[J. Thomas Scharf (1886)] « OSSINTNG. 361 As a citizen there are few who have taken a more active part in local improvements. The introduction of steam fire-engines and reservoirs in the village of Sing Sing was largely owing to his efforts, and it is generally admitted that in the business of insurance, his knowledge of all the details is unsurpassed, and his reputation as a thorough-going man of business, and a public-spirited citizen, is fully sustained. Active and energetic in his nature, he sometimes allows his enthusiasm to get the better of his judgment, but no advice that can affect the interests of others is ever given by him, unless based upon the most careful and dispassionate examination, and a knowledge of this fact renders his opinion worthy of the respect which it seldom fails to receive. Mr. Brandreth is a prominent member of the Masonic order, with which he has been connected for twenty-one years, and in addition to his membership in the Lodges in Sing Sing, he is also connected with the St. George's Society of New York. In 1868, he married Sarah Louise, daughter of the late George B. Flint. They are the parents of three children — Sarah Bertha, Louise and Delia. In whatever business Mr. Brandreth has engaged, it has been his constant practice to leave no means untried to gain a thorough knowledge of all its details. And in this pursuit, no amount of toil can turn him from his purpose, and no labor, however arduous, can cause discouragement.