James Hervey Dudley

      James Hervey Dudley, youngest son of James and Lydia (Leete) Dudley, was born July 14, 1817, in the town of Stanford, Duchess Co., N.Y. He was a lineal descendant of William Dudley of Guilford, Conn., on his father's side, and of Gov. William Leete on his mother's side. William Dudley and William Leete came from near London, Eng., in the same vessel, and in company with many others, under the pastoral care of Rev. Henry Whitfield. The Stone house, built by Mr. Whitfield at Guilford, is still standing, and in good repair, and is the oldest house built by Protestant in America

   The company left England in the fall of 1638; spent that winter in Boston, were there urged to locate, and strong incentives were offered for that purpose. But, preferring to be a colony by themselves, they declined, and went prospecting as far as Quinepiack, New Haven. Being please with the Indian lands at Menuncatuc, a considerable portion of which was then under cultivation, they made the purchase of the Indians, and named the settlement "Guilford," in remembrance of Guilford, in England, from whence some of the company had emigrated.

    Dudley and Leete were young men, with newly married wives. Dudley's first child was born on shipboard and Leete's was the first white child born in the town. The descendants of these two family have intermarried several times since then, and their posterity are to be found in nearly every state in the Union.

     John Dudley, grandfather of James Hervey, left Guilford with his numerous family in 1775, and settled in the town of Richmond, Berkshire Co., Mass., while John Leete, his maternal grandfather, remained in Guilford till 1793, when he, with his large family, also removed and located in the town of Stanford, Duchess Co., N.Y. Both were men of considerable means, bought large farms, and with their families exerted an extensive and useful influence in each locality for many years. But at the present time there is not a descendant of the name of either family, in either town where they originally settled

   James, son of John Dudley, and Lydia, daughter of John Leete, were married May 1,1805, and located in Richmond, near his paternal homestead, and carried on the blacksmith business there for several years, but, his health failing, he with his wife and Chester Leete, their first child, removed to Sachem's Head. County., where his son, George Anson, 2d, was born, June 14, 1810. The following year, he, with his family, removed to Duchess Co., N.Y., and permanently located at "Separate," a locality in the town of Stanford, near the old "Separate Meeting Houser," and but a few rods from the town line of Amenia. Here he built a new blacksmith shop and cultivated his small farm for many years. Here his youngest son, James was born July 14,1817.

   The schools and other opportunities for reading and amusements were much the same as most country boys at that time were favored with; and, such as the boy had, he improved. When of suitable age he assisted his father in the shop, or on the farm, as occasion required. When fifteen years of age, his father and family removed to Honk Hill, in the town of Wawarsing, Ulster Co., N.Y., where he had bought quite an extensive farm, but lived to cultivate it less than two years. After his father's death in 1835' he went to Poughkeepsie, and served an apprenticeship of three years of carpentry. In 1839, he commenced business for himself, as builder, joiner, and architect , which he continued for some fifteen years, during which time he erected or rebuilt nearly three hundred buildings, including two churches and freight and passengers barge.

    In 1853 he engaged in the lumber and trait, which he carried on quite successfully for sixteen years then he sold out, and bought the "Poughkeepsie" foundry and of late years he has not been engaged in any active mercantile and of late years he has not been engaged in any active mercantile or mechanical business. Jan 4, 1842, he married Charlotte, youngest daughter of John C. and Lavinia Wiltsi, descendants of old Huguenot families. The same year he built the house No. 33 Conklin street, Poughkeepsie, and moved into it the following spring, and still resides there. There four of his children were born, and there of the children died. In the same house his twenty-fifth and fiftieth marriage anniversaries were duly celebrated, and there the parents expect to spend the reminder of their days.

    Mr. Dudley was one of the original members of the First Congregational church in the then village of Poughkeepsie, which was organized in 1837, and for more than forty years he has been its stated clerk, and has often been sent as delegate to other bodies. For more than fifty years he has been director or officer of the" Poughkeepsie Lyceum", One of the very few surviving literary societies that were so numerous in the Northern States some thirty to forty years since. On its platform has been heard nearly all the best speakers and elocutionists of this country, And many from other countries. He served eleven consecutive years at school commissioner, and was instrumental in introducing coeducation and vocal music in the public schools of the city. He designed and superintended the erection of most of the public school buildings in the city; also furnished drawings and specification for many private and public buildings, among others the congressional church, of which he is a member, and superintended its erection and completion. He represented his ward five turns in the board of county supervisors, and during the rebelling was active in sending recruits to the front.

     His first vote for President was cast in 1840, with the old "Liberty Party", and with that party he continued to vote at every election, until the nomination of John C. Fremout, in 1856. Since that time he has been in full sympathy with the "Grand Old Republican Party".

    In temperance he has been an out-and-out teetotaler, -never brought a glass of ardent spirits, wine of beer, nor used tobacco in any form. When the charters of the "Old Ladies Home", was granted he was named as one of the trustees, and for many years he has been president of the board. He engaged in active business most of his life, his annual practice was to spend some weeks with "Rod and Jin", in pursuit of "Fur, fin, or feather," especially the latter in the Adirondacks, thousand islands, or some other wild region, and with decided benefits to the health and after work, and he has written many articles on the subject for the press.