History of the Dustan Family
Three generations of the extended Dustan family comprise the bulk of papers included in this collection.
James C. Dustan was born in New York on December 17, 1837, the son of James Carmichael
and Amanda Beers Dustan. He arrived to the Morris area as a young man, and in 1864 married Sarah Caroline Lindsley who
grew up on a farm on Pleasantville Road in New Vernon. The property had been in the Lindsley family since the time of
the American Revolution. According to family correspondence, James took up veterinary medicine after his New Vernon
peach business failed. His lack of formal training did not deter him from building a thriving veterinary practice. James
applied for a patent for a liniment he created, and in 1869 he purchased manufacturing rights to a number of animal
medicines from a Newark laboratory. By 1873 he was advertising his services as a veterinary surgeon with an office (also
a residence) on DeHart Street, and in 1885 attained membership in the newly formed Veterinary Medical Association. In 1892
he was elected president of the group.
A busy professional life carried over to his personal life. He was elected to the Morristown town council, served as school
administrator and enjoyed membership in many local organizations, including the Resolute Hook and Ladder Company. James C.
Dustan died at his home on DeHart Street on December 28, 1898. His wife predeceased him.
Henry Winfield Dustan was born in Morristown on June 8, 1878, the son of James C. and Sarah
Lindsley Dustan. He grew up in the DeHart Street house where his father kept his practice. Upon Henry's graduation from the
School of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University in 1898, he returned to his childhood home to take over his father's practice.
Henry worked long hours, and, regardless of the day or time, was called out to farms, stables and homes throughout the Morris
County area. His client list included millionaires like John Claflin and Hamilton McKeon Twombly, livery men like James Welsh
and William Ambrose, and organizations like the newly-formed Society for the Prevention of the Cruelty of Animals. Probably
his most famous patient was Seaton Pippin, "the Millionaire Hackney Mare" owned by Mr. and Mrs. Paul Moore. For many
years Henry served as Morristown's dairy inspector, and also served on numerous boards and organizations.
Henry married Adele Wyss on October 11, 1904. She was born in New York on August 27, 1879 to Thomas and Victorine Vianest Wyss.
With successive generations, Wiss became the preferred spelling of the family name. Henry's sister Elizabeth Lindsley Dustan
had earlier married Adele's brother, Victor Wiss.
Henry died on September 30, 1944 after a long illness. Adele Dustan died on November 29, 1958. Their daughter, Alice
Dunstan Kollar, who donated this collection to the library, died on January 19, 1989.
Victorine Alice Vianest Wyss was Adele Dustan's mother. She was born in France on February
12, 1848, and came to the United States with her Swiss husband, Thomas Wyss, in 1878. By 1880 Thomas was working in New York
City as a servant in the Madison Avenue mansion of T.A. Havemeyer, the sugar magnate; while Victorine, her two children and
mother-in-law were living in Newport, RI, where Havemeyer had recently purchased a summer residence. Havemeyer's reputation
in golf - he co-founded the Newport Golf Club and served as the United States Golf Association's first president - may have
opened many doors for Thomas when the elite Morristown Club advertised for a steward (a married man preferred) in 1887. With
his excellent credentials he was hired immediately, and moved his family first to Ridgedale Avenue and then to a home
on Washington Place. Thomas cultivated an excellent relationship with the membership and worked there until he died, at
the club house, on August 30, 1900. Victorine kept the Washington Place for rental income, and moved in with her daughter's
family on DeHart Street around 1907. She died at home on November 26, 1938.
Amanda Beers Dustan was the mother of James C. Dustan. Amanda Fitzallen Beers was born on
July 23, 1812 in Monmouth County to John and Ann Tice Beers. She married James Carmichael (Sr.) Dustan in 1829 in Monmouth
County, New Jersey. They had at least one child there before moving to New York, where James C. Dustan was born. Amanda's
husband James, who was born in New York in 1803, probably died prematurely, because by 1850 Amanda and four children were
staying with relatives in Raritan, New Jersey. By 1870 she was living with her oldest son, Oscar, in Passaic Township, and
sometime thereafter moved in with her son James and his family in Morristown. Amanda Beers Dustan died in Morristown on
January 11, 1889.
Related materials in this repository:
- HM512 Bus Eph - Business Ephemera and Artifacts Collection, 1816-2008.
- HVFG - Dustan family
- HVFG - Kollar family
- HVFG - Lindsley family
Scope and Content of the Documents
The Dustan Family Papers chronicles a prominent Morristown family whose veterinary practice spanned two generations.
Also found within the collection is documentation regarding the personal lives of Henry W. and Adele Wyss Dustan.
Henry W. Dustan's business ledgers include an in-house index, authored by a department volunteer in 1981. The collection
contains correspondence, paper documents, account books, bound volumes, a scrapbook, oversized charts and
certificates and photographs. A folder of genealogical documents and notes created by department staff was added to the
collection to assist researchers in identifying familial relationships.
Arrangement of the Documents
The documents are housed in one manuscript box and they are arranged by family member. Each folder is labelled with three
elements: the name of the collection, the appropriate family members' name, and a description of the folder contents. The
five family names are Dr. James C. Dustan, Dr. Henry W. Dustan, Henry W. and Adele Wyss Dustan, Amanda Beers Dustan
and Victorine Wyss. The oversized (OS) and manuscript book (HM6) items of the collection have been placed in the NJHGC's map cases
and closed stacks respectively. They can be made available upon request.