Bi-Bu Surname Biographies, Columbia County, New York, USA

FACTORS IN COLUMBIA COUNTY HISTORY

From

Columbia County at the End of the Century

Volume II

Published and Edited Under the Auspices of the Hudson Gazette

The Record Printing and Publishing Co.

Hudson, New York

M C M (1900)

"Bi-Bu" SURNAMES

These biographies in Part III begin after page 132 of Volume II beginning with page 3.

Abbreviations used: p. o. = post office

Pages 15 & 16

BIDWELL, Charles, of Claverack, was born in Mellenville, February 8, 1871, a son of Daniel and Catherine A. (Shufelt) Bidwell. Daniel Bidwell died in 1881, leaving a widow and five children. Mr. Bidwell was educated in the common schools and took a two years' course in Hartwick Seminary, then returned home to help in the management of the place. His father bought the farm of Walter Ten Broeck, consisting of sixty-eight acres, and followed market gardening successfully. Mr. Bidwell is a member of Cascade Lodge No. 197, K. of P., of Philmont. Mr. Bidwell has a sister, Carrie A., who married James Westervelt, now living in Tenafly, N. J., and a brother, Frederic D., in the office of the State tax commissioner in Albany, and one sister, Alice C., who is at home with him and his mother.

Page 16:

BIRGE, E. Pratt, p. o. Chatham, N. Y., was born in the town of Chatham in 1839. He is a son of Elijah Birge, born January 22, 1792, a farmer and native of Chatham, who was married, November 28, 1815, to Mary Richmond, born May 10, 1796, and they became the parents of these children: Mrs. Lydia B. Stearns, George R., Chester D., Josiah R., Linneus Dwight (deceased, March 6, 1826), Warren E., Edward D., Mary E., Harvey M. (deceased, August 11, 1856), and E. Pratt. Mr. Elijah Birge died on March 24, 1876, and his widow survived until March 18, 1879. E. P. Birge was educated in the public schools and at Spencertown Academy. He is a farmer, a worthy citizen, and a member of Columbia Lodge No. 98, F. & A. M. He was married to Sarah A. Ashley, December 16, 1868, daughter of Henry Ashley. They have had two children: Wallie P. (deceased, August 13, 1888), and Henry Edson.

Page 16:

BIRCKMAYER, John, was born in Kinderhook, September 6, 1849, a son of Philip Birckmayer, a native of Germany, who came to Kinderhook about 1832, and Catherine Van Valkenburgh, his wife. Their children are William J., of Hartford, Conn., Mary Birckmayer Wilkins, and Eliza. Mr. Birckmayer died in 1881, and his wife February 2, 1894. John Birckmayer was educated in the common schools and was engaged in the furniture and undertaking business with his father. Mr. Birckmayer married Mary Tobias, and their children are Philip and Bessie. He served his village as trustee for three years and is one of Kinderhook's representative business men.

Pages 16 & 17:

BLAKEMAN, J. D., of Hudson, was born in Litchfield, Conn., November 26, 1845. His father, James D. Blakeman, was a native of Stratford, Conn., and the family were among the pioneer settlers in that place. Rev. Adam Blakeman was one of the first clergymen, and it is recorded that he led the colonists from the New Haven colony to settle in Stratford. At the celebration, held 250 years thereafter, James D. Blakeman led the procession, he being the leading living representative of the original settlers. He married Amy Lane and throughout his life was a farmer; James D., his son, in 1863 enlisted in Company F, First Connecticut Volunteer Cavalry, under Capt. Morris, which was assigned to the Third Cavalry Division under Gen. Kilpatrick, later Gen. James Wilson. Still later Gen. Geo. E. Custer took command and held it until the close of the war, during which time Mr. Blakeman took part in sixty-four engagements, having two horses shot under him and his knee injured. He was in the battles of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, Winchester, Cedar Creek, Five Forks, etc. At the close of the war he received an honorable discharge with the rank of corporal. Mr. Blakeman came to Ancram, Columbia county, in 1879, and engaged in the hotel business. He moved to Greenport in 1885. In 1887 he built the Blakeman House in Greenport; in 1892 he came to Hudson and leased the St. Charles, retaining control until 1896. In 1897 he purchased the Curtiss Hotel and livery attached. Mr. Blakeman served as coroner many years, has been a member of the Cemetery commission, and for eight years acted as deputy sheriff. In 1870 he married Carrie Todd, who passed away in 1876. Mr. Blakeman was afterwards married to Ruth, daughter of Hon. Noah Hatch; they have one son, William S., and one daughter, Vera A.

Page 289:

BLINN, Aaron Carter, was born in Austerlitz, in 1817. His father Aaron, was born in the same town in 1784; married Sarah Carter, of Cornwall, Conn., and died in 1858. He was the son of Elisha, born in 1754, who married Lois Wilcox, and died in 1834, whose father came from Connecticut, in 1729, with an ox team, and took up land known as the Ashley Blinn farm in that town, which land remained in the possession of the family for nearly 170 years. Aaron Carter Blinn received his education at the Spencertown Academy, entered the store of his uncle, Amos, in Denmark, Lewis county, in 1839, and was engaged in the commission business in Boston from 1842 to 1852. He married in 1845, Caroline E. Davenport, of Lowville, Lewis county, who died in 1890. His wife was a daughter of Charles and Ann (Cole) Davenport, whose father, Charles was a pioneer to that town in 1797, having been a captain in the Revolutionary Army, and a descendant from Thomas, who settled in Dorchester, Mass., in 1640. Their children are Emma L., who married William Whiting of Canaan, and Carrie P., who married Edwin B. Williams, of Canaan.

Pages 17 & 18:

BLUNT, Stephen H., of Hudson, was born in Hudson, November 25, 1852. He is a grandson of Henry Blunt, who was an early resident of the town of Stuyvesant, where his father, Robert M. Blunt, was born. The latter was married to Sarah Hait, and was by occupation a carpenter and builder; he was a member of Company K, 128th Regiment, N. Y. Vols., and died while in service at Port Hudson in 1863. Stephen H. Blunt was educated in the public schools of Hudson, and after finishing his studies he was employed in the book store of Stephen B. Miller, where he remained until 1868, when he went to New York city and engaged in the dry goods trade. He later went to Colorado, where he spent five and a half years, and in 1892 returned to Hudson and entered the employ of Bachman & Co.; when this firm was incorporated as a stock company in 1894 as The Marsh & Bachman Co., he was made vice-president and manager, in which position he still continues. He is a deacon in the Reformed Dutch Church, secretary and treasurer of its Sunday-school, and was president of the Y. M. C. A. in 1898-1899. In 1881 he was married to Emily J. Jeffries, of Jersey City, N. J. They are the parents of one son and two daughters, namely, Charles R., Mabel, and Gertrude.

Page 18:

BOGARDUS, Abram Frank, son of Abram, and grandson of Richard Bogardus, was born in Hudson, November 25, 1865. Richard Bogardus was one of the pioneers of Claverack, where he was a lifelong farmer, and where his son Abram was born August 6, 1826. He was married to Helen Ten Broeck, and for thirty years, from 1855 to 1885, was one of the foremost business men of Hudson, carrying on a mercantile and river transportation business to a large extent. He died February 6, 1885. A. Frank Bogardus received his education in the public schools of Hudson, and began his business career in 1885 as a member of the firm of Van Wyck & Bogardus, who were engaged in the wholesale and retail coal trade, which they conducted until l894, when Mr. Bogardus purchased the interest of J. B. Jones and joined the latter's partner in the firm of Downing & Bogardus in dealing in flour, feed, hay, grain, and straw, doing a very extensive retail and wholesale trade. Mr. Bogardus is vice-president of the Columbia County Agricultural and Horticultural Association, is an ex-member of the Twenty-third Separate Company, N. G. S. N. Y., a member of Hudson Lodge No. 700, F. & A. M., of the Lincoln Republican Club, and the Hudson Masonic Club. In 1890 he was married to Phoebe Bussey, who died in 1897. Mr. Bogardus is a young man of sterling character, active and honorable in business, and interested in every movement that promises to benefit his native city or its institutions.

Pages 18 & 19:

BORIGHT, John W., p. o. Chatham, N. Y., was born in the town of Chatham, N. Y., December 16, 1836. His father was Ralph Boright, a native of Chatham, a farmer and a captain in the militia. His wife was Sally Hunt; they had the following children: Hannah, Andrew, Samuel, John W., Eunice, and Lydia. Mr. Boright died in 1883, and his wife in 1861. John W. Boright, after securing his education in the common schools, engaged in farming. In 1866 he removed to Chatham village and went into the lumber business. By the aid of his own industry and natural ability he has achieved success, and is looked upon as one of the substantial citizens of Chatham. He has been a trustee of the village seven years and was president one year. He is a director of the State Bank, and a member of Columbia Lodge No. 98, F. & A. M., and has been master of the lodge. He was married to Jennie L., daughter of Hosea B. Parsons. They are the parents of William P., a civil engineer, and Julia L.

Page 19:

BOSTWICK, C. W., of Hudson, is the son of William Bostwick, and was born in Great Barrington, Mass., December 15, 1853. William Bostwick was born in Pine Plains, N. Y., May 6, 1826, a descendant of John Bostwick, born in England in 1638 and who emigrated to America. Wm. Bostwick was married to Amelia Gibson, at Great Barrington, in 1850, while teller of the Hudson River Bank. In 1852 he went to Great Barrington and became cashier of the Mahaiwe Bank, where he remained seven years. He then went to New York city, thence to South America, continuing on to California. He returned to Hudson in the spring of 1868 and in April, 1869, was appointed teller of the National Hudson river Bank, and later was made cashier, which position he resigned in May, 1895. Charles W. Bostwick, after receiving his education at the Hudson Academy, at an early age entered the National Hudson River Bank as a clerk and was successively promoted to bookkeeper and teller, and in 1895 was made cashier, succeeding his father in that position. Mr. Bostwick has served as city treasurer, president of the City Hospital, and as a vestryman of Christ Church. In 1876 he was married to Mary E., daughter of Peter Bogardus. Both father and son have been long and intimately connected with financial business in Hudson, and both are well known as financiers of ability and honor. Years of service in one of the leading banks of the city, with record unquestioned, is sufficient evidence of their trustworthiness and integrity.

Page 289:

BOSTWICK, Frederick C., p. o. Canaan Four Corners, N. Y., was born in West Stockbridge, Mass., son of Charles E. and Frances (Tanner) Bostwick. Charles E. Bostwick was a native of Massachusetts, and was a dealer in coal at West Stockbridge. Frederick C. Bostwick was educated in the common schools and at Albany Business College. He entered the employ of the Boston and Albany Railroad Company, where he has been engaged for eighteen years, and is now depot master at Canaan Four Corners. He is also engaged in the manufacture of fine paper. He was married to Hattie B., daughter of L. S. Sprague.

Pages 19 & 20:

BOYCE, James, p. o. Schodack Landing, N. Y., was born in Monroe, Orange county, N. Y., June 10, 1847, son of John and Julia (Webb) Boyce, who were the parents of seven children, namely: Mary, wife of Emery S. Turner, of Denver, Col.; Samuel W., who died at the age of eighteen years; James, the subject of this sketch; Emma, wife of Solomon S. Denton, of Vernon, N. J.; Amelia, wife of Rev. William Hampton, of Chatham, N. J.; and two who died in infancy. Mrs. Julia (Webb) Boyce was the daughter of Col. Samuel Webb, who was born in 1784 and died at the age of ninety-four years at Monroe, N. Y. He was a man remarkable in many ways, a striking figure in military life, a great horseman, and has been known to make 100 miles in one day in the saddle. He entered the army as an ensign, was promoted to captain and later to colonel; after his military life he served in the Assembly at Albany. James Boyce spent his early years in attending the district schools and assisting in a store which his father carried on in connection with a wagon-manufacturing business at Monroe. He later attended Eastman's Business College at Poughkeepsie and the Bryant & Stratton College at Baltimore, Md., and at the age of twenty-two years began his business life as a coal dealer in Washington, D. C. He removed thence to Brooklyn, N. Y., where he remained but a short time, and in 1871 came to Stuyvesant and settled on a farm near where he now lives. After two years there he purchased the farm he now owns and occupies, and has since followed fruit raising and general farming. He has taken the intelligent citizen's part in public affairs and is deeply interested in school and church work; he has been an elder in the Reformed church at Schodack Landing for six years. In 1873 he was married to Susan, daughter of Samuel Gale, vice-president of the Pine Island branch of the Erie railroad at the time of his death, and for many years previous, and Mary M. Gale. They have two sons, Samuel G. and John, who were educated at the Albany Academy under Dr. Warren, and were graduated from Yale College in 1899. James Boyce, of Baltimore, Md., who made a fortune in coal lands of Maryland and West Virginia, and for whom the subject of this sketch was named, was an uncle of his.

Pages 20 & 21:

BRADLEY, Otis Howard, M. D, a native of Hudson, N. Y., where he resides, was born September 27, 1863. His father, Col. Leman W. Bradley, was a native of Connecticut. His grandfather, Leman Bradley, was one of the pioneers in the iron industry, owning mines and furnaces in both Connecticut and New York; the family home was in New York city during the winters. Col. Leman W. Bradley was also interested in the production of iron, and came to Hudson about 1855. Early in the Civil War he enlisted with George Macy and others, of Hudson, in a company in which he was lieutenant, and was transferred to the Sixty-fourth Regiment, New York Volunteers, of which he was promoted colonel. During his service he was wounded in the arm, and after his recovery he returned to his command, and while acting as brigade commander received a wound in his other arm and was left on the field for dead. He was discharged from the service in 1864. His wife was Catharine Livingston Northrup, a descendant of Nathaniel Evarts, who was a captain in the Revolutionary army, and a son of Nathaniel Evarts, who also held the rank of captain in Washington's army, and prior to that in the colonial forces. Dr. O. Howard Bradley received his preliminary education at the Hudson Academy, pursued a course of study at Williston Seminary, at Easthampton, Mass., and was graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons (medical department of Columbia College) in 1889, and immediately began practice in Hudson. He is a member of the Columbia County Medical Society, the New York State Medical Association, and in Hudson was a member of the board of health and former health officer, and is now a member of the board of education. In 1894, he was married to Sarah G., daughter of Charles C. Hubbell.

Page 21:

BRANDOW, Theodore, of Greenport, N. Y., is a native of Greene county, N. Y., where he was born September 18, 1825. His father, Jacob, was a native of the same county; his grandfather, William, and his great-grandfather were early settlers of Greene county. Jacob Brandow was married to Olive Groon, April 4, 1813; she bore him five sons and one daughter. During the greater part of his life he was in the grocery business; he had two stores; also, he had two sloops for freight and passengers, plying between Athens and New York; one sloop, the Adlenis, he built himself in Brandow's bay; he loaded her with the first cargo of ice that was taken out of the Hudson river, which he took to New York, but failing to sell it, he threw it overboard. He was also connected with the fishing industry on the Hudson. He died in 1871. Theodore Brandow was educated in the district schools, and in 1857 he was married to Sarah Allen, who bore him two sons and one daughter; she died in 1863. In 1862 he came to Columbia county, where he has been engaged in fruit growing, not only proving himself a successful culturist, but winning a reputation for honesty, uprightness of character, and good judgment. In 1865 he was united in marriage with Delia Allen, who bore him one son, Theodore Brandow, Jr., born in 1872 and educated in the public schools, and bearing the highest reputation, like his father, for honesty and uprightness of character and good judgment. In 1894 he married Ella M. Lawrence who has borne him one son, Albert O. S. Brandow.

Pages 21 & 22:

BRANDT, Ellsworth J., of Gallatin, was born in the town of Ancram, May 5, 1854, son of Archelaus and Martha Marilla (Hoysradt) Brandt, who had three children: Christopher, Ellsworth J., and Agnes Amelia. Archelaus was born in the town of Ancram and was a son of Andris and Elizabeth Johnson Brandt. Ellsworth J. Brandt spent his early life in the town of Ancram and was educated in the common schools of the town and his advanced education was received at Amenia. When eighteen years of age he started in life for himself as a clerk in the store at Gallatinville, in the employ of Miller & Van Valkenburgh, where he remained one year and then returned to the farm. In 1874 he purchased the interest of Mr. Van Valkenburgh and formed a copartnership with W. H. Miller, which continued seven years, when Mr. Brandt assumed entire control of the business, which he continued until 1890. In that year he sold out to W. J. Edelman, and in 1895 again purchased the store where he still carries on general mercantile business. He is also interested in farming and controls about 710 acres of land. He is also a member of the wagon firm of Brandt & Weaver. On October 17, 1872, Mr. Brandt was married to Ida, daughter of Henry W. and Ella (Turner) Van Benschoten, who bore him three children: Angie E. and Alma May (both deceased), and Nellie A. Mrs. Brandt died in 1892, and in 1894 Mr. Brandt married Luella, daughter of William H. and Maryette (Rhoda) Tripp. Mr. Brandt has been active in town and county affairs and has served as town clerk and justice of the peace, also represented his town in the board of supervisors. He has served as postmaster of Gallatinville many years and is a liberal contributing and supporting member of the Lutheran church at Ancram, and is one of its trustees. He is also active in school and education work and has been connected with his school in an official capacity many years.

Page 22:

BRIGHAM, Antipas, of Hudson, was born in Plymouth, Mass, August 6, 1828, a son of Antipas and Melissa Sampson (Morton) Brigham. His father was a native of Waterford, Me., where he was well known as a wholesale grocer. Antipas Brigham (Jr.) enlisted in 1861 in Co. B, First Vermont Cavalry, and was in active service in the field until taken prison in 1864. While in the hands of he Confederates he was confined in seven different prisons, one of them being the notorious pen at Andersonville. He was honorably discharged from the U. S. service in 1864, and in 1865 came to Hudson, where he spent a year in the regaining his shattered health. In 1866 he became connected with the Gazette and Recorder, of Hudson, and for twenty-three years his labors were identified with the newspaper office. His long service in this capacity brought him to the acquaintance of the majority of the business men of Hudson, among whom he has maintained relations of confidence and esteem. Mr. Brigham, for thirty-five years, has been interested in the churches of Hudson, and probably no man in the city has a better knowledge of the history of the ecclesiastical bodies of the city than he.

Page 289:

BRISTOL, Miss. F. M. -- Stephen Bristol, father of Miss Bristol, was born in New Haven, Conn., in 1787, and was a cabinet maker by trade. He served in the War of 1812, and in 1820 married Cynthia Coy. Their children are George, died in 1868; Flavia M., Jan, and Sherman S., died in 1876. Mr. Bristol died in 1874 and his wife in 1869. Jane married Ephraim Leach, who die in 1895. George was engaged in mercantile business in Troy at the time of his death, which occurred at Hillsdale, at the old home founded in 1820. Sherman S. married Isabelle Battershal, of Troy, who, after his decease, removed to Kansas and married Y. C. Beauchamp. G. B. Bristol, the artist (now of New York), son of Abner and Lydia Bristol, was born in Hillsdale.

Page 23:

BRONK, Charles, of Hudson, is a native of the town of Stuyvesant, N. Y., and was born April 22, 1836. He is a son of Henry, and grandson of Henry, who was one of he early settlers of that town. Henry, the father of Charles, was a shipper of grain and other produce from Stuyvesant, and was an active business man in that town for many years; he was married to Ann Sharp, and died in 1842. Charles Bronk was educated in the district schools and soon after his school days, in 1854, he came to Hudson and served an apprenticeship at the black-smithing and carriage-making trade. In this line of work he has been actively engaged for nearly half a century, pursuing "the even tenor of his way," an industrious, prudent, unassuming man, whose life record is a history of duty well performed, without ostentation or egotism. It is by such men as Mr. Bronk that sturdy, honest, patriotic Americanism is generated and fostered, uprightness inculcated, and an elevated moral place established. In 1861 Mr. Bronk was married to Julia F. Saulpaugh. They are the parents of two sons, Charles Henry and Frank L., and two daughters, Mrs. Lillie M. Green and Mrs. Ella L. Nicholson. Mr. Bronk has been long a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and is a trustee of that body.

Pages 23 & 24:

BROUSSEAU, Edward, p. o. Schodack Landing, N. Y., is a native of Canada, born April 19, 1819, one of twelve children born to John Baptist Brousseau. Until he was twenty years of age Edward Brousseau remained with his parents. At that age he came to Coxsackie and obtained employment as a laborer in a brickyard. He afterward removed to Hudson, where he made brick by the thousand. Saving his earnings, he later had sufficient means to purchase a yard, which he conducted for fifteen years. In 1870 he removed to Stuyvesant and located where he now resides. Here he carries on an extensive brick manufacturing plant, employing thirty-five men, and turning out from 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 brick per year. This is in striking contrast to his situation when he first came to Coxsackie with but $1.50 in his possession. By industry and prudence he has achieved success and has gained a fair competency. He has one of the finest homes in this section of the State, situated on the Hudson river, one and a fourth miles south of Schodack Landing, where, after his long life of toil, he may enjoy the rest and comfort due to a life of industry. He is a member of the Masonic order. In November, 1850, Mr. Brousseau was married to Lettie C., daughter of Jonas Parker, who died May 16, 1898. They have had six children, as follows: Marie Louise, Hanna Parker, Samuel W, Edward, Emma, and Minnie. Louise died July 22, 1896; Samuel married Cassie M. Welch; Edward, Jr., married Julia Randerson; Emma married Frank B. Anderson, and the other two remain at home.

Page 24:

BROSSEAU, Samuel W., of Hudson is a native of Coxsackie, N. Y., where he was born, October 24, 1857, a son of Edward and Lettie C. (Parker ) Brosseau. Edward Brosseau was a native of Canada and came to Hudson in 1847, and engaged in the manufacture of brick. Samuel W. Brosseau was educated in the old Hudson Academy, and, after completing his education, became interested in his father's business, and has since been continuously engaged in the manufacture of brick, being one of the larger producers on the upper Hudson. The capacity of his yards at the present time is 55,000 bricks daily. Mr. Brosseau is counted among the up-to-date business men of Hudson, and by industry, honorable methods, and strict integrity has merited and received the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens. In 1885 he was married to Cassie M., daughter of John M. Welch.

Pages 24 & 25:

BROWN, Henry N., M. D., of Hudson, a native of Rhode Island, born of honest parents who taught him that to do unto others as he would be done by was the highest type of education, which he has endeavored to make practical. He was graduated from Harvard Medical College in 1869, and, after a few years in general practice, concluded he had special adaptation for certain branches in the profession. Without special attraction for surgery and recognizing that the greatest sufferers of mankind were those afflicted with chronic diseases and, above all, the most neglected by the general practitioner, he decided to fit himself for that special work. But to be a specialist in so broad a field required special study and work, not only of allopathy, but of homeopathy, eclecticism, hydropathy, dietetics, electricity, metaphysics, and the more recent sciences. He was determined to follow that line regardless of expense, personal comfort, and in opposition to the advice of his many professional friends; so for a few years he applied himself arduously to the extra practical study of the principles and practice of these various schools, finding that no one had all the truth and each had some; traveling extensively, he visited the hospitals and institutions of specialists both in this country and Europe, searching for the best and most improved methods in the healing art. He visited the different altitudes of Colorado, observing the effects upon the thousands who seek relief for their various diseases, but especially the consumptives, also different part of California, and the extreme north and south. And after twenty years' devotion to this special branch, at the end of a lengthy vacation, he located in Hudson as a partial retirement to enjoy a more quiet life and have more time for reflection and devotion to the sciences he best loved. His merits were soon discovered; his business steadily increased and he became recognized as a specialist in chronic disease, as well as a man of broad, liberal views, with charity to all and malice toward none; never satisfied with the present, but always looking for something better.

Page 25:

BROWN, Waterman Elias, p. o. Chatham, N. Y., was born June 14, 1851. His father was James R. Brown, son of Robert, born in 1812, and was a prominent veterinary surgeon of the States of New York and Massachusetts. His wife was Mahala J. Crego. They had the following named children: Rev. George J., a graduate of Wesleyan University; Dr. Elliot A., veterinary surgeon of the First New York Mounted Rifles; James R., Jr., master mechanic of the Mobile and Ohio railroad; Waterman E, veterinarian at Chatham; Samuel W., and Fanny M. Dr. James R. Brown died in 1876, and his widow in August, 1897. Waterman E. Brown was educated in the public schools, and received his certificate as veterinary surgeon from the Regents, and came to the village of Chatham on April 1, 1898. He is a member of Housatonic Lodge No. 61, F. & A. M., of Canaan, Conn. He was married to Carrie L., daughter of Mrs. Cornelia Hand, of Lebanon. They have one daughter, Nellie L.

Page 290:

BROWN, William H., p. o. Canaan Center, N. Y., was born in the town of Canaan, October 9, 1865, son of Leroy L. and Amanda (Hutchinson) Brown, whose other children are George L., of Troy, and Mrs. Jane M. Cady. Leroy L. Brown was a native of Canaan, born in 1819; was a farmer, and was justice of the peace thirty-two years and supervisor two years. William H. Brown was married to Alice E. Bristol, who died in 1897, leaving children: Catherine A., Alice C., and Faith S. George L. was married to Mary Jackson, and their children were Walter J., who died September 15, 1882; Fred L., Mabel E., and Lelia, who died May 8, 1884.

Page 290:

BROWNING, Charles, p. o. Chatham, N. Y., was born in the town of Livingston, N. Y., March 8, 1825. He was educated in the public schools, and has always followed the occupation of farming. He came to the town of Ghent in 1845, where he has since resided. He was married to Mary L. Harrison, of Lebanon Springs, N. Y. they had the following children: Noah H., Charles, Orrin F., Mary, and Frederick. Mrs. Browning died September 13, 1899. Mr. Browning is one of Ghent's most worthy citizens. Mr. Browning's father was Jeremiah, a native of Rhode Island, whence he removed to Columbia county and followed farming. He was married to Martha Foster, and their children were Hannah, Perry M., Jeremiah H., Ethan, Eunice, Mary, John F., and Charles. Jeremiah Browning died in 1865, and was survived by his widow but a years, she dying in 1866.

Pages 290 & 291:

BROWNING, Noah Harrison, son of Charles Browning and Mary L. Harrison, born at Chatham, N. Y., June 30, 1863. Mr. Browning is of English and Huguenot descent on the paternal side and of English descent on the maternal side, the ancestors on the part of the father having settled in Rhode Island and on the part of the mother in Connecticut, long prior to the Revolution. The paternal ancestors for several generations have been Quakers or members of the Society of Friends. The subject of this sketch was educated in the public schools at Chatham, N. Y., at Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Penn., and in the law department of the University of Michigan, and was admitted to the bar of the State of Michigan in June, 1886. In October, 1886, he removed to Hudson, N. Y., where he entered the law office of C. P. & F. J. Collier, and was admitted to the bar of the State of New York in February, 1888. He immediately commenced the practice of law at Hudson, and remained with the firm of C. P. & F. J. Collier until January, 1893, when he became a member of the law firm of Collier, Collier & Browning, and has since that time continued in business with them. The firm is engaged in the general practice of the law, and the firms of C. P. & F. J. Collier, and of Collier, Collier, & Browning, its successor, have always maintained a high professional reputation. Mr. Browning became secretary of the Columbia Agricultural and Horticultural Association in 1892 and has since been continued in that office and has taken an active interest in the affairs of the society. He has not been active in politics, but has always been a consistent Republican. He is a member of the University Club of Hudson, of the Lincoln Republican Club, and of Hudson Lodge No. 7, F. & A. M. Mr. Browning, on July 27, 1893, married Sarah Macy Rivenburgh, of Hudson, N. Y., daughter of Jacob M. Rivenburgh and Elizabeth Macy. Mr. and Mrs. Browning have one child, a son, Philip Macy Browning, born March 15, 1899.

Pages 25 & 26:

BRYAN, William, was born at Harpersfield, Delaware county, New York, on April 24, 1820. He was a grandson of Zachariah Bryan, of Watertown, Conn., who, with his wife, settled as a pioneer farmer in Delaware county. At the age of seventeen Mr. Bryan went to Catskill and entered the office of the Catskill Messenger, receiving for his first year's wages $40 and a suit of clothes. He remained in this office for four years and, at the end of that time, with the aid of a few friends, he purchased the paper and conducted it until 1845, when he sold out and removed to Hudson, where he formed a copartnership with John Moores and purchased the Columbia Republican, a weekly Whig pager, which was established in 1820. He subsequently purchased the Daily and Weekly Star, which were merged into the Republican, and as the Columbia Republican and Hudson Republican, are being conducted at the present time. Mr. Bryan was married in 1845 to Jane Frances, daughter of Barnabas T. and Sally Rogers, of Catskill. His first wife died in 1861, and he subsequently married Eliza, widow of Henry Ary. Politically Mr. Bryan was at first a Whig, but he became a member of the Republican party at its organization and always adhered firmly to its principles. For sixteen years he was clerk of he city of Hudson and of the common council. He took an active part in all political movements, and represented this county in many of its State and district conventions. For about fifteen years he was commissioner of loans for Columbia county, and from 1877 until 1885 he was postmaster in the city of Hudson, receiving appointments from both Presidents Hayes and Garfield. For over thirty years he was a trustee of the Hudson City Savings Institution and a director of the National Hudson River Bank. Mr. Bryan was always active in promoting the best interests of the community and was regarded with favor throughout the county. His education was not classical, but wholly practical, having been acquired by hard work in the printing and editorial rooms. His opinions were not merely theoretical, but always carried the evidence of sound judgment and good sense. He always held an honorable place in the newspaper world, and, at his death, closed a useful if not brilliant public service. His death occurred September 11, 1897.

Pages 291 & 292:

BRYANT, Martin, was born in the town of Livingston, N. Y., October 29, 1857, son of Milton and Lucinda (Miller) Bryant, who were the parents of eight children, namely: Henry, William, Matilda, Almond, Edgar, Emma, Martin, and Horton, all natives of Columbia county. Martin's early life was spent on the farm with his parents in Livingston, where he was educated; he remained at home until he was twenty-four years of age, when he worked one year as a farm laborer; then worked a farm in Taghkanic two years, when he removed to Livingston, where he operated one of the old Livingston farms, now occupied by David Proper, about three years; the next four years he spent in the vicinity of Churchtown, and in 1895 he purchased the farm of 140 acres where he now lives. For the past five years Mr. Bryant has served as a school officer, and is a member of the Lutheran church and at present one of its trustees. In 1881 he was married to Loretta, daughter of Samuel L. Myers, who died, leaving one child, Carrie Loretta. He married second, Annie, daughter of John H. and Anne E. (Brown) Moore; they have two children; Harold and Milton. Annie Brown Moore was educated at Claverack Academy, and began teaching school at the age of seventeen, which employment she followed for thirteen years, eight years of which she taught in the district where she now lives. Her father, John H. Moore, was born in the town of Kinderhook, N. Y., in which Martin Van Buren lived at one time, and was known as the Van Ness homestead. He lived many years at Claverack, where he was proprietor of the Columbian Hotel.

Pages 26 & 27:

BUCKLEY, John, was born in Greenport, N. Y., where he has always resided, on April 24, 1845. His father was Timothy Buckley, who married Emeline, daughter of John D. Rockefeller, and through life pursued the calling of farmer. John Buckley was educated in the district schools and in Hudson, and has all his life devoted his attention to agriculture, earning and sustaining the reputation of being an intelligent, progressive and successful farmer, and a citizen of unblemished reputation and high moral character. In 1888 he was married to Elveretta Van Valkenburgh, and they are the parents of two daughters, Nellie M. and Ethelyn M.

Page 27:

BUERMAN, Henry, of Gallatin, was born in Hanover, Germany, November 18, 1843, son of George and Frederecka Buerman. His early life was spent with his parents and his education received in the common schools. When a young man, he learned the miller's trade under the instruction of his father in Germany, where he later superintended a mill. When twenty-six years of age, he came to Columbia county and worked on a farm for one year as a laborer, then started in the milling business, at first working for H. A. Van Valkenburgh, and afterward running it on shares. He purchased the mill, July 6, 1878, which he now owns, and deals in grain, flour and feed, also coal. When thirty-two years of age, he married Martha C., daughter of John Keeler (deceased); they have three children: George H., Charles A., and Nellie E. George H. is associated with his father in the mill and Charles is station agent on the C. N. E. R. R. at West Winsted, Conn. Mr. Buerman is interested in town and county affairs, though he has never aspired to political honors in the any of holding office. He also takes an active interest in school and education work and has been a member of the Vedder Reformed Church of the southern part of the town of Gallatin for about twenty-five years. Mr. Buerman and his son George are members of Stilling Lodge No. 615, F. & A. M., of Pine Plains.

Pages 377-379

BULL, Hampton Champlain, was the youngest son of Judge John Bull, Jr., and Anne Fitch Bull, and grandson of John Bull, Sr., who was a lieutenant in the Revolutionary War. Hampton Champlain Bull was born in New Lebanon, N. Y., at the old homestead of the Bull family at Lebanon Springs, on the 16th day of September, 1814, just five days after the battle of Lake Champlain. He came into the world amidst the rejoicing over the splendid victory achieved by Commodore McDonough over the British flotilla. Perhaps that is the reason his parents added Champlain to his name when he was christened. He was a delicate and frail little boy, but was more than usually bright, and early evinced a disposition to study. At school he devoted his time to digging into all branches of science which would be useful in the after-transactions of his life. He had a wonderful memory. Before the age of nine he had his Latin grammar by heart, although he looked as if a breath of wind would blow him away. He was capable of performing mental labor far beyond the capacity of many of his schoolmates. As a student, his tastes were exacting and refined; his recitations displayed a most thorough master of the subject in hand. When quite a young man he studied law and intended settling in Detroit, Mich., with his oldest brother, George Guelf Bull, a talented lawyers, who was admitted to the Columbia county bar in 1832 (that the Columbia county bar can justly be proud of). But in 1843 their father's (old Judge Bull) health began to fail. It was deemed necessary for one of his sons to return home to care for him. Mr. Hampton Bull gave up what was quite evident would have been a brilliant career in the West and returned to New Lebanon; but he manfully and willingly shouldered the responsibility and expense of the old homestead and family, devoting himself to the care of his dying father. He never applied for admission to the Columbia county bar, yet, being well versed in law, was chosen for justice of the peace in New Lebanon in 1851. He was retained in that office almost continuously up to the time of his death, or for a period of forty-six years. He dignified the office in New Lebanon, and his court was always one in which the decisions were consistent with the law and the judgments always tempered with mercy. In all acts of his public life he manifested a generous largeness and statesmanlike quality of mind which naturally led him to measure fairly the material interest of all classes of his fellowmen. The day laborer, the poor widow, the thrifty farmer as well as the capitalist, all were sure of unbiased decisions. He was elected judge of sessions in 1865. H was a man who kept constantly in touch with the affairs of State and Nation, and, moreover, being of a literary turn and a ready writer, he preserved his observations and opinions in writing and kept interesting records of events and happenings. He has compiled documents that have great value in history. He was a poet of no mean order and an author whose pen never tired and whose voluminous productions in essays, articles and papers have had a wide publication. Mr. Bull married Miss Frances Lodemi De Lano, eldest daughter of Major Amos Wendel De Lano and Marthe (sic) Goodrich De Lano, of Pittsfield, Berkshire county, Mass. Mrs. Bull was a fit mate for her talented husband--an earnest Christian, finely educated, beautiful and accomplished, with an exceedingly sweet disposition that endeared her to all who knew her. She was born January 5, 1818, and died at Lebanon Springs, N. Y., June 5, 1879; she came from a distinguished family also. Her father, Major De Lano, was an officer in the United States army during the War of 1812. He was a distinguished Christian gentleman of the old school. He had a fine mind and inventive genius, and was the inventor of the first screw propeller for steam boats, although he was defrauded of his patent. His model is still in existence and on exhibition in Pittsfield, Mass., his birthplace. He was born February 7, 1788, and died November 22, 1871. Mrs. Bull's mother, Martha Goodrich, was born May 15, 1790, and died October 30, 1865. She was of true Puritan stock. Her grandfather, Daniel Hubbard, born June 3, 1738, was one of the eight gentlemen who founded the village that is now the city of Pittsfield, Mass. Another ancestor, Charles Goodrich, owned what is known as the "Keyes Grant," which lays partly in Massachusetts and partly in New York State. In the western portion of the "Keyes Grant" a warm spring, always standing at a temperature of seventy-three degrees Fahrenheit, bubbles up continuously. This is now widely known and celebrated as the Lebanon Springs that has never failed to yield 500 gallons of water each minute. This wonderful healing spring Charles Goodrich willed to the town of New Lebanon in "the love of God and the public good," forever. Many of Charles Goodrich's old papers and leases, with his signature, some dated in 1778, are treasured among the valuable papers of Judge Bull. Mr. Hampton Bull was a member of the Protestant Episcopal church and took great interest in the building of the little stone church at Lebanon Springs, called "The Church of Our Savior" He was one of the vestrymen. Mr. Bull was also a member of the Masonic fraternity and stood high in the counsels of the order in the county. For many years he was Master of Unity Lodge No. 9, F. & A. M., of Lebanon Springs, and he served many terms as High Priest of Lebanon Chapter No. 13, R. A. M. He died December 21, 1897, aged eighty-three years and was buried with Masonic honors. In appearance Mr. Bull was tall and fine looking--a man of commanding presence and kindly manners. "He was beloved by all who knew him, and when death claimed him his loss was mourned as children mourn for a father taken from them." Mr. bull had five children that survive him.

Page 292:

BULLOCK, George M., was born in Hillsdale, November 27, 1839, and educated in the public schools of Hudson. He adopted farming as a vocation, returning to and settling in Hillsdale, where he is at present located. In 1867 he engaged in the lumber and coal business, which he is still operating under the firm name of Bullock & Herrington. December 31, 1860, Mr. Bullock married Elizabeth S. Downing, daughter of William H. Downing of Hillsdale, and the following children have been born to them: William C., born in 1862; Mary A., born in 1865, died in August, 1898; Grace M., born in 1867; Major M., born in 1876, died November, 1894, and George M., Jr., born in 1884. Mr Bullock is one of the political leaders of the town, having held the following offices: Commissioner of highways in 1862; supervisor in 1872 and 1873, and represents the town in the board of supervisors at the present time (1900). He has held several important positions in the Assembly, being chief clerk of the engrossing department and deputy clerk form 1879 to 1887. Mr. Bullock is a charter member of the Hillsdale Lodge, No. 612, F. & A. M., of which he was the first master. Mr. Bullock's parents were Major M. Bullock, born March 20, 1805, and Sally Ann Rodman, his wife, born January 17, 1810, and died January 16, 1890. They were married March 27, 1829, and had children as follows: Caroline (deceased), Mary A. (deceased), and George M., as above. Mr. Bullock Sr., was engaged in the lumber business in Hudson for a number of years; was a member of the board of alderman; a member of the building committee which erected the city hall; also held a commission in the old State militia. After disposing of his business in Hudson he returned to Hillsdale and took up farming.

Pages 292 & 293:

BUSHNELL, Elisha W., of Hillsdale, ws born in the town of Hillsdale, in 1818, son of John and Loxea (Lay) Bushnell, who were the parents of George (deceased), Elisha W., John, Lay, Ely, Julia Ann, Caroline, Doxie and Abbie. Elisha W. was educated in the public schools and has always followed farming. In 1855 he was elected member of Assembly; was president of Columbia County Agricultural Association at Chatham and cast the vote (tie), which moved the fair from Hudson to Chatham. Mr. Bushnell married Emma House, daughter of Dr. Benjamin House, who bore him children as follows: Sarah, died in 1881, George H., died March 7, 1845; Mary V., died May 2, 1848; Clayton, died in 1859, and George V. Mrs. Bushnell died November 16, 1859. [see below]

Pages 379 & 380:

BUSHNELL, Elisha W., after having been for many years extensively engaged in farming in the town of Hillsdale, Columbia county, is now living, retired, at his pleasant homestead one and a half miles form Hillsdale village. He was born on the adjoining farm, December 27, 1818, and is now in his eighty-second year. His birthplace was the same as that of his father, John Bushnell, who also died about the year 1842, at fifty-two years of age. John was the son of Capt. George Bushnell, a farmer, who came to this State from Saybrook, Conn., when eighteen years old, at about the close of the Revolutionary War. George came here alone, with a few dollars in his pocket, which he had earned by working out on a farm, and applied this sum to the purchase of 100 acres of land, or very near that number. Returning to Connecticut, he brought back his widowed mother and his brother and sisters, six in all. They moved with an ox team and covered wagon; on arriving, set up housekeeping in a log cabin, and then went to work to clear and cultivate the land and make a home in the wooded wild. He purchased his land of the Van Rensselaers, and, before his death, gave to his son, John, the farm of 250 acres; he also owned in this farm, now the property of his grandson, Elisha, 180 acres. The large brick house, which is the home of the latter, was built by him in 1812 out of brick made in this county. The grandfather was an officer in the State militia, in which he commanded a company, and was known as Capt. George Bushnell. The young pioneer made a second trip to Connecticut and brought home a wife, Julia Griswold, by whom he had four sons and two daughters. George Bushnell, Jr., died at the age of eighteen; Walter and William, quite young boys, died within three weeks of small-pox, John being the only one to recover of the dreaded disease. John Bushnell married Loxea Lay, of West Brook, Conn.; she was the daughter of Robert and Abby (Wolcott) Lay, and came of an educated family, one of her brothers, Dr. Zina Lay, being an eminent physician at Rensselaerville, Albany county, N. Y., and Dr. Josiah Lay, another brother, a physician of Chesterville, in the same county. Mr. and Mrs. John Bushnell reared ten children, Elisha being the fifth child of the group and the second of the five sons; all were married. Only Elisha and three of his sisters are living. The father, John Bushnell, died in 1842, at the age of fifty-two years; the mother died in this house, at the home of her son Elisha, at eighty-four years of age, in 1873; the burial place of herself and husband is on the farm. Elisha W. Bushnell was brought up on the farm and early began to do his part of the farm work. He attended the district school and there acquired such book learning as was needful to fit him to carry on business and intelligently perform his duties as a citizen. He remained at home until he was twenty years of age, and in his twenty-second year married Emma House, of Hillsdale, who was born in 1820, a daughter of Dr. Benjamin House. Her mother's family name was Van Derburgh. Mrs. Emma H. Bushnell died in November, 1859. Mr. Bushnell was married, February 12, 1862, to Mrs. Frances L. Wickham, nee Orton, who died August 1, 1865. Mr. Bushnell had five children by his first wife, Sarah E., Mrs. Arthur F. Park, of Otsego county, who died in Hillsdale in 1881, at forty years of age, leaving two children. George V. Bushnell, the only one of the five now living, is living at Richmond Hill, L. I., a business man in New York city, married Miss Edna Carman, of Freeport, L. I., and has three children, two daughters and one son; Georgia, Mabel, and Elisha W. Bushnell, Jr. Mr. Bushnell is a staunch Republican. He was elected to the State Assembly in the autumn of 1854, and served one term at Albany. He was president of the county agricultural society from 1851 to 1855. Mr. Bushnell took much interest in the education of his children, as soon as they were old enough to attend school, and gave them excellent advantages for study. His daughter became skilled in music; his son George D., who is a graduate of Yale College, taught school on Staten Island and Long Island several years and later was superintendent of schools in Columbia county.

Pages 27-29:

BUTLER, Fayette M., a resident of Hudson and vicinity during his whole life, was born in North Guilford, Conn., in 1831, son of Ezekiel and Loise Bartlett Butler, of Stockport and Hudson; Ezekiel served in the War of 1812; his father was also Ezekiel Butler, of Hudson, who was born in 1761, at Brandford, Conn., and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. His discharge with a badge of merit was signed by General Washington personally, and is till preserved in the family. F. M. Butler was educated at Hudson Academy, and received private instruction in philosophy and in the classics under Rev. Mr. Scoville, a graduate of Yale. He studied law in the offices of Hon. Killian Miller and Hon. John Gaul, Jr., at Hudson, and was admitted to the bar. In April 1861, when the echoes of the guns at Sumter had hardly ceased, he enlisted in Company K, Fourteenth Regiment, N . Y. Vols., and was elected second lieutenant, under Captain Seymour of that company. In the fall of 1861, as the result of his exposure to night dews and malaria, he was attacked with jaundice, broken bone fever, and a low malarial fever of twenty-two days' continuance, and was sent to the Union Hospital at Georgetown, D. C., and convalescing without hope of recovery, he was granted leave of absence, came home, and returned to his regiment before complete recovery. Immediately after the battle of Hanover Court House, he was promoted to first lieutenant and transferred to Company E, and immediately after the battle of Gaines' Mill he was promoted to captain and transferred to the command of Company C of the same regiment. At the last-named battle, on June 16, 1862, he was severely wounded and taken prisoner. For fourteen days he was detained in the stench and horror of the battlefield and during the first three days the enemy furnished him no food or supplies. He was taken to Libby Prison in Richmond, but, protesting against confinement at that place, he was taken to the Eighteenth Street Prison. After four days he secured his release on parole, and was taken to Bellevue Hospital, New York. From there he came to Hudson and remained till the latter part of September, when he returned to his regiment, far from being fit for duty, as he was suffering from fever and his unhealed wound. Although his lameness continued, he manfully and heroically fulfilled his duties with his regiment until he was discharged on May 26, 1863. In January, 1862, he was appointed judge advocate, and thereafter almost continually performed the duties of that office at corps and division courts-martial until he was discharged. His detail as judge-advocate at different times exempted him from all other duties, but, notwithstanding that, he voluntarily, as commander of his company, participated in the siege of Yorktown, the battles of Hanover Court House, Gaines' Mill, first Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and numerous minor affairs. He was brevetted major and lieutenant-colonel for gallant and meritorious services. He has never fully recovered from the effects of the hardships he endured. In a letter dated at camp near Harrison's Landing, Va., July 5, 1862, Capt. Wm. H. Seymour wrote to the editor of the Star, then published at Hudson, as follows: "I wish to say the Lieut. Fayette M. Butler was wound in the foot. * * * He was taken to the rear, to a house used as a temporary hospital, and was well cared for. The rebels made a sudden dash upon the place and captured him, with others. * * * And here I wish to say his behavior on the field was heroic in the extreme. His praise is on every tongue of those who witnessed his conduct." See the "Hudsonian," page 211. After his discharge, he was offered the lieutenant-colonelcy of a regiment raised in New york, with promotion upon the first vacancy to colonel, but his ill health, resulting from exposure on the field, prevented his acceptance of it. In 1865 he accepted an appointment to a position in the Adjutant-General's office in Albany, and was placed in charge of the war claims of the State against the United States, which position he filled for eight years, settling accounts amount to nearly $2,000,000, as State agent and assistant inspector-general, assigned to duty in the Adjutant-General's department with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In 1866, by appointment of Governor Fenton, as colonel commanding in Columbia county, he superintended the taking of the military census therein. Mr. Butler may well be proud of his military career, and the honors conferred upon him were thoroughly merited. In 1876, he returned to Hudson and resumed the practice of law.

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