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Family Sketches

Surnames Beginning with "E"


This page was last updated 6 Mar 2016

These family sketches are from Landmarks of Albany County, New York, edited by Amasa J. Parker of Albany, N. Y., Syracuse, N. Y.; D. Mason & Co. Publishers, 1897.

Eaton, Calvin W., descended from one of the oldest families of New England (see sketch of James W. Eaton), is a son of James W. Eaton, and was born in Albany, July 26, 1842. He was educated at the Boys' Academy and became a clerk in the old Union Bank, where he rose to the position of teller. In 1871 he engaged in the wholesale lumber business as a member of the firm of Van Santford & Eaton, and thus continued until 1886, when he removed to Utica and carried on the same business for four years. Returning to Albany in 1890 he has been engaged in the real estate and the insurance business. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, a member of the Masonic bodies of Albany, is past master of Masters Lodge No. 5, F. & A. M., and is treasurer of the Lodge of Perfection and also Sovereign Consistory. He is treasurer of the Acacia Club, a member of the Albany Camera Club and other Albany clubs, and was quartermaster of the 10th Regt. N. G. N. Y. under General Parker. October 13, 1864, he married Anna F., daughter of Amos P. Palmer of Albany, and their children are Mary E., Alice I., James P., and Edward De L.

Eaton, James Webster, son of James W. Eaton, was born in Albany, May 14, 1836. His lineage is traced to John and Anne Eaton, who in 1634 settled in Salisbury and afterward in Haverhill, Mass., where the family lived for several generations. John Eaton was a soldier in the settlement of Haverhill. Ebenezer Eaton, the great- grandfather of James Webster Eaton, served in the Revolutionary war under his brother, Capt. Timothy Eaton. James W. Eaton was graduated from the Albany Boys' Academy in 1875 and from Yale University in 1879; in the latter year he be- gan the study of law in Columbia Law School, which he left in May, 1880, to become professor of Latin in the Albany Boys' Academy, which position he held until his admission to the bar in 1882. In 1883 Mr. Eaton formed a copartnership with George W. Kirchwey, a former Yale classmate, which continued until July, 1891. In the following autumn he was nominated by the Democrats and elected district attorney of Albany county and held that office until January 1, 1895. He has been instructor in the department of evidence and contracts of the Albany Law School for some years, and is engaged in active practice at the bar of his native city. As a lawyer he is strong in argument, candid and successful; he is strong at nisi prius, still stronger before the court in banc. It is said that in some respects his characteristics resemble those of the late Judge Ambrose Spencer. He is a member of Masters Lodge No. 5, F. & A. M., the Fort Orange Club and other organizations of Albany. July 18, 1894, he married Mrs. Hortense Willey Vibbard, of Dansville, N. Y.

Ecker, Jerome W., descends from one of the early families of the Schoharie valley, one of whom was a lieutenant in the Revolutionary war. David Ecker, his father, born in Berne, Albany county, in 1815, was a farmer and died March 17, 1896. His wife, Mary E., daughter of Adam Saddlemire, also born in 1815, died in February, 1892. One of their sons, Miner, enlisted in the 62d N. Y. Vols., and died from disease contracted in the service. Jerome W. Ecker, born in Knox, Albany county, July 21, 1847, was educated at the Knox Academy, the Albany State Normal School and the Fort Edward Institute and was graduated from the Albany Law School and admitted to the bar in February, 1872. He afterward continued his legal studies with Hungerford & Hotaling and since 1877 has been in the active practice of his profession. In October, 1862, he enlisted in Co. G, 172d N. Y. Vols., under Capt. Morgan L. Filkins, and served ten months, participating in the siege of Port Hudson and the two expeditions to the Amite River. He is past officer in the subordinate lodge and encampment of I. O. O. F., member of the Grand Lodge and the daughters of Rebekah, member of Chancellors Lodge No. 58, K. of P., Albany Division No. 2. Uniformed Rank, K. of P., the GrandLodge of this order since 1888, and Lewis O. Morris Post No. 121, G. A. R. June 12, 1872, he married Charlotte daughter of Jacob Kniskern of Knox, and they have had six children: Nellie G., Frederick (died aged nine months), George W. (a student at Rutgers College, class of 1899), Edward, Howard J. and Eva (deceased).

Eckert, Henry E., the leading jeweler of the city of Watervliet, was born in Baden, Germany, and when fourteen years old went to Austria and learned the jeweler's trade. He became an American in 1861, his complete mastery of his trade gaining him lucrative employment with a firm of chronometer makers at Albany. In 1870 Mr. Eckert opened a store in West Troy, where he has by superior workmanship and high personal character built up a fine business. His son, Henry J. Eckert, recently graduated with distinction from the Spencer Optical Institute of New York, will henceforth be associated with his father, and adding a large and attractive stock of optical goods.

Elliot, W. J., is city clerk of Cohoes since 1894. He is a young man of wide popularity, born in 1860, and is a son of James Elliot. The latter now deceased, was a native of England, but he spent most of his life here as a merchant in the confectionery line. Mr. Elliot was educated here and first engaged in job printing, the firm being known as Craig & Elliot, and carried on an extensive business. Mr. Elliott is a Republican and is serving his first official engagement with credit.

Ellis, Joseph Whitcomb, son of Jeremiah and Hannah (Whitcomb) Ellis, was born in Springfield, Vt., September 18, 1839. His ancestors were English and lived in the vicinity of Boston, Mass. He began his school education early and at four years of age was a pupil in a family boarding school in Perkinsville, Vt. He completed his preparation for college at the Wesleyan Seminary in Springfield, Vt., and was graduated from Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., in 1858, ranking first in mathematics. He was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society and three years later received the degree of M. A. After his graduation he engaged in teaching and soon acquired a reputation as a superior teacher of mathematics. For thirty-five years he has been teaching continuously in the educational institutions of the State of New York. He taught in the seminaries at Fairfield, Oneida, Whitestown and in Cook Academy at Havana, N. Y. (now Montour Falls). While at the latter place he was appointed examiner of mathematics and science in the New York State Board of Regents at Albany, N. Y., which position he still holds. Professor Ellis is a member of the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity. February 5, 1863, he married Philena J. Knox of Knoxboro, Oneida county, N. Y. They have had three children, Mary, now on the staff of the New York State Library, J. William, a lawyer in Buffalo, and Clara.

Elmendorf, William Burgess, was born in Albany, N. Y., February 8, 1856. He is a son of John Elmendorf, Jr., who was born March 3, 1819, and Caroline M. Burgess, and is directly descended from Jacobus Coenradt Van Elmendorf, who was born in Holland, came to America in 1652, and who married Greitje Aertse Van Wagenen in Kingston, N. Y., April 25, 1667, the ceremony being performed by a justice of the court with the consent of the bride's mother, inasmuch as the bride being under age, the Dutch church would not or could not perform the ceremony. All of Mr. Elmendorf's intermediate ancestors were born in Kingston, N. Y., and are as follows, commencing with the son of Jacobus Coenradt Van Elmendorf, Coenradt Elmendorf, who married Ariaantje Geritse Vandenburg at Albany, N. Y., June 28, 1693; Cornelius Abraham Elmendorf who married Engeltje Heermans; Abraham Elmendorf who served in the Revolutionary war and who married Anaatje Crispell, April 22, 1758; and John Elmendorf, grandfather of William B., who married Margaret Folant. Mr. Elmendorf, the subject of this sketch, graduated from the Albany State Normal School in 1871, and spent two years at the Albany Academy and one year at the Albany Business College. He is a thorough transportation man and believes in his business. For twenty-five years he has represented (with his father, the late Capt. John Elmendorf who died March 11, 1885), the popular Hudson River Day Line Steamers. Mr. Elmendorf is a member of the Society of the Sons of the Revolution, the Holland Society of New York, Royal Arcanum and the Albany City Curling Club. In May, 1877, he married Isabel H. Dalton, daughter of William Dalton, president of the Albany Exchange Savings Bank and late of the lumber firm of Dalton & Kibbee. She died in 1887, and by her Mr. Elmendorf had one son (deceased) and one daughter, Edna. In 1889 he married Victoria O'Brien, daughter of the late William O'Brien, esq., of the banking house of O'Brien & Meridith of Montreal, and also Canadian representative of the Grand Trunk Railway. They have three children, Enid, Jean and Alice.

Emery, John W., son of John P. and Betsy (Thing) Emery, was born in Kennebunk, Me., October 29, 1856. He is a descendant of English ancestors who settled in York county, Me., early in the seventeenth century. He was educated in the public schools and in 1874 completed the course of instruction at the Boston Business College. For the two years following he engaged in the real estate business at Hyde Park, Mass., and at the end of that time he entered the establishment of S. B. Thing& Co., shoe dealers of New York city. He was subsequently sent to branch stores at Syracuse, Auburn and Binghamton. In the latter city he was given the management of the store and was also manager of the Elmira store for five years, from which city he moved to Troy, N. Y., where he entered the partnership of S. B. Thing & Co., and had at that time the supervision of fifteen retail stores. While at Troy Mr. Emery resided in Lansingburgh, and was elected a member of the Board of School Trustees of that village. August 1, 1896, he retired from the firm of S. B. Thing & Co., and purchased the Albany and Schenectady branches, which are now conducted in his name. July 20, 1881, he married Bessie Linaberry of Binghamton, N. Y., and they have three children: Wesley M., Samuel B. and Angie E.

Enos, Henry D., is a grandson of Ethol Enos, a large farmer and long a justice of the peace of Watervliet and a colonel in the war of 1812. Henry S. Enos, father of Henry D., was born in 1831, engaged in the lumber business, served three and a half years in Co. C, 91st N. Y. Vols., in the Rebellion, and was connected with the Watervliet Railroad company until 1885, when he moved to Iowa. Henry D. Enos, born in Albany, August 6, 1862, received a high school education and for ten years followed the iron, moulder's trade. In 1890 he engaged in the life insurance business and soon afterward became general agent for Eastern New York for the State Mutual Life Assurance Company of Worcester, Mass., which position he still holds. He is a member of Ancient City Lodge No. 452, F. & A. M., Capital City Chapter, R. A. M., and De Witt Clinton Council, R. & S. M., and has been ruling elder in the Fourth Presbyterian church since he was twenty-six years of age, being the youngest man ever elected to that office in that church. He is also a member of the Republican Unconditional Club and has been especially prominent in mission work, being the chief promoter and a founder of the Viaduct Mission, of which he was six years superintendent. November 10, 1886, he married Mary J., daughter of William Thomas of Albany, and their children are Henry T., M. Margaret and Ruth. Mr. Enos's great-grandfather, Matthias Enos, served in the Revolutionary war.

Ertz Berger, Edmund J., son of William G. and Mary L. (Sheridan) Ertz Berger, was born in Albany, N. Y., September 3, 1856. About 1765, Daniel Ertz Berger came to America from Basil, Switzerland, and settled in Albany and engaged in trading skins and furs with the Indians, and was in many a bloody encounter with them. Daniel, his son, the grandfather of Edmund J., was born in Albany in 1788, and Charlotte Dunlap, his wife, was born in Albany in 1794. William G., the father of Edmund J., was a manufacturer of cigars and candies in Albany and did an extensive business during the war. He died in 1885, aged seventy-five. Edmund J.'s mother died when he was two years old and he went to live with an uncle who put him through the public schools and high school, from which he was graduated in the English and mathematical course in 1874. He then entered the employ of S. L. Munson, shirt and collar manufacturer, where he learned the business and with whom he remained twenty years, rising rapidly until he had entire charge of the shirt department. In 1881 Mr. Ertz Berger went West on an extensive trip for his health. In 1894 he entered the Hudson River Garment Company in partnership with William R. McGraw, and is now junior partner and financial manager. Mr. Ertz Berger is a member of the Unconditional Republican Club, the Ancient Essenic Order and treasurer of the Albany Bicycle Club. In 1883 he married Eloise Ross of Albany, and they have one daughter, Edna D.

Erwin, Jacob M., was born in New Salem in 1843. John, his great-grandfathfer, was one of three brothers; John, William, and Jared, from the North of Ireland, who came to America and settled in New Scotland in about 1775. Hugh, the grandfather, was born on the homestead in 1786, and in time came into possession of it. His wife was Lavina, daughter of Rev. Harmanus Van Huysen, who was a captain in the Revolutionary war and a Dutch Reformed minister. He died in 1871 and his wife died in 1868. Isaac, the father, was born on the homestead in 1818 and his early life was spent at various occupations. When sixteen years of age he began to learn the shoemaker's trade in Clarksville and four years later, in 1838, he started a shoe shop on his own account in the village of New Salem, where he has ever since resided and plied his trade. He filled the offices of collector and overseer of the poor. In 1840 he married Maria, daughter of Jacob Martin, of New Scotland. Their children were Jacob M., James E., William H., John (deceased) and Leora. Jacob M. attended the common schools until fourteen yearsof age, when he entered his father's shop as apprentice and remained there until eighteen years old when, in September, 1861, enlisted in Co. D, 91st N. Y. Vols., and served three years, and in January, 1864, he re-enhsted in the same company, which was heavy artillery after that date, and in which he was a commissioned officer. The principal battles in which he participated were Port Hudson, Irish Bend, Vermilion Bayou, and Alexandria, thence to Fort Jackson, which his company took charge of, Dinwiddie Court House, Five Forks and Appamattox. He returned home in July. 1865 and immediately after his return he received his commission as second lieutenant. He then went to work at his trade which he plied until 1867. In 1868 he engaged in general mercantile business in the village of New Salem, which business he has followed up to the present time. In 1870 he was appointed postmaster of New Salem, which office he filled until 1884; he was again appointed under President Harrison. He is a member of the G. A. R., Post No. 5 of Albany. The year 1895 he spent diligently furthering the cause of the proposed Albany, Helderberg and Schoharie Electric Railroad, of which he is one of the directors, and is also a member of the executive committee of directors. In 1867 he was married to Amanda, daughter of Conrad Mathias of New Scotland. To them were born two children: Levi M. and Charles W.

Estes, Capt. Milo D., was born in Clayton, N. Y., September 16, 1841. His father, Capt. James B., became a sailor when twelve and a captain when eighteen and followed the lakes during much of his active life; he was master of the Niagara, Cataract, Ontario, Rothsay, Sylvan Stream, Pilgrim and Bon Voyage, all well known Lake Ontario steamers, and now has charge of the ferry between Ontario Beach and Somerville at the mouth of the Genesee River. Capt. Milo D. Estes after receiving a common school education at Clayton and Charlotte, became, when twelve years of age cabin boy on the steamer Niagara and later was cabin boy on the Cataract and quartermaster on the old Ontario. In September, 1862, he enlisted in the U. S. Navy as an able seaman and was assigned to the gunboat Montgomery, under Farragut, cruising in the Gulf of Mexico. After serving one year he returned home and in February, 1864, enlisted in the 3d N. Y. Cav., from which he was honorably discharged in December, 1865. Following this he was successively captain of the tug D. T. Hunt, second officer of the steamer Columbian, superintendent of the Rochester Iron Company's fleet of barges and captain of the steamers Flower City, J. F. Maynard, John Thorne, Island Belle and the St. Lawrence. The latter he successfully commanded from August, 1884 to September, 1892, making it the most popular vessel among the Thousand Islands. In the spring of 1895 he came to Albany as superintendent of the Albany and Troy Steamboat Company. He is a member of Genesee Falls Lodge No. 507, F. & A. M., of Rochester; also a member of Charles J. Powers Post No. 391, G. A. R., Rochester. In 1890, as captain of the St. Lawrence, he refused to lower the U. S. flag at Kingston, Canada, in order to sail an excursion in Canadian waters, an incident which brought him considerable distinction.

Evory, Frank H., son of James and Alice J. (Hickok) Evory, was born in Indian Fields, Albany county, June 26, 1864. His parents moved from Durham, Greene county, to Indian Fields in 1863, and thence to Albany in 1870, and here Frank H. received a public school education. His great-great-grandfather came from Holland to Connecticut in the early history of the country. Here his great grandfather, Obadiah Evory, was born in July, 1775; he married Alcha, a daughter of Peter Vermilyea, whose father Johannes was one of the early settlers of New Amsterdam. Later Obadiah moved to Durham, Greene county, N. Y. Here seven children were born, one of whom (Peter) served with distinction as a soldier during the war of 1812. The youngest son, James, married Margaret, a daughter of John W. Welch and Hannah Van Etten, in 1832, and remained on the old homestead until his death in 1860. Here James, Jr., the father of Frank H., was born in 1839, and married Alice J. Hickok in 1860. His mother is of an old New England family; her grandparents were Gideon Hickok and Annie Buckingham on her father's side, and Roswell Post and Temperance Kirtland on her mother's side. Her father, David Hickok, who died in 1870, aged seventy-two, was a well-to-do farmer of Greenville, N. Y., an elder and one of the pillars of the Presbyterian church; he married Lydia Ann Post, who died in 1883, aged eighty-two, a daughter of Roswell, who was a large land and mill owner of Durham, Greene county, N. Y. Frank H. Evory learned the printer's trade with the Prouty Printing Company, and in 1885 entered the employ of Brandow, Barton & Co. On November 1, 1887, the Braudow Printing Company was incorporated with A. S. Brandow president; W. B. Jones treasurer, and Mr. Evory secretary snd superintendent. January 1, 1890, Richard W. Brass succeeded Mr. Jones as treasurer; the other officers remained the same. Mr. Evory is an active member of the Y. M. C. A. and the Tabernacle Baptist church, and assistant superintendent and chorister of the Sunday school. Also a charter member of Albany Senate No. 641, K. A. E. O. November 23, 1887, he married Estella J., daughter of Ithamar Spencer of Albany, and they had two sons: Clifford Spencer Evory, born September 10, 1889, who survives, and Harold Evory, deceased.



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