Thomas Farrington De Voe

Thomas Farrington De Voe was born on 15 March 1811 in Lower Yonkers, Westchester County, New York.^1,2 He was the son of John De Voe and Sophia Farrington.³ Another source gives his date of birth as 14 March 1811.⁴

Thomas Farrington De Voe joined the militia at the age of eighteen, rising to the rank of Colonel.⁵ He was a butcher by profession. He was continuously in business at the Jefferson Market at Sixth Avenue and Christopher Street in New York City from its opening in 1833 until 1872.⁵

Thomas Farrington De Voe married Lucy Bock in 1836 in St. Thomas' Church, New York, New York.³

In 1862 he published a 621-page book, The Market-Book, containing a Historical Account of the Public Markets in the Cities of New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Brooklyn, with a brief Description of every Article of Human Food sold therein, the Introduction of Cattle in America, and Notices of many remarkable Specimens. A reviewer in the North American Review wrote "The book is really a curious one, and to be commended to the student of manners and customs. . . Some of the material which [Mr. De Voe] collects and preserves is of a kind to amuse and entertain, if not greatly to instruct posterity."⁶

He gave up his stand in Jefferson Market in 1872 to become Superintendent of Markets for the city. He was elected to membership in the New York, Long Island, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania Historical Societies.⁵

Thomas De Voe was the author of Genealogy of the de Veaux Family, 1885, the book from which a great deal of the information about the DeVoe family on this web site has come.⁷

Thomas Farrington De Voe died on 1 February 1892 at his home at 104 West Thirteenth Street, New York, New York, at age 80.^5,2,4 The funeral was on 4 February 1892 at his home.⁸ He was buried on 5 February 1892 in St. John's Cemetery, Yonkers, Westchester County, New York.^8,2,4