Chapter LXVI: Part II: Biographical (13)

WILLIAM SAYER WATKINS was born on the homestead farm in the town of Hamptonburgh, August 3, 1820, and the date of his death was November 7, 1884. He was an energetic farmer, and lived for his neighbors as well as himself, winning their respect and esteem by his kindly and thoughtful interest in their welfare. He married Miss Emma Monell, of Hamptonburgh, September 15, 1859, and their three children are all living. Juliana B. was born July 12, 1860, and is the wife of B. Seward Carr, of Chicago; William Sayer, born November 7, 1866, lives on the homestead; John Evans, born December 25, 1867, married Anna Eliza Blake, March 9, 1905, and they have two daughters, Elizabeth, who was born January 2, 1906, and Emma Adeline, born October 1, 1907. The house on the homestead was burned in 1886, and rebuilt in 1887.

J. N. WEED was born in the hamlet of Gardnertown, town of Newburgh, November 20, 1825. He has always resided in the town, except when away at school. On April 1, 1833, the family moved from Orange Lake to North Newburgh on the west bank of the Hudson River, three and one-half miles north of the village of Newburgh. It was found to be a beautiful location, back from a fine sandy beach just far enough to escape the highest tides, with a bay extending seven or eight miles in front bounded by the mountains of the Highlands. April 1, 1833, was one of the loveliest days imaginable and the house had been reached by a road coming down from a hill, five hundred feet high, in numerous zig-zags. Such hills were new to the life of our subject, as also was the river bay and the river craft and naturally made an impression.

This continued to be the home of Mr. Weed until May, 1845, when he came to the village as a clerk of the Highland Bank. He left that bank, of which he was then teller, in January, 1852, having been appointed cashier of the Quassaick Bank, then organizing. Mr. Weed was cashier of the latter bank during its entire history and of the Quassaick National Bank of Newburgh, into which it was converted May 1, 1865, until February 4, 1895, when he was elected president and now holds that position.

The principal business events of his life have been given heretofore in the local histories. There is, however, a side to the life of this man but little known, and we propose to say something about it.

As an amateur geologist he has thoroughly explored the territory about Newburgh, a region rich in glacial and drift phenomena.

Scattered over its surface are huge blue sandstone boulders, some of extraordinary size and sure to attract the attention of even the un-observing. They are generally, but not always, scattered in _groups._

At the time of the publication of the Natural History of New York, in 1843, these and other boulders were supposed to have been transported from their source to their present place in icebergs, the glacial theory at that time being undreamed of. Now it can safely be declared established and readily explains many things involved in obscurity.

The glacial markings in the Hudson River valley are found from the present surface of the water up to the mountain tops and afford an index of some of the conditions existing on the earth at that time.

To illustrate: a surface now polished must have been a surface when the glacier did that work. There are glacial polishings very near Newburgh at the river surface and they also are found on the top of the Palisades, a trap rock thrown up from below in a molten state at some remote period of the earth's history. How long ago cannot be told, but this can be confidently said, the catastrophe of the Palisades antedated their being polished by the ice of the Great Glacier. The polished slate rocks at the surface of the present river show that the river valley then existed and that the Palisades were then, also, a geological feature of the region, as the footprints of the same artisan is left on both.

Our subject was attracted by the size and numbers of these blue stone boulders about Newburgh, and persevered in an attempt to ascertain from whence they came until success finally crowned his efforts with the sure conclusion that their source was the Marlborough Mountains, and that the explanation of their being found in groups was that they came from the precipitous cliffs of the mountains from which they were detached by the action of frost and gravity, and falling upon the ice were slowly transported by it until the ice melted and dropped its burden at the places where now found. The same natural forces continuing to act, at long intervals the falls from the cliffs would recur, the rocks take up their journey in the moving ice and find their resting place where the ice melted, and the direction and distance of these groups from the source would afford some clue to the movements of the glacier itself.

Some of these boulders are found as far south as Central Valley, and some high up on the slopes of the Cornwall Highlands, as high even as one thousand feet. Two professional geologists have gone over this ground with Mr. Weed and confirmed his conclusions. The basement walls of the Imperial Flats in South street and the stone wall built by B. Franklin Clark on the east side of the highway to Woodlawn Cemetery are of big boulder origin. Specimens of other drift rocks have been found near Newburgh and traced to their source as far north as fifty miles.

A more interesting subject, however, to Mr. Weed, is the Aurora Borealis. In the cold winter of 1837, a chum of his brother was visiting at the house and in the early part of the evening had started for home, but almost immediately came running back and in a terrified manner declared "Granny Theall's barn is on fire!" The entire household rushed to the door and confronted a scene that was indeed alarming. The landscape was covered with snow, the snow was as red as blood and the air filled with flames. The brother and his chum ran for half a mile toward Granny Theall's barn to find when it came into view that it was not the barn but the world that was on fire, at least that was the impression of most of the persons who saw this extraordinary display of the Aurora Borealis, the flames seemed so real and the danger so imminent. It made such an impression on Mr. Weed that ever since he has been a student and observer of the phenomenon.

During the sun spot maximum of 1868-1873 the Aurora occurred so frequently that in May, 1871, he resolved to keep a close nightly watch and record of his observations, and this he kept up for seven years.

In the first four months of observation forty-four Auroras were seen by Mr. Weed. The whole number of days on which Auroras were seen in the whole United States other than Newburgh was sixty-eight, and the largest number reported from any one place was twenty-five, from Duluth; followed by seventeen from Chicago, sixteen from Marquette, fifteen from Boston, fourteen from Grand Haven, fourteen from Oswego, twelve from Davenport, ten from Buffalo, ten from Burlington, nine from Detroit, eight from Rochester, nine from St. Paul, seven from Mount Washington, six from Cleveland, six from Milwaukee, six from Toledo, three from Indianapolis, New London and Portland, Me., each, two from New York, and one each from Cape May, Cheyenne, Escanala, Leavenworth, San Francisco, St. Louis, Washington, D. C, and Wilmington.

Special attention is called to the number reported at New York, only sixty miles south of Newburgh, due in part no doubt to the artificial lights of the great city.

One hundred years ago auroras were regarded as most abundant near the poles, and as very rare in our latitude, but we now know that they are most brilliant and probably most numerous in the medial zones between the poles and the equator, that is in _the zones of the earth having the greatest diurnal range of temperature,_ say, in the temperate zones on their polar sides.

Mr. Weed has been led by his observations to believe that the phenomenon is purely meteorological. In support of this view he has witnessed many a time the aurora on the top of the clouds, and in one instance on the top of a detached rain-cloud going southeast, the existence of which was brought to his attention by the rain falling upon him. It was then noticed that the cloud was surmounted by a fine display of auroral streamers physically connected with it and directed toward the coronal point.

The three features, cloud, rain and streamers, kept on together to the horizon, affording the best possible conditions for establishing their physical connection. In connection with this there occurred another remarkable appearance and standing alone among his many cloud observations.

When the auroral rain-cloud reached the mountains, on the area where the rain fell the mountains were covered by an exceedingly brilliant white fog blanket, conforming to all the irregular forms of the slopes and passing when the cloud passed. During the same evening a little later heavy showers occurred, the clouds going in the same direction, and in the inter-cloud spaces auroral streamers were abundant, but the openings were not large enough to determine their physical connection with the clouds, but taken in connection with the preceding cloud there can hardly be a doubt but that the same relation existed between the rain, cloud and streamers.

On two different occasions a gleam of lightning appeared in the middle of the dark segment north, half way between the horizon and the crown of the segment, and in both cases, instantly, there rose from that identical spot a single fine auroral streamer. The apparent physical connection in these two cases is supported by the fact that the streamers usually have their origin in the arch of light surmounting the dark segment; that they do not ordinarily appear singly even there, and that in a long experience our observer does not remember ever having seen a single lonely streamer originate in the dark-segment. Quite frequently sheet lightning is seen in the south with an aurora in the north, and sometimes both are seen together in the north, but they never seemed physically connected, except in these two instances. The fact that both of these gleams had the same position in the dark-segment, and were both instantly followed by the rare eruption of a single streamer would seem to remove the phenomenon from the possibility of having been a coincidence.

On one occasion during a great aurora which lasted the whole night and out into the full twilight of the morning, another observation was made tending to show kinship of the aurora with meteorology.

First, let us mention that the crowning glory of the aurora and its highest point is regarded as the corona, a point just south of the zenith toward which all of the streamers converge when the aurora has passed further to the south. Several times the corona formed under the clouds during the night of this great exhibition, a singular feature of the phenomenon being the invisibility of the clouds except when illuminated by the light of the corona. The clouds were cirro-stratus going rapidly southeast. They were specially looked for at other times, but could not be seen. Does not this prove that the whole of a first-class aurora was within the cloud-bearing regions of the atmosphere? Its highest part was below the clouds, and therefore it was below the clouds in its entirety. It was a great aurora, as shown by the repeated formation of the corona. It was a great aurora also because it continued through the entire night into the morning twilight and it suggests a meteorological origin.

Another appearance occurring occasionally during an aurora is the "Luminous White Cloud Band" crossing the sky from east to west, cutting the horizon about east and some north of west, and when fully formed crossing the meridian near the coronal point. Our observer has seen this arch a number of times and regards it as one of the most instructive features of the aurora. Some observers have doubted its connection with the Aurora Borealis, but Mr. Weed does not share in this doubt, he having, on April 13, 1871, witnessed its entire formation, and having seen the most convincing evidence of its connection with the aurora. This is what he saw: At 10 P. M. a dark segment north by east crowned with the ordinary auroral arc of light and with streamers above this; in other words, an Aurora Borealis. Then another segment of seventy degrees altitude of the most fascinating, bright, attractive luminosity, bounded by a perfectly sharp outline. The sky was cloudless throughout, and south of this line, of normal hue. The perfection of the line of demarcation between the normal and auroral sky was a most extraordinary thing, and it teaches this, that the aurora had a clearly defined and definite border on its advancing side. Then, in this cloudless sky, streamers-like cloudlets began to form on the upper side of this line in the normal sky at both the east and west horizon, rapidly succeeded by others until they met on or near the meridian completing a white cloud band. The base of these cloud-streamers blended together on the curved line and were pointed above and directed toward the coronal point of the aurora. After the band was completed it was noticed that it was moving south and this motion continued until it came to rest at the star Delta Leonis in the region of the coronal point of the ordinary auroral exhibitions. As the cloud arch moved south from its initial point it brightened into an intense luminosity, was much agitated internally, and showed a motion to the west, as it always does, and, in dissolving, showed a wavelet structure and cloud-like aspect.

Half of the journey of the band was made before the line separating the base of the cloud-arch and the auroral sky was in the least disturbed.

That this cloud arch formed on and moved with the luminous auroral segment on its journey and rested at the coronal point proves it to be auroral, and the formation of this luminous cloud in contact with the aurora, in an otherwise cloudless sky, also proves the close relationship of the aurora and clouds and here bring in actual contact with cloud, that the aurora was in the cloud bearing region of the atmosphere, and again suggests a meteorological paternity for the Aurora Borealis.

BENJAMIN WELCH, of Little York, Orange County, was born October 11, 1832. His parents were Gabriel and Eliza Welch, and they had nine children, three of whom are living--Benjamin; Susan, wife of Martin V. B. Horton, of Warwick; and Mary, wife of Edsal Stage. Benjamin learned the carpenter's trade when he was twenty years of age, and followed that occupation several years. He was connected with the Brown & Bailey Creameries of Amity and Edenville five years. On March 1, 1871, he removed to Pleasant Valley and managed his father's farm until the death of the latter, when he became its owner. To this he added by purchase the Rynear Stage farm of one hundred and twenty-six acres, which increases his lands to two hundred and sixty acres. He has a large dairy, and is one of the extensive peach growers in Orange County.

July 9, 1863, he married Miss Mary E. Davenport, of Warwick. Their three children, all living, are George, born March 26, 1864; Olive, born October 8, 1865, and Daniel, born January 22, 1867. George was married to Mary F. Feagles, of Pine Island, December 31, 1904. The father was an Odd Fellow many years. His homestead farm has belonged to the family since 1844.

ALANSON Y. WELLER, president of the Newburgh Planing Mill Co., was born in the town of Crawford, Orange County, N. Y., in 1837. He was educated at Montgomery Academy, and in 1857 became a clerk in the store of the late A. K. Chandler, Newburgh, where he remained until 1863, when the dry goods firm of Schoonmaker, Mills & Weller was formed. In 1886 Mr. Mills retired from the firm and the two remaining members continued the business until January 1, 1898, when the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Weller retiring from a mercantile career which had proved very successful. In 1899 Mr. Weller succeeded to the planing mill business of Thomas Shaw's Sons, which was established in 1837, and which is among the important industries of the city. Mr. Weller is a director of the National Bank of Newburgh, trustee of the Newburgh Savings Bank, and interested in many local enterprises. Much of his time has been occupied in managing the estate of his deceased brother, Joseph H. Weller.

GEORGE S. WELLER, wholesale and retail coal dealer of Newburgh, was born in that city July, 1871, and is a son of A. Y. Weller. He graduated from the academy in 1888 and entered the employ of J. W. Matthews & Co., with whom he remained as shipping clerk until he started his present business in 1890. He is also president of the Highland Drug Co. Mr. Weller married Miss Constance, daughter of Rev. J. A. Farrar.

JOSEPH H. WELLER, a prominent merchant of New York City, was born in Montgomery, Orange County, in 1846, and died at his home in New York, November 14, 1886. At the age of fourteen he came to Newburgh to clerk in the dry goods firm of A. K. Chandler & Co. He went to New York in 1868 to become salesman for the firm of Wentz, Hartley & Co., afterward becoming a member of the firm of J. M. Wentz & Co. He remained a member of this firm until its dissolution. In 1879 he became member of the firm of Teffts, Griswold & Co., and three years later of the new firm of Tefft, Weller & Co., wholesale dry goods merchants of New York. In 1876 Mr. Weller married Miss Frances Cronkright, of Elizabeth, N. J., whose death occurred five weeks prior to that of her husband. The loss of his beloved wife prostrated Mr. Weller with grief and contributed largely to his death. Mr. Weller is buried in the family plot at Woodlawn Cemetery.

Mr. and Mrs. Weller left surviving four children, Lillian C. Weller, who is now the wife of Ralph S. Tompkins, of Fishkill-on-Hudson, N. Y.; Edith M. Weller, who is the wife of Mr. Leonard M. Hills, of New York City; Alfred E. Weller, who resides in Newburgh, N. Y.; and Joseph Francis Weller, who is a student at Yale University.

The New York Dry Goods Chronicle of November 20, 1886, paid the following tribute to the memory of Mr. Weller:

"His sudden death has created a profound feeling of grief and sorrow, not only throughout the dry goods trade in which he was so prominent, but to all commercial circles in this great commercial city. Seldom has a man so young been so universally mourned. He left his impress on the trade and commerce of the metropolis. He did this by the force of his ability, his energy and affability. He was a superior man in business and in the charm and gentleness of his manner. His judgment was sound, his executive ability rare, his energy wonderful, and his mastery of details complete. He possessed to an eminent degree the qualities of a great merchant. He was ambitious but not at the expense of others. He was helpful--never harmful. In his ascent to success and distinction he never crowded others from the path but rather encouraged them with sympathy and cheer. His crowning glory was his charity, his kindness. It shone in the family, in the social circle, at the store and elsewhere that business duties called him.

"In the brief career of Joseph H. Weller there is the history of a busy life. It was not length of days that gave him opportunity to rise, it was what he did and how he did it that gave him prominence. He acted nobly and well his part."

THEODORE A. WELLER, retired merchant of Middletown, N. Y., was born in the town of Wallkill, Orange County. He was educated at the district schools and Middletown Academy. His dry goods career in Middletown began with a clerkship for the firm of Hayt & Adams. At the end of six years he purchased Mr. Hayt's interest, and the firm of Adams & Weller was formed in 1876, which continued ten years. This was succeeded by Weller, Demarest & Swayze, and in 1888 the well-known store of Weller & Demarest was established, which continued until January, 1908, when Mr. Weller's health caused him to retire from active business.

Mr. Weller is prominently identified with the Masonic fraternity, including membership in Hoffman Lodge, Midland Chapter, Cypress Commandery and Mecca Temple of the Mystic Shrine.

FRANKLIN JOSEPH WELLES, an artist, for twenty-six years a resident of Greenwood Lake, has taken a deep interest in its legendary history. His wife Annie Estelle is a daughter of the late Professor Henri Appy, of Rochester, N. Y. the distinguished violinist and teacher, who at the age of twelve years graduated with the highest honors of any pupil from the Royal Conservatory of Amsterdam, Holland. He was given a laurel wreath decoration by William of Orange, grandfather of Wilhelmena, the present Queen of Holland. Some years after the death of Jean Appy, who conducted the King's Orchestra, his son Henri Appy succeeded to the position. He later came to America and played with Jenny Lind in concerts at Castle Garden, and the piano owned and used by her is now in the Welles home at Greenwood Lake. Professor Appy made many concert tours, conducted the orchestra at the old Niblo Garden in Newport, and taught at the Convent of the Sacred Heart. His wife was Annie Paine, a singer at Grace Church, N. Y. He later moved to Rochester, N. Y., to conduct the Philharmonic Society there. Two children survive him, Annie E. and Ernest Frederic, professor of music in the college at Xenia and Granville, the latter of Newark, Ohio. He is a musician and teacher of marked ability and has purchased land and expects to reside permanently at Greenwood Lake. Henri Appy died in Rochester, N. Y., November 16, 1903, at the age of seventy-nine.

THOMAS WELLING was born April 28, 1864, on the homestead farm at Warwick, N. Y., which has been in the family continuously for one hundred and fifty-four years. His early education was obtained at the Warwick High School and Polytechnic Institute at Brooklyn, N. Y. After his schooling he returned to Warwick and took the management of the farm where he has since resided. He married Marie L. Van Duzer, of Warwick, May 17, 1893, daughter of James Harvey and Sarah (Taylor) Van Duzer. Their one son, Thomas, Jr., was born April 3, 1896. Mr. Welling is a director of the First National Bank, second vice-president of the Warwick Savings Bank and is a trustee of the Warwick Cemetery Association. He is identified with the Grange and attends the Dutch Reformed Church of Warwick. His father, Thomas Welling, was one of Warwick's representative men. He took an active interest in matters pertaining to the town, was a director in the First National Bank and the Warwick Savings Bank and served as president of the Warwick Valley Milk Association. He died November 9, 1898.

JAMES EDWARD WELLS was born at Dingmans, Pa., in 1834, and died suddenly at his home in Goshen, May 6, 1907. He married Miss Francis E., daughter of William S. and Sarah T. (Wood) Conkling. He removed from the farm to the village of Goshen in 1901, and lived a retired life until his death. For years he was a director and superintendent of grounds of the Orange County Agricultural Society, and was one of the first members of the Goshen Grange. He was agent in New York and Jersey City for the Orange County Farmers' Milk Company, a director of the Milk Exchange, and a partner in the firm of Wells & Stage, milk commission merchants, with offices in New York. In religion he was a Presbyterian and in politics a republican. In 1894 he was elected supervisor of Goshen, and was afterward re-elected twelve times, which shows the confidence which his townsmen reposed in him. He was the descendant of William Wells, who emigrated to America in 1635, whose father was the Rev. William Wells, rector of St. Peter's Church at Norwich, England. His widow and two children survive him. The son is William A. Wells, of the Goshen National Bank, and the daughter Mrs. Cornelius Christie, of Watertown, N. Y. James Edward's father, Alfred, was a native of Goshen, and his mother, Lydia W. Nyce, was a Pennsylvanian.

FREDERICK WILLIAM WENZEL, assistant postmaster, Newburgh, N. Y., is a son of George C. and Elizabeth A. Wenzel, and was born in Newburgh, September 28, 1871. In 1890 he graduated with honors from the academy; and in 1895 succeeded his father in the manufacture of plain and fancy boxes. He was appointed to his present position March 1, 1900. Mr. Wenzel was master of Newburgh Lodge No. 309, F. and A. M., in 1899 and 1900; a trustee of Highland Chapter No. 52, R. A. M.; member of Ringgold Hose Company No. 1; a member of St. George's Church, and the Alumni of Newburgh Free Academy.

COLONEL CHARLES H. WEYGANT, ex-mayor of Newburgh, N. Y., was born in Cornwall, July 8, 1839, and educated at Ashland and Claverack Collegiate Institutes. In 1862 he was appointed senior captain of the 124th Regiment, N. Y. S. V., commanding Company A. He took active part in every general engagement of the Army of the Potomac. At the Battle of Gettysburg his superior officers were killed, leaving the regiment in command of Captain Weygant. He was shortly after commissioned major and July 2, 1863, was made lieutenant-colonel. In 1870 Colonel Weygant was elected sheriff of Orange County, and from 1878 to 1880 he served as mayor of the city of Newburgh. In 1886, in company with Henry T. McCoun, he purchased and developed the property now known as Washington Heights, Newburgh. He is trustee of Trinity M. E. Church; ex-commander of Ellis Post, G. A. R., and the author of the "History of the 124th Regiment, N. Y. S. V." Colonel Weygant married Miss Charlotte Sackett in 1868 and they have one daughter.

FRANK E. WEYGANT, formerly of the firm of R. F. Weygant's Sons, carriage manufacturers at Central Valley, N. Y., is a descendant of one of Orange County's old and prominent families. His father, Robert Francis Weygant, was the youngest child of Smith and Charity (Lamoreaux) Weygant. The original progenitor of the family in America was Michael, son of Rev. George Herman Weigand, a Lutheran minister of the Rhine Palatinate, who received a grant of land in 1708 from Queen Anne embraced in the territory now covered by the city of Newburgh. In 1745 Tobias, son of Michael, bought an extensive tract of land near the present village of Highland Mills. A number of his descendants made their homes in this locality.

Robert F. Weygant, who died September 3, 1902, established the carriage factory at Central Valley in 1867. This is now conducted by his sons, Fred and William. Frank E. Weygant is at present engaged in the automobile business at Ridgewood, N. J.

ANNIAS R. WHEELER was born August 31, 1846, in Craigville, town of Blooming Grove, and after his school education worked five years as a cotton spinner, then at farming, and then for the Erie Railroad. He tried to enlist six times as a soldier for the Civil War, the first time in 1861, and five times was rejected on account of his small size and light weight, but was finally mustered in August 22, 1864, in Company C, 56th N. Y. Infantry, when his weight was only ninety pounds. He served until wounded on December 29, 1864, at the crossing of the Tillafinny River, and was discharged in New York City, May 30, 1865. He then became a farmer until 1881, then was superintendent of the Middletown Ice Company five years, in 1887 was appointed a U. S. mail-carrier, and as such served the Government seven years, then was a traveling salesman two years, then commissioner of highways for the town of Wallkill two years, and has since been in the insurance and brokerage business and a pension attorney in Middletown. He married Miss Hanna Oldfield, of Amity, town of Warwick, May 30, 1869, and they have had twelve children, only two boys and three girls surviving--Joel B., president of the common council of Middletown; Harrison W., driver for the Middletown Phoenix Engine Company No. 4; Melissa, wife of D. H. Jones, of Rutherford, N. Y.; Emma E., wife of John E. T. Clegborn, of Wellsburg, N. Y.; and Francis E., who lives with Joel B. Mr. Wheeler's father William was born in 1815 in New York City, and was a contractor. His mother, whose maiden name was Sarah Braffett, was born in 1827, and died in 1896.

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 Walden _Herald,_ 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 Montgomery _Republican_ from 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 Walden _Herald_ for 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 the _Herald._

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.