David Ruggles (1783-1837)
of Newburgh, New York; Legal Counsel for the New York & Erie Railroad
He was a lawyer, an abolitionist, and in addition co-owned a nursery of about 20,000 trees with his kinsman Charles Rhind. He was a pioneer importer of Mulberry trees in the hope that they would stimulate a domestic silk industry. The image shows his house in Newburgh and its view overlooking the Hudson River.