Decker, Francis C.

FRANCIS C. DECKER.

The Decker family have elsewhere been mentioned as of Dutch extraction, and among the earliest emigrants to the Empire State. Francis C. is the only surviving child of Joseph H. Decker, of Montgomery, and was born Oct. 24, 1830, in the above township. His early years were passed under the parental roof. The public school of the district afforded but meagre opportunities for education, and Francis C. being desirous of more thorough advantages repaired to the academy at Montgomery, where some time was spent in study. Having fitted himself by these superior qualifications for the career of an instructor, he engaged for a while in teaching near his home. At a later period he removed to the village of Montgomery, and though ostensibly engaged in no active occupation, gave his attention to the management and maintenance of the family property. He removed in 1875 to the farm which is the present residence of his parents, and known familiarly as the "Saratoga Farm," Mr. Decker has ever been a stanch Republican in his political views, though the preferments of office have failed to lure him from the quiet pleasures of his own home. He has declined all public offices, though always manifesting a deep interest in the various political campaigns, especially those of local importance. Mr. Decker’s religious creed is that espoused by the Reformed Dutch Church, of which he is a consistent member.