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(I) Petrus,
son of Balthazar Stuyvesant, was born in
Holland, in 1592. The exact place of his
birth is not definitely known. He received
a liberal education and at an early date
entered the army. He was appointed by the
West India Company governor of the Island of
Curacoa, in the Caribbean Sea. His
administration of the affairs of the company
in the i land gained him great distinction.
He also achieved military honors through his
heroic work in an expedition against the
island of St. Martin, a Portuguese
possession, in 1644. In the attack on the
island he was severely wounded in his right
leg. In order to receive proper medical
treatment, he was forced to return to
Holland, where it was found necessary to
amputate the limb, and for the remainder of
his life he was forced to wear a wooden
leg. The loss of his leg did not lessen his
desire for military exploits, and on July
28, 1646, he was commissioned
director-general of New Netherlands. He
arrived in New Amsterdam, May 27, 1647,
where he received a public ovation. He at
once tool up the administration of the
affairs of the province with great vigor.
His jurisdiction extended over the territory
embraced by the present state of New York,
and the country south to the mouth of the
Delaware River. He had charge of the
administration of the affairs in the islands
of Asuba,
Page 293
Bonaire and Curacao on
the Spanish Main. He gave the colony of New
Amsterdam protection from attacks of hostile
Indians and the aggression of European
countries. He had a strong palisade built
across the island north of the town,
following practically the present location
of Wall and Rector streets. He sent our
expeditions against the Swedes, who were
settling on the Delaware River, and the
Indians at Esopus. His administration of
the affairs of New Amsterdam was
distinguished for firmness and ability, and
while it would be considered to-day as
despotic, yet in all his personal relations
he was honest, considerate and never cruel.
All his actions were governed by a
high-minded sense of the dignity of his
office. When the inhabitants complained of
the high rate of taxes and insisted in
having a voice in the management of the
colony, he at first refused their demands,
but finally permitted a council of nine men
to be elected by burghers to consult with
him in the management. He had rigid ideas
as to the freedom of public worship and
would not permit the clergy to depart from
the orthodox ideas of the Dutch church. He
made many improvements in the city. He
recognized the possibilities of New
Amsterdam as a center of trade for the
growing colonies of America and prophesied
the time would come when its "ships would
ride every sea." England too recognized the
importance of the colony, and in 1664, when
the English fleet appeared in the harbor and
demanded the surrender of the city, Governor
Stuyvesant flew in a rage and declared "as
long as he had a leg to stand on or an arm
to fight with," he would never surrender.
He did everything in his power to withstand
a siege, but his efforts wee without avail
as his force of two hundred militia and
sixty regulars could not successfully oppose
a force of four men-of-war, mounting
ninety-two guns and manned by a force of
four hundred and fifty men. ON September 8,
1664, he surrendered the city. In 1665 he
was recalled to Holland by the government to
give a report on his administration. In
1668 he returned to New York, where he made
his home until his death in early 1672.
He owned
valuable real estate in the city. His
resident was known as "White-Hall," the
present Whitehall Street being named after
it. Governor Stuyvesant's home, the
bouwerie, with grounds of some eighty acres,
was situated in that part of the present
city of New York, comprised between Third
Avenue, the East river, Sixth and 23rd
Streets. The house on this place cost 6,500
guilders, a large sum for those days. It
was east of Third Avenue, on lots now
covered by the Trow Directory Building, at
12th Street, and remained
standing until 1777, when it was destroyed
by fire. Many New Yorkers of the present
time can recall the historic pear tree
enclosed within an iron railing, which stood
on Third Avenue and 13th Street,
and which was planted there on governor
Stuyvesant's return from Europe. This tree
survived until 1867. After the burning of
the Stuyvesant residence, it was rebuilt on
the same site by the grandfather of Mr. A.
Van H. Stuyvesant. The remains of Governor
Stuyvesant lie in the vault originally
constructed by himself beneath the chapel on
his estate in the latter part of the
eighteenth century. This chapel having
fallen into decay, Petrus Stuyvesant (IV), a
great-grandson of the governor, induced the
vestry of Trinity Church to erect a new
edifice on the same site; it was known as
St. Mark's Church in the Bowery, and was
dedicated April 25, 1795. This was on the
site of the present St. Mark's Church, at
Second Avenue, Tenth and eleventh streets.
He was an active and devout member of the
Dutch church.
Governor
Stuyvesant was married in Amsterdam,
Holland, to Judith Bayard, descendent of a
Huguenot family of France. She died in New
York in 1687. She was a devout member of
the Dutch church, and was a woman of great
talent. She spoke several languages
fluently and was a fine musician. Two
children wee born to them: 1. Balthazar,
born in 1647, died on the island of Nevis in
1675; he was married at Saint Eustace in the
West Indies; two children: Judith and
Katherine. 2. Nicholas William, mentioned
below.
(II) Nicholas William, son of governor
Petrus and Judith (Bayard) Stuyvesant,
was born in New York, in 1648, died there
in 1698. He received a liberal education,
and inheriting a large property he was
able to devote hid time and energies to
church affairs and philanthropy.
He took a prominent part in the social
life of the city. His residence
was the
Page 294
center of the culture
and refinement of the colony. He married
(first) Maria Beekman, only daughter of
William Beekman, vice-governor of
Delaware. One child, Judith, who died
unmarried in 1694. He married (second)
Elizabeth Van Slichtenhorst, daughter of
Brant Van Slichtenhorst. Three children
were born of this marriage: 1. Petrus, born
in 1684, was drowned in 1706. 2. Anna,
married Rev. Thomas Pritchard, a clergyman
of the Protestant Episcopal church; he died
in 1706 ad his wife in 1759; no children.
3. Gerardus, mentioned below.
(III)
Gerardus, son of Nicholas William and
Elizabeth (Van Slichtenhorst) Stuyvesant,
was born in New York City, in 1690, died
there in 1777. He was educated in the
schools of his native city. he was
prominent in the civil affairs of new York,
serving for over thirty years as a
magistrate. He was a man of culture and
much interested in literary matters. He
married, March 5, 1722, Judith Bayard,
youngest daughter of Balthazar and Maria (Loockermans)
Bayard. Four children were born to them:
1. Nicholas William, died unmarried in
1780. 2. Petrus, died young. 3. Petrus,
mentioned below. 4. Gerardus, died in
infancy. Mrs. Judith Stuyvesant was a
descendant of Samuel Bayard, the progenitor
of the family in America, the line being:
Samuel Bayard, married in Holland Anna
Stuyvesant, sister of Governor Petrus
Stuyvesant. He died in Holland, and his
widow came to New Amsterdam in 1647, with
her three sons, Balthazar, Peter and
Nicholas. Balthazar, son of Samuel Bayard,
married Marritje (Mary) Loockermans,
daughter of Govert Loockermans. Four
children: Anna Maria, Arrietta, Jacobus and
Judith Bayard. Mentioned above.
(IV) Petrus
(2), son of Gerardus and Judith (Bayard)
Stuyvesant, was born in New York City in
October, 1727, died there August 31, 1805.
He was educated in the schools of New York,
and possessing a large property did not
engage in active business, but devoted
himself to philanthropy. He was prominent
in the social circles of his city. He
married, in 1764, Margaret Livington, born
in June, 1738, daughter of Gilbert and
Cornelia (Beekman) Livingston. Several
children were born of this marriage, of whom
six reached maturity: 1. Judith, born
December 25, 1765, died march 7, 1844; she
married, January 19, 1785, Benjamin
Winthrop, great grandson of Hon. John
Winthrop, of Massachusetts. 2. Cornelia,
married Dirck Ten Broeck, of Albany; she
died in 1825. 3. Nicholas William,
mentioned below. 4. Margaret, died
unmarried in 1824. 5. Elizabeth, married
colonel Nicholas Fish, a son of Hon.
Hamilton Fish. 6. Peter G., born in New
York, in 1778, died at Niagara Falls, August
16, 1847; he graduated from Columbia
University in 1794; studied law, and
practiced his profession in New York for
many years; he was the principal founder of
the New York Historical Society, and served
as its president from 1836 to 1881; he made
several public benefactions; he married
(first) Susan Barclay, and (second) Helen
Sarah Rutherford; one child by first
marriage died in infancy; by the provision
of his will, Rutherford, great grandson of
his sister, Judith, adopted the name of
Stuyvesant. Other children who died young.
(V) Nicholas
William (2), eldest son of Petrus (2) and
Margaret (Livingston) Stuyvesant, was born
in New York City, died at his residence, the
"Bowery House," March 1, 1833. He possessed
great wealth, and devoted his time to
philanthropy and church work. He married,
January 31, 1793, Catharine Livingston,
daughter of John and Catharine (Livingston)
Reade. Nine children were born of this
union: 1. Peter, married Julia, daughter
of Edward Martin. 2. Nicholas William,
married Catherine Augusta Cheeseborough.
3. John Reade, born in 1792, died in 1853;
married (first) Catherine Ackerley, (second)
Mary Austin Yates. 4. Gerard, mentioned
below. 5. Robert Reade, died in 1834;
married, August 1, 1833, Margaret Augusta,
daughter of Christopher Middleberger. 6.
Joseph Reade, married Jane Ann Browning.
7. Catharine Ann, married, June 8, 1826,
John Mortimer Catlin. 8. Helen, married
(first) May 25, 1831, henry Dudley, (second)
Frances Olmstead, (third) November 25, 1851,
William S. Mayo. 9. Margaret Livingston,
married, February 1, 1835, Robert Van
Rensselaer.
(VI) Gerard, son of Nicholas William (2)
and Catharine Livingston (Reade) Stuyvesant,
was born in New York City, March 4, 1806,
died there January 18, 1859. He
received his education in the school of
his native city. At the age of fourteen
he went to sea and for some years as a
boy followed that
Page 294A--A. M. Stuyvesant
Page 295
calling, and during
that time visited many of the known ports
of the world, China, and other eastern
ports, was at St. Helena when Napoleon
died on that island, but did not land.
He inherited a large fortune, and was
thus able to devote himself to church
benevolences and public philanthropy.
He was one of the most respected citizens
of new York. Upon his death the
sheriff's jury of New York passed the
following resolution:
"Many
of us have known him from childhood up
and being aware of his honorable course
in the discharge of every duty in life,
desire to testify to his family and the
world our profound respect for the memory
of his virtues and the simplicity of his
life. In his death our city has
lost one of its worthiest citizens and
the poor have lost a friend whose life
was on of charity and love. His
memory should be cherished by all who
venerate the good and just.'
He married,
November 24, 1836, Susan Rivington, daughter
of Augustus Van Horne. Two children were
born to them; 1. Robert Reade, born
September 16, 1838, died March 30, 1906; he
married Amelia, daughter of Frederic and
Catharine anna (Remsen) Schuchardt. 2.
Augustus Van Horne, mentioned below.
(VII)
Augustus Van Horne, son of Gerard and Susan
Rivington (Van Horne) Stuyvesant, was born
in New York. He prepared for college in the
schools of his native city and completed his
education at Columbia University. He is
prominent in the social life of his city,
being a member of the Knickerbocker, Union,
Metropolitan, Tuxedo, County and New York
Yacht clubs, and the St. Nicholas Society.
He married, September 12, 1864, Harriet Le
Roy, daughter of John Steward. They have
three children: Catherine E. S., Augustus
Van Horne, Jr., Anne W.
LEVISON.
Marcus Levison, the first member
of this family of whom we have definite
information, was born in Gross Hertzhochthum
Hessen, Germany, where he lived and died.
He was a merchant by occupation, and a
Hebrew in religion. His wife's name
was Sarah. Children: Rica, married
Bernard Baruch; Emma, married Joseph Baruch;
Aaron, referred to below; Jacob.
(II) Aaron,
son of Marcus Levison, was born in Gross
Hertzhochthum, Hessen, Germany. He
emigrated to America before the Civil War,
enlisted in the Union Army in 1863 and
served until the close of the war. He is a
cigar manufacturer, a Hebrew in religion,
and a Republican in politics. He married,
in New York City, January 16, 1870, Caroline
Goldsmith, born in Gross Hertzhochthum,
Hessen, Germany. Children: 1. Solomon.
2. Benjamin, referred to below. 3.
Bertha.
(III)
Benjamin, son of Aaron and Caroline
(Goldsmith) Levison, was born in New
Rochelle, Westchester County, New York, July
19, 1872, and is now living in Nyack,
Rockland County, New York. He received his
education in the public schools of New
Rochelle and Nyack, and then determining to
study law, he became a clerk in the law
offices of A. A. Demarest in Nyack, and was
admitted to the New York bar as attorney,
September 14, 1893, at the general term of
the supreme court in Brooklyn. Since then
he has been engaged in a lucrative general
practice in Nyack. He is a Democratic in
politics; he was elected justice of the
peace of the town of Orange, January 1,
1904, and served until January 1, 1910; he
was elected police magistrate of the village
of Nyack, January 1, 1906, to serve until
December 31, 1911, and was elected to
succeed himself, January 1, 1912. He is a
member of Mount Moriah Lodge, No. 27, Free
and Accepted Masons, of New York City, of
Consistory, No. 32, of New York City, of
Mecca Temple, of New York City, and of the
Rockland County Bar Association. He is a
member of the Nyack Hebrew Congregation. He
is unmarried.
SCOTT.
This ranks among the most prevalent
of surnames in the British Isles, almost
sixty coats-of-arms being assigned to
it, while the London Directory shows about
two hundred traders in the metropolis
so denominated. In records of early
date it is usually written Le Scot, implying
a native of Scotland. Now as the
tendency of Scotchmen to "go south"
is proverbial in Britain, the commonness
of the name in England is not to be wondered
at; but why many families that never lived
out of Scotland should be called Scott,
is not so readily explained. The
Duke of Buccleuch, the head of the surname
in Scotland, traces his pedi-
Page 296
gree to Richard Le
Scot, of Murdeston, county Lanark, one of
the Scottish barons, who swore fealty to
Edward I., in 1296. The name exists in
records of earlier date, but the claim set
up by one zealous genealogist for a Norman
extraction has no foundation. M. de Gervile
remarks: " It is somewhat curious that this
Duke of Buccleuch seeks for his name in
Normandy, and pretends that the original
appellation was L'Escott." Of the baronet
family, Scott of Ancrum and Scott of
Duninald, claim to be descended from the
renowned wizard, Michael Scott, who
flourished in the twelfth century, and
assert that the Buccleuch Scotts are the
younger branch of this house. In ancient
times the Latin word "Scotus" was applied
both to the inhabitants of Ireland and
Scotland, its meaning being similar to that
of "Gael" in the ancient language common to
both countries. Thus the missionaries from
Ireland who civilized and Christianized the
pagan countries of Europe between the Sixth
and Twelfth centuries were called "Scoti",
the plural of the Latin word "Scotus", which
mean a native of Ireland or Scotland. In
Roman and mediaeval times Ireland was called
"Scotia", and Scotland was called "Scotia
Minor". After the eleventh or twelfth
centuries, the Scandinavian word of Eireland
or Ireland, displaced throughout Europe in
current phraseology the term Scotia, which
was henceforth applied to Scotland alone,
whose other name was Caledonia. Scott is
thus the modern form of the ancient Latin
appellation, "Scotus."
(I) David
Scott, the first ascertainable ancestor of
the Scott family in America here dealt with,
was born in Dundee, Scotland, and died
there. He had three sons: David, John, and
Thomas, mentioned below.
(II) Thomas,
youngest son of David Scott, married
Elizabeth Deuchass, who died in 1763. The
children were: 1. Alexander. 2. Christina.
3. Margaret. 4; Elizabeth. 5. And David,
mentioned below.
(III) David
(2), youngest son of Thomas and Elizabeth
(Deuchass) Scott, was born at Dundee,
Scotland, in 1751, died in 1825 at Little
Britain, Orange County, New York. He was a
weaver in Dundee, and came to this country
in 1788, settling in Little Britain on part
of General Clinton's farm, where he began
and continued to engage in agricultural
pursuits. He was a strong churchman of the
Presbyterian faith. He married Margaret
Cowper (or Cooper) in 1782. The children
were: !. Elizabeth, born in Scotland, in
1783. 2. Christina, (twin), born in
Scotland. 3. Isabella (twin), born in
Scotland. 4. William, born in Orange
County. 5. James, mentioned below. 6.
David, born in Orange County, New York. 7.
Jane, born In Orange County. 8. John R.,
born in Orange county.
(IV) James
was the second son of David (2) and Margaret
(Cowper or Cooper) Scott. He married
Millicent --------------. Their son, David
a., is mentioned below.
(V) David A., son of James and Millicent
Scott, was born in the town of Montgomery,
Orange County, New York, August 18, 1825,
died suddenly at Indian Lake, in the Adirondacks,
New York, august 24, 1890. During
the interval of sixty-five years covered
by these dates, but more especially during
his active manhood, his experiences and
his usefulness were varied. After
graduation at the Montgomery Academy and
subsequently at the Wesleyan University,
he taught school for some years in South
Carolina, but ultimately took up the study
of the law in Newburg, and was admitted
to the bar in 1856. Thirty-four
years of professional life and the manner
in which they were passed won for him
not only reasonable success, but gained
for him the respect and esteem of his
contemporaries and the confidence of the
public. He was not a great man in
any sense, had no eminent rank as an attorney
or counsellor, but was nevertheless one
whose integrity was without question and
whose judgment was a safe reliance.
Mr. Scott held the office of surrogate
of the county for two terms (January,
1860 to January, 1866) and at their expiration
entered partnership with M. H. Hirschberg,
under the firm name of Scott & Hirschberg,
in which relation he remained until his
death, devoting his attention especially
to office work, including very largely
the settlement of estates and references
involving important and complicated questions.
For the vocation of an advocate he had
no marked aptitude. Aside from his
professional life Mr. Scott took an interest
in the influences of society having for
their object the elevation of his fellows.
He was an active member of St. George's
Episcopal Church, filling acceptably the
post of lay reader when service in that
capacity was required, and also that of
superintendent of the
Page 297
Sunday-school. When
death came to him it found him in the field
promoting the success of the mission of his
church, now the Church of the Good Shepard.
Next to his church he was a devotee of the
ancient and honorable order of Free and
Accepted Masons, finding nothing in its
principles or ritual that could reasonably
be condemned, and much that under
association, had a power and an object
second only to the church itself. He
entered the order in Newburg Lodge, No. 309,
in 1860, and passed from it to Hudson River
Lodge, in which he received its highest
honors. At different times he was presiding
officer of lodge, chapter and Commandery,
and at all times one of the prominent
craftsmen of the state. His service as a
trustee of common schools from 1887 to the
time of his death was of unquestionable
advantage to the schools and to the public,
and in private walks his charities were
many. Regarding Mr. Scott's life as a whole
the evidence is cumulative that he wasted
neither his powers nor his opportunities for
usefulness--that he mean goal, "thyself",
says one writer, "did not bound his vision
nor confine his hand".--that the force of
his example remains and will remain even
though his name shall wholly perish.
Mr. Scott
married Elizabeth, daughter of David N.
Bradley, who died in 1876. Children: 1.
William Clement, mentioned below. 2. James
Bradley.
(VI) William
Clement, son of David A., and Elizabeth
(Bradley) Scott, was born at Newburg, Orange
county, New York, February 21, 1860. He was
educated in the public schools of Newburg,
and fitted for college at Siglar's
Preparatory School, Newburg. He entered
Yale University in 1899, and graduated in
the class of 1893, with the degree of
Bachelor of Arts. In a few years he became
connected with the Newburg Planing Mill
Company, and has been secretary and
treasurer since its incorporation. He is a
director of the National Bank of Newburg,
and attended the First Presbyterian Church.
He married, October 20, 1897, Margaret
Lefever, daughter of John and Mary (Vail)
Schoonmaker. Children: Elizabeth and
William C.
TAYLOR.
The surname Taylor belongs to the
class of what are known as occupational
surnames, that is, surnames or family
names that have been derived from the
occupation or work of the original ancestor,
who first bore it, and among whose descendants
it became hereditary. To this class
also belongs names like smith, Gardener,
Skinner and Howard in English, MacGowan,
(the son of the Smith) in Erse or Gaelic,
Boulanger (Baker) ion French, and Schneider
(tailor) in German. This type of
names was very common among the Anglo-Saxons
of England as distinguished from the Normans,
who formed the ruling element, and who
derived their names chiefly from the territory
with which they had a governing connection.
Nor was that type of name common among
the Milesian Gaels, or Celts or Ireland
and Scotland, whose habit it was to form
family names from the personal names of
ancestors, some near, some remote, at
the date of the establishment, but in
the case of the leading families from
the names of ancestors who lived about
the eleventh century, or who took part
in the historic battle of Clontarf.
In Gaelic, it is interesting to note,
no family name derived from trade or an
occupation has ever been known to be preceded
by the Milesian prefix "O",
which never preceded any but names derived
from the personal names of ancestors.
In the case of all Gaelic names derived
from trade, occupation or profession,
or preceded by "Gil" or "Kil"
(from "giolla", servant) "Mac"
is the prefix invariably used; for example;
MacGowan, which is known to be the real
name of most of the Smith of Ireland,
altered in many cases as early as the
seventeenth century. A series of
remarkable articles, dealing with the
whole subject of Gaelic surnames was published
by Dr. O'Donovan, the celebrated translator
of the "Annals of the Four Masters",
in the defunct Dublin Penny Journal,
and these articles contain valuable information
on occupational surnames. In some
cases the name of Taylor has been derived
from a Norman-French form, "Taileur",
borne by some families in England, who
have the right to bear arms; there are,
however, a great many families in the
United States of the name of Taylor, who
have the right to bear arms. The
name is known in every part of the United
Kingdom, and even on the continent of
Europe under various forms. It by
no means follows that all these names
have an identical origin, that is, derived
from an occupational
Page 298
appellation, and it is
quite certain that one Taylor family need
to necessarily have any relationship to
another. Thus the application of the
expression "the Taylor family", while
correct as applied ina single case, is an
obvious misnomer as applied to all who bear
the name of Taylor. Many Taylors landed in
New England in the seventeenth century and
families were founded in every colony prior
to 1700. Some families of the name settled
in Connecticut, and many of the earlier
families are also found in New Hampshire.
In the case of some of the English Taylors,
whose descendants now live in Westfield, New
York, and elsewhere, the family is of
partial Norman stock, the name, it is
claimed, being a corruption of Taliaferro,
who is stated to have accompany William the
Conqueror to England. Perhaps the first of
the name in America was John Taylor, who
came from Haverhill, Suffolkshire, England,
with Governor Winthrop, June 12, 1636. He
was lost in the voyage of the "Phantom
Ship", famous in prose and poetry, but many
of his descendants still live. The arms of
one Taylor family are thus heraldically
described: Per pale azure, and or, a
cheval, between three buck's heads all
counterchanged, on a chief gules two hounds
meeting argent, collared of the second.
(I) Jonathan
Taylor, came to this country amount of
transactions in various commercial lines,
He did not stay definitely at Tappan, but in
1791 purchased a tract of land, consisting
of one thousand five hundred acres in the
town of Monroe. This became the Central
Valley homestead of the Taylor family; later
he went to Saratoga County. He was a
soldier in Van Nest's regiment. he married
a daughter of Aaron and Annetie (Jaens)
Halstead. Children: 1. Jonathan, Jr., 2.
Benjamin. 3 Aaron. 4. Isaac, mentioned
below, 5. Peggy.
(II) Isaac, son of Jonathan Taylor, was
born at Tappan, now Piermont, New Jersey,
about the year 1790, an died at "Roselawn",
the family homestead in Central Valley.
He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and
was a witness and partaker in many of
the stirring events of that time.
He lived most of his life on the family
homestead, which had been purchased by
his father, Jonathan Taylor, and which
he a large share in developing and beautifying.
This estate has been in the family possession
for well over a century, and in its present
state it is thus described by one magazine
writer:
"The estate, which this family has
occupied for something like one hundred
and twenty years, borders on the State
Road, about midway between the village
and the Highland Mills. A conspicuous
sign, hanging beneath the trees and bearing
the name Roselawn Inn and Cottages attracts
visitors to the place, although the attention
of every road passenger having an eye
for rural beauty and antiquity as applied
to old American homes, cannot fail to
be momentarily transfixed and provoked
to a question as to its ownership."
Isaac was
well-to-do, possessing one of the best kept,
most fertile and well-stocked farms of about
one thousand acres that could be seen in
that particular section of Orange County.
He married ------------. Children: 1.
Peter B., who when sixteen opened a general
store which he conducted until 1862, finally
settling at Newburg, Orange County, married
Lavinia C., daughter of Nathan and Mary E.
Strong; 2. Aaron Halstead, mentioned below.
(III) Aaron Halstead, son of Isaac
Taylor, was born on the old Taylor homestead,
"Roselawn", November 15, 1831,
"ina room adjoining the little office
in the old mansion in which he sits daily
at his desk." He attended the
district schools and was graduated from
Princeton College in the class of 1850.
His brother, Peter B., inherited the family
homestead, but he sold it to Aaron H.,
who gave it the name of "Roselawn".
As a boy he showed himself to be a born
horseman and at the time of his death
was the oldest breeder of fast trotting
stock in America. It was he who
forty years ago originated hose auction
sales in Orange County, giving to trotting
a reputation which was clung to it ever
since, and it was also he who founded
the finest stud of trotting and pacing
horses in the Eastern States, one that
attracted the eyes of this country and
Europe. Czar Nicholas II of Russia,
and King Humbert of Italy, hearing of
Mr. Taylor's remarkable success as a breeder,
sent their most expert buyers to "size
up" the Roselawn stud, with which
they were so favorably impressed that
they bought some of the finest stallions
bred there. Mr. Taylor's school
days were uneventful but even during that
period he traded in horses ina small way,
and after his school and college days
were over he took up in earnest the business
that always possessed for him an irresistible
charm. With a small capital made
by judicious investments
Page 299
he went to New York and
started a livery and sales stable at Seventh
Avenue and Broadway, on the spot where the
Times Building now stands. This proved a
very prosperous venture, the stable being
patronized by the well-to-do people of that
section, which was then a new and solely
residential one. When a stylish rig was
required by anyof the fashionable people for
the purpose of taking a spin up the old
Harlem Lane as far as Burnham's, the Elm
Park Club, or Steve DuBois' or even to the
opera of an evening, Mr. Taylor 's stable
was considered the proper place to go t be
accommodated in those days. At DuBois' was
a balcony from which the passing parade
could be viewed, and this club had among its
members, Commodore Vanderbilt, Robert Bonner
and H. M. Cushman, all prominent horsemen of
the day. On the occasion of the visit of
the Prince of Wales, afterwards King Edward
VII, of England, to this country, Mr. Taylor
was one of the invited guests at the ball
given in the Prince's honor at the
Metropolitan Hotel. At the outbreak of the
Civil War Mr. Taylor would up his livery
business and joined the Thirty-eighth New
York Regiment, which bore an excellent
record throughout the conflict.
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