Biographies







BIOGRAPHIES

The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans
Biographies of Notable Americans, 1904

Source: Ancestry.com

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Description:
With more than thirty thousand entries, this encyclopedia of important Americans spans the history of the nation from the first arrivals in the 17th Century through the end of the 19th Century. Rich in detail, each entry includes a short family history and a record of the important accomplishments of the individual.

Source Information:
Ancestry.com. Biographies of Notable Americans, 1904 [database online]. Orem, UT: MyFamily.com, Inc., 1997. Original data: Johnson, Rossiter, ed. Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans. Volumes I-X. Boston, MA: The Biographical Society, 1904.

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The Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans: Volume V

FRANCIS WHITING HALSEY

HALSEY, Francis Whiting, journalist, was born in Unadilla, N.Y., Oct. 15, 1851; son of Gaius Leonard and Juliet (Cartington) Halsey; grandson of Dr. Gaius and Mary (Church) Halsey of Kortright, N.Y.; and a descendant of Thomas Halsey, who emigrated from England before 1640 and helped to found the settlement of Southampton, Long Island, one of the earliest settlements made by Englishmen in New York state.

Francis prepared for college at the Unadilla academy and was graduated at Cornell in 1873, taking one of the prizes for an essay in English literature. He was assistant editor of the Binghamton Times, 1873-75; a member of the editorial staff of the New York Tribune, 1875-80; and in 1880 joined the staff of the New York Times as foreign editor and writer of book reviews. He was literary editor of the Times, 1892-96, and assumed charge of the Times Saturday review of books and art at the beginning of that department in 1896.

He was married in 1883 to Virginia Isabel, daughter of Alexander Stanton and Sarah Ann Forbes of New York. He was elected president of the New York association of Cornell alumni in 1882 and was twice the candidate of New York and other alumni for trustee of Cornell in 1882 and 1883, during the alumni agitation for new methods in university management. He was elected a member of the Aldine and Cornell clubs. New York. He lectured on early American history and made addresses before the New York historical society, the New York library club and the Wyoming (Pa.) Commemorative association.

He is the author of: Two Months Abroad (1878); and An Old New York Frontier, an historical work. He also issued anonymously, Virginia Isabel Forbes, a memoir of his wife, printed privately in 1900. He wrote an extended introduction for a volume of family history entitled Thomas Halsey of Hertfordshire, England and Southampton, Long Island; and made contributions on historical subjects and travel to several periodicals. In 1902 he joined the staff of D. Appleton & Co. publishers, as literary adviser.

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This page was last updated February 6, 2004.