|
With what now
immediately follows about the other brother,
John, is shown the earliest known history of
the family and indicates its three main
division, derived respectively from
Page 208
the first second and
third sons of Dr. Samuel Seabury, of
Duxbury, Massachusetts.
(III) Deacon
John Seabury, the tenth of that name
counting from John the emigrant and the
eighth child of Dr. Samuel and patience
(Kemp) Seabury, was born at Duxbury,
Massachusetts, in 1674. He received the
deed of gift previous mentioned, from his
brother Samuel, very probably as an
equitable share of the father's estate
devised to the eldest son, the house of his
father and some eighty acres in Duxbury, in
1695, which was the year of his attaining
his majority. On December 9, 1696, he
married Elizabeth, daughter of David and
Mary (Southworth) Alden, the said David
being the son of John and Priscilla
(Mullins) Alden. It is to be noted that
this is the second connection of Seabury and
Alden. The descendants of Dr. Samuel
Seabury, thorough his younger son, John,
trace to John Alden through his
granddaughter, Elizabeth, and Dr. Samuel
Seabury's descendants through his youngest
son, Joseph, trace to John Alden through his
daughter, Elizabeth, whose daughter (Martha
Pabodie) was Dr. Samuel Seabury's second
wife.
John Seabury
removed from Duxbury to Stonington,
Connecticut, and thence to Groton, opposite
New London, in the same State. Here he
spent the remainder of his life well
established both in civil and religious
associations. He is frequently mentioned in
various concerns by Hempstead in his diary.
He was a deacon in the Congregational
Society in Groton, and is commonly spoken of
as Deacon John Seabury. His death took
place while he was on a visit to his son,
Rev. Samuel Seabury, M. A., rector of St.
George's Church, Hempstead, December 17,
1759, in the eighty-sixth year of his age,
as his tombstone in the churchyard there
records.
The children
of Deacon John and Elizabeth (Alden) Seabury,
were: !. David, born January 16, 1699.
2.. John, January 1, 1700, died in infancy.
3. Patience, may 5, 1702. 4. John, may
22, 1704. 5. Samuel, see forward. 6.
Mary, November 11, 1708. 7. Sarah, march
16, 1710-11. 8, Nathaniel, July 31, 1720.
Two of the daughters of this family,
Patience and Mary, married and had
children. Of Sarah, the third daughter,
appears no record. Patience married three
times,(first) Joseph Latham; (second)
Benjamin Starr; (third) Francis Griswold,
and is said to have issue by each marriage.
Mary married Jonathan Starr, and from that
marriage there are very many Seabury
descendants in the Starr family. Four sons
of Deacon John Seabury married and had
issue. David, as before mentioned, married
his cousin, Abigail Seabury, of the Maine
line, and there are many who trace through
him to Deacon John, second son of Dr. Samuel
Seabury, and through her to Elder Samuel
Seabury, of Dr. Samuel Seabury. John, son
of Deacon John, resided in Groton, and died
in 1744. Hempstead speaks of him as an
inn-holder, and of his father, by way of
distinction, as "Deacon Seabury' and "Old
Mr. Seabury." He also mentioned his marriage
to Esther, daughter of Captain James Rogers
and widow of Benjamin Shepley. Three
children of this marriage have not been
traced. Nathaniel, the youngest son of
Deacon John Seabury, married ------------
Michal, and left two sons, Nathaniel and
David, the latter of whom is of illustrated
memory, as having been one of the devoted
garrison of Fort Griswold, aloof whom were
treacherously slaughtered by the British
under Benedict Arnold, and whose name is
engraved on the column there erected. He
married Elizabeth Chester, and many of his
descendants are traceable to the present
time. The fourth son and fifth child of
Deacon John and Elizabeth (Alden) Seabury,
with whose line this notice is especially
concerned was Samuel Seabury.
(IV) Rev.
Samuel (2), son of Deacon John Seabury and
Elizabeth (Alden) Seabury was born at
Groton, Connecticut, July 8, 1706, died at
Hempstead, June 15, 1764. He received his
education partly at Yale College, and partly
at Harvard, whence his graduated in 1724,
receiving later the degree of M. A. from
Yale. To distinguish him form the other
Samuels and other clericals, he is called
Rev. Samuel Seabury, M. A. He was for a few
years a Congregational minister, serving in
Maine and in Connecticut, but conforming to
the Church of England, received Episcopal
ordinances in 1730 in London, England, from
the bishop of that see. Returning to this
country as a missionary of the English
Society for Propagating the Gospel, he was
one of the founders and the first rector of
the Church of St. James, in New London,
Connecticut, which position he held up to
the time of his being made rector of St.
George's Church, Hempstead, in 1742. He
removed thither about
Page 209
1743, and held that
position until he died. During his
residence in New London, and later in
Hempstead, he was assiduous in missionary
work in surrounding places, and became the
founder of several additional parishes, both
in Connecticut and in New York. He served
regularly while living in Hempstead two
other parishes at distances involving a
forty-mile ride on horseback for the
services held in a day. he went also on
invitation into Dutchess County, where he
held the first Church of England services,
and organized Trinity Church, Fishkill, New
York. He was a man of extraordinary energy
and faithfulness, and added to his pastoral
labors by the practice of medicine and the
teaching of a school which he kept in his
own house. His only publications were a
sermon, preached in England, and a pamphlet
written in defense of attacks made upon him
for encroaching upon the neighborhood of
ministers not of the Church of England.
He married
(first), about 1727, Abigail Mumford, born
September 3, 1710, died in 1731, daughter of
Thomas and Hannah (Remington) Mumford; by
whom: Caleb, born February 27, 1728;
Samuel, see forward. He married (second)
Elizabeth Powell, who survived him, and
their children were five sons and three
daughters. The sons, of whom Dr. Adam
Seabury was the eldest, remained for the
most part in Hempstead and have a worthy and
respected posterity; of the daughters, one,
Elizabeth, married Dr. Benjamin Tredwell,
and another, Abigail, married Gilbert Van
Wyck. Both the Tredwell and Van Wyck
descendants are very numerous, and through
their marriages include many other names
scattered throughout the United States, and
Canada. Of the sons of the first wife,
Caleb, the elder, the name of whose wife is
unknown, is said to have left two sons,
Caleb and John. Nothing is known of the son
Caleb; but the son John was a man of
character and position, who resided in
Vermont, and served in the War of 1812 with
the rank of colonel. He married Mary
---------, and afterwards Dorothy Harris,
and his progeny is fully set forth in the
book of Harris Genealogy by N. H. Harris.
(V) Bishop
Samuel (4) Seabury, son of Rev. Samuel (3)
and Abigail (Mumford) Seabury, was born at
Groton, Connecticut, November 30, 1729, died
in New London, Connecticut, February 25,
1796, His boyhood was spent with his father
in the place of his nativity, as well as in
New London and Hempstead, whence he entered
Yale College, graduating in 1748. He
afterwards received from that college the
degree of M. A., and later (1777) from the
University of Oxford the degree of Doctor of
Divinity. He studied medicine at the
University of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1751
or 1752, and in 1753 was ordained in London
both deacon and priest. Returning as
missionary of the Society for propagation of
the Gospel, he had charge for a year or so
of the church in New Brunswick, New Jersey,
and in 1757 was collated by Governor Sir
Charles hardy to the rectorate of Grace
Church, Jamaica, New York, and in 1766, by
mandate of Governor Sir henry Moore, was
induced rector of St. Peter's; Westchester,
New York, and there resided and officiated
until the troubles of the Revolution caused
the discontinuance of his ministrations in
that place. Adhering to the legitimate
government, which he regarded as essential
to the preservation of the church, he was
conspicuously involved in controversies with
the revolutionary party from the time of his
first charge in New Brunswick until he was
kidnapped from his parsonage in Westchester
by a band of patriots under Captain Sears,
in November, 1775, by whom he was taken on
horseback to New Haven, where he was
imprisoned for about six weeks, until
released on demand of the president of the
provincial congress in New York and allowed
to return home. The animosity against him
was particularly intensified by his
authorship of what are known as the Farmer
Pamphlets, from his signature of A. W.
Farmer. His continued molestation made his
residence at home impossible, and he went
within the British lines on New York. Here
he resided during the war, serving as
chaplain of the King's American Regiment by
commission of Sir Henry Clinton, officiating
as missionary at St. Andrew's Church, on
Staten Island, and for the better support of
his family practicing medicine in the city.
At the close of the war he was elected,
march 25, 1783, by the Church of England,
clergy in Connecticut as bishop of the
church in that state, and in June following
sailed for England, seeking consecration.
The English bishops, though opposing no
personal objection to the applicant, did not
feel themselves free, on account of their
Page 210
state connection to
consecrate him, and he sought and obtained,
November 14, 1784, consecration at the hands
of three bishops of the Scottish Church, who
were of the same episcopal lineage as the
English, but whose connection with the state
had long been severed. He returned to
Connecticut in 1785; he resided in New
London and discharged the duties of the
Episcopate and of the rectorate of St.
James's Church for about eleven years, until
his death. In 1790 the church of Rhode
Island also came under his jurisdiction. He
was the first bishop of settled jurisdiction
in the United States. Two others were
consecrated in England, in 1787, and one in
1790, and he united with these three in the
consecration, in 1792, of Clagett, of
Maryland, through whom every subsequent
American bishop of their Communion traces.
He was the first president of the House of
Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church,
and impressed upon the Liturgy of that
church its most distinguished
characteristics. His bones repose beneath
an altar tomb in the Church of St. James,
and there are many memorials of him, both in
there and elsewhere in the United States, as
also in Scotland and in England. His
published works are numerous, but apart from
controversial papers, mostly sermons. Two
volumes of these were published before his
death, and one, prepared by him for the
press, afterwards. A life of him was
published by Rev. Dr. E. e. Beardsley, in
1881, and a Memoir of him, in 1908, by Rev.
Dr. W. J. Seabury.
Bishop Samuel
Seabury married, October 12, 1756, Mary,
daughter of Edward and Violetta (Ricketts)
Hicks, of Staten Island, New York. Their
children were: 1. Violetta Ricketts,, 1.
Abigail Mumford, 3. Mary, 4. Samuel, 5.
Edward. 6. Charles, see forward. All of
these, except Mary, were married, and the
two married daughters left children; but
none of the sons had issue, excepting the
youngest son, Charles, therefore all of
descendants of the bishop trace through him
if of the name of Seabury.
(VI) Rev.
Charles Seabury, son of bishop Samuel (4)
and Mary (Hicks) Seabury, was born at
Westchester, New York, May 29, 1770, died at
Setauket, Long Island, December 29, 1844.
He went to new London when his father
settled there in 1785; studied under tutors
and was ordained deacon by his father, in
1793, and priest, by Bishop Provoost, of New
York, in 1799. He officiated some time at
Grace Church, Jamaica, Long Island,
succeeded his father as rector of St. James,
and so remained until 1814, when he became
rector of Caroline Church, at Setauket, Long
Island, New York. Here he resided until his
death, having charge also of the churches
at Huntington and at Islip. He was
eminently the faithful pastor and his works
were in the hearts of his people. He was,
as his father had been, a member of the
Masonic Order. He married (first) June 13,
1799, Anne, Daughter of Rosewell and
Elizabeth (Stewart) Saltonstall, of New
London. he married (second) Elizabeth
(Handy) Moscrop, widow of Rev. Henry Moscrop.
Of the second marriage, there was no issue;
the children of the first marriage were five
sons, and one daughter, who died in
infancy. Of the five sons, two died
unmarried, and the other three, Samuel,
Charles Saltonstall, and Richard Francis,
married and left issue. Charles Saltonstall
Seabury married Ruth Hawkins Mount; lived at
Stony Brook, Long Island, and left three
sons and three daughters. His only male
descendant bearing the name at present is
Edward Scratchley Seabury, son of Thomas
Shepard Seabury, second son of Charles
Saltonstall Seabury. Richard Francis
Seabury married (first) Lydia Maria Russell,
and (second) Catherine Eliza Russell, and
had three son by the second marriage,
Charles, Richard and Samuel, and several
daughters, all settled in Illinois. Of
these, Charles had one son, Charles Ward
Seabury, and Samuel had two sons, Edward F.
and William Samuel. This line is therefore
continued in the eldest son of Rev. Charles
Seabury.
(VII) Rev.
Samuel (5) Seabury, son of Rev. Charles and
Anne (Saltonstall) Seabury, was born at New
London, Connecticut, June 9, 1801, died in
New York City, October 10, 1872. His
boyhood was spent in New London until in his
fourteenth year he went with his father to
Setauket, Long Island. He had scant
facilities, but with an unquenchable thirst
for learning, acquired it in large measure,
and early began to teach others, starting
for himself when about twenty years old a
school for boys in Brooklyn. He was
ordained by Bishop Hobart, of New York,
deacon, in 1826, and priest, in 1827. He
had several pastorates on Long Island, and
was professor in St. Paul's
Page 211
College, at Flushing.
About 1833 he became editor of the New
York Churchman, making it a
distinguished leader in church journalism
until about 1850. In 1838 he was founder
and first rector of the Church of the
Annunciation in the City and Diocese of New
York, holding that rectorate until 1868.
From 1862 to his death, in 1872, he was
professor of Biblical Learning and
Interpretation in the General Theological
Seminary in New York City. He was for yeas
a distinguished and useful member of the
standing committee of the New York Diocese.
He received from Columbia College the
honorary degrees of M. A. and D.D. Besides
his editorial and homiletic writings, which
were of extraordinary volume and power, his
published works were a "Life of Augustine,
Bishop of Hippo," "The Continuity of the
Church of England in the sixteenth Century,"
"American Slavery Distinguished from the
Slavery of English Theorists," and "The
Theory and Use of the Church Calendar."
He married
(first) May 17, 1829, Lydia Huntington,
daughter of Gordon and Betsey (Tracy) Bill,
who died April 16,1834, leaving two
daughters, Anne Saltonstall, who married
Rev. Dr. William Walton, and Lydia, who
became the wife of Samuel Peters Bell, Esq.,
of which marriage were sons and daughters.
He married (second) November 17, 1835,
Hannah Amelia, born 1807, died 1852,
daughter of Hon. William and Kezia (Youngs)
Jones, of Queens County, Long Island. The
children of this marriage were: 1. William
Jones, see forward; 2. Kezia, married
James Weeks, by whom several sons and one
daughter; Mary, married Rev. Henry A.
Parker, having five sons; 3. Ellen Amelia,
married Rev. Charles W. Ward, now deceased
without issue; 4. Susan, died in infancy.
He married (third) October 17, 1854, Mary
Anna Schuyler, daughter of Hon. Samuel and
Catherine (Schuyler) Jones, of which
marriage was one daughter, Catherine Regina
Seabury.
(VIII) Rev.
William Jones Seabury, son of Rev. Samuel
(5) and Hannah Amelia (Jones) Seabury, was
born in New York City, January 25, 1837. He
graduated B. A., Columbia College, in 1856;
M. A., of the same, in 1859; D. D. of Hobart
College, in 1874; ed enundrem,
General Theological Seminary, in 1885. He
was admitted to the bar of the state of New
York in 1858, and practiced in New York City
until 1864, when he entered the General
Theological Seminary, graduating in 1866;
was ordained deacon and priest by Bishop
Horatio Potter, of New York, in 1866; from
1868 to 1898; Professor of Ecclesiastical
Policy and Law in the General Theological
Seminary since 1873; author "Manual for
Choristers," 1878; "Lectures on Apostolic
Succession," 1893; "Introduction to the
Study of Ecclesiastical Policy," 1894;
"Notes on the Constitution of 1901,"
published in 1902; "Memoir of Bishop Seabury,"
1908; also of many reviews and casual
papers; editor "Memoir of Rev. Samuel
Seabury, D. D.," 1873; and of discourses and
other papers of the same, 1874. (See "Who's
Who," A. N. Marquis, Chicago).
Rev. William
Jones Seabury married, October 29, 1868,
Alive Van Wyck Beare, born June 1, 1848,
died February 24, 1904, daughter of Thomas
Marston and Mary Susan (Saltonstall) Beare.
The children of this marriage were two sons
and three daughters: Susan Saltonstall,
married to Dr. Edmund Wallen Bill, having
two daughters; Lydia Winthrop, married to
William H. P. Oliver, having three sons and
one daughter, and Muriel Gurdon, married to
Rev. William O. Jarvis, and dying without
issue, December 18, 1907. The sons were
Samuel, see forward, and William Marston
Seabury, see forward.
(IX) Samuel
(6) Seabury, son of Rev. William Jones and
Alice Van Wyck (Beare) Seabury, was born in
new York, new York, February 22, 1873.
After graduating from the school of Wilson &
Kellogg, he devoted himself directly to the
study of law, and was first entered as a
student in the office of the late Stephen P.
Nash, at the same time attending a course of
night lectures for those engaged in office
duty by day. In 1890 he entered the first
class, which graduated from the New York Law
School, graduating LL. B., in 1893, and
afterwards as a graduate student completed
the course for the LL. M., which the school
was then not yet authorized to confer. He
was admitted to the New York bar in 1894,
and practiced in the firm of Seabury &
Pickford, giving also much time to private
instruction and preparation of students for
bar examinations. He was later of the firm
Page 212
of Morgan & Seabury.
In 1901, at the age of twenty-eight, he was
elected a judge of the city court of the
city of New York, and serving thus for five
years, he was in 1906 elected a justice of
the supreme court of the state. On retiring
from the first court named, he published
"The Law and Practice of the City Court of
the City of New York," issued by Baker,
Voorhis & Company, 1907, a volume of 1,417
pages. His other literary labors in the
way of casual papers as well as the judicial
opinions have been voluminous. He is a
member of the Manhattan Club of New York,
the City Club and the Reform Club.
Judge Samuel
Seabury married, June 6, 1900, Josephine
Maud, third daughter of Rev. Dr. Thomas
Richey, Professor of Ecclesiastical History
in the General Theological Seminary, and
Emma Cecilia Bacot, his wife.
(IX) William
Marston Seabury, son of Rev. William Jones
and alive Van Wyck (Beare) Seabury, was born
in New York City, march 18, 1878. He was
educated in part at the Wilson & Kellogg
School, and in part under tutors. He
graduated from the New York Law School, LL.
B., in 1898, and was admitted to the bar of
the State of New York, in 1899, at which bar
he was engaged in active practice until
1910, when ill-health compelled him to leave
New York. He removed to Phoenix, Arizona,
where he has since resided. He was admitted
to practice before the supreme court of the
United States in January, 1904. Prior to
1910 he appeared, especially in litigation
of importance, before the courts of New
Jersey and Illinois. He was regularly
licensed to practice before all the courts
in Arizona, in 1910, and before the courts
of California, both state and federal, in
1911, and before the commerce court at
Washington, D. C., in 1912. He is a member
of the American Bar Association, the
Association of the Bar of the City of New
York, the New York State Bar Association,
the Arizona State Bar Association, and a
member of the Society of Medical
Jurisprudence. He is a member of the
Manhattan Club, the Down Town Association,
the Church Club and the Knickerbocker Whist
Club, all of New York; the Society of
Colonial Wars, the St. Nicholas Society, the
Society of Mayflower Descendants, the
Huguenot Society of America, the Sons of the
Revolution and Sons of the American
Revolution.
William
Marston Seabury married, November 10, 1900,
Katherine Emerson, daughter of Rev. Henry
Emerson Hove, (some time rector of the
historical St. John's Church, Portsmouth,
New Hampshire) and Sarah Louise Folsom, his
wife, both of notable colonial descent.
Children: 1. Katharine Lispenard, born
April 1, 1902; 2. Etheldreda Winthrop,
March 5, 1904; 3, Muriel Gurdon, May 3,
1910.
Note--Abstracted
by permission from Biographical Record of
Descendants of John Seabury, Boston and
Barbadoes, 1639-1659, now being published by
W. J. Seabury.
DAVIES.
This family is of Welsh origin and was first
known under the name of Davies in 1581, when
Robert ap David of Gwysany assumed it, and
received confirmation of the family arms and
grant of crest and motto. From the best
information that can be obtained, it appears
that John Davies, the immigrant, was the
only son of Thomas Davies, fourth son of
Robert Davies of Gwysant Castle, in the
parish of Mold, Flintshire, England. The
family for years has ranked among the first
of North Wales. They derived an unbroken
descent from the famed Cymric Efell, Lord of
Eylwys Eyle, who lived A. D. 1200, son of
Madoc ap Meredith, from Merwyn, King of
Powys, third son of Rodie Maur.
(I) John
Davies, the immigrant ancestor, was born in
England, in Kingston, parish in 1680, and
came to America in 1735 with his wife,
Catherine Spenser. He settled in the
western part of Litchfield County,
Connecticut, and purchased one hundred and
sixty acres of land from Thomas Lee for one
hundred and fifty pounds, with in the
present town of Washington. Within fifteen
years after his arrival he was owner of
large and valuable tract containing nearly a
thousand acres of the best land in
Litchfield County. In religion he was
Episcopalian, being one of the founders of
the Episcopal Church at Litchfield. On
April 4, 1747, he conveyed to Mr. Samuel
Cole, as trustee for the church, a tract of
fifty-two acres of land in Litchfield, to be
held for the use and benefit of the
minister of the church. At his request the
church was named St. Michael's, and the
first service held April 23, 1749. In 1747
Mr. Davies gave to his son a tract of four
hundred and thirty acres, and in 1750 he
gave
Page 213
to his grandsons, John,
Thomas and William, one hundred and twenty
acres of land. His wife died several years
before he died, but the exact dates are
unknown. He had only one child, John.
(II) John
(2), son of John (1) Davies, was born in
England, in 1711, died May 19, 1797, aged
eighty-six years. he was educated at the
University of Oxford, and in 1734 married
Elizabeth Brown, who died about 1739. He
married (second) in England, 1744, mary
Powell, who died December 15, 1801, aged
seventy-five years. He made two or more
voyages to America before he finally settled
here in 1747 on the land given him by his
father. As a member of the Episcopal
Society in Litchfield he was influential.
Like his father, he did not appear to have
much interest in taking part in public
affairs. During the French and Indian War,
1757, he purchased a large tract of land in
Saratoga County, New York, and went there to
take possession, but was kept from his
purpose by hostile Indians, and returned to
Connecticut in 1785. He and his family were
Tories, and the property of his sons John
and William was confiscated, and John was
fined and imprisoned for a year in
Litchfield jail for giving aid to the royal
cause. His young son David narrowly escaped
death for the same reason, but was pardoned
on enlisting in the Continental Army during
the war, it is written, although his name
does not appear on the war rolls. After the
separation from the township, of Birch
Plains of "Davies Hollow" from the township,
the family withdrew from the church and
built one principally at their own expense
near their homes. Children, by first wife:
1. Thomas, born January 2, 1737. 2.
William, born January 29, 1744. 3. Mary,
March 17, 1745, died young. 4. James,
1746, died in infancy. 5. Walter, June 22,
1747. Born in American: 6. Catherine,
born July 20, 1751. 7. Elizabeth, July 3,
1753. 8. Ann, November 18, 1755. 9.
James John, December 31, 1757. 10. David,
March 14, 1759. 11. Rachel, August 20,
1761. 12. George, February 12, 1764. 13.
Thomas, May 30, 1766.
(III) John
(3), son of John (2) Davies, was born at
Kingston, county of Hereford, England, June,
1735, and was brought to America by his
father when young. In 1750 his grandfather
conveyed to him a tract of land, and in 1758
his father gave him sixty acres. During
the Revolution he was imprisoned for aiding
England's cause, as well as being deprived
of his property. He was active in the
organization of the Church of St. John,
founded by his father. In 1793 or 1794, he
opened a store in the town of Washington, in
partnership with his son Thomas John. They
also purchased cattle in the country which
they sold in New York. This enterprise was
successful until the summer of 1798, when
there was an epidemic of yellow fever in new
York, and the cattle drove there was an
entire loss to him. The last blow seems to
have discouraged him, and he died April 18,
1799, aged sixty-four. He married, in 1763,
Eunice Hotchkiss, of New Haven, who died
March 29, 1824, aged Seventy-nine.
Children: 1. Elizabeth. 2.. Thomas John.
3. Eunice. 4. Esther, all born before
1774.
(IV) Thomas
John, son of John (3) Davies, was born at
Davies Hollow, November, 1767. He lived
near his father. As the rest of the family
had been, he was an Episcopalian, and in
August, 1796, he was elected chorister. In
1798 he mat with reverses in business and
determined to start again on the shore of
Black Lake, St. Lawrence County, New York.
In 1800 he removed his family there and made
a home in the wilderness. Soon many
families were settled near, and Mr. Davies
always had a leading part in the community.
In politics he was a Democrat and for ten
years held the office of sheriff of St.
Lawrence County, and served for several
years as county judge. Two sons, Charles
and Thomas, he sent to the United States
Military Academy at West Point. He died
April 18, 1845, aged seventy-eight, and was
buried on his own grounds at Black Lake. He
married, December 29, 1792, Ruth Foote,
daughter of Captain John Foote, of
Watertown, Connecticut, who died September
21, 1852. Children: 1. Belvidere, wife of
George Ranney. 2. John Foote,. 3.
Charles. 4. Henry E., mentioned below. 5.
Thomas Alfred, and 6. Eunice Ruth.
(V) Henry
Ebenezer, son of Thomas John Davies, was
born at Black lake, February 8, 1805. At
the age of fourteen he entered the family of
the late Judge Alfred Conkling, at
Canandaigua, to prepare for the profession
of the law. On becoming of age he was
admitted to the bar in Albany County, April,
1826. He began his professional career in
Buffalo, then
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a small village on the
western frontier. His first important case
was between the owners of uplands who wished
to extend warehouses into the river and shut
off ancient rights of way and by the aid of
old residents, including the Seneca Chief,
Red jacket, establishing the fact that the
right of way had existed from time
immemorial, Mr. Davies won his case and his
victory resulted in his election in the
following year as city attorney. In the
winter of 1829-30 he removed to New York
city and soon afterward formed a partnership
with his uncle, Samuel A. Foote, and the
firm continued until 1848, when Mr. Foote
retired. Among the clients of the firm were
various large corporations, including the
Erie Railroad Company. Mr. Davies next
entered into partnership with Hon. William
Kent, and the firm lasted until 1853. His
next partner was henry J. Scudder,
son-in-law of Prof. Charles Davies. When Mr.
Davies was elected as justice of the supreme
court in 1855, James C. Carter, who had been
a clerk of the firm, was admitted to
partnership and the firm became Scudder &
Carter.
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