Genealogy of the Olmsted family in America : embracing the ...

228 Olmsted Family Genealogy
(4326) AARON OLMSTED, Steuben County, N. Y. b. at Norwalk, Conn.,
Mar. 3, 1776; d. at Monterey, Schuyler County, N. Y., Apr. 25, 1876; m. (1)
Elsie Hanford, at Norwalk, Conn.; d. June 22, 1822; dau. of Jedediah Han-
ford; (2) Feb. 23, 1823, Mary Youngs, of Milo, N. Y.; d. Oct. 16, 1830; (3)
May 16, 1833, Mrs. Nancy Dean, of Benton, Yates County, N. Y.; d. Apr. 10,
1835; (4) Dec. 25, 1836, Mrs. Fanny Hallock, of Harrington, N. Y.; d. Jan.
3, 1841; (5) Feb. 16, 1842, Mrs. Phebe (Kellogg) Johnson, of Utica, N. Y.;
d. Nov. 8, 1868. He was a merchant in Wayne, N. Y. Mr. Olmsted is
said to have resided at one time at Crooked Lake, Steuben County, N. Y.
1st marriage: 4968, Elsie, Stamford, Conn.; b. Apr. 8, 1802; d. June 27,
1806. 4969,DEBOEAH;b. Oct.3, 1803;d.Dec. 11, 1812. 4970, Alexander
Haneord +. 4971, Eliza +. 4972, Julia; b. Nov. 11, 1815; m. Oct. 12,
1868, Thomas Eyles, of Orange, N. Y. 2d marriage: 4973, Charles; b.
May 6, 1824; d. of yellow fever while on a trip to New Orleans, La., July
21, 1855. 4974, Mary Elizabeth; b. Nov. 29, 1825; m. Mar., 1850,
Jacob C. Hovey, of Bath, Steuben County, N. Y.
(4327) DAVID OLMSTED, b. Feb. 2, 1779; d. Mar. 22, 1806; m. at the
Episcopal Rectory, Norwalk, Conn., Grisel Bedient, of Wilton, Conn.
4975, George. 4976, Jane; d. in New York City. 4977, Delia +.
(4328) SILAS OLMSTED, b. at Norwalk, Conn., Dec. 5, 1780; d. at Tarrytown,
N. Y., Feb. 7, 1874; m. (1) abt. 1804, Mary Selleck, probably of Quaker
descent; d. Feb., 1807; (2) in Trinity Church, New York City, Aug. 31, 1808,
Nancy Westervelt; bap. July 18, 1791; d. Jan. 27, 1847; dau. of Casparus and
Jane (Ryder) Westervelt.
Silas Olmsted probably resided in Norwalk, Conn., until after 1805, for
his first son, and only child by his first wife, was born in that city. He began
life as a poor boy ;
was a ship carpenter by trade, but soon abandoned that for
the grocery business in New York City. By hard work, business sagacity and
careful economy, he gained the then unusually large fortune of between a
quarter and a half million dollars. As is so often the case, there was
disagreement among the heirs, the will was contested, and when, after
many years, the case was finally arbitrated, the lawyers had made their
fortunes, and many of the heirs had lost theirs. Mr. Olmsted was a just
man in his business dealings, giving good weight and measure, paying
every cent that he owed, and exacting the same from others. For this reason,
some thought him a hard man to deal with. He was not a demonstrative
man, nor even affectionate, some thought, but he was always fond of children.
He belonged to the Episcopal Church, as did his daughter Elizabeth. As a
young man he was about five feet, eight inches in height, good-looking, with
a clear blue eye, light hair, clear skin and red cheeks. As he grew older, his
frame became heavy, though he was never corpulent. In 1848, he removed
from New York City to Tarrytown, N. Y., where he spent the remainder of
his' life. His second wife, Nancy Westervelt, had dark hair and brown eyes.
She was rather a severe looking woman, and a great worker. Out of eighteen
births, she only reared eight of her children. She was a member of the Baptist
Church; descended from one of the early Dutch settlers, Lubbert Lubbertsen
Van Westervelt and his wife Geesie Roeloffe. He was born in 1620, and came
with his brother Willem and their families from Meppel, province Dreuth,
Holland, in the ship Hope, in April, 1662; settled in Bergen County, N.