History of Cambridge, (Washington County) New York United States of America

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Biographies:

Sidney Dyer, author and clergyman, was born in Cambridge, N.Y., Feb. 11, 1814; son of John Stevens and Eunice (Hurd) Dyer; grandson of William Dyer, and a descendant of William Dyre, who early settled in the Massachusetts colony. He studied in classical schools in New York city; served in the Black Hawk war in 1832-33; returned to New York, studied theology, and became a missionary among the Indians, and subsequently secretary of the Indian mission board in Louisville, Ky. In 1852 he became pastor of the first Baptist church at Indianapolis, Ind. In 1859 he was chosen district secretary of the American Baptist publication society, which position he held for twenty-seven years, and then retired from active service and settled in De Land, Fla., subsequently removing to Germantown, Pa. He is the author of numerous contributions to periodicals, and of many songs. He also published two cantatas, Ruth and The Winter Evening Entertainment; Songs and Ballads (1853); and a series of eight volumes on natural history and science: Great Wonders in Little Things, Home and Abroad, Black Diamonds, Boys and Birds, Hoofs and Claws, Ocean Gardens, Elenor Dale Lyceum, and Beautiful Ladder; and a volume of original hymns entitled Songs in the Night (1899).

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Edward Dorr Griffin Prime, clergyman and author, was born in Cambridge, N.Y., Nov. 2, 1814; son of the Rev. Nathaniel Scudder and Julia Ann (Jermain) Prime. Edward D. G. Prime was prepared for college at Washington academy, Cambridge, N.Y.; was graduated at Union, A.B., 1832, A.M., 1835, and taught in his father's academy at Mount Pleasant, Sing Sing, 1832-35. He studied medicine under Dr. Adrian K. Hoffman, but abandoned it for the ministry, and was graduated at Princeton Theological seminary in 1838. He was licensed to preach by the North River presbytery, May 16, 1858; was assistant pastor of the church at Scotchtown, N.Y., 1838-47; was ordained, June 12, 1839, and was sole pastor, 1847-51. He spent the winters of 1850 and 1851 in New Orleans, La., and Augusta, Ga., respectively; was pastor of the Presbyterian church on Eighty-Sixth St., New York city, 1852-86; was editor of the New York Observer, 1853-54, during the absence of his brother Samuel Iren?eus in Europe, associate editor of that paper, 1854-85, and editor-in-chief, 1885-86, when he resigned, owing to ill-health. He was chaplain of the American embassy in Rome, 1854-55; traveled extensively in Europe during that summer, and made a journey around the world, 1869-70. He contributed to the Observer while on his travels under the signature of "Eusebius," and preached and lectured on the religious conditions of various countries, on his return, in New York, Philadelphia and other large cities. He was married first, Sept. 26, 1839, to Maria Darlington, daughter of John S. Wilson of Princeton, N.J., and secondly, June 14, 1860, to Abbie Davis, daughter of the Rev. William Goodell of Constantinople. He received the degree D.D. from Jefferson college, Pa., in 1857. He is the author of: Around the World: Sketches of Travel Through Many Lands and Over Many Seas (1872); Forty Years in the Turkish Empire; or Memoirs of Rev. William Goodell, D.D. (1876); Notes, Genealogical, Biographical and Bibliographical of the Prime Family, printed privately (1888). He died in New York city, April 7, 1891.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

William Cowper Prime, journalist, was born in Cambridge, N.Y., Oct. 31, 1825; son of the Rev. Nathaniel Scudder and Julia Ann (Jermain) Prime. He was graduated at the College of New Jersey, A.B., 1843, A.M., 1846; was admitted to the bar in 1846, and practiced law in New York city, 1846-61. He was married, May 1, 1851, to Mary, daughter of the Hon. Gurdon Trumbull of Stonington, Conn. He was part owner and one of the managers of the New York Journal of Commerce, 1861-84, and its editor-in-chief, 1861-69. He traveled in Europe and the Holy Land, 1855-56 and 1869-70, and studied the art of book illustration, making a collection of the woodcuts of the 15th and 16th centuries. He was elected first vice-president of the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Arts in 1874; received the degree of LL.D. from the College of New Jersey in 1875, and presented the art department of that institution with a very complete collection of pottery in memory of his wife. He was elected professor of the history of art in the College of New Jersey in 1884, having been influential in establishing that chair. He contributed to magazines and reviews, including a weekly letter to the Journal of Commerce from 1846, and is the author of: The Owl Creek Letters and Other Correspondence (1848); The Old House by the River (1853); Later Years (1854); Boat Life in Egypt and Nubia (1857); Tent Life in the Holy Land (1857); Coins, Medals and Seals, Ancient and Modern (1861); O Mother Dear, Jerusalem; The Old Hymn with its Origin and Genealogy (1865); I go a-fishing (1873); Holy Cross (1877), and Porcelain of All Times and Nations (1878). He also edited "McClellan's Own Story," (1886) and wrote the biographical sketch attached.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor