Hervey Orville, or
Orville H., as he wrote
his name, was the fifth son of
Hervey and
Sally
Chittenden; was born Feb 28, 1820; died in Albany Jan. 7, 1857.
He was an apt scholar, and at fourteen he commenced his academic course at
Saugerties and continued it at Claverack. At seventeen he commenced
reading law with
Almeron Marks. Esq., of Durham, and
subsequently he continued his studies with
John Olney, of
Windham, and
Rufus H. King, of Catskill. At his majority he
commenced law practice at Schuylerville, Saratoga county, and in 1812 he
removed to Rensselaerville, Albany county, where he remained until 1852 when
having been elected surrogate of Albany county, he removed to the city where
he remained until his death. He was a first class lawyer and a very able
advocate in all the courts, but consumption did its work at the early age of
thirty-six years. He was by nature a military man, and held the office of
judge-advocate (with rank of major) of the 31st and 37th Brigades of Infantry,
his commissions being signed by
Gov. Silas Wright and
William
H. Seward. On his removal to Albany he became a member of the
"Albany Burgesses Corps," which at that time was perhaps the finest
body of men in the State. He was married Feb 23, 1842, to
Nancy
Cowles (daughter of
David Cowles and
Nancy
Merwin) of Durham. They had three sons, two of whom reached mature
years.
Edwin Sedgewick, the eldest, was born at
Rensselaerville Jan. 1, 1843, attended the schools of his native town, also at
Durham and Parma N.Y., and graduated with honor at the University of
Rochester, N.Y., in the class of 1865. For two years thereafter he
studied law in the office of Tremain & Peckham at Albany, and was admitted
to the bar Dec. 5, 1867. He immediately went to Washington by appointment of
William
H. Seward, and remained there until July, 1869, as assistant examiner
of claims in the Department of State. In the Fall of 1869 he removed to
St Paul, Minn., and established himself in the practice of law, and is now one
of the finest lawyers of the Great West. Our readers are indebted to him
for much of the material contained in this family history. His brother
Niles
Searles was born Sept. 8, 1848, at Rensselaerville. He was a graduate
of the Brooklyn Commercial College, and in 1870 he engaged in the merchantile
business at St. Paul until 1878 when he purchased 640 acres of land in Stevens
county, Minn., and has since engaged in farming as well as in merchandise.
Both these brothers, true to the military tendencies of the family, are
members of the 1st Regt., N.G., of their adopted State. Their mother married a
second time and lived with her husband (
Hon. John W. Patterson, State
senator from Genesee) at Parma, N.Y., until his death, when she removed to St.
Paul where she died Sept. 17, 1877.
Judson Hall was the sixth of Deacon Hervey Chittenden's
family and was born March 28, 1822. He married Antoinette Field, daughter
of Cyrus Field, of Durham. He was a farmer and lived
on the old homestead. He also possessed the military spirit of the family,
became a member of the 49th Reg. NY Infantry, and on the 1st of November,
1845, he received his commission as major. He was a genial companion
and a very energetic business man. He died Nov. 29, 1856. His widow
still survives. They had seven children: Orville and Hattie,
died within a few hours of each other, March 10, 1870, and Frank, the
youngest, died May 2, 1873; Edgar Bradley, died at ten
years in 1849. Horace K., the only male
representative of the family, now lives in the village, and is quite out of
health. He married Julia Montross, of Durham. They have one
child. Sarah A. married Charles Newell,
of Parma, NY, and lives there; also out of health. They have two
children. Elizabeth A., married Elihu Moss,
and they now occupy the old homestead. They have one child.
Louisa Rebecca was the youngest and only daughter of Hervey
Chittenden. She married Lyman A. Hull, son of Elizur
Hull And Anna Strong (see Sketch No.23). He
died Nov. 19, 1873, greatly lamented as a man, as a Christian and an elder
in the church. His widow resides in the village. They had three sons: Zina
Whittlesay was fatally scalded soon after he began to walk, by
falling into a pail of hot water. Judson Dwight married Anna
Crawford, daughter of William Crawford, Esq.
They have two sons. Addison Orville, his brother,
married Kitty H. Porter, daughter of Orin Porter, deceased.
The brothers are successful merchants in Durham.
There is another family of Chittenden's, descendents of William
Chittenden, who settled in this town. The line is as follows: William,
Thomas, William, William, Jared, and Joel, who was
born in Guilford, CT, Oct. 8, 1774, and died in Durham, NY, Jan 29, 1849.
He married Katy McKean, and removed to Durham, NY, and
lived South of the village on a part of the farm now owned by Mr.
Dwight Hull. They had ten children, nine of whom were
daughters. Elizabeth, the youngest died in infancy. Henrietta,
the oldest, married Thomas Wright, who was an elder in the
church. Deborah Eliza died at thirty-one. Lucy M.,
Mabel, Fanny and Catherine married and removed.
Their husbands names, respectively were: Hatch, Way, Elmendorf, and
Elmendorf. Julia Ann died in 1863, at 55
years, unmarried. Rebecca Almeda married Palmer
R. Post, the son of Rogel Post (see Sketch No. 14)
who was one of the early settlers of the town. They had three
children: Henrietta, the wife of John H. Reed,
of Durham, Orlando, harness maker in Cairo and Bradford
H., engaged in the laundry business in Albany.
Roscoe P. was the son of Joel Chittenden,
and was born March 27, 1811. He married Eliza M. Richtmeyer,
of Conesville, and has always lived in Durham. He is a cabinet maker and a
good mechanic. They have sons. Oswell L. married Sarah
E. Stiles, and lives in Newark, NJ. He was a soldier in the late
civil war. Ellen married James Stevens
and lives in Athens, NY. Joel married Minnie Vandevoors,
and lives in Durham. He is a cabinet maker and undertaker. This completes
the history of the Chittenden family, so far as we can give it. In the
former sketch it was said that William Chittenden's descendants
now number nearly five hundred. It is now ascertained that the number
exceeds one thousand, and that the children of the daughters are not
included in this list. The question is sometimes asked, How are the two Chittenden
families in this town related? Answer: Horace Chittenden and
Joel Chittenden, both of this town, are in the eighth
generation from William Chittenden, who came from England
in 1639, consequently they are sixth cousins.
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