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Historic Pelham Blog Archive
January 6, 2009
350TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
BOOK: "THOMAS PELL
AND THE LEGEND OF THE PELL TREATY OAK" -- $11.95 (PROCEEDS AFTER
PRINTING COSTS WILL GO TO
BARTOW-PELL MANSION MUSEUM).
CLICK HERE TO BROWSE BEFORE YOU BUY!
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Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Brief Biography of Rev. Robert Bolton Jr. Published in 1886
In his 1886 History of Westchester County,
J. Thomas Scharf included a brief biography of Rev. Robert Bolton,
author of his own two-volume History of Westchester County first
published in 1848. That biography appears immediately below, followed by
a citation to its source.
"Rev. Robert Bolton, author of Bolton's
'History of Westchester County,' was born in the city of Bath, England,
April 17,1814. He was the eldest of the fourteen children of the Rev.
Robert Bolton and Anne, daughter of the distinguished Rev. William Jay,
of Bath.
The Bolton family is of ancient British
stock, their genealogy being traced up to the time of the Conquest;
resident, anciently, at Bolton and Blackburn, in Lancashire, and Wales,
in Yorkshire. In the long line of the Bolton ancestry the name of Robert
is rarely without a bearer. A number of these were distinguished for
their learning and piety. A Robert, born in 1572, was noted at Lincoln
and Brazen Nose Colleges, Oxford, for his varied accomplishments, and
afterward as a divine. A Robert, born in England in 1688, became a
prominent merchant in Philadelphia. His son Robert, born in 1722, was a
merchant in Savannah, Georgia. His son Robert, born in 1757, became a
very prominent merchant of Savannah, and the owner of much valuable real
estate. His son Robert, born in 1788, in Savannah, became a merchant in
Liverpool, England, afterward the rector of Christ Church, Pelham,
Westchester County, and subsequently chaplain to the Earl of Ducie, at
Tortworth, in Gloucestershire. His son Robert is the subject of this
sketch.
Mr. Bolton and his four brothers became
clergymen in the Protestant Episcopal Church. He was ordained a deacon
in October, 1868, and a presbyter in June, 1869. He was rector of St.
John's Church, South Salem, at the time of his death.
His brother, William Jay, at the time of his
death, was rector of St. James', Bath, England, and an author of note;
John is rector of Trinity Church, Westchester, Pa.; Cornelius Winter is
rector of the Church of the Redeemer, Pelhamville, Westchester County;
and James was the incumbent of St. Paul's Chapel, Kilburn, London. All
of Mr. Bolton's sisters who survived youth achieved distinction in
teaching, in literature or in art.
Robert Bolton was educated in England, and
studied medicine there, but never practiced it as a profession. He came
to this country in 1836, and settled at Bronxville, in East Chester,
becoming a farmer. From there he removed to New Rochelle and published
his first book, "The Guide to New Rochelle." He then removed to
Tarrytown and engaged in teaching, an occupation to which he gave
attention for the remainder of his life. He there became principal of
the Irving Institute, and enjoyed intimate relations with Washington
Irving, who had long been a close friend of his father. He next removed
to Bedford, taking charge of the Female Institute there, and afterward
founded a school in Lewisboro.
While preparing the 'Guide to New Rochelle'
he became interested in Westchester County history, and at once began
the collection of the materials which he published in two volumes in
1848. The labor involved in this work, in the searching of collections
of documents, the examination of papers and the personal visitation of
every spot of interest and nearly every person of advanced age, was very
great. His knowledge of the history of county localities was remarkable.
He was actively engaged in the revision of his history at the time of
his death. He was also the author of the 'History of the Protestant
[Page 607 / Page 608] Episcopal Church in Westchester County,' and of
the 'Memoirs of the Bolton Family.'
In 1838 he married Elizabeth Rebecca,
daughter of James Brenton, of Newport, R. I.; she died in 1852. In 1854
he married Josephine, daughter of Brewster Woodhull, of Patchogue, L.
I., by whom he had eleven children.
Mr. Bolton's father founded the celebrated
Bolton Priory, at Pelham, with which the family name has been so
prominently connected. He purchased this estate, charmingly situated
upon the shore of Long Island Sound, in 1837, and erected thereon a
handsome stone edifice for a residence, and laid out the grounds with
surpassing taste. This was afterward used for a young ladies' school,
and under the management of Miss Nanetta Bolton, became justly famous.
Here Robert Bolton, the historian, died October 11, 1877.
Beside being a laborious, painstaking
historian, a diligent teacher and an earnest minister, Mr. Bolton was
accomplished in many ways. He was dexterous in wood-carving, apt with
his pencil and skillful in painting. He had a passion for the antique,
and was a man of peculiarly fine and cultivated tastes.
Rev. Cornelius Winter Bolton, brother of
Robert Bolton, the historian, was born in Bath, England, June 3, 1819.
He came to this country and studied divinity at the Protestant Episcopal
Theological Seminary at Alexandria, Va.; was admitted to deacon's orders
in 1847, and was ordained priest in 1848. In 1850 he became assistant
minister of Christ Church, Baltimore, and in 1855 rector of Christ
Church, Pelham. In 1858 he was rector of South Yonkers Church, and he
then became minister of St. George's Chapel, in New York City. He became
rector of St. Mark's Church, New Castle, in 1867, and then of St.
Stephen's, North Castle, and at present is rector of the Church of the
Redeemer, Pelhamville.
In 1856 he married Cornelia, daughter of
Cornelius Glen Van Rensselaer, Esq., of Greenbush, Rensselaer County, N.
Y.
Mr. C. W. Bolton is the author of 'The
Shepherd's Call,' the 'Sunday-school Prayer-Book' and other
publications. In 1854 he edited Jay's 'Female Scripture Characters' and
Jay's 'Autobiography and Reminiscences.' In 1881 he edited and published
his brother Robert's 'History of Westchester County.'"
Source: Scharf, J. Thomas, ed., History of
Westchester County, New York Including Morrisania, Kings Bridge and West
Farms Which Have Been Annexed to New York City, Vol. 1, Part 2, Chapter
XX. Westchester Town by Fordham Morris, pp. 607-08 (Philadelphia, PA:
L.E. Preston & Co. 1886).
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http://www.historicpelham.com/
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single index of all Historic Pelham Blog Postings to date.
posted by Blake A. Bell @
4:37 AM
Comment
Click Here To View the Actual Blog Posting for
January 6, 2009.
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