USA > New York > Ulster County > The history of Ulster County, New York > Part 68
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
HENRY VAN HOEVENBERG, M.D., of Kingston, was born in Westfield, N. Y., May 2, 1850, and is a son of James Oliver van Hoevenberg. His education was obtained in private schools and Kingston Academy. He then took up the study of medicine, and in 1872 graduated from Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York City. He opened an office in Kingston, where he has attained to a generous practice and is recognized as one of Kingston's leading citizens.
Dr. van Hoevenberg has been a member of the surgical staff of the city of Kingston Hospital since its incorporation. He is attending physician to the In- dustrial Home for Children, Kingston, N. Y., and a member of the Medical So- ciety of the State of New York and the Medical Society of the County of Ulster.
70I
BIOGRAPHICAL.
CORNELIUS L. VAN ORDEN, County Superintendent of the Poor, was born in the town of Gardiner, December 8, 1857. He obtained his education from the New Paltz Academy and the Military Institute at Poughkeepsie, New York. He immediately purchased a farm in his native town and has since followed that voca- tion. He has added to his original purchase and now owns three hundred and fifty acres of land.
In August, 1905, Mr. Van Orden was appointed to fill a vacancy in the office of Superintendent of the Poor, caused by the removal of Abram Sammons, and in the short time in which he has thus far served he has made many material improve- ments about the institution, including the erection of a new ice-house and cooler, and new stables for horses and cows.
He married Cornelia, daughter of Josiah LeFever, a former Supervisor of Gardi- ner Township, and their family consists of three daughters and a son, as follows : Sarah May, bookkeeper in the Superintendent's office of the County House, Ger- trude, Ethel, Elsie and Solomon.
EASTON VAN WAGENEN was born in New Paltz in 1869. After graduating from the Normal School of his native village, he was engaged as Assistant Post- master, four years. In 1893 he entered the employ of the Huguenot National Bank as bookkeeper; he was soon promoted to teller, and since 1904 has been cashier of that institution. He is also Secretary of the Lowe Brick Company of New Paltz.
Socially, he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and in politics a Republican. He is a son of Easton and Cornelia (Harp) Van Wagenen, of New Paltz.
LOUIS B. VAN WAGENEN was born near High Falls, N. Y., March 9, 1840, and died in Kingston, July 19, 1906. When seventeen years old he entered the store of Daniel Schoonmaker at Alligerville, and later was employed by the late John G. Kemble in the same village. On August II, 1862, he enlisted as Corporal in Company C, One Hundred and Twentieth Regiment, and in April, 1863, was promoted to Sergeant for bravery. In October of the same year he was taken prisoner by the Confederate forces at James City, Va., and suffered hardships in several Southern prisons for a period of eighteen months, when he was exchanged. On his return to his regiment he was promoted to Second Lieutenant, and later to First Lieutenant. After the war Mr. Van Wagenen came to Rondout and entered the employ of Hiram Schoonmaker. Later he was employed as clerk by Meyer Weil, George North, Jr., A. K. Chandler, James O. Merritt and Brodhead & Co. In 1872 he was instrumental in forming the firm of John R. Stebbins & Co., in which he became a partner. Later on the firm became Stebbins, Brodhead & Van Wagenen. In 1904 the L. E. Van Wagenen Company was incorporated, with Mr. Van Wagenen as president.
In July, 1865, Mr. Van Wagenen married Sarah C. Schoonmaker, daughter of Colonel Schoonmaker, of Stone Ridge. She died in October, 1883, leaving three children, who now survive, Mrs. Elbert F. MacFadden, Miss Ethel Van Wagenen
702
THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
and John R. Van Wagenen. In 1884 he married Henrietta R. Askam, who died in September, 1900.
For many years Mr. Van Wagenen was senior elder of the Rondout Presby- terian Church. He was a trustee of the Y. M. C. A. and Montrepose Cemetery. His death removed a prominent figure in the city's commercial life and a man of sterling integrity. Mr. Van Wagenen was a descendant of an old and distinguished family, and his ancestors were prominently identified with the early history of this county. Jacob Aartse Van Wagenen came from the village of Wagenen, Holland, about 1660, and made his home near Creeks Locks, Ulster County. Garrett A. Van Wagenen, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was an officer in the Revolutionary War. The records show that he was appointed First Lieutenant, June 26, 1776, taken prisoner at Long Island, August 27, 1776; exchanged June, 1778. He died November 20, 1835.
VIRGIL B. VAN WAGENEN, whose ancestors were among the earliest settlers in Ulster County, was born in the town of Rochester, this county, October 16, 1861. He obtained a public school and academic education, read law in the office of Reuben Bernard, and since his admission to the bar in 1887 has been associated with Mr. Bernard in practice. Politically, he is a Democrat and a member of the Kingston Board of Water Commissioners.
Mr. Van Wagenen married Margaret DuBois, of Kingston, and they have two children, John K. and Christina.
MACDONALD VAN WAGONER, a member of the Ulster County Bar, was born at Wawarsing, Ulster County, N. Y., March 8, 1843. His father, Moses D. Van Wagoner, was of Dutch descent, and his mother, Almira MacDonald, of Scotch ancestry. MacDonald lived on his father's farm when a boy, attended public school and the Ellenville and Roxbury Academies. For a time he was clerk and bookkeeper in a store in DeBruce, Sullivan County. Later he learned the trade of carpenter and builder. When the Civil War broke out, he gave up all business and enlisted as a private in the Second New York Cavalry, familiarly known as "Harris Light," commanded by Judson Kilpatrick, who before the close of the war was made a Major-General and Chief of Sherman's Cavalry. The regiment was one of the most efficient, valorous, active and audacious in the service, being composed mostly of gallant young men, intensely patriotic, chivalrous, and ever ready for daring adventure. Five of its Colonels were made Generals and many other officers and privates promoted for conspicuous bravery. MacDonald fought under Generals McClellan, McDowell, Pope, Bayard, Hooker, Meade, Burnside, Pleasanton, Kilpatrick, Davies, Gregg, Custer, Grant, Sheridan, etc., participating in the Battles of Rappahannock Station, Thoroughfare Gap, Bull Run, Fredericks- burg, Chancellorsville, Brandy Station, Aldie, Upperville, Gettysburg, the Wilder- ness, in many skirmishes, and with Sheridan in the Shenandoah Valley.
Famous raids were made by the regiment around Lee's army.
Owing to his light weight, superior horsemanship and quick intelligence, Mac- Donald was selected by Generals of both infantry and cavalry to carry dispatches
703
BIOGRAPHICAL.
and perform delicate and arduous duties that required courage and skill. This gave him an excellent opportunity to learn much of the inside history of camp and field, of which he availed himself by keeping a voluminous diary.
Oftentimes he carried dispatches over battlefields when bullets hummed like bees through the air, and returned unscathed. At the Battle of Brandy Station, in which the cavalry corps of Pleasanton and Stuart had a noted conflict, while entrusted with a dispatch from General Kilpatrick, he was captured by Confederates, but soon rescued by a charge of Union cavalry. At Rappahannock Station a wing of the regiment broke under a charge of Confederates and MacDonald and Major Harhouse, for whom he was orderly, were for a time in the midst of several hun- dred of the enemy, who were firing, cutting, slashing and yelling "Kill the damned Yankees !" but managed to plunge through without injury.
He took part in one of the most sensational and brilliant minor events of the Civil War. At the second Bull Run battle, a squadron of less than 100 men, in the dusk of evening, were ordered to charge the enemy. MacDonald went with them. The gallant band was swept by a tornado of shot and shell. Few lived to return. It is a matter of history that this handful of men actually charged twenty thousand Confederate soldiers, being the right wing of Lee's army commanded by Long- street.
After his first battle, realizing the utter uselessness of the sabre as a weapon on horseback, and how great an encumbrance fighting on foot, he strongly and in- sistently advocated that it be cast aside and cavalry armed only with rifles and revolvers and the soldier taught to shoot with sufficient skill to kill or disable the enemy.
At the close of his three-years' enlistment he returned home, studied law with Judge Erastus Cooke at Kingston, and was admitted to the Bar, May 9, 1867. Be- sides the practice of law, he has been a professional writer, and for a quarter of a century official stenographer in courts of record.
Mr. VanWagoner was twice married. His first wife was Eva Hill, daughter of Hon. Thomas Hill, of Shokan, Ulster County, who died March 10, 1894, and his second wife, who is living, Clara Paige Carter, daughter of C. P. Carter, of Kings- ton, whom he married June 18, 1904.
REV. E. H. VAN WINKLE, Rector of St. Clement's Church of New York City, has his summer home at Stone Ridge, in the old Dutch parsonage, which he pur- chased about fifteen years ago. This property is located about one mile from the village and for over twenty years was in the possession of the Dutch Church. Mr. VanWinkle was born in New York City in 1842, and graduated from Columbia College, Class of '65. His family consists of wife (formerly Miss M. B. Cantine, a daughter of the late James Cantine of Stone Ridge), and two children, Howard Elmendorf, born 1889, and C. Hasbrouck, born 1899.
L. A. VAN ZANDT, who has chosen Ulster County for his country seat, is a native of New York, where he was for many years engaged in the real estate business. Mr. Van Zandt, like many Ulster County families, is of Holland
704
THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
descent and traces his ancestry back to the colonial days. He is in possession of a deed dated 1786, conveying a tract of land opposite to what is now known as Peck Slip, New York, from the Mayor, Aldermen and Commonalty of the City of New York, to Wynaut Van Zandt, bearing the old city seal, dated 1686; also deeds of property in Wall Street and vicinity.
Mr. Van Zandt purchased his present estate in 1901, consisting of one hundred and forty acres of farm land situated on the Sawkill road, some two miles north of Kingston.
FRANZ X. WAGNER was born in Germany in 1837, came to America at the age of nine years, and completed his preliminary education in the schools of New York. Early in life Mr. Wagner displayed a taste for mechanical inventions, and by cultivating this talent has achieved remarkable success as an inventor. It is through his genius that the typewriters of to-day have reached that degree of perfection, especially notable in the famous "Under- wood," which is conceded to be Mr. Wagner's masterpiece of mechanical con- struction. He has acquired fame by inventing the rotary engine and various other equipments that economize time and power.
In 1888 Mr. Wagner purchased some forty acres of land in Denning township, near Claryville, where he enjoys rest and seclusion. His winter residence is at 711 East One Hundred and Seventieth Street, New York. He married Miss Sophia Smidt, also a native of the "Fatherland." They have the following children : Annie, Harry, Frank and Fred.
GEORGE W. WASHBURN, of Saugerties, New York, the well-known brick manufacturer, is a native of Haverstraw, Rockland County, N. Y. He was born, September 28, 1842. Early in life he became practically familiar with all branches of the brick industry, and in 1860, in association with his brother John, began the manufacture of that commodity in Haverstraw, and so continued up to 1869, when they sold out. In 1867 they established a brickyard in Glasco, which they are still operating; also one at Catskill. Mr. Washburn for thirty years conducted a brick commission business in New York City, under the firm name of Washburn & Burns. Mr. Washburn has been president of the Board of Water Commissioners since its organization in Saugerties.
His family consists of wife, Alicia A. (Maginnis) Washburn and eight children- William, Mary, George W., Jr., Katharine (Mrs. E. Clark Reed), Edwin, Caroline, Richard and Laura; one child, Hattie, died in infancy. Eminently a self-made man, straightforward, forcible and clear-headed, Mr. Washburn has individually attained a place among the leading manufacturers of the Hudson Valley. He occupies a handsome residence in the village of Saugerties overlooking the Hudson.
JOHN T. WATSON was born in Kingston in 1876 and obtained his education at the public schools and Ulster Academy, from which he graduated in 1893. He then engaged in the general contracting business with his father under the firm name of Robert Watson & Son. Among the principal structures they have erected
705
BIOGRAPHICAL.
may be mentioned No. 4 School, Kingston, the West Park Monastery, the Hutton Building, and Burn's Drug Store. In connection with Mr. Weaver, the firm of Weaver & Watson constructed the Saugerties sewer. Mr. Watson is a member of the F. & A. M., Mt. Horeb Chapter, Rondout Commandery, Mecca Shrine and the Knights of Honor. He is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church of Rondout. In 1903 he was united in marriage to Miss Grace E. Atkins, of West Park, New York. Two children have blessed this union, Raymond A. and Robert A.
Robert Watson, father of our subject, was born in Ireland in 1847. In 1867 he came to America and located at Rondout, where he learned the trade of mason and builder, and has been engaged in the contracting business for many years.
Robert Watson has been twice married, his first wife, who was Margaret McLean, of Rondout, died in 1897. They had five sons-John T., Robert A. (whose sketch appears elsewhere), J. Arthur, Richard G. and Ralph A. For his second wife, Mr. Watson chose Miss Martha Ennist, of Stone Ridge, by whom he has one child, Esther May.
ROBERT A. WATSON .- The subject of this sketch is prominent among the younger business men of Rondout. He was born in Rondout in 1878, and obtained his education at the public schools and Ulster Academy. In 1898, he went to the Pacific Coast and learned the plumber's trade in San Francisco and Seattle. Four years later he returned to Kingston and established his present place of business on Broadway. He enjoys an extensive trade in the city and surrounding country and his establishment gives employment to a number of men. He is a staunch Republican and takes an active interest in politics. Mr. Watson is a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, a member of Rondout Blue Lodge No. 343, Mt. Horeb Chapter No. 75, Rondout Commandery No. 52, Knights Templar, Cypress Temple of the Mystic Shrine and Order of the Eastern Star.
Mr. Watson was united in marriage, October 26, 1905, to Miss Bertha Elizabeth Powell, of Kingston.
GROVE WEBSTER, ex-Sheriff of Ulster County, was born in Delhi, Delaware County, N. Y., May 12, 1844. When he was three years of age his parents removed to New York City, and there in the public schools he received his education. In 1861 he came to Kingston and for two years was employed in the Post-Office with his uncle, who was Postmaster at that time. In 1863, when the First National Bank of Rondout was organized, he secured employment in a minor capacity, and re- mained with that establishment seventeen years, filling all offices to that of teller, which he held at the time of his resignation. From 1880 to 1891 he was engaged in the wholesale and retail hardware business in Kingston and Rondout, the firm being known as Sahler, Reynolds & Webster, operated two stores. In 1891 he established a livery business in Rondout, which he still conducts. He also operates liveries at Elka Park and Tannersville, N. Y.
In 1871 Mr. Webster was appointed City Treasurer and held that office until 1888. He was the first Treasurer of the City of Kingston, after its organization.
706
THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
In 1903 he was elected to the office of Sheriff of Ulster County for a term of three years, his term expiring January 1, 1907.
Mr. Webster is a member of all the Masonic organizations, and has held the office of Recorder in Rondout Commandery since its organization in 1871. He is also a member of Mecca Temple, A. O. M. S., of New York City, and the Kingston Lodge of Elks. He was married, February 20, 1867, to Alice A. Powley, and six children have been born to them, of whom three are now living-Mrs. Martha C. Snyder, of Newburgh, N. Y .; Grove Webster, Jr., Under Sheriff from 1903 to 1907, and Helen L., both of Kingston.
H. S. WELLS, President of the village of Ellenville, and one of its most pro- gressive business men, was born at Stone Ridge, Ulster County, April 21, 1867. He was educated in the local schools and worked as a public lock-tender on. the Delaware and Hudson Canal for two years. He then accepted a position at High Falls as telegraph operator for the same company for a like period of time, when he was appointed to a similar position in Ellenville. He is now President of the Delaware River Telephone Company and General Manager of the Telegraph and Telephone Company. In politics Mr. Wells is a Republican. He is foreman of the Scoresby Hook and Ladder Company, and is identified with local fraternal and benevolent institutions. He married Miss Cora B. Schoonmaker.
ISAAC N. WEINER, son of Samuel and Anna (Mellis) Weiner, was born in New York City, July 8, 1854. When he was four years of age his parents re- moved to Rondout, where he attended the public schools, and in 1868 was gradu- ated from Bryant & Stratton's Business College in New York. In 1881 he and his brother, Richard, were taken into partnership in their father's wholesale wine and liquor house, which was established in 1858. After their father's death the brothers continued the business until 1890, when our subject purchased the in- terest of Richard, and has since conducted the business alone. Under his man- agement the patronage has steadily increased until to-day Mr. Weiner has the largest wholesale liquor business in the county, his trade extending throughout the State.
Politically Mr. Weiner is a Democrat, and although offered the nominations for Mayor, Senator and Assemblyman, has declined all political positions. Hs is a member of the Board of Trade, the Kingston, Rondout and Manhattan Clubs, the State Firemen's Association; has taken the various chairs in Masonry, and is iden- tified with the leading fraternal and social organizations of the city. Mr. Weiner has been a trustee of the Board of Education under the consolidation act. He is also a director of the Carnegie Library; trustee of the Kingston Hospital; presi- dent of the United Hebrew Charities of Kingston, and president of the Chamber of Commerce. Weiner Hose Co., of Kingston, is named in his honor.
He was married April 28, 1880, to Miss Carrie Blue, of Brooklyn. They have four children: Anna, Edwin, Harry and Carolyn. Mr. Weiner is one of Ulster County's liberal-minded, public-spirited citizens, subscribing generously to all ob- jects of public benefit.
707
BIOGRAPHICAL.
HON. FREDERICK L. WESTBROOK, for many years one of the ablest jurists in Ulster County, was born October 17, 1828, in the town of Marbletown. A son of Jonathan and Maria (Hasbrouck) Westbrook, he was a descendant of the old colonial stock. He read law in the office of Hon. Theodore R. Westbrook, and was admitted to the Bar in 1851. In 1857 he formed a law partnership with his pre- ceptor (T. R. & F. L. Westbrook), which continued until 1873. In 1854 he was elected County Judge, serving four years, and in 1868 was elected District Attorney. For many years he was counsel for several large corporations in the county, including the West Shore Railroad. He was closely identified with the school interests of Kingston and served several years as a member of the Board of Education.
In 1857 Judge Westbrook married Elsie Anna Burhans. Six children were. born to them-Frederick 'Arthur, deceased, and Amelia J. and Anna M., wife of F. H. Sanford of Bridgeport, Conn., who still survive him; John S., Alfred B. and Bertha died while young.
JOHN J. WHALEN, Superintendent of the Beach Mills, Binnewater, was born at High Falls, N. Y., June 14, 1853. At the age of thirteen he entered the F. O. Norton Cement Works as mucker (handling barrels), in which capacity he worked three years. He was employed for two years as butcher for Luke W. Krom at High Falls. The following years he was employed in various positions about the cement works, was finally promoted to cooper boss at High Falls, and later assigned to operating the old water mill at that place. In 1882 he was transferred to Binne- water as boss cooper. In a few years he was promoted to the position of foreman of the works and later he became Assistant Superintendent. In 1903 Mr. Whalen was made Superintendent of the Beach Mills, which position he now occupies. These mills employ a force of about three hundred hands.
Mr. Whalen married Catherine Flynn, and they have a family of six children, Thomas J., Mary C., John P., Anna E., Catherine M. and Francis X.
HENRY E. WIEBER, late of the city of Kingston, was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, November 4, 1858. When he was two years of age his parents removed to Rondout, where his father, Emil Wieber, engaged in the coppersmith business with James Murphy, under the firm name of Wieber & Murphy.
Henry Wieber's education was obtained in the public schools of Kingston and Eastman's College, Poughkeepsie. He worked for a time as bookkeeper and sales- man in his father's establishment, and when nineteen years of age embarked in the stove and tinware business for himself, occupying a store on Broadway in Rondout. Prosperity attended him and later he purchased the building on Broadway which he occupied during recent years. Several years ago, Mr. Wieber established a branch store in Tannersville, New York, which he has since conducted.
Mr. Wieber was a Republican and achieved some prominence in local politics. In 1887 he was elected Alderman and held that office in 1888 and 1889. In 1895 he was elected to the office of Mayor and served one term. He was a member of the
THE COUNTY OF ULSTER.
Spring Street Lutheran Church, and for years served as its Treasurer and a member of its Council.
He was a member of Rondout Lodge No. 343, F. & A. M .; Mt. Horeb Chapter, R. A. M .; Rondout Commandery No. 52, K. T .; Mecca Temple Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; United German Lodge of Odd Fellows, and Ulster Lodge, K. of P. He was also a member of the Rondout Club, Rondout Social Mannerchor and the Exempt Firemen's Association. Mr. Wieber married Louise W. Möller of Pough- keepsie in 1881, and they have had four children-Frederick E., Henry John, Matilda and Amelia. Mr. Wieber died January 15, 1906, and his son, Fred E. Wieber, is conducting the business.
EDMUND M. WILBUR, of Saugerties, was born in that village, February 18, 1855. He attended the public schools and Academy and established a grocery busi- ness there in 1879, which he conducted thirteen years. He received the appointment of Postmaster of Saugerties, under the Cleveland administration, and upon the expiration of his term as Postmaster, he again established himself in the grocery business, which he still continues. Mr. Wilbur has served in various public posi- tions. In 1898 he was Democratic nominee for Member of Assembly. He was Town Clerk in 1881, has served as President of the Board of Education and Super- visor, and has been School Commissioner for the past nine years.
Mr. Wilbur has been twice married. His first wife was Catherine M. Barritt, by whom he had one son, Charles T. Gaston. His second wife was Mary F. Smith, by whom he has two children, Francis and Dorothy.
Gaston Wilbur, father of Edmund M., came here from Saratoga County about 1850. He was an ardent Republican up to the Greeley campaign, when he became a Democrat and his family has since supported the Democratic party. Edmund M. Wilbur is affiliated with Confidence Lodge, Odd Fellows, K. of P., and the Congre- gational Church, and is one of the representative men of Saugerties.
AZARIS WINCHELL, of Shokan, was born in the town of Olive in 1842. He attended the schools of his native place, and engaged in farming until twenty-two years of age, when he learned the carpenter and wagonmaker's trade, in which he continued until 1879. He then engaged in general merchandising, and purchased his present store at Shokan in 1887, which he has greatly enlarged and improved. His son, Elwyn, has been associated with him in business for many years. Polit- ically, Mr. Winchell is a Republican and served as Postmaster of Shokan under President Harrison. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias and the I. O. O. F.
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.