The Monteath family is an ancient one and famous in the Scottish annals. In America the Monteaths descend from Peter Monteath, born 1745. Through intermarriage of their ancestors the present generations obtain direct descent from the American ancestor of the noted families of the Mohawk Valley, the Lansings, Van Wies, Woolvertons, Beeckmans, Wilcoxs, and collateral descent from many others.
(I) Peter Monteath was born in Dunblane, Scotland, in 1745, died in Albany, New York, November 6, 1797. He married Christian Bishop, born 1743, in Scotland, died April 22, 1806, in Albany. They had one son, George, see forward.
(II) Captain George, son of Peter and Christian (Bishop) Monteath, was born in Dunblane, Scotland, February 2, 1778, died in Albany, New York, March 10, 1856. For many years he was engaged in the transportation of freight and passengers on the Hudson river, owning many sloops that he used in the business. Before the introduction of railroads and steamboats all intercourse between the towns along the river and all freight was transported by means of these sailing sloops. It was slow and inconvenient, but the amount of business done was very great and a great deal of capital was so employed. When the steamboat became a completion the sailing sloops, that must wait for wind and tide, were placed at a great disadvantage. Captain Monteath quickly realized the value of the new system of propulsion and was one of the first to employ steam in his business. He was a prominent and successful business man of Albany, and ranked as a shrewd and careful financier. Among his enterprises was the founding, with others, of the Albany and Canal Line of Tow Boats. He married Harriet Lansing Van Wie, born April 7, 1785, died October 8, 1860, at Albany. (See Van Wie V). Children:
- Christian, married Thomas Dunn;
- Peter, see forward.
- Jane, married James A. Wilson.
- Catherine, married Amos Howes, of New York.
- George, died 1909.
- William, married Rhoda Nickerson Mayo.
- John.
- Margaret, married George R. Shortiss; children:
- George,
- Marguerite, lives in Buffalo, New York, married Frank Fiske, Jr.
(III) Peter (2), eldest son of Captain George and Harriet Lansing (Van Wie) Monteath, was born in Albany, New York, October 30, 1811, died there January 13, 1879. His entire business life was spent in Albany, where he rose to affluence and gained a name, honored wherever spoken. For forty-six years he was in active business life, founding in 1833, with James A. Wilson, the wholesale grocery house of Wilson & Monteath. The business of the firm so increased that more capital was needed, and Joseph D. Badgley was admitted, the firm becoming Wilson, Monteath & Company. In 1850, Mr. Wilson retired, and the firm name was changed to Monteath & Badgley. In 1864 George, son of Peter Monteath, was admitted, and the firm style was Monteath, Badgley & Company. In 1865 a great grief befell him in the death of this son, to whom he was devotedly attached. At about the same time Mr. Badgley withdrew from the firm and removed to New York. He now associated with himself his other son, Edward W. Monteath, and as Monteath & Son the house continued its vigorous successful life until 1873, Egbert M. Tracy was admitted a partner and Monteath, Son & Company continued until 1876, when death again invaded the firm and removed his only remaining son, Edward W. As Monteath & Company, the firm remained until the death of Peter Monteath in 1879. Through all these changes he remained the efficient head of the business and as a wonderfully capable manager and a business gentleman gained the highest respect of his associates and the name Monteath became a synonym for square dealing, highest integrity and courteous treatment. Retiring in character and shrinking from self assertion, he declined civic and social honors; while his advice and sympathy were always at the service of those who solicited them, public station and political preferment he neither desired nor permitted to be put upon him, preferring the calm comfort and sensible delights of his refined Christian home. He was interested in other of the business activities of his city; for many years he was a director of the Commercial Bank and of the Commerce Insurance Company. He was a member and elder of the Second Dutch Reformed Church, and served upon the official board. At the time of his death he was the oldest member of St. Andrew's Society, which organization passed resolutions of respect at his demise. He was a great lover of music, was also interested in art, serving as trustee of the Gallery of Fine Arts of Albany, and was a patron of young artists. Peter Monteath married, September 28, 1836, Sarah Anne Woolverton, (see Woolverton VI), born in Charleston, Montgomery county, New York, October 31, 1815, died October 28, 1883. Children:
- Sara J., a resident of Albany.
- George, died February 22, 1865.
- Harriette.
- Edward W., died March 20, 1876; married Laura S. Perry, and had
- Pierce;
- Laura, married Charles Ruston, resides in New York City;
- Jessie, deceased; married Robert Cutting Lawrence.
- Jessie, married William H. Stevens, and has Harriette and Jessie Monteath.
(The Woolverton Line)
[Editorial note: in the original, this heading was spelled Wolverton, but it does not appear that way anywhere else in this entry.]
The American ancestor of Sarah Anne Woolverton (Mrs. Peter Monteath) was Charles Woolverton, born in England, came to the American Colonies, settled in New Jersey, where he purchased, March 2, 1714, a large tract of land in Hunterdon county. He married, and had children: Charles, Roger, Daniel, Isaac, Dennis, see forward, Dinah, Joel and Thomas.
(II) Dennis, son of Charles Woolverton, was born in New Jersey, January 26, 1709, died August 9, 1774. He was a farmer and a large land owner of Hunterdon county. He married Eliza Pettit, born 1713, died 1785. Children:
- Charles, see forward.
- Mary, married General Bray, an officer of the revolution; in command of troops who crossed the Delaware with Washington and fought the battle of Trenton the following morning.
Perhaps other children.
(III) Charles (2), son of Dennis and Eliza (Pettit) Woolverton, was drowned in the Delaware river. He married ———— Jewell, and had a son Nathaniel.
(IV) Nathaniel, son of Charles (2) and ———— (Jewell) Woolverton, was born in Hunterdon county, New Jersey, 1763, died in Montgomery county, New York, 1835. He was a farmer; removed to Montgomery county, New York, where he purchased land and died. He married Permelia Hudnut, born 1770, died 1853. Both Nathaniel and his wife are buried in the Dutch Reformed burying ground in Glen, New York. Children:
- Edward, born 1787, see forward.
- Anne, born 1789.
- Charles, born 1791, died 1825; married Margaret Blair.
- Sarah, born 1793, died 1845; married Ephraim Wilcox.
- John Dennis, born 1795, died 1830; married Adeline MacNamee.
- Charlotte, born 1797, died 1865; married Peter Wyckoff.
- Mary, born 1799, died 1867; married Peleg Osborne.
- Hiram, born 1800, died 1850.
- Keronhappuck, born 1802; married Lyman Haughton.
- Gaius, born 1804; married Wyant Visscher.
- Lucretia, born 1806, unmarried.
- Rhoda, born 1808, died 1809.
- Ozius, born 1810, died 1811.
- Nathaniel H., born 1814, died 1867; married Jane Overbaugh.
(V) Edward, eldest child of Nathaniel and Permelia (Hudnut) Woolverton, was born in 1787, died 1875. He married Asenath Wilcox (see Wilcox VII), born March 17, 1790. Children:
- Lavinia, horn 1812, died 1889, unmarried.
- George Alonzo, born 1813, died 1896; married Caroline Shuler.
- Sarah Anne, married Peter Monteath.
- Henry Mortimer, born 1817, died 1874; married Louisa Johnson.
- Chastine, born 1821; died 1883; married James Collin.
- Harriet, born 1824, died 1908; married Jenkins W. Scovill.
- Elizabeth, born 1826; married James Duane Ruggles.
(VI) Sarah Anne, third child of Edward and Asenath (Wilcox) Woolverton, was born October 31, 1815; married, September 28, 1836, Peter Monteath (see Monteath III).
(The Van Wie Line)
The American ancestor of Harriet Lansing Van Wie (Mrs. Captain George Monteath) was Hendrick Van Wie, who was in Beverwyck (Albany) from 1654 to 1691, the year of his death. He volunteered to accompany the expedition against Fort La Prairie, Canada, during the French and Indian war, was wounded in the attack on the fort and died from his wounds.
(II) Gerrit, son of Hendrick Van Wie, was baptized May 12, 1689; buried March 25, 1746; married Annetje Casparse, daughter of Caspar Leendertie Conyn, of Claverack, New York. Children: Alida, Anna, and Hendrick.
(III) Hendrick (2), son of Gerrit and Annetje C. (Conyn) Van Wie, was born 1703; married, October 2, 1732, Catherine Waldron, baptized October 24, 1711. Children: Annetje, Annetje (2), Pieter, Gerrit William, see forward, Casparus, Tryntje Hendrick, Cornelis, Alida, and Cornelia.
(IV) William (Willem), son of Hendrick (2) and Catherine (Waldron) Van Wie, baptized October 19, 1740, died July 29, 1816; married, May 20, 1767, Jannetje Lansing, who died July 19, 1821, aged seventy-five years. Children: Hendrick Gerrit, Pieter, Isaac, Isaac (2), Catherine and Harriet Lansing.
(V) Harriet Lansing, daughter of William and Jannetje (Lansing) Van Wie, was born April 7, 1785, died in Albany, New York on the same ground where she was born October 8, 1860. She married Captain George Monteath (see Monteath II).
(The Lansing Line)
The line from Jannetje (Lansing) Van Wie, mother of Harriet Lansing, wife of Captain George Monteath, traces back to Frederick Lansing, of Overyssel, Holland through his son Gerrit, who settled in Rensselaerwyck about 1650. Gerrit (2), son of Gerrit (1), had a son Isaac G., who married Jannetje Beeckman. Gerrit Isaacse, son of Isaac G. and Jannetje Lansing, married Ariantje Beeckman (see Beeckman V). Jannetje Lansing, daughter of Gerrit Isaacse and Ariantje (Beeckman) Lansing, married William Van Wie (see Van Wie IV). Harriet Lansing Van Wie, daughter of William and Jannetje (Lansing) Van Wie, married Captain George Monteath (see Monteath II).
(The Beeckman Line)
Ariantje Beeckman Lansing, maternal grandmother of Harriet (Lansing) Van Wie, (Mrs. Capt. George Monteath), descended from Hendrick Beeckman, of the Duchy of Bremen, Germany.
(II) Martin Hendrickse, son of Hendrick Beeckman, who died previous to January 21, 1677, married Susanna Janse.
(III) Johannes Martinse, son of Martin H. and Susanna (Janse) Beeckman, married Machtel Schermerhorn.
(IV) Johannes, son of Johannes M. and Machtel (Schermerhorn) Beeckman, baptized January 27, 1684, died February, 1741, married Hester Wendell, daughter of Harmanus Wendell, granddaughter of Evart Ganse Wendell.
(V) Ariantje, daughter of Johannes and Hester (Wendell) Beeckman, married Gerrit I. Lansing.
(VI) Harriet, daughter of Gerrit I. Lansing, married Captain George Monteath.
(The Wilcox Line)
This is an English family founded in this country in 1636. The name has been spelled in many and various ways — the founder being Wilcockson and the many families are descended from him whose present name can hardly be recognized as coming from Wilcockson. Edward Woolverton married Asenath Wilcox, and they were the parents of Sarah Anne Woolverton, wife of Peter Monteath.
(I) William Wilcockson was born in England, 1601. In 1635 he came to America, settled in Concord, Massachusetts: died 1652. He married Margaret ————.
(II) Sergeant Samuel, son of William and Margaret Wilcockson, was born 1640, died March 12, 1713. He was a member of the general court repeatedly between the years 1688-1712. He lived at Simsbury, Connecticut.
(III) Samuel (2) (wrote his name Wilcox), son of Sergeant Samuel Wilcockson, was born April 15, 1666, died September 13, 1713; married Mindwell, daughter of John Griffin.
(IV) Ephraim, son of Samuel (2) and Mindwell (Griffin) Wilcox, was born 1707, died 1773; married, 1726, Hannah Hill, of Simsbury, Connecticut.
(V) Captain Sylvanus, son of Ephraim and Hannah (Hill) Wilcox, was born 1733, died July 5, 1824. He served in the revolutionary war on committee of safety, and under Colonel John Ashley in the Burgoyne campaign. He married Chastine Curtis, of Simsbury, daughter of Peter and Chastine (Parker) Curtis.
(VI) Corporal Sylvanus (2), son of Captain Sylvanus (1) and Chastine (Curtis) Wilcox, was born May 26, 1762, died July 10, 1846. He served in the revolution in the New York Regiment of Militia commanded by Colonel Willett. Tradition says he was one of the men detailed to guard Major Andre. He married, April 28, 1785, Sarah Johnson.
(VII) Asenath, daughter of Corporal Sylvanus (2) and Sarah (Johnson) Wilcox, was born March 17, 1790; married Edward Woolverton (see Woolverton V).
(VIII) Sarah Anne, daughter of Edward and Asenath (Wilcox) Woolverton, married Peter Monteath (see Monteath III).