INTRODUCTION

Fascination with my Vail family began as an attempt to solve a mystery:  A Robert Vail (born 1849 and my gggrandfather) family bible exists somewhere that states he is a descendant from a Paul Vail of London, England and that the father of Robert Vail is the enigmatic Charles N. Vail (I have not seen the bible, only a transcription of the records written by my grandmother Virginia Vail-Finnie).  I have been researching this Vail family for over 20 years and I can tell you that beyond a shadow of a doubt, the information in that bible is just not accurate.  The father of Robert Vail, born 1849, is James Henry Vail, who himself was of London, England, though only briefly.  The confusion, I believe, began with an old Vail letter that still exists, passed down the Robert Vail line to a descendant.  I currently have a copy of this letter, with several others.  Fortunately, I also have a copy of the envelope.  This particular letter, dated 1842, was written by an Eliza Vail-Edmond to her brother in Mobile, Alabama.  The letter is addressed to Jas H. Vail and I will admit, the script makes the name looks a lot like “Chas N. Vail” because of the extravagant handwriting of the period.  I suspect this to be the source of the confusion though I have no idea where or when the referenced Paul Vail is created.

This 1842 letter is hard to read and initially, I could only read names of family in New York state.  It was not until I finally translated the word “Troy” that I linked our Vails to the Rensselaer County, New York Vail family.  My Vail line goes like this, generation by generation, beginning with me:

Daniel Kenneth Drost
Betty Lou Finnie
Virginia VanZandt Vail
Quitman Daniel Vail
Robert Vail
James Henry Vail
James Vail
Moses Vail
Aaron Vail
Arthur Vail
Samuel Vail
Thomas Vail, the English immigrant

After translating the letter (which was quite a few years ago), I decided to contact a known grandchild of Robert Vail.  I sent her a letter reporting the exciting news that I had connected our Vails to the Rensselaer County New York Vails.  In the days before the computer and internet, I waited what seems like years for a response.  Finally, a letter arrived.  Yet, I did not get the thanks or gratitude I thought I would receive.  Instead Robert Vail's granddaughter politely informed me that I was incorrect and that Charles N. Vail was Robert Vail's father.  This type of story is not rare in family history and I can only wonder if decades ago, the Vail family did not attempt to hide some drama that transpired long ago.


This website will follow Moses Vail and his son James Vail from their birth to death.  Additionally, I will track James Vail’s son James Henry Vail, also following him from birth to death.  Many gaps are found in the existing data.  Gaps have been created by information that is missing - either never recorded or lost at some point in the last 200+ years.  There is also, I am sure, information out there that still exists and may provide us with a deeper understanding of these men.  Until these missing documents are found, the tales here will the best we have.  If you know more, I would love for you to contact me!  These makeshift biographies are attempts to keep the memory of these men alive so that what they did and who they were is not lost to history and to those family members they created.  Ultimately, I am trying to provide their ancestors with a connection to a piece of their past, their Vail past.  Laying all known information out in order helps us to understand how these Vails were shaped by the things that happened in their lives.  The stories will include local, regional, and world happenings as they certainly had an impact on who they were.

MOSES VAIL

The family of Aaron Vail and Martha Ward Vail began with their marriage in Westchester County, New York about 1747 (no marriage record has been found).  Their first child Lucretia Vail, was born on 26 October 1748 in Westchester County.  On 6 April 1750, they had a son Moses Vail.  Sadly, this first Moses Vail died at about three months of age, in July 1750.  The family moved north to the Dutch community of Nine Partners, Dutchess County, New York about 1751 (Robert Vail site, familytreemaker.com).  Aaron and Martha Vail decided to honor the memory of their deceased baby boy by naming child number three (who was born 5 March 1753 in Nine Partners) Moses Vail.  Note: I have seen 15 March 1753 but believe that date to be incorrect.


The Nine Partners Meetinghouse is in current day Millbrook village, near the center of the Town of Washington.  The old meetinghouse (actually the third which was built about 1780) is located at the intersection of state highway 343 and Church Street.

Moses Vail grew up a Quaker – the Aaron Vail family were members of the Society of Friends.  Not only was he a Quaker, he later became the son of a Quaker minister.  His father Aaron Vail was born a Presbyterian but in his youth, began to attend different Quaker Societies.  In about 1749 he found the Society of Friends, became a member in 1753, and around 1764 became a Quaker minister (Vail genealogy book).  So, Moses Vail grew up immersed in the Quaker culture.

The Vail family, like other Society members, were interested in peaceful ideologies such as securing freedom for oppressed Africans.  Once in Nine Partners, they attended the Nine Partners Meetinghouse, which had the largest congregation in the Hudson Valley.  Normally a Quaker meetinghouse was located in rural undeveloped locations but the Nine Partners Meetinghouse was in a more populated and well-developed locale.  The Nine Partners patrons were also more prosperous than other Quakers.

When a young man of 21, Moses Vail was present and served as a witness for his older sister Lucretia’s marriage to Valentine Brown (4 April 1771) at the Nine Partners Meeting House, Dutchess County, New York.  Just over two years later and at age 23, Moses Vail met, courted, and married 18-year-old Phebe Holmes (born 10 July 1756).  Phebe, the youngest of 10 children (though four were already dead), was the daughter of Jonathan Holmes and Phebe Haight Holmes.  The Holmes family were from Charlotte, Dutchess County, New York, north of Nine Partners.  Moses and Phebe announced their first intention, according to Society law, on 16 September 1774 and their second intention on 21 October 1774.  Within a week after the second intention announcement, their marriage had been solemnized (27 October 1774) at Nine Partners.  At the time of the marriage, Moses Vail was living in Charlotte where the Holmes family lived.  The marriage was attended by:

Notice that Moses Vail's sister Lucretia Vail-Brown was not in attendance.  She died in 1774, probably before this marriage, leaving her two year old daughter without a mother.

Charlotte (now Stanfordville) village was about 5 miles north of Nine Partners (now Millbrook) village, in present-day Rensselaer County (above).  Shown also are town boundaries.  Nine Partners was located in Washington Town, adjoining Charlotte Town.  Sarah Vail-McCoun and Phebe Vail-Gardner were born in Nine Partners Village, Washington Town, Rensselaer County (death record).

In 1775, war broke out between the English and the American Colonies.  Quakers did not agree with war and generally avoided fighting and paying taxes that supported the patriotic cause.  Many Quaker groups were severely disliked by patriotic Americans, and were often forcefully exiled.  Moses Vail was found to have served during this Revolutionary War but at what capacity is unknown (he was later recognized by the governor who stated Moses Vail “served his country well and is a deserving character”).  During the war years (1775-1781), four children were born to Moses and Phebe Vail:

Sarah Vail – born 2 October 1775 in Nine Partners
Phebe Vail – born 28 June 1777 in Nine Partners
Martha Vail – born 26 January 1779 in Nine Partners/New Stores
James Vail – born 16 November 1780 in Nine Partners/New Stores

After the early war campaigns in and around Boston, the British army landed in New York in July 1776.  About a month before the British took New York City, Moses Vail’s father Aaron Vail passed away on 11 August 1776 while in the Charlotte Precinct.  Prior to his death, he had become active in public ministry and addressed the Quaker communities in a “lively manner.”  Aaron Vail often claimed, near the end, that his “day’s work was nearly done.”  He had also become very concerned that Friends (Quakers) should spend their time in “the life of religion” so they could “witness the ancient power to be their support.”  By doing this, Aaron Vail believed people would be able to “stand in times of trial” as he firmly believed “a time would come when every foundation would be tried.”  Aaron Vail had actually suffered from a lingering sickness for several years.  During that time and anticipating his demise, he was concerned that his wife and children should “live near the Lord and know him to be their portion and the lot of their inheritance” and that his children “might be preserved in love and tender affection to their mother and one towards another” (Memorials Concerning Several Ministers and Others, Deceased: Of the Society of Friends by S. Wood New York, 1814). 

Just over a year after Aaron Vail’s death, his widow Martha Ward Vail married secondly Joseph Irish of Oblong, Dutchess County on 22 January 1778.  The Quaker church made an inquiry into her widowhood after she and her intended husband made their first intention several months prior to their marriage.

From Quaker church records, Moses Vail appears to have moved his family during the Revolutionary War from Dutchess County to Albany County (later Rensselaer County), New York about 1780 (this date also reported in History of Rensselaer County, NY).  The move probably occurred in late 1780 after the birth of fourth child James Vail in November 1780.  Note: Dutchess County births record the first four births in Dutchess county and then no others, if more were born there, I think they would have shown in the Dutchess County birth records.  Vail tradition appears to dispute the 1780 date.  For one, Moses Vail may have moved to Albany County before 1779 as Martha Vail relatives report she was born in Albany County in January 1779 (though her birth record is found in Dutchess County, it is possible that they had moved and then returned to record the birth at their church).  And also, Moses Vail may have moved to Albany County between 1784 and 1786, as relatives report sons Henry (born 1782) and George (born 1784) were born in Dutchess County (their Oakwood Cemetery interment records completed at the time of their deaths).  Note: An 1851 source reports descendants at that time gave 1786 as year of their move to New Stores.  The Gazetteer of the State of New York by J. H. French states Moses Vail came just after 1786.  Regardless of the move date, Moses and Phebe Vail remained connected to Dutchess County throughout the 1780s, as evident by their recorded presence at family and neighbor marriages in Dutchess County.


Moses Vail moved his family about 1780 from Nine Partners to New Stores, Albany County

It appears that from the time they became connected to Albany County (approximately 1780), Moses and Phebe Vail added five more children to the Vail clan, all boys.  Note/reminder: At least two of those could have been born in Dutchess County (Oakwood Cemetery records):

Henry Vail – born 27 December 1782 in New Stores/Nine Partners
George Vail – born 18 November 1784 in New Stores/Nine Partners
Thomas Vail – born 10 July 1787 in New Stores
Moses Vail – born 29 December 1788 in New Stores
Jonathan Vail – born 10 May 1791 in New Stores

The children of Moses Vail received a modest education, but their training was not considered to be advanced (later Henry Vail stated he received limited schooling but the boys obviously had more than a basic education). 

Moses Vail lived in a small budding Albany County town which soon became known as New Stores (in 1786).  The settlement adopted the name New Stores when new businesses were erected that provided settlers in the area with better access to necessities.  Formerly, area settlers were forced to travel to Schodack Landing (11 miles) or Albany (13 miles) for supplies.  The "new stores" were erected at a rural crossroad.  In the early 1780s, another road was built, connecting the crossroad with Schodack Landing.  That road brought more traffic through the fledgling rural crossroad town with the new stores and would soon become a major thoroughfare to western New York .

Moses Vail's partner Jonathan Hoag, a Quaker neighbor from Nine Partners, reported later that when he first visited this location in 1775, the land was in a state of nature with one tavern (Thomas Hick Tavern) and one or two houses (including the Hugh Wilson home, information from A Brief History of the Village of Nassau).  

On 10 May 1786, Moses Vail and Jonathan Hoag purchased land at New Stores.   On the following day, 11 May 1786, the business partners mortgaged 368 acres to Thomas Peach for 900 pounds.  The initial payment was followed by monthly mortgage payments that continued for decades.  The land Vail and Hoag purchased can be identified as a farm on a map drawn for Stephen Van Rensselaer by John Van Alen, surveyor, in 1787.  The survey can also be found in the Schodack Surveys book and in the Van Rensselaer account books.  By estimate, the land/farm encompasses half of present-day Nassau and is on the north side of Route 20 (from Some Information About Moses Vail).

The Moses Vail home at 31 Elm Street

Moses Vail and Jonathan Hoag partnered to build a store in the spring of 1786 (others state it was built some time between 1786 and 1790) on the corner of what is currently Church Street and Elm Street in Nassau (New Stores became Union Village in 1798 and later Nassau about 1806).  The store is known to have been a two story rectangle, painted red.  At about the same time, Moses Vail built his home a short distance away at 31 Elm Street (A Brief History of the Village of Nassau).  Jonathan Hoag is thought to have only been a part time resident at New Stores.  He was not officially discharged from his Dutchess County Meeting House until 1789 (other histories state he was not permanently at New Stores until 1792).  At that point, he build his home just east of the Vail-Hoag store.

Moses Vail and Jonathan Hoag are considered leaders in the early expansion of New Stores.  They built stores and dammed the Valatie Kill to form a source of water to power mills.  The dammed pond overflowed north onto Joseph Primer's farm (who had lived on this land since 1760).  In 1790, they purchased 228 acres from Primer (the south half of his farm).  Their new tract surrounded Beaver Meadow.  Records show that the monthly payment for Primer's land went to Stephen Van Rensselaer - 24 bushels of wheat per year.  Note: Seems that Primer leased the land from Van Rensselaer and the lease for that portion was transferred to Vail and Hoag, from Some Information About Moses Vail.  Also in 1790, Vail and Hoag purchased land to the west of New Stores along the Valatie Kill - part of the Martin Galer farm (the location then known as Martin's Kill).  Note: records seem to indicate the Vail-Hoag partnership purchased more land.

New Stores was located in a larger area known as Rensselaerwyck, encompassing the present-day Schodack on the Hudson River.  According to the 1790 New York census, Moses Vail was living in Rensselaerwyck, Albany County, New York near his brother Samuel Vail and friend Jonathan Hoag (proximity of names on the census denotes habitat proximity).  The New Stores village in the early days was on a road that connected Albany, New York, to Boston, Massachusetts.


According to the 1790 census, Moses Vail’s household was populated by more individuals than his known immediate family members.


New Stores (today called Nassau) was in southern Rensselaer County in 1791

In 1791, Albany County was divided and a new county emerged – Rensselaer County.  Moses Vail was among the Rensselaer County men who became the first county officers.  They took the oath at the inn of Annais Piatt, also an original county justice, on 3 May 1791 during the first county court meeting (History of the City of Troy). 

During the initial year of Rensselaer County’s existence, Moses Vail ran and was elected in Rensselaer County to be an Assemblyman, or a county representative, for the fifteenth New York State Legislative Assembly in 1791 (Political graveyard, http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/vail.html#RSG005V57, Landmarks of Rensselaer County says four years as senator but that is not correct).  In the first year of his political career (starting with the service as Justice), Moses Vail found himself with a one-year term which required him to be present at Federal Hall in New York City from 5 January to 12 April 1792.  The New York Governor at that time was George Clinton, who was in his fifteenth year of service in that position.


The top five candidates receiving votes were elected in the 1791 Rensselaer County election.  Moses Vail finished fifth and was elected (notice he won none of the precincts but was close in Stephentown).  He had no established political affiliation.

In February 1792, Phebe Holmes Vail took a trip, presumably to visit her family in Nine Partners.  She had taken her youngest son Jonathan and possibly others.  While gone, young Jonathan, only nine months old, passed away (story related in the James Vail bible).  His death would have been unknown to Moses, who was either at home in New Stores or, more likely, in New York City serving as an Assemblyman in the fifteenth New York Legislature.  

On 25 June 1792, Moses Vail and Jonathan Hoag leased a 6.9 acre farm in East Manor from Stephen Van Rensselaer.  Moses Vail would be connected to this lease for less than a month.  The Moses Vail - Jonathan Hoag partnership dissolved in June/July 1792.  History reports that Moses Vail removed himself from the union and for 100 pounds, sold his shared land rights to Hoag on 20 July 1792.  The next month (13 August 1792), Stephen Van Rensselaer provided Hoag with a new lease for the former Vail-Hoag lands (information from The Early History of Nassau Village).


Moses Vail attended the Legislative Assembly in New York City during 1792 at Federal Hall where George Washington first took the Oath of Office in April 1789, becoming the first President of the United States.  The U. S. Capitol was moved from New York City to Philadelphia in 1790 where it remained until 1800.

Top five elected in 1792 Rensselaer County election.  Moses Vail finished seventh and was not elected.  He had no established political affiliation.

Later in 1792, another election took place to determine Rensselaer County Assemblymen for 1793.  Moses Vail was again one of nine men who were on the ballot.  He did not fare as well this year - he came in seventh and was defeated.  

The year after the loss of his young child and the loss in the Assemblyman election, Moses Vail’s wife Phebe passed away on 19 June 1793.  Her death was said to have taken place in New Stores (unknown source for date and place of death).  It seems possible Phebe died during pregnancy or due to complications with child birth since she was only 36 years old and had her last child in 1791.  Phebe Holmes-Vail's burial is assumed to have taken place in or near New Stores.  She is thought to have been buried at Jonathan Hoag's Orchard Cemetery on Elm Street, not far from her home at 31 Elm Street.  

Note: In or before the 1920s, her stone marker was removed.  The cemetery had fallen into disarray by the 1920s and many/most of the stone markers were no longer present (from Some Information About Moses Vail).  In 1964, the stone was found by Ralph Phillips (who owned the Moses Vail home at the time) lying face up and was being used as a doorstep into a garage at the Moses Vail home (from Some Information About Moses Vail and A Brief Guide to the Buildings and History of Nassau Village).  That stone was placed at Nassau-Schodack Cemetery, less than a mile south of Nassau (by Ralph Phillips).  The same stone may still be one currently at that cemetery.  Some feel that the stone found in 1964 may have been replaced by a new one to honor both Phebe and Moses. Note: from findagrave.com, states she died in 1795, obviously a misread of the stone which reads that she died 19 June 1793 - and could be misread as a 1795 - and was age 36 years, 11 months.  Note: The stone at the cemetery looks to have been created at the death of Moses Vail.  Maybe it was taken and altered after 1815 and the plan was to move both graves together - but never happened.

Within the next year (1793 or 1794, according to sources), Moses Vail moved his family north to Troy, also in Rensselaer County (Rensselaer County history book).  At Troy, Moses Vail erected a flour mill on the Poesten Kill in 1794 between Mount Ida Falls and the land of Mahlon Taylor (Rensselaer County history book, Landmarks of Rensselaer County by Anderson).  Mahlon Taylor, a millwright, had purchased land from the original Dutch owners who had previously built a dam on the Poesten Kill.  Taylor had restored the dam and then erected, in 1792, a large flour mill and saw mill.  The saw mill allowed newcomers to the area access to lumber for building homes and businesses.  A second flour mill was reportedly built shortly after Taylor’s mills and just upstream near Ida Falls – the mill of Moses Vail (History of the City of Troy).

Note: It seems odd that Moses Vail would lose his wife in New Stores June 1793, pack his family and move to Troy without a wife, and then marry in Troy August 1794 (see below).  There must be more to that story - Did his first wife actually die in Troy? Had he and his first wife moved to Troy before her death, and then her burial was at New Stores?  Was he matched with his second wife in some way and moved to Troy to live with her? 

On 11 August 1794, Moses Vail married secondly to Lucy Tracy-Tillman in Lansingburgh, Rensselaer County, which was a small village adjoining Troy to the north (marriage record from 1793-1864 First Presbyterian Church, City of Troy Marriage Records).  Lucy Tracy-Tillman had been living as a widow since 1790 when she was found as a resident of Rensselaerwyck, Albany County in the 1790 New York Census.  Lucy Tracy had married Christopher Tillman on 9 July 1776 in Schaghticoke, Albany County, which adjoined Lansingburgh and was later annexed.  She was a member of the Dutch Reformed Church and had five children who were baptized in that religion (Shaghticoke Church records).  Christopher Tillman was a Lansingburgh militia captain early in the Revolutionary War and was later a merchant in Albany and Lansingburgh.  From 1774 to 1790, he had been involved with the development of Lansingburgh and was town clerk and trustee until the year of his death in 1790.  He died 17 May 1790 and may have been buried in the Lansingburgh Village Cemetery (a new headstone was placed there in 2015 but no previous stone is known to have existed).  Lucy Tracy-Tillman operated an inn in Lansingburgh after her husband’s death (History of Rensselaer County, NY).

Lucy Tillman had five children with her first husband.  Their births were between 1776 and 1790.  Those children joined a large number of Moses Vail children.  Since the newly weds were still relatively young, Lucy Vail about 40 years old and Moses Vail just 41, they unsurprisingly had at least two known children together.  William Townsend Vail was born in 1796, baptized in 1798, and then died in 1798.  As was Quaker tradition, their second child was a son and was named for their deceased first child.  William Ward Vail was born by 1798 (from The Early History of Nassau Village). No further information about either of these children has been located.  Note: The middle names of these sons may have come from Vail associations.  Moses Vail’s oldest daughter married Townsend McCoun a few years before the birth of William Townsend Vail.  Additionally, Moses Vail’s mother was born Martha Ward which could account for the name William Ward Vail.  

An interesting question to consider is whether, during his adult life, Moses Vail maintained the Quaker affiliation he was raised in during his youth.  His religion during adulthood is not currently known.  However, his children were not recorded in any known Quaker Church records.  And ultimately, he appears to have married a woman that was of the Dutch Reformed Church…not a Quaker.  There is absolutely no evidence to tie him to the Quakers after 1784.   

Troy in 1794 Rensselaer County

The west border of Rensselaer County is formed by the Hudson River.  The Poesten Kill meets the Hudson, flowing east to west, at the village of Troy.  Mount Ida Falls is located in the middle of the village of Troy.
  
As a merchant by profession in Troy, Moses Vail came into contact with many of those citizens who were settling the Troy village and surrounding town.  His peers stated “[Moses Vail was] a man of high political standing, and that he possessed a strong hold upon the popular heart of the country” (History of Rensselaer Co, NY by Sylvester, pub 1880).  By early 1796, Moses Vail decided he had gained popular support and ran once again for political office.  This time he was added to the ballot as a potential State Senator from the Eastern District.  The top five in the election would represent the Eastern District of New York (Clinton, Columbia, Rensselaer, and Washington Counties) in the New York State Legislative Assembly, now meeting in Albany.  Moses Vail ran as a member of the Federalist Party, the election taking place 26 April through 28 April.  The Federalist Party members swept the election as Moses Vail came in fourth after the votes were tallied.  He drew a three year term.  Federalist Party members swept most of the political campaigns during this era.  Federalists followed New York politician Alexander Hamilton’s fiscal policies and were committed to a fiscally sound and nationalistic government.  Though President George Washington, in the last year of his presidency, leaned toward the Federalist platform, he was an independent.  Federalist John Adams won the presidency during the election of 1796 by a narrow margin over Republican Thomas Jefferson – 71 to 68 in electoral votes – and would take over in 1797.


Top five elected in 1796 Eastern District election.  Moses Vail finished fourth and was elected as a New York State Senator. Notice the Moses Vail was the election for Rensselaer County and nearly won for Clinton County.

Soon after his marriage in August 1796, Moses Vail traveled to New York City to serve at the 20th Legislative Assembly during the 1 November to 11 November session and then after the new year from 3 January to 3 April 1797.  

According to the Military Minutes of the New York State Council of Appointments, Moses Vail received a commission to be captain in the Dutchess County military.  In 1797, Moses Vail was the captain of one of the eight companies in Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Noxon's Regiment - a regiment within Brigadier General Samuel  Augustus Barker's Brigade (there was at least one other brigade in Dutchess County).  Lieutenant Colonel Noxon had previously been the captain of a Dutchess County company (called the Beekman Company) during the Revolutionary War.


The Old Albany City Hall where the New York legislature met starting in 1797 (left) and New York Governor John Jay who served 1795-1801 (right)


Moses Vail was in Albany at the Albany City Hall for the 21st Legislative Assembly.  The session ran 2 January to 6 April 1798.  During the session on 8 January, Moses Vail was voted by his Legislative Assembly peers to be on the New York State Council of Appointment.  He was the Eastern District representative on the Council with New York Governor John Jay, who was re-elected in 1798, and three other voted members – William Thompson, Ezra L’Hommedieu, and Joseph White.  The Council of Appointment was a one-year term.  The Council had the power to appoint all state, county, and municipal officers within the state of New York, including State Comptroller, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Surveyor General, Chancellor, New York Supreme Justices, sheriffs, district attorneys, judges, surrogates, city and county clerks, mayors, all military officers and many more.


Voting results for 1798 New York State Assembly Council of Appointment

After Moses Vail returned to Troy in 1798, he and others started the Troy village fire department and he served as one of the fire wardens (Landmarks of Rensselaer County NY).  Note: He would also serve as fire warden once again in 1801.

At the end of his three year term as Senator of New York, Moses Vail ran once again to be re-elected.  The Federalist Party made a strong show in 1799 as the voting followed the party affiliation connected with President John Adams.  Moses Vail finished second in the Eastern District voting, now encompassing seven counties.  His term would be four years.  This election would be one of the last dominated by the Federalist Party.


Top five elected in 1799 Eastern District election.  Moses Vail finished second and was elected as a New York State Senator. Over 30 others received votes.




John Dean Dickinson, Yale graduate, lawyer from Lansingburgh, New York, US House of Representatives 1819-1823 and 1827-1831.  He married Moses Vail’s daughter-in-law Ann Eliza Tillman in 1793.

On 11 November 1801, New York Governor John Jay, along with the New York Council of Appointment, appointed Moses Vail sheriff of Rensselaer County.  Note: Other records state he was sheriff also in 1800.  Moses Vail’s last Legislative session, during the 24th Assembly, was at Albany from 27 January to 8 April 1801.  He retired as New York Senator which left an opening for an Eastern District representative.

The third US President Thomas Jefferson, elected 1800, served 1801-1805

After a short respite, Moses Vail decided to run once again for New York Senator in 1803 as an Eastern District candidate.  As in previous elections, the voting followed the popular political affiliation. Republicans dominated the voting which followed the Presidential election of 1800 in which Republicans Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr (the top two vote-getters were made President and Vice President) received the popular vote though Congress was still a Federalist majority.  A Republican also won the 1801 New York Governor election - George Clinton defeated Federalist John Jay.


Top five elected in 1803 Eastern District election.  Moses Vail finished ninth and was not elected as a New York State Senator.

Moses Vail departed on a voyage to see his brother Aaron Vail, the United States Consul at L’Orient, France, during the summer of 1803 after his loss in the New York Senate election.  Moses Vail had previously sent his son James Vail to France, probably before 1800.  James Vail had become Aaron Vail’s private secretary and lived in the Aaron Vail L’Orient home.  In a letter to his brother Samuel Vail (a merchant in Albany), Moses Vail wrote of his France trip to visit his younger brother Aaron Vail.  The letter was written in L’Orient, France on 20 October 1803.  Note: I have not seen the letter but relate the content below as it is found on Robert Vail’s website (http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/v/a/i/Robert-S-Vail-iii/GENE1-0019.html):

Moses Vail says he arrived in L’Orient on 9 August 1803 after a long, disagreeable passage part of which was stormy and boisterous. After being at sea for five weeks an American ship from Dunkirk gave them word of France and England being at war "which was unpleasant news, and about 2 weeks after (this) we were taken by a British privateer, to wit on the fourth of July and carried first into Saint Marys a port in one of the Rocky Isles of Scilly, from thence to Falmouth, a Town on the English Channel in the South of England, having been at sea near eight weeks. But our stay here was but short, the Officers of the Privateer found on their arrival they could not make a prize of us were glad to be clear of us by paying our Captain some Damages; from whence we put to sea and arrived at Bordeaux in France in six days, from whence I traveled by land to this Place…” 

"After crossing a ferry about a mile from this City, I was overjoyed, (although) a dark night to hear my Brother’s Voice on the ferry stairs, enquiring if there was not an American in the Courier. When I alighted I found him with his wife and several of their children who had been waiting for me through the Evening." They resided in the Summer House "till within a few days we have moved within the walls of the city."

"I have had only ten days with Aaron as he has been at Paris settling some business with Government, but expect his return soon. I was very unfortunate not to see James (Moses Vail son) who left Bordeaux for America about 10 days before my arrival at that place. I hope he has visited you before this but fear his business has led him to the West Indies. 

"Aaron is well settled here, has an amiable wife & seven children…I have wrote to George (Moses Vail son) and most of my children…Give my love to Siche & the children, aqnd to our good mother when thee sees her or writes to her. I hope my return will be before long. May heaven protect you all.  I am with affection thy brother.      M. Vail"

Moses Vail probably left the New York port and landed in Bordeaux, France in 1803, a one-way trip that was over 3,600 miles.


France borders in 1803

After Moses Vail’s return to America from France, the pace of his life began to slow. He did not run for many other political offices, though he became the village Assessor in Rensselaer County in 1809 for the first ward of Troy (History of The City of Troy).  His son James Vail remained in France throughout the first decade of the 1800s.  Sons Henry and George Vail started a mercantile business in Troy about 1806 (both not found in 1810 census).  Son Thomas Vail married near 1810 (1810 Rensselaer County census head of household with a wife).  Moses Vail and his son Moses were living with son-in-law and daughter Francis and Martha Yvonnet (and her children, Moses Vail's grandchildren) in 1810.

1810 Troy, Rensselaer County, New York State Census - F. Yvonett
WM26-45 Francis Yvonnet
WF26-45 Martha Vail-Yvonnet (31)
WF10-16 Martha Yvonnet (c10)
WM0-10 Francis Yvonnet
WM0-10 George Yvonnet
WM0-10 Lawrence Yvonnet
WM>45 Moses Vail (57)
WM16-26 Moses Vail (22)

Moses Vail’s grandmother Martha Ward-Vail-Irish died 21 February 1812 in her 88th year while living in Albany, New York.  Though he moved often in his early days, Moses Vail had remained in Troy, New York since 1794, going on 20 years.  On 5 June 1815, Moses Vail passed away at the age of 62 years (Necrology List found in History of The City of Troy).  His obituary appeared in the Troy Post newspaper on 13 June 1815 where he was said to have died "in this village on Monday the fifth."  Hence he was in Troy at the time of his death.  Further information states he was “interred in a burying ground nearby.” Family records indicate he was buried on the hill east of the city (Troy).  However, there are no records of any burials at this location.  Other records state that his remains and other Vails were moved to the Oakwood Cemetery plot belonging to son George Vail soon after George Vail purchased it in 1851.  A marker identifying Moses Vail, noted earlier, is in the Nassau and Schodack  Cemetery. Since the gravestone inscription for Phebe Vail and Moses Vail looks like it was made at the same time, the Vail family must have had the stone made at the time or after Moses Vail's death.   It is unknown if Phebe Vail was actually buried there or if the stone simply acknowledges her death 22 years before at New Stores.  The stone states that Moses Vail “died 5 June 1815, aged 61 years" (the photo of the stone is not readable and I have not seen the stone to verify).

Note: His second wife Lucy Vail was still alive at the time of Moses Vail's death.  She died over 11 years after Moses Vail in Lansingburgh on 18 September 1826.



The Nassau and Schodack Cemetery in southern Rensselaer County where Moses Vail and his first wife Phebe Holmes Vail are buried.

JAMES VAIL


James Vail, the first son of Moses Vail and Phebe Holmes, was born 16 November 1780.  His birth was recorded by the Society of Friends, or Quakers, in Nine Partners Village, Washington Township, Dutchess County, New York (Birth Register). As Quakers, they believed strongly in Jesus Christ and the bible, used “thou” as a pronoun, refused to participate in war, dressed plainly, absconded from swearing, and opposed both alcohol and slavery.  Note: his birth date was calculated as 22 November 1779 from his tombstone which gave his death date and age at death.  I wonder if the birth date recorded in the Quaker records was a baptism and the 1779 date was his actual birth?  However - Quakers did not practice baptism and so this is unlikely.

The Moses Vail family - Quaker connection stemmed from James Vail's grandfather Aaron Vail.  Aaron Vail was raised a Presbyterian but converted as a young man, about 30 years before James Vail's birth.  James Vail’s grandfather became a Quaker minister about 1764 but died four years prior to James Vail’s birth.  Records indicate father Moses Vail may have eventually left the Quaker religion (lack of affiliation with Quakers).

New York map in 1791 identifying the locations of Troy, New Stores, and Nine Partners

Between 1779 and 1784 (depending on several different estimates as found in the Moses Vail biography), the Moses Vail family moved from Nine Partners to New Stores village, Albany County, New York (this area became a part of Rensselaer County in 1791).  James Vail grew up as the oldest among six boys – James, Henry, George, Thomas, Moses, and Jonathan – born consecutively in that order.  Sadly, his youngest brother died before turning one in 1792 and then the next year, his mother Phebe Holmes-Vail passed away on 10 June 1793.  At the age of 12, James Vail had already experienced great losses.  By 1794, the family had moved a short distance northwest to the village of Troy, Rensselaer County.  It was here that his father Moses Vail remarried on 11 August 1796 to Lucy Hillman, the widow of a Revolutionary War captain and successful businessman around Troy.

James Vail was the son of a merchant.  His father Moses Vail built and operated a flour mill on Poesten Kill, located in the middle of present-day Troy.  Moses Vail was active in both village and county developments.  Because of Moses Vail’s occupation – which brought him into contact with many people – and his reputation as an honorable man, he was elected to several state level offices.  He was an Assemblyman and State Senator on several occasions.  Moses Vail's elected positions required him to frequent New York City and Albany for extended periods of time.  Visiting those places also connected the Vail family to more important people.  Moses Vail, and eventually his sons, also developed connections from the activities and stature of extended family members.

Moses Vail’s brother Aaron Vail was a merchant and was well-connected to the early fathers of America, such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.  He possessed his own ship (possibly ships) and on 15 March 1788 arrived in France (from a letter to his mother Martha, have not seen the letter in its entirety).  Aaron Vail settled in L’Orient, France.  The intent of his movement was to partake in the merchant business but, there may have been other reasons.  For example, William Short wrote Thomas Jefferson from Paris, France on 8 November 1791 and stated:

“A person from New York of the name of Vail called me yesterday and desired me to remind you of his having spoken with you last winter on the subject of appointing a consul at L’Orient.  As he is now settled there he wishes to obtain that appointment.  I know nothing further of him.”

The notations regarding the letter found in the Thomas Jefferson papers state “Thomas Jefferson failed to recommend a consular appointment for the New York merchant Aaron Vail during his tenure as Secretary of State.  As President, however, he appointed Vail commercial agent at L’Orient in 1803.”  Though other notes in the Aaron Vail file state there is no evidence that he was made the United States Consul at L’Orient, other correspondence appear to dispute this.  As a matter of fact, evidence points to 1790 as the year he became the United States Consul there.

The United States Minister to France from 1801 to 1803 was Chancellor Robert Livingston.  At the time of Livingston’s arrival in France, Aaron Vail was Consul at L’Orient (1818 deposition of James Vail).  Also present in L’Orient, as the private secretary of his Uncle Aaron Vail, was James Vail, son of Moses Vail (1818 deposition).  How long James Vail had been in France is unknown. However, it seems possible James had been there for some time.  There is no record of James Vail in the 1800 census living as the head of a US household or in his father's home (no child matched James Vail's age in 1800 census).

The French Empire 1800-1810, as a result of Napoleon’s European conquest.  Napoleon had overthrown the French government in 1799 and was crowned emperor in 1804.

He lived at his uncle’s home with his French-born aunt Dubois des Corbieres and his cousins.  The Aaron Vail home was .75 miles from L’Orient and near the ferry where they had a fine house and garden (Moses Vail described the home in 1803 when he visited brother Aaron Vail in L’Orient). 

During the time James Vail was in France, several important world events were occurring.  The French Revolution began in 1789.  As many as 40,000 civilians died in the Reign of Terror between 1793 and 1794.  In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte overthrew the French-ruling Directory and became a French national hero.  In 1803, Thomas Jefferson, with the help of Chancellor Livingston, negotiated and procured from France and Napoleon Bonaparte, the Louisiana Purchase.  In 1804, Napoleon was crowned Emperor, setting the stage for multiple-continent military domination throughout the first decade of the 1800s. 

Well before James Vail arrived in France, uncle Aaron Vail had been involved in a potentially revolutionary invention - the steam-powered boat.  John Fitch conceived an idea for a steam-powered boat that was not well-received in America so uncle Aaron Vail, while on a visit back to Philadelphia, invited him to France.  In France, uncle Aaron Vail and Fitch became official partners but Fitch was not able to obtain adequate aid for his endeavor.  After he ran out of money and patience, Fitch left his “specifications and drawings” in the hands of uncle Aaron Vail and returned to America in 1794.  Later Robert Fulton arrived in France (probably between 1797 and 1801), borrowed the plans for several months from uncle Aaron Vail, and some years later became the father of the steamboat.  Many speculate Fulton stole the ideas and subsequent fame from John Fitch, via Aaron Vail.  James Vail was later deposed about the availability of the Fitch plans via uncle Aaron Vail.  James Vail stated he had seen them and that his uncle lent them to several patrons, including Fulton.


Also while in France, James Vail missed several events that happened in New York of a more personal nature.  James Vail's younger brother Henry Vail set up a partnership with brother-in-law Laban Gardner forming Gardner & Vail Dry Goods and Grocery in Troy (Don Ritter, blog.timesunion.com).  The building they used was part of a former store belonging to another brother-in-law Townsend McCoun.  Two years later, Henry Vail partnered with brother George Vail and continued the same retail dry-goods mercantile business in Troy (The Henry Vail biography states 1806).  They named their business “H. & G. Vail” and operated as dry-goods merchants (History of Rensselaer County, NY).

James Vail was stationed in France but was not limited to visiting other locations.  Some records reveal him to have been an active traveler.  According to his father’s letter in 1803, James Vail was conducting business in the West Indies, which included Martinique and Guadeloupe.  These islands were both French and hence easily accessible for French travelers wishing to cross the Atlantic Ocean for business and pleasure.  Records also show that he took a vacation to London, England around 1809.  Ocean travel between 1800 and 1810 was not safe.  Pirates and privateers were common in the Atlantic and Caribbean.  Pirate Jean Lafitte was active during this time along the eastern US coast and Caribbean.  Privateers, under the protection of most governments, were incessant nuisances.  Father Moses Vail was actually captured for a short time in 1803 during his travel from New York to France to visit his brother Aaron Vail and son James Vail.  


While visiting London, James Vail met and then married Ann Harriet Thoms on 16 January 1810 at St. Botolph Aldgate Church, London, England.  James Vail was nearly 30 years old while his new wife Ann was the minor daughter (15 years old) of John Thoms of London.  Legend suggests James Vail was in London on vacation and that he was arrested when the War of 1812 broke out (legend reported in a biography found in Portrait and Biographical Record of Leavenworth Douglas and Franklin).  The dates do not jive and therefore we must make some speculations about his English foray.  It is possible James Vail was detained in England in 1809, however it is unlikely the arrest was directly related to the War of 1812.  His detainment, if it happened in 1809, would have been connected to something he was doing for his uncle Aaron Vail.  Tensions were heavy at the time as England was at war with France and heading toward the same with the United States.  The other possibility was that James Vail and Ann Thoms were married, moved back to France and then visited London later in 1812 when war actually began on 18 June (this would make since based on the legend).


Note: Ann Harriet Thom's tombstone noted her birth as 30 August 1794

James and Ann Vail had their first child James Henry Vail christened at St. Botolph Aldgate in 1811

The James Vail story (Leavenworth Douglas and Franklin) claims James Vail was put on parole at some time after he was held as a prisoner.  However, the story relates that he was not allowed to leave the country.  From London records, James and Ann Vail were living in London, England until at least 1814.  The Vails had three children who were all born there.  In 1811, according to their first child James Henry Vail’s christening record at St. Botolph Aldgate, the family was living on George Street in London.  George Street was in the parish of St. Botolph Aldgate.  Strangely, St. Botolph Aldgate was located in two larger city designations - partially in east London and partially in west Middlesex.  George Street was in the London portion of the St. Botolph Aldgate parish.

Children of James and Ann Vail born in London:
James Henry Vail – born 31 May 1811, christened 20 August 1811
Harriet Margaret Vail – born 5 September 1812
Ann Eliza Vail – born 14 August 1814

While in London, James Vail missed several more family-related events.  His brother Henry Vail married in New London County, Connecticut about 1811 to Elizabeth Selden (Don Ritter, blog.timesunion.com, Henry Vail obituary states 1813).  Within four years his wife and only child were dead (Henry Vail obituary states she died 5 February 1815, they having had one daughter who died in infancy, he never married again).  Uncle Aaron Vail died in 1813 at L’Orient, France at the age of 58.  Brother George Vail married Jane Thomas on 7 October 1813 in North Salem, Westchester County, New York.  She was the daughter of General David Thomas who gave George Vail a mansion in Troy (History of Rensselaer County, NY).  Brother Henry Vail became the director of the Farmer’s Bank and also formed, with others, the Rensselaer and Saratoga Insurance Company in 1814.  Brothers Henry and George Vail, who operated H. & G. Vail dry goods mercantile, transformed in 1815 from general dry goods to a wholesale dry goods business, the first of its kind in the Troy area of New York (History of Rensselaer County, NY).  There store was located in Troy at No. 158 River Street.  Also in 1815, James Vail’s father Moses Vail died in Troy on 5 June.  James Vail’s brother Thomas Vail followed died shortly after father Moses Vail, his death on 5 September 1815.  Moses Vail was 62 and Thomas Vail was 28.

St. Botolph Aldgate from the corner of the Minories and Aldgate streets, within a block of George Street where the James Vail family lived (George Street would have branched to the left from the visual point of the painting).

George Street is located in the northern portion of St. Botolph Aldgate west of the Minories and just south of Aldgate High Street.  St. Botolph Aldagte adjoins the River Thames and the Tower of London.

The War of 1812 ended in 1814 and his last child Ann Eliza Vail was born in London in 1814.  Therefore, we can surmise James Vail returned to the United States in 1814 or 1815.  There is no record of his emigration back across the Atlantic Ocean but considering his uncle Aaron Vail’s ownership of a merchant vessel, he likely would not have paid for transportation.  Merchant vessels did not report emigration manifests (though he was in England and uncle Aaron Vail had died in 1813).  We do know he was back in Rensselaer County, New York for sure by 1818 (1818 James Vail deposition).  He actually ended up in Lansingburgh, which had become a northern suburb of Troy (1818 James Vail deposition).  Not surprisingly, James Vail became engaged in the mercantile business (Portrait and Biographical Record of Leavenworth Douglas and Franklin).  His father and his uncles (at least uncle Aaron Vail and uncle Samuel Vail), his brothers (Henry Vail and George Vail), and brother-in-laws (Laban Gardner and Townsend McCoun) had been or were currently merchants.

Biographical Records of Leavenworth Douglas and Franklin Counties

Mr. John Dean Dickinson, James Vail’s step-sister’s husband, wrote a letter to William A. Duer, esq., from Troy, New York, dated 17 November 1818.  This letter describes a meeting he had with James Vail in which he discussed the John Fitch-Robert Fulton steamboat issue:
"I yesterday saw James Vail, at present in Lansingburgh; he resided with his uncle Aaron Vail, at L’Orient, at the time Chancellor Livingston arrived in France; - he distinctly recollects seeing, and often examining in the hands of his uncle, Fitch’s papers and designs respecting his Steam-Boat, and has frequently heard the Chancellor and his uncle conversing on the subject of the Steam-Boat, but does not recollect having seen those papers and designs delivered to the Chancellor, though he has no doubt, they were shewn to him.  Vail is an intelligent young man, and possibly may, on reflection, recollect circumstances, that are material in your present inquiries; - should this be the case, or should you wish any certificate from him, and my services in this or any other business, be of use to you here, you will oblige me by commanding them.  I am, very respectfully, Your Ob’t. servant. Jno. D. Dickinson”

By 1820, James Vail had settled into life at Lansingburgh, Rensselaer County (he was a witness to the 1820 John Kirkpatrick will in Lansingburgh).  He and Ann did not have additional children (as evident by the 1820 and 1830 census).  Though there is no evidence to support it, James could have been married prior to Ann Harriet Thoms.  The Vail-Thoms marriage took place when he was 30.  In 1820 (census), two teens were living with James Vail, both matching the age of potential older James Vail children.  Though unsupported, James Vail may have married around 1801 (maybe to a French woman?), had a daughter and son between 1802 and 1804, and lost the mother between 1804 and 1809 (the female – with James Vail in 1820 and then dead or married by 1830 – and the male – with James Vail in 1820 and 1830).


James Vail and another young man in his household (possibly his older son) were dry-goods merchants in Lansingburgh.  They operated a retail mercantile which was located on the west side of State Street, between Elizabeth Street and Richard Street – part of the present American House block (Lansingburgh history – freemen 1803-1820 according to History of Rensselaer County, NY).  Some of his family also lived close by in Lansingburgh - beside or near his sister Sarah Vail-McCoun and half-sister Ann Eliza Tillman-Dickinson (1830 census).

Map of Lansingburgh on the Hudson River prior to the numbering of streets.  The map is oriented north to the left.  Circled in yellow is State Street between Richard Street (now 117th) on the left and Elizabeth Street (now 116th) on the right.


In 1830, H. & G. Vail took in Ebenezer Proudfit as a third partner.  The three men worked together until 1832 when Henry Vail retired as a widowed wealthy man with no offspring at the age of 50 (Henry Vail biography, other biographies claim he continued in the business).  The business was then left to George Vail, Ebenezer Proudfit, and James L. Vanschoonhoven, a new partner.  They operated then under the firm name George Vail & Co. (History of Rensselaer County NY).  Considering James Vail, brother of George Vail, would have been the most obvious choice as a partner, we can assume that James Vail’s business was doing well (could have been other reasons, only a conjecture).

At the age of 52 or 53 and on 16 September 1833, James Vail’s life expired leaving his wife Ann Vail a widow at the youthful age of 39 years.  James Vail was probably buried at the old Troy Cemetery Third Street Cemetery (his current location is Oakwood Cemetery in Troy but he was moved there after 1873 according to 1852-1873 interment records.  Hence his actual original resting place is unknown at this time).  His tombstone stated "JAMES VAIL, DIED Sept. 16th 1833, AGED 53 Years 9 Mos and 25 days" (interesting as his Quaker birth record - 16 November 1780 - reports a different birth date making him 52 years, 10 months).   His children were still relatively young.  We assume that his only son James Henry Vail was either already or soon planning to become a sailor (he was captain of a boat in 1840 at Mobile, Alabama).  Daughter Harriet Margaret Vail had been married at this time for two years to Harvey Townsend (in Troy, NY 7 April 1831).  Daughter Ann Elizabeth Vail (Eliza) was certainly still living at home but would soon married William Edmond, the son of Honorable David Edmond of Connecticut, a grad of Yale, one of the most famous lawyers of New England, partner of Daniel Webster, attorney general of Vermont for 14 years, and influential in Vermont public life.


Note: Burials began at Oakwood Cemetery in about 1852 and was created as a beautiful resting ground on 150 acres for upscale clientele.  The cemetery is north of Troy and east of Lansingburgh.  Hundreds of burials were relocated from Mount Ida (a Catholic Cemetery starting around 1832) and the Old Troy Cemetery (located on corner of Third and State Streets in Troy) after 1851 as families desired a more serene, picturesque, and well-kept burial location.  For example, wealthy meat-packer Samuel Wilson of Troy, noted in history as the US-famous Uncle Sam, died in 1854, was buried at Mount Ida, and then relocated to Oakwood in 1858 by his family.  Troy bought the Old Troy Cemetery on Third Street for the new Troy Courthouse location and then re-interred those burials to Oakwood lot 102, section N (146 total graves) around 1875. The Third Street Troy Cemetery is the likely location of the original James Vail grave.  Possible - Ann Vail was buried at the Old Troy Cemetery and then they were both moved to Oakwood in 1875.


James Vail's tombstone at Oakwood Cemetery in Troy

Troy at the Hudson River in 1838


On 13 September 1841 while living in Troy, the widow Ann Vail arranged to have her silhouette created by the famous silhouettist August Edouart of France.  He was in America on a 10 year tour traveling and creating silhouettes of the America people.  Edouart completed many silhouettes of those citizens living in and around Troy during the month of September and the first of October.  The names of the Edouart silhouettes during this visit were published in A Catalog of Silhouettes by August Edouart: A Notable Collection of Portraits Taken Between 1839-1849.  The silhouette book listed those on exhibition at Number 12 East 45th Street in New York City between 27 October and 15 November 1913.  The current location of these silhouettes is unknown though one is located at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (online, no image available).  Most of the silhouettes were full length – 8 to 9 inches in height – and included information of the back about the individual (name, address, height, weight, date, as well as genealogical information).  Edouart made two copies at each sitting, one sold to the sitter and another was kept by Edouart.  The Edouart silhouettes include:

·  Mrs. John Dickenson, Mother of Mrs. Taylor of Washington. 6 Sept. 1841 (John Dickenson was the step-son-in-law of Moses Vail, his wife was Elizabeth Hillman-Dickinson, step-daughter of Moses Vail, step-sister of James Vail)
·   Mr. William Edmond. Taken at Troy 11 Sept. 1841. Of Mobile, AL (husband of Elizabeth Vail-Edmond)
·    Mrs. William Edmond. Taken at Troy 11 Sept. 1841. Of Mobile, AL (Eliza Vail-Edmond, granddaughter of Moses Vail, daughter of James Vail)
·   Master Edmond. Taken at Troy 11 Sept. 1841. Of Mobile, AL (great-grandson of Moses Vail, grandson of James Vail)
·  Mrs. James Vail. Taken at Troy 13 Sep 1841. Of London, England (daughter-in-law of Moses Vail, widow of James Vail)
·   Mrs. Elizabeth Dickenson. Daughter of Mrs. James Vail (text states to “See Townsend” – daughter of Mrs. James Vail was Harriet Margaret Vail who was at this time the widow of Harvey Townsend). Taken 13 Sep 1841. Of Troy, NY (not sure why this says daughter of Mrs. James Vail, possible mistake)
·    Mrs. Harriet M. Townsend. Taken 13 Sept 1841. Of Troy, NY (granddaughter of Moses Vail, daughter of James Vail)
·    Henry L. Kellogg Taken at Troy NY 13 Sept 1841. Of Troy, NY
·   E. Thornton Taylor. Taken at Troy 13 Sept 1841. Of Washington DC (husband of Hester Dickinson-Taylor, step-granddaughter of Moses Vail)
·     Mrs. Hester Taylor. Daughter of Mrs. J. Dickenson of Troy. 20 Feb. 1841 (Hester Dickinson-Taylor, step-granddaughter of Moses Vail, step-neice of James Vail)

Ann Vail was in Vergennes, Vermont by 1850 and then Norwich, Connecticut by 1860

James Vail’s widow Ann Vail, surprisingly, never remarried.  By 1850 she was living with her widowed daughter Ann Elizabeth (known as Elizabeth or Eliza) in Vergennes, Addison County, Connecticut.  By 1860 and after 27 years of widowhood, Ann Vail was living with her elder daughter Harriet Margaret (known as Margaret) and her second husband Ebenezer Learned in Norwich, New London County, Connecticut.  Daughter Elizabeth (Eliza) was also in Norwich around this time with her second husband George Parker (she would be living with her sister Margaret by 1870).  Her 1860 census entry was incorrectly penned as “Harriet M. Vail.”  Ebenezer Learned’s unfamiliarity with his wife’s mother was the likely culprit.  1860 would be her last census notation, though she nearly made the 1870 census.  An aging Ann Vail died on 13 February 1870.  Her death location is not known.  Since she lived in Norwich, Connecticut in 1860, we can only presume she remained there until her death (she was not buried immediately at her current burial location).  Ann Vail's current burial location at Oakwood Cemetery beside her husband James Vail, who died 37 years before.  James Vail was originally buried at the Mount Ida or Third Street Cemetery in Troy.  After 1848, upper class families began burying their loved ones at Oakwood Cemetery.  The Vail family must have purchased an Oakwood plot and had James Vail and Ann Vail moved together so they could rest eternally beside one another.  This movement must have occurred in 1873 or after (Oakwood interment records do not list either having been buried between 1848 and 1873).



Ann Vail's tombstone at Oakwood Cemetery in Troy


Ann Vail was buried next to her husband James Vail.  The additional burials in this Vail plot are unknown


James Vail’s brother George Vail (1784-1853)

James Vail’s brother Henry Vail remained in Troy.  After he retired from the merchant business in 1832 with his brother George Vail, he remained active in other ways.  He was elected to New York’s twenty-fifth Congress as a Democrat in 1836 as a Representative of Rensselaer County (a Henry Vail biography states the nomination influenced his retirement).  Henry Vail was a gentleman of “popular and winning manners and possessed in a high degree the confidence and respect” of the people in New York.  He only served one term (4 March 1837 to 3 March 1839) as he did not win his campaign for reelection in 1838.  The Whig party won every election in the state during that election.  Vail’s political career ended during Troy native Martin Van Buren’s tenure as president and they remained close friends afterwards (History of Rensselaer County NY).  In 1844, Henry Vail purchased the Albert Heartt farm in Troy, known later as River-View and located at Mount Ida Falls near the location of his grandfather Moses Vail’s flour mill in 1794. (History of Rensselaer County, NY).  As a widower and without live offspring, Henry Vail died at his home on 25 June 1853 and was interred at Oakwood Cemetery in Troy.

William Marcy (left) and Silas Wright (right)



James Vail’s other brother George Vail also lived long after James Vail’s death.  George Vail retired as a merchant about 1835 and bought a farm between Lansingburgh and Troy where he raised Durham cattle from England, eventually drawing the best cattle breeders in the United States and Canada to his cattle auctions.  He was also the father of the Rensselaer County Agricultural Society and an early president of the State Agriculture Society where he delivered addresses at their meetings.  Outside of the merchant business, George Vail was an active service man, like his older brother Henry Vail.  He was the president of the Merchants and Mechanics Bank of Troy about 1828 until 1851 (History of Rensselaer County, NY).  Starting in 1833, he was the first vice president of the Troy Savings Bank.  In 1835, he helped open the Troy Orphan Asylum and later became its president.  As a member of the Second Presbyterian Church of Troy, George Vail was a founder and considered its most liberal supporter (History of Rensselaer County NY).  He claimed, among his close friends, President Andrew Jackson, President Martin Van Buren, US Secretary of State William Marcy, and US Senator Silas Wright.  George Vail died at Troy in 1882, having outlived his wife and most of his six children.