BIOGRAPHY: the Duane family; New York State
surname: Duane, Benson, Keteltas, Riker, Lynch, Livingston, Pell, North,
Feathstonhaugh, Bowers

submitted by W. David Samuelsen 
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Famous Families of New York, published 1917. Expired copyright

     While ambition, the hope of preferment, and the love of gain are among
the chief motives which have inspired colonists from time immemorial, yet the
little god of love sometimes appears upon the scene as an actor. In 1698,
among the officers of the British fleet stationed in New York harbor was
Anthony Duane, a handsome young Irishman, whose cleverness in speech, pleasant
manners, and fine appearance made him universally loved. He was but nineteen
years old, and took all the delight of youth in the social gayety which
prevailed in the little provincial city of New York. Before he had been a
month in port, he became captivated by a Knickerbocker belle, Eve Benson,
daughter of the wealthy merchant, Dirck Benson.

     The attachment was mutual, and when his ship left the harbor to cruise
along the route laid for it by the Admiralty, he left as her affianced suitor.
They were true lovers; although the cruise lasted three years, and it was
nearly another year before he had closed up his accounts, resigned, and
obtained his discharge from the navy, his betrothed waited patiently for him.
He returned to New York, where he entered commercial life, married, and, as
may be supposed, had a happy married life. There were two sons, who entered
the British navy, and proved brave and efficient officers. They gave their
lives for the Crown, both dying of yellow fever at Kingston, Jamaica, while
stationed at that then plague-infested port. On the death of his first wife,
Anthony married Althea Keteltas, sister of the famous divine, the Rev.
Abraham, who was a member of the Continental Congress. The union was short,
she living but a few years after marriage, and leaving four children as its
fruit.

     Anthony prospered in business, and, foreseeing the future development of
New York State, invested his profits in real estate in the neighborhood of
Schenectady. In May, 1741, he purchased six thousand acres in what is now the
town of Duanesburgh. He owned property in New York City, part of this being
the land on which is situated Gramercy Park. He made wise use of his wealth,
and was noted for kindness of heart and unfailing generosity. Trinity church
in his time was not the rich corporation of to-day, and oftentimes its
expenses exceeded its income. Whenever this happened, Anthony was among the
first to make good the deficit, and to give something over wherewith to
provide for any new emergency. He was vestryman from 1732 to 1747, the time of
his death. His third wife was Grietje Riker, widow of Thomas Lynch, but their
union was childless.

     Of his children, James, the jurist [1733], was the most eminent of his
race. Upon the death of his father, when he was eleven years of age, he became
the ward of Robert Livingston, third Lord of the Manor, who was executor and
guardian under the wills of both his father and grandfather. In order to
perform his duties and to conduct the education of the boy in person,
Livingston took him to his own home, where he made his ward a member of the
family. This intimacy was an unalloyed blessing. The Livingstons were a
brilliant, public-spirited, and cultured race. Their mansion was the scene of
lavish hospitality, and was frequented by the best men of the period. It was a
school to young Duane than which naught could have been better.

     During his life James was a brother to the sons and daughters of the
family; but for Maria, the oldest daughter, his sentiments were much warmer.
The two fell in love; their attachment met the approval of the parents, and
they were married in 1759. On coming of age, James took up the study of the
law, and was admitted to the bar, where he quickly attained high rank on
account of his scholarship and judicial ability. From his admission to the bar
until his death, he seems to have been possessed by a restless activity. He
performed a vast amount of work upon the paternal estate at Duanesburgh,
increasing it by many purchases, until it covered what is now the entire
township. From Europe he brought over Scotch, Irish, and German families, gave
them generous leases, built houses and barns for them, supplied them with
implements, seeds, and at times with clothing, and in every way endeavored to
build up a model settlement.

     In public affairs he left a record which is a monument of industry and
talent. He was a member of the Revolutionary Committee of New York, a member
of the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1784, and was one of the signers of
the Articles of Confederation at Philadelphia in 1777. In 1775 he took part in
consummating the Indian treaty at Albany; in 1776 and 1777 he was a member of
the Constitutional Convention, and one of the committee which drafted that
important document. He belonged to the famous Committee of Safety, and through
the war was indefatigable in his efforts to carry the cause of freedom to a
triumphant end. On the evacuation of New York by the British forces in 1783,
he returned and was elected a member of the Council. The same year he was made
State Senator for the term of 1783-1790. In the latter year he was chosen the
first Mayor of the city of New York. Four years afterwards he was a delegate
to the convention which adopted the Federal Constitution and made the Empire
State a part of the Union. He served as United States District Judge from 1789
to 1794, the first incumbent of the office.

     This brief statement of his services gives a poor idea of the actual
labor expended. James was more than faithful; he was thoughtful,
conscientious, and always regardful of the rights of others. Thus, in his
letter of acceptance of the Mayoralty chair, he requested that, in view of the
severity of the season and the distress which prevailed upon the closing of
the war, the public entertainments usually given should be dispensed with and
the money saved be employed in helping along the impoverished. He followed
this up with "a subscription of twenty guineas for the relief of his suffering
fellow-citizens." The day of his appointment as Mayor, February 7, 1784, was
memorable in the history of the Empire State. Besides the beginning of local
government, with an American in the Mayoralty chair, it was also the day on
which the Chamber of Commerce was incorporated, the Custom-house was
established, and the National Congress transferred from Philadelphia to New
York.

     The municipality at that time was fashioned after English models.
Manhood suffrage was still unknown, and municipal citizenship was more limited
or restricted than state and national. The right to vote for any office was
still based upon the idea of property. It was the representation of wealth and
not of the individual. The citizen who desired to vote for Assemblyman or
other state officer was required to pay assessments, and to be either a
freeholder or a householder paying a rent of at least $5 per annum. In
municipal suffrage, it was necessary to be either a freeholder or a freeman. A
freeholder was a person of mature age, possessing real estate of an annual
value of at least forty shillings, while a freeman was a person of means or
social standing in the community, not a freeholder within the limits, who was
elected to the privilege of freemanship by the local authorities. It is a long
leap from this condition to that of to-day, when the pauper casts his vote
alongside of the millionaire.

     Although Mayor Duane was, through his education and studies, strongly
attached to the English system of government, he nevertheless possessed that
statesmanship which saw the necessity of changing existing conditions to meet
new political and social forces. Thus, while he believed in a property
qualification of suffrage, he clearly perceived that it must be modified to
meet the necessities of American life. What measures he took are not known,
but that he must have influenced his administration is shown by the fact that
there was a larger admission of freemen to the New York City rolls during his
term of office than ever before.

     One incident reveals his public spirit. At the close of the revolution
King's College, which had become Columbia, was sadly in need of funds. There
had been a meeting of its friends, and a committee had been appointed to
provide temporarily for what might be necessary, although it had not as yet
begun its work. About this time General James Clinton, with his fifteen
year-old boy, De Witt, stopped in New York for a day, intending to go on to
Princeton and there enter his son. He called upon the Mayor, who became deeply
interested, and who protested in a friendly way against a Clinton being sent
out of New York State to obtain an education. Inducing the General to promise
to defer action for the time being, the sturdy Mayor called upon the Rev. Dr.
William Cochran, who was reputed to be the most learned man in the State,
whom, upon his own responsibility, he engaged to undertake the tuition of
young Clinton and such students as might apply. Dr. Cochran thereupon became
headmaster of the grammar school and professor of Greek and Latin, as well as
instructor in the "Humanities" - in fact, he appears to have been the entire
college that year. The fame of Dr. Cochran induced General Clinton to enter
his son in Columbia instead of Princeton. His son De Witt was graduated in
1786, along with seven other students.

     A graphic picture of political life in the later part of the eighteenth
century is afforded by a letter from the jurist to his wife:

"NEW YORK, 30 Sept., 1789.

     "You may remember, my dearest Polly, that I could not see you set sail
on account of the Common Council, which was then assembling. I had hardly
taken my seat at the Board, when I received a message, that Col. Hamilton
wished to speak with me. He asked me to walk into a private room, and then to
my surprise informed me that he was sent by the President of the United States
to know whether I would accept the office of District Judge. I told him as I
never had solicited, expected, or even wished for any office from the
President, knowing that he was hard pressed by numberless applicants, who
stood more in need than myself, I could not, on a sudden, give him an answer.
He told me that it was not necessary, and that I might take that day to
consider of it. On inquiring from him, I found these were the circumstances
attending the affair; very great interest had been made for the Chief Justice
Morris, for Judge Yates, and Mr. Harrison. When the point was to be decided,
Col. Hamilton and Mr. Jay were present. The President observed that he
conceived a more respectable appointment than either of the gentlemen
recommended could be made, and named me. Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Jay declared
that they were of the same sentiments. On which the President replied that he
was pleased to find that his opinion was confirmed by theirs, and Col.
Hamilton was requested to deliver the above message to me. After the Common
Council had adjourned, I found I was to decide on a question of great moment,
which greatly concerned my family, without an opportunity of consulting with
you, or any of the children. I communicated it to the Baron (Steuben) alone,
who was very earnest that I should accept it. Both offices I considered as
highly honorable. They are equally profitable. The Judge's place is held under
the Commission of the President of the United States during good behavior; the
Mayor's annually renewed at the whim of a Council of Appointment. The Judge's
office permits him to reside in any part of the State, and affords a
sufficient portion of leisure for his private affairs and recreation and
study. The Mayor's demands the most slavish confinement and a waste of time on
insignificant matters, as well as care and assiduity on those which are
important. In short, if he is upright and as he ought to be easy of access, he
cannot call an hour of his time his own. These are the chief considerations
which with the honorable manner the office was conferred on me, induced me to
return an answer in the evening that I accepted it. As soon as it was known
that the Senate approved of my nomination, I sent a resignation of the
Mayoralty to the Governor. The Council of Appointment met the day after and
appointed Col. Varick, who relinquished the place of State's Attorney, as my
successor. The 14th inst. he will be qualified, and I clear of it. Till then I
must administer it. While I am writing this letter, I received an invitation
to dine with the President to-morrow. I presume I shall then receive my
commission, which I owe solely to his regard for and good opinion of me.
"Your Affectionate and Faithful Husband,

     JAMES DUANE.

     "For Mrs. Duane."

     Three of James's brothers were men of strong character. Abraham [1732]
manifested considerable mercantile talent, but died when but thirty-five years
of age. John [1734] enlisted in the Colonial army, serving under the Crown,
and was an ensign in Colonel Abercrombie's regiment, which defended Fort
Oswego. He died when just twenty-one years of age from disease contracted
during that campaign.

     Cornelius [1735] remained in New York City during the war to look after
the property of his family. He died before the close of the war, his death
having been superinduced by the privations which he had undergone.

     Of the children of James, Adelia married Alfred Pell, by whom she had
Robert Livingston, James Duane, John Augustus, George Washington, and Richard
Montgomery, all of whom were prominent in the first half of the nineteenth
century. Maria [1761] married General William North, first aide-de-camp to
General (Baron) Steuben. Sarah married George W. Feathstonhaugh, from whom is
descended the Duane-Feathstonhaugh family.

     Of the five sons, only one, James Chatham, grew up and married. His wife
was Marianne Bowers, daughter of Henry Bowers of New York City. His life-work
was the development of the great Duane estate at Duanesburgh. It had been
increased to 40,000 acres by his father, James, the jurist, but what with
political changes, industrial discontent, financial panics, and anti-rent
riots, he lost much of that magnificent property.

     In the fourth generation the great figure is James Chatham II. [1824],
the military engineer. He displayed an aptitude for mathematics in mere
boyhood, and in school and college excelled in this branch of study. He was
graduated at Union (1844), and the Military Academy at West Point four years
later. He served in the United States army as engineer, instructor, architect,
and builder, lighthouse inspector, and commander of a company of engineers in
the Utah expedition. At the outbreak of the civil struggle he was stationed at
Fort Pickens, Fla. In 1862, he performed the notable feat of bridging the
Potomac, and the same year built bridges and viaducts across the almost
impassable Chickahominy and White Oak swamps.

     His greatest feat in this field of work was the construction of a timber
bridge two thousand feet long across the Chickahominy River. This was finished
in such splendid style that it received the compliments of the generals as
well as a warm letter of praise from the War Department. He was intensely
active throughout the war, at the close of which he was breveted
brigadier-general. From 1865 to 1868, he had charge of the construction of the
new fortifications at Willetts Point, N. Y. In 1886, he was appointed chief of
engineers, with the rank of brigadier-general. He has contributed many
interesting papers upon topics connected with his calling, of which the most
important is a Manual for Engineer Troops.

     The Duanes, like the Montgomerys and other distinguished families, may
be classed with the Livingstons, of which family they are portions on the
maternal side. They display the same general characteristics, and have enjoyed
private and public careers of similar usefulness.