ISAAC V. WHEELER—The Wheeler family is of English lineage, and originally embraced eleven brothers and three sisters, all of whom were early residents of Long Island, and at a later period removed to Orange County and made purchases of land. One of these brothers, Joel by name, is the progenitor of the branch of the family from which Isaac V. is descended. Isaac V. Wheeler was a native of Warwick, and was born March 4, 1823. He was the son of Colonel William F. and Juliet (Van Duzer) Wheeler, who were the parents of seven children. On the death of his father he became the possessor of the ancestral estate. He married June 21, 1853, Miss Phoebe, daughter of Jesse Bull. He was the father of six children, Juliet V.; Caroline B.; William F.; Jesse C., who died October 7, 1881; Anna M., married William A. Hayward and died September 16, 1899 (two children survive her, Alice W. and William H.); Frank A. (died in infancy); and Alice. In politics Mr. Wheeler was a republican, having descended from whig ancestry. He was one of the original incorporators of the Warwick Valley Farmers' Milk Association, and of the Warwick Savings Bank. His death occurred April 9, 1876, in the fifty-third year of his age.
Shortly after the marriage of her son William F., Mrs. Wheeler with her four daughters left the farm and moved to the home in Warwick village, now known as "The Columns," which she purchased in 1883, and at her death bequeathed to her daughters, Juliet V. and Caroline B. Mrs. Wheeler died January 21, 1904, in the seventy-sixth year of her age. She was a devoted member of the Reformed Church. Her ancestor on the maternal side, Cornelius Board, came from Sussex, England, in 1730; on her father's side she was a descendant of the historic William Bull and Sarah Wells.
WILLIAM F. WHEELER was born May 22, 1859. He is the son of Isaac V. and Phebe (Bull) Wheeler. He married May 22, 1882, Miss Tillie A. Wisner, of Chester, Orange County, N. Y., and is the father of six children, all of whom are living: William F. Wheeler, Jr., Charles V., Jesse I., Mary A., Roe W., and Ralph. The loss of his father at the age of sixteen necessitated his leaving school at an early age and assuming the responsibilities of the farm, on which he now resides. Mr. Wheeler is an ardent republican. Five generations have lived upon the estate now owned by him, it having been in the name for over one hundred years. The property, consisting of two hundred and eighty-five acres, is at present known as Peach Grove Farm. The house in which he and his family reside was built by Colonel William F. Wheeler in 1850. The barn on this place was raised on the Fourth of July, 1776, and was built by Samuel Ketchum, a Revolutionary soldier, who took part in the battle of White Plains.
EDWARD WHITEHEAD, president of the Walden Knife Company, was born in Halifax, Yorkshire, England, a son of John and Sarah (Hill) Whitehead. His parents brought him to America when a child and at the age of fifteen years he learned the cutlery trade.
When the Walden Knife Company was organized in 1870 as a co-operative concern, Mr. Whitehead was one of the eighteen members, and held the position of superintendent. In 1874 the company was incorporated, at which time William G. Gowdy was elected president and Edward Whitehead secretary. In 1891 Mr. Whitehead was chosen president and the success of the industry since that time has been rapid. It is interesting to note that he is the only member of the original company now identified with this establishment, and his official connection with the cutlery industry stretches over a longer period than any other man connected with the business at the present time in this Sheffield of America.
Mr. Whitehead also occupies a prominent position in social and educational circles. In 1893 he was chosen school trustee and in 1896 president of the board of education, which position he held until his resignation in 1905. He is a director in the National Bank of Walden and of the Walden Savings Bank. Mr. Whitehead's success in life may, in brief, be attributed to perseverance, energy, keenness of judgment and constant devotion to an industry that has become one of the most important in Orange County.
HENRY L. WHITFORD, of Johnson, N. Y., who is prominently identified with the extensive creamery industries of Orange County, is a native of Connecticut. As a young man he learned the machinist's trade. For twenty-four years he has been connected with the Borden enterprises. He came to Orange County in 1891, and in 1895 was appointed superintendent of the plant at Johnson. He is now traveling superintendent, in charge of nine creameries.
Mr. Whitford married Miss Clara Root, and they are the parents of three sons and two daughters. Socially he is identified with the Masonic fraternity.
JOEL WHITTEN, a highly respected citizen and retired merchant of Pine Bush, was born in the town of Crawford, October 8, 1818. A son of John and Mary (Moore) Whitten. He died at his residence in Pine Bush, April 29, 1904. Mr. Whitten remained on the home farm for a few years after his marriage to Miss M. Halstead Moore, of New York City, who died in 1872. He was for a time engaged in the mercantile business in New York City and also at Burlingham with his brother, Isaiah, until the establishment of the Pine Bush store, where he continued with Isaiah until his retirement from business in 1880. He served as postmaster of the village a number of years. Mr. Whitten was a man of keen discernment, sound judgment and sterling integrity. A firm believer in the principles of the Democratic party, he took an active interest in politics, but declined to hold public office. He united with the New Prospect Church in 1844 and organized the Sunday-school, in which he was active, either as a teacher or superintendent, for over forty years.
September 14, 1881, Mr. Whitten married Miss A. Emily McGowan, of Pine Bush, N. Y., daughter of Benjamin and Priscilla (Faulkner) McGowan, who survives him.
SAMUEL R. WHITTEN, son of Francis and Ophelia (Rainey) Whitten, was born in the town of Crawford in 1863. He was educated at the schools of Middletown and the Troy Polytechnic Institute. In addition to conducting a general store for eleven years, he was engaged in the lumber business and management of a farm. In 1907 Mr. Whitten formed a partnership with R. T. Brown, under the firm name of Brown & Whitten, dealers in general merchandise, carrying on an extensive trade at Pine Bush, N. Y.
GAVIN R. M. WILCOX, manufacturer, Newburgh, was born at Newtown Stewart, Whitonshire, Scotland, May 16, 1849. He is of English and Scotch ancestry, son of John and Jessie (McGregor) Wilcox, who came to America in 1866, settling in Newburgh. Here Gavin R. M. entered the employ of the Washington Iron Works, where he learned the trade of pattern maker and was later employed by the Severance Paper Machine Works; in 1871 he engaged with the Newburgh Steam Engine Works, holding the position of foreman until 1883, when the firm of Coldwell, Wilcox & Co. was organized, manufacturers of light machinery, steam heating apparatus, etc. In May, 1890, the business was incorporated as Coldwell-Wilcox Co., with a capital stock of $53,000, and Mr. Wilcox became secretary and general manager, which position he still occupies. He served three years as president of the Business Men's Association, and in 1902 was appointed by Mayor Wilson a member of the board of water commissioners, and at the following election was elected to that office and re-elected in 1905 to another five-year term. In 1872 he married Alice E., daughter of Henry O. Van Duzer. Five children have been born to them.
WALTER C. WILCOX was born at Wurtsboro, Sullivan County, N. Y. He is the son of Abraham and Marguerite (Lybolt) Wilcox, who had seven children. Mr. Wilcox obtained his early education at the district school at Wurtsboro and the high school at Monticello. After his schooling he moved to Middletown and identified himself with the Howell Hinchman Co., remaining with this firm about eight months. He afterward worked at the same business in Newark, N. J., for three years. In 1893 he removed to Middletown, and opened a grocery, which he has continued since. Mr. Wilcox was married to Miss Jennie Cameron, of Ellenville, N. Y., July 2, 1890. She is a direct descendant of the Cameron family of Scotland. To this union one child was born, Alonzo Potter Wilcox, born March 31, 1891, associated with his father in business. In politics Mr. Wilcox is a democrat. His brother Charles is a resident of Middletown, N. Y. Henry, of Port Jervis, is identified with the Erie Railroad; Anna is the wife of A. Dedrick, of Port Jervis; Ella, wife of Harry Miller, of Jersey City; Ada, wife of James Monagham, of Jersey City.
VICTOR AUDUBON WILDER, the only son of Mariner Ayers Wilder and Mary P. Smith, his wife, was born in Dennysville, Maine, on July 8, 1844, which was also the birthplace of his father. When but a few years old the son and his parents moved to Boston, Mass., where they lived until the outbreak of the Civil War.
The son enlisted in the 44th Regiment, Massachusetts Volunteers, and served until the end of the war. During his absence, his parents moved to Brooklyn, N. Y., and on receiving his discharge from the service the son joined them there, where with the exception of about seven years, spent in the west engaged in mining operations, he lived until 1891, when he came to Warwick.
In 1875 he married Miss Lilian Macdonald. They have one child, Donald Wilder, born in 1888.
Mr. Wilder, in his early business experience, was engaged in New York in the foreign trade with South America and the West Indies, and later in railroad operations in Mexico and in the United States, and also in coal and timber lands in West Virginia.
In politics Mr. Wilder has always taken an active part. While a republican in his political convictions and affiliations, he has always been of an independent turn of mind. He was a candidate for state comptroller of New York on the Henry George ticket, and in 1904 for Congress on the Independence League ticket for the twentieth congressional district, being defeated by Colonel Thomas W. Bradley, of Walden.
He was the president of the McKinley Club of Warwick, and the Central Republican Club during the McKinley campaign. He was largely instrumental in electing a republican supervisor of the town, the first one in a generation. He is a member of the Reformed Church of Warwick.
SAMUEL WILKEN was born in Monahan, Ireland, February 4, 1844, and came to America with his mother and seven children, his father having died. They settled on Staten Island, and some of the family are still there. Samuel came to Chester, Orange County, May 11, 1866, and the next year married Anna S. Salisbury. Their children are Fred W., Albert E. and Melvin R. Mr. Wilken was a partner of Charles Christ sixteen years. When he disposed of his interest in the business he started a blacksmith shop, with a carriage repository and accessories. He has been a town officer several times, and is a member of Standard Lodge No. 711, of Chester, as are also his sons Fred and Albert, and Melvin R., the third son, is connected with the Standard Milling Company of New York.
JOSEPH M. WILKIN, who was elected special surrogate of Orange County in 1904 and re-elected in 1907, is a son of the late Joseph M. and Catherine (Copley) Wilkin. He was born in the town of Montgomery in 1878. After graduating from the Montgomery Academy he read law with his father for one year, and then entered the law office of Senator John C. R. Taylor, Middletown, N. Y., where he remained three years. He was admitted to the bar in 1899, and conducts his law office in Montgomery village. Detailed reference to his father appears in the chapter on the Bench and Bar in this history.
JONATHAN D. WILSON, JR., assistant district attorney of Orange County, is a son of ex-Mayor J. D. Wilson. He was born in Newburgh in 1875 and graduated from Columbia University with the degree of A.B., 1898. He attended the New York Law School, and was admitted to the bar in 1900. Mr. Wilson has since practiced in Newburgh. He has always taken an active interest in the welfare of the republican party and began the duties of his present office January, 1907. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and local social organizations, including the City Club. He married Miss Edith Van Buren, of this city
.
WARD WINFIELD, editor and proprietor of the WaldenHerald,was born in Montgomery in 1868 and educated at the Academy of his native place. He learned the printer's trade in the office of his father, Lester Winfield, who conducted the MontgomeryRepublicanfrom 1864 to 1890. The paper then passed into the hands of Ward Winfield, who continued it until 1900, when he disposed of the plant and became manager of the WaldenHeraldfor John F. Lousdale for a period of three years, purchasing the business January, 1904. He is a thorough newspaper man; his paper is widely read and exerts a wholesome influence in Walden and vicinity. He is a member of the I. O. O. F., the Knights of Pythias, the American Mechanics and the Patriotic Sons of America. During his residence in the village of Montgomery he served a term as town collector. He married Miss Catherine Condon, of Walden, and three children have been born to them. His son, Francis Lester, assists him in the publication of theHerald.
WINFIELD WRIGHT WINTER, who has for several years been identified with the business interests of Middletown, was born at Winterton, Sullivan County, N. Y., January 22, 1862. He was educated in the schools of that place and Walden Academy, after which he was for several years engaged in mercantile business in Winterton. In 1896 he established his present real estate and insurance business in partnership with his brother, Clarence G., who was with him one year, and has since conducted the business alone. In 1901 he disposed of his business interests in Winterton and removed to Middletown. Mr. Winter is a member of Hoffman Lodge No. 412, F. & A. M., and Concordia Council No. 1077, R. A. M. He was joined in marriage with Flora A. Harding, of Winterton, and four children have been born to them, two of whom are living: Harry, bookkeeper for the N. Y. O. & W. R. R. at Middletown, and Jay W., manager of the creamery at Winterton.
Mr. Winter resides a portion of the year at Winterton and has held the office of postmaster of that place since 1891, when he received the appointment from John Wanamaker under the Harrison administration.
THE WISNER FAMILY—One of the early pioneers in Orange County was Johannes Weasner, a native of Switzerland, who came to Long Island about the time that a special effort was being made to settle the Wawayanda Patent—Johannes purchased land near Mount Eve, the deed being granted June 23, 1714, making him one of the first settlers of the county. His son, Hendrick Weasner settled near Goshen.
Henry, the son of Hendrick, was born in 1720, and served in the New York Colonial Assembly, 1759-1769; was a member of the first Continental Congress, 1774; a delegate to the New York Provincial Convention, 1775-1777, and a delegate to the second Continental Congress, 1775-1777. He voted for the Declaration of Independence, but was called to New York before it was engrossed on parchment and was ready for signing. He took an active part in the manufacture of gunpowder, having mills in both Ulster and Orange Counties. He was also made a senator of the first legislature of New York State in 1777, serving until 1782. He died in September, 1790, and was buried in the family burying ground near Phillipsburgh, in the present town of Wallkill. He had two sons, Henry, Jr., and Gabriel. His son, Ensign Gabriel Wisner, was killed in the battle of Minisink, 1779. Henry G. Wisner, a prominent lawyer of Goshen, was a son of Ensign Gabriel Wisner and the ancestor of the Goshen branch of the family.
John, the second son of Hendrick Weasner, was a captain in the French and Indian War, and served as a scout in 1757. He was also a captain in the Revolutionary War under Colonel Nicoll, of Goshen. His early home was at Mount Eve, but later he established his home near Wickham's Pond, having received a grant of land, direct from the crown, consisting of more than a thousand acres, a portion of which included the present farm of Jesse Durland, which was the Wisner homestead for several generations. John Wisner was the ancestor of most of the Wisner families of Warwick.
His second son, Henry Wisner 3rd (sometimes written Jr.), was born July 11, 1742, and lived on the homestead farm. In the Revolutionary War he was made captain of the "Pond Company," under Colonel Hathorn, September 22, 1775, and later was made lieutenant-colonel, February 19, 1778. He was a member of the first State Assembly under the Constitution, serving from 1777-1778 and 1788-1789. He died May 29, 1812, and his remains now rest in the Warwick Cemetery by the side of his son, Jeffrey Wisner.
Jeffrey Wisner was a man of remarkable energy and great force of character. He represented the township as supervisor during 1812-1813 and 1819-1823, and for several years served as justice of the peace. His sons, Gabriel, James, Richard and Jeffrey Amherst, have done much toward building up the interests of Warwick, and his grandson, Clinton W. Wisner, is well known throughout the town and county.
CLINTON WHEELER WISNER was born at West Pittston, Pa., July 30, 1856, and died in the Adirondacks August 21, 1904. He was the son of Jeffrey Amherst and Mary Wheeler Wisner, both members of old and prominent families of the town of Warwick, where the first twelve and last twenty years of Mr. Wisner's life were spent.
Actively engaged for a time in mercantile business, and later in the management of large interests, he developed great talent for leadership and was to be found in the forefront of every progressive movement of his time. Endowed by nature with nobility of character, with an artistic love for beauty, educated in the school of life's activities by hard study and with the polish of extensive travel his was a versatile and attractive personality.
A patriot, he ever listened to the calls of his fellows to serve them as a public-spirited Christian citizen. For many years he was the president of his well-beloved Warwick village, which owes, in large measure, the present beauty of its homes, its churches, its Red Swan Inn, as well as its increasing popularity as a resort, to Mr. Wisner's interest and efforts. His favorite pastimes were shooting, sketching and driving.
Mr. Wisner married Martha, daughter of the late Thomas Welling and Caroline Van Duzer, in October, 1879, and he was survived by his widow and his children, Mrs. Burton J. Berry, John Welling Wisner, Jeffrey Amherst Wisner, Jr., Thomas Welling Wisner, Clinton W. Wisner, Jr., and Gladys Wisner. Besides his family and friends he made wherever he had been the whole community of Warwick mourned the demise of its foremost citizen and endorsed the tribute of a distinguished clergyman who had enjoyed the hospitality of Mr. Wisner's ideal home.
HENRY WISNER, who is a resident of Sharon, Barber County, Kansas, is a member of an old and honored family of the Empire State. The parents of our subject were William Roe and Eliza (Miller) Wisner. William Roe Wisner was born March 21, 1799, and died November 19, 1886; his estimable wife was born April 27, 1800, and died July 16, 1882. To this union were born ten children, John N., born February 15, 1820; David M., born November 27, 1821, died August 5, 1879; Henry, born August 20, 1824; Andrew D., born January 8, 1827, died May 24, 1828; Albert A., born April 29, 1829, died May 29, 1832; James T., born October 4, 1831; Francis L., born December 21, 1832; Albert, born November 26, 1835; Andrew H., born July 24, 1838, died June 19, 1854; Mary Ann, born May 21, 1841. The old Wisner homestead is located about one mile north of Bellvale, Orange County, and a picture of this historic house will be found on another page of this volume. It was built before the Revolutionary War by William Wisner, one of four sons of Captain John Wisner, Jr. William Wisner died in this house in 1803, and his son, William Roe Wisner, who succeeded to the ownership of the farm, and other property by inheritance, was born in this house and lived there continuously until his death at the age of eighty-seven years. Few men in Orange County were better known and none were more highly respected than Mr. Wisner. He was progressive and liberal-minded. His son, whose name heads this sketch, obtained his early education at the district school, two winters at the private school of the learned John K. Joline in Warwick, and at Chester Academy, of which William Bross was principal. He organized and taught a class in physiology, of which our subject was a member. This was probably the first teaching of physiology outside the medical profession.
In the spring of 1844 he entered the university at East Hampton, Mass., where he remained until the fall of 1845, when he commenced lecturing on anatomy, physiology, hygiene and phrenology in the New England States. He went to Ohio in 1846, and for five years lectured in the west on his favorite subjects, introducing physiology in schools. His then new subjects, his quaint and original style of presenting them, together with his marvelous faculty of delineating human character, drew immense audiences, crowning his efforts with great success, financially and otherwise, as the press of the day gave evidence. Quitting the business he had served, or which had served him so well, he engaged in other pursuits with varied success.
On March 1, 1875, he was united in marriage with Miss Sarah E. (Rowe) Jackson, a graduate of Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago. In honor of her that college conferred on our subject the honorary degree of M.D. with two diplomas (having earned and received a diploma from the "Old School" while lecturing), he declined to practice the healing art. No children from this union.
He became interested in real estate in Iowa and Chicago. He later removed to Kansas, engaged in cattle raising and finally settled on one of the ranches (5,000 acres) in the State of Kansas, where he and his wife have lived twenty-five years in the enjoyment of health and prosperity.
In politics he is a republican, though not an office-seeker or holder. In sentiment he is anti-war, liberal, progressive and broad-minded.
By a former marriage he has two sons, Henry J., of Chicago, and Charles H., of Barber County, Kansas.
RALPH WISNER belongs to one of the oldest families in the town of Warwick. The first settler in this part of Orange County was Johannes Weasner, and family, who settled on a tract of land near Mount Eve. There his dust lies mingled with that of several generations of his descendants. Johannes Weasner was a soldier in the Sioux Contingent, in the days of Queen Anne. John Weasner was third in descent from Johannes Weasner, being the son of Hendrick Weasner. His brother Henry was a member of the Continental Congress, and voted for the Declaration of Independence, and then came home to make gunpowder. This was the most necessary thing to do, for without gunpowder the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, would have been of no effect. John Weasner was a captain in Colonel Dekay's Regiment of Orange County men in the French and Indian War of 1752. He and his son John were captains in Colonel Isaac Nichols's Regiment of Minute Men in 1776. The Wisner family was foremost in resisting the encroachment of the British crown upon the rights of the people. John Weasner died in 1778, his son John died in 1811, leaving a large family, among whom was another John, whose son, George T. Wisner, was the father of the subject of this sketch. Ralph Wisner was born at Big Island, town of Goshen, March 2, 1859. Mr. Wisner is engaged in farming. He is a resident of Florida.
He was married November 22, 1883, to Mary Greene, daughter of the late Henry Greene. They have one son, Roy Greene Wisner. The family are all members of the Presbyterian Church, William Wisner being assistant superintendent of the Sunday School. Mr. Wisner is identified with the best interests in the town. He has been a member of the school board for twenty-four years, and is a corresponding member of the Y. M. C. A. For one term he was assessor of the town of Warwick. It was through Mr. Wisner's efforts that the beautiful playground of the village was procured.
RICHARD WISNER was born on the homestead farm, in the town of Warwick, February 4, 1824, and died January 3, 1908. He conducted a farm in Warwick until 1883, when he purchased the beautiful residence near the village where he lived, retired until his death. He was one of the charter members of the First National Bank of Warwick and served continuously as one of its directors. He was trustee of the Warwick Savings Bank and for many years a director of the Lehigh and Hudson Railroad. He was also trustee of the Cemetery Association and at one time its treasurer. He was a member of the Sons of the Revolution, and held membership in the Reformed Church of Warwick. Mr. Wisner was a member of one of the oldest families in Orange County and a descendant of the first permanent settler of what is now Warwick township. He was a son of Jeffrey and Elizabeth (Armstrong) Wisner, a man of quiet temperament, possessed of indefatigable energy, with a genial spirit and lofty ideals. He was twice married; his first wife was Euphelia, daughter of Thomas Welling, to whom he was married December 20, 1853. She died in 1881. He was again married in June, 1883, to Sarah Van Duzer. His children, all by his first wife, are Charles E., Anne E. and Mary Euphelia, residing in Warwick.
WILLIAM R. WISNER, one of the prominent and honored men of Orange County, was born March 21, 1799, on the homestead farm near Wisner, this county. He had always been identified in agricultural pursuits. He married Eliza Miller, March 16, 1819, and resided until his death, November 19, 1886, in the stone house now occupied by his great-grandchildren. He was a grandson of Captain John Wisner. He was an upright man, a good citizen and a prosperous farmer. He was a whig and afterward a republican.
GRAHAM WITSCHIEF, attorney of Newburgh, was born in Port Jervis, N. Y., 1875. He is a son of Peter and Florence (Graham) Witschief. After graduating from the Port Jervis Academy in 1893, he attended the Albany Law School one year, and then read law two years in the office of Hon. O. P. Howell, former surrogate of Orange County. Mr. Witschief was admitted to the bar October 29, 1896. Politically he is a republican, and served one term as president of the common council of Newburgh. He is past master of Newburgh Lodge No. 309, F. and A. M. He married Miss Mary Farnum, of Port Jervis, N. Y. Mr. Witschief has conducted some of the most important litigations in Orange County, and is regarded as one of Newburgh's representative attorneys.
ANDREW WOOD, station agent at Stony Ford, N. Y., was born at Cornwell, Canada, June 7, 1850. His parents were William and Ann (Jardine) Wood. Andrew attended the common school, after which he assisted his father on the farm. He was connected with the Grand Trunk Railroad as telegraph operator for a period, after which he removed to New York State. In 1876 he served seven years at Willsboro, N. Y., with the D. & H. R. R., as station agent. August 4, 1884, he removed to Stony Ford, Orange County, and became identified with the
[Transcriber's Note: There appears to be some content omitted from the original by the printer at this point. (pp. 993-4)]
Kortright of Kortryk, Belgium, 1586. Casper Writer, with wife and five children removed to the present town of Mount Hope in 1784. Here he located and raised a family of eight children—three sons, Aaron, John Falter and Jasper, Jr., and five daughters. Eve, the wife died December 21, 1830; Casper's years overran the century mark. He died November 15, 1842. His sons Aaron and Jasper were lifelong residents of Mount Hope, where their descendants are perpetuating the family name.
BENJAMIN F. WRITER was born on the homestead farm in the town of Mount Hope, May 19, 1854. His parents were John F. and Phoebe (Rosencrants) Writer. His father died in 1892 and the mother is still living at the age of eighty years. Benjamin acquired his early education at the district school, after which he followed agricultural pursuits. He married Ella K. Dennis, of Sussex, N. J., November 8, 1882. Their four children are Coe, Frank, Elmo and Henry, who died at the age of four years. Frank is identified with the Borden Company at Otisville as assistant foreman, and is a member of Hoffman Lodge No. 412, F. and A. M., of Middletown; Elmo is connected with the Sanatorium at Otisville. The father is a member of Otisville Grange No. 1020.
THEODORE WRITER, M.D., of Otisville, N. Y., was born in the town of Mount Hope, Orange County, July 17, 1837. He acquired his early education at the public schools and the Seward Institute of Florida, Orange County. He later entered the Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York, from which he graduated in March, 1866. He remained for one year in New York in the practice of his profession, then returned to Otisville, where he has since practiced. Dr. Writer married Miss Helen A. Green, of Mount Hope, November 3, 1869. To this union was born one son. Dr. Writer is a republican and has served the town of Mount Hope as supervisor. He is a member of Hoffman Lodge No. 412, F. and A. M., of Middletown.
JAMES A. WYLIE, manager of Katterman & Mitchell Co.'s silk mill at Port Jervis, was born at Morristown, N. J. Soon after leaving school he began work in a silk mill, and has learned the business thoroughly under the tuition of his father, H. A. Wylie, who was manager of the Port Jervis mill until his death in 1902.
This mill began operation in 1898, and is one of the important industries of Port Jervis. It gives employment to about one hundred skilled employees and produces over a quarter of a million yards of silk annually. An addition to the factory has recently been erected, making it possible to considerably enlarge the output.
FRANK N. YAGEL,who conducts a prosperous plumbing, roofing and tinsmith establishment in the village of Highland Falls, N. Y., was born in Germany in 1872. He came to America in 1883, and after four years' schooling in this country served his apprenticeship with his brothers, with whom he was later a partner for eight years. Since 1899 he has been engaged in business for himself. Mr. Yagel has served as state and county tax collector and is now village trustee. Socially he is identified with the I. O. O. F. He married Miss Francis Wolklin and they are the parents of three children.
ARTHUR YOUNGS was born in Kingston, Ulster County, N. Y., March 10, 1872. His father, Addison Youngs, was a native of Kingston, and his mother, Harriet E. Nestell, of Newburgh, N. Y. Mr. Youngs' family can trace its ancestry back to the early settlers of this country. His great-grandfather on both sides fought in the Revolutionary War and War of 1812. His great-grandfather on his mother's side was a member of the body guard to George Washington and a member of the Society of Cincinnati. He was also prominently identified with Masonic circles. When seventeen years of age he began working at brass finishing and the moulding trade under the late G. L. Monell; afterward he was identified with the Newburgh Ice Machine and Engine Co. Later he was in charge of the motor mower department of the Coldwell Lawn Mower Co., of Newburgh. Mr. Youngs is now secretary and manager of the Newburgh Auto Shop, a company organized in 1905, which sells, repairs and stores automobiles. Socially Mr. Youngs is identified with the Newburgh Lodge No. 309, F. and A. M.; Newburgh City Club, Business Men's Association, Newburgh Automobile Club, and the Newburgh Canoe and Boating Association. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church.
CHARLES C. YOUNG was born in Elizabeth, N. J., January 21, 1871, and was instructed in both public and private schools. He took a course in a business college and quickly became connected with the Singer Sewing Machine Co. at Elizabethport, N. J., starting as errand-boy and rising to assistant timekeeper, in the invoice department. Afterward he became identified with the Rising Sun Brewing Co. at Elizabeth, N. J., and after acting as manager for the Orange County Brewery for two years, purchased the business December 1, 1893. He is recognized as an exceptionally capable business man. He was married September 8, 1898, to Miss Wilhelmina Schauble, of Elizabeth, N. J., daughter of Philip and Marie Schauble. Their three children are Charles Paul, William Joseph and Marguerite Marie. Mr. Young is a member of Middletown's St. Joseph Church.
OLIVER YOUNG was born in the town of Mount Hope, Orange County, N. Y., October 7, 1811. His family were of English extraction and among the early settlers of the State of Connecticut in the seventeenth century. At the age of sixteen he became a teacher and later repaired to Milford, Pa., where, under the guidance of Richard Eldred, Esq., and Melanethan Dimmick, he pursued the study of law, being admitted to the bar of Pike County, Pa., in 1835, and soon after to that of New York State, where he settled in practice in the village of Port Jervis.
By application and fidelity to the trusts confided to him a large and lucrative practice was soon gained. He speedily attained the reputation of a safe and judicious counselor. He was especially distinguished for his learning and skill in the equity branch of law. He was also a proficient civil engineer and possessed an extended knowledge of the boundaries and titles of much of the land embraced in he western part of Orange County.
Mr. Young was a firm advocate of anti-slavery principles long before any organized political opposition was manifested thereto, and naturally affiliated with the republican party when it came into existence in 1856, pledged to resist the extension of slavery to the territories of the United States. Previous to that time his vote was given to the candidates of the liberty and free soil parties, of which he was the sole supporter in the town of Deer Park, his vote being the only one in that town recorded for those candidates.
Mr. Young was married January 19, 1848, in Port Jervis, to Mrs. Lydia Frances Wentworth, formerly Miss Sinclair, of Bartlett, N. H., and he had two sons, Frank Sinclair, who died in early life, and Charles Oliver. His death occurred October 3, 1871. The loss sustained by the bar of Orange County was expressed in a series of resolutions, commemorative of his career and marked abilities.
ROBERT YOUNG, one of the most prominent farmers of Orange County, was born in the town of Montgomery in 1818, and died September 21, 1895. He was a son of Johnson and Margaret (Barkley) Young, and for many years was identified with the affairs of his native town, holding the office of supervisor for eight consecutive years, 1879 to 1886, and again for one term in 1890. He was a candidate for the Assembly on two occasions, but the factions were against him. He was a charter member of the Masonic Lodge of Montgomery and the last captain of a company of state militia in this town under the old law.
In 1890 Mr. Young traveled abroad, visiting the home of his ancestors in the North of Ireland, who were Scotch-Irish. In June, 1862, he married Miss Emily Arnott, of Coldenham. Six children were born to them, one of whom, David A., conducts the homestead farm of one hundred and sixty acres. He was born in 1863 and educated at the schools of Montgomery. He is a member of the Grange and numbered among the most progressive citizens of the town.
FRANK J. ZINT,son of Daniel and Mary (Lorentz) Zint, was born in Highland Falls, N. Y., in 1862. After finishing his schooling he engaged with his father in the shoe and grocery business, also handling coal. Politically Mr. Zint is a staunch democrat and active in promoting the interest of that party. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus, the C. B. L and a director in the First National Bank of Highland Falls. In 1888 Mr. Zint was married to Miss Nellie N. Conway, of Newburgh and four children have been born to them. Daniel Zint, who died in 1892, was a native of Germany. He came to America when a young man and shortly after the Civil War established a boot and shoe store to which he soon added a stock of groceries. This was the nucleus of his son's present extensive business.