Ira A. Hawkins, born August 4, 1864, at the death of his father in 1887, came with his brother George into possession of the farm, where he resided until 1894, when he sold his interests in the place to his brother and purchased the C. L. Morehouse farm, near Warwick, on the Edenville road, where he now resides. Besides successfully carrying on his farm, he is also engaged in the insurance business. He is now serving as treasurer and elder of the Dutch Reformed Church of Warwick.
On October 24, 1888, he married Anna, daughter of Valentine and Hannah (Seaman) Seaman, of Blooming Grove, who were both lineal descendants of Captain John Seaman, who settled at Long Island in 1660.
Their children are: Valentine Seaman, born December 1, 1889, died September 7, 1893; Charles Francis, born March 9, 1892; Ira Alden, born December 30, 1894, and Harold James, born November 20, 1896.
IRWIN E. HAWKINS was born and reared on the homestead farm near Otisville. He acquired his early education at the district school, and at an early age identified himself with farming. When he attained the age of thirty-two years he engaged in the milk business at Middletown and Mount Vernon, Westchester County, N. Y. He has served as town collector for three years, school collector six years and commissioner of highways. In politics he is a republican. He followed the carpenter trade for two years and is now identified with the Otisville Sanatorium. He married Miss Harriet Smith, daughter of Frank and Hannah (Bell) Smith, October 19, 1892. Mr. Hawkins is a member of the Otisville Grange No. 1020. He and his wife are members of the Otisville Methodist Church and are liberal contributors to its support.
UZAL T. HAYES was born at Bloomfield, N. J., February 5, 1834. His early education was acquired at the Bloomfield Free School, which was the first in New Jersey, after which he attended the Seymour Institute. In 1856 he engaged in the leather business in Newark, N. J., and in December, 1865, became a partner in the firm of T. P. Howell & Co., which afterward took the name of Howell, Hinchman & Co. In 1880 the company was incorporated and Mr. Hayes was made its treasurer and general manager.
He married Miss Caroline A. Morris, of Bloomfield, N. J., in 1860. She died July 3, 1888. Their four children are Harry M., Thomas E., Caroline and Mabel. Mr. Hayes has served as a member of the board of education and president of the board of water commissioners. Socially he is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the I. O. O. F. of Newark, N. J. In politics he is a republican.
JOHN HAZEN was born at Greenwood Lake, Orange County, March 18, 1835; died December 19, 1907. As a democrat he was chosen tax collector for one term and a constable for two years. He was owner of the Hotel Boulevard at Greenwood Lake, and also proprietor of the Windemere Hotel, which accommodates seventy-five guests, and of the Brandon House. He owned many good horses, among them "Peaches," with a record of 2:12, and "Stately Dame," with a record of 2:27. His wife, who was Sarah A. Merritt, of Sloatsburg, died in 1906. Two of their four children are living, Mary, wife of John Van Ness, and Daisy, wife of William Wright.
Mr. Hazen became a guide for sportsmen who came to the Waterstone and Brandon Houses for their vacations, to fish and hunt, and without educational or financial advantages, took on the tastes and manners of associates who had them. The friends he made of business men whom he guided over mountains and lakes after game in his younger days remained his friends all their lives. Such attachments tell, probably better than anything else we might write, of the genial, modest and thoroughly reliable traits of the departed.
JOEL T. HEADLEY was born December 30, 1813, at Walton, Delaware County, N. Y., where his father was settled for many years as the Presbyterian clergyman. Mr. Headley early determined to make his father's vocation his own, and after graduating from Union College, in 1839, he took a course in theology at the Auburn Theological Seminary.
After being ordained he was settled over a church at Stockbridge, Mass., and immediately entered with enthusiasm upon the discharge of the numerous duties inseparably connected with the sacred office. He soon found, however, that his constitution, already undermined by many years of unceasing application and incessant study, was unable to stand the further strain imposed upon it, and he was reluctantly compelled to relinquish his chosen profession, and in 1842 went to Europe.
While abroad he occasionally contributed articles to the press and periodicals, and the favorable manner in which they were received encouraged him to offer to the public his "Letters from Italy." The gratifying reception at once accorded to this work first turned his mind seriously toward literary pursuits, and soon after his return from Europe he yielded to the solicitations of his friend Horace Greeley, and became the associate editor of theNew York Tribune.The confining duties necessarily connected with the duties of an editor soon became irksome to him, and at the end of a year he severed his connection with that paper and henceforth pursued the path of authorship. In 1846 "Napoleon and His' Marshals" appeared, and was followed at various periods by "Washington and His Generals," "History of the War of 1812," "Life of Cromwell," "Life of Havelock," "Life of Scott and Jackson," "Sacred Mountains," "Sacred Scenes and Characters," "Sacred Heroes and Martyrs," "Headley's Miscellanys," "The Imperial Guard," "Chaplains and Clergy of the Revolution," "The Great Rebellion," "Grant and Sherman," "Life of Farragut, and Our Naval Commanders," and "History of the Great Riots," besides other works of lesser note.
Mr. Headley's literary work suffered a few year's interruption when, in 1854, he was elected to the New York assembly from the First District of Orange County, and the year following was chosen secretary of the State of New York. Mr. Headley did not lay down his busy pen until late in life, and the popular favor which was accorded him at the outset of his career never entirely left him, and all his books were remunerative.
Mr. Headley's passionate love for nature in all her various moods led him nearly forty years ago to seek those great solitudes which the Adirondacks had at that time kept concealed from all men save the trapper or woodsman. He was so enamored of that Switzerland of America that for over thirty years he made yearly pilgrimages for health and pleasure to that beautiful region. He was probably the first tourist to visit that section, and his descriptions of its charms and health-giving powers soon induced large numbers to visit it, and thus led to its becoming the great fashionable resort it is to-day.
For over thirty years Mr. Headley resided in Newburgh and vicinity, and always took an active interest in the historic scenes and acts with which our locality abounds. The patriotic attempts of several of our citizens to secure the preservation of that venerated building, Washington's Headquarters, received his hearty support, and for many years he was president of the trustees of the headquarters.
Believing in the importance of fixing in the minds of the people all those events which are vitally connected with the fate of our republic, he early conceived the idea of celebrating in some public manner those historic events which have made Newburgh famous in American history. To him more than any other individual is due, not only the inception, but also the successful carrying out of our centennial celebration in 1883.
Mr. Headley passed the allotted span of life, dying at Newburgh, December 30, 1897, in his eighty-fourth year.
JACOB L. HICKS, formerly supervisor of the town of Highland, was born in Orange County, N. Y., in 1874. From 1893 to 1896 he was stationed at West Point with the United States Army. When war was declared with Spain, in 1898, Mr. Hicks went to the front with the Seventy-first New York Regiment. After he was mustered out he established his present grocery store at Highland Falls, in which he has been very successful. Mr. Hicks, who is a staunch democrat, was elected supervisor November, 1905. In 1907 he was again a candidate for the office and was elected by four votes, which is now being contested in the Supreme Court.
Mr. Hicks is a member of the Army and Navy Union and of the Knights of Columbus. He married Miss Frances G. Hager, and three children have been born to them. He was instrumental in the establishment of the First National Bank of Highland Falls, and is connected with all movements pertaining to the advancement of the village.
HENRY C. HIGGINSON, president of the Higginson Manufacturing Co., of Newburgh, occupies an important position in the industrial life of the Hudson Valley. The company owns the Windsor Gypsum Company and Lenox Gypsum Company of Nova Scotia; also half owners of the Sing Sing Lime Company, Ossining, N. Y., operating a line of four freight steamers between Ossining and New York City.
Mr. Higginson was born in Dubuque, Iowa, in 1852, and came to Newburgh at the age of twelve years. After finishing his studies he engaged in his present business, then known as W. R. Brown & Co., manufacturers of Rosendale Cement. The business was established in 1865, and in 1872 was merged into the Newburgh Cement & Plaster Company. In 1875, Mr. Higginson became sole proprietor of the business, and in 1899 the firm name was changed to Higginson Manufacturing Company.
CHARLES HIGHAM. Nine months after Charles Higham's birth at Manchester, England, April 6, 1867, he was brought to America by his parents, who settled in Middletown in January, 1868. In Manchester his father had been a fancy silk weaver. Here he became proprietor of the Wallkill House, and conducted it until his death, in 1872. He was married twice, his second wife before marriage being Elizabeth Redfield, of Manchester. Charles was the youngest of their two children, and finished his school education at the Wallkill Academy. His mother assumed the responsibilities of the hotel management after her husband's death, and conducted the Wallkill House ten years, when, in 1882, she became proprietor of the Commercial Hotel. In April of that year her son Charles, although but fifteen years of age, became controlling manager, and is now the proprietor of this hotel. He is now chief for the eleventh time of the Middletown fire department, with which he has been actively identified twenty-five years. He is a member and treasurer of the Firemen's Relief and Benefit Association and president of the board of representatives of the Middletown fire department. The societies of which he is a member are Hoffman Lodge No. 412, F. and A. M.; Midland Chapter No. 240; Cypress Commandery, No. 67: Mecca Shrine of New York City; Wilbur H. Weston Shrine of Newburgh, and Port Jervis B. P. O. E., No. 645. He organized, maintains and is president of the Charles Higham fife and drum corps of twenty-five members.
GEORGE S. HILL, son of William and Ruth Augusta (Hovey) Hill, was born at Bullville, Orange County, N. Y., in 1854. In 1865, his father moved to the town of Newburgh and purchased the Henry Miller property, consisting of thirty-eight acres. George S. obtained his education at the district schools of this locality and finished his studies at the Claverack Institute. He has since been engaged in farming and is identified with the Little Britain Grange. He married Miss Sarah E. Waugh, and their home is pleasantly situated on the State road, near Coldenham.
REUBEN HILTON, attorney of Newburgh, is a son of William H. and Mary A. (Colwell) Hilton. He was born in Newburgh, 1877. Mr. Hilton graduated from the Andover preparatory school in 1896 and spent two and a half years at Yale University. He is a graduate from the New York Law School in 1901, and has since practiced in Newburgh, where he was appointed collector of the port, May, 1906. He is a member of the Andover Alumni Association and the Wheelmen's Club of Newburgh. He married Miss Minnie Dawes, of Washington, D. C.
WILLIAM T. HILTON, son of John and Anna L. (Turner) Hilton, was born in Newburgh, July 18, 1866. His education was obtained at the Newburgh Academy and Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, N. H. Since his father's death he has acted as executor and manager of the numerous properties which his father left. Mr. Hilton is treasurer of the Newburgh Brick Company and a member of the board of health.
The opportunities which Newburgh presents to men of intelligence and perseverance have a striking illustration in the career of John Hilton, who, commencing as a poor boy, amassed a large fortune solely through the channels of real estate, becoming one of the largest individual property owners in the city.
JOHN H. HINCHMAN, deceased, was born September 5, 1820, at Paterson, N. J. He conducted a livery business at Sussex, N. J., later removing to Orange County, and purchased the Quackenbush and Sherwood farms at Neelytown. Mr. Hinchman resided in Neelytown some time and finally sold the Quackenbush farm to John P. Covert and the Sherwood farm to R. J. Fisher. He then purchased the Orange Hotel, at Goshen, which he conducted six years. He was married to Eliza Hopper, of Paterson, N. J. He was a democrat and took an active interest in local affairs. John H. Hinchman, Jr., attained his early education at Waters' Academy and Miller's Business Institute, Paterson, N. J. He married Miss Maggie Gray, of Port Jervis, February, 1883. Their children are Catherine G., born January 29, 1884, and Florence M., born November 7, 1898. Mr. Hinchman is identified with the democratic party and attends the Episcopal Church.
FRANK HOLBERT, son of Albert Ruggles and Mary (Wisner) Holbert, was born at Lake, Warwick Township. His education was acquired at the district school and Warwick high school, from which he graduated. He was for a time employed in a restaurant in New York City, and in 1899 engaged in the business for himself in Park Place, New York, which was afterward destroyed by fire. He then opened a similar establishment at 12-14 Warren street, which he has since conducted. This is a large establishment, catering to the better class of people. Mr. Holbert married Miss Grace Pelton, December 17, 1890. She is the eldest daughter of William W. and Alemeda (Knapp) Pelton, of Warwick, N. Y. Three children have been born to this union: Resmem Wisner, born October 26, 1891; Albert Ruggles, born April 12, 1805, and Grace Pelton, born June 24, 1904. Mr. Holbert is a member of Warwick Lodge, No. 544, F. and A. M.
D. M. HOLLENBECK, a retired merchant of Turner, N. Y., was born in 1844 in Herkimer County. After finishing his schooling he occupied the position of wholesale agent in New York City five years. In 1873 he established a general store at Turners, which he conducted with much success for thirty-three years. He disposed of the business in 1906 and has since lived in retirement. Mr. Hollenbeck served as postmaster two terms during Cleveland's administrations. He also held the office of town clerk for four years. He has been twice married. His first wife was Matilda Bush, who left one son, Arthur O.
In 1881 he married Elizabeth Barnes. They have four children: Mary H., wife of Peter H. Bush, of Brewster, N. Y.; Cora, the wife of H. F. Pembleton, of Central Valley; Grace B. and Alan W., at home.
HENRY A. HOLLEY, of Otisville, N. Y., was born October 7, 1873. He married Harriet Easton, October 7, 1896, and three children were born to them: Henry B., born August 26, 1898; Elizabeth Corwin, born April 30, 1900, and J. Easton, born September 20, 1905. He is a member of Standard Lodge, No. 711, F. and A. M., of Monroe, N. Y.; past chancellor of Chester Lodge, No. 363, K. of P., and member of the Modern Woodmen of America, Otisville Lodge, No. 1083. In politics he is a republican, and was nominated on the republican ticket in the fall of 1907 for justice of the peace. His father, David A., was born in Ulster County, N. Y., February 2, 1850, and attended the district school, where he obtained his early education. At an early age he associated himself with his father, learning the wheelwright trade, which vocation he has always followed. He married Annie Arnoys, of Ellenville, N. Y., September 2, 1873. Three children were born to this union: Henry A.; Nellie B., born July 19, 1876, wife of Alexander Mitchell, of Hopewell, N. Y., and Emma G., born February 22, 1880, wife of James Hawkins, of Otisville, N. Y. In politics he is a republican, but was elected as overseer of the poor by both parties for a period of twelve years. His wife died October, 1893. He is a member of Hoffman Lodge, No. 412, F. and A. M.
CHARLES HORTON, deceased, was born at Colchester, Delaware County, N. Y., February 25, 1815. He engaged in the tanning business at Callicoon, Sullivan County, and ultimately became the leader in that industry, owning and operating more tanning establishments than any other one man in the country. He was also the first to engage in that business in Sullivan County.
He married Betsy Grant, daughter of Joseph Grant, of Sullivan County, and six children were born to them: Lucinda, Gordon B., Melvin, Francis E., Louise and Florence. Mr. Horton resided in Middletown for many years, and was one of its most progressive and useful citizens. The family attended Grace Episcopal Church.
WEBB HORTON who has been an active, progressive and extensive business man, is now eighty-two years old, having been born February 24, 1826, at Colchester, Delaware County. His parents, Isaac and Prudence Knapp Horton, were married in 1807, and had ten children. Mr. Horton's early education was in the district school, between which and his father's farm he divided his time, until he was fifteen years of age, when he learned the trade of wood turning and worked at it ten years. In 1854 he built the tannery at Narrowsburgh, N. Y., which he operated for ten years. In 1864 he went to Warren County, Pa., and engaged in tanning—a business with which he has since been connected until recent years. He married Miss Elizabeth A. Radeker, of the town of Montgomery, in 1855, and they have had three children: Junius, who died in 1879, while a cadet at the Bisbee Military Academy in Poughkeepsie; Eugene, associated with the United States Leather Company, of New York City, and Carrie, residing at home. Mr. Horton has been one of the representative men of Middletown and his comprehensive grasp of large business affairs is shown in the remarkable success he has achieved. He is now living retired in the enjoyment of a peaceful old age in one of the finest residences in the state, overlooking Middletown, which he recently built. His wife is a member of the Westminster Presbyterian Church, and both are highly esteemed by their neighbors and acquaintances.
CARLETON P. HOTALING, merchant, at Tuxedo Park, N. Y., was born and educated in Delaware County. He has resided in Orange County since 1890, and twelve years ago engaged in his present bicycle and photographic supply establishment.
Mr. Hotaling has served nine years as justice of the peace and six years as collector of Tuxedo town. He is prominently identified with the Masonic fraternity, including Highland Chapter, Hudson River Commandery and Mecca Temple.
JAMES EDWARD HOUSTON is of Scotch-Irish descent, and was born on the homestead three miles from Florida, Orange County, September 22, 1862, and was one of the six children cf William H. and Ann Houston. He attended the district school at Union Corners and the Seward Institute at Florida. After working on his father's farm several years he bought the Thomas Jackson farm of 130 acres, and has made farming his life occupation. His dairy cows are of Holstein breed, and his fruit specialty is peach growing. He is active in local matters and his family antecedents are of the best. He married Kissie Armstrong, of Florida, June 17, 1884.
JOEL W. HOUSTON was born March 28, 1856, on the old homestead, two and one-half miles from Florida. His father was William H. and mother Anna E. Wheeler. There were six children in parents' family. Joel W. was the fourth child. He attended the district school and assisted on the farm. Mr Houston has always been identified with agricultural pursuits. He married Anna Jessup, June 29, 1881. He is a republican, and one of the elders of the Presbyterian Church at Florida. He has been a director of the Orange County Agricultural Society for six years and superintendent of crates and tickets.
CAPTAIN JOHN W. HOUSTON was born March 20, 1842, on the homestead farm at Bellvale, Orange County, N. Y. When nineteen years of age he enlisted in the One Hundred and Twenty-fourth Regiment, New York Volunteers, and went forth to fight for the Union in the Civil War. He was made second lieutenant. In the battle of Chancellorsville, in 1863, he was severely wounded, and again at Spotsylvania, in May, 1864, which led to his honorable discharge. When the war ended he was brevetted captain. He married Miss Julia Baird, who died in 1880, leaving four sons and one daughter: Floyd, George, James, Frank and Clara. February 12, 1892, Captain Houston chose for his second wife Miss Margaret B. Neely, of Bellvale, N. Y., who survives him. He is also survived by a brother, Henry W., of Bellvale, and two sisters, Mrs. Mary Francisco, of Little Falls, N. J., and Mrs. J. H. Bertholf. Captain Houston was a member of Warwick Lodge, No. 544, F. and A. M., and of G. A. R. Post, No. 575. He died January 11, 1905.
SAMUEL B. HOUSTON was born December 5, 1845. He attended the district school and Warwick Institute. He conducted a retail boot and shoe business in Warwick for seven years, and has always been engaged in agricultural pursuits. He married Salona S. Palmer, of Warwick, October 25, 1871. Three children were born to this union, two of whom are living: Charles B., who resides in Brooklyn and is engaged in the manufacturing business; Anna G., wife of J. Arthur Knapp, of Florida, this county, and Edna K., who died in 1898 in her twenty-third year. Mr. Houston has taken an active interest in public matters pertaining to his locality and served on the no-license commission of Warwick. In 1903 he was appointed to fill the vacancy of superintendent of poor of Orange County. He is a republican and a member of the Methodist Church at Edenville. Socially he is a member of Warwick Lodge, No. 544, F. and A. M.
CLARENCE J. HOWELL was born on the Howell homestead near Florida, Orange County, N. Y., December 30, 1868, and died March 30, 1905. He was a son of Asa Howell. Clarence rented his father's farm after his marriage and continued on the homestead until the death of his mother in 1897, when the farm was left to him. His father continued to make his home with his son until his death in 1900. Clarence obtained his education at the S. S. Seward Institute at Florida. He was united in marriage to Minnie Sinsabaugh, daughter of Daniel and Ellen A. Sinsabaugh, of Liberty Corners, Orange County, November 19, 1891. The children are Floyd Van Duzer, born October 19, 1892; Clara Adams, born February 4, 1894; William Sinsabaugh, born November 24, 1895; Thomas Wheeler, born December 3, 1898; Jennie Jessup, born May 27, 1904. The Howell homestead comprises one hundred and twenty-five acres and has been in the family since 1790. It is one of the best dairy farms in Orange County, and considerable of the low ground is devoted to onion growing.
DAVID H. HOWELL, clerk of the town of Crawford, Orange County, was born in this township in 1868. He is a son of Harvey and Emeline (Decker) Howell. After finishing his education at the public schools, he learned the tinsmith's trade and established his present hardware business at Bullville, in 1893, in which he has acquired much success.
Politically Mr. Howell is a democrat and was elected town clerk in 1905. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias.
D. BREWSTER HOWELL, a prominent farmer in the town of Newburgh, near East Coldenham, is a son of John C. and a grandson of Rensselaer Howell. It is ascertained that Silas Howell was born in Long Island, but moved to Orange County at an early day. He was a millwright by trade and became the owner of a large tract of land in the town of Newburgh. He was the father of four children, of whom Rensselaer bought one hundred and sixty acres adjoining the old homestead, and married Alice Belknap. They settled and built their home in what was then a forest, but what is now as fine and well cultivated a farm as can be found in the country. The following children were born: David B., Rensselaer, Jr., John Colvin and Mary F. Of these John C. continued the management of the farm, which is now conducted by D. Brewster Howell, who married Miss Katherine McCartney. They are the parents of two children: Elwood B. and Gertrude May.
JAMES T. HOWELL was born on the homestead farm about one mile from Howells station in the town of Mount Hope, Orange County, August 25, 1845. He was a son of Samuel C. and Sallie Jane (Beakes) Howell and attended the district school in the neighborhood; after his schooling he remained on the farm, and April 1, 1869, he purchased the farm of his father. He lived in New York City for twenty years, where he was identified with the milk business. Mr. Howell is extensively engaged in breeding and dealing in Holstein Friesian cattle.
He married Ester Caroline Harding, November 25, 1869. To this union were born three children, one dying in infancy. The others are Lucy J., wife of Maxwell R. Wright, of Jersey City, born September 16, 1876, and Charles A., born August 26, 1882, residing at home. In politics Mr. Howell is a republican. His son, Charles A., is a member of the Wallkill Grange, and of Hoffman Lodge No. 412, F. and A. M., of Middletown, N. Y.
JOHN T. HOWELL, M.D., Newburgh, born Middletown, N. Y., April 23, 1862, son of Abraham P. and Hannah (Smith) Howell. Educated Wallkill Academy; graduated medical department Columbia University, New York, 1884; appointed resident surgeon Bellevue Hospital, 1884-1886; since engaged in practice at Newburgh. In 1892, president Orange County Medical Society; member State Society, American Medical Association and New York Academy of Medicine. In 1889 married Miss Sarah T., daughter of Robert Steele. Three children have been born to them.
HON. NATHANIEL W. HOWELL, who has held the office of justice of the peace in his native town for half a century, is a son of Mathew H. Howell and Julia (Brewster) Howell and great grandson of Major Hezekiah Howell, an officer in the Continental Army and first sheriff of Orange County and supervisor of the town of Blooming Grove, and son of Hezekiah Howell, who came to Orange County in seventeen hundred and thirty-seven (1737) from South Hampton, L. I., and settled in Blagg's Clove, so-called from Blagg's patent, a tract of land of one thousand (1,000) acres, lying in the valley between Schunnemunk Mountain and Round Hill, which, in company with other early settlers, he purchased, and of his proportionate share made his farm, to which Major Hezekiah Howell and his son, Hezekiah, added, by purchase of lands adjoining, sufficient to make the whole seven hundred and fifty (750) acres. Nathaniel W. has lived upon and managed the estate since 1886, until 1908, when he sold the whole estate to Corydon S. Purdy, of Montclair, N. J., a descendant of Susan Howell, daughter of Major Hezekiah Howell.
Mr. Purdy is remodeling the whole estate, erecting extensive buildings and adding equipments, fitting it for a modern up-to-date sanitary dairy farm, also fruits and vegetables and also modernizing the dwelling erected by Major Hezekiah Howell in 1797. In the cemetery or family burying-ground, in the original purchase, are the remains of four (4) Hezekiah Howells, lineal descendants of Lieutenant Hezekiah Howell of South Hampton, L. I., who in succession owned and occupied the original estate. Nathaniel W. was graduated from Williams College in 1853 with the degree of A.B., and afterwards received the degree of A.M., read law in Chicago in the office of Grant Goodrich, and was admitted to the bar in 1857; was member of the legislature of New York in 1863-4, and supervisor of the town of Blooming Grove. He married Mary Halsey, daughter of Walter and Caroline (Marvin) Halsey, and has a daughter, Joanna B., and son, Hezekiah.
SAMUEL C. HOWELL was born in the town of Wallkill, May 21, 1807, being the only son of William A. and Elizabeth (Calander) Howell. The maternal grandfather of Samuel C. Howell was a Virginian by birth, and a lieutenant of the Light Horse Cavalry during the Revolutionary War. Our subject at the time of his marriage purchased a small farm in the town of Mount Hope, and to this he added, from time to time, until he owned four hundred acres of valuable land in this and Wallkill towns. When the Erie Railroad was constructed he built the depot and later constructed a hotel and other buildings, and thus the village of Howells was established in his honor. He was the railroad agent and postmaster at this place. He was a liberal contributor to the church and other enterprises. For a number of years he served as assessor, and took a prominent part in the local work of the republican party.
WILLIAM J. HUDSON, son of Daniel and Elizabeth (Davis) Hudson, was born in 1861 on the farm where he now resides in the town of Blooming Grove. His great great grandfather, William Hudson, settled in this locality about two centuries ago, purchasing a tract of land some two miles in length. William J. is the fifth generation to occupy the ancestral homestead. He married Miss Grace A. Wright and they are the parents of five children: Ethel, David, Grace Alma, Clare and William Reeves. He is one of the representative farmers of his native town, a member of the grange and a director of the grange store at Washingtonville, also a director of the National Bank in Washingtonville.
JOSEPH B. HULETT, M.D., a prominent physician of Middletown, N. Y., is a surgeon who by his enlightened skill has secured a wide reputation, and won a place in the front rank of his profession. He was born August 4, 1858, at Barton, Tioga County, N. Y., a son of Cyrus B. and Ruth Emily (Slawson) Hulett. His education was obtained in the schools of New York City and Wallkill Academy. He began the study of medicine under Dr. Darwin Everett, of Middletown, and later had as his preceptors Drs. T. D. Mills, of Middletown, and Charles L. Wilkin, of New York. He entered Columbia University and graduated from the medical department of that institution May 12, 1887. He also took a post-graduate course in Manhattan Hospital. In 1888 he entered upon the practice of his profession at Middletown. Dr. Hulett is a member and ex-president of the Orange County Medical Society, a member of the New York State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, and is ex-vice-president of the International Association of Railway Engineers. He is attending surgeon for Thrall Hospital, of Middletown, and has been surgeon for the Twenty-fourth Separate Company for the past five years. He was secretary and one of the organizers of the State Association of Railway Surgeons, surgeon for the N. Y., O. & W. Railway, ex-military surgeon attached to Third Brigade, New York National Guard, and is an honorary member of the Association of Medical Officers of the Naval and Militia Association, State of New York. Socially he holds membership in the Knights of Pythias, of Middletown; Hoffman Lodge No. 412, F. & A. M.; Middletown Chapter, R. A. M.; Cypress Commandery, and the Mystic Shrine of New York City, and is an honorary member of Excelsior Hook and Ladder Company of Middletown. Dr. Hulett takes a deep interest in electrical matters, to which he has devoted much study. He is an honorary member of the Corliss Engineers' Association. He married Lottie B. Hulse, daughter of Hudson E. and Anna (Thompson) Hulse, of Wallkill, Orange County, on June 27, 1889, and they have one son, J. Leslie, born April 1, 1891. His father, Cyrus B. Hulett, was born in Waverly, N. Y., and died February 25, 1875. His mother was a native of Orange County, and died in November, 1889.
WILLIAM A. HULSE. The living children of John H. and Mary Hulse are: Mrs. Annie Thurston, of Stoneham, Mass.; William A., of Warwick, and Robert Emmett, of Middletown. William A. was born in Middletown, April 1, 1853, and after his education in the public schools worked for Wilson H. Provost in the first milk establishment to manufacture condensed cream for the army and the southern trade. He was quite young when he learned the plumbing trade in Keyport, N. J., where he remained four years, then in Newark several months, and from there came to Warwick, March 19, 1875. Here he was in the employ of Finch & Coldwell several years, and then opened a shop for himself in plumbing, heating and tin work, and is still in the business. He is a member of Wawayanda Lodge, No. 34, I. O. O. F., and of the Warwick Excelsior Hose Company. He was water commissioner and superintendent of the water works from 1887 to 1903. In politics he is independent. Mr. Hulse was married to Miss Clara, daughter of John L., and Julia Finch, of Warwick, January 12, 1882. They have five children: Elbert L., born September 5, 1882; Everett B., born September 12, 1884; Addie B., born September 21, 1886; William A., born October 9, 1888, and Janet P., born July 6, 1890.
ROBERT O. HUNT, manager of the Westtown plant of the Borden Condensed Milk Company, was born in the town of Minisink in 1866. He is a son of Robert and Catura (Osborn) Hunt. He attended the district schools, and after farming for a time went to Middletown and learned the machinists' trade. He has been associated with the Borden industries since 1892, and was appointed to his present position in 1904. He is a member of Hoffman Lodge, No. 412, F. and A. M., and of the I. O. O. F. In 1907 he was elected a member of the board of assessors of the town of Minisink.
Mr. Hunt married Miss Lydia Winters, and they are the parents of two sons and four daughters.
WILLIAM HUGH HYNDMAN, attorney and recorder of Newburgh, N. Y., was born in Newburgh, October 13, 1861, a son of Robert and Elizabeth (Gibb) Hyndman. He prepared for college at Newburgh Academy with the late Professor Hugh S. Banks, and graduated from Yale University in 1884 with the degree of A. B. Mr. Hyndman studied law in the office of Messrs. Scott and Hirschberg, and was admitted to the bar May 16, 1889. He was elected recorder of the city of Newburgh in 1865 on the republican ticket, and has been successively re-elected four times.
Recorder Hyndman married Miss Betsey Leighton Marden, of Newburgh.
The late Robert Hyndman was one of Newburgh's successful merchants, conducting a grocery store on Broadway for forty years.
JOHN E. ISEMANwas born in Württemburg, Germany, in 1835. He came to America in the spring of 1853, locating in New York City, where he operated a bakery. He removed to Chester, N. Y., and engaged in business for a period of four years. In 1861 he located in Middletown, where he has since remained, conducting a bakery business at the same location since that period. He married Josephine Stoddard, daughter of Ira L. and Mary Jane Stoddard. Their five children are: Charles Wesley, engaged in business in New York; George H., of Middletown; Catherine, wife of W. D. McQueen, superintendent of the Scranton division of the New York, Ontario & Western Railroad; Christine, residing at home, a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music, of Boston, who taught two years at Holland, Va.; John E., a graduate of Annapolis Naval Academy, who has been assigned to the battleship Montana. In politics Mr. Iseman is a republican. He served as one of the first trustees of the village for four years and was Middletown's first mayor. He served continuously since 1891 as a member of the board of supervisors. He is a director of the Merchants' National Bank, trustee of the Middletown Savings Bank, vice-president of the Hillside Cemetery Association, and ex-president of the Phoenix Fire Company. He is a member and president of the board of trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Socially he is a member of the I. O. O. F. of Middletown.
EZRA T. JACKSONwas born August 23, 1843, at Chester, Orange County, N. Y., and was instructed at the Chester Academy. At the age of twenty-one he succeeded his father in the store at Chester, and on June 15, 1881, married Margaret Douglas Davidson, of Blooming Grove. Their only son, William Lewis, graduated from Lafayette College, at Easton, Pa., in the class of 1908, and is a member of the Fraternity Alpha Chi Rho. The subject of this sketch is a member of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, became a member of Goshen Lodge, No. 365, F. and A. M., in 1868, and a charter member of Standard Lodge, No. 711, F. and A. M., of Monroe, in 1871. He is also a member of the Orange County Chapter, Sons of the Revolution, and was commissioned first lieutenant in the Nineteenth New York Infantry, March 25, 1866. He was supervisor of the town of Chester in 1882, and served on the board of education from 1902 to 1908. The store in Chester has been in the Jackson family for sixty-one years. His father's name was Thomas Jefferson Jackson. Ezra T. is a grandson of Captain John Jackson of the Revolutionary Army. He was commissioned February 28, 1776, and re-appointed February 26, 1778. In the proceedings of the provincial congress, April 25, 1776, in the report on the state of the companies of the New York regiments, Captain Jackson reported with a full company at the fortifications of the Highlands, and on April 27, 1776, he was appointed to Colonel Clinton's regiment. A return of the officers and men in garrison at Fort Montgomery, January 18, 1777, shows that Captain Jackson's Second New York regiment reported with twenty-nine men. Captain Jackson was with his regiment at the battles of Harlem Heights and White Plains. He resigned from the army March 12, 1783.
FRANK AIKENS JACOBSON, M. D.. born Hackensack, N. J., 1864: educated at Hackensack Academy and scientific department Columbia College; graduated New York Homeopathic Medical College and Hospital, 1888; one year at Homeopathic Dispensary and Hospital, Brooklyn. He has practiced in Newburgh, N. Y., since 1890; is a member American Institute of Homeopathy, New York State Homeopathic Society, ex-member Newburgh board of health, Scottish Rite Mason and member of the Shriners.
GEORGE W. JAMISON, publisher of the Pine BushHerald,is a native of the town of Crawford, and attended the schools here and at Montgomery Academy. He was engaged for a number of years as a school teacher and was for a time in the insurance business in Walden. TheHerald,in 1904, became the successor of the Pine BushNews,established in 1899. The paper is a clean, lively sheet of eight pages, independent in politics and devoted to local affairs. Mr. Jamison, the publisher, is also engaged in the real estate and fire insurance business.
Socially he is a member of the Masonic fraternity and a charter member of Walden Lodge, Knights of Pythias. He married Miss Julia N. Crist, of Montgomery, and they are the parents of one child, Hilda.
JOHN JAQUES, who founded what is now known as the Brotherhood Wine Company, at Washingtonville, came from New Jersey with his mother when a boy, locating in Washingtonville in 1812. He established the first grape vineyard in Orange County in 1839, and began the manufacture of pure wines. In 1858 his three sons, John, Orin and Charles, purchased the business from their father and continued it as partners until 1865, when John died. The two remaining brothers, conducted it until 1885, when Orin died, and a year later Charles disposed of it to Mr. Emerson, the present proprietor. Charles has since lived in retirement on the old homestead in the center of the village, and although in his eighty-fourth year, is actively interested in the affairs of the village. He has been an elder of the Presbyterian Church since 1878.
GEORGE FREDERICK JAYNE was born on the Jayne homestead, near Florida, called the "View Farm," February 23, 1854. His parents were Charles Marcus and Anna Eliza (Thompson) Jayne, and their children were Anna M., born July 25, 1843, wife of Charles R. Baird, of Warwick; Sarah Augusta, born July 10, 1848, wife of J. A. Seward, of Florida; Mary Caroline, who died December 25, 1875, was the wife of Nathaniel Seeley, of Hamburg, N. J., and Wells Thompson, born in January, 1852, of Brooklyn, N. Y.
George Frederick Jayne obtained his education in Washington Academy, S. S. Seward Institute and one term in Yorkville, Ill. He returned from school to the farm and assumed its management when only fifteen years old. It is a dairy farm of 180 acres, which has been in the Jayne family since 1730. Mr. Jayne is a democrat, and attends the Presbyterian Church in Florida. He married Julia E. Seward of Florida, February 14, 1877. They have six children: Fred Seward, born November 10, 1877; Belle Clayton, born December 2, 1878, wife of John K. Roe, of Florida; Lewis Marcus, born September 17, 1880, married Nellie Waite Smith, of Montgomery, December 18, 1907, and resides at Gardiner, Ulster County; Anna Mary, born December 3, 1883; Carrie Louise, born February 17, 1886, and George Vanderoef, born March 19, 1890.
CHARLES L. JESSUP was born May 25, 1843, on the homestead farm, two miles from Florida, and was educated in the district school at Union Corners and the S. S. Seward Institute. He was one of thirteen children. He worked on his father's farm, and at the outbreak of the Civil War enlisted in the Ninety-first Regiment, Company H. After his army experience he resumed farming. He has two hundred and sixteen acres of land, a large dairy and peach orchard, and is a breeder of Holstein cattle. He has been town assessor and is an elder and active member of the Florida Presbyterian Church. His parents were Samuel and Martha Jessup. His wife was Sarah Jane Duryea, of Craigsville, Orange County, a daughter of Alfred and Mary Duryea. They were married October 18, 1865, and have four children living. Alpheus, born August 26, 1886; Julia B., born March 12, 1868; Charles W., born June 10, 1871, and Helen, born February 14, 1886. Charles married Elizabeth Wheeler, of Florida; Julia married Alton J. Vail, of Middletown, and Alpheus married Sadie Durland, of Chester.
SENECA JESSUP was born June 11, 1817, in the town of Warwick, Orange County, and obtained his education in the Seward Institute, Florida. His parents were Samuel and Hannah (Steinmetz) Jessup. The Jessups, of Orange County, are descended from John Jessup, who emigrated from Broomhall, Yorkshire County, England, in 1630. He lived for a time in Boston, and afterward removed to Hartford, and from there to Southampton, Long Island, in 1640, helping to plant the first English settlement in the state of New York. The Jessup family in Orange County came from Long Island in 1784, and located at Florida, town of Warwick. Seneca Jessup married Jennie A. McCain in 1868. She was born July 27, 1850, and was a daughter of John Edsall and Abigail (McCamly) McCain, both being from pioneer families, prominent in Colonial and Revolutionary times. Mrs. Jessup's parents removed to Goshen in 1853 and purchased the farm where she now resides. She received her education in the young ladies' school in Goshen. Mr. and Mrs. Jessup are the parents of four children, only one of whom, John Seward Jessup, survives and he resided with them. Mrs. Seneca Jessup is descended from William McCain, a soldier in the Revolution, who came from the north of Ireland in 1728 and located in the town of Warwick.
WALTER WARE JOHONNOTT, D. O., born Burlington, Vermont, 1882; son of Fred and Harriet (Glover) Johonnott; Huguenot ancestry; classical education at University of Vermont and Amherst College. He graduated from the American School of Osteopathy, Kirksville, Mo., 1904; took post-graduate course Massachusetts College of Osteopathy, and engaged in practice in Newburgh, N. Y., 1905. Member of the American and New York State Osteopathic Societies, Newburgh City Club, Powelton Club and Church of Our Father (Unitarian).
L. A. JOHNSON, who conducts a general mercantile business at Sparrowbush, N. Y., also dealing extensively in mining supplies and lumber, is a native of Tompkins County, N. Y. He enjoyed the advantages of a liberal education and was graduated from Cornell University in 1890 with the degree of A. B.
Mr. Johnson married Lillian A., daughter of the late Henry F. West, of Sparrowbush, and they are the parents of three sons. Mr. West was for many years a prominent business man in this community. He built the store now occupied by Mr. Johnson and also carried on an extensive business in lumber, owning some twenty-eight hundred acres of timber land in Delaware County. In 1873 Mr. West married Miss Mary Stanton, of Forestburgh, N. Y.
ROBERT JOHNSTON, county treasurer, was born in Newburgh, Orange County, N. Y. He is the son of William C. Johnston, one of Newburgh's oldest business men. The subject of our sketch has climbed the ladder of business success, rising from a position as bookkeeper in the hardware store of the late Mayor Charles J. Lawson to the presidency of a new corporation, the Johnston Hardware and Iron Co., successor of Charles H. Daughty. Mr. Johnston's business attainments strongly commend him for the responsibilities of the county treasurership. He is forty years of age, and an enthusiastic worker for the republican party. For six years he served as a member of the board of public works.
WILLIAM C. JOHNSTON, who is numbered among the prominent merchants of Newburgh, has conducted a high-class harness and leather store in Water street for over half a century. Mr. Johnston was born and educated in Newburgh and learned the harness maker's trade with John R. Woolsey. He established his store January 1, 1857, at its present location. He married Miss Margaret L. Campbell, and they became the parents of ten children. Three sons are in business in Newburgh: Robert, the present county treasurer, is a hardware merchant; W. Charles, who has a carriage repository on Broadway, and Renwick, who is engaged in the livery business. In religious affiliations Mr. Johnston is a member of the Westminster Reformed Church.
EVAN E. JONES was born at Turin, Lewis County, N. Y., June 10, 1856. He attended the Union school at Turin, after which he engaged in farming, and continued until June, 1902, when he came to Orange County and conducted the Johnston Hotel at Newburgh. In April, 1906, he removed to Hamptonburgh, where he is now engaged in the hotel business.
He married Emma M. Peck, of Turin, N. Y., January 12, 1886. They have no children. In politics Mr. Jones is a republican.
ANDREW V. JOVA, M.D., Newburgh, N. Y., was born at Santa Clara, Cuba, March 23, 1859. He came to the United States in 1870, and entered St. John's College, New York, graduating in 1880 with the degree of A.B. In 1883 he graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, which was supplemented by a two years' hospital course in Paris, one year in Berlin and eight months at the clinics in Vienna. He then returned to America and was for eighteen months on the staff of the French Hospital, New York City. In 1891 he located in Newburgh, where he has built up an extensive practice. Dr. Jova is attending physician to St. Luke's Hospital, has been chairman of the medical board and is now a member of the board of managers of the same institution. He is a member of the various state and national medical societies.
ISAAC KELLS,who was one of the most successful farmers in the town of Montgomery, Orange County, was of Scotch-Irish descent. He was born in the North of Ireland in 1833 and died at his home, October 1, 1907. He resided in Montgomery for nearly thirty-five years, cultivating a valuable farm of one hundred and fifty acres. Mr. Kells was actively identified with the Goodwill church, in which he was an officer. He was twice married; by his first wife, who was Miss Elizabeth Ferguson, two daughters were born, Mrs. William Whigam and Mrs. Ella Hyndman, both residents of Montgomery. His second wife was Miss Delia Boyd, who died in 1905. Industrious and energetic the success of Mr. Kells was due entirely to his own efforts and he enjoyed in a high degree the esteem of his fellow-citizens.
GEORGE W. KERR, who for more than half a century was an officer of one of Orange County's strongest financial institutions, was born in Warren County, N. J., February 15, 1810. His ancestors were originally from Scotland, but Mr. Kerr's father was born at Freehold, N. J. His parents removed to Ithaca, N. Y., where he obtained a position in the branch of the Bank of Newburgh. In 1830, when the branch was withdrawn, and the Bank of Ithaca established, Mr. Kerr entered the new bank and remained there until October, 1831, when a position was offered him in the Bank of Newburgh, with the officials of which he had become acquainted through his connection with the branch bank.
In 1836 Mr. Kerr was promoted to the position of cashier, and in 1854 he was elected president to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John Chambers. In 1864, when the old Bank of Newburgh was closed and the National Bank of Newburgh organized, Mr. Kerr was again honored with the presidency. He continued in that position till his death, having been cashier of the bank for eighteen years, and president for thirty-seven years. He died June 3, 1890.
Mr. Kerr was a trustee and vice-president of the village in 1856, and a member of the board of education in 1852-1854. For forty-seven years he was a vestryman of St. George's Protestant Episcopal church, and for thirty-one years treasurer of the board.
Upon his death the directors of the bank adopted the following minute: "His sound judgment, perfect integrity and eminent ability have been long recognized in financial circles, and his excellence in all the relations of life will long be remembered in this community. By us his immediate associates, and by all in any capacity attached to this bank, his memory will always be cherished. He has left to his family and this community, where he has spent so many years of a long and useful life, a legacy better than earthly riches—a good name."
The vestry of St. George's church adopted resolutions recording "their very high esteem for his character and his lifelong devotion to the church and her interests. It is with grateful feeling that we remember the steady consistency of his Christian walk, his uprightness as a business man, his value as a citizen, his zeal as a churchman. We owe him no slight debt for his faithful service as our treasurer for thirty-one years, during which time his unflagging attention to the affairs of the parish has contributed essentially and in a large degree to its stability and prosperity."
Mr. Kerr was twice married. His first wife was Emeline Ross, his second, Margaret T. L., daughter of the Rev. John Brown, D.D.
CHARLES KETCHAM, merchant and postmaster for many years at Mountainville, and representative citizen of the town of Cornwall, Orange County, is a son of Benjamin S. and Mercy (Brown) Ketcham, and was born on the homestead farm in 1847. He established his present store in 1871. Mr. Ketcham has for many years been prominently identified with the public affairs of Cornwall. He has served fourteen terms as supervisor, including a chairmanship of the board. He also held the office of justice of the peace twelve years. Mr. Ketcham was the opposing candidate of Judge Dickey, as a delegate to the constitutional convention. He was also the nominee of the democratic party for county clerk. He married Miss Ida, daughter of Captain Jacob Smith, of Cornwall. They are the parents of two sons and six daughters.
The Ketcham family is one of the oldest in the town of Cornwall. Long previous to the Revolution, Samuel Ketcham, the great-great-grandfather of Charles, located here and was engaged in farming and the operation of a grist mill. His descendants through several generations settled around him, and the place was known as Ketchamtown, until the opening of the railroad, when the post-office was changed to Mountainville.
THE KETCHAM FAMILY of the town of Mount Hope had for their progenitor the pioneer farmer and mechanic, John Ketcham, born at Huntington, L. I., January 24, 1716. A lineal descendant of Edward Ketcham, the progenitor, in America, of all bearing the name Ketcham or Ketchum—who settled at Ipswich, Mass., in 1635; Southold, L. I., in 1653. Edward died at Stratford, Conn., in 1655, leaving in all seven children. John Ketcham (sixth generation in America) married Miss Sarah Matthews, of Morristown, N. J., came to Orange County, N. Y., and settled for a time in Hamptonburgh and Goshen, respectively, removed in 1774 to the present town of Mount Hope. He was the founder of Ketcham's Mills, near Mount Hope village. Here John Ketcham died April 21, 1794, and Sarah, his widow, departed this life in 1802. The homestead passing to the son Joseph, has continuously (1774-1907) been occupied by a Ketcham, present occupant, Isaac Emmett Ketcham, being a great grandson of Joseph. Last surviving grandson of said Joseph, bearing the family name, was the late John L. Ketcham, son of Joseph, Jr. (farmer, mechanic and inventor), and like his ancestors also a mechanic of ability and prominence. Born February 22, 1820, he married November 14, 1844, Miss Harriette Writer, also of the town of Mount Hope. She died August 30, 1870. John L. died June 10, 1898, is survived by their only child, Electa J. Ketcham-Penney, at present residing near Finchville.
Less than a dozen families representative of this once large and widely influential family, are now living within their native town, Mount Hope.
JOHN EGBERT KIDD, a retired farmer residing near Walden, N. Y., is a descendant of an old Orange County family. Going back over a century and a half, it is ascertained that three brothers, Alexander, Robert and Andrew Kidd, came from the North of Ireland in 1736, and secured a large tract of land in the vicinity of the present village of Walden. Alexander, the direct ancestor of our subject, married Jane Calderwood. Robert, their eldest son, married Mary McGowan, and their son Andrew in 1802 married a Miss Margaret Kidd and became the parents of six children, of whom John, the eldest, was born October 26, 1803, at the parental homestead. He followed the occupation of a farmer and was prominent in public affairs of the town. He was highway commissioner a great many years, was a director of the Walden National Bank and held the office of railroad commissioner.
In 1826 he married Miss Cornelia, daughter of Charles Haines, of Montgomery. Six children were born, Andrew, Mirza, John, Egbert, David L., Margaret A. and Victor. During the Civil War, John Egbert Kidd enlisted with the "Orange Blossoms," the famous 124th Regiment, a review of which appears in the Military History in this volume.
John E. Kidd was twice married. His first wife was Alice Decker, and the following children were born: Cornelia (now the wife of George Wait), and one son John. Mr. Kidd's second wife was Maria Adeline Decker.
BENJAMIN B. KINNE, M.D., is a native of Kirkville, Onondaga County, N. Y., where he was born March 28, 1877. He was educated in the public schools of the state, including the high school at East Syracuse. He was a teacher in the county for four years, and studied for his profession in the American Medical Missionary College of Battle Creek, Mich., and Chicago. For nearly a year he was on the medical staff of the Pennsylvania Sanitarium at Philadelphia.
Dr. Kinne came to Middletown in 1905, and took the management of the Battle Creek Sanitarium Treatment Rooms on East Main street. Later these were removed to the Middletown Sanitarium on Benton avenue, where better facilities are offered for the accommodation of patients. The present building is large and pleasant, having all of the modern improvements, and is fully equipped with all the facilities for baths of various kinds, massage, electricity, x-ray, Swedish movements, and the care of surgical cases.
GEORGE A. KIPP was born July 31, 1871, at Goshen, Orange County, N. Y., and attended the public school at that place. At the age of fifteen he learned the carpenter's trade with his father, and has always continued the business. He was united in marriage to Clara Baker, of Middletown, N. Y., April 26, 1899. Four children were born to this union; two died in infancy. The living are Allerton, born June 9, 1905, and Dorothy, born August 27, 1907. In politics Mr. Kipp is a democrat. His parents were Richard A., born March 3, 1838, and Mary Ann (Dailey) Kipp. They had six children, one dying in infancy. Richard was also engaged in contracting and carpenter business in Goshen, and conducted a milk business in New York previous to the Civil War. About 1862 he returned to Goshen, taking up his trade. He erected many of the best residences in and around Goshen, and died July 26, 1897.
CHARLES ALBERT KNAPP occupies a farm of two hundred and seventy acres in the town of Goshen, which was first settled by William Knapp in 1749. Mr. Knapp's ancestry in this country is traced to Nicholas Knapp, who with his brothers, William and Roger, emigrated to America from Sussex, England, in 1630. His ancestors were prominent in military affairs during the colonial period. One, Isaac Knapp, was in the expedition to Canada under Sir William Phips in 1690. John Knapp, born 1664, died 1749 of Stamford, Conn., was captain of the train band in 1716. Nathaniel Knapp, of Newburgh, was in the second Louisburg expedition, 1758-1759. Samuel Knapp, born 1695, died 1751, had a son Samuel, born 1722, and his son William and wife Margaret came to Goshen, N. Y., in 1749. They had nine children, of whom James and Samuel were killed in the Battle of Minisink, July 22, 1779. James was forty-three years old and left a widow, whose maiden name was Hester Drake, and nine children, born between the years 1761-1779. Of these John Knapp (born August 24, 1765, died 1854), married Eunice Smith, of Goshen, and of their eleven children Virgil, the youngest, was the father of Charles Albert, who married Emma Linderman, and are the parents of three children, Jesse, Louis and Mabel. Jesse married Addie Crawford and Louis married Catherine Bull. The two sons are engaged in business in New York City.
JAMES W. KNAPP was born at Pine Island, Orange County, December 22, 1831, and died at the age of seventy-six. His wife was a daughter of Peter N. Ryerson, of Glenwood, N. J., and they were married October 21, 1855. Their six children are Mary, wife of F. E. Tither, of Florida, N. Y.; Nicholas, of Belmont, N. Y.; Charles, of Goshen, N. Y.; William, of Pine Island; J. Arthur, of Florida, N. Y., and Elizabeth, wife of Walter S. Seeley, of Middletown, N. Y.
Mr. Knapp's father, William Knapp, died at the age of eighty-five. Peter N. Ryerson was born at New Vernon, N. J., September 9, 1814. His grandfather, Nicholas Ryerson, emigrated from Amsterdam, Holland, in 1801, and settled on Long Island. Mr. Knapp was a member of the Presbyterian church of Amity, and for six years served as town assessor.
SAMUEL L. KNIFFIN, of Goshen, N. Y., was born at Chester in 1843. In 1863 he came to Goshen with his parents, and learned the tinsmith trade under the tuition of his father, who for many years had charge of the tinning department for J. W. Corwin & Co. Mr. Kniffin has remained in the same store, now owned by Kniffin & Hopkins, and for many years has served as foreman of the tin shop. He married Sarah, daughter of Gabriel Bennett, of Goshen, and they have a daughter Carrie, who married Charles B. Coleman, of Goshen. Mr. Kniffin is a democrat and has served as town clerk of Goshen and for many years has been village trustee.
WILLIAM KNIFFIN, hardware merchant, of Goshen, N. Y., was born in Chester, Orange County, in 1855. In 1863 his parents removed to Goshen, and his father, Samuel M., was tinner for J. W. Corwin & Co., there for many years. William secured employment in the same store in 1871, and in 1892 purchased a half interest in the business, the firm being known as Corwin & Kniffin. In 1902 Edward A. Hopkins purchased Mr. Corwin's interest and since that time the firm name has been Kniffin & Hopkins. In politics Mr. Kniffin is a democrat, and has served the town of Goshen as collector one term.
CHARLES T. KNIGHT, a prominent citizen of Monroe, was born here in 1847. He is a son of Chauncey B. and Mary (Thompson) Knight; the latter a daughter of Rev. J. J. Thompson, died in 1908. As a young man Mr. Knight engaged with his father in the feed, coal and lumber business, and was a member of the firm of C. B. Knight & Co., organized in 1868, continuing until 1877, when he was associated for two years with the provision house of James A. Townsend at Newburgh. In 1879 the firm of Knight & Conklin was formed and continued the flour and feed business until 1899. Mr. Knight is now engaged in the business alone. In 1897 he was appointed postmaster of the village which was then a fourth-class office. He was reappointed in 1900, when the office was placed in the third class, and was reappointed to the position in 1904 and 1908. Mr. Knight served one term as supervisor of the old town of Monroe and two terms of the new town.
GEORGE KOHL, son of Valentine and Mary Ann (Zeigler) Kohl, natives of Germany, was born at Middlehope in 1876. After finishing his studies at the Newburgh schools he entered the general store established in 1869 by his father at Middlehope. In 1898 he engaged in his present mercantile business and a year later was appointed postmaster of the village, holding the position continuously to the present time. Mr. Kohl was collector of the town of Newburgh in 1902 and 1903 and collector of the school district for seven years. He is accounted not only a thoroughly trustworthy official, but one of the best citizens of Middlehope. Socially he is identified with the Newburgh Wheelmen.
HENRY KOHL, corporation counsel of the city of Newburgh and member of the law firm of McClung & Kohl, was born in Middlehope in 1871, a son of Valentine and Mary A. (Ziegler) Kohl. After finishing his preliminary studies he read law in the office of Judge Seeger and was admitted to the bar in 1894. Mr. Kohl has built up a large clientage and has acquired especial success and prominence in criminal cases.
Politically Mr. Kohl is a democrat and an ardent worker for the success of his party, which has honored him with the nomination for state and county offices.
VALENTINE J. KOHL who is engaged in fruit farming at Middlehope, was born in the town of Newburgh in 1868, and was educated at the district schools. In 1897 he purchased his present farm of twenty acres, all of which is under cultivation, in connection with which he operates a cider mill, turning out 50,000 gallons annually. Mr. Kohl held the office of town clerk four years and also served as school trustee. He is a member of the Grange and the Masonic Lodge No. 309, Newburgh, and I. O. O. F. He married Charlotte P. Clauson and two children have been born to them. Valentine Kohl, father of our subject, was a prosperous merchant and farmer of Middlehope. He died in 1890.
VALENTINE KOHL, for many years a prosperous merchant of Middle Hope, N. Y., was born at St. Martens-on-the-Rhine, Germany, where he received his schooling and learned the shoemaker's trade. Shortly after his marriage he sailed for America; here he plied his trade for a few years, and then became interested in the mercantile business at Middlehope, remaining thus engaged until his death, which occurred in 1890, while he was serving as postmaster. He was appointed to this office by President Arthur and reappointed by President Harrison, his term of service in this capacity extending from 1883 until 1890. He was accounted not only a thoroughly trustworthy official, but one of the best citizens of Middlehope.
Mr. Kohl was reared in the Catholic faith, but in mature life became convinced of the truth of protestantism and inclined toward the Methodist Episcopal tenets, being a regular attendant at the services of this church. His wife, who was Miss Mary A. Ziegler, was also a native of Germany. They became the parents of seven children, of whom four sons are prominent citizens of Orange County, whose personal sketches are recorded in this history.
WILLIAM J. KOHL, president of the Newburgh city council and former alderman, of the Third ward, Newburgh, was born in Middlehope, Orange County, N. Y., May 17, 1874. He attended the public schools and graduated from the Spencerian Business College, Newburgh. He was employed for a time in the wholesale provision house of Coles, Marshall & Co., of that city, and in 1903 established his grocery store in South street, where he has met with much success. Mr. Kohl is identified with the Masonic fraternity, the Maccabees, Ringgold Hose Company, a member of the Newburgh Wheelmen and the Mannerchor. He has always taken an active interest in the affairs of the democratic party.
WILLIAM ALBERT KORTRIGHT was born at Phillipsburgh, Orange County, March 4, 1866, and educated at the Port Jervis and Campbell Hall schools. He left his father's farm and began learning the blacksmith trade in 1881, engaging in that business at Centerville in 1886, where he continued one year, and then started at Slate Hill, which he operated three years. In 1890 he started business in Florida, where he has since resided. He is a member of Wawayanda Lodge No. 34, I. O. O. F., the Florida Grange, and of the Methodist church.
Mr. Kortright married Alice Halstead, of South Centerville, and they have one child, Wardell, who is eighteen years of age.
W. FRANK LAIN—In the annals of the town of Minisink the name of Lain is a familiar one, as the various generations of this family have borne an honorable part in the town's development. The first member to locate in Orange County was William Lain, who came from Long Island in 1770 and settled in the town of Minisink. His wife was Keziah, daughter of Increase Mather. Among their children was David, born in 1791. He spent his entire life on the home farm and died in his seventy-ninth year.
Gideon Lain, father of W. Frank Lain, died in 1906. He married Mary Dunning and three sons and one daughter were born to them. W. F. Lain, who continues the homestead farm of one hundred and seventy acres near Westtown, was born here in 1859; he finished his studies at the high school in Cincinnati. He is a member of the Grange, the Masonic fraternity and republican committeeman from the town of Minisink.
ROBERT LAWRENCE was born in the city of Birmingham, England, in 1849, and he acquired his education at the public schools in Birmingham. His parents came to America in 1864 and settled in Middletown, Orange County. He was married to Amelia Thornton, of Spring Glenn, Ulster County, in 1872. They have three children living, Howard R., Cora B. and Ethel A. Mr. Lawrence has served the city in an efficient manner as alderman for several years and was president of the common council during the same period. He is a member of the I. O. O. F.; was elected mayor in November, 1906, and is still occupying that office. Mr. Lawrence is a member of St. Paul's church and was superintendent of the Sunday-school fourteen years.
WILLIAM S. LAYTON was born in Amity, Orange County, January 18, 1871. After completing his education he assisted on the farm, and has remained a farmer. His father was one of the first peach growers, for shipping in the town of Warwick, and his son William now has on his dairy and fruit farm of one hundred and fifty-seven acres, peach orchards containing four thousand trees of the best varieties. He is a republican, a school trustee, a member of Amity Grange No. 1001, of Warwick, Lodge No. 544, F. and A. M.. and Wawayanda Lodge No. 34, I. O. O. F. He married Gertrude H., daughter of James H. and Catherine Miller, of Florida. February 3, 1892. Their five children, all at home, are Lawrence, born June 6, 1893; Edgar, born January 3, 1895; Lillian, born October 3, 1896; Helen, born December 8, 1898; and William Gerald, born September 12, 1901. The father had one sister, Nettie E., wife of James A. Sammis, of Glenwood, N. J. She died in 1892.
WILBUR C. LAZEAR was born in 1854 on his father's farm three miles from Warwick, near New Milford. His father was Cornelius Jones Lazear, and his mother's maiden name was Elmira Ferrier. In 1867 his father removed to Warwick and became a partner of Walter Knapp, with the firm name of Knapp & Lazear, in the undertaking and furniture business. In 1872 he purchased Mr. Knapp's interest, and when his son Wilbur's schooling was finished, made him his partner. The father died January 10, 1892, and Wilbur has continued the business since. He married Miss Jennie Smith November 5, 1884. Their children are Cornelius S., Belle, and Ida May. Mr. Lazear is a member of Warwick Lodge No. 554, F. and A. M., and the Odd Fellows. Mrs. Lazear died February 11, 1906.
MARTIN E. LEE, a retired farmer, and leading citizen of Westtown, was born in the town of Minisink in 1846. He is a son of Lewis and Experience (Teasdale) Lee. His mother was a daughter of ex-Judge Teasdale, of Sussex, N. J. Of his paternal ancestors his grandfather, Daniel Lee, participated in the War of 1812, and his great grandfather, Paul Lee, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Mr. Lee's life was devoted to the cultivation of a farm of one hundred and forty acres, which he now rents. He has always taken an active part in public affairs and is a member of the republican committee of the town of Minisink. He married Miss Alice, daughter of Dr. A. A. Seymour. One daughter, Rose, was born to them. She is now the wife of Philip H. Du Bois, of New Paltz.
ANDREW WRIGHT LENT, attorney of Newburgh and Highland, N. Y., is a junior member of the law firm of A. D. and A. W. Lent. He is a native of Highland, N. Y., and was educated at Union College, from which he graduated in 1904 with the degree of Ph.B. He read law in the office of his father, Abraham D. Lent and at Albany Law School, was admitted to the bar in 1906, and has since practiced in Newburgh.
Abraham D. Lent was born at Clinton, Dutchess County in 1850, attended the Albany Law School, and was admitted to the bar in 1874. Mr. Lent practices at Highland, Ulster County, and has conducted a law office in Newburgh since 1903.
NELSON BURTON LENT, whose ancestors were among the earliest settlers of Westchester County, N. Y., author and publisher of the "History of the Lent Family in the United States, from 1638 to 1902," was born in the town of Courtlandt, Westchester County, N. Y., May 1, 1856, and educated in the public schools of his native town. His father was Nathaniel D. Lent, and his mother's maiden name was Rachel Lent.
Among the families of Westchester County there is none stronger or more widely distributed than the old Dutch family of Lents. Abraham De Ryck, who emigrated to the United States from Amsterdam, Holland, to the Island of Manhattan, in the year 1638, was the father of Ryck Abrahamson, who took the name of Van Lent. The name is supposed to have originated from a place called "Lent" in Holland.
Mr. N. B. Lent learned the trade of a compositor with theHighland Democratin Peekskill, N. Y. He left Peekskill in 1880, and associated with his cousin, William C. Tunstall, established and editedThe Providence Register,a weekly newspaper at Scranton, Pa. He later sold out his interest to Mr. Tunstall, and returned to Peekskill. He was soon afterward called by the life-long printer and historian, E. M. Ruttenber, Esq., to Newburgh, N. Y., and was employed by him in his job printing office. Since 1884 he has been connected withThe Newburgh Journal.
Mr. Lent was instrumental in instituting the first Patriotic Order of the Sons of America in Newburgh, N. Y. He represented the order in the state and national conventions. He was a member of Acme Lodge of Odd Fellows of Newburgh, and its representative in the Grand Lodge in 1888. He was one of fourteen to organize Canton Woodward No. 32, Patriarchs Militant, and held the office of clerk, and was commissioned an aide-de-camp on the staff of General Otis Woodward, of the Division of Niagara, with rank of captain. He held all the offices of his lodge to district deputy grand master; has been for the past twenty-one years a member of Newburgh Lodge No. 309, F. and A. M.; the Historical Society of the Newburgh Bay and the Highlands; the Empire State Society, Sons of the American Revolution; and the American Institute of Civics.
Mr. Lent in politics is a republican. He was one of the United States Census Enumerators for the city of Newburgh in 1900, and clerk to the engrossing committee in the State Assembly at Albany, in 1901-1902.
He married Miss Viola Frances, daughter of Herman and Mary Stone, of Danbury, Conn., December 23, 1881. They have six children, Bertram Nelson, Winfred Foss, Roland Depew, Hobart Townsend, Sebring Round and Mildred Stone, all born at Newburgh, N. Y. Mr. Lent in religion is a Methodist, and a member of Trinity M. E. Church, Newburgh.
CHAUNCEY M. LEONARD was born in Newburgh in the year 1825, and in a house that occupied the site of the Bigler building at the corner of Third and Smith streets. He resided here until sixteen years of age, receiving his education at the Newburgh Academy. In early manhood he became a member of the old volunteer fire department of New York while learning his trade of painter. He was elected assistant foreman of the engine company. At the age of nineteen he married Miss Rebecca Smith, of New York City, who died two years afterward, leaving a daughter, who married Thomas K. Rheutan. In 1848 he married Miss Hope Smith, a sister of his first wife, and had several children.
In 1850 he returned to his native city and continued to reside here till his death. He was employed as a painter by E. T. Comstock, and on Mr. Comstock's death in 1859, the firm of Ward & Leonard (Peter Ward and Chauncey M. Leonard) was formed. James J. Logan afterward being received into the partnership, the firm became Ward, Leonard & Co.
Mr. Leonard joined Ringgold Hose Company, No. 1, in 1853. He was elected assistant foreman, but his ability and experience as a fireman were such that he was called to fill a position of greater prominence. In 1861 he was elected chief engineer of the Newburgh fire department, and at each successive election thereafter was re-elected to the same office, till March, 1874, when he was called to take the higher position of mayor of the city.
In 1873 he was a delegate to the democratic state convention, and was an honorary member of the National Association of Chief Engineers. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity and well advanced in the degrees of the order. He died at his residence, 82 Ann street, Thursday, December 3, 1874.
JAMES J. LEONARD, son of the late Chauncey M. Leonard, was born in Newburgh, N. Y., October 16, 1872. After graduating from the academy he entered the office of the Newburgh Register as bookkeeper, and from 1888 to 1907 was connected with the wholesale grocery house of Stephen M. Bull, when he formed a partnership with W. E. Doyle, and under the firm name of Doyle & Leonard is engaged in the wholesale grocery trade, continuing the business of Mailler & Doyle. Mr. Leonard has always manifested an active interest in politics and in 1903 was elected to the office of county clerk, serving until 1906. He is identified with the Masonic fraternity, president and director of the Wheelmen's Club, member of the City Club and the Ringgold Hose and Veteran Association and Newburgh Volunteer Association. He married Mary T. McQuillan, of Newburgh. They have two children, Chauncey M. and Marion H.