USA > New York > Ulster County > The history of Ulster County, New York > Part 60
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636
THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
Col. Laflin has not only succeeded in impressing his name and record indelibly on the hearts of the people of Saugerties, but throughout the States of New York and Pennsylvania. In the latter State the people have honored him by naming a town after him, and he is highly esteemed for goodfellowship and sterling integrity.
THE LAKWELAND .- On a mountain peak in the very heart of the Shawan- gunks, and near the picturesque little village of Cragsmoor, with its stone chapel, is located that delightful home-Lakweland. Its altitude of two thousand feet in- sures a dry, even temperature, and exhilarating mountain breezes with the per- fume of nearby pines, contribute their healthful, cooling influences. At the right is Sam's Point, a solid wall of rock nearly a mile long and many feet in height, made famous through its Indian associations, an account of which appears elsewhere in this volume. At the left across the narrow valley lies "Bear Hill," beyond which the mountain ranges stretch in silent grandeur.
Lakweland was established many years ago as a mountain hotel and in 1901 became the property of Thomas P. Brown, Jr., its present owner. Since purchasing this place, Mr. Brown has made many important improvements in the buildings and grounds. The house is steam heated with other modern conveniences, and is sur- rounded on two sides by a wide piazza, one hundred and fifty feet in length.
Among the many places of interest in the vicinity is Lake Maritanza, a spring-fed mountain lake, of great picturesque beauty, furnishing excellent fishing and boating.
DANIEL LAMB, one of Saugerties's oldest and most successful merchants, was born in Newburgh, New York, November 14, 1829. He came to Saugerties when nineteen years of age and engaged with John Welch, with whom he remained until 1864, when together with a Mr. Kipp he established himself in the hardware busi- ness. The firm of Lamb & Kipp continued, doing a prosperous business for nineteen years, at the expiration of which time Mr. Lamb purchased his partner's interest and has since conducted it alone. This year (1906) makes the forty-second con- secutive year that he has conducted business in the store wherein he is now located at Saugerties. Mr. Lamb is now and has been for some years ably assisted in business by his son, Charles H. Lamb, who has an interest in the business.
He married Ellen Hummel, a daughter of Charles M. Hummel, in 1859, and to- them were born five children, Annie (deceased), Charles H., Julia E., Arthur D. and Gertrude M. Mr. Lamb has never accepted public office, giving his attention strictly to his business interests, and he is one of the most highly esteemed and re- spected business men of Saugerties.
GEORGE W. LAMENT, proprietor of the Big Indian Hotel, purchased that property in 1893. It is one of the oldest hotels in that section of the Catskills, having been built by William DuBois, at the time the Ulster and Delaware Railroad was under construction.
Mr. Lament is a member of various fraternal organizations, including the Masons, Elks, Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. In politics he is a Demo- crat, a central committeeman and the political leader for the town of Shandaken ..
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He is one of Shandaken's most enterprising and highly respected citizens and has held numerous town and county offices, having been a member of the County Board of Supervisors three terms, and has served eight years each as Town Clerk and Justice of the Peace. In 1906, Mr. Lament was nominated by the Democratic party for the County Clerkship, but met defeat with the balance of the Democratic ticket.
CHARLES C. LANG is a son of Christian and Mary (Minor) Lang, natives of Germany, who came to America in 1852 and settled in Rondout, where he followed his trade as a blacksmith. Charles was born, July 1, 1858. After attending the public schools he learned the cigar-maker's trade. In 1876 he engaged in the retail meat business in Rondout, which he continued until 1882, when he established his present meat market in Wilbur.
Politically Mr. Lang is a Republican and has always been an active worker for the success of his party. He has served three terms as Alderman of what is now the Thirteenth Ward and two terms in the Board of Supervisors. In 1906 he was appointed Alms Commissioner by Mayor Thompson under the new charter. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Knights of Pythias and the I. O. O. F.
In 1884 Mr. Lang married Bertha Scharchu of Rondout, who died in 1896, leaving four children. In 1900 he was re-married to Martha Jane Barnett of Wilbur, by whom he had two children, both of whom are deceased. His father and mother celebrated the fifty-first anniversary of their marriage October 16, 1906.
ALFRED P. LASHER of Saugerties was born at Coxsackie, July 9, 1855, and is a son of John E. and Katharine Elizabeth Lasher, who came to Saugerties when Alfred was a boy. After attending the village schools he finished his education at Glens Falls and Hudson, completing the courses in both schools. When eighteen years of age he entered the employ of Burhans & Brainard, the stone dealers, as a clerk and later became shipping clerk for John Maxwell at Malden, a position which he held for two years. In 1881 he formed a partnership with his father under the name of John E. Lasher & Son, and they began furnishing the leading railroads of the country with pine ties, this firm being the first one to introduce southern ties in the Northern States. The firm continued until 1891, when the senior partner withdrew and his son assumed complete control and continued the business until 1899, when he retired. Mr. Lasher has served Saugerties for four years as director, one term as president, and has been a member of the County Central Committee for several years. He has been a member of the Board of Education since its organiza- tion, is President of the Free Public Library, and a director in the First National Bank of Saugerties. He is an elder in the Reformed Church and a member of the Exempt Firemen of Saugerties. He was for four years a director in the Ulster County Savings Bank of Kingston. Mr. Lasher is a thirty-second degree Mason and a member of Mecca Temple Shrine of New York City. He was united in marriage to Mary M. Gillespy, on June 12, 1883, and has one child living, Jessie Elizabeth, born in 1886. Two died, James, born in 1883, and Rowland, born in 1884.
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THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
In 1904, Alfred P. Lasher, erected and presented to the old soldiers a monument in honor of his father, the late John E. Lasher.
ANTHONY H. LAWATSCH, manufacturer at Wilbur, has resided in Ulster County since 1882. He spent three years at High Falls and some five years in Gardiner, and has always been engaged in the milling business. In 1899 he removed to Wilbur and purchased his present grist-mill. In 1906 he established the Lawatch & Lotz Brick Co., with a daily capacity of from 25,000 to 50,000 brick, giving em- ployment to upwards of fifty men.
Mr. Lawatch is a Republican. He has served as excise commissioner and was a member of the Town Board during his residence in Gardiner. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and of the Kingston Board of Trade. He married Miss Clara Schmidt, by whom he has one son, Emil H. Mr. Lawatch is a native of Austria, and after attending the military school was appointed a guard to the Crown Prince of that country.
BENJAMIN F. LAWRENCE, Manager of the Kingston plant of Millen, Aiken- head & Co., was born in New York in 1854. He has been connected with this firm for twenty-five years, and has been a resident of Kingston since 1892, when he was given sole charge of their establishment. The firm consists of Edmond Milen, T. W. and H. A. Aikenhead, manufacturers of nightshirts and pajamas. The building which they erected is a brick structure 40 x 100 feet, containing three stories. The establishment produces one hundred and fifty finished garments daily and furnishes employment to one hundred and thirty-five hands. It is well equipped with modern machinery, and under the able management of Mr. Lawrence has become one of Kingston's most thriving industries.
Since becoming a resident of Ulster, Mr. Lawrence has taken an active interest in political campaigns, and has served as delegate to the Republican County Conven- tion from the Tenth Ward.
ABSALOM ANDERSON LAWTON, M. D., was born at Kingston, N. Y., July 14, 1881. His father, the late Hon. William Lawton, ex-Judge of Ulster County, was born at New Baltimore, Greene County, N. Y., June 5, 1829. He was the only son of Oliver and Hannah Hope Lawton, who came from England in 1828 and located on a farm near New Baltimore. When he was ten years of age his parents removed to Livingston, Columbia County, where he obtained the rudiments of his education. He later pursued his studies at the Hudson River Academy, at Stock- port, and at the old Hudson Academy. He then taught school at Livingston and Taughannock during which time he took up the study of law, continuing the same while conducting a school at Johnstown, N. Y. When twenty-one years of age he entered the law office of Darius Peck, of Hudson, with whom he studied two years and then continued his studies in the office of Judge Theodore Miller, who afterwards became one of the Judges in the Court of Appeals of New York State. In 1852 he was admitted to the bar and during the following year acted as managing clerk in the office of Judge Miller. In 1853 he came to Rondout and opened a law
639
BIOGRAPHICAL.
office, and the year following, the once famous law firm of Lawton & Stebbins was formed. This partnership extended over a period of forty years and was dissolved by the death of Judge Lawton, the senior member of the firm. This firm had a large clientage, both private and with corporations. Judge Lawton became one of the foremost men in the Republican party of Ulster County, and many honors, unsought, were thrust upon him. He was one of the twelve men who organized the Republican party in Ulster County, and for many years served the village of Kingston as its clerk. In 1871 he was elected County Judge and in 1877 was unanimously re- nominated and elected to that office.
He always took a deep interest in educational matters, and while serving as trustee of the Kingston schools he organized the academic department of the school, now known as the Ulster Academy. He served as trustee and chairman of the board for many years. Judge Lawton was also greatly interested in the industrial development of the county, and in 1879 was one of the organizers of a manufacturing company that erected a large plant near the West Shore tracks and employed several hundred people. For many years he served as director of the First National Bank, of Rondout, and trustee of the Rondout Savings Bank, and at the time of his death he held the office of vice-president of the Ulster County Savings Bank. He married Frances Louisa Stevens, April 20, 1859, and four children were born to them, Harriet Hope and Mary, who both died in infancy, and William and George L. Mrs. Lawton died January 29, 1875. On October 12, 1880, he was joined in marriage with Kate, a daughter of the late Capt. Absalom Anderson. In 1886 he took up his residence at "Fairview," where he remained until his death on August 8, 1893, at the age of sixty-four years. In the death of Judge Lawton the Bar of Ulster County lost one of its most able and brilliant members, one who both as attorney and as Judge, had proved himself possessed of those qualities which make for success in judicial life.
Dr. Absalom Anderson Lawton received his preliminary education at the Kingston schools and Vermont Academy at Saxton's River, after which he pursued his studies in Cornell University and Baldwin University, Ohio. He then entered the Cleveland Homeopathic Medical College, which was followed by a three-years' course in the Baltimore Medical College, from which he graduated in 1906. A year in the Maryland General Hospital at Baltimore, followed by a post-graduate course in the New York Medical College completed his preparations for a career in medicine and surgery. He then opened an office at his home in the town of Esopus. Dr. Lawton began the practise of medicine under favorable circumstances, having an excellent college education and a thorough medical and surgical training combined with a natural aptitude and love for the work, and his constantly increas- ing practice bears testimony to his skill and ability, and indicates a future for him, in his chosen profession, approaching, if not equaling, his father's career at the bench and bar.
Dr. Lawton's residence, "Fairview," with its spacious lawns, overlooking the
640
THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
Hudson, situated some three miles south of the city of Kingston, makes an ideal home. And here with his wife, formerly Miss Clare J. Belt, of Baltimore, Md., he passes the summer months and practices his profession.
CORNELIUS I. LEFEVRE, Rosendale, N. Y., a lineal descendant of one of the twelve patentees of New Paltz, was born at Bloomingdale, Ulster County, October II, 1850. He was educated in the local public schools, and Eastman's Business College of Poughkeepsie, which was supplemented by liberal reading and observa- tion until he has become recognized as one of the best-informed men in the county, especially in historical and antequarian research. Mr. LeFevre began an active busi- ness career by engaging with the First National Bank of Kingston, in a clerical capacity, afterwards engaging with J. O. Merritt & Co. In 1878 in association with his cousin, Rufus LeFevre, he established a lumber and coal business in Rosendale, which they still conduct under the firm name of R. & C. I. LeFevre. They handle lumber and building material, coal, flour, feed and grain, at wholesale and retail, and have extensive yards and warehouses in the village of Rosendale. Mr. LeFevre ran for the office of Supervisor in 1879 and was elected by over one hundred and fifty majority upon the Republican ticket in a Democratic stronghold. He has since absolutely declined public office. Mr. LeFevre resides at Bloomington upon his farm, where he is most pleasantly situated.
DR. W. E. EUSTACE LITTLE, Supervisor of the town of Rosendale, was born in Ogdensburg, N. Y. He obtained his preliminary education at the Ottawa Collegiate Institute, Ottawa, Canada, where he remained some fifteen years. He studied medicine at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, the Burlington (Vt.) Medical College and the Baltimore College of Physicians and Surgeons, from which he received the degree of M. D. in 1884. He resides in the village of Bloom- ington and enjoys an extensive practice. He is identified with the County and State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association. He held the office of Health Officer and County Coroner for several years, and has served as Super- visor ten years, being continuously re-elected since 1896.
Socially, Dr. Little is a member of the Masonic Order, the Elks, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias and Foresters. In 1886 he was united in marriage to Miss Anna S. Royston. Five children have been born to them, W. E. Eustace, Jr., Royston, Margaret, Percy and Hester Josephine.
CHARLES O. LIVINGSTON, whose ancestry in America dates back to Robert Livingston, who arrived here from England in 1696, was born in Barrytown, Dutchess County, N. Y., and has been engaged in farming and fruit growing in Ulster County since 1860. Mr. Livingston's estate is beautifully situated on the bank of the Hudson in Ulster township and comprises over one hundred acres. He is a member of St. John's Episcopal Church, Kingston, and in politics a Democrat.
He was united in marriage to Miss Sarah Elizabeth Ramsay of New York. They have two sons, Charles Victor and Robert R., graduates respectively of Lehigh and Cornell Universities.
641
BIOGRAPHICAL.
F. W. LOERZEL, a well-known business man of Saugerties, in which place he was born March 31, 1861, and in which he has spent his life thus far, is of German descent. He is a son of Lorenz and Magdalena (Flack) Loerzel. His father Lorenz Loerzel was in life much esteemed and his death was sincerely mourned. He died September 16, 1878, leaving two sons, Frank W. and M. P. L. Loerzel.
Frank W. attended the public school in Saugerties. He received his first instruc- tion in both vocal and instrumental music from his parents, both of whom excelled in this art, and further pursued his studies in Rondout and Poughkeepsie until he was twenty-one years of age, during that time studying the pipe organ and harmony. On his return to Saugerties in 1888 he began teaching music and eventually suc- ceeded his father as organist in St. Mary's Catholic Church. He was engaged thus for twenty-five years and in 1892 engaged in the wholesale liquor business with his brother under the firm name of Loerzel Bros.
Frank W. Loerzel was married October 10, 1888, to Miss Louise Cowell of Albany, N. Y., and to them have been born three children, Julia Magdalena, Mar- guerite C. and Lorenz F. His brother, M. P. L. Loerzel, a fine musician, was mar- ried to Miss Helen C. Dixon of Saugerties, and died September 24, 1900.
BERNARD LOUGHRAN, who for many years was prominently identified with business and public affairs of Kingston, was born in Ireland in 1851, and came to America in 1867. He learned the plumber's trade in New York city, and in 1878 located in Kingston, N. Y., where he engaged in business for himself, meeting with success and becoming widely known throughout this section of the State. Mr. Loughran installed the plumbing in many of this city's public buildings, notably the First Dutch Church, the County Court House and the City Hall. Mr. Loughran was a director of the State of New York National Bank, and a member of the Board of Education since 1901. He was for many years President of the Kingston Plumbing Board, and always took an active interest in all matters that promoted the city's welfare.
Mr. Loughran's death occurred September 29, 1906. His wife, who was Miss Margaret Coffey, died in 1904; three sons and one daughter survive. His eldest son, Edward, continues the business so successfully conducted by his father.
DR. ELBERT H. LOUGHRAN .- Prominent among the physicians of Ulster County is the subject of this sketch. Born at Ashland, Greene County, March 17, 1852, Dr. Loughran obtained his preliminary education at Fishkill, and at the age of eighteen came to Kingston, where he studied medicine in the office of his uncle, Dr. Robert Loughran, later entering Bellevue Medical College, where he graduated in 1873. He has practiced continuously in Kingston since 1875, and is at present attending physician of Kingston City Hospital, the Benedictine Sanitarium, and has been city physician for twenty-three years. Dr. Loughran is a member of the County and State Medical Societies, the Masons, Knights Templar, and Rondout Commandery. He is a director in the Kingston National Bank and the Ulster County Savings Institution.
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THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
In 1878 he was married to Jessie F. Hall, of Elizabeth, N. J., and three children have been born to them: Elbert Du Bois, Margaret and Roger Hall. Dr. Lough- ran has been highly successful in his practice, and has surrounded himself with a host of warm friends by whom he is held in the highest esteem.
SAMUEL B. LOW, son of Cornelius and Jane M. (Burhans) Low, was born in the town of Wawarsing in 1856. Mr. Low has been engaged in the fire insur- ance and real estate business in Ellenville since 1885, achieving an unusual degree of success. He is trustee of the Ulster County Agricultural Society and trustee of the Ellenville Cemetery Association. He is affiliated with Wawarsing Lodge No. 582, F. & A. M., and Awasting Lodge, K. of P., of Ellenville. He has been a member of the Reformed Church of Napanoch for upwards of thirty years and an officer in the church for over twelve years.
In 1878 he was united in marriage to Miss Alice H. Gray, daughter of John G. Gray, a prominent lawyer and highly respected citizen of Ellenville, who died April 20, 1903.
HAMBLIN B. MABEN, M. D., of Kingston, N. Y., was born at Halcott, Greene County, N. Y., March 27, 1833. He is a son of Benjamin and Diadama Maben. Benjamin Maben was of Scotch descent and his wife French. Benjamin Maben died when forty-two years of age.
Dr. Maben was six years of age at the time of his father's death, and was placed in a private school at Lysander, Onondaga County, N. Y. At the age of eleven he began supporting himself and during the winter months attended District School. He afterward taught school winters and attended the old Binghamton Academy and the Hedding Literary Institute, Greene County, through the fall and spring terms. When twenty-one years of age he took up the study of medicine with Hon. O. M. Allaben, M. D., of Margaretville, Delaware County, and graduated from the Albany Medical College three years later.
He opened an office in Ilion, N. Y., where he subsequently attained to a very large practice. In 1864 he acted as army surgeon in the Davids Island Hospital. In 1883 he took a special course in gynecology at the New York Post-Graduate School since which time his practise has been principally along the lines of women's diseases. On June 15, 1885, he removed to Kingston and soon became one of the foremost physicians of eastern New York, acquiring as a specialist an unusually large patronage. While in Ilion he dealt largely in real estate and was actively identified with many of its business interests.
Dr. Maben is a Democrat in politics and has held various public offices. He was a member of the Board of Education, village Trustee and Supervisor of the town of German Flats. He was twice the Democratic nominee for Member of Assembly. He has been a member of the Broome County Medical Society, the Oneida County Medical Society and the Herkimer County Medical Society.
He has been a delegate to the State Medical Society and American Medical Association. He has served as President of the Physicians Association of Kingston and the Alumni Association of the Albany Medical College, 1898.
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
Dr. Maben was first married to Miss Carrie Lott, of Binghamton, who died in 1874 leaving one son, William S. He took for his second wife, in 1876, Miss Jeanette C. Winslow, daughter of the late Hon. John Winslow, of Watertown, N. Y. She died September 25, 1898. His present wife was Miss Jennie Mckinley Wood of Kingston, whom he married January 8, 1903.
The late William S. Maben, M. D., was born January 6, 1862. He was a graduate of Hamilton College, studied medicine with his father, and, when twenty-five years of age, graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Baltimore, Md. He engaged in practise in his father's office, where he continued until his death, Janu- ary 15, 1891. He was married in 1886 to Annie E. Mayor, of Bellows Falls, Vt., and to them was born one child, a daughter, Elizabeth.
ELBERT F. MACFADDEN, vice-president, treasurer and general manager of The L. B. Van Wagenen Company, of Kingston, was born in Cambridge, N. Y., and is a son of Tristam F. and Evaline (Luce) MacFadden. After finishing his studies at the academy of his native place, Mr. MacFadden entered the employ of Jerome B. Rice, the famous seedsman, where he remained six years as ac- countant. In 1900 he came to Kingston and became associated with the drygoods firm of which he is now an officer. Mr. MacFadden is identified with the Masonic Fraternity, a member of the Rondout Presbyterian Church, director in the Y. M. C. A., and a member of the Kingston Club.
In 1900 he was united in marriage to Mabel C., daughter of the late L. B. Van Wagenen. They have two children, Louis Franklin and Donald Schoonmaker.
JOSEPH C. MASON was born in Saugerties in 1872, where, at the public schools, he obtained his education. He then worked for three years at Quarry- ville, N. Y., for John H. Gray, and in 1889 located in Pine Hill, engaging with B. D. Hulburt, with whom he remained ten years. In 1900 he purchased the block where his store is now located and engaged in the manufacture of wood souvenir -novelties, which find a ready market throughout the Catskills.
Mr. Mason has served as Collector and Trustee of the village of Pine Hill. In 1903 he was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Winter and they have one son, Albert.
DELANCY N. MATTHEWS, president of the State of New York National Bank, was born at Olive, Ulster County, in 1849. In 1862 he moved with his parents to Brooklyn, New York, where he completed his education in the schools of that city. Returning to his native place in 1866, he remained on the farm about a year when he opened a general country store, and in 1871 engaged in the same business at West Shokan, under the firm name of Matthews & North, which they have since owned and operated. He is also vice-president of the wholesale grocery firm of Matthews & Harrison, of Kingston, and trustee of the Kingston Savings Bank. Politically he is a Republican and has served two terms as Supervisor.
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