Prior to the revolutionary war, when Tryon county, New York, was the abode of the redman, when the primeval forest, thickly inhabited by the wild creatures now seen only at the zoo, covered the land, Henry S. Staley (born probably in the state of New York) came into that section of the Mohawk Valley now known as the town of Florida, Montgomery county, New York. He acquired possession, either by purchase or grant or presumption, of several hundred acres of land largely covered with timber. From this wilderness he wrested a beautiful farm, a part of which is still in the possession of his descendants. Here he lived and labored, and in 1840 died at the great age of ninety years. His wife, Rachel Husen, Hughson or Hoosen, who was probably born in the county, died previous to her husband, at the age of seventy-five. They reared a large family, among them being sons Jacob, who never married, and John (q. v.), both buried on the old Staley farm.
(II) John, son of Henry S. and Rachel ———— Staley, was born on the original Staley homestead, about 1780, and died there about 1860. He married Rebecca Devenpeek. Children: John, married Mary Devenbergh, and reared six sons and one daughter; Garrett (see forward); Rachel; Abraham; Theodore; Winslow; Jacob.
(III) Garrett, born in Florida, Montgomery county, New York, September 22, 1822, died August 7, 1879. He spent his life in the cultivation of the old Staley farm, part of which is now occupied by his son Romeyn. He was a member of the Dutch Reformed church. He married Marie Van Huesen or Van Hoosen, born February 28, 1829, died December 28, 1897, daughter of Cornelius and Deborah (Cooley) Van Huesen, granddaughter of Albert and great-granddaughter of Jacob Van Huesen, the emigrant and pioneer. Other children of Cornelius and Deborah (Cooley) Van Huesen were:
- Rachel, born July 17, 1822, married Garrett B. Barhyde;
- James, born November 21, 1824, by trade a blacksmith, married Annie Deconder;
- Alexander, born October 2, 1825, married Annie Morrow;
- Harmonus, born August 20, 1827, never married;
- Marie (Mrs. Garrett Staley);
- Sarah, born February 25, 1832, married Lawrence Van Epps;
- William H., born September 12, 1833, married Ellen Van Epps;
- Charles, born December 3, 1836, married Eliza Crouch;
- Aaron B., drowned at age of twenty-one;
- Elizabeth, born May 4, 1844, married Robert Harbison.
Children of Garrett and Marie Van Huesen Staley:
- Alice, born August 23, 1855; married James A. Young, a farmer of Florida; has Clarence R., Garrett S., Howard H. and Raymond Young.
- Louise, born May 11, 1860; married John Swart; resides in Amsterdam, New York.
- Harriet, born February 10, 1863, died February, 1876.
- T. Romeyn, see forward.
(IV) T. Romeyn, youngest son and fourth child of Garrett and Marie (Van Duesen) Staley, was born on the Staley homestead, June 14, 1871. He was reared on the farm which he now owns, and received a good practical education. He has always resided oni the farm, which is part of the original Staley homestead wrested from the wilderness by the sturdy pioneer, Henry S. Staley. Mr. Staley has always been a Republican and an active worker in his county, town and state. For many years he was supervisor of the town, and in 1906-07-09 represented his district in the state legislature, having received as a reward for faithful services two re-elections. In the legislature he served with efficiency on the committee of public education and canals. In fraternal relations he is affiliated with Welcome Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, Amsterdam, New York; the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the, Improved Order of Red Men. He is a member of the Dutch Reformed church of Minaville. He married Ada L. Schuyler, born in Florida, May 9, 1873, daughter of Ralph S. and Harriet (Herrick) Schuyler. Ada L. Schuyler is a descendant of
(I) Jacob Schuyler, the first of his name to settle in the Mohawk Valley (see Schuyler). He was father of thirteen children.
(II) Jacob (2), son of Jacob (1) Schuyler, was born February 2, 1764. He married Martha Fancher. They were the parents of fourteen children, all of whom except William married and reared families.
(III) Thomas, son of Jacob (2) and Martha (Fancher) Schuyler, was born April 22, 1802. He married Ellen Sheppard, born in Florida in 1808, and died in 1901, aged ninety-three years. They were both members of the Dutch Reformed church. Children: Jacob, William, Ralph (see forward), Erastus, Margaret A., married Charles Moore; Sarah, married Warren Ingraham; Henrietta, married James Blood; Alcine, married Bert Van Horne, of Rockport, New York.
(IV) Ralph S., second son of Thomas and Ellen (Sheppard) Schuyler, was born December 9, 1832. He is one of the substantial farmers of the town of Florida. He married Harriet Herrick, born in Florida, July 3, 1833, sister of George I. Herrick. Children:
- Erwin H., since the age of eighteen a successful instructor, now connected with the Fiske Academy School Supply Company, of New York City; married Belle Valentine, and had a daughter Ethel, deceased wife of Bert Brockway, and mother of Schuyler Brockway.
- Eugene, a resident of Brooklyn, New York, and husband of Catherine Gokey.
- Emma, married Aaron Pearse, a farmer of Town Colony [Town of Colonie?], Albany county, New York.
- Charles, married Minnie Vanderveer, and has Eleanor, Catherine and George.
- William George, of whom further.
(V) William George Schuyler, son of Ralph S. Schuyler (q. v.), was born on the Schuyler homestead farm in the town of Florida, Montgomery county, New York, November 25, 1867. He received a good common school education in the town schools and was reared to farm labor and management. He developed an unusual business capacity, and at the early age of eighteen began business on his own account. Since that time he has been actively and successfully identified with the agricultural interests of the county. In 1903 he purchased the Daniel D. Schuyler homestead, a fine property of two hundred and three acres. He made this his home and continues it as his residence and headquarters of his extensive stock breeding operations. He makes a specialty of thoroughbred Holstein cattle and Percheron horses. In these lines he is a noted breeder and importer. He conducts also a modern dairy department on the farm, equipped with the latest improvements in dairy accessories and under the best sanitary arrangement. He is a member of the Dutch Reformed church, and gives political allegiance to the Republican party.
He married, in Florida, December 25, 1889, Rosella E., born in that town, March 8, 1867, daughter of William A. and Annie (Serviss) Sweet, granddaughter of Leonard A. Sweet, and descendant of Jacob Sweet, original practitioner of the art of "natural bone setting." Children:
- Clarence G., born December 11, 1890;
- Edna Mae, born December 22, 1902.
Mr. and Mrs. Schuyler are active church workers, and are of local prominence in social life, charitable and church benevolences.
William A. Sweet was born in Florida, New York, October 8, 1824, died December 4, 1893, in the same town. Annie Serviss, his wife, was born September 5, 1834, died in the city of Amsterdam, New York, July 21, 1895, daughter of John J. and Sarah A. (Herrick) Serviss. Children:
- Lillian E., born June 13, 1862; married John Coolman, and has a son, William P., born January 6, 1884, a resident of Ilion, New York. Mrs. John Coolman is a trained nurse and resides in Gloversville, New York.
- Rosella E., married William George Schuyler.
- George L., born March 29, 1870; married Annie Powell; daughter, Ora M., born June 21, 1901. George L. Sweet is a carpenter and builder of Amsterdam, New York.
Children of John J. and Sarah A. (Herrick) Serviss:
- Annie (Mrs. William A. Sweet).
- Julia J., married Garret Gray, now a resident of the West; she died in middle life; children: Sarah H., John S., and Earl Gray.
- George H., a farmer of Illinois; married Mary Kelly; children: Flora, Eleanor, John, and George Serviss.
Leonard A. Sweet, father of William A. Sweet, is a direct descendant of Wales Sweet, was the founder of the family in America, and the first in this country to practice the bone-healing art that had been the family profession for many generations in Wales and has descended to the present generation in Montgomery county. Children of Leonard A. Sweet: William A., Fannie, Charlotte, Eliza, Sarah J., all of whom married and are now deceased.