c.1965
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Supervisors of the Town of Warrensburg
James L. Thurman 1813
Harmon Hoffman, 1814-1815 James L. Thurman, 1816-1817 Dudley Farlin, 1818-1820 Duncan McDonald, 1821-1823 Richardson Thurman, 1824 James L. Thurman, 1825-1826 Dudley Farlin, 1827-1828 Joseph Russell, 1829 Pelatiah Richards, 1830, 1838 Joseph Russell, 1831-1834 John Thurman, 1835 Stephen Griffing, 1836-1837 Pelatiah Richards, 1838 Joseph Russell, 1839 Alton Nelson - 1840 Thomas S. Gray, 1841 Asa Crandall - 1842 Abial Burdick, 1843 Nelson J. Warren, 1844 Joseph W. Woodward, 1845 |
Nelson J. Warren, 1846
James R. Berry, 1847 Abial Burdick, 1848 John Moon, 1849 Nelson J. Warren, 1850 James R. Berry, 1851-1852 Abial Burdick, 1853 Myron H. Shaw, 1854 John S. Berry, 1855 Nelson J. Warren, 1856 Stephen Griffing, 2nd, 1857-1858 Stephen Griffing, 1859-1860 Thomas Cunningham, 1861-1862 Duncan Griffing, 1863 Thomas Cunningham, 1864-1865 Abial Burdick, 1866-1867 Charles H. Hogan - 1868 Stephen Griffing, 2nd, 1869 John Mixter, 1870 Charles M. Osborn - 1871 Thomas Cunningham, 1872-1877 |
Lewis Eldridge –1878
Stephen Griffing, 2nd, 1879 Joel J. White, 1880 Thomas Cunningham, 1881 Joel J. White, 1882 Thomas Cunningham, 1883 Henry Griffing, 1884-1885 William D. Aldrich 1886-1893 Lewis C. Aldrich 1894-1897 Louis Weinman – 1898-1907 Alfred J. Pitcher, 1908-1911 Milton N. Eldridge, 1912-1921 Girtin M. Swan, 1922 to 1925 Frank W. Smith, 1926-1931 (June) Wyman D. Pasco, 1931-1944 (Sept.) Lee Orton, 1944-1963 Charles Hastings - 1964-1983 Calvin Engle, 1984-1987 Maynard D. Baker - 1988-1997 Jerold Quintal, 1998-2005 Kevin B. Geraghty, 2006 - |
History of Supervisors of the Town of Warrensburg
The first officers of the town consisted of the following persons: supervisor, James, L. Thurman; town clerk, Myron Beach; assessors, Dr. Harmon Hoffman, John McMillen and Joseph Norton; commissioners of highways, Dr. Thomas Pattison, Whitman Cole and Albro Tripp; overseers of the poor, Dr. Harman Hoffman and Dr. Thomas Pattison; constable and collector, Samuel Stackhouse; fence viewers, Myron Beach and Dr. Thomas Pattison; poundmaster, William Hough. There were twenty-two pathmasters.
Dr. Harmon Hoffman, a member of the Duchess County Militia 6th Regiment in the Revolutionary War, was one of the first of three assessors in 1813. In addition, he was one of two overseers of the poor in 1813 and Town Supervisor, 1814-1815. Dr. Hoffman was one of the physicians who helped organize the Warren County Medical Society. He built and operated a gristmill on the Schroon and sold it to Dudley Farlin in 1816, after an explosion of powder had destroyed the store he kept near the mill. He moved to Saratoga about 1820 and remained there until his death.
Dudley Farlin. - Born in Norwich, Connecticut in 1777, he arrived in Warrensburgh shortly after 1813. An experienced carpenter, he rebuilt sawmills previously owned by Harmon Hoffman, which he sold to Nelson Warren in 1834 (later owned by B. P. Burhans, then A. C. Emerson Company.). He and his wife, Sarah, had six children, Cynthia Beach, Myron B., James W., Frederick A., Alfred C. and Charles D.. He was a Town Supervisor from 1818 to 1820 and 1827 to 1828. He served as Warren County sheriff in 1821, 1822 and again in 1828. In 1824 he was a member of the State Assembly. He was elected as a Jacksonian to the 24th U.S. Congress, serving from March 4, 1835 to March 3, 1837. Returning home, he died on Sept. 26, 1837.
Duncan McDonald was District #17 Pathmaster in 1813 and Town Supervisor from 1821-1823. McDonald worked a farm near David Millington’s (about three miles west of
Warrensburg, on the Hudson River).
Richardson Thurman (1755-1806) settled in Thurman in 1783. A nephew of John Thurman (the original patentee and owner of nearly all the lands known as "Hyde Township"), he acted as agent in the sale of land for his uncle. He was town supervisor in 1824. Married to Catherine Low, they had three sons, Richardson (Jr.), John, James, and three daughters, Susannah, Jennie and Elizabeth. "Susan" married Dr. MacLaren, an early settler in Warrensburgh. Elizabeth married Dr. Thomas Pattison, who subsequently settled and practiced in Warrensburgh. James became Warrensburgh's first supervisor and a major property owner in town.
Joseph Russell (1800-1875) was active in business and politics. He was part owner of the Warren House (1860s) and Emerson Sawmill (1840s). In
1829, 1831-34 and 1839 he served as town supervisor and was Warren County sheriff in 1834. He was elected as United States Congress-man from 1845 to 1847. A charter member of Warrensburgh Masonic Lodge No. 425, Russell was also on the original board of directors for the First National Bank of Glens Falls. In 1850 he was appointed to the building committee of the Hudson River Boom Building Agreement, charged with the task of constructing a boom, or log chain, across the Hudson River above Glens Falls to capture all the logs floated down the river from the north. This was an enormous undertaking, since the boom was in continuous use into the 1950s. |
Pelatiah Richards - Born in 1786 in Plainfield, Connecticut, Pelatiah arrived here in 1802 at the age of sixteen. His land-owner's grant embraced more than 100 acres between Main Street and Hacken-sack Moun-tain. Known as a merchant, he also owned a distillery south of the hamlet in North Cald-well. He served as sheriff of Warren County 1820 to 1822, Town Clerk in 1825 and Supervisor in 1830 and again in 1838, and a New York State Assemblyman in 1843. He was one of several men responsible for the construction of the plank road from Lake George and another north from Warrensburgh to Chestertown. He was the second president of the Glens Falls Insurance Company, and one of the original thirteen directors of the Glens Falls National Bank, from 1851 to 1870. Having traveled to the American south and seeing Jefferson-inspired homes in the Classical Revival style, he instructed Warrensburgh builder Joseph Woodward to model his home in that style. He had three sons, George, Samuel and Charles, and five daughters, Aurelia, Abigail, Minerva, Sally and Mary. He died in 1870. A Tiffany-quality stained glass window was installed in the First Presbyterian Church in his memory. (See Gilchrist Manor.)
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Thomas S. Gray, a partner with Benjamin P. Burhans in the tannery business in Warrensburgh from 1836 until 1860, also owned the Horicon Tannery during the 1860s. He was instrumental in building plank roads to Chestertown and Caldwell (Lake George). A Town Supervisor elected in 1841, he became a New York State Assemblyman in 1856 and 1862. He was a trustee at the Warrensburgh Academy and served on the board of directors of the Glens Falls National Bank.
Asa Crandall, born in 1794, became Town Supervisor in 1842. He was one of three men from Warrensburgh who were officers of the Masonic Clinton Lodge. The other two were Pelatiah Richards and Joseph Russell. Upon the dissolution of the Clinton Lodge and the surrender of its charter, they remained in possession of its gavel and record book. The three were instrumental in forming Warrensburgh Masonic Lodge No. 425 in 1857. Asa would serve as treasurer of the new lodge.
Abial Burdick, born in 1804 in Easton (Washington County), was a four-time supervisor for the town of Warrensburg. He started one of the first carding mills in the town, probably in operation before 1870. His first wife was Catherine McLaren (1797-?) and they had a daughter Mary Elizabeth, born in 1836. Mary Elizabeth married Thomas Cunningham in 1858. Abial's second wife was Julia (?) (1822-1891). In 1884, Mr. Burdick and grandson Frank Cunningham built an addition to the Warrensburgh Woolen Mill. They were the first recorded owners on file of that mill. Grandson Harry continued running the carding mill after his grandfather died in 1890.
Nelson J. Warren was just 3 years old when he and his parents, James and Melinda (Beach) Warren arrived here from Dutchess County, NY in 1804. In 1812, when Nelson was ten years old his father drowned in the rushing spring waters of the Hudson River while trying to save his son. Nelson learned quickly, helping his mother carry on the family businesses. He accumulated considerable wealth and properties, including sawmills, as he prospered. In 1825, he purchased the gristmill from Dudley Farlin, who had purchased it from Harmon Hoffman, the builder. In 1860 he sold it to Burhans & Gray. He was civic-minded just as his father and interested in the town. He was Town Supervisor in 1844, 1846, 1850 and 1856 and Postmaster from 1822-1841. He lived in a house on Main Street after the death of his mother in 1863. He never married. He died in 1886 at age 85.
Judge Joseph W. Woodward, son of Isaac Woodward, and grandson of Josiah Woodward, was born on September 20, 1804 in Warrensburgh. In early life he was a merchant and manufacturer and shipper of lumber. In 1822 he bought a sawmill from James L. Thurman, about 4 miles north of Warrensburg on a little tributary of the Schroon. He was instrumental in building plank roads to Chester and Caldwell (Lake George). On March 5, 1828, he married Julia Gunn, daughter of Lucius Gunn. They had three children, Abigail J., Julia Eleanor, and Leander. Julia died in 1832. In 1836, he married Duncan McDonald's daughter, Charlotte McDonald, who died in 1847. He then married Miss Jane Judd in 1857. After Jane's death in 1859, Joseph married Charlotte Kennedy in 1861. Joseph was a member of the Assembly in 1872, side judge for five years and supervisor for one term. At one time Judge Woodward owned 30,000 acres of forest and farm lands, in conjunction with B. P. Burhans and others. By 1885 the children of Joseph still living were Leander, Lemuel, Abigail and Minerva. Abigail married Albert C. Emerson. Minerva married Frederick W. King.
Thomas Cunningham (1825-1907) was born on a farm in Essex County, NY. He attended Troy Conference Academy and apprenticed with an Elizabethtown law firm. He was admitted to the bar in 1853 and soon located his law office in Warrensburgh on the corner of Stewart Farrar Avenue and Main Street, the current location of Stewart's Shop. He had a large clientele and was politically active, serving as Town Supervisor 1861/1862, again in 1864/1865 and finally from 1872-1877. He served as Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue for several years and filled a vacancy as the District Attorney. His estate encompassed an area stretching from Main Street to Milton Avenue, plus property in the vicinity of Ridge Street and Burdick Avenue. He married Mary Elizabeth Burdick, for whom Burdick Avenue was named, and they had ten children, of which all but three survived past childhood: Charles; Frank; Fred; Harry; Robert; Alice and Maude Cunningham. Charles became a doctor who also served the community of Warrensburg.
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Duncan Griffing, the son of William and Jane McEwen Griffing, was born in 1818 in Warrensburgh. He served as Town Supervisor in 1863 and assemblyman from his district to the state legislature in 1871. The first meeting held in Warrensburgh to raise funds for fitting out volunteers from the town for the Civil War was held at his house. He married Marie Stackhouse and they had five children:- Louisa F., Orville, Alice K., Charles H. and Edgar T.. Louisa married Dr. Daniel B. Howard, of Warrensburgh, in 1872. Duncan Griffing died in 1894.
John H. Mixter and his son, Fred, were blacksmiths whose shop was located on the east side of Main Street south of Horicon Avenue. Built in 1790 of native granite, it is one of the oldest buildings in Warrensburg. Their anvil was on the ground floor. On the north side was a watering trough for the horses when they came to be shod. Upstairs was a ballroom where ladies and gentlemen of the town could dance. It was also used by the militia to practice marching. Since the 1920s, the building housed an antique shop, first owned by Ed Powers, then by Rollie Tanner, and later by Frances and Joseph Carlucci. John Mixter and his wife, Hannah, had two daughters and four sons. He purchased the Blacksmith Shop prior to 1866. He also acquired the barn across the street (the building that now houses part of Miller Art & Frame). The barn was needed to board horses until the blacksmith was able to tend to their hooves and make their shoes. In 1881, his son James started a hardware store in the current Miller building, and in 1882 gave it up to his brother Fred. An apartment was built over the barn, and there were many owners over the years. (See Frances' Antique Shop and Miller Art & Frame.)
William D. Aldrich was born in Thurman on January 15, 1851. His parents were Daniel and Catherine Aldrich. He received his early education at the Warrensburgh Academy and his medical education at Dartmouth College, graduating on November 1, 1871. He began his practice in Stony Creek and joined the Warren County Medical Society in 1872. The following year he married Clara Cudney. During the years 1874-75 he served as supervisor of Stony Creek. In 1877 he moved to Warrensburgh where he continued his practice until his death in 1897, at age 46. In 1878 he served as president of the Warren County Medical Society. He also served as Warrensburgh supervisor from 1886-1893. He was a member of the Free and Accepted Masons, Knights Templar and Kunjamuck Club.
Lewis C. Aldrich was born in Thurman on May 13, 1852, the son of Daniel and Catherine Dow Aldrich. After graduating from Warrensburgh Academy he studied law for three years in the office of Thomas Crandall and was admitted to the bar in 1874. He established an office in War-rensburgh and became an expert in town and county law. Mr. Aldrich served as Town Supervisor from 1894-1897. In 1902 he formed a partnership with his nephew, Lewis E. Crandall, until his retirement in 1904. He never married.
Dr. Alfred J. Pitcher was born in Queensbury in 1851, and moved to Warrensburgh at the age of seven with his mother. At the age of twenty-four he apprenticed at Joel White’s blacksmith shop, where he learned the trade and also acquired a practical knowledge of veterinary medicine. After working for White, he organized the firm of Birney & Pitcher. In 1893 he entered the New York Veterinary College, grad-uating in 1897. He continued working as a black-smith, paying attention to scientific horse-shoeing. He later closed the shop to devote his entire time to veterinary medicine. He traveled throughout War-ren County and surrounding counties at any hour of the day or night. In 1877 he married Lydia J. Lloyd of Warrensburgh. They had two daughters, Bertha and Ada. He became a member of the Warrens-burgh Lodge 435 Masons in June of 1889. He continued his practice until 1942 and died the following year at the age of 92.
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Girtin M. Swan (b. 1863), son of John P. and Mary Ann (Ferry) Swan, was Town Supervisor from 1922 to 1925. Born in Chestertown, he spent most of his life in Warrensburg, conducting a meat market here for twenty years. Serving first as Justice of the Peace, he was appointed supervisor to fill the unexpired term of Milton N. Eldridge. He was then elected for 2 successive terms. With his wife, Clara A. Maxim, they had two sons, Claude B. and Harold B., and three daughters, Olive, Grace and Ethel May. Girtin Swan died in 1936 at age 73.
Frank W. Smith, businessman and three-term Democratic town supervisor from 1925 until his death in 1931, was highly re-garded by his fellow towns-people. As super-visor, his accomp-lishments include the widening of Main Street and the installation of street lamps. The son of Thomas J. Smith, he became partner in his family's general store and worked as bookkeeper in the family-owned gristmill and grain store on the Schroon River. Within five years, he was a partner and soon became its director. Eventually he purchased the interests of all his siblings and became sole owner of this enterprise. He was an admired leader of the town when his premature death in a tragic house fire in 1931 threw the town into shock. His funeral cortege was among the largest seen. New York Governor, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Mrs. Roosevelt sent a telegram of condolence to the bereaved family. Mourners came from all over New York State to pay their respects. He was survived by his wife, Bertha, his daughter, Hilda and their dog, Bubbles. Their home, destroyed by the fire, was the former Hart Joseph house.
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Wyman Delbert Pasco, born December 30, 1890 in Warrensburg, was the son of Delbert E. and Sarah (Magee) Pasco. He graduated from Warrensburg High School in 1910 and taught school at Stony Creek the following year. He graduated from Al-bany Business Col-lege in 1912 and entered the hard-ware, grain and automobile business with his father and brother Walter. Their association with A.C. Emerson Company resulted in his becoming president of that firm until his death in 1959. He married Leneta Mills in 1912. They had two sons, Robert E. and Ralph Edward, and three daughters, Clara, Helen and Mary. Wyman Pasco entered politics in 1917 when he was elected assessor. In 1921 he was elected justice of the peace, serving until he was appointed supervisor following the death of Frank W. Smith in June, 1931. He held that office until 1944 and died in 1959.
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Lee R. Orton was born in 1894, the son of William Clark Orton and Ella Wheeler Orton. He worked for Berry Wood-ward in the undertaking bus-iness before partnering with Cassius McClos-key. They purch-ased their late employer's fun-eral home and renamed it Orton and McCloskey Funeral Home. Orton played for the Maplewoods baseball team in the early 20th century and had a brief career in professional base-ball. He served as Town Clerk from 1928 to 1944, when he was elected Town Supervisor. He remained in that position until 1964. In 1958 he was named Chairman of the Warren County Board of Supervisors, serving in that post through 1961. Married to Sara Kilday of Madison, Pennsylvania, they had a son William Clark and a daughter Saralee. Lee Orton died in 1966. Orton Drive, through the subdivision of the former Crooning Pines property, was named in his honor.
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Born in 1909, Charles Hastings was the son of William Hastings and Jennie Maude Cilley. Early in his career he served as Warrensburg Water Superintendent for 30 years. In 1962, he was elected Town Supervisor and continued in that position for 20 years, until 1982. He was instrumental in developing the Tri-County Nursing Home in North Creek, the Warren County Residential Hall in Warrensburg, and helped in the establishment of the Hudson Headwaters Health Network. He was a long- time member of the Warrensburg School Board, Fire Company, Kiwanis Club, Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Lodge No. 425 of Free and Accepted Masons. He was married to Madeline Olds and they had five children, Charles, Marilyn, Norma, Karen and Patricia. He died in 1993 at the age of 84.
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In 1967 Maynard D. Baker graduated from the American Academy-McCallister Institute of Funeral Services in Manhattan, and received his Funeral Director’s license in July, 1968. He had previously apprenticed at two funeral homes. In September of 1968 he and his wife Ruth (Rounds) purchased the former Murphy residence on Main Street, which became the Maynard Baker Funeral Home. Mr. Baker served as Warrensburg Supervisor from 1988 to 1997. He is the founder of Adirondack Freedom Fighters, a group opposed to reg-ulation of state and private lands in the Adiron-dack Park by the Adirondack Park Agency. (See Alexander Fun-eral Home.)
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Jerold Quintal, the son of Edith and Oscar Quintal, was born on March 27, 1946. A 1964 graduate of Warrensburg Central School, Jerry excelled in basketball, carrying that talent to Albany Business College from which he graduated in 1967. The following year he married Kathleen Hurlburt of Argyle, a 1966 graduate of ABC. They had three children, Janelle, Jerold (Joq) and Joel. Jerry's business education suited him well as he entered the business started by his father and mother more than twenty years prior, Oscar's Smoke House. Active in community service organizations, he was a member of the Fire Company and the Emergency Squad. In 1973 Jerry helped form the Warrensburg Little League with assistance from Bob Tennant and Harold McKinney. He served on the Warrensburg Economic Development Council and was elected Town Councilman. The Warrensbug Chamber of Commerce honored Jerry with Citizen of the Year in 1996. In 1997 he was elected to the position of Town Supervisor, which he held from 1998 through 2005. In semi-retirement, Jerry continues to oversee the operations of Oscar's, now being run by sons Joq and Joel.
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Kevin B. Geraghty was born in 1949, one of five sons born to Elihu and Thelma Burto Geraghty. He graduated from Warrensburg Central School and received a degree in Business Administration from Albany Business College. From 1969 to 2002 he worked for International Paper Company in Corinth, serving as Production, Scheduling and Distribution Man-ager since 1989, and finally over-saw the closing of that facility. He is a forty-two-year member of the Warrensburg Volunteer Fire Company, ser-ving as its Pres-ident, and for the past 38 years has been the Fire District Secretary-Treasurer. He also serves as scorekeeper for the WCS Basketball program and the NYS Basketball Tournaments. First appointed to Warrensburg Town Council in 1980 to complete Bud Olden's unexpired term, Geraghty was elected three times, serving as Councilman through 1993. He returned briefly in 1995, completing the term of the late Dick Beswick. In 2005 he was elected Warrensburg
Town Supervisor. A strong advocate of both fiscal responsibility and open government, he was returned to office in 2009 and 2013. As Supervisor, he also serves on the Warren County Board of Supervisors, where he held the title of Budget Officer for five years. In January, 2013 he was unanimously elected to the post of Chairman of the Warren County Board of Supervisors. Married to Kathleen Martin Geraghty, he has a son, Kevin R. Geraghty, a daughter Melissa A. Geraghty, and step daughters Christine Song and Gina King. |