USA > New York > Ulster County > The history of Ulster County, New York > Part 62
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Mount Mongola's estate comprises between two and three hundred acres of land, heavily timbered. Especial attention is given to the raising of fruits and vegetables and the well managed dairy contributes largely to the comforts and pleasure of the guests.
JOHN MUNRO .- Of the many beautiful summer residences for which Ulster County and the Catskills are noted, "Balmoral," the country home of John Munro, of Brooklyn, N. Y., is worthy of especial mention.
"Balmoral" is located on the western slope of Belle Ayr Mountain, one mile from the village of Highmount. It comprises an estate of seventy acres in the northern section of the town of Shandaken. The view from this point is unsurpassed. The bold peaks of the Catskills stand out in sharp relief on all sides, while below, some two miles distant, lies the village of Pine Hill.
Mr. Munro is a native of Dufftown, Banffshire, Scotland. He came to America in 1871, and located at St. John, New Brunswick, Canada, where he remained nine years. In 1880 he removed to New York, and engaged in boat and ship building.
He married Miss Matilda Walker, of St. John, and they have two daughters, Effie Gordon and Matilda Catherine. and one son, William Stanley.
Mr. Munro purchased the Balmoral property in 1901, and has made of it an ideal summer home.
FRANCIS M. MURPHY was born in Kingston, New York, in 1860. After attend- ing the educational institutions of his native city and passing the Regents' examina- tions, he went West and taught school four years. He also attended the Carleton College in Minnesota and the Normal and Commercial College at Valparaiso, Indiana. In 1883 he returned to Kingston and learned the plumber's trade with Bernard Loughran. He located in the village of Saugerties in 1888 as general manager of plumbing and heating for Mr. J. M. Lowe and upon the death of Mr. Philo Lowe, took charge of the Waterworks Department, of which he is now Superintendent. In 1896, when the plant was sold to the village, Mr. Murphy pur- chased the plumbing stock and established his present business, which he has con- ducted with uniform success.
Mr. Murphy was united in marriage to Miss Gertrude Chaffel of Plattekill Town- ship. They have one daughter, Gertrude.
CHRISTOPHER AUGUSTINE MURRAY, one of the representative self-made men of Ulster County, was born in Rondout on April 18, 1857. He is a son of William and Catherine Murray, who were both born in the County of Kildare, Ireland. His father came to Rondout in 1826, and remained there until his death in 1893. Christopher attended the common schools in the villages of Port Ewen and Rondout until 1871, when he entered his father's store as a clerk. In 1873 he went for one year to Saint Mary's College at Montreal, Canada, and the following year he spent at Georgetown College in the District of Columbia. After leaving college he again resumed his duties as clerk in his father's store until 1879, at which time his father retired from business. In 1880 he entered the law office of Mr. John E.
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VanEtten of Kingston, and was admitted to the bar at Albany in January, 1883. From January 1, 1884, to January 1, 1888, he held the office of Justice of the Peace in Kingston.
In 1887 Mr. Murray established a fire insurance business, which he conducted for some time in connection with his law practice, and also dealt in real estate. The business soon reached such proportion and demanded so much of his time that he enlisted the services of his two brothers, Thomas J. and John A., who became associated with him in the enterprise, Thomas J. conducting the real estate business and John A., who is well known as an insurance expert, having the management of the insurance department. This is now one of the largest and most profitable insurance and real estate agencies in the city. From January 1, 1894, to January I, 1900, he was. Recorder of the City of Kingston.
He has repeatedly declined nominations for various city and county offices. Since his admission to the bar he has been actively engaged in his profession, giving attention to general litigation, but mainly to office business, Surrogate's Court practice, the investment of money and settlement of estates. He has won an enviable reputation for varied information, sound judgment and disinterested devotion to the interests of his numerous clients and patrons, and his record has been such as to entitle him to the high degree of confidence which he enjoys among the leading men of Ulster County. He has always taken an active part in all matters concerning the welfare of the City of Kingston. Mr. Murray is an Exempt Fireman, now Presi- dent of Union Hose Company No. 4 of Kingston, a member of the B. P. O. Elks and Knights of Columbus.
WILLIAM J. MYERS, Manager of the Crystal Spring Water Company, Pine Hill, N. Y., is a native of Delaware County. He came to Ulster County in 1880 and engaged in the fruit and vegetable business for five years. Mr. Myers had in the meantime acquired possession of the land upon which the Crystal Springs are located. This he sold in 1885 to a company, and upon the organization of the com- pany was appointed Manager of the works at Pine Hill. This position he still retains. A force of twenty-five hands are employed and the latest machinery and apparatus are utilized in bottling this celebrated pure spring water for public con- sumption.
Mr. Myers's family consists of wife and three children, Effie, Francis and Mary. Mrs. Myers's maden name was Elizabeth Symond. He is a member of the Junior Order of United American Mechanics.
B. FRANKLIN NEAL, M. D., of Ellenville, N. Y., was born in the town of Lisbon, Lisbon Falls, Maine, February 25, 1853. He received his education, first at the Lisbon Falls High School, from which he was graduated in 1871. He later entered Bowdoin College, taking a two years' course, and completed his studies at Dartmouth College, from which he graduated in 1876. He opened an office and began the practice of medicine at Lincolnville, Maine, where he remained six years ; then in Gardiner, Maine, one year, and Belgrade, Maine, six years. He then took a
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post-graduate course in medicine and surgery in the New York Post-Graduate College and in November, 1887, came to Ellenville and engaged in practice. In 1900 he passed the State Board of New York Pharmacy.
Dr. Neal is a member of the Maine State, the Waldo, the Kennebeck and the American Medical Associations and the Ulster County and New York State Medical Societies. Socially he is connected with the Masonic Order, the I. O. O. F. and the K. of P. On October 12, 1881, he married Anna H. Marson of Pittston, Me.
The late ADAM NEIDLINGER, of West Park, N. Y., was born in Rhenish Hessia, Germany, December 31, 1831, and came to America in 1852.
He here acquired a thorough knowledge of the manufacture of malt, and in 1863 established himself in business on his own account; his success was immediate, and in a few years he became the recognized leader of the malting industry in this country, and as such he continued until his retirement from active business in 1899. His seven malting plants were located in New York, Brooklyn, South Rondout, Cayuga, Sodus Point and Oswego, N. Y.
Mr. Neidlinger was also identified with the ice business, as sole owner of the Manhattan Ice Company, whose properties were situated at Eddyville, South Rondout and Four Mile Point, N. Y., and at Phippsburg, Maine.
Mr. Neidlinger's interests in Ulster County dated back to almost the beginning of his business career, and in 1884 he chose it for his permanent home, having pur- chased at West Park-on-the-Hudson the beautiful estate known as "Waldorf," which at one time belonged to the late John Jacob Astor.
Mr. Neidlinger was a man of sterling character, of great courage and energy, and was very highly esteemed by all who knew him. He died on January 9, 1904. As attesting the regard in which he was held by his neighbors, the vestry of Ascension Church at West Park, N. Y., passed the following resolution :
IN MEMORIAM.
The Rector and Vestry of Ascension Church, West Park, on behalf of the congregation, desire to express and record their deep sense of the loss which the Parish has been called to sustain in the departure out of this world of their friend and colleague, Adam Neidlinger. Always ready to co-operate in the maintenance of the Church, proving by the large part which he took in the improvement of the village, his public spirit, his work was appreciated by the whole community, and will, we believe, be a lasting memorial to his honor. His cordial bearing and good will won for him the hearty respect and esteem of all sorts and conditions of men. His career of integrity and success, attained by a life of honorable acquisition, will long stand before our people as a marked illustration of that good name which is better than riches. We would offer our heartfelt sympathy to his family in their great bereavement, feeling that, outside of their own home, none have greater reason to deplore his loss than his neighbors in the Parish,
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who have enjoyed his friendship through the many years of his resi- dence among us.
LEGH RICHMOND DICKINSON, Rector. JOHN U. BROOKMAN, Warden. W. H. VAN BENSCHOTEN, Treasurer. CHARLES ATKINS.
West Park, N. Y., October 23, 1904.
ALBERT M. NORRIS .- Among the respected citizens of Ulster County who have achieved success is Albert M. Norris, who was born in Rhinebeck, Dutchess County, New York, May 7, 1826. After completing his studies at the public schools he learned the blacksmith trade, at which he worked eight years. He purchased a hotel and store at Ulster Park, which he conducted from 1853 to 1889. He now cwns one of the largest farms in Ulster Park, consisting of 160 acres mostly devoted to the growing of fruit. In 1848 he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah M. Holt and three children were born to them, all of whom are deceased. Mr. Norris has always taken an active interest in affairs pertaining to the welfare of the county, and in 1885 was appointed Loan Commissioner by the late Judge Schoon- maker.
J. V. HENRY NOTT, of Lake Katrine, was born at Glasgow, Scotland, while his parents were touring the Continent. His education was obtained in the schools of Schenectady and Union College. For many years he conducted a real estate and brokerage office in New York and in 1880 purchased the farm on which he now resides.
His father, Joel B. Nott, Professor of Chemistry in Union College, Schenectady, New York, was an inventor of note, the "Nott heater," a stove for heating churches and schools, was invented and perfected by him. His connection with Union College covered a period of about thirty-five years, and the later years of his life were passed in retirement on his farm in Albany County.
THOMAS F. O'DEA, V. S., of Saugerties, was born at Ghent, Columbia County, N. Y., November 6, 1862. He received his education in the District Schools and passed the early years of his life in assisting his father on the farm. Having decided upon a career as a veterinary he entered the New York College of Veter- inary Surgeons, from which he graduated March 23, 1893. He immediately located in Saugerties, where he has since acquired a large practice.
He married Margaret Hennegan of Saugerties, and they have three children, Margaret Frances, Florence May and Thomas Edward.
EDWARD O'NEIL, whose name is linked with the introduction of Methodism in Ulster County, was born in the North of Ireland in 1783, and came to America in 1705 with his parents, John and Mary O'Neil. The family consisted of three boys and two girls. In 1810 his father settled on what was known as Judge Wynkoop's
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farm near Old Hurley, and Edward was engaged as teacher in Kingston Academy, and was principal of this institution from 1816 to 1820. He resided at the corner of Front and Green streets, and here established a Sunday-school class in 1816, which was continued until 1822, when it was removed to the chapel of the First Reformed Church. He died December 17, 1856. His nephew, Charles M. O'Neil, married Miss Mary V. Hester, and four children were born to them, Susan S., Anna L., Charles H., and Cora May.
Samuel W. Hester, the father of Mrs. Mary V. O'Neil and Col. C. V. Hester, was a highly respected citizen of Ulster County, where he was born, in 1812. He attended the district schools of Esopus, and while still a lad went to Rhinebeck, Dutchess County, N. Y., where he learned the carpenters' trade. He subsequently removed to Poughkeepsie, where he married Jane, daughter of Abraham Van Anden. They had three children, William, Mary V. and Charles V. Mr. Hester was for many years a contractor and builder in Poughkeepsie, erecting many of the public buildings there. He was a member of the Sons of Temperance, and originator of the Sunday afternoon temperance meetings in that city. In 1863 he removed to Brooklyn and was in the office of the Brooklyn Eagle until 1870, when he returned to Kingston, where he made his home until his death, March 18, 1890.
The Van Anden family were among the early settlers of Dutchess County. Isaac Van Anden, brother of Mrs. Sam'l Hester, founded the Brooklyn Eagle, and her son William is now the president of and a stockholder in the Brooklyn Eagle Pub- lishing Company.
HENRY O'NEIL, who founded the mammoth dry goods house of H. O'Neil & Company, New York, in 1856, chose the Catskills in Ulster County for his country seat in 1896. Situated in the extreme northwest corner of the county on the slope of Belle Ayr Mountain, Mr. O'Neil's place affords a magnificent view of an unrivalled stretch of scenery. It is in this retreat that he has enjoyed rest and seclusion many weeks each year.
DEWITT W. OSTRANDER was born in the town of Lloyd, Ulster County, N. Y., December 20, 1859. Peter Ostrander, the earliest ancestor of whom any- thing definite is known, was born in the city of Amsterdam, Holland, and during the period of oppression which followed the revocation of the edict of Nantes fled with many of the Huguenots of France and Holland to this country and settled at Kingston, N. Y., bringing his wife and three children with him. Peter Ostran- der, Jr., a son of Peter Ostrander above mentioned, born in Holland in 1650, mar- ried Rebacca Traphagen at Kingston, N. Y., on January 19, 1670. Hendrick Ostran- der (son of Peter and Rebecca) was born and reared at Kingston, N. Y., and married Elizabeth Van Bommel at Kingston on May 12, 1724. He afterward moved to the town of Marlborough, now Plattekill, where he purchased a tract of two thousand acres of land, being a part of the Spratt and Marscholm Patent.
The great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, Wilhelmus Ostrander (son of Hendrick and Elizabeth), was born April 29, 1743, and was married Novem-
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ber 2, 1771, to Sarah, daughter of Dean Relyea, a French Protestant, who came to this country at an early period. Wilhelmus Ostrander was a Lieutenant in the Fourth Regiment of Ulster County Militia in the Revolutionary War, and was at the surrender of Burgoyne at Saratoga.
Denysius Ostrander (son of Wilhelmus and Sarah) was born at the town of Plattekill, July 1, 1776, and married Maria Clearwater, daughter of Joseph Clear- water, at New Paltz, N. Y., March 21, 1803.
William Ostrander (son of Denysius and Maria) and the father of the subject of this sketch, was born at the town of Plattekill, July 1, 1811, and married Han- nah M. Harp (daughter of Simeon Harp and Helen J. Clearwater), town of Rochester, Ulster County, November 7, 1857.
The subject of this sketch moved with his parents to Clintondale when he was eight years of age and was reared on a farm near the village; he attended the district school until his fifteenth year and was then sent to Oakwood Seminary at Union Springs, N. Y., where he graduated in 1877. He then took up the study of law in the office of Hon. S. G. Young at Highland, N. Y., and was admitted to the bar in November, 1880.
In January, 1881, he opened an office at Clintondale, where he has since lived and practiced his profession, being one of the leading attorneys of Southern Ulster and a conspicuous member of the bar of Ulster County.
He married Ella J. Tice, of Ellenville, N. Y .; the issue of this marriage is one daughter, Vida M., born August 27, 1891.
HECTOR OSTERHOUDT, Merchant and Postmaster of Rifton, N. Y., is a native of Ulster County. He was born in the town of Rochester in 1861, attended local school and for twenty years was a valued employe with J. W. Dimick's Carpet Mills Company as storekeeper. In 1900 he established himself in the mercantile business in Rifton. In 1886 he was appointed Postmaster of Rifton by President Cleveland, and has held that office under succeeding administrations.
Mr. Osterhoudt is a member of the Knights of Pythias, Red Men, etc., and is a staunch Republican. He has a family of four children, Harry, Florence, Curtis and Amy.
RICHARD O'SULLIVAN, Assistant Superintendent of the Ulster & Delaware Railroad Company, is a civil engineer by profession. His education was obtained at the public schools of Hoboken, N. J., and the Cooper Institute in New York. From 1876 to 1884 he has been engaged successively in the location and construction of the following enterprises: The first Hudson River Tunnel; the Third and Ninth Avenue Elevated Railroads in New York; the Elizabeth City & Norfolk R. R. in Virginia; the N. Y. W. S. & H. R. R. and the Southern Pennsylvania R. R. He then removed to Kingston, New York, to accept the position of engineer to the roadmaster of the West Shore R. R., which he filled until 1888, when he was appointed roadmaster of the Wallkill Valley R. R., remaining until January, 1899. He was then appointed division engineer of the West Shore R. R., between New York and Albany. He resigned this position in June of the same year to accept
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that of assistant roadmaster and in August, 1906, was promoted to his present position.
EDGAR E. OUGHELTREE was born in the City of Kingston May 12, 1864. He finished his preliminary education at the Ulster Academy and then took up the study of law in the office of Lawton & Stebbins. He was graduated from the Law Department of Union University, securing the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1886. He was admitted to the bar and continued in the office of his preceptors for about two years, when he received the appointment of Assistant Postmaster at Rondout, where he remained until 1892. He removed to Esopus, where he practiced law and also served as Justice of the Peace for about six years. He returned to Kingston in 1899 to accept the office of Deputy Postmaster, of which he is still the incumbent. In 1889 he was married to Miss Marion Smith, of Kingston, daughter of Jerome Smith, and they have two daughters, Cornelia and Jessie, and a son Edgar.
R. B. OVERBAUGH, one of the leading business men of Saugerties, was born in that village September 21, 1862. . He attended the Saugerties Academy and also took a two years' course of study in the Brooklyn schools. When fifteen years of age he began work as an office boy with J. B. Sheffield & Son, paper manufacturers, of Saugerties, with whom he remained twelve years, and was head bookkeeper for the firm during a considerable portion of that time. In 1890 he purchased the N. C. Bohr boot and shoe business, which he ran successfully eight years. Three years previous to his purchase of the boot and shoe business, Mr. Overbaugh and W. E. Simmons purchased the coal and lumber business, then being conducted by Van Etten & Burhans; this they continued to run until 1901, when they dissolved part- nership, Mr. Simmons taking the Tannersville branch of the business which they had established, and Mr. Overbaugh the Saugerties branch. This concern is now known as the Saugerties Coal and Lumber Company.
Mr. Overbaugh's marriage to Miss Isabel Freligh occurred in 1885. She is a daughter of J. Austin Freligh, a well known citizen of Saugerties, at present Secre- tary of the Saugerties Savings Bank.
They have five children, Gertrude, Richard, Isabel, William Hoyt and John Caldwell, the last two of whom are twins. Mr. Overbaugh is President of the Saugerties Board of Education and Secretary of the Sewer Commission. His father, Peter T. Oberbaugh, was a brick manufacturer of Saugerties and a descen- dant of the Overbaughs who emigrated from Holland early in the seventeenth cen- tury.
ALBERT H. PALMER, M. D., of Marlborough, was born in Plattekill, New York, September 8, 1851, where he attended the district schools. At twelve years of age his family moved into the town of Lloyd and he finished his education at the Highland Seminary. He entered the Medical Department of the University of Michigan, and later New York University, graduating in 1876, and has practiced continuously in the village of Marlborough since that time.
Dr. Palmer is a member of the County and State Medical Societies, the New-
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burgh Bay Medical Society and the American Medical Association. He has been connected with the School Board of Marlborough for the past twenty years, and was President of the Board of Education for three years.
Dr. Palmer was married to Sarah M. Burnside of Marlborough and their family consists of three daughters and a son, John Howard, Mary A., Sarah I. and Clara L. Zophar Palmer, father of our subject, married Clara Head of Michigan.
H. W. PALEN'S SONS .- Frank A. and Burton B. Palen, who constitute the above firm, are sons of Henry W. Palen, a native of Ulster County, who was born at Stone Ridge, April 9, 1838, and died in Kingston, April 6, 1893. He learned the carpenters' trade and afterward came to Kingston and started a sash and blind factory on Wall street. In 1877 he built the sash and blind factory on St. James street ,which he carried on until two years before his death. He married Anna M. Pine, of Marbletown, April 19, 1865, and they had four children, namely: Frank A., Burton B., Watson C., and Edgar N. Mr. Palen was a member of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church of Kingston and for years was a teacher in the Sunday- school.
Frank A. Palen attended Kingston Academy and later took a course at East- man's Business College, Poughkeepsie. He then entered the lumber and coal office of his father, and on October 20, 1892, the firm of H. W. Palen's Sons was organized. He married Florence L. Humphrey, of Kingston, April 14, 1887, and they have one son, Henry W. Mr. Palen is a member of Kingston Lodge No. 10, F. & A. M .; Rondout Commandery No. 52; Mecca Temple of Mystic. Shrine of New York City, and the Kingston Club.
Burton B. Palen, who has charge of the coal business of the firm, was married at Cold Brook, town of Shandaken, to Angelina Keator. He is a member of Kings- ton Lodge No. 10, F. & A. M .; Mount Horeb Chapter No. 75, and the Kingston Club.
ALTON BROOKS PARKER .- This eminent jurist was born at Cortland, N. Y., May 14, 1852. He is the son of John Brooks Parker and Harriet F. Stratton, whose ancestors were residents of Massachusetts. John Parker, his great-grand- father, served three years in the Revolutionary War. Like so many who have achieved distinction and renown in American history, Judge Parker had the good fortune of birth on a farm. His childhood days for twelve years were spent on his father's farm in Cortland, where the foundation for his rugged physical struc- ture and manly physique were laid and developed. At the age of four he was sent to the district school, and as soon as he was old enough, was required to help in the fields and in the lighter work that boys can do on a farm. At the age of twelve he became a student in the Cortland Academy. He taught school in Virgil, Cortland County, and in Binghamton, to get the necessary money to defray his expenses in the Academy and subsequently in the Cortland Normal School. He then came to Rochester, Ulster County, to teach, and from there entered the law office of Schoonmaker & Hardenbergh at Kingston. In 1871 and 1872 he at- tended the Albany Law School. After graduation he was employed in the office
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of Augustus Schoonmaker (Senator Hardenbergh having died) as a clerk on a small salary, until he formed a partnership with William S. Kenyon, Jr., under the firm name of Parker & Kenyon.
Being now a full-fledged lawyer, with considerable active practice in the local courts, young Parker took a lively interest in local politics, which at the time pre- sented some alluring features to members of the Democratic Party, with which organization he had been allied from the first. He married Miss Mary L. Schoon- maker, daughter of Moses I. Schoonmaker, of Accord, in the town of Rochester, Ulster County, in 1873, having made her acquaintance while teaching the district school in that little hamlet. Mr. Schoonmaker was a prominent Democratic poli- tician, and it was through his influence perhaps that his promising son-in-law was launched in his political career. He was chosen Clerk of the Democratic Board of Supervisors of Ulster County that year at a salary of $800, and served in that capacity until 1877, when he was elected Surrogate of the County for six years at a salary of $3,000, being the only Democratic winner on his ticket. He was re- elected in 1883 by a handsome majority. Two years later, having attracted the at- tention of David B. Hill, who was then Governor of the State, young Parker was appointed Chairman of the State Democratic Executive Committee, a position which he filled with conspicuous ability to the satisfaction of his party leaders. Meanwhile he had served the Ulster County Board of Supervisors as counsel in a hard fought equalization suit against the City of Kingston, which he won.
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