Jacob Mills Jr.

More than forty years have passed since Mr. Mills laid down the burdens of life and bade farewell to the scenes of time. Few of those who are now active in business affairs remember him, but the older residents of the county, and especially of the town of Wallkill, have not forgotten his genial face and kindly manner, nor the influence of his noble life, and they will peruse with interest this brief record of his life, a tribute to his memory from his daughter, Mrs. J. H. Harlow.

Born in the town of Wallkill in 1794, our subject was a son of Jacob Mills, Sr., who was a native of Long Island, but removed thence to Orange County in a very early day. The educational advantages of our subject were extremely limited, and the opportunities now offered to boys did not fall to his lot. However, he was a lad of retentive memory and acute observation, so he was enabled to overcome in part the defects of his schooling. When he was eighteen years of age the War of 1812 broke out, and he was among the first to offer his services in his country's defense, enlisting in the army, and serving with valor and great bravery.

The marriage of Mr. Mills united him with Miss Eliza, daughter of William and Elizabeth (Denton) Hurten, of this county. They became the parents of eleven children, six of whom are living, namely: Sarah M., wife of James H. Harlow, who is engaged in the grocery business at Middletown; J. Denton, a prominent farmer living near Scotchtown, this county; John E., who is engaged in the Milk business in New York City; Kate, the wife of James E. Voak, a farmer of this county; and Miss Addie D., who lives in Mechanicstown, Orange County.

Socially Mr. Mills was a member of the old Huffman Lodge, an anti-Masonic organization, and politically he was a Democrat. At the age of sixty-one, about 1855, he passed from earth, leaving the influence of his upright life as a priceless heritage to posterity. His wife survived him twenty-five years, her death occurring in 1880. She was a woman of earnest Christian faith, and belonged to the Presbyterian Church of Scotchtown. No family in town was more worthy of esteem than were they. Their long and useful lives identified them intimately with the history of this section, and wherever known they were esteemed and loved for their many noble attributes of character.