Ebenezer Foote

Genealogy

Ebenezer Foote,6 (Daniel,5 Nathaniel,4,3,2,1)

Ebenezer Foote was born 12 April, 1756 [f.f.pp., Foot Fam;1;93] at ___, N. Y. to Daniel Foote and ___ Parsons [“Ebenezer Foote Born on Monday 12th April, 1756” |Foote Fam. Rec;1]. He died at Delhi, N.Y. 28 Dec., 1829 [Foot Fam;1;93]; buried at Arbor Hill, in Delhi, N.Y. [Foote Family Record;1, John D. Clarke, Congressman Thirty-fourth District, 1921–1925, Arbor Hill, 1797–1925, with pl. Reprinted from an article by Floyd H. Lincoln and published in “The Walton Reporter,” June 6, 1925.] Ebenezer Foote married 10 Oct., 1779 Jerusha Purdy [Foote Fam Rec;1, Foot Fam;1;93], daughter of Abraham Purdy and Phebe Strang; she was born, probably at Rye, Westchester County, N. Y. 6 Dec., 1754 [Desc. Purdy;__]. Note from NYHS: “Jerusha Foote ob. 24 Nov., 1818, æ. 64 “A Dear & tender Mother.” Wh. Pub?

Children born at Delhi? [Foote Fam. Rec;1]:

1. Frederick Parsons Foote, b. 15 March, 1783 [Foot Fam;1;93, “Frederick Parsons Foote Born 15 March mcccxxxiii” |Foote Fam. Rec;1].
2. Charles Augustus Foote, b. 15 April, 1785 [“Charles Augustus Foote Born 15 April 1785” |Foote Fam. Rec;1]; d. at m. at 1808 Maria Baldwin daughter of Jessie Baldwin and Margaretta de Hart of Manhattan [Foot Fam;1;204].
3. Harriet Foote, b. 9 Nov., 1787 [Foote Fam. Rec;1, Foot Fam;1;94]; d. at ___; she m. John Foote, Esq. son of Judge Isaac Foote and Mary Kellogg [Foot Fam;1;198]. John Foote was an Attorney and Counsellor at Law, Solicitor and Counsellor in Chancery and District Court of the United States; d. July 1884, res. Hamilton, N.Y. Children [Foot Fam;1;199]
   1. Acsah Sophia Foote, b. 26 Oct. 1812, d. 19 Feb., 1891 [Foot Fam;1;199]
   2. Margaret Parsons Foote, b. 17 April, 1814, m. 11 Feb. 1834 William Hart Williams, son of Solomon Williams and Hepzibah Hart, he was b. Berkshire, Tioga county N.Y., 10 Dec., 1811 [Foot Fam;1;199]
   3. John Johnson Foote, b. 11 Feb., 1816, m. Mary Crocker [Foot Fam;1;199]
   4. Mary Foote, b. ___ “d. in infancy” [Foot Fam;1;199]
   5. Mary Kellogg Foote, b. 3 Jan., 1819
   6. Caroline Della Foote, b. 26 Aug., 1820, m. John Mitchell, Norwich, N.Y. [Foot Fam;1;199]
   7. Susan Foote, b. 2 April, 1822 m. 19 Aug., 1848 Rev. David A. Peck, Clifton Park, N.Y. [Foot Fam;1;199]
   8. William Johnson Foote, b. ___, d. æ. 3 [Foot Fam;1;199]
   9. Dr. Henry Cady Foote, b. 28 Aug., 1825, m. Ann Elizabeth McKee, daughter of ___, res. Galesburg, Ill. [Foot Fam;1;199]
   10. Frederick William Foote, b. 9 Aug., 1827, m. Esther Young.
   11. George W. Foote, b. 4 July, 1829, m. Harriet Morton [Foot Fam;1;199]
4. Margaret Parsons Foote, b. 9 March, 1790 [Foote Fam. Rec;1]; she died 1840 [Foot Fam;1;95]; she married Rev. Ebenezer Maxwell, son of ___ Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Delhi, N.Y.; he d. July, 1840 [Foot Fam;1;95]. Children, [Foot Fam;1;199]:
   1. Ebenezer Foote Maxwell, b. ___; he lives in Delhi, on the place which belonged to his Grandfather Foote, and on which he died [Foot Fam;1;95].

Jerusha Purdy Foote died at Delhi, N.Y., Nov., 1818. [Delhi;d.r.?, g.s., “1818” |Foot Fam;1;93]. Ebenezer Foote married, 2d, 1818 ___ Rosencranz [Foot Fam;1;93]

Biography

Foot Fam;1;93:

At Nineteen Ebenezer Foote was found with the Minute Men at Bunker Hill; made sergeant of the Second Conn.; was at Trenton and Valley Forge; taken prisoner at the battle of Fort Washington, and confined to the old Bridwell, managed to escape, and by means of a plank found on the shore swam the Hudson in the month of December, but the exposure brought on a severe illness, and he never again could engage in active service. His patriotism, however, would not allow him to remain an outsider, and we next find him in the Commissary Department at General Washington’s headquarters on the Hudson, where he remained until his health again forced his resignation just before the close of the war. He saw much of Washington; was temporarily on his Staff, and retired with the rank of Major. One of the most interesting events of his life is well related by Mr. Abbot, in his delightful work entitled “The crisis of the Revolution,” when Capt. Foote, in the early morning of Sept. 22, 1780, for a few moments held the fate of that gallant soldier, Major Andre, in his hands. As officer in command at Crompond, Capt. Foote scanned the pass produced by Andre, but knowing Benedict Arnold and his writing well, and seeing that his appended signature was correct, allowed the party to proceed. After the war Major Foote engaged in a large mercantile and shipping business at Newburgh, N.Y., with his brother Justin, who later married Marie Evertson, whose sister had just married Governor Smith of Conn. Major Foote, whose duties at headquarters caused him to ride much and far, had met and married the charming young Jerusha Purdy, of Yorktown, Westchester, N.Y., and from old tales and letter she appears to have remained a fascinator until her death. Mr. Foote was for a long time Member of Assembly from Ulster, and was largely instrumental in procuring the setting off of Delaware Co., where he came to reside in Aug., 1797. He was Co. Clerk for a number of years, conducted an extensive land agency, and three times was appointed First or Presiding Judge, as well as acting for a short time as puisne on the bench. He represented the old Middle District for four years in the Senate of the Sate; was nominated for Congress, but other duties forced him to decline; sat in the council of Appointment with Gov. Jay, and enjoyed his friendship and confidence. (See Jay Gould’s History) In 1798 the Co. town was erected, and Judge Foote, as chief citizen, was appointed by the Legislature to name it. Not particularly desiring the honor, he said to his intimate friends at Albany, the Patroon, Gen. Schuyler, etc., “I think I shall decline.” They all belonged to a small club, each member bearing some fanciful name; Senator Foote’s was “The Great Mogul,” and his fellow members said, “We shall name it for you, and call it after your city, ‘Delhi’,” which was done, to the great annoyance of Gen. Root, a prominent man and politician, who had also come to reside in the place, and wished much to have the privilege of giving the name. As Speaker of the House in 1801, he gained great credit for his “dignity and courtesy.” At Delhi he assisted in organizing St. John’s Church and an Academy, which for many years enjoyed a wide reputation; of the one he was made the first Senior Warden, of the other, the first President of the Board of Trustees. In the issue of Jan. 7, 1830, “The Commercial Advertiser,” New York City, (See Life of Samuel Foote) in an extended notice of his death, speaks of his integrity, of his prominence in the State, and of his beautiful mansion, Arbor Hill, on the banks of the Delaware, and of the long list of eminent men who enjoyed from time to time its hospitality. A man refined, honest and honorable in all his ways.

His niece, Roxanna, married Lyman Beecher, and became the mother of Henry Ward and Mrs. H.B. Stowe. A grand-niece married William Seward, Governor and Secretary of State.

“How it was Named Delhi,” Hist Dela;449: Judge Foote, who was in the Legislature of 1796–97 from Ulster county, was instrumental in the formation of Delaware county, and was much interested, with many others, in the location of its county seat. The judge was appointed, from his earnest support of the formation of the new county, to give a name to the town so soon to be brought forth, and the clique with which he boarded and was intimate requested him to allow them to suggest a name; he consented. His nick-name was “The Great Mogul,” and they, knowing he was to reside here, suggested the name of Delhi, that being the city of the Mogul, and he, agreeable to his promise, so named it. This is the proper account, and will explain why so singular a name appears among the many that followed naturally. A former history of this county gives a ludicrous scene that occurred among other warm friends of the new county, who wished the name to be “Mapleton.” General Erastus Root, who was an impulsive gentleman, and leader of those who insisted upon the latter name, when told that the name should be Delhi, said: “Del-hi—hell-hi! Better call it Foote high!” The name was thus given, and the town formed took rank among sister towns in the general work of the new county.