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The military
history of William N. Lummis is as follows:
In order to enable the inhabitants in the
exposed frontier places, like the little
village of Sodus, in the Oswego Military
District on Lake Ontario, to defend
themselves, Governor Daniel D. Tompkins
authorized Major-General Amos hall,
commanding the Seventh Division, to issue
muskets and accooutrements to the
inhabitants, which was accordingly done, and
the residents of Sodus were supplied with
arms to meet any attack. On the evening of
June 15, 1813, the British squadron on Lake
Ontario, under Commodore Sir James Lucas Yeo,
arrived off the Genesee river, and sent an
armed detachment to the village of
Charlotte, at the head of navigation on that
river, whence it carried off a large
quantity of stores. The next day the
squadron started eastward, evidently intent
on further incursions, and appeared off
Sodus Bay, on Friday, June 18, 1813.
Brigadier-General William Burnet, commanding
the district, having on the evening of the
15th received information that
the British had landed at Genesee river,
ordered into service the Seventy-first
Regiment New York State Militia Infantry,
under Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant Philetus
Swift, and pat of the Militia Rifle
Battalion in the county, under Commandant
Elihu Ranger, but they did not arrive until
a little after sunrise on Monday morning,
June 21. On the evening of Saturday, June
19, 1813, a party of about one hundred
officers and men, fully armed, from the
British Squadron, landed at Sodus Point or
the purpose of destroying the public stores,
which had been removed, however.
Brigadier-General Burnet expected invasion,
and they immediately assembled at his call
to the number of forty, under Captain Enoch
Turner, who resided at Lyons, eleven miles
distant. Captain Turner, while living in
Herkimer County, had been from June 13,
1805, until his removal to Lyons, May 23,
1812, a captain in the Second Battalion,
Sixth Regiment New York State Artillery, and
was an officer of experience. On
notification of the arrival of the British
Squadron under Sir James Yeo, and under
Brigadier-General Burnet's orders, Captain
Turner at once took command of the
Independent Sodus Company. This company
including William N. Lummis, took post at a
bridge over a ravine, to resist the advance
of the British. Here a sharp fight ensued,
in which seven of the enemy were killed,
while in the Independent Company, one man
was mortally wounded and three others
wounded. So firm was the resistance that
the British detachment was repulsed and fell
back to the boats, but in doing so, out of
revenge, on Sunday morning, burned the empty
public storehouse, five dwellings, including
that of Mr. Lummis, and the old Williamson
Hotel. Soon afterward they embarked, taking
along iwht them about two hundred and thirty
barrels of flour and a few barrels of
whiskey and pork, private property. On
Monday morning the Seventy-first Regiment
State Militia arrived, and the services of
the Independent Company of Citizens under
Captain Turner were no longer needed, so
they were released from further duty. Their
service was from June 17 to June 20 1813.
After he had
completed his collegiate education, he
studied medicine, attending the lectures of
Dr. Rush at Philadelphia. His ambition as a
student is indicated by the act that he took
copious notes of the whole course, which
filled several quarto volumes, and are the
only report extant of that course. An
acquaintance thus formed between master and
pupil, they afterwards maintained a
correspondence of intimacy an friendship.
Commencing the practice of medicine in
Philadelphia, he continued there until
declining health, consequent upon an attack
of yellow fever, induced him to seek a
change of climate. He went on a tour of
exploration to the Genesee Country soon
after 1800. Ina trip by water with some
friends, they were overtaken by a storm off
the mouth of the Genesee River. The party
landed, and went up to view the falls, upon
the site of Rochester they came to a
solitary log cabin, knocked, and were bid to
Page 332
enter. Upon entrance
they found that in the absence of the family
a parrot had been the hospitable
representative. The family returned
shortly, and gave them a supper of potatoes
and milk, the best that residents of a place
now the site of an important city were
accustomed to in those days. Deciding to
make Sodus Point his home, he made
considerable investments in lands there, and
soon removed his family to their new home.
He resided at the Point until the
commencement of the War of 1812, when he
removed two miles farther up the lake, where
he purchased lands and erected a flouring
mill. Later he added a sawmill, an iron
forge and several other branches of
business, besides improving the land by
dividing it into farms and building houses
thereon for the tenants. The little
settlement was named "Maxwell," after his
wife, Sarah (Maxwell) Lummis, niece of
General William Maxwell, who was on General
Washington's staff. His medical practice
was only such as the exigencies of the new
region demanded, and was in large measure
gratuitous. He bestowed much of his time
and talents to the cause of internal
improvements. If not the projector, he
early and zealously espoused the opening of
a communication between Lake Ontario and the
Erie Canal, by means of a branch terminating
at Sodus Bay. This branch was ordered dug
by Mr. Lummis and General Adams and exists
today and is called by politicians, "The
Adams Ditch." It is the shortest route from
the Great Lakes to the sea. To
indefatigable industry and perseverance he
added extraordinary business talents, and to
a vigorous intellect he added a thorough
education, while he delighted in cultivating
literary tastes and pursuits in hours of
relaxation, all of which made him an
agreeable and instructive companion. The
inscription upon his tombstone to his
memory: "He was one of the pioneer border
settlers, his enterprising, vigorous and
active mind aided essentially in the
improvement of this country and commanded
for him universal esteem."
William Nixon
Lummis married twice. His Fist wife died in
early years. His second wife was Sarah
Maxwell, born September 17, 1780, died
November 8, 1849, daughter of Captain John
Maxwell and mary Ann (Clifford) Maxwell.
The children of Dr. William Nixon Lummis and
Sarah Maxwell: 1. Benjamin Rush, born
September 6, 1804, died June 10, 1882,
resided during most of his life on the east
side of Sodus Bay, Wayne County, New York.
2. William Maxwell, see forward. 3.
Elizabeth Friez, born October, 1815, died
June 3, 1877, married Dr. William H. Ellet,
professor of chemistry in Columbia College,
and she became the amiable and gifted
authoress of "The Women of the American
Revolution," and "Domestic History of the
American Revolution." 4. Dayton, born May
25, 1817, died May 13, 1870; married, June
10, 1841, Elizabeth Ann Hunting. 5. Jacob.
6. Anna Maria, married Philo Sheldon.
Captain John
Maxwell was born in county Tyrone, Ireland,
November 25, 1739. He settled with his
parents in Greenwich township, now in Warren
County, New Jersey. his parents were John
Maxwell, born in 1701, died August 19, 1747,
and Ann, his wife, born in 1712, died May
15, 1790. They emigrated to America about
1747, and were buried in the cemetery
adjoining the First Presbyterian Church of
Greenwich. Captain John Maxwell married
(first) Elizabeth Sloan, of Lamington, New
Jersey, born in 1747, died May 30, 1768; he
married (second) Mary Ann Clifford, born in
1744, died June 9, 1804, by whom nine
children; he married (third) Elizabeth
Kirkpatrick Sloan, daughter of David
Kirkpatrick, of Bernards townships, Somerset
County, New Jersey, (being then widow of
Henry Sloan, son of William and Mary Sloan,
of Lamington, New Jersey), and who was born
in 1749, died June 9, 1829.
Upon the
outbreak of the Revolution, John Maxwell
enlisted and was made lieutenant of the
first company raised in Sussex County, New
Jersey, being subsequently promoted to
captain, and was attached to the Second
Regiment Hunterdon County Militia. he was
also captain in colonel Spencer's additional
regiment, continental line, from February 7,
1777, to April 11, 1778, when he resigned.
He late raised a company of one hundred
volunteers from Sussex and Hunterdon
counties, and tendered their service to
General Washington when he was much reduced
in force. This command was known as
"Maxwell's Company," and their addition tot
he ranks was very acceptable. He
participated in the battles of Trenton,
Assunpink, Princeton, Brandywine,
Germantown, Monmouth and Springfield. After
the close of the war he returned to his farm
and was appointed one of the judges of
Hunterdon County, February 23, 1795;
re-appointed November 30, 1800. He removed
to Flemington about this time, and resided
there until his death, February 15, 1828.
He was buried at the old stone church,
Greenwich township, and his tombstone reads:
"John
Maxwell, Esq., second son of John and Anna
Maxwell. He was born in the county of
Tyrone in Ireland, Nov. 25th, A.
D., 1739, and at an early age emigrated with
his father to New Jersey. he was Lieutenant
in the first company raised in Sussex County
for the defense of his adopted country in
the Revolutionary War; and soon after in the
darkest hours of her fortunes joined the
Army of General Washington as Captain of a
company of 100 volunteers. He was engaged
in the battles of Trenton, Princeton,
Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth and
Springfield, and ever distinguished as a
brave and able officer; having served his
country in various Military and Civil
offices and faithfully discharged his
various duties as a Soldier, a Citizen, a
Christian, he closed a long and useful life
at his residence At Flemington, February 15th,
S. D., 1828, in the Eighty-ninth year of his
age."
(VII)
William Maxwell, son of Dr. William Nixon
and Sarah (Maxwell) Lummis, was born at
Sodus, Wayne County, New York, in 1809, died
at Sodus Point, August 21, 1869, buried in
Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York. he
was educated at Hobart College, Geneva, new
York, and afterwards became a dry goods
merchant, importing Scotch cloths and
velvets. At the time when it often took
three months to cross the ocean, he made
yearly trips to Europe in the interest of
his business, and thus early succeeded as an
enterprising merchant in his line. He
removed to New York, in order to broaden his
field. Besides his business ability, Mr.
Lummis was of an artistic temperament and
was capable of drawing beautifully with pen
and ink. He was a dignified gentleman of
the highest business principles, and was
regarded as a well-read man of his day.
Because of the Sodus Point, New York, and
there superintended the operating of a
sawmill, which cut the timber from his own
woods. He held the position of postmaster
of Lummisville, a town on the opposite side
of Sodus Bay from the Point, which was
settled by his father and named by him.
William H.
Lummis married, in New York City, June 15,
1840, Ann, daughter of William and Eliza
(West) O'Brien. She was born October 6,
1816, died at New York City, March 6, 1904.
The children of William Maxwell and Ann
(O'Brien) Lummis were: 1. William, born May
2, 1841; married Elizabeth Vesey Coleman.
2. John Maxwell, died at Sodus Point, August
7, 1911; married Elizabeth Beck, widow,
deceased. 3. Mary Florence, unmarried. 4.
Charles Augustus, married National Dulhain.
5. Dayton, died when about five years of
age. 6. Eliza O'Brien, born April 13, 1855,
unmarried. 7. Benjamin Rush, see forward.
William
O'Brien was born in Ireland in 1768, where
he was Lord O'Brien, Earl of Inchiquinn, and
emigrated to America at the time of the
Irish rebellion in 1798. His title and
estate were confiscated by the English and
turned over to the Protestant branch, who
were loyal to England. He came over on a
ship commanded by Captain John Stevens,
whose half-sister, Eliza West, he afterwards
married. This marriage took place at the
house of the bride, and Father Fenwick of
St. Peter's Church in New York City
officiated. The records of this church show
this marriage apparently under two dates
with different witnesses, the first on
January 27, 1810, with "John Chambery, J. B.
Dumoutet, Jas. Turk & others" as witnesses;
the second on February 15, 1810, with "Mrs.
West, Mr. Crofts, Mullany and others" for
witnesses. Eliza West, at the time of her
marriage in 1810,m was a school girl,
fifteen years of age, while William O'Brien
was then forty-two years old. In spite of
the difference in their ages, there is
evidence that they lived a very happy life,
she surviving her husband many years, but
never remarrying.
Joseph A.
Scoville, otherwise known as Walter Barret,
in 1870, had this to say of William O'Brien:
"There was to be found
in this great city, thirty years and odd
ago, experienced merchants who have retired
from active mercantile business and engaged
in pursuits equally important. I have in my
eve now the very form and figure of one of
these--William, O'Brien, who was engaged in
the ship-broker business, or rather in
adjusting the claims of merchants or other
insurers, upon insurance companies. In the
days I speak of, Mr. O'Brien was the only
person in the city who did that particular
but important 'specialtie.' He made up
'general averages' for ships and cargoes
lost, and such was the confidence in his
capacity, integrity and correctness that his
adjustments were never disputed
Page 334
by
port-wardens, insurers or insurance
companies. He was a true Irish gentleman,
and possessed great conversational powers.
His office was in Wall Street, between what
is now Hanover and Pearl Streets. His
residence was in Broome Street, around the
corner form Broadway towards Crosby. He was
very jovial and social, and held his levees
regularly once or twice a week. His house
was always open to his friends. No Irish
gentleman of any note eve passed through New
York without making his appearance at the
residence of Mr. O'Brien in Broome Street.
the best wines and liquors in the United
States could be found in perfection upon Mr.
O'Brien's good old-fashioned mahogany
sideboard. No man died more regretted. He
left several children. Two of his sons,
William and John O'Brien were for many years
engaged in the Mechanics' Bank, one as the
bookkeeper and one as first teller. They
left the bank to found the house of W. & J.
O'Brien some years ago, and are now doing a
very extensive brokerage business in Wall
Street. In fact, the O'Briens are probably
as much respected and do as large a business
as any financial house in Wall Street."
His last place of business, 1847, was
No. 33 Wall Street. He died at his
residence, No. 433 Broome Street, New York
City, on Monday, August 31, 1846, aged
seventy-eight years, and was buried in the
old St. Patrick's cemetery at Mott and
Prince Street, but his remains were
subsequently removed to Calvary cemetery in
Brooklyn.
(VIII)
Benjamin, Rush, son of William Maxwell and
Ann (O'Brien) Lummis, was born in new York
City, July 27, 1857. He was educated at St.
Francis Xavier's College in New York and at
Seton Hall College in South Orange, New
Jersey. He engaged in the real estate
business, associating with it insurance
brokerage, and in 1913 was located at No. 25
West Thirty-third Street. He is a member of
the appraisal committee of the Real Estate
Board of Brokers. The genial disposition of
Mr. Lummis has won for him a wide circle of
acquaintances, while his tactics and honesty
of purpose in all business transactions have
placed him high in the ranks of his
associates. Among the patriotic societies
he is very active, and his services are
constantly in demand in promoting their
welfare. He was appointed on the board of
managers of the Roman Catholic Orphan Asylum
by His eminence, Cardinal Farley.
Mr. Lummis is
identified with the following societies and
institutions. Sons of the Revolution in the
State of new York, and member of its board
of managers; Society of Colonial Wars;
Veterans Corps of Artillery in the State of
New York; War of 1812, uniformed corps;
National Museum of Art; Economic Society;
Museum of Natural History; National
Geographic Society; Pilgrim Society; New
York Athletic Club; Circle of Friends of the
Medallion; Advisory Board of the New York
Foundling Hospital; Advisory Board of the
Seton Hospital for Consumptives; Board of
Trustees of the Catholic Institute for the
Blind.
MOFFAT.
This family is of ancient Scottish ancestry,
dating back to the early part of the
thirteenth century. Burke in his
"Encyclopedia of Heraldry, published in
1844, has mentioned of a Nicholas de Moffat,
Bishop of Glasgow, as early as 1268. From
the twelfth to the close of the sixteenth
century they were prominent in the south of
Scotland. They served in the Army of
Wallace, and after his death loyally gave
their support to Bruce. In the fifteenth
century many interesting accounts are
preserved of the contest of the Moffats with
the Johnstone family, whose growing power
they bitterly opposed. About 1560 the head
of the Moffat clan was killed, and the power
of the family crushed. Soon after 1608
members of the family settled in Glencairn,
Lauderdale, England, the north of Ireland,
and on the continent. The family name is
derived from a locality in Annandale,
Scotland. In this town is a plain called by
the ancient Celts Morfad or Maharfad,
signifying a long plain. Later, when the
country was occupied by the Normans, the
pronunciation of the old name Maharfad was
softened to Moffat. A stream in the valley
is called Moffat or Moffat Water, and the
alley through which the stream flows is
called Moffat Dale. Theold town on the
northern side of the plain was called
Moffat, and the medicinal springs near the
town are known as Moffat Wells.
(I) the
Family were prominent Covenanters, and
Samuel Moffat, ancestor of a branch of the
family in Ireland, was born near Ayrshire,
Scotland. He served with the Covenanter
forces in the battle of Bothwell Bridge,
June 22, 1679, and after their disastrous
defeat fled to Ballylig, Ireland. A Samuel
Moffat was a resident of Woodbridge, New
Jersey, where in 1710 he became a member of
the Presbyterian Church, and it is believed
Page 335
that he was the Samuel
Moffat who fought in the battle of Bothwell
Bridge.
(II) William,
son of Samuel Moffat, immigrated to new
Jersey at an early date. He married
---------- and among his children were: 1.
Samuel, born in Ballylig, Ireland, July 18,
1704; when he came to America is now known,
but he died here May 17, 1787; in 1752 he
moved from Woodbridge, new Jersey,. to
Blagg's Cove, Ulster County, New York; he
married (first) Ruth Burns, who died June 5,
1734; (second) at Woodbridge, New Jersey,
June 5, 1735, Anne Gregg, a native of
Ireland; his children were: i. William. ii.
Thomas. iv. Samuel. v. John. vi. Jane. vii.
Isaac. viii. Elizabeth. ix. Margaret. x.
Anna. xi. Mary. xii. Elinor, and xiii.
Catherine. 2. Thomas, married, in 1750,
-------------; located in Goshen, Orange
County, New York. 3. William, resided in
Somerset County, New Jersey, in 1752-53; his
sons Samuel and William served in the
Revolutionary War. 5. Mary, married James
Barkley, of Ulster county, New York:
children: i. Samuel, ii. John, iii. James,
iv. William, v. Thomas, vi. Thomas. vii.
Mary, and, viii. Margaret. 5. John, of whom
further.
(III) Rev. John Moffat, son of William
Moffat, was born probably at or near Woodbridge,
New Jersey, (date Unknown), and died in
Little Britain, New York, April 22, 1788.
Very little is known of his boyhood days,
but he must have been of a studious turn
of mind, as he was enabled to enter the
College of New Jersey (now Princeton University)
in May, 1747, being one of the first students
to register. He graduated in the
second class to leave this college, September
27, 1749, with the degree of Bachelor
of Arts. He studied theology, and
May 30, 1750, was licensed to preach by
the Presbytery of New York, and October
4 of the same year he was ordained by
the same presbytery. The following
year he was called to and installed as
pastor of the Wallkill or Goodwill Church,
near the village of Montgomery, in Orange
County (now Ulster), New York, and there
he remained until 1769. The reason
for his leaving this church is not definitely
known, but I is believed that the theological
differences which were so rife in Presbyterianism
at that time were the causes of his resigning
the pastorate. That he was an energetic
pastor is shown by the many improvements
made on the church property. In
1765, through his persistence labors,
a new church edifice was erected, and
July 1, 1766, a farm of one hundred acres
adjoining the church was purchased.
He engaged in teaching for several years,
and during the years 1778-81, he taught
a Latin school at Little Britain.
He was a successful teacher, and numbered
among his students representatives of
the best families in that section of the
state. A bill rendered General James
Clinton, under date of February 15, 1781,
is of historical interest, as it shows
the low cost of securing an education
in those days:
| To 2-11-1/2 years schooling for
Alexander and Charles, at £5
per year |
£22.10 |
| To 2 years and 27 days, George |
8.12 |
| To 2 years of Dewitt |
10.00 |
| To 2-1/2 years, Polly |
2.5 |
His will,
dated March 10, 1787, is a very interesting
document. According to the census taken in
1775, of the one hundred slaves owned in New
York, Mr. Moffat had one.
He married,
December 10, 1750, Margaret, daughter of
Rev. John and Frances (Fitzgerald) Little;
she was born May 30, 1724, died in Little
Britain, New York, October 18, 1800. They
had eight children, all born in Little
Britain: 1. John Little, of whom further.
2. William, born May 20, 1755, died in New
York city, December 21, 1820; was owner of
valuable real estate; married (first) Eunice
Youngs, who died December 10, 1799; (second)
Rhoda -----------; children: i. Julia Ann,
ii. Henry Youngs, iii. Abigail, iv. John, v.
Frances, and vi. Elizabeth. 3. Margaret,
born June 6, 1757; married Jacob Wright, of
Jamaica, New York, a gallant officer of the
Revolutionary War; after the war they
located in Goshen and later in Albany, New
York. 4. Mary, born July 12, 1759, died in
Galen, Seneca County, New York, August 25,
1823; she married, January 15, 1789, Anthony
Carpenter, a veteran of the Revolutionary
War; he owned a large farm near Goshen,
where he resided until his death; children:
John and George. 5. Samuel, born February
17, 1761, died in Dryden, New York, March
13, 1841; in 1806 he located in Rogues'
Harbor, now Libertyville, Tompkins County,
New York, where he was engaged in business
with Robert Tenant Shaw; in 1817 he removed
to Columbia village, Dryden, New York, where
he operated a saw mill for some years; he
met with success in his business ventures
and acquired a valuable property; he
married, in Lansing, New York, January 25,
1814, Ann Shaw, who died in Dryden, June
Page 336
24, 1844; children: i.
John Shaw, ii. William Shaw, iii. Samuel
Alonzo, iv. Daniel J., v. Isabella S., vi.
Addison Robert, and vii. Mary Jane. 6.
Frances, born April 2, 1764, died in
Wallkill, New York, October 7, 1843; she
married, in 1788, Josiah Pierson, son of
Silas Pierson; he died in Mount Hope, Orange
County, New York, march 20, 1820; children:
i. Mary, ii. Henry, iii. Richard Wright, iv.
Margaret. V. Mary Anne, vi. Elizabeth, vii.
Silas Gilbert, viii. William, ix. John
Moffat. 7. Elizabeth, born May 6, 1766,
died in Milton, Ulster County, New York,
July 3, 1844; married, in Ulster County, New
York, March 15, 1792, Cornelia Roose, who
died in New York City, March 7, 1834; one
child, Catherine. 8. Catherine, born March
30, 1774, died in New York city, December 3,
1849; married, February 15, 1800, Major
Bezaleel, son of Bezaleel and Anna (How)
Howe; Major Howe was a gallant officer
during of Revolutionary War, and during the
last six months of the war served in
Washington's own body guard; after the war
he was for a time in command of the post at
West Point, and upon retiring from active
service in the late nineties he went to New
Orleans, and engaged in business for some
years; later he located in New York City,
where he was inspector in the customhouse
until his death, September 3, 1825;
children: i. Elias, ii. George C., iii.
Margaretta, iv. John Moffat, v. Oscar, vi.
Julia Ann. Vii. Catharine, viii. Bezaleel.
(IV) John
Little, son of Rev. John and Margaret
(Little) Moffat, was born in Little Britain,
New York, June 15, 1753, died in Goshen, new
York, February 10, 1788. He received a
liberal education, and at an early age began
the work of a surveyor, in which vocation he
was very successful. In company with Simon
De Witt, cousin of Governor De Witt Clinton,
he surveyed many thousands of acres of land
in Western New York, then being rapidly
developed. It was in one of the trips in
the summer of 1788 that he caught a severe
cold by plunging on a hot day into a stream
of water; the cold developed into
consumption, of which he died the following
February. He met with success in his
surveying and business enterprises, and
acquired a valuable property. His sister,
Mrs. Howe, described him as "tall and very
handsome and devoted to athletics, excelling
in all competitions as a rider, swimmer,
jumper and wrestler." During the first few
years after his marriage, he resided in New
Britain, and later in Goshen, where he owned
a large house which subsequently became the
summer residence of Ogden Hoffman, of New
York City. He married, March 16, 1779,
Mary, daughter of Anthony and Phebe (Youngs)
Yelverton; she was born in Ulster County,
New York, in 1759, died in Goshen, February
17, 1788. Children, born in Goshen: 1.
Phebe, born January 28, 1780, died in Auburn
, New York, July 9, 1814; married, June 20,
1809, George Leitch, who died in Auburn,
October 18, 1820; one child, George Fleming.
2. Margaret, born January 2, 1782, died in
Wallkill, New York, November 7, 1813; she
married, March 1, 1806, Philip Miller, born
1777, died in Wallkill, New York, September
16, 1837; children: John Moffat and Mary
Elizabeth. 3. Maria, born February 22,
1784, died in New Orleans, Louisiana,
February 15, 1866; she married, January 1,
1801, Captain Thomas Howard, a sea captain,
born 1771, died in Brooklyn, New York,
February 22, 1854; children: John, George
Fleming, Eliza, Thomas, and Thomas
Hodgkinson. 4. Anthony Yelverton, born
January 18, 1786, died in Danbury,
Connecticut, August 22, 1853; he became a
sea captain, having his first command before
he was twenty-one years of age; from
February 8, 1843 until January 28, 1848, he
was port warden of the port of New York; he
married (first) in Norfolk, Virginia,
January 15, 1807, Sarah Amanda Fims Wirling,
and (second) in New York City, June 19,
1820, Julia, daughter of Abner and Mary
(Osborn) Curtis; she was born December 13,
1797, died February 11, 1865; seven
children: Robert John, Euphemia Maria,
Edwin Curtis, Julia Curtis, Anthony
Yelverton, Mary Emma, Anthony Yelverton. 5.
John Little, mentioned below.
(V) John
Little (2), son of John Little (1) and Mary
(Yelverton) Moffat, was born in Goshen, New
York, February 12, 1788, died in Brooklyn,
New York, Jun e 19, 1865. He received a
liberal education, and at an early age
learned the trade of a silversmith, at which
vocation he worked in New York City for many
years. About 1835 he located in the valley
of the Nacoochie, in Northern Georgia, to
develop a gold mine he had purchased. He
had previously owned a gold mine in North
Carolina. In 1849 he joined the band of
"forty-niners" and crossed the plains
Page 337
to California. Soon
after reaching the coast he was made assayer
for the United States government, retaining
this position until his return east, and
during this time he won a high reputation
for unswerving integrity in his work, which
survived him for many years. He was in turn
a member of the Presbyterian, Episcopal,
Dutch Reformed, Quaker, Methodist, and
Swedenborgian churches. He married, in
Danbury, Connecticut, March 19, 1811,
Hannah, daughter of Reuben and Silence
(Allen) Curtis. She was born in Danbury,
Connecticut, June 28, 1791, died in
Brooklyn, New York, January 18, 1859.
Fourteen children, all but the last, born in
New York City: 1. John Little, born May 20,
1812, died September 12, 1812. 2. May
Silence, born July 16, 1813, died in new
York City, May 26, 1880; married John Allen,
born in Bath, Maine, September 4, 1802, died
in New York State: children: Arthur Moffat,
Charles Doughty, Bessie Trevette, mary
Cushing, John Little Moffat. 3. Adeline
Margaret, born June 19, 1815, died in
Brooklyn, new York, July 15, 1880; married,
in new York City, June 8, 1841, Joseph T.
Curtis, M.D., who died November 13, 1857;
four children: Jessie, Gram, Frank and
Ernest. 4. John Little, born April 24,
1817, died February 11, 1832. 5. Reuben
Curtis, mentioned below. 6. Frances Denton,
born February 18, 1821, died June 22, 1822.
7. George Fleming, born April 13, 1823, died
unmarried, August 7, 1848. 8. Anthony
Yelverton, born February 8, 1825, died May
26, 1825. 9. Howard Allen, born June 14,
1826, died March 26, 1827. 10. Isabella
Frances, born January 23, 1828, died July
26, the same year. 11. Juliette Elizabeth,
born April 15, 1829, died April 25, 1829.
12. Frederick, born November 6, 1830, died
November 20, 1830. 13. Eugene, born
November 27, 1832, died July 6, 1833. 14.
Thomas Howard, born in Nacoochie, Georgia,
March 26, 1837, died in Tully, New York,
April 26, 1892; he changed his name in early
youth to Howard Fenwick Moffat; served as an
officer in the Untied State Navy, during the
Civil War, and at the battle of Vicksburg,
he lost an arm; was on the retired list of
the Navy at the of his death.
(VI) Dr.
Reuben Curtis Moffat, son of John Little (2)
and Hannah (Curtis) Moffat, was born in
Ithaca, New York, December 11, 1818, died in
Brooklyn, New York, August 28, 1894. He
graduated in 1846 from the medical
department of the University of the City of
New York with the degree of M D., and began
the practice of his profession in New York.
In a short time he removed to Newtown, Long
island, and in July, 1849, he located in
Brooklyn, New York, where he made his home
until his death. He became an early
advocate and practitioner of the principles
of homeopathy and continued until his death
a stalwart champion of this school of
medicine. In 1883 the Regents of the
University of the State of New York, in
recognition of his distinguished success in
his profession, conferred upon him the
honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine.
Early in life Dr. Moffat became a convert to
the teaching of the church of the New
Jerusalem (popularly known as the
Swedenborgian church). He was one of the
organizers of the church in Brooklyn, and
until a clergyman was selected he conducted
the service. For many years he taught a
class in the church, giving up the work only
when his health failed and he was obliged to
retire from all active work, about a year
previous to his death. He was a deep
student of the teachings of the church, and
at an early age began collecting the works
of Swedenborg and the publications of the
denomination until he possessed one of the
finest and most complete libraries in the
country. This library he placed at the
disposal of the public until the Brooklyn
Society of the New Church had opened their
more modern library. Dr. Moffat was an able
physician. He loved his fellowmen, loved to
work among them, loved to help them in their
need, and love of this kind begets a love
which finds expression in genuine sorrow
when death severs the life. |
