Hugh Mosher, born in 1633, died 1713, son of Hugh, who came from England in 1632, landing at Boston from ship "Jane," was of Newport and Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and Dartmouth, Massachusetts. January 29, 1660, he and five others bought certain lands at Misquamicut (Westerly) of the Indian Sachem Socho. In 1684 he was ordained pastor of the First Baptist Church of Dartmouth, Massachusetts. He married (first) Rebecca Harndel. He married (second) Sarah ————. He had eight children, all by first wife, of whom the eldest was Nicholas.
(II) Nicholas, son of Hugh (2) and Rebecca (Harndel) Mosher, was born 1666, died August 14, 1747. He was of Dartmouth, Massachusetts, and Tiverton, Rhode Island. He married Elizabeth ————, died 1747. They had ten children, of whom Nicholas (2) was the sixth.
(III) Nicholas (2), son of Nicholas (1) and Elizabeth Mosher, was born January 17, 1703. He was left five pounds in his father's will, and when married and settled in life he resided in Tyringham, Connecticut. He married Elizabeth Crandall, and had fourteen children, of whom Rodman was the tenth.
(IV) Rodman, son of Nicholas (2) and Elizabeth (Crandall) Mosher, was born about 1746. He removed after his marriage, and settled on a farm in Sharon, Windsor county, Vermont. He married and had eight children, of whom Abijah C. was the eldest.
(V) Abijah C., son of Rodman Mosher, was born in Sharon, Vermont, April 20, 1792, died December 28, 1874. He married Relief Booth, who died in Sharon, August 27, 1844. Children:
- Albert B., see forward.
- Ruth D., married George Dimick; children: Ellen and Emma, the former married Charles Raymond, of Ludlow, Vermont, the latter married Dr. Rufus Barton, of Altamont, Albany county, New York.
- George W., died July 13, 1826, aged five years.
(VI) Albert Booth, eldest son of Abijah C. and Relief (Booth) Mosher, was born in Sharon, Vermont, January 29, 1817, died there May 14, 1895. He always resided in Sharon except for three years spent as a teacher in Schoharie county, New York. He taught five terms in Vermont schools, and ever after was a farmer. He was lister, selectman, clerk of the school district for forty-five years, justice of the peace twenty-five years, and twice in 1864-65, represented Sharon in the Vermont legislature. He was a man of education and wide reading, known and respected of all men. He married (first) Mary Lucretia Eldredge (see Mosher-Putman [sic] VII), daughter of Joseph N. and Betsey (Tyler) Eldredge, of Warren, Vermont, who bore him two sons:
- George A., see forward.
- Charles A., married (first) Lora Williamson, and had a son Loren A.; married (second) Celia P. Howe. Charles A. resides in summer on the old homestead in Sharon, and is engaged in the real estate business in Boston.
Albert B. Mosher married (second) Maria A. (Bisbee) Ralph, who died May 6, 1887.
(VII) George Abijah, eldest son of Albert Booth and Mary Lucretia (Eldredge) Mosher, was born in Sharon, Vermont, October 6, 1845. He was educated in the public schools, Royalton Academy, Vermont, Kimball Union Academy, at Meriden, New Hampshire, all of which study was preparatory to his entering Dartmouth College, where he was graduated A. B., class of 1867. After leaving college, he was principal for a year over the academy at Champlain, New York, during which time he began the study of law. The following year he located in Troy, and read law with R. A. and F. J. Parmenter. In 1868 he was admitted to the New York bar, and at once began the practice of his profession in Troy. In 1871 he entered into partnership with Judge James Forsyth (president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at one time and ex-county judge of Rensselaer county). Forsyth & Mosher continued in successful practice for several years, after which Mr. Mosher gave most of his attention to "patent law" until 1882, from which time he made it a specialty by entering the office of Davenport & Hollister, and taking over their established patent business in exchange for his general practice. In 1893 he gave an interest in the business to Frank C. Curtis, who had been several years in his employ, and continued under the firm name of Mosher & Curtis. Henceforth he devoted his entire time to patents and patent causes, being principally occupied in the United States courts, in connection with infringement suits. Mr. Mosher is peculiarly adapted for his line of legal work, not only is he fortified with legal lore, but his mechanical mind and inventive talent are great aids in detecting points and arriving at conclusions that are entirely outside the legal features. In 1894 Mosher & Curtis removed their offices from First street to 301 River street, and in 1902 they moved into their present quarters in Cannon place (Broadway and Second street). Mr. Mosher stands high in the legal fraternity and was considered an authority on patents. He retired from active practice, May 1, 1910. He is a director and vice-president of the Luxury Sales Company, a director of the Van Schaick Realty Company, and has other varied business interests. He is a Republican in politics, but has not taken an active interest beyond expressing his will at the polls, and retaining his membership in the Republican Club of Rensselaer county. He is an adherent of the First Presbyterian Church, Troy. His college fraternity is Alpha Delta Phi, and he is a member of Alpha Delta Phi Club, 136 West Forty-fourth street, New York City. His secret order is the Elks. His clubs are the Island Golf and Watervliet Golf, The Troy, Pafraets Dael, and East Side, of Troy, New York, the Alpha Delta Phi Club, of New York, and the Chess and Whist Club of Albany. He belongs to the Troy Chamber of Commerce, the Engineers' Society of Eastern New York, and the Sons of Revolution, through the services of his brave old ancestor, General Israel Putnam. He served for many years as trustee of the East Side and Ionic Club, also as president of each of those clubs. He is at present one of the "Managers" of the Troy Club. He also served one term as president of the New York State Whist Association. He married (first) September 8, 1870, Belle W. Holden, of Springfield, Vermont, who died November, 1880. He married (second) August, 1883, Jennie C. Underhill Kenyon,of Troy, who died October, 1894. By his first marriage there was a child who died in infancy. During the early seventies he acquired title to a large tract of land in that part of the city of Troy known as the East Side, which he divided into city lots and streets. The main street running lengthwise of the property he named Belle Avenue, in memory of his first wife whose given name was Belle. The location is one of the best in the suburbs.
(The Putnam Line)
The descendants of Albert Booth Mosher and Mary Lucretia (Eldredge) Mosher (see Mosher VI and VII) trace their ancestry to the famous revolutionary officer, General Israel Putnam, who was born in Salem Village, Massachusetts, (now Danvers) January 7, 1718, baptized February 2, 1718, died at Brooklyn, Connecticut, after an illness of two days, May 19, 1790. The house in which he was born is still standing, in a good state of preservation. General Israel Putnam was a son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Porter) Putnam, grandson of Lieutenant Thomas and his second wife Mary Veren, widow of Nathaniel Veren. Lieutenant Thomas was a son of John Putnam, the founder of the Salem family, who settled there in 1640. General Putnam was of the fourth generation of his family in America. They came from Buckinghamshire, England. His immediate ancestors on both sides were of the best Essex county, Massachusetts, stock. Israel had little early education, he was fond of sports and feats of strength and daring rather than of books. In 1739 he married, and shortly after removed to Pomfret, Connecticut, and in 1741 became the owner of a tract of five hundred acres of land that in 1786 was included in that part of Pomfret erected into the town of Brooklyn. He was a thrifty, prosperous farmer, fond of horticulture, interested in good schools, public libraries and good books. In 1755 he went out with Connecticut troops in the French war, and was at the defeat of the English at Lake George by the French under Baron Dieskau. The English, under command of Sir William Johnson, followed this with a victory on the spot where Fort William Henry was erected. The next year he served as captain under General Abercrombie. In 1757 he was appointed major. He was at Fort William Henry when it was captured by Montcalm; who followed the capture by allowing his Indians to butcher the garrison. Putnam had vainly tried to get reinforcements from Fort Edward. His saving the powder magazine of Fort Edward amid the fiery scenes surrounding it was one of the numerous daring deeds which he performed. His descent of the Falls of the Hudson at Fort Miller was witnessed by the Indians who fired at him incessantly as he steered his batteau down the dangerous rapids. While he escaped that time, in 1758 he was taken prisoner and subjected to the most brutal treatment. He was saved from death through the intervention of an Indian chief who had been Putnam's prisoner on one occasion and had been treated kindly. He was taken to Montreal where his release was obtained through the efforts of Colonel Peter Schuyler, after whom the general's last child is named. He fought all through the French war, and was with the English forces in their attempt on the French and Spanish possessions in the West Indies. In 1764 he was at home, a hardy seasoned veteran, who had seen service under the ablest generals. He returned to peaceful pursuits, and in 1765 his wife died, and he connected himself with the Brooklyn church. In 1767 he again married. For a time he threw open his house for the accomodation of travelers, and "The old sign which swung before his door as a token of good cheer for the weary traveller is now to be seen in the Museum of the Historical Society of Connecticut."
He was chosen to the board of selectmen and deputy to the general assembly. He conversed on several occasions with General Gage, the British commander, Lord Percy, and other officers, and told them plainly the Colonies could not be subjugated. The news of the battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775, arrived at Pomfret, Connecticut, on the morning of the 20th. Putnam was ploughing in the field with his son Daniel, a lad of sixteen, who said, "He loitered not, but left me the driver of his team to unyoke it in the furrow, and not many days after to follow him to the camp." He at once plunged into the conflict, raising, equipping and drilling troops. He was raised to the rank of major-general by the continental congress, who on the 17th day of June (the day of the battle,of Bunker Hill) conferred that rank upon Artemas Ward and Charles Lee, and two days later on Israel Putnam and Philip Schuyler. He was in command of all the forces at the battle of Bunker Hill, Colonel Prescott commanding the redoubt on Breed's Hill at the extreme right. He performed prodigies of valor on that day, and on the 2nd of July following received from the hands of "The Father of his Country" at Cambridge, Massachusetts, his commission as major-general. This caused much dissatisfaction and jealousy among some others who coveted higher rank, and resulted in the other three commissions being withheld for a time, but Putnam's had received the unanimous vote of congress, and he received it, the first major-general's commission issued by congress from Washington's own hand. He was at the battle of Long Island, where he superseded General Sullivan in command. He passed the winter of 1776-77 in camp at Princeton, New Jersey. In 1777 he was in command along the Hudson, and later was in charge of the right wing of the army at Monmouth. In 1778 he was posted again along the Hudson. In 1779 he was stationed in Connecticut, and it was here at Horseneck, when overtaken by a force ten times his own, he dashed down a rocky precipice on horseback after bidding his little force seek safety in a swamp where they could not be followed by cavalry. In the winter of 1779-80 he was attacked by paralysis, and the old hero's fighting days were over. He survived ten years. He died May 19, 1790. He was buried with full military and Masonic honors, and the marble inscription reads, "he dared to lead where any dared to follow." He was a bold fiery leader and inspirer of men, and one whose daring, dashing kind of warfare was quite as useful as the more complicated plans of the strategist. Washington said of him that he was "a most valuable man and a fine executive officer." He married (first) at Danvers, Massachusetts, July 19, 1739, Hannah, daughter of Joseph and Mehitable (Putnam) Pope, baptized September 3, 1721, died at Brooklyn, Connecticut, September 6, 1765. He married (second) June 3, 1767, Widow Deborah (Lothrop) Gardiner. Children, all by first wife: Israel, David, Hannah, Elizabeth, Mehitable, see forward, Mary Eunice, Daniel, David, and Peter Schuyler, born in Pomfret, Connecticut, December 31, 1764.
(V) Mehitable, daughter of General Israel and Hannah (Pope) Putnam, was born in Pomfret, Connecticut, October 21, 1749, died November 29, 1789. She married, August 15, 1771, Captain Daniel Tyler, an aide-de-camp of General Putnam at Bunker Hill. He was born in 1750, died April 29, 1832. He married a second wife, Sarah, widow of Deacon Benjamin Chaplin, a granddaughter of President Jonathan Edwards, and a sister of the wife of Aaron Burr. Captain Tyler's father, Daniel Tyler, died February 20, 1802, aged one hundred years, eleven months and twenty-six days. Three of the sons of Captain Tyler graduated at West Point Military Academy, Septimus, Edwin and Daniel.
(VI) Betsey, sixth child and second daughter of Captain Daniel and Mehitable (Putnam) Tyler, was born June 18, 1784, died March 17, 1831. She married Joseph N. Eldredge, of Warren, Vermont, born May 17, 1777, died April 3, 1842.
(VII) Mary Lucretia, daughter of Joseph N. and Betsey (Tyler) Eldredge, was born in Warren, Vermont, November 15, 1816, died October 3, 1880. Her father was postmaster of Warren. She married, December 5, 1844, Albert Booth Mosher, of Sharon, Vermont, born January 29, 1818, died May 14, 1895, at Sharon, where he was born (see Mosher VI).