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(I) John Whitney, son of Thomas and Mary
(Bray) Whitney, was born in Westminster,
England, was baptized in St. Margaret's
Church, July 290, 1593, and coming to
America in 1635, did at Watertown,
Massachusetts, June 1, 1673. He was
reported "Gentleman" in his marriage license
taken out in England, and it is presumed
that his education in the famous
"Westminster School" now known as St.
Peter's College, was a good one. When
fourteen years old he was apprenticed by his
father, February 22, 1607, to William prig,
of the Old Bailey, London, who was a
"freeman" of the Merchant Taylor's Company,
then the most famous and prosperous of all
the great trade guilds, numbering in its
membership distinguished men of the
profession, nobility and the Prince of
Wales. On March 13, 1614, when twenty-one
years of age, he became a full fledged
member. He made his residence at Isleworth-on-Thames,
and about 1618, married Eleanor ----------,
who was born in England, 1599, and six
children were born to him before sailing to
American, three afterwards. His father
apprenticed to him his youngest brother,
Robert, November 8, 1624, who served seven
years. He removed about 1631, to London,
where entries in the register of St. Mary
Aldermery indicate that he resided in "Bowe
Lanne," near Bow Church, where hand the
famous bells. Early in April, 1635, he
registered with his
Page 351
wife Eleanor, and their
sons, John, Richard, Nathaniel, Thomas and
Jonathan, as passengers in the ship
"Elizabeth and Ann", Roger Cooper, master.
They arrived at Watertown, Massachusetts, in
June, and settled there, where their son,
Joshua, was born July 15. John Whitney
purchased a sixteen acre homestall which had
been granted to John Strickland, who had
been dismissed from the Watertown church,
May 29, 1635, and was one of that colony to
remove and plant Wethersfield, Connecticut.
His homestead was the permanent home of John
Whitney. It was situated a short distance
north of Belmont street and east of Common
street. In 1668 he requested his youngest
son, Benjamin, who had settled in York,
Maine, to return and live with him at the
homestead, assuring him that it should be
his after his death. With the father's
consent, Benjamin conveyed his rights for
forty pounds in 1671 to his brother, Joshua,
and when his father died, Joshua returned to
Groten, and October 29, 1697, sold the
homestead to Deacon Nathan Fiske. John
Whitney was admitted freeman, March 3,
1635-36, was appointed constable of
Watertown, June 1, 1641, by the general
court, selectman, 1638, to 1655 inclusive,
and town clerk, 1655.
He married
(first) in England, Eleanor --------, born
1599, died at Watertown, Massachusetts, May
11, 1659; married (second) Judah Clement,
who died before his death in 1673.
Children: 1. Mary, baptized in England, May
23, 1619, died young. 2. John, born in
England, 1620, died at Watertown, October
12, 1692; freeman of Watertown, May 26,
1647, selectman 1673-70, married, 1642,
Ruth, daughter of Robert Reynolds, of
Watertown, Massachusetts. 3. Richard, see
forward. 4. Nathaniel, born in England,
1627; nothing further. 5. Thomas, born in
England, 1629, died September 20, 1719;
married, in Watertown, January 11, 1654,
Mary Kedall or Kettle. 6. Jonathan, born in
England, 1634, died in Sherborn, 1702;
married in Watertown, October 30, 1656,
Lydia, daughter of Lewis Jones. 7. Deacon
Joshua, born in Watertown, July 5, 1635,
died at Watertown, August 7, 1719; married
(first) Lydia ----------, (second) mary
-------------, who died at Groten, March 17,
1671, (third) September 30, 1672, Abigail
Tarball. 8. Caleb, born at Watertown, July
12, 1640, buried December 5, 1640. 9.
Benjamin, born at Watertown, June 6, 1643,
died in 1723; married (first) probably at
York, Maine, Jane -----------, November
14, 1690, married (second) April 11, 1695,
Mary Poor, of Marlboro, Massachusetts.
(II) Richard,
son of John and Eleanor Whitney, was born in
England, 1626, and came to Watertown,
Massachusetts, with his parents, arriving in
June, 1635. He was admitted freeman, May 7,
1651; was proprietor of Stow, June 3, 1680,
whither he probably removed when it was part
of Concord, or belonged to it. On April 7,
1697, being seventy years of age, he was
released from training by the court. He
married, march 19, 1650, Martha Coldam, and
their eight children were born in Watertown,
Massachusetts. Children: 1. Sarah, born
March 17, 1652. 2. Moses, August 1, 1655,
married Sarah Knight. 3. Johannah, January
6, 1657. 4. Deborah, October 12, 1658. 5.
Rebecca, December 15, 1659, died February
1660. 6. Richard, see forward. 7. Elisha,
August 26, 1662. 8. Ebenezer, June 30,
1672, at Concord, Massachusetts, died August
1, 1727, married Anna ------------.
(III) Richard
(2), son of Richard (1) and Martha (Coldam)
Whitney, was born at Watertown,
Massachusetts, January 13, 1661, died at
Stow, Massachusetts, December 15, 1723. He
had land granted to him at that place,
October 24, 1682, whither he removed from
his native town. He married Elizabeth, born
February 3, 1668, died November 24, 1723,
daughter of Jonathan Sawtell, of Groten,
Massachusetts. Children: 1. Richard, see
forward. 2. Jonathan, born at Stow,
February 26, 1699, died November 8, 1773;
married, at Lancaster, Massachusetts,
January 20, 1718, Alice Willard, born
December, 1699, died February 120, 1792,
daughter of Simon Willard. 3. Sarah, born
1703; married, 1723, Captain Hezekiah
Hapsgood. 4. Ruhannah, born 1705. 5.
Joshua, born at Stow, 1706; married Zerviah
------------. 6. Hannah, married Samuel
Farr. 7. Elizabeth, married, December 29,
1722, John Wetherby. 8. Hepsibah, born
1710; married October 12, 1732, Seth
Sawyer.
(IV) Richard
(3), son of Richard (2) and Elizabeth (Sawtell)
Whitney, was born at Stow, Massachusetts, in
1694, died April 27, 1775. He married
(first) Hannah, daughter of Josiah Whitcomb,
of Lancaster, Massachusetts, who was born in
1693, died November
Page 352
17, 1743; married
(second) October 26, 1745, Mrs. Hannah
Ayers, born in 1704, died September 27,
1775. Children: 1. Mary, born November 24,
1715; married ------------ Gates. 2.
Dorothy, born April 13, 1718; married
------------ Taylor. 3. Daniel, born
February 13, 1720, died in 1782; married,
November 9, 1744, Dorothy Goss, of
Lancaster, Massachusetts. 4. Hannah, born
May 29,m 1723l married -------------
Wetherbee. 5. Richard, born at Stow, July
31, 1725, died May 4, 1798; married,
Sudbury, December 10, 1747, Mary Perry. 6.
Elizabeth, born July 23, 1728, died before
1775; married, April 15, 1748, Joseph
Wetherbee. 7. Josiah, see forward. 8.
Sarah, married, December 23, 1760, Captain
Hezekiah Whitcomb, of Harvard,
Massachusetts.
(V)
Brigadier-General Josiah Whitney, son of
Richard (3) and Hannah (Whitcomb) Whitney,
was born in Stow, Massachusetts, October 12,
1731, died in Albany, Massachusetts, January
24, 1806. He was the citizen of Harvard,
Massachusetts, who held the highest military
rank during the Revolution, and was at one
time the town's most noted and influential
citizen, being the leader in town politics.
His mother was a near relative of the
veteran military leaders, Colonel Asa and
General John Whitcomb. On September 2,
1746, his parents deeded to him land in
Harvard, which he occupied soon after his
marriage, his dwelling standing nearly
opposite of the almshouse, until town down
in 1860. He inherited a fondness for
military affairs, and when about his
majority he entered upon what proved a most
brilliant military career. In the spring of
1755 he was a member of the company
commanded by Captain William Pierce, that
marched in Colonel Whitcomb's regiment
against the French and Indians at Crown
Point. He was in the notoriously bloody
battle at Lake George,. September 8, 1755,
where the gallant General Dieskau was
defeated by the New England yeomanry. From
august 13 to 26, 1757, he was a member of
the foot company commanded by Captain Israel
Taylor that marched on the late alarm fro
the relief of Fort henry, as far as
Springfield, and on September 26, 1774, he
was chosen commander of a company. When on
December 19, 1774, the Continental Resolves
were read before the town, a committee was
appointed to prepare a covenant to be signed
by the inhabitants, pledging adherence to
independence, he was one of ten named to
inspect breaches of the covenant. Colonel
Asa Whitcomb, having been authorized to
raise a regiment at the time of the
provincial congress, April, 1774, he did so,
and on May 25, announced that Josiah
Whitney, of Harvard, was
lieutenant-colonel. That regiment contained
five hundred and sixty volunteers, mustered
into eleven companies, and was the largest
of the twenty-six Massachusetts regiments
before Boston. He was appointed to take
command of a battalion of men raised by the
state, April 10, 1776, and on October 29,
wrote from camp at Hull, "though the pay of
the state was small, yet my zeal for the
liberties of my country, was so great that I
cheerfully undertook it." When the
continental army departed for New York, his
regiment went with the Massachusetts militia
to the defense of the coast. When General
Burgoyne was marching toward Albany from the
north, he ordered, on July 27, 1777, a draft
of one-sixth of the training bands and alarm
lists in his regiment to march at once to
Bennington and on August 2, ordered one-half
of the militia to follow. On January 13,
1778, he was made chairman of a committee
which the town had appointed "to take into
consideration the Articles of Confederation
and Perpetual Union of the United States of
America Concerted on by Congress." He was
commander of the Second Worcester Regiment
of Militia, as colonel, when it took part in
the operation in Rhode Island, when in
August and September, 1778, an attempt was
made to wrest that colony from the others.
He was chosen on of two delegates to be sent
to the convention for the state
constitution. He was made brigadier-general
in 1783, but resigned the office before the
breaking out of Shay's insurrection. In
1782 the governor appointed him a justice of
the peace in and for the county of
Worcester. In 1783-84-87-88-89 he was a
member of the board of selectmen, and during
this period one of the most popular
moderators at the deliberations of the town
voters. He was the delegate from Harvard to
the convention held to ratify the federal
constitution in Boston, January 9, 1788, and
voted with the minority in opposition but
would support it nevertheless. He was
representative in the legislature,
1780-81-88-89. With church matters he was
prominently identified.
He married
(first) in Stow, Massachusetts,
Page 353
September 9, 1751,
Sarah Farr, born January 19, 1735, died in
Harvard, Massachusetts, April 21, 1773;
married (second) at Harvard, February 3,
1774, Sarah Dwelly, of Bridgewater, who died
at Whittingham, Vermont, February 18, 1817.
Children: 1. Josiah, born at Harvard,
Massachusetts, February 25, 1753, died
January 2, 1827, married, Harvard, January
10, 1776, Anna Scollay, baptized April 18,
1756, died, Nelson, New Hampshire, March 8,
1824. 2. Elizabeth, born May 7, 1755;
married, April 28, 1796 Phinneas Burgess.
3. Stephen, born Harvard, May 1, 1757, died
Lynn, Massachusetts; married February 6,
1783, Persis Locke, born 1757, died in
Deerfield, June 25, 1806. 4. Infant, died
June 4, 1761. 5. Infant, died May 10,
1762. 6. Infant, died March 16, 1763. 7.
Infant, died February, 1766. 8. Infant,
died February 18, 1768. 9. Sarah, born
April 11, 1775; married (first) December 14,
1791, Laomi Burgess, born March 1, 1770;
married (second) September 27, 1827, Phinaes
Barnard, of Harvard; she died May 23, 1860.
10. Oliver, born January 9, 1777; reported
to have died at sea. 11. Artemas Ward, born
November 17, 1778; similar report as on
Oliver. 12. Susanna, born October 2, 1780;
married November 8, 1803, John Adams, fo
Ashburnham, and died in North Adams,
Massachusetts, may 5, 1866. 13, Dwelly,
born august 2, 1782, similar report as
Oliver. 14. Lemuel, born Harvard, September
19, 1784, died July 9, 1853, Ashburnham,
Massachusetts; married, December 4, 1804,
Elizabeth Hall, born February 6, 1788, died
April 30, 1852. 15. Daniel, see forward.
16. John Hancock, born December 13, 1788;
married and resided at Cazenovia, New York.
17. Moses Gill, born February 4, 1791;
married Ann Shields.
(VI) Daniel,
son of Brigadier-General Josiah and Sarah
(Farr) Whitney, was born in Massachusetts,
October 25, 1786, died April 18, 1869. He
was a master mason builder, and moved with
his family from Boston, in 1828, in a sloop,
with all his goods and a family consisting
of ten children, to New York City, the trip
consuming one week. There he resided until
he died at the age of eighty-two. He had
presentiments the year previous to his death
that it was to be his last, as it proved and
accordingly named his pall-bearers. He was
most active in building circles after the
great fire of 1835. He married, March 10,
1808, Hannah Shields, of Waltham,
Massachusetts, where he had resided in
younger days. Children: 1. Daniel J., born
February 11, 1809, died in San Francisco,
February 10, 1850. 2. Hannah Maria, born
October 10, 1810, died, unmarried, December
25, 1859. 3. George, born October 30, 1812,
died at sea. 4. Josiah Marshall, Boston,
Massachusetts, January 19, 1814; married, at
Astoria, New York, May 16, 1839, Mary Jane
Avery, born September 8, 1820. 5. Edward
Oliver, born December 24, 1816; married
Eliza Lawrence. 6. Lucy Jane, born December
16, 1818, died January 11, 1861; married,
October 19, 1854, George B. Revere, born
January 26, 1823, died December 11, 1882.
7. Susanna, born February 24, 1821. 8.
Benjamin Shurtliff, born November 5, 1822,
died August 6, 1850. 9. Abigail, born
November 21, 1824; married Theodore Crowell,
and removed to Dillsburg, Pennsylvania. 10.
William Minott, see forward. 11. Warren
Webster, New York City, March 12, 1829;
married, in New York City, February 4, 1856,
Jenny A. Bord, born in Troy, New York,
February 10, 1836. 12. Sarah Louisa, born
September 26, 1831, died August 14, 1832.
(VII) William
Minott, son of Daniel and Hannah (Shedd)
Whitney, was born in Boston, Massachusetts,
January 2, 1827, died at his residence, No
156 Washington Avenue, New York, May, 1905.
His parents resided in Boston until they
removed by boat trip in 1828 to New York
City. At the start of his career, he found
employment ina metropolitan dry goods
house. He soon became recognized as an
expert in the buying of goods, and from 1845
to 1859 was chief buyer for various large
houses. The large store, Nos. 43-45-47-49
North Pearl Street, Albany, to which he was
to devote the larger share of his life, was
opened in 1859 by Ubsdell, Pierson &
Company, and in 1860 he came to Albany as
their manager. In 1862, when James T. Lenox
purchased the business, Mr. Whitney
continued to represent the new management.
In 1865 he formed a partnership with John G.
Myers by the purchase of the Lenox store,
and the place became widely known as the
"New York Store." Its business increased
until it became the most ex-
Page 354
tensive of its kind
between the metropolis and Chicago. This
arrangement continued until 1870, when Mr.
Myers retired, and Mr. Whitney continued the
business alone until 1877, when he admitted
William H. Pangborn and S, M, Van Santwood
as partners. Twelve years later the firm
was dissolved, and Mr. Whitney continued the
business with his son, William M. Whitney
Jr. In 1896 he admitted his other son,
Charles L. A. Whitney, as a partner, which
resulted in its continuation as one of the
most enterprising and successful concerns in
this part of the country. Mr. Whitney was a
Mason, a member of the Universalist Church,
and a member of the Fort Orange and Albany
clubs. He was a director of the First
National Bank, and in 1886, by appointment
of the mayor, served as chairman on the
committee of public celebration which
arranged the Bi-Centennial of Albany as a
chartered city. for many years Mr. Whitney
resided in his handsome home, No. 5 Lodge
Street, but removed t a larger residence,
No. 156 Washington Avenue, where he died at
five o'clock on the morning of May 10, 1905,
having suffered a stroke of apoplexy the
previous day.
William M.
Whitney married, in New York City, June 16,
1856, Amelia Cook, born in New York City,
January 31, 1831, and in 1910 was living in
Albany. Her parents were Walter and May
(Munro) cook. Children of Mr. and Mrs.
Whitney: 1. Leila, born in New York City,
May 17, 1857; married, Albany, new York,
November 25, 1879, William Henry Stott, born
at Stottville, September 12, 1855, died at
Albany, August 22, 1888, son of Charles
Henry And Catherine (Oakley) Stott;
children: i. Leila Vanderbilt, born at
Albany, November 25, 1880, ii. A son, born
and died at Stottville, Columbia County, New
York, July 3, 1882, iii. Helen Munro,
Stottville, New York, June 18, 1883, iv.
Jonathan Whitney, Stottville, May 5, 1885,
v. Whitney, Stottville, March 20, 1887. 2.
William Minott, Jr., born in New York City,
December 3, 1858, died there, December 21,
1858. 3. William Minott, Jr., born in New
York City, August 1, 1861, died at Albany,
February 6, 1899; married, Stottville, New
York, June 9, 1886, Jessie Douglas Stott;
children: i. Leila Douglas, at Albany, May
3, 1887, ii. William Minott, 3rd,
at Albany, June 5, 1888. Iii. Prudence, at
Albany, October 15, 1890. 4. Virginia
Belle, born in New York City, January 8,
1865, died there, December 8, 1865. 5.
Charles Lee Anthony, born at Albany, New
York, September 16, 1870. 6. Mabel, born at
Albany, December 4, 1874; married, Albany,
December 29, 1897, Charles Hamilton Sabin,
of New York (see Sabin VIII).
WARREN. The
surname Warren, is derived from Gareme or
Garenne, a small river in the old county of
Calilas, Caux, in Normandy, which gave its
name to the neighboring commune, and is only
a few miles from Dieppe. There is at
present a village called Garenne of the same
district, and it is here that the origin of
the family has been fixed by historians. On
the west side of the river Garenne was the
ancient baronial seat of the De Warrens, and
some of the ruins were standing in 1832.
The surname has assumed different forms at
different times--Gareyn, Warreyn, Waryn,
Warin, Waring, Waryuge, Waryng, and Warren.
That branch of the family with which this
sketch deals (in Connecticut) spelled the
name Waring until recent generations.
The ancestors
of perhaps all the English, Irish and Scotch
families of the name of Warren is said by
one authority to be William de Warrenne, who
went to England with William the Conqueror,
and was related to him both by marriage and
descent. He had a considerable command at
the battle of Hastings, where the English
were defeated by the Normans with such
lasting results, and on account of his valor
and fidelity obtained immense grants of land
from the Conqueror. He had lands in
Shropshire, Essex, Suffolk, Oxford, Hants,
Cambridgeshire, Bucks, Huntington,
Bedfordshire, Norfolk, Lincoln and Yorks,
amounting in all, according to Hume, to
three hundred lordships. He became the first
Earl of Warren and Surrey. His wife
Gundreda, daughter of William (1) and
descendants of Charlemagne, died May 27,
1085, and was buried in the chapter-house of
the Priory of Lewes, county Sussex. Her
tombstone is still in existence. The earl
died June 24, 1088. His epitaph has been
preserved, though the gravestone is lost or
destroyed. In 1845 the coffers containing
the bones of the earl and the countess were
disinterred and are now in the church of St.
John the Baptist, Southover.
Page 355
The history of the
Warren family has been written and is
exceeded in interesting antiquity by none in
England.
(I)
Christopher Warren, progenitor of the New
England branch of the Warrens, is supposed
to have had three sons--Sir John, who came
to Boston in 1631; one settled in Watertown,
Massachusetts; Richard, mentioned below.
(II) Richard,
son of Christopher Warren, and the immigrant
ancestor of the New England family,
emigrated in 1664, on the ship "Endeavor,"
from southern England to Boston. The party
with which he came settled the next year at
Brookhaven, Long Island, on land bought by
them from the Setauket tribe of Indians, for
the purchase of which a patent of
confirmation was obtained March 7, 1666. In
1685-86 he was tenant of one hundred acres
from James Lloyd, of the manor Queen's
village, Long Island; later he owned land in
Huntington, Long Island. He had four sons:
1. Richard Jr. born before 1664. 2.
Michael. 3. John. 4. Edmund, mentioned
below.
(III) Edmund
Waring, youngest son of Richard Waring, or
Warren, was born at Brookhaven, Or Oyster
Bay, Long Island, in 1673, died August 5,
1749. He removed from Huntington, Long
Island, to Norwalk, Connecticut, in 1703,
and owned a large tract of land on Roton
Hill and Five Mile River. He built a pier
in the harbor of Norwalk, which leads to the
interference that he was engaged in
mercantile pursuits, probably a lumber
merchant, as he made large purchases of
timber land. At his death at the age of
seventy-six he was survived by his entire
family, wife, eight sons, and "four loving
daughters", to whom he beqiested a
considerable landed estate. He married,
October 6, 1698, Elizabeth Bouton, born in
1670, daughter of Jean or John Bouton, a
Huguenot, born in France, 1615, came to
America, 1635, died at Norwalk, Connecticut,
in 1704. John Bouton married (third),
January 1, 1673, Mary Stevenson, who bore
his four children, Elizabeth being the
third, and the tenth child of her father.
The name Bouton has had various spellings,
namely: Boughton, Bowten, Bowtin, Boutin.
Edmund and Elizabeth (Bouton) Waring had
twelve children, all but the youngest born
in Ouster Bay, Long Island: 1. Edmund, born
September 16, 1700, 2. Isaac, June 13, 1702,
3. John, December 21, 1704, 4. Solomon,
April 24, 1707, 5. Mary, December 22, 1708,
6. Nathan, February 6, 1711. 7. Jacob,
January 15, 1713, 8. Michael, July 10, 1718;
married Elizabeth Scofield, 9. Eliakim,
mentioned below, 10. Elizabeth, March 8,
1720, 11. Abigail, April 19, 1723, 12.
Hannah, born in Norwalk, Connecticut,
September 7, 1725.
(IV) Eliakim,
son of Edmund and Elizabeth (Bouton) Waring,
was born at Oyster Bay, Long Island, July 8,
1717, died at Norwalk, Connecticut, August
5, 1779. He was probably associated with
his father and brother in business, but the
records do not give any information as to
his occupation or business. He married,
December 7, 1738, Ann, daughter of John (2)
Reed, an officer in the army of Cromwell.
John (1) Reed died in New England at the
advanced age of ninety-eight. Children,
born in Norwalk, Connecticut: 1. Zaccheus,
October 19, 1741, 2. Jesse. June 14, 1744,
3. Eliakim, mentioned below. At a meeting
Of the Association of Western Churches
(Congregational) at Fairfield County,
convened at Middlesex, June 6, 1744, Edmund
and Eliakim Warren were chosen Middlesex
delegates, and their wives were at that time
added to the church by letter of
recommendation. A Norwalk cousin, Joseph
(2), son of Joseph (1), and great-grandson
of Edmund (1), was a personal friend of
Major-General Joseph Warren, and showed with
pride the general's sword, left in his
keeping, calling the Revolutionary hero his
cousin. This Joseph (2) Warren was in 1798
the owner of the Norwalk and New York packet
line, which comprised two sloops, "Griffin"
and "Republican."
(V)Eliakim
(2) Warren, son of Eliakim (1) and Ann
(Reed) Waring, was born February 9, 1747,
died September 4, 1824. Eliakim married his
neighbor, Phebe Bouton, daughter of Esaias
Bouton, January 17, 1771. Before his
marriage he had belonged to the
Congregational Church, but his wife, Phebe
Bouton, was an ardent Episcopalian, and
persuaded him to join that church. In 1787
he was elected vestryman of St. Paul's
Church of Norwalk, and there is extant
record of an auction of pews where he and
others tossed pennies for seats. Elia-
Page 356
kim had three sons: 1.
Esaias, 2. Nathan, and 3. Stephen. On the
advice of Esaias they decided to remove to
Troy, a thriving village at the head of
navigation on the Hudson River. the Warren
family sailed out of Norwalk harbor in May,
1798, and made the entire trip to Troy by
water. They had just had a sailing vessel
built for them at Rowayton, a sloop named,
"The three Brothers". It was fifty feet
keel, twenty feet beam, and sixteen feet
hold, and rated at sixty-four tons. In 1796
Esaias, the eldest son, has purchased a lot
on East River Street, between First and
Albany Streets, Troy, and there erected a
two-story wooden building for a dwelling and
a store. Eliakim and Esaias, with the
second son, Nathan, engaged in merchandising
under the firm name of Esaias Warren &
Company. In 1799 the firm removed their
business to the west side of River Street
(now No. 217), and began a retail and
wholesale business in dry goods, groceries
and hardware. A feature of their business
was the purchase and shipping of wheat and
country produce. They safely invested their
profits in real estate. After three years
residence in Troy, April 6, 1801, Eliakim
sold out the old Norwalk property and
employed the proceeds in his sons'
interests. Esaias being the eldest and then
Twenty-seven years of age took the lead in
all matters, and their early prosperity was
largely due to his enterprise and sagacity.
Troy at this period contained eight hundred
houses, and one thousand eight hundred and
two inhabitants. In due time Eliakim Warren
retired from the firm and his place was
taken by his third son, Stephen. Eliakim
Warren was a devout Christian, and believed
that a share of his fortune should be
devoted to the service of God. This was one
of his articles of faith and he so told his
sons. In Troy he found no Episcopal
Church. For two years, however, Sunday
services had been held according to the Book
of Common Prayer. Philander Chase, a young
graduate of Dartmouth College, (later Bishop
of Ohio) had been sent up regularly from
Albany by Dr. Ellison, the rector of St.
Peter's parish and an Englishman, to
minister to the little band of
Episcopalians. But Phebe Warren was a noble
woman, and owing to her initiative and
persevering effort, ST. Paul's Church was
built in 1804 on the northwest corner of
Third and Congress Streets, and according to
her wish was modeled exactly after St.
Paul's Church at Norwalk. Trinity Church,
New York City, contributed two thousand
dollars to its erection. The Rev. David
Butler, of Reading, Connecticut, was chosen
by the vestry, and in his letter of
acceptance, he said: "I shall endeavor to
make myself ready to remove with my family
whenever it may be convenient for Mr. Warren
to come down with his vessel." Dr. Butler
in his youth had served as a soldier in the
Revolutionary War. He was a man of learning
and ability, and sat as deputy from the
diocese of New York State in the general
convention of 1820, and in several
succeeding conventions. He was a man of
commanding presence and aristocratic manner,
and wore until the close of his life the
small clothes, buckles, shoes and long
skirted coat of the earlier period. He
served his people faithfully for thirty
years. One part of St. Paul's Church was
quaintly denominated "Norwalk", as there sat
the Warrens, Boutons, Kelloggs, Crafts, and
Cannons. The warren family payer book was on
the altar. At the first recorded
administration of the Holy Communion, three
lay members partook thereof, Eliakim and
Phebe Warren, and Lemuel Hawley. In 1813
the number of regular communicants had
increased to eighty-four, and in 1824 a new
and larger church, (the present St. Paul's)
was erected on the northeast corner of Third
and State Streets. Mr. Warren was one of
the first two elected wardens (senior),
Jeremiah Pierce being the junior warden, and
he continued to hold this office until his
death. In 1815 his wife, Phebe (Bouton)
Warren, formed in the parish a Saturday
sewing class for poor girls, which she
conducted until her death in 1835. It was
then carried on b y her daughter-in-law,
Mary, wife of Nathan Warren. From this
sewing class grew the "Church of the Holy
Cross."
Mr. Warren
lived a life of great usefulness, and was
universally loved and respected. He never
had a lawsuit and avoided religious
controversy. When the British attack was
made on Norwalk during the Revolution, he
joined with his townsmen in the defense of
their homes and beat the British off, not,
however, until nearly all the dwellings were
burnt. A tablet, erected by the vestry, in
St. Paul's Church, is inscribed: "In memory
of Eliakim Warren, senior warden of this
church from
Page 357
its organization in
1804 until his death. To his zeal and
munificence he congregation, under God, is
indebted for its origin and prosperity, he
died September 4, 1824, aged seventy-seven
years." the vestry also erected a tablet
inscribed: "In memory of Phebe Warren,
relict of Eliakim. She died January 17,
1835, aged eighty years. A mother in
Israel, she supported and conducted a sewing
class for the children of the poor."
Eliakim
Warren married, January 17, 1771, Phebe,
born March 5, 1754, died January 17, 1835,
daughter of Esaias and Phebe (Bixby) Bouton,
of Norwalk. Children: 1. Esaias, born in
Norwalk, Connecticut, October 16, 1771, died
in Troy, New York, April 19, 1829, 2.
Hannah, born July 19, 1773, died January,
1775, 3. Hannah (2), born August 30, 1775,
died June, 1776. 4. Nathan, mentioned
below, and 5. Stephen. |
