Jefferson County New York Biographies - Surnames G-H

Transcribed by Jeffrey Tooley

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Jefferson County New York Biographies extracted from the Genealogical and Family History of the County of Jefferson New York Illustrated, Volume II, Compiled by R. A. Oakes, 1905

HALPIN, William Henry, who for a decade and a half has been actively and prominently identified with the realty and insurance interests of New Jersey and New York, his operations for a number of years having been conducted principally on the west side of the borough of Manhattan, is a native of Watertown, Jefferson county, born Dec. 2, 1807. His parents are Robert and Margaret (Welch) Halpin, the former a native of St. Lawrence, Jefferson county, and the latter a member of an old and honored family, long resident in Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence county, New York. Her grandfather, Louis Kennedy, chopped down the free trees on the site of Ogdensburg. Her father, Louis Welch, was killed while an American soldier in the Mexican war. Robert Halpin was born in Depeyster, St. Lawrence county, and devotes his entire attention to agricultural pursuits. He is one of the upright Christian men of the community in which he resides in the town of Oswehachie, near Ogdensburg. He is a son of Henry Halpin, who was also a farmer, and came to this country from Kings county, Ireland, his birthplace. His wife, Ellen, was a native of Ireland and they were married in New York state.

William H. Halpin, after completing his education, began his active career as a commercial drummer, and later on became an engineer, but neither of these occupations were entirely suited to his tastes and inclinations. He then turned his attention to the real estate business, purchasing tracts of land in the State of New Jersey, which were divided into lots whereon were erected modern and attractive residences which greatly enhanced the natural beauty of the localities, and thus farms and woodlands were converted into pretty villages. Subsequently be established an office at 85 Eighth avenue. New York city, where he is now conducting an extensive business along these lines, also deriving a large income from the insurance business, which is caried on in conjunction therewith. His integrity, business capacity and intelligence are beyond question, and the success he has achieved has been the direct result of his own ambition and effort. He is a man of fine literary taste, and is the possessor of a library which is both large and well selected. He is a member of the Jefferson County Society.

He was married May 20, 1897, to Mary Broderick, a native of New York city, daughter of Irish parents. [Source: Genealogical and Family History of the County of Jefferson New York Illustrated, Volume II, Compiled by R. A. Oakes, 1905.]