USA > New York > Westchester County > Westchester county in history; manual and civil list, past and present. County history: towns, hamlets, villages and cities, Volume II > Part 30
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He was universally successful in the legal department of the village, and his friends refer with pride to many instances wherein his services were of great profit to the munici- pality; his victories in one court after another for the village in de- fending its title to the $10,000 trol- ley railroad forfeit, are but samples of his successful endeavor.
The appreciation in which he was held by neighbors and the public honors conferred upon him at home, naturally attracted attention abroad, and in 1895 he received the Republi- can nomination for County Clerk. He proved to be "a vote getter" in all sections of the county, and his large majority over a popular oppo- nent was most flattering. To the discharge of his new duties he brought the same old-time energy and devotion to detail that charac- terized him at home-his motto of doing well what he found to do, proved beneficial to all persons hav- ing business with the County Clerk's office. "To the making of friends there was no end," and when it came time to select his successor it was difficult to find one to become the opposing candidate. In 1898 he was re-elected by an increased majority. Before him as County Clerk came several important and difficult ques- tions relative to candidates and elec- tions, which he decided with evident satisfaction to all parties concerned. In 1898 the County Clerk's office was the center of the Ward-Fair- child election contest, which required the utmost skill, legal ability and tact on the part of the County Clerk. Every order was successfully obeyed and the correct ballots placed in the hands of the voters on election day
When he retired from office, hav- ing served the prescribed time, ac- cording to " the unwritten law " of the Republican organization, six years, he had earned the good will of judges, lawyers and citizens gen- erally, to whom he had given courte- ous and faithful service at all times.
After Mr. Crumb's retirement from the County Clerk's office, he returned to the practice of his pro- fession in Peekskill, and on many occasions be appeared for the Vil- lage in important matters.
In 1908 he was retained as coun- sel for the Yonkers Railroad Com- pany by Leslie Sutherland, its re- ceiver, and has continued to act as such down to the present time. The retainer not only carried with it the complicated legal business connected with the receivership and the fran- chises of the Yonkers Railroad Com- pany and its constantly occurring damage suits, but also over three
F
LEVERETT F. CRUMB
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hundred negligence suits that were pending. Mr. Crumb threw his en- ergy into this business and it opened up a new sphere in his life, for there- tofore he had not cared to be active in Court practice. In the trial of negligence cases he met with a won- derful success, and has innumerable victories to his credit, where the sympathy of a jury for the injured and the natural prejudice against a corporation led onlookers to believe that he could not win a victory for his client. His success in this line has led to many other retainers, and he is now one of the most active trial lawyers at the Westchester Bar, hav- ing an office in both Yonkers and Peekskill.
Mr. Crumb is president of the Board of Education, District No. 8, of Peekskill.
He has many fraternal connections. He was raised in Cortlandt Lodge, No. 34, F. and A. M., January 22, 1885; passed through the several official grades until, in 1908, he was elected Senior Warden; after the first meeting following the new elec- tion of officers the Master suddenly died, and Mr. Crumb became acting Master throughout that year, and in 1909 he was elected Master. He is also a member of Mohegan Chapter, No. 221, R. A. M., and of West- chester Commandery, No. 42, Knight Templar of Ossining. On May 2, 1882, he became a member of Cryp- tic Lodge, No. 75, I. O. O. F. He is also a member of Harmony Lodge, No. 138, Knights of Pythias, of Bald Eagle Tribe, No. 264, I. O. R. M., of the City Club of Yonkers, of the Peekskill Lodge, B. P. of Elks, and of the Republican Club of New York. On July 14, 1885, he became a member of the Peekskill Fire Department, connecting himself with the Cortlandt Hook and Lad- der Company, No. 1. He was an organizer and first secretary of the local Board of Trade.
He is still active as a leader in politics, on the Republican side; a member of the town and county or- ganizations, in which his counsel is 'highly valued as that of a high po- litical authority, experienced and clever.
Mr. Crumb was married on April :26, 1888, to Miss Nellie M. Starr,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George S. Starr, of Peekskill.
(See page 162, Volume 1.)
FRANK M. BUCK.
Frank McKendree Buck, County Clerk, is a native of this County, hav- ing been born in Tarrytown, on October 27, 1859, a son of Rev. David and Jane (Lovett) Buck. His father was a Methodist clergyman, who had filled many important charges throughout the County, was an able expounder of religious doc- trine, and ever popular, in and out the pulpit.
The subject of this sketch re- sembles his father in one respect, at least-he is popular. He received his preliminary education in local schools, and entered Drew Seminary, at which he received honors justly earned; he then took the regular course in the New York Law Uni- versity, graduating with his degree. He has been a member of the bar twenty-five years, and all that time, excepting a brief period just follow- ing his admission, when he was in New York city, he has practiced his profession in this County, while re- siding in Mount Vernon.
In 1888 he became a resident of Mount vernon, and in 1890 formed a law partnership with Milo J. White, a lawyer of repute in that place. This partnership continued under very pleasant relations several years, and until it was dissolved, owing to each member desiring to practice by himself, the agreeable relations be- tween them continuing.
Mr. Buck's first experience as a candidate for public office was got when he, in 1891, ran for the posi- tion of School Commissioner, in a district composed of several towns besides the one in which he resided. The Republican party, to which he belonged, had failed, unintentionally and through some reason, to name a candidate for that office. The omis- sion was not discovered until it was found too late to file a party nomi- nation. His party friends appealed to Mr. Buck to rescue them from a peculiar predicament; he advised that, in case they wanted to run a candidate for this office, the law left open only one way-that they must have a nomination by petition, and a confiding trust that Republican elec-
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tors would not forget to write the | nently identified with the Republican. name of such candidate upon the party management, and is present chairman of the Republican City Committee, recognized party leader and member of ballot before voting. It proved dif- ficult to find a proper man willing to take chances, unless it was Mr. Buck the Republican County Committee. himself. This accounts for his be- ing the candidate. He did not win, He was a member of the Volunteer Fire Department of Mount Vernon, from 1890 and for some time after the expiration of his required time. of service, and is an honorary mem- ber now. He belongs to several fra- ternal and social organizations; was. one of the founders of the Mount. Vernon Hospital; is a member of the Republican Club of New York City, and has five times been elected chair- man of the Republican City Com- mittee of Mount Vernon. but it was not on his own account; he worked hard to get the votes, but the thing feared happened; the Re- publican electors did not do their share; the party ballots were voted in large numbers omitting the can- didate for School Commissioner. Mr. Buck, however, succeeded in getting a large vote, in a usually Demo- cratic district, and had he received the full support of his party, com- bined with the independent Demo- cratic vote given him on account of his fitness, he would surely have been elected.
In 1898, when Assistant District- Attorney Frederick E. Weeks, was serving as a soldier in the Spanish- American War, Mr. Buck was ap- pointed by District-Attorney An- drews as his assistant, to fill the va- cancy caused by Mr. Weeks' resig- nation. This position he filled most acceptably. During the year he served in this office he improved his time in getting acquainted with men representing all sections of the County, and his ability and genial qualities made for him friends that proved of great service when he later became an aspirant for a county of- fice by election.
Some time later, Mr. Buck was ap- pointed by the State Attorney-Gen- eral to serve as one of his Deputies, under the Mccullough act, and he represented the State in many mat- ters under the election law.
In 1901, he was appointed by State Comptroller Knight to represent that official, as counsel, in all matters which had to do with the collection of the transfer tax in Westchester County; this position he held up to the time he became a candidate for County Clerk.
In the fall of 1907 he was elected as County Clerk, by a majority sur- passing that given previously for a candidate of his party for same of- fice. In 1910 Mr. Buck was re- elected, and is now serving as the first salaried County Clerk.
Mr. Buck was married on Febru- ary 25, 1886, to Miss Minnie Cline, daughter of Franklin and Lydia Cline, of Dutchess County. Of this. union there are two children, Frank- lin C., who has just graduated from Williams College, and Helen H.
CHARLES HEPENSTAL.
Charles Hepenstal, Deputy County Clerk, was born in Norfolk, Va., on December 10, 1855, a son of James' and Agnes (Freeman) Hepenstal. His father was an instructor in the- Norfolk Navy Yard, which was: burnt in 1861 shortly after the cap- ture of Fort Sumpter; the elder Mr. Hepenstal being a staunch Union man decided to leave his Southern home and make a home for himself and family in the North; the family accordingly settled in New York City, and here young Hepenstal's boyhood days were spent. He had all the advantages of education to be- derived from the common schools of New York city. On leaving school" he succeeded in getting employment in the offices of the New York Cen -. tral and Hudson River Railroad Com- pany; here his industrious habits, close application to business and a determination to do well all tasks put before him and if possible make him- self indispensable to his employers, succeeded in attracting the attention of his superiors; as a result he was? given confidential employment in the- service of high officials in that cor- poration. At another and later. period he served in an important ca- pacity the Erie Railroad Company"
Since going to Mount Vernon to reside Mr. Buck has been promi- I and the Delaware and Hudson Canal'
CHARLES HEPENSTAHL
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Company; in all serving these several transportation companies twenty-five years, a total period long enough to attest his reliability as a trusted em- ployee.
In the year 1876 he accepted the appointment and creditably served in the responsible position of clerk to the Assembly Judiciary Com- mittee in Albany.
In 1906 he was appointed to the position he now holds, that of first Deputy County Clerk, to succeed Robert Coward who was accidentally killed.
In 1911, when the law went into
effect changing the mode of pay- ing the County Clerk, from fees to a stated salary per annum, Mr. Hep- enstal was retained by re-appoint- ment as First Deputy County Clerk, at an increased salary.
Mr. Hepenstal was married on June 5, 1878, to Miss Ella Palmer, daughter of James and Hannah Pal- mer, of New York city.
Mr. and Mrs. Hepenstal are speci- ally blessed in being the proud par- ents of seven children.
The family residence is in Yon- kers, to which place Mr. Hepenstal removed in 1878.
TREASURERS.
GEORGE W. DAVIDS.
George W. Davids, a former County Treasurer, Village President, Supervisor, etc., a son of Thaddeus Davids, who in his life time became well known as a manufacturer of writing ink, was born in New York city on October 28, 1834.
George W. Davids held various of- fices, being one of the most genial and popular of men. He was one of the Commissioners appointed to build New Rochelle's Town Hall; was for seven years foreman of Enterprise Hook and Ladder Company and later was Chief of the New Rochelle Fire Department; was a high official in Huguenot Lodge, No. 46, F. and A. M; was vestryman in Trinity Episco- pal Church.
In 1867 and in 1868 was elected President of the village of New Ro- chelle; in 1868 was elected Super- visor and held this office until 1879; was chairman of the Board of Super- visors in 1874; in 1875 he was elected County Treasurer, without opposi- tion, and served until 1879, when his private business demanded his whole attention.
He served several years as Village Treasurer, the same office his father had held so many years. Was many years a member and president of the Board of Education.
He died on April 4, 1883.
DAVID CROMWELL.
David Cromwell, a former County Treasurer, Supervisor, etc., was born in New York city, on May 25, 1838, a son of John and Letitia (Havi-
land) Cromwell. When he was eight years of age his parents re- moved to New Windsor, N. Y. He graduated from Cornwall Collegiate School as a civil engineer and sur- veyor, which profession he followed for about one year, then he went to New York and became engaged in mercantile business. In 1862 he bo- came a resident of this County, set- tling in Eastchester, just east of the village of Mount Vernon, where he established a general store; here he continued in business until 1879.
He was elected Supervisor of the town of East Chester in 1877, and was re-elected the two following years.
In 1878 he was elected County Treasurer on the Republican ticket, which office he held twelve years. On becoming County Treasurer in 1879, he removed to White Plains.
He was elected President of the Village of White Plains in 1894, serving two years; was Treasurer of the village from 1889 to 1894.
In 1910 Governor Hughes ap- pointed him a Manager of the Bed- ford Reformatory for Women.
He is president of the First Na- tional Bank and of the Home Sav- ings Bank, of White Plains; is also director or trustee in various other financial institutions. Is a Mason and prominent in the order.
He was married to Miss Fannie Deuel of New York on December 3, 1873. Of this union there were two children, a son and a daughter; the son was accidentally killed while serv- ing as a member of the local fire department, at a fire; the daughter
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is the wife of Editor Charles D. sistent activity and sincerity which Horton of White Plains.
JOHN HOAG.
John Hoag, a former County Treasurer, Supervisor, Member of Assembly, etc., was born in the town of North Castle, August 3, 1847, a son of Israel G. and Phebe (Carpen- ter) Hoag. He became a resident of the town of Ossining when quite young, and in this town he has re- sided since; his later residence be- ing the Hoag homestead. situated about a mile north of the village of Ossining, which has been in the pos- session of the Hoag family since 1835.
He was educated in the Mount Pleasant Military Academy of Ossin- ing.
Mr. Hoag was elected Supervisor of the town of Ossining and served during the years 1873-74-78-79-80- 81. In 1882 he greatly surprised people generally by being elected an Assemblyman in a district consid- ered strongly Republican and secure from Democratic assault. What was more remarkable, he defeated James W. Husted, the only time latter was defeated for that office.
In 1890 he was elected County Treasurer; in 1893 he was re-elected without opposition; he served until 1897.
He was until recently president of the Westchester Trust Company in Yonkers; is a trustee of the Ossining Savings Bank, a director of the First National Bank of Ossining, and trus- tee or director in several other finan- cial institutions.
Mr. Hoag was married on October 4, 1870, to Miss Elizabeth C. Acker of Ossining; his wife died December 14, 1897. He has three sons, George F., John and Henry B.
JOSEPH B. SEE.
Joseph Banks See, former Post- master, Supervisor, Under Sheriff and County Treasurer, and at differ- ent periods a holder of other impor- tant trusts, was born in the town of Mount Pleasant, in this County, on May 1, 1837, a son of Isaiah and Anna (Banks) See. He received a liberal education, preparatory to en- tering upon a business career.
He early gave evidence of that per- 1
has always characterized him. What he endeavored to perform he did thoroughly. In private business as well as in public office he displayed that vim and go-ahead-ativeness which emphasizes the manly man.
In business undertakings he was a success; as a public official he met the requirements, as is proven by the number of public trusts assigned to him.
In politics he is a Republican - which friends of opposite political belief say is his only fault. 'T'he habit of being a Republican he ac- quired when quite young, way back in 1856, when John C. Fremont was the Republican candidate for Presi- dent of the United States. See was not old enough to vote, but he could shout for his favorite, and shout he did, early and late. That Fremont was not elected was no fault of J. B. S. His enthusiastic support of the party was not forgotten, though it is said that Republic (an)s are un- grateful. When Abraham Lincoln was elected (young See aiding), one of his first appointments as Presi- dent made for this County was that of Mr. See as Postmaster at Pleas- antville, his native village, at a time shortly after See had reached his ma- jority.
Relating to Mr. See holding this Postmastership an interesting story is told, to illustrate the young Post- master's patriotism and his readi- ness to uphold principles even by the force of "arms." As was the cus- tom in the days of the Civil War, when men gathered in the suburban post offices in hopes of hearing news "from the front," the little Pleas- antville post office contained quite an assembly on the day news was brought of the assassination of President Lincoln (on April 14, 1865); of the men present one was so heartless as to exclaim, " Well, he's got his deserts at last." This unfeeling remark, as might be ex- pected, aroused the most intense in- dignation in the breast of every pat- riotic nature present. and Tar feathers were suggested as suitable punishment and other devices were named as a mode of teaching the fellow a lesson in common decency. Though the offending fellow was of powerful frame and inclined to fight,
JOSEPH B. SEE
GEORGE T. BURLING
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young See asked as his privilege, as | nolds, of North Castle. the offense was committed in his office, that he be permitted to trounce the bully. The two went at it; the result being another " Bull Run," when the fellow was thor- oughly flogged and thrown out of the post office, and the "bully ' ran down the street, a much punished if not a more patriotic citizen. A local historian in speaking of this inci- dent says that when the offender was thrown through the post office door he took the door sash with him as a collar.
Certainly those were strenuous times.
This position of Postmaster Mr. See held until 1869. In 1878 he moved into the nearby town of North Castle. He was not long there be- fore his worth as a good citizen be- came known. In 1884 he was elected Supervisor of his adopted town, and continued to serve that town for seventeen years in the Board of Su- pervisors, and in all that time was one of the most prominent members of the County's legislature.
In 1901 he retired from the office of Supervisor to accept the position of Under Sheriff, offered to him by Sheriff Samuel C. Miller. To the faithful discharge of the duties of this important position he devoted his whole time and energy, earning by his efficiency the high commen- dation of his superior as well as the good will of the persons who had business with his office.
In 1903, Mr. See was installed in one of the most important offices of the County, that of County Treas- urer. The majority he received for this office was a specially large one, a fitting evidence of his popular- ity. He served the people so well during his first term of three years, that when he came up for re-elec- tion, his majority far exceeded that given formerly for the same office He served as County Treasurer two terms, six years, the full allotted time under the "unwritten law" of his political party organization.
Since his retirement from public office Mr. See has removed to White Plains, and gives his time to the advancement of his private busi- ness enterprises.
Mr. See was married on May 19, 1859, to Miss Margaret S. Reynolds, daughter of Henry and Maria Rey-
(See page 179, volume 1.)
GEORGE T. BURLING.
George Taylor Burling, County Treasurer, was born in the town of Harrison, this County, on February 16, 1849, a son of John and Adaline (Taylor) Burling. His education was obtained in private and district schools of his native town, at the Polytechnic Institute in Brooklyn, N. Y., and at Bryant & Stratton's Business College. He began life, as did many men who grew to be distinguished in this our land of op- portunity, on a farm. He breathed the wholesome country air, followed the plow and vigorously labored as "the man behind the hoe," in fact did everything exhilarating and associ- ated with the life of a sturdy yeo- man, on the farm of his fathers; amid scenes of his childhood.
The occupation of a farmer was his, until a commendable ambition suggested his finding broader fields of usefulness, and his combatting with his fellows in everyday business warfare. His inclinations toward a business career enticed him from the old home and fireside while yet a young man. In his planning he real- ized that in starting a business train- ing was essential; after getting what theoretical knowledge he could he sought the practical in mercan- tile pursuits.
For a time he engaged successfully in the grocery and feed business in Brooklyn; later his cultivated taste for finance led him in that direction. Being possessed of ample means, sufficient to permit his indulging such taste in this line of business, reinforced by that farseeing good judgment necessary to the accom- plishing of success, he ventured with the determination of winning. It was not long before his cautious and conservative business wisdom at- tracted the attention of men older and more experienced in the intri- cate ways of the financial world. He was specially favored in being en- trusted with important responsi- bilities. He became an officer or di- rector in several monied institutions and largely interested in numerous realty corporations.
When the Citizens' Bank of White Plains was organized, in 1907, Mr.
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Burling was requested by the stock owners to become the bank's first president, a position which he ac- cepted and yet holds. He is vice- president of the W. B. Tibbitts Co., and is still connected prominently with several similar institutions.
As a relaxation from the cares of business, Mr. Burling takes to poli- tics in a mild form, never permitting politics to conflict with proper dis- charge of his private business obli- gations.
He represented his native town of Harrison as Supervisor for eight years, from 1878 to 1886, and then voluntarily retired, as he said, "to permit some other fellow to have the honor that goes with being the head of the town government.'' Sixteen years later he again yielded to the persuasion of his townsmen, they claiming he ought to make it a round ten years, at least, his serving as Supervisor of his town. He was elected by a handsome majority, for two years, 1903-4.
In the year 1908, he was the unan- imous choice of his political party for the responsible position of County Treasurer. His election fol- lowed the nomination, by a specially large majority. His term of office as County Treasurer runs through the years 1909-10-11.
County Treasurer Burling
is prominent in Masonry, being a thirty-second degree Mason, and a member of the several branches of the order. Belongs to the order of Elks, and is associated with several fraternal and social organizations, attractive to his genial nature.
He was married December 25, 1868, to Miss Mary H. Lane, daugh- ter of John and Esther Lane, of Purchase. Three children, the result of this union, are living. His wife died.
He was again married on October 17, 1883, to Miss Clara B. Sutton, daughter of Albert and Dorothy Sutton, of Purchase. Two children are the result of this second marriage. County Treasurer Burling and family are at present residents of White Plains.
LEONARD E. TEED.
Leonard Edward Teed, Deputy County Treasurer, was born on May 31, 1876, in Golden's Bridge, in this
County , a son of Edward A. and Catherine F. (Merritt) 'T'eed. He received a liberal education in pub- lic and private schools; being of a studious nature he quickly acquired knowledge fitting him for a business career.
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