is a native of Yorkshire, England, and came to America in 1884 to superintend the plant of this company, then located in Phila- delphia. In March, 1886, they purchased the Broadhead Woolen Mills, transferred their machinery to the new location and continued the manufacture of worsted yarns, tapestry and Brussels carpet. The concern, of which Mr. Booth is the active head, is one of the leading industries in Orange County. The capital stock is $1,000,000 and employment is given to four hundred persons.
The officers of the company are: F. F. Firth, president ; A. F. Firth, vice-presi- dent ; B. H. Tobey, treasurer, and Fred Booth, secretary and general manager.
JESSE BOOTH was born at Campbell Hall, May 8. 1853. His father was Al- fred Booth and mother Dollie Watkins ( Reeve) Booth. His parents had a family of four children : Matilda Roe, wife of W. H. D. Blake, of New Paltz, N. Y., died October, 1904: Hanna Caroline, wife of George Slaughter, of Campbell Hall, N. Y .; Marianna, wife of Lewis H. Woolsey, of New Paltz, N. Y .; Sarah Reeve Booth, wife of Samuel B. Hepburn, of East Orange, N. J., and Jesse. Jesse's early educa- tion was obtained at the district school at Campbell Hall after attending the Clave-
788
THE COUNTY OF ORANGE.
rack School near Hudson, N. Y. Mr. Booth has always been identified with agri- cultural pursuits. He married Keturah Crowell, of St. Andrews, N. Y., January 7, 1885. There were born to them five children: Anna Louise, born September 28, 1885, died at the age of sixteen months; Dollie Watkins, born October 26, 1888; Pierson, born January 12, 1890; Alfred, born October 23, 1893, and Wellington, born September 26, 1896. Mr. Booth is'a member of the Presbyterian Church of Hamp- tonburgh. In politics he is a republican and he is a member of the Hamptonburgh Grange No. 950. The farm which he owns has been in the family for a period of two hundred years. At present Mr. Booth resides on Highland avenue, Middle- town, N. Y.
JOHN GAIL BORDEN, the youngest son of the late Gail Borden, who was famous as an inventor and public benefactor, was born in Galveston, Texas, Janu- ary 4, 1844. Coming North when but a lad of thirteen, he entered one of the Brooklyn public schools, and later attended the Winchester Academy in Winches- ter Center, Conn., where he remained for two years. From the time when he left the academy until he entered a business college, young Borden assisted his father in establishing the condensed milk business, then in its infancy.
The call for volunteers in 1861 interrupted the business college course, and Mr. Borden, then but nineteen years of age, enlisted at Poughkeepsie, N. Y., under Colonel (the late General) John Henry Ketcham, in the 150th N. Y. Volunteers, serving in his regiment for two years and a half, and attaining the rank of second lieutenant during that time. Just before his regiment started for the front, the young patriot presented himself for baptism and membership in the Armenia, N. Y., Baptist Church, and in the years following gave every evidence of a consistent Christian life.
His service in the "150th" was terminated by a serious illness, caused by the severe strain and exposure of army life, and Mr. Borden was compelled to return to his home for rest and recuperation. When sufficiently recovered, he was trans- ferred to the 47th N. Y. Volunteers, and remained with that regiment until the close of the war. Returning to his home in Brewsters, N. Y., Mr. Borden became actively identified with the Borden Condensed Milk Co., and upon the death of his father, in 1874, succeeded him as its president.
During his connection with the company, he made many valuable improvements in the methods of manufacturing condensed milk, and otherwise firmly established the reputation of the Borden Condensed Milk Co.
Removing in 1881 from Brewsters to Wallkill, N. Y., he purchased the property known as the "John P. Andrews farm," comprising about two hundred acres, and by acquiring adjacent lands from time to time, the "Borden Home Farm" was made to cover an area of some fifteen hundred acres. Most, if not all, of this property was a part of an original grant of land deeded by Queen Anne, in 1709, to "her true and loving subjects." Here Mr. Borden built a large condensery for the Borden Condensed Milk Co., continuing the management of the business until 1884, when failing health compelled him to retire from an active business life.
789
BIOGRAPHICAL.
From that time until his death, Mr. Borden gave his whole attention to the im- proving and beautifying of his "Home Farm," trying, as he expressed it, to "make two blades of grass grow where but one grew before." With all the improvements made upon the farm, he did not indulge in what is known as "fancy farming," but aimed rather to make his improvements on a practical basis, furnishing object les- sons which any energetic farmer might easily put into practice.
In politics Mr. Borden was a staunch Republican, firmly believing in every citizen taking an active part in the politics of his town, and conscientiously per- forming his duty at the primaries and the polls.
Mr. Borden's patriotism increased with years, and he was one, if not the first, of the pioneers who labored to impress upon the minds of the children a strong love for country and "the Stars and Stripes," and each Decoration Day he presented to every child in the public schools in his vicinity, a small American flag; continuing this practice until his death. Among Mr. Borden's characteristics, none were stronger than his devotion to home and country. Courtesy and gentleness were also marked characteristics with him, and his hat was removed as quickly for a little girl as for a lady. He was a true disciple of the "gospel of labor," and one of his unwritten mottoes was, that "what was worth doing at all was worth doing well," which rule was followed out in all his undertakings. He worked incessantly and was old before his time. Mr. Borden died in October, 1891, at Ormond, Fla., where, as well as in the North, he left an enviable and lasting record of prac- tical Christian living. He lived but forty-seven years-a short life, but one so filled with work for God and humanity, that its value cannot be estimated by the number of years alone.
CHARLES CLAYTON BOURNE, brick manufacturer, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1865 and has resided in Newburgh since 1889, when he began the manufac- ture of brick at Fishkill Landing, Dutchess County, shortly after completing his education at the University of the City of New York. Mr. Bourne is identified with the Masonic fraternity : member of the Powelton Club and a director of the City Club of Newburgh. He married Miss Anna, daughter of James Fullager. Their mansion overlooking the Hudson was erected by Mr. Bourne in 1905.
EDWARD C. BOYNTON, son of the late Major E. C. and Mary J. (Hubbard) Boynton, was born at West Point, N. Y., in 1864. Graduate Newburgh Academy, and Cornell University in 1887, with the degree of M.E .; was assistant in the labo- ratory of Thomas Edison two years; was then engaged as superintendent with various firms in the manufacture of electrical machinery. In 1895 was appointed chief electrical engineer of the N. Y., N. H. & H. Ry. Co., with whom he remained six years. In 1901 accepted position of mechanical engineer of Chicago & Great Western Railroad, with headquarters at St. Paul, Minn., remaining two years. From 1903 to September, 1906, he acted as consulting and testing engineer in New York City, when he was appointed manager of the Orange County Traction Co., where he remained one and a half years and is now consulting engineer in Newburgh.
1
790
THE COUNTY OF ORANGE.
Member American Institute of Electrical Engineers; the National Geographic Soci- ety ; New York Railroad Club; ex-member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers; contributes special articles to the street railway journals; author of "American Electrical Railway Practice."
THOMAS W. BRADLEY, Walden, was born April 6, 1844; was for fifty years in the employ of the New York Knife Co., serving the last twenty-five years as president and treasurer, during which time he made the plant of this company the largest and most successful of its kind in the United States; was for some time president of the Walden National Bank and has been for many years a director and vice-president thereof ; was one of the original trustees of the Columbus Trust Co. of Newburgh; has been for many years a trustee of the Walden Savings Bank; was a member of the State Assembly in 1876, chairman of the committee on military affairs and assistant inspector general of the National Guard; was a delegate to the national republican conventions of 1892, 1896, 1900 and 1908; was elected to the national house of representatives for the 58tl1, 59th and 60th Con- gresses, and served with the committee on military affairs, and the committee on invalid pensions; was married in 1867 to Josephine Denniston, daughter of Colonel James Denniston, of Little Britain : entered the Union Army as a private soldier, September 5, 1862; was promoted through every intermediate grade, and became a captain in the 124th New York Infantry Volunteers, served as personal aid-de-camp to Major General Gershom Mott, 3d Division, 2d Army Corps, was breveted major United States Volunteers "for meritorious service," and was awarded the congressional medal of honor for gallantry at Chancellorsville, where he "volunteered in response to a call, and alone, in the face of a heavy fire of musketry and canister, went out and procured ammunition for the use of his com- rades;" was severely wounded in action at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863, was wounded in action at The Wilderness, May 6, 1864, and wounded in action at Boydton Plank Road, October 27, 1864; is a member of the Society of the Army of the Potomac, a companion of the first class in the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, and a member of the New York Chattanooga-Gettysburg Battle Fields Commission; is affiliated with Wallkill Lodge, F. and A. M., Highland Chapter and Hudson River Commandery; is a member of the City Club, New- burgh, and the Army and Navy Club, New York City; he has for many years been connected with the First Reformed Church of Walden; is a member of the Bradley Hose Co. of Walden, and of Enterprise Steamer Co., of which he was for some time the first foreman.
JOHN B. BRADNER, of Bellvale, Orange County, N. Y., was born in 1849. His early education was acquired at the district school in Bellvale. At the age of fourteen he began working on the farm. When eighteen years of age he clerked in a general store at Bellvale and after a period of seven years was taken into partnership, the firm being Burt & Bradner. This partnership continued for about three years, when Mr. Bradner withdrew and erected the first store at Greenwood
791
BIOGRAPHICAL.
Lake, where he continued in business for nine years. Mr. Bradner also owns a pro- ductive and valuable orange grove in St. Petersburg, Fla. He was united in mar- riage to Miss Clara R. Hunt in 1873. There were four children to bless this union, only two of whom are now living. In politics a democrat, Mr. Bradner has served as postmaster at Bellvale, was school trustee and has acted as trustee of the War- wick Savings Bank.
WILLIAM A. BRADNER is one of the six children of Jacob Howe Bradner and Sarah C. Vandervoort Bradner, four of whom are living. He was born on a farm near Warwick, May 23, 1867. The other living children are John H., of Olean, N. Y .; William A., of Warwick; Carrie, wife of S. D. Tilt, of Warwick, and Samuel Blain Dolson, of Bowie, Arizona. William A., after his schooling, which ended in Warwick Institute, assisted his father on the farm until his father's death in 1901. It is a dairy farm of one hundred acres, with one thousand peach trees, on which the Indians camped in pioneer days and near which Washington's army was camped for awhile. The house was built in 1810 of timber brought from Connecti- cut, and Mr. Bradner's grandfather bought the place of James Bell. Mr. Bradner is a skilful farmer, and in practical matters generally is up with the times.
GEORGE RICHARD BREWSTER, attorney, of Newburgh, was born in New- burgh, N. Y., November 17, 1873. He is a son of Eugene Augustus and Anna W. (Brown) Brewster. The family ancestry is traced through the Brewsters of Long Island and Connecticut, to Nathaniel Brewster, a member of the class graduated from Harvard (1642), whose father, Francis Brewster, came to America from London, England, and settled in New Haven, Conn. Mr. Brewster was educated at Siglar's Preparatory School, Newburgh, and Yale University, from which he graduated in 1894 with the degree of Ph.B. He read law in the office of his father, the late Hon. Eugene A. Brewster, and was admitted to the bar in 1896. He is a member of the Democratic Club of New York : Yale Club of New York : Transpor- tation Club, New York : a director of the City and Powelton Clubs, Newburgh; director of the National Bank of Newburgh, and vestryman of St. George's Church ; he is also a director of a number of local corporations.
Mr. Brewster was married January 18, 1899, to Margaret Conley Orr, daughter of the late James Orr, of Newburgh.
NATHANIEL R. BREWSTER, whose farm is situated at East Coldenham in the town of Newburgh, is a descendant of one of Orange County's old and promi- nent families. His ancestry dates back to William Brewster, who came over in the Mayflower and was the progenitor of the Brewsters in America. He is a son of William C. and a grandson of Nathaniel Brewster, who previously cultivated this property. Considerable interest is attached to this farm from the fact that Na- thaniel Brewster near his home unearthed the skeleton of a mastodon, which was purchased by Dr. Warren, of Boston, and later sold to J. Pierpont Morgan, who presented it to the New York Museum of Natural History.
792
THE COUNTY OF ORANGE.
In 1896 Mr. Brewster established here a school for nervous and backward chil- dren, and the methods of training adopted have proved very successful.
WALTER H. BREWSTER, supervisor of the town of Blooming Grove, is a descendant of one of Orange County's old families. He is a son of Henry S. and Harriet (Halsey) Brewster and was born on his father's farm in Blooming Grove in 1869. He has always been engaged in agricultural pursuits, in which he has achieved much success. He was appointed a member of the board of supervisors to fill a vacancy in 1902 and in 1903 was elected to the office and re-elected in 1905 and 1907. Mr. Brewster married Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Rev. Warren Hath- away, and they have one son, Henry.
GEORGE E. BRINK, agent, L. & H. R. Ry., at East Chester Station, village of Chester, N. Y., son of Geo. E. Brink, of Franklin, N. J., and Lucretia Trusdell, of Vernon, N. J., was born December 7, 1879, at Franklin Furnace, N. J. His mother moved to Warwick, N. Y., when he was three years old. He got a common school education, and after working at odd jobs entered railway service as clerk in the general office, November 1, 1898. He also learned telegraphy, proved a good oper- ator and has held various positions on different railroads in the capacity of agent, yard master, assistant train master, operator and train dispatcher. For the last two years and over he has been at East Chester, N. Y., where he has built up business in one year from $300 to $1,200 monthly. Mr. Brink has many friends in the vicinity and is well known by all as a thorough all-around railroad man.
LEANDER BRINK was born in the town of Shawangunk, Ulster County, N. Y., January 30, 1833. He is a son of James Brink, who was born in the town of Wall -. kill, Orange County, N. Y., in 1804. The family is of Dutch lineage. At the age of two years Mr. Brink's parents removed to Schuyler County, and his younger days were spent on the farm. In 1854 he came to Middletown and clerked for his uncle, Hiram Brink, a furniture dealer, with whom he remained until October, 1857. He was then taken in the firm as partner, the firm name becoming H. & L. Brink. In 1864 he went'to Saginaw, Michigan, engaging in the manufacture of salt, Mr. Brink being superintendent of the works.
He continued in that business until 1867, when he returned to Middletown, re- taining his interest in the salt works until 1876. In politics Mr. Brink is a repub- lican and is a man of strong temperance sentiment. He was married to Miss Mary Horton in 1857, daughter of Hiram Horton, of Wallkill township.
T. HUNT BROCK, proprietor of the Hotel Erie at Port Jervis, was born at Scranton, Pa., in 1870, at which place he obtained his education. He first became identified with the hotel business in 1881 at the Hotel Windsor at Scranton, Pa., where he remained for a period of ten years. He removed to Port Jervis, N. Y., in 1901 and purchased the Erie Hotel, which he still conducts.
793
BIOGRAPHICAL.
Mr. Brock is a member of the following social and fraternal organizations : F. and A. M. No. 291, of Scranton, Pa .; Neversink Chapter, Delaware Command- ery, and Mecca Temple, Mystic Shrine of N. Y .; B. P. O. E. No. 645, of Port Jer- vis, and the Sons of Veterans, Camp No. 8.
CHAUNCY BROOKS, contractor and builder, of the village of Montgomery, N. Y., was born in 1842 at Eagle Valley in what was then the town of Monroe. His father traded Monroe Village, depot and all, for four hundred acres of land at what is now called Tuxedo. He still has a brother, Malcom Brooks, there, who is ex-supervisor of Tuxedo. As a young man he taught school for a while in his home district, and then learned to be an architect and builder. In 1867 he came to Montgomery, where he has achieved much prominence both as a contractor and in the affairs of the village. He was president of the board of water commission- ers for six years during the time of its construction, and a member of the school board for nine years. In 1869 Mr. Brooks married Martha, daughter of Thomas and Mary ( Mould) Wait, and three children have been born to them. Charles W., a civil engineer and graduate of Brown's University and also of Philadelphia Uni- versity, resides at Washington and is in the employ of the government in the War and Navy Department. Alida W. is a graduate of the Emerson College of Boston and of the College of Albany, and is still attending the University of New York City and teaching at Bayonne, N. J. She is a teacher of elocution and physical cul- ture. His youngest daughter, Minnie M., is a graduate of Montgomery High School, also of the Metropolitan College of Music. She resides at Montgomery, where she is giving instruction in music. Mr. Brooks has erected most of the sub- stantial buildings in Montgomery and vicinity and gives employment regularly to a large force of men.
F. B. BROOKS, bookkeeper for C. T. Knight and assistant postmaster at Mon- roe, N. Y., was born in this village in 1872. He has been associated with Mr. Knight for the past eleven years and is actively identified with public affairs of his native place. He is president of the board of education and director and treasurer of the Fire Company. He is also director of the local building and loan association. Socially he is a member of the Masonic fraternity. Mr. Brooks deals extensively in real estate and has effected the sales of many valuable farms and choice country seats in Orange County.
GEORGE H. BROOKS was born at Mountainville, and his education was in the district school. From his youth until nineteen years of age he assisted his father on the farm. In 1875 he went to Turners, N. Y., and worked at blacksmithing four years, came to Chester in 1879. and was with Joseph Gavin two years; then went to Sugar Loaf, Orange County, and opened a shop there, which he conducted ten years. In 1891 he came to Chester and purchased of S. Hadden the establishment in which he had been manufacturing buggies for thirty-five years. He enlarged it, added new and improved machinery, making of it one of the best appointed manu-
794
THE COUNTY OF ORANGE.
factories in the county. He is a Methodist in religion and a republican in politics. In September, 1885, he was married to Eliza Litchult. Their seven children's names are Dora L., Lena C., Elsie, Helen, Merry, Clarence and Phoebe J. Mr. Brooks's father is still living at the age of ninety at Little Britain in the town of New Windsor.
DAVID BROWN, who is engaged in the express business in New York City, maintains a country place in the town of Newburgh, situated on the State road, known as the Cochecton turnpike. Mr. Brown purchased this farm, which com- prises forty acres, in 1903. Commencing in a small way, Mr. Brown by industry, enterprise and the wise counsel of his wife has built up a very prosperous busi- ness in the metropolis. He married Miss Mary J. Baxter and they have one daugh- ter, Genevieve.
EBER L. BROWN, owner of a seven-hundred-acre farm in the town of Mini- sink, and much valuable real estate in the village of Unionville and the cities of Middletown and New York, was born in Sussex County, N. J., in 1828. As a boy he clerked for a number of years and subsequently became a member of the whole- sale grocery firm of Stillwell, Brown & Co., of New York City, for five years. In 1848 he went to California and engaged in mining with much success. On his re- turn East he was connected with a wholesale dry goods house in New York and a wholesale grocery house.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.