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noon - A Sketch of an Old and Honored Merchant of this City.
Freeman June 15" 1889.
Stephen Abbey, one of the oldest residents of this City, died at the home of his son, LeGrand Abbey, last evening, aged about 76 years. Stephen Abbey was born March 13, 1814, in the town of Masonville, Delaware County. His father was a farmer and taught his sons to do hard work. When Stephen was about 13 years of age the family moved to Rosendale, where, as agent for the Lawrenceville Cement Company, John Abbey built the first cement kiln in Ulster County. It stood on land now owned by George Coutant. In 1829 Stephen drew from Kingston Point brick for the house of the President of the Delaware & Hudson Canal Company, which was then being built in Rondout. In 1832 he was apprenticed to Samuel Galpin, a harness-maker, here. When Galpin died Abbey bought the business. In June 1841, he married Caroline Vail, of Masonville. They had three children-Henry, Anna and LeGrand-who are still living. In 1852 Stephen left the saddle and harness business and in company with the late James S. McEntee bought the flour and grain business of Charles Anderson at Derrenbacher's Corner, but in about three years Mr. McEntee disposed of his interest to Henry Newell and George A. Adams. The style of the new firm was "Abbey, Adams & Company." The enterprise ended disastrously in the financial panic of 1857. In April of the next year, Stephen Abbey began business again at the White Storehouse on the wharf next to the Sleightburgh ferry. In 1861 the late Gilbert M. Gillette became associated as partner under the style of "Gillette & Abbey," and in 1866 Mr. Gillette sold out to Henry Abbey. In 1876 Stephen Abbey suffered three successive strokes of paralysis. He attended the Wurts-Street Presbyterian Church. In politics he was an Old Line Whig for years. He voted for John C. Fremont. He abhorred slavery. Mr. Abbey was indefatigable in business. It is stated that he never used liquor or tobacco, never was profane, never knowingly wronged anybody, never turned a beggar away empty, and never was intolerant of the basest of mankind. He looked on the bright side always, and in his most unfortunate days never lost hope. He was a kind and indulgent father, a good husband and a true friend.
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[[newspaper clipping]]
Times June 16
The collection as a whole is, I suppose, the best that has ever been made of American art-or what is called American art. I make this qualification for reasons which will occur to every one who goes through these four rooms of which I have written. Much of it is American only because the painters of it were born in America-by which principle J. G. Brown's art would be Scotch and Thomas Hovenden's Irish. Large numbers of the young men who exhibit here have caught with great cleverness and facility the tricks of their European tutors and colleagues, and show us representative work of Paris, Munich, and Dusseldorf, on which nothing seems incongruous but the signature. It is not possible to blame them. They are sent by exigencies and tradition to study abroad, and this is the fruit of their study. Learning to paint is like learning a language. The American boys are alert and receptive, and they pick it up-accent, tone, manner, modulation, and the rest, with great readiness. But, then, if it turns out that, having learned the language, they have nothing to say in it- !

What there is distinctively American about the exhibition is most worthy. Bolton Jone's landscape, Brandegee's portrait, McEntee's sombre pastorals, and Gaul's battle charge-it is work like this which seems to me to represent something that ateliers cannot teach, something beyond technical skill and the lore of schools. I make the selections at random, and doubt not that in the pictures not yet hung there are many others which will convey this same indefinable-but oh, so welcome!-sense of being really American. HAROLD FREDERIC.
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the idea was not to pave it but to make a Telford road like Union Avenue and he thought we had better not oppose it as the street is really in very great need of repair, but he thought when the assessors met to arrange the assessments we who live on the hill should appear to argue our side and so I am not going to worry. I had a letter from Dr Patchin in answer to mine to Dr Taylor who is in Europe but to whom he will send it. I got some paint and when I came home I took some little reception chairs down to the carriage house and painted them. I discovered the currant worms are at work and I carefully picked off all I could find. Sara had a letter from Edith Cook and enclosed was an article from the Times of Sunday last on American Art at the Paris Exposition from which the following is an extract. It is surprising how greatly this little bit of commendation has cheered me. I dont at all know who the man is but he evidently has some thing in common with me regarding the imitative work of many of our artists and it certainly is refreshing to me to find my work commended for some distinctive character. Mary also sent me a copy of the Times with this article a letter from some one in Paris
 
Wednesday June 19" 1889. Cool and comfortable. Two loads of hay were drawn in and Tom is cutting down towards the gate. I went down town and got a note from Mary telling me of the burning of Hughes Candy factory near them yesterday. Also a note from Church with a copy of Sir Henry Thompson Essay on diet with respect to health and longevity, which I read and find very sensible. Went over to my studio this afternoon and made a little sketch.

Thursday 20." A fine day with wind from the N.W. and so much more exhilarating than the humid weather we have been having. I was up in the cherry tree picking a few of the last cherries when a carriage with a gentleman and two ladies drove up. I heard the gentleman ask Tom down at the gate if "Jarvis" was at home and Miss Sara also. I lingered in the tree although I was ready to come down, but I finally got tired and came into the house for I heard Sara talking with them very pleasantly. I went in and I was without my coat and my hands stained with the cherries. It proved to be Hiram Romeyn and his wife and her sister, both very pretty and agreeable women. They are staying at their place in Kingston a little while and were on their way over the creek to Dennels and for a              

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