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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


OF 

NEW   YORK 


A  Life  Record  of  Men  and  Women  of  the  Past 

Whose  Sterling  Character  and  Energy  and  Industry  Have  Made 
Them  Preeminent  in  Their  Own  and  Many  Other  States 


BY 


CHARLES  ELLIOTT  FITCH.  L.  H.  D. 

Lawyer,  Journalist,  Educator;  Editor  and  Contributor  to  Many  Newspapers 

and   Magazines ;    ex-Regent   New   York   University ;    Supervisor 

Federal    Census     (N.    Y.)     iS8o;    Secretary    New 

York   Constitutional    Convention,    1894 


JLLUSTR.VTED 


THE  AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

INCORPORATED 

BOSTON  NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 

I  9  I  6 


Both  justice  and  decency  require  that  we  should  bestow  on  our  forefathers 
an  honorable  remembrance — Thucydides 


1233056 


BIOGRAPHICAL 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ROOSEVELT,  Theodore, 

Soldier,  Statesman,  Author. 

Colonel  Theodore  Roosevelt,  twenty- 
sixth  President  of  the  United  States,  was 
born  in  New  York  City,  October  27,  1858, 
eldest  son  of  Theodore  and  Martha  (Bul- 
loch) Roosevelt.  He  was  of  Holland 
ancestry,  and  his  father  was  a  man  of 
sterling  qualities,  a  prominent  merchant 
and  banker,  and  a  philanthropist. 

Colonel  Roosevelt  was  educated  at 
Harvard  University,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  in  1880  with  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Arts.  He  was  early  asso- 
ciated with  his  father  in  business,  but 
made  an  almost  immediate  entrance  into 
public  life.  He  was  elected  to  the  State 
Assembly  of  New  York  in  1882,  became 
leader  of  the  minority  in  that  body,  and 
was  active  in  behalf  of  reform  measures. 
He  was  reelected  in  1883,  and  was  largely 
instrumental  in  carrying  out  the  State 
civil  service  reform  law,  an  act  for  regu- 
lating primary  elections ;  and  legislation 
of  vast  benefit,  particularly  to  the  city  of 
New  York,  in  centering  in  the  mayor  the 
responsibility  of  administering  municipal 
affairs.  He  was  chairman  of  the  New 
York  delegation  to  the  Republican  Na- 
tional Convention  in  1884,  and  an  unsuc- 
cessful candidate  for  the  mayoralty  of 
New  York  City  in  1886,  having  been  nom- 
inated as  an  Independent,  with  Repub- 
lican endorsement.  In  May,  1889,  Presi- 
dent Harrison  appointed  him  Civil  Serv- 
ice Commissioner,  and  he  was  president 
of  the  board  until  May,  1895.  During  this 
official  term  he  succeeded  in  changing  the 
entire  system  of  public  appointments,  and 
in  inaugurating  important  reforms.  He 
resigned  on  the  latter  date  to  accept  ap- 


pointment as  president  of  the  New  York 
Board  of  Police  Commissioners,  and  with 
characteristic  energy  and  vigor  entered 
upon  the  work  of  reform  by  the  applica- 
tion of  civil  service  principles  in  appoint- 
ments to  the  force,  and  promotions.  He 
rigidly  enforced  the  excise  law,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  closing  the  saloons  on  the  Sab- 
bath, and  in  purifying  the  city  of  many 
corrupting  influences. 

In  1897  Colonel  Roosevelt  entered  upon 
his  career  as  a  character  of  national  im- 
portance. In  that  year  he  became  Assist- 
ant Secretary  of  the  Navy,  under  Presi- 
dent McKinley.  Soon  after  entering  upon 
his  new  duties,  realizing  the  probabilities 
of  a  foreign  war,  he  procured  appropri- 
ations for  ammunition  for  navy  target 
practice,  and  the  results  at  Manila  and 
Santiago  justified  what  was  considered  at 
the  time  reckless  extravagance.  When 
war  with  Spain  became  imminent,  he  re- 
signed his  secretaryship,  and  with  Sur- 
geon (now  Major-General)  Leonard 
Wood,  organized  the  First  Regiment 
United  States  Cavalry  Volunteers,  popu- 
larly known  as  "Roosevelt's  Rough 
Riders,"  which  distinguished  itself  in 
Cuba.  At  the  outset  he  was  commis- 
sioned lieutenant-colonel  of  his  regiment, 
and  was  promoted  to  colonel  for  gallantry 
at  the  battle  of  Las  Guasimas,  and  was 
mustered  out  of  service  at  the  end  of  the 
war.  In  1898  he  was  elected  Governor  of 
New  York,  and  in  that  position  gave 
vigorous  encouragement  to  salutary  legis- 
lation, and  carried  through  every  reform 
measure  to  which  he  had  pledged  himself, 
despite  great  political  pressure.  Above  all, 
he  placed  in  office  as  high-minded  and 
able  a  set  of  public  officials  as  the  State 
ever  had  from  the  day  of  its  foundation. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


He  had  looked  forward  to  a  second  term 
in  order  to  further  forward  certain  reform 
innovations,  but  circumstances  defeated 
this  purpose  and  led  to  his  higher 
advancement.  He  was  a  delegate  in  the 
Republican  National  Convention  of  1900. 
The  renomination  of  President  McKinley 
was  a  foregone  conclusion.  Much  against 
his  desire,  the  Vice-Presidential  nomina- 
tion was  practically  forced  upon  him. 
The  ensuing  campaign  was  the  most  re- 
markable in  the  history  of  the  nation. 
Colonel  Roosevelt  traveled  over  the  whole 
country,  defending  the  McKinley  admin- 
istration, and  contending  for  honest 
money  as  against  the  "16  to  i"  silver 
policy  as  advocated  by  the  Democratic 
presidential  candidate,  Mr.  William  J. 
Bryan.  As  soon  as  he  was  advised  of  the 
assassination  of  President  McKinley,  he, 
as  Vice-President,  was  requested  by  the 
cabinet  of  the  deceased  executive  to  im- 
mediately take  the  presidential  oath  of 
office.  This  he  declined  to  do,  saying,  "I 
intend  to  pay  my  respects  at  William 
McKinley's  bier  as  a  private  citizen,  and 
ofifer  my  condolence  to  the  members  of 
his  family  as  such.  Then  I  will  return 
and  take  the  oath,"  which  he  did.  In  1904 
he  was  elected  to  the  presidency  by  the 
largest  popular  majority  ever  accorded  a 
candidate.  Perhaps  the  most  notable  of 
his  achievements  as  President  was  that 
unofficial  one,  the  bringing  to  an  end  of 
the  war  between  Japan  and  Russia. 

In  1910  Colonel  Roosevelt  made  a  hunt- 
ing trip  through  Africa,  and  afterward 
went  to  Europe,  by  way  of  Egypt.  After 
his  return  home  there  was  much  discus- 
sion concerning  his  intentions  as  to  the 
presidential  campaign  of  1912.  Many 
held  that  he  had  declared  that  he  would 
not  be  a  candidate,  but  he  remained  quiet 
upon  the  subject  until  February  21,  1912, 
when  he  spoke  the  now  well-known 
words,  "My  hat  is  in  the  ring."  Some  ten 
days  previous,  the  governors  of  West  Vir- 


ginia, Nebraska,  New  Hampshire,  Wyom- 
ing, Michigan,  Kansas,  and  Missouri,  had 
written  him  a  letter  urging  him  to  accept 
a  nomination  by  the  Progressive  Repub- 
licans. On  February  24th  he  stated  defi- 
nitely that  he  would  accept  a  nomination 
if  tendered.  Before  the  Republican  Na- 
tional Convention  in  June  that  year  there 
was  bitter  conflict  between  the  Roosevelt 
and  Taft  forces.  Mr.  Taft  was  finally 
declared  the  nominee,  and  the  Roosevelt 
men  decided  upon  an  independent  con- 
vention of  Progressives,  which  met  Au- 
gust 6th  and  nominated  him.  As  a  result 
of  the  division  of  the  Republicans  between 
Roosevelt  and  Taft,  Woodrow  Wilson 
was  elected  to  the  presidency.  On  Octo- 
ber 14,  1912,  Colonel  Roosevelt  was  shot 
by  a  would-be  assassin,  but  made  rapid 
recovery,  and  a  week  later  was  able  to 
be  out.  In  1913-14  he  visited  the  prin- 
cipal countries  in  South  America,  and 
after  his  return  devoted  himself  to  liter- 
ary work. 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  how  anyone 
so  thoroughly  devoted  to  public  afifairs 
could  find  time  for  literary  work,  and  yet 
Colonel  Roosevelt  has  achieved  a  world- 
wide reputation  as  an  author,  and  his 
works  have  become  standards  on  the  sub- 
jects he  has  treated.  They  comprise : 
"Winning  of  the  West"  (1889-96);  "His- 
tory of  the  Naval  War  of  1812"  (1882); 
"Hunting  Trips  of  a  Ranchman"  (1885); 
"Life  of  Thomas  Hart  Benton"  (1886); 
"Life  of  Gouverneur  Morris"  (1887); 
"Ranch  Life  and  Hunting  Trail"  (1888); 
"History  of  New  York"  (1890);  "The 
Wilderness  Hunter"  (1893);  "American 
Ideals  and  Other  Essays"  (1897);  "The 
Rough  Riders"  (1899);  "Life  of  Oliver 
Cromwell"  (1900);  "The  Strenuous  Life" 
(1900);  "Works"  (eight  vols.,  1902); 
"American  Ideals  and  Other  Essays"; 
"Good  Hunting"  (1907);  "True  Ameri- 
canism ;"  "African  and  European  Ad- 
dresses" (1910) ;  "Realizable  Ideals"  (The 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Earl  Lectures)  (1912);  "Conservation  of 
Womanhood  and  Childhood"  (1912); 
"History  as  Literature,  and  Other 
Essays"  (1913);  "Theodore  Roosevelt,  an 
Autobiography"  (1913).  Part  author  of: 
"Hero  Tales  from  American  History" 
(1895);  "The  Deer  Family"  (1902); 
"Outdoor  Pastimes  of  an  American 
Hunter"  (1906);  "African  Game  Trails" 
{1910);  "The  New  Nationalism"  (1910); 
"Life  Histories  of  African  Game  Animals" 
(two  volumes,  1914).  The  most  impor- 
tant of  his  works,  however,  are  the  four 
volumes  bearing  the  collective  title,  "The 
Winning  of  the  West."  These  have  for 
their  subject  the  acquisition  by  the  United 
States  of  the  territory  west  of  the  Alle- 
ghenies,  and  in  their  intrinsic  merit  and 
their  importance  as  contributions  to  his- 
tory they  rank  with  the  works  of  Park- 
man.  His  books  have  been  characterized 
as  "marked  by  felicity,  vigor  and  clear- 
ness of  expression,  with  descriptive 
power;"  his  historical  writings  have  been 
further  praised  for  their  "accuracy, 
breadth  and  fairness."  "The  Rough 
Riders"  is  a  volume  which  will  keep  its 
place  among  the  authoritative  records  of 
the  Spanish  War.  "It  will  be  generally 
conceded,"  says  a  reviewer,  "that  it  forms 
one  of  the  most  thrilling  pieces  of  military 
history  in  recent  years." 

Colonel  Roosevelt  has  received  the 
honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  from 
the  following  institutions :  Columbia 
University,  1899 ;  Hope  College,  1901 ; 
Yale  University,  1901 ;  Harvard  Univer- 
sity, 1902;  Northwestern  University, 
1903;  University  of  Chicago,  1903; 
University  of  California,  1903 ;  Univer- 
sity of  Pennsylvania,  1905 ;  Clark  Uni- 
versity, 1905  ;  George  Washington  Univer- 
sity, 1909;  Cambridge  University,  1910. 
In  the  latter  year  he  also  received  the 
Doctor  of  Civil  Law  degree  from  Oxford 
University,  and  that  of  Doctor  of  Phi- 
losophy from  the  University  of  Berlin.    In 


1906  he  was  awarded  the  Nobel  Peace 
Prize  ($40,000),  with  which  he  endowed 
the  Foundation  for  the  Promotion  of 
Universal  Peace.  He  has  long  been  a 
contributor  to  leading  magazines  and  re- 
views, and  was  on  the  staff  of  "The  Out- 
look" from   1909  until   1914. 

He  married  (first)  Alice  Hathaway, 
who  died  February  14,  1884,  daughter  of 
George  Cabot  Lee;  (second)  at  London, 
England,  Edith  Kermit,  daughter  of 
Charles  Carow,  of  New  York.  The 
family  home  is  in  Oyster  Bay,  Long 
Island. 


HUGHES,  Charles  E., 

Jurist,   Governor. 

Charles  Evans  Hughes,  who  as  these 
pages  go  to  press  is  the  regular  candidate 
of  the  Republican  party  for  the  presidency 
of  the  United  States,  is  a  native  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  born  in  Glen  Falls, 
April  II,  1862,  son  of  the  Rev.  David 
Charles  and  Mary  Catherine  (Connelly) 
Hughes.  His  father  was  of  Welsh  and 
his  mother  of  Scotch-Irish  and  Dutch 
extraction. 

He  began  his  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  New  York  City,  and  was  fitted 
for  college  by  his  father.  At  the  age  of 
fourteen  he  entered  Madison  (now  Col- 
gate) University,  transferring  two  years 
later  to  Brown  University,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  1881,  taking  the 
Bachelor  of  Arts  degree  with  honors — 
winning  the  prize  in  English  literature 
and  that  for  general  attainment  during  his 
course,  and  delivering  the  class  oration ; 
in  1884  he  received  from  his  alma  mater 
the  Master  of  Arts  degree.  During  1881- 
82  he  taught  Greek  and  mathematics  in 
the  Delaware  Academy  at  Delhi,  New 
York,  and  in  the  latter  year  entered  the 
Columbia  Law  School,  and  also  studying 
in  the  offices  of  the  United  States  District 
Attorney  in  New  York,  and  in  those  of 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Chamberlain,  Carter  &  Hornblower.  He 
received  his  diploma  from  the  Law  School 
in  1884,  and  was  admitted  at  once  to  the 
bar.  From  18S4  until  1887  he  held  a  prize 
fellowship  at  Columbia  University.  On 
being  admitted  to  the  bar,  he  became  a 
clerk  in  the  office  of  his  former  preceptors, 
Chamberlain,  Carter  &  Hornblower,  re- 
maining as  such  until  1888,  when  he  be- 
came a  member  of  the  firm  of  Carter, 
Hughes  &  Cravath,  afterward  Carter, 
Hughes  &  Dwight.  He  served  Cornell 
University  as  Professor  of  Law,  1891-93, 
and  as  special  lecturer,  1893-95 ;  and  the 
New  York  Law  School  as  special  lecturer 
on  general  assignments  and  bankruptcy, 
1893-1900.  In  1905-06  he  was  counsel  for 
the  Armstrong  Insurance  Commission  of 
the  New  York  Legislature ;  and  special 
assistant  to  the  United  States  Attorney 
General  in  the  coal  investigations. 

The  public  career  of  Judge  Hughes  may 
be  dated  from  1905,  when  he  received  the 
Republican  nomination  for  the  mayoralty 
of  New  York  City,  but  which  he  declined. 
In  1906  he  was  elected  Governor  of  the 
State,  and  was  reelected  in  1908,  resign- 
ing in  September  of  1910  to  take  his  seat 
as  Associate  Justice  of  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court,  under  appointment  by 
President  Taft.  As  Governor  he  stead- 
fastly adhered  to  "the  highest  administra- 
tive standards,"  and  effected  many  salu- 
tary changes  in  relation  to  railroads, 
street  railways,  gas  and  electrical  com- 
panies. He  made  strenuous  efforts  to 
procure  legislation  providing  for  a  system 
of  direct  nominations  for  elective  offices, 
in  which  he  was  several  times  defeated. 
He  succeeded,  however,  in  securing  the 
passage  of  an  act  for  the  enforcement  of 
the  constitutional  prohibition  of  race- 
track gambling,  but  only  after  long  delay 
and  in  the  face  of  bitter  opposition.  In 
his  last  appeal  to  the  Legislature,  at  the 
session  in  which  the  measure  was  passed, 
he  said :    "The  issue  has  been  clearly  pre- 


sented whether  the  interests  of  those  who 
wish  to  maintain  gambling  privileges  at 
race  tracks  shall  be  considered  paramount 
to  the  constitution  of  the  State.  It  is  an 
issue  which  has  been  clearly  defined  and 
is  fully  appreciated  by  the  people.  It 
cannot  be  obscured  by  a  discussion  of  the 
propensities  of  human  nature.  Race-track 
gambling  exists,  not  because  it  is  hidden 
or  elusive,  but  as  an  organized  business 
shielded  by  legislative  discrimination. 
The  law  which  professes  to  prohibit  it,  in 
fact  [protects  it."  Early  in  his  administra- 
tion he  undertook  certain  reforms  in  the 
management  and  affairs  of  the  Insurance 
Department,  and  in  which  he  persisted 
until  he  left  his  high  office.  He  brought 
about  the  creation  of  a  State  Commission 
to  which  was  specially  committed  the 
construction  and  maintenance  of  public 
roads,  and  which  took  this  labor  away 
from  the  State  Engineer,  who  was  over- 
employed  in  the  engineering  operations 
on  the  great  barge  canal,  and  he  subse- 
quently procured  the  establishment  of  a 
Department  of  Highways.  He  also  took 
a  persistent  and  determined  interest  in 
the  preservation  of  forest  tracts  and  un- 
developed waterpower  streams,  and  great- 
ly increased  the  State's  forest  domain, 
and  which  included  a  one  thousand  acre 
tract  given  by  Hon.  William  P.  Letch- 
worth,  in  Wyoming  and  Livingston 
counties ;  a  twenty-five  acre  tract  at 
Crown  Point,  containing  the  ruins  of 
Fort  Frederic  and  Fort  Amherst,  from 
Witherbee  Sherman  &  Company :  and  a 
ten  thousand  acre  tract  in  Orange  and 
Rockland  counties,  given  by  Mary  W. 
Harriman,  in  accordance  with  the  wishes 
of  her  deceased  husband,  Edward  H.  Har- 
riman. LTntil  he  left  his  chair,  Governor 
Hughes  industriously  and  persistently 
followed  up  a  policy  of  improvement  and 
retrenchment ;  also  steadily  insisting  upon 
honesty  and  efficiency  in  all  of  the  various 
departments  of  the  State  government. 


^^-tn^ 


^  /^Cc^^A^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Early  in  the  year  1916  it  became  evident 
that  a  very  large  element  in  the  Repub- 
lican party  looked  upon  him  as  its  most 
desirable  candidate  for  the  presidential 
nomination.  Seated  as  he  was,  upon  the 
bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  his  position  was  most  delicate. 
He  maintained  a  most  dignified  silence, 
and  even  the  close  friends  who  presented 
his  name  in  the  convention,  could  give  no 
assurance  that  he  would  accept,  and  he 
only  broke  silence  when  his  nomination 
was  actually  made,  when  he  at  once  for- 
warded to  President  Wilson  his  resigna- 
tion as  an  Associate  Justice  of  the  Su- 
preme Court,  and  which  was  instantly 
accepted. 

Judge  Hughes  is  a  fellow  of  Brown 
University ;  a  trustee  of  the  University  of 
Chicago ;  and  a  member  of  the  American 
Bar  Association,  the  New  York  State 
Bar  Association,  the  Association  of  the 
Bar  of  the  City  of  New  York ;  and  of  the 
following  clubs :  The  University,  Union 
League,  Lawyers,  Brown,  Nassau  Coun- 
try ;  and  of  the  Delta  Upsilon  fraternity. 
He  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws 
from  Brown  University  in  1906,  from  Co- 
lumbia, Knox  and  Lafayette  in  1907,  from 
Union  and  Colgate  in  1908,  from  George 
Washington  in  1909,  and  from  Williams, 
Harvard  and  the  University  of  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1910.  He  married,  December  5, 
1888,  Antoinette  Carter. 


MORTON,  Levi  Parsons, 

Financier,  Statesman,  Diplomatist. 

Levi  Parsons  Morton  was  born  at 
Shoreham,  Vermont,  May  16,  1824.  He 
is  a  descendant  of  George  Alorton,  of 
York,  England,  who  was  the  financial 
agent  of  the  Mayflower  Puritans  in  Lon- 
don, and  came  over  in  the  ship  "Ann" 
(arriving  at  Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  in 
1623),  and  settled  at  Middleboro,  Plym- 
outh   county,    Massachusetts,    where    his 


descendants  have  resided  until  the  pres- 
ent time.  John,  the  son  of  George,  was 
the  first  delegate  to  represent  Middleboro 
in  the  General  Court  at  Plymouth  in 
1670,  and  he  was  again  chosen  in  1672. 
Levi  Parsons  Morton  is  the  son  of  Rev. 
Daniel  Oliver  Morton  and  Lucretia  (Par- 
sons) Morton.  His  mother  was  a  descend- 
ant of  Cornet  Joseph  Parsons,  the  father 
of  the  first  child  born  at  Northampton, 
Massachusetts  (May  2,  1655),  his  title 
of  cornet  indicating  his  position  in  a 
cavalry  troop  (the  third  officer  in  rank) 
and  the  bearer  of  the  colors. 

Mr.  Morton  received  a  public  school 
education  and  graduated  from  Shoreham 
Academy.  He  entered  a  country  store  at 
Enfield,  Massachusetts,  at  fifteen  years, 
commenced  mercantile  business  at  Han- 
over, New  Hampshire,  in  1843,  removed 
to  Boston  in  1850  and  to  New  York  in 
1854,  and  was  extensively  engaged  in 
mercantile  business  in  both  cities  until 
1863  when  he  entered  upon  his  career  as 
a  banker  in  New  York  City  under  the 
name  of  L.  P.  Morton  &  Company.  Soon 
after  this  time  a  foreign  branch  was  estab- 
lished under  the  firm  name  of  L.  P.  Mor- 
ton, Burns  &  Co.  In  1869  the  firm  was 
dissolved  and  reorganized  under  the 
names  of  Morton,  Bliss  &  Co.,  New  York, 
and  Morton,  Rose  &  Co.,  London,  Mr. 
George  Bliss  entering  the  New  York  firm, 
and  Sir  John  Rose,  then  finance  minister 
of  Canada,  going  to  London  to  join  the 
English  house.  The  London  firm  of  Mor- 
ton. Rose  &  Co.  was  appointed  financial 
agent  of  the  United  States  government 
in  1873.  Later  the  Morton  Trust  Co.  of 
New  York,  of  which  he  was  president, 
was  established  with  offices  at  140  Broad- 
way. Mr.  Morton  was  appointed  by  the 
President  honorary  commissioner  to  the 
Paris  Exposition. 

He  began  his  political  career  by  the 
election  to  Congress  as  a  Republican 
from  the  Eleventh  District  of  New  York 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


(which  had  been  Democratic  previously), 
receiving  14,078  votes  against  7,060  votes 
for  Benjamin  A.  Willis,  and  was  reelected 
to  the  Forty-seventh  Congress  in  1880  by 
an  increased  vote  over  James  W.  Gerard, 
Jr.  He  was  nominated  as  Minister  to 
France  by  President  Garfield  in  March, 
1881,  and  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Forty- 
seventh  Congress  to  accept  the  appoint- 
ment. He  presented  his  credentials  as 
Minister  to  France  to  President  Grevy 
on  August  1st,  1881,  and  resigned  his 
office  after  the  inauguration  of  President 
Cleveland  in  1885,  returning  to  New  York 
in  July  of  that  year.  During  his  residence 
in  France  he  secured  from  the  French 
government  the  official  decree  which  was 
published  November  27,  1883,  revoking 
the  prohibition  of  American  pork  prod- 
ucts, but  the  prohibitory  decree  was 
subsequently  renewed.  He  also  secured 
the  recognition  of  American  financial 
and  commercial  corporations  in  France. 
He  drove  the  first  rivet  in  the  Bar- 
tholdi  statue  of  "Liberty  Enlightening 
the  World,"  and  on  July  4th,  1884,  he 
accepted  the  completed  statue  on  behalf 
of  his  government.  He  was  a  prominent 
candidate  for  United  States  Senate  in  the 
Republican  legislative  caucuses  of  1885 
and  1887,  but  after  spirited  canvasses 
in  each  case  the  great  political  prize  fell 
into  other  hands.  He  was  nominated  for 
Vice-President  of  the  United  States  by 
the  Republican  National  Convention,  in 
1888,  receiving  591  votes  as  against  234  for 
all  other  candidates.  He  proved  a  model 
presiding  officer  of  the  Senate,  filling  the 
position  with  a  dignity  and  fairness  that 
gained  for  him  the  esteem  of  all,  without 
regard  to  party  distinctions,  even  at  a 
time  when  questions  of  party  politics 
were  most  earnestly  discussed. 

In  1894,  Mr.  Morton  was  elected  gov- 
ernor of  New  York  by  a  phenomenally 
heavy  majority.  His  long  experience  as 
a   merchant   and   banker,   his   familiarity 


with  great  financial  problems,  his  work 
in  Congress,  his  successful  diplomatic  ex- 
perience and  service  as  vice-president  had 
made  him  a  conspicuous  figure  in  public 
afifairs,  and  amply  qualified  him  for  the 
gubernatorial  office.  His  election  was  co- 
incident with  the  approval  by  the  people 
of  the  fourth  constitution,  which  went 
into  effect  on  the  first  of  January,  1895, 
the  day  of  his  inauguration.  It  heralded 
also  executive  control  of  the  State  by  the 
Republicans  for  sixteen  years,  which 
prior  thereto  had  been  in  Democratic 
hands  for  twelve  years.  In  his  inaugural 
address  Governor  Morton  discussed  at 
length  the  relations  of  the  executive  and 
legislative  departments  to  each  other,  de- 
claring that  "the  Governor  should  never 
interfere  with  the  work  of  the  Legisla- 
ture beyond  the  precise  line  which  his 
constitutional  duty  and  obligation  war- 
ranted. He  used  the  veto  prerogative 
sparingly,  vetoing  only  four  bills  in  1895, 
and  none  in  1896.  However,  in  several 
instances  wherein  he  disapproved  a  bill, 
he  would  convey  his  objections  to  its 
author,  and  in  such  cases  the  bill  was 
usually  withdrawn,  and  returned  in  such 
form  as  to  command  his  approval.  His 
tasks  were  arduous.  While  the  new  con- 
stitution was  in  large  degree  self-execut- 
ing, much  legislation  was  necessary  with 
reference  to  the  drainage  of  agricultural 
lands,  damages  for  injuries  resulting  in 
death,  pool  selling  and  book  making, 
prison  labor,  the  civil  service,  the  judici- 
ary, forest  preservation,  canal  improve- 
ment. State  boards  and  commissions, 
charitable  institutions,  education,  the 
militia,  and  others.  Under  the  new  con- 
stitution, several  new  boards  were 
created — of  Charities,  of  State  Prison  and 
of  Lunacy.  Much  labor  was  made  neces- 
sary to  provide  for  the  submittal  of  stat- 
utes relating  to  cities,  to  the  cities  af- 
fected thereby,  principally  with  reference 
to  New  York  City  and  Brooklyn.    Under 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  administration  of  Governor  Morton 
was  created  Greater  New  York,  by  the 
consolidation  of  the  city  of  New  York, 
Brooklyn,  and  Long  Island  City,  and 
which  was  attended  with  much  acri- 
monious discussion.  As  the  result  of 
much  executive  and  legislative  considera- 
tion, a  new  effect  was  given  to  excise 
legislation,  establishing  a  more  system- 
atic control  of  the  liquor  traffic,  and  a 
considerable  reduction  in  the  number  of 
dram  shops.  The  National  Guard  was 
placed  upon  a  more  efficient  footing  as 
to  organization,  arming  and  equipment. 
These  enumerations  comprise  but  a  small 
portion  of  the  accomplishments  of  this 
administration. 

On  his  retirement  from  the  guberna- 
torial office,  Governor  Morton  returned 
to  the  conduct  of  his  important  business 
interests  which,  in  addition  to  his  im- 
mediate financial  holdings  included  di- 
rectorate duties  in  the  Equitable  Life  As- 
surance Company,  the  Home  Insurance 
Company,  the  National  Bank  of  Com- 
merce, the  Guaranty  Trust  Company,  the 
Industrial  Trust  Company  of  Providence, 
and  the  Newport  Trust  Company.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Sons  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, the  Society  of  Mayflower  Descend- 
ants, the  New  England  Society,  and  the 
following  clubs :  Metropolitan,  Union 
League,  Lawyers,  Republican  and  Down- 
town. Governor  Morton  received  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  Dart- 
mouth College  in  1881  and  from  Middle- 
bury  in  1882.  He  retired  from  active 
business  pursuits  some  years  since  and 
spends  the  major  portion  of  his  time  with 
his  family  upon  his  magnificent  estate 
"Ellerslie,"  (of  one  thousand  acres)  at 
Rhineclifif-on-the-Hudson.  He  married 
(first)  Lucy  Kimball,  who  died  in  1871 ; 
and  (second)  Anna  Livingston  Street; 
and  of  the  latter  marriage  five  daughters 
have  been  born :  Edith  Livingston,  Lena, 
Helen,  Alice  and  Mary. 


Governor  Morton  has  been  a  consistent 
Republican  from  the  first,  ardently  loyal 
to  the  Union  in  its  days  of  peril ;  and 
singularly  free  from  factional  entangle- 
ments which  have  plagued  his  party  in 
the  State ;  and,  therefore  singularly  avail- 
able for  public  preferments  in  its  power 
to  bestow.  In  office  he  has  been  distin- 
guished for  executive  ability,  prudent  ad- 
ministration and  courteous  demeanor, 
exceedingly  modest  in  his  bearing,  yet 
with  self-possession  and  graciousness 
combining  in  a  charming  personality.  He 
has  long  been  a  member  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  communion,  constant  to  it 
alike  in  his  devotion  and  beneficences, 
while  his  many  public  and  private  philan- 
thropies have  been  as  generously  as 
quietly  bestowed. 


FAIRCHILD,  Charles   Stebbins, 
Financier,  Cabinet  OfSdal. 

Charles  Stebbins  Fairchild,  distin- 
guished lawyer,  and  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  in  the  cabinet  of  President 
Cleveland,  was  born  in  Cazenovia,  New 
York,  April  30,  1842,  son  of  Sidney  T.  and 
Helen  (Childs)  Fairchild.  His  father  was 
a  lawyer  of  marked  ability,  and  for  many 
years  was  attorney  for  the  New  York 
Central  railroad. 

Charles  Stebbins  Fairchild  began  his 
education  in  the  common  schools,  then 
preparing  for  college  at  the  Oneida  Con- 
ference Seminary  at  Cazenovia.  He 
entered  Harvard  College  in  his  seven- 
teenth year,  and  was  graduated  in  the 
year  he  attained  his  majority.  For  two 
years  following  he  was  a  student  in  the 
Harvard  Law  School,  and,  having  com- 
pleted the  prescribed  course,  received  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws  in  1865.  Lo- 
cating in  Albany,  New  York,  he  com- 
pleted the  usual  novitiate,  and  was  admit- 
ted to  the  bar  in  1866  and  entered  upon 
practice.    In  1871  he  became  a  member  of 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  law  firm  of  Swartz  &  Fairchild,  and 
continued  in  this  relation  with  marked 
success  until  1876,  when  he  withdrew,  on 
account  of  official  duties.  In  1874  he  had 
been  made  a  deputy  under  the  Attorney- 
General  of  the  State  of  New  York,  in 
which  position  he  displayed  such  ability 
that  he  came  to  be  recognized  as  the 
right  arm  of  his  superior,  rendering  espe- 
cially useful  service  in  the  case  of  the 
People  vs.  Gardner  and  Charlick,  the  New 
York  police  commissioners,  and  in  those 
growing  out  of  the  reports  of  the  Canal 
Investigation  Commission.  In  the  Demo- 
cratic State  Convention  in  1875  his  con- 
duct had  so  commended  him  that  he  was 
made  the  nominee  for  the  Attorney- 
Generalship  by  acclamation,  and  at  the 
following  election  he  was  elected  by  a 
majority  of  23,302  over  his  Republican 
competitor.  In  addition  to  the  duties  of 
that  office,  he  was  ex  officio  a  commis- 
sioner of  the  Land  Office  and  of  the  Canal 
Fund,  a  member  of  the  Canal  Board  and 
of  the  Board  of  State  Charities,  and  a 
trustee  of  the  State  Capitol  and  of  the 
State  Hall.  On  retiring  from  his  office 
in  1878,  Mr.  Fairchild  visited  Europe, 
where  he  remained  for  two  years,  and  on 
his  return  took  up  his  residence  in  New 
York  City  and  engaged  in  the  practice 
of  his  profession. 

In  1885  President  Cleveland  called  Mr. 
Fairchild  to  his  cabinet  as  Assistant  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury.  During  his  two 
years  occupancy  of  this  position,  he  was 
frequently  called  upon  to  represent  Sec- 
retary Daniel  Manning,  as  acting  secre- 
tary ;  and  when  Mr.  Manning  was  obliged 
by  ill  health  to  resign  his  portfolio  (April 
I,  1887),  President  Cleveland  at  once  ap- 
pointed Mr.  Fairchild  to  the  place  so 
vacated.  He  remained  during  the  entire 
remainder  of  Mr.  Cleveland's  administra- 
tion, and  then  returned  to  New  York 
City  and  gave  his  attention  to  financial 
affairs,  entering  at  once  upon  the  presi- 


dency of  the  New  York  Security  &  Trust 
Company,  and  which  position  he  occupied 
until  1905.  He  is  at  present  president  of 
the  Atlanta  &  Charlotte  Air  Line  Rail- 
road Company,  and  of  the  Birkbeck  In- 
vestment Savings  &  Loan  Company  of 
America ;  and  a  director  of  the  Lawyers' 
Mortgage  Company,  and  of  the  Erie  & 
Pittsburgh  Railroad  Company.  Through- 
out his  career  he  has  taken  a  lively  inter- 
est in  economic  affairs,  and  has  been  a 
most  useful  member  of  various  reform 
organizations  and  bodies  akin  thereto. 
He  is  an  ex-president  and  ex-treasurer 
of  the  State  Charities  Aid  Association ; 
vice-president  of  the  Charity  Organiza- 
tion Society  of  New  York ;  and  was  for 
several  years  president  of  the  Reform 
Club.  An  able  speaker  and  a  logical 
reasoner,  he  is  frequently  called  upon  to 
address  important  public  assemblages. 
The  trend  of  his  thought  and  an  index  to 
his  interest  in  economic  affairs  is  dis- 
cerned in  his  utterance  in  September, 
1889,  before  the  Harlem  Branch  of  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
when,  in  discussing  certain  social  prob- 
lems pertaining  to  large  cities,  he  said : 
"The  city  is  the  heel  of  our  American 
Achilles — the  place  where  our  popular 
government  may  be  wounded  to  its  de- 
struction." He  was  a  steadfast  upholder  of 
a  sound  money  policy  at  the  time  when  his 
party  was  disrupted  by  the  silver  move- 
ment, and  he  was  one  of  the  strongest 
figures  in  the  Monetary  Commission  of 
1897.  He  is  a  member  of  the  following 
clubs — University,  Harvard,  Reform, 
Metropolitan  of  Washington,  Ardsley, 
Garden  City  Golf,  and  Golf  Links  of 
America  ;  and  of  the  Delta  Kappa  Epsilon, 
Alpha  Delta  Phi  and  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
fraternities.  He  received  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Laws  from  Columbian  and 
Harvard  universities  in  1888.  He  married 
Helen  Lincklaen.  of  Cazenovia,  New 
York,  where  is  his  residence. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


JAMES,  Thomas  L., 

Journalist,   Banker,   Public   Official. 

Thomas  Lemuel  James,  whose  brilliant 
career  was  principally  useful  in  his 
wonderful  development  of  the  national 
postal  service,  was  born  in  Utica,  Oneida 
county,  New  York,  March  29,  1831,  the 
son  of  William  and  Jane  Maria  (Pria) 
James.  Up  to  the  age  of  fifteen  he  at- 
tended the  public  schools  of  Utica,  where 
he  was  recognized  as  a  bright,  vivacious 
boy,  quite  as  faithful  to  his  studies  as  any 
of  his  young  companions,  yet  gaining  the 
afifections  of  those  with  whom  he  was 
brought  in  contact  by  his  amicable  and 
attractive  nature.  When  he  was  fifteen 
years  of  age  he  left  school  and  was  ap- 
prenticed for  five  years  to  Wesley  Bailey, 
a  printer  of  Utica,  who  was  the  father  of 
E.  Prentiss  Bailey,  editor  and  publisher 
of  the  Utica  "Observer."  At  the  age  of 
twenty  he  became  a  partner  of  Francis 
B.  Fisher  in  publishing  the  "Madison 
County  Journal,"  at  Hamilton,  Madison 
county.  New  York,  where  he  went  to 
reside.  This  was  an  important  period 
in  politics — the  closing  up  of  the  old  and 
the  beginning  of  the  new  regime.  The 
paper  was  of  Whig  proclivity.  Mr. 
James  showed  himself  to  be  an  enthusi- 
astic, energetic,  yet  judicious  young 
editor,  and  speedily  made  an  impression 
upon  the  community.  In  1852  Mr.  James 
was  married  to  Emily  L  Freeburn.  In 
1854  he  was  appointed  canal  collector  at 
Hamilton,  New  York,  a  position  which  he 
held  for  two  years.  In  1856  the  "Madison 
County  Journal"  was  united  with  the 
"Democratic  Reflector,"  under  the  name 
of  the  "Democratic  Republican."  But 
small  localities  in  the  interior  of  the  State 
were  not  stirring  enough,  or  of  sufficient 
importance,  to  very  long  hold  a  man  of 
the  calibre  of  Mr.  James,  and  in  1861  he 
went  to  the  metropolis,  where  Hiram 
Barney,  at  that  time  collector  of  the  port, 


appointed  him  inspector.  From  this  he 
was  soon  promoted  to  the  position  of 
weigher  of  teas  in  the  warehouse  depart- 
ment, and  when  Thomas  Murphy  became 
collector  he  made  Mr.  James  deputy  col- 
lector of  the  third  (warehouse)  division, 
where  he  remained  under  the  administra- 
tion of  Chester  A.  Arthur,  who  succeeded 
Murphy  as  collector  of  the  port.  In  what- 
ever position  he  had  been  up  to  this  time, 
Mr.  James  had  made  for  himself  friends 
among  the  most  influential  men  in  polit- 
ical and  business  life,  and  so  it  happened 
that,  when  President  Grant  was  making 
up  his  mind  as  to  whom  he  should  give 
the  important  position  of  postmaster  of 
New  York,  he  found  that  the  general 
tendency  of  suggestion  and  advice  pointed 
to  Mr.  James.  The  habits  of  the  latter 
had  been  formed  on  such  a  methodical 
foundation,  and  he  was  so  exact  in  his 
work,  and  so  rapid  in  the  conception  and 
execution  of  his  plans,  that  his  value  as 
a  public  officer  could  hardly  be  over- 
estimated. Appointed  postmaster  at  New 
York,  March  17,  1873,  he  found  the  ofifice 
in  a  condition  which  showed  clearly  the 
necessity  for  reorganization,  and,  in  many 
instances,  for  an  entirely  new  arrange- 
ment for  the  delivery  of  the  mails  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  enormous  and  growing 
business  interests  of  the  metropolis.  A 
very  brief  study  of  the  situation  informed 
the  new  postmaster  of  the  direction  in 
which  improvements  could  be  made,  and 
he  set  himself  about  making  them  with 
such  zeal  and  efficiency  that  the  New 
York  office  presently  became  a  model  for 
all  others  in  the  country.  The  election  of 
President  Hayes  brought  about  new  ap- 
pointments in  New  York,  and  while  the 
names  of  gentlemen  to  succeed  General 
Arthur  as  collector  and  Mr.  Cornell  as 
naval  officer  were  pending  in  the  Senate 
committee  on  commerce,  on  account  of 
the  aggressive  opposition  of  Mr.  Conkling 
and    other    anti-administration    Senators, 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  collectorship  of  the  port  of  New  York 
was  offered  to  Mr.  James,  but  declined. 
In  the  meantime  Mr.  James  had  been  re- 
appointed postmaster  by  President  Hayes, 
and,  his  services  having  been  recognized 
as  marking  a  new  era  in  postal  administra- 
tion, he  naturally  felt  disinclined  to  ex- 
change that  position  for  any  other  while 
he  still  had  in  regard  to  it  important 
plans  to  carry  out.  Besides  this,  having 
been  General  Arthur's  deputy,  he  could 
not  consent  to  supersede  him.  In  1880 
Postmaster-General  Key  was  transferred 
to  a  circuit  judgeship  of  the  United  States 
Court,  and  the  vacant  cabinet  position 
was  offered  to  Postmaster  James,  but 
declined.  During  the  same  year  the  Re- 
publicans offered  him  the  nomination  for 
mayor  of  New  York,  but  this  honor  he 
also  declined.  Finally,  however,  when 
President  Garfield  announced  his  cabinet 
on  March  5,  1881,  there  was  general  re- 
joicing in  both  parties  when  it  was  seen 
that  Mr.  James  had  been  appointed  Post- 
master-General. His  new  office  was,  he 
soon  found,  full  of  difficulties.  The  de- 
partment of  the  Second  Assistant  Post- 
master-General offered  for  investigation 
the  scandalous  condition  of  the  "star 
route"  and  steamboat  mail  contracts, 
which  it  was  evident  had  been  dishonest- 
ly manipulated,  with  the  result  of  the  rob- 
bery of  the  government  of  large  sums. 
It  was  expected  by  the  people,  and  justly 
expected,  that  Postmaster-General  James 
would  make  such  an  examination  of  his 
office  as  would  expose  the  guilty  parties, 
and  break  up  the  existing  wrong-doing. 
The  opposition  to  such  action  on  his  part, 
however,  was  prolonged,  powerful  and 
bitter.  It  included  the  persistent  antago- 
nism of  his  personal  and  political  enemies, 
and  even  of  some  who  had  been  his 
friends.  Newspapers  were  subsidized  at 
the  capital  and  in  other  cities  to  attack 
the  Postmaster-General  and  his  assistants 
in  the  most    determined  and    obnoxious 


manner,  but  none  of  these  affected  Mr. 
James  in  the  way  of  causing  him  to  lessen 
his  efforts  to  break  up  the  nest  of  dis- 
honest officials,  whose  nefarious  work 
was  speedily  laid  bare  before  him.  The 
dishonest  mail  routes  were  cut  off,  faith- 
less employees  were  dismissed,  and  the 
general  tone  of  the  service  was  strength- 
ened and  improved.  He  had  been  met  on 
his  entrance  into  office  by  the  fact  of  an 
annual  deficit  of  $2,000,000,  which  had 
varied  in  amount  every  year  from  1865, 
and,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  from 
1851.  The  reductions  which  he  made  in 
the  star  route  service  and  the  steamboat 
service  amounted  to  over  $2,000,000,  while 
his  thorough  investigation  into  the  abuses 
and  frauds  of  the  post-office  resulted  in 
the  famous  star  route  trials,  and  revealed 
the  scandals  which  had  existed  in  that 
service  prior  to  his  assuming  charge  of  it. 
Applying  as  far  as  it  was  practicable,  the 
civil  service  methods  which  had  been  in 
operation  in  the  New  York  post-office  to 
his  new  field  of  operations,  the  postal 
service  was  made  self-sustaining  up  to 
the  time  when  the  rate  of  postage  was 
reduced  by  act  of  Congress.  After  the 
deplorable  event  of  the  assassination  of 
President  Garfield  and  the  assumption  of 
the  presidential  chair  by  General  Arthur, 
Mr.  James  was  reappointed  by  the  latter 
to  the  position  of  Postmaster-General. 
But  the  political  conditions  rendered  it 
desirable  for  him  to  go  out  of  the  public 
service,  and  he  accordingly  resigned  his 
portfolio  to  become  president  of  the  Lin- 
coln National  Bank,  then  just  organized 
in  New  York  City,  and  where  he  assumed 
office  in  January,  1882.  Combined  with 
the  bank  was  the  Lincoln  Safe  Deposit 
Company,  of  which  Mr.  James  became 
also  president,  and  both  these  institutions, 
under  his  shrewd  business  management, 
and  greatly  on  account  of  his  own  per- 
sonal popularity,  grew  to  be  thoroughly 
successful.     Genial  in  his  manner,  quick 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  appreciative  in  his  understanding,  the 
social  position  of  Mr.  James  matches  his 
official  standing.  He  has  friends  innumer- 
able ;  indeed,  no  one  who  is  brought  in 
close  or  continued  contact  with  him  fails 
to  become  his  friend.  Mr.  James  holds 
the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts,  con- 
fered  upon  him  by  Hamilton  College, 
Clinton,  New  York,  in  1862,  and  that  of 
Doctor  of  Laws,  from  Madison  Univer- 
sity, in  1882.  St.  John's  College,  at  Ford- 
ham,  New  York,  also  conferred  upon  him 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws. 


BUTLER,  Nicholas  Murray, 
Educator,  Fnblicist. 

Nicholas  Murray  Butler  was  born  in 
Elizabeth,  New  Jersey,  April  2,  1862,  son 
of  Henry  L.  and  Mary  J.  (Murray) 
Butler,  the  former  named  president  of 
the  Board  of  Education  of  Elizabeth  for 
many  years.  He  attended  the  schools  of 
his  birthplace  until  he  was  sixteen  years 
of  age,  when  he  entered  Columbia  Col- 
lege, New  York  City,  from  which  institu- 
tion he  received  the  degrees  of  Bachelor 
of  Arts,  1882,  Master  of  Arts,  1883,  Doctor 
of  Philosophy,  1884.  In  1884  he  visited 
Europe,  and  continued  his  studies  at  the 
universities  of  Berlin  and  Paris,  and  at 
the  former  named  institution  he  formed  a 
strong  friendship  with  Professor  Paulsen, 
the  foremost  living  philosopher  of  Ger- 
many, and  this  association  proved  bene- 
ficial in  determining  the  lifework  of  Dr. 
Butler.  He  returned  to  his  native  land 
in  1886,  and  then  entered  upon  a  career 
that  had  been  in  his  mind  for  many 
years,  that  of  an  educator,  and  he  accepted 
the  position  of  instructor  in  philosophy 
in  Columbia  College,  acting  as  such  until 
1889.  In  that  year  he  became  adjunct 
professor,  and  in  the  following  year  was 
made  full  professor  of  philosophy,  ethics 
and  psychology,  and  lecturer  on  the  his- 
tory and  institutes  of  education.     In  the 


same  year  he  was  elected  dean  of  the 
faculty  of  philosophy  for  a  term  of  five 
years,  and  reelected  at  its  expiration.  In 
addition  to  his  duties  in  Columbia  Col- 
lege, which  were  numerous  and  varied. 
Dr.  Butler  devoted  considerable  time  to 
the  study  of  educational  systems.  State 
and  city,  to  statistical  reports  and  official 
documents,  and  he  served  in  the  capacity 
of  president  of  Barnard  College;  first 
president  of  the  New  York  College  for 
the  Training  of  Teachers,  now  Teachers' 
College,  of  Columbia  College,  where,  in 
the  Horace  Mann  School  of  Practice,  he 
had  an  opportunity  to  test  his  theories 
by  experiments,  serving  from  1886  to 
1891 ;  member  of  the  State  Board  of 
Education  from  1887  to  1895,  and  was 
instrumental  in  bringing  about  the  educa- 
tional revolution  in  his  State  which  sub- 
stituted the  town  for  the  district  system 
of  administration ;  president  of  the  Pater- 
son  Board  of  Education,  1892-93,  where 
he  acquired  a  thoroughly  practical  ac- 
quaintance with  the  working  of  a  city 
system  of  schools.  In  1894  he  became 
university  examiner  in  education  for  the 
State  of  New  York.  Since  1902  he  has 
been  president  of  Columbia  University, 
including  also  the  presidency  of  Barnard 
College,  Teachers'  College,  and  the  Col- 
lege of  Pharmacy. 

Dr.  Butler  has  also  achieved  success  in 
the  literature  of  his  profession.  In  1891 
he  founded  the  "Educational  Review," 
probably  the  foremost  educational  maga- 
zine in  the  world,  which  he  edited  with 
great  ability,  and  he  is  also  the  editor  of 
the  "Great  Educators"  series,  and  of  the 
"Teachers'  Professional  Library,"  as  well 
as  of  the  "Columbia  University  Contri- 
butions" to  philosophy,  psychology  and 
education.  In  1889  he  was  the  New  Jer- 
sey-commissioner to  the  Paris  Exposi- 
tion ;  delegate  to  the  Republican  National 
conventions  of  1888,  1904,  1912;  chairman 
of  the  New  York  Republican  Convention,. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


191 2;  received  the  Republican  electoral 
vote  for  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States,  1913.  He  was  chairman  of  the 
administrative  board  of  the  International 
Congress  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  St.  Louis 
Exposition,  1904;  chairman  of  the  Lake 
Mohonk  Conferences  on  International 
Arbitration,  1907-09-10-11-12 ;  president 
of  the  American  branch  of  Conciliation 
Internationale ;  trustee  of  Carnegie 
Foundation  Advancement  of  Teaching, 
Carnegie  Endowment  for  International 
Peace ;  governor  of  the  Society  of  the 
Lying-in-Hospital ;  trustee  of  the  Colum- 
bia University  Press  and  the  American 
Academy  in  Rome ;  chairman  of  the  Col- 
lege Entrance  Examination  Board,  Officier 
de  Legion  d'Honneur,  1906,  and  com- 
mandeur,  1912;  commander  of  the  Order 
of  Red  Eagle  (with  Star)  of  Prussia, 
1910. 

Dr.  Butler  is  a  member  of  the  National 
Educational  Association,  of  which  he  was 
elected  president  in  1894;  of  the  Amer- 
ican Academy  of  Arts  and  Letters,  the 
Pilgrims,  the  American  Philosophical  So- 
ciety, American  Psychological  Associ- 
ation, New  England  Association,  Amer- 
ican Historical  Association  (life),  New 
York  Historical  Society  (life),  German- 
istic  Society,  American  Scandinavian  So- 
ciety, University  Settlement  Society,  Na- 
tional Red  Cross  (life).  National  Council 
of  Education,  New  York  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  American  Society  of  Interna- 
tional Law,  and  the  Century,  Church, 
Metropolitan,  University,  Barnard,  Co- 
lumbia University,  Authors,  Garden  City 
Golf  and  Ardsley  clubs.  He  is  the  author 
of:  "The  Meaning  of  Education,"  "True 
and  False  Democracy,"  "The  American  as 
He  Is,"  "Philosophy,"  "Why  Should  We 
Change  Our  Form  of  Government,"  "The 
International  Mind,"  and  "Education  in 
the  United  States,"  and  various  other 
works.  Dr.  Butler  is  a  man  of  great  natural 
force  and  of  high  attainments,  and  as  a 


writer  and  speaker  he  is  clear,  forcible,  con- 
cise, and  he  possesses  in  an  extraordinary 
degree  that  power  of  exposition  which  con- 
vinces friends  and  confounds  opponents. 
Dr.  Butler  received  the  honorary  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  Syracuse,  1898, 
Tulane,  1901,  Johns  Hopkins,  Princeton, 
University  of  Pennsylvania  and  Yale, 
1902,  Unversity  of  Chicago,  1903,  St.  An- 
drews and  Manchester,  1905,  Cambridge, 
1907,  Williams,  1908,  Harvard  and  Dart- 
mouth, 1909,  and  University  of  Breslau, 
191 1,  and  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Litera- 
ture from  the  University  of  Oxford,  1905. 
Dr.  Butler  married  (first)  February  7, 
1887,  Susanna  Edwards  Schuyler,  daugh- 
ter of  J.  Rutsen  Schuyler,  of  Bergen 
Point,  New  Jersey,  and  they  were  the 
parents  of  one  daughter.  Mrs.  Butler 
died  January  10,  1903.  Dr.  Butler  mar- 
ried (second)  March  5,  1907,  Kate  La 
Montague. 


ODELL,  Benjamin  B.,  Jr., 

Congressman,  GoTemor. 

Benjamin  Barker  Odell,  Jr.,  who  as  the 
thirty-seventh  Governor  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  labored  arduously  and  suc- 
cessfully for  an  economical  administra- 
tion of  the  public  aflfairs,  was  born  in 
Newburgh,  New  York,  January  14,  1854, 
son  of  the  Hon.  Benjamin  Barker  and 
Ophelia  (Bookstaver)  Odell.  His  father, 
but  recently  dead,  was  a  man  of  ability, 
and  occupied  various  important  public 
positions. 

The  future  governor  passed  from  the 
public  schools  of  Newburgh  to  Bethany 
(West  Virginia)  College,  and  later  to 
Columbia  University  (1873-75),  and  from 
which  he  received  the  LL.  D.  degree  in 
1903.  He  was  for  some  years  engaged 
in  banking,  electric  lighting  and  commer- 
cial enterprises  at  Newburgh,  and  served 
as  a  director  in  the  Central  Hudson 
Steamboat  Company  of  New  York,  and 


^  ^'Q^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


president  of  the  Newburgh  Chamber  of 
Commerce.  From  his  early  voting  years 
he  took  an  active  interest  in  political 
affairs.  From  1884  to  1896  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Republican  State  Committee, 
and  chairman  of  the  Republican  State 
Executive  Committee  from  1898  to  1900. 
A  steadfast  Republican,  he  was  elected 
to  the  Fifty-fourth  Congress,  and  was  re- 
elected, serving  from  March  4,  1895,  to 
March  3,  1899,  having  declined  the  renom- 
ination  for  a  third  term. 

In  1900,  when  not  yet  forty-seven  years 
of  age,  he  was  elected  Governor  and  was 
reelected  in  1902.  In  his  inaugural 
address  the  following  January,  he  de- 
clared his  policy  to  be  the  conduct  of  the 
business  affairs  of  the  State  "with  econ- 
omy and  good  judgment,  and  that  the 
burdens  of  taxation  should  be  so  adjusted 
as  to  fall  lightly  upon  those  who  can  ill 
afford  to  bear  them,  and  be  borne  more 
generously  by  those  who  have  received 
from  the  State  protection  and  rights 
which  have  been  giving  to  their  vast 
business  interests  the  success  they  de- 
serve," and  in  this  line  argued  for  the 
additional  taxation  of  corporations,  to  the 
relief  of  real  estate  owners.  He  set  an 
example  of  economy  when  he  dispensed 
with  the  "counsel  to  the  Governor,"  and 
devolved  the  work  of  that  official  upon 
the  Attorney-General.  He  effected  a  con- 
siderable lessening  of  the  burdens  of  gen- 
eral taxation,  and  the  elimination  of  un- 
necessary expenses,  at  the  same  time 
without  impairing  the  usefulness  of  any 
of  the  administrative  departments.  He 
materially  reduced  the  expenses  of  tax 
collection,  notably  in  the  items  of  inher- 
itance tax,  resulting  in  an  average  saving 
of  $150,000  per  annum.  Other  savings 
were  effected  by  the  consolidation  of 
various  bureaus  and  the  erection  of  a 
comprehensive  Department  of  Labor  in 
their  stead,  with  a  resultant  annual  saving 
of  about  $70,000.  An  expensive  State  Com- 


mission of  Prisons  was  replaced  with  a 
board  of  three  members ;  and  the  State 
Board  of  Health  gave  place  to  a  Commis- 
sioner of  Health.  Two  commissions,  the 
one  char.ged  with  the  protection  of  for- 
ests, fish  and  game,  and  the  other  with 
forest  preservation  alone,  were  consoli- 
dated into  one  department.  Legislation 
enacted  at  his  instance  resulted  in  great 
saving  in  the  item  of  printing.  Perhaps 
the  most  important  innovation  was  the 
legislation  for  the  taxation  of  trust  com- 
panies, insurance  companies  and  savings 
banks,  and  which  resulted  in  trebly  in- 
creasing the  income  from  these  sources; 
while  other  enactments  increased  liquor 
taxes  fifty  per  cent.  Another  important 
innovation  was  the  creation  of  the  office 
of  Fiscal  Supervisor  of  State  Charities. 
Good  roads  also  occupied  a  large  share  of 
Governor  Odell's  attention,  and  great  im- 
provements and  extensions  were  made 
under  the  State  Engineer. 

Governor  Odell  interposed  his  veto  in 
several  important  instances.  One  was  of 
a  bill  giving,  through  general  legislation, 
to  the  New  York  &  New  Jersey  Bridge 
Company  certain  rights  for  the  construc- 
tion of  elevated  railroad  structures  upon 
West  Street,  in  New  York  City,  along 
North  river ;  two  related  to  the  Park  ave- 
nue tunnel  in  New  York  City  and  another 
was  one  conferring  unusual  powers  upon 
a  gas  company.  Governor  Odell  while  in 
office  was  a  strict  partisan  and  an  active 
politician,  doing  all  that  he  could  honor- 
ably and  consistently  to  advance  the  in- 
terests of  his  party ;  but  his  highest  claim 
upon  the  gratitude  and  esteem  of  the  peo- 
ple are  the  financial  reforms  which  were 
consummated  during  his  administration. 
He  was  throughout  the  watch-dog  of  the 
treasury  and  to  him  are  due  the  lowering 
of  the  burdens  of  taxation,  the  elimina- 
tion of  unnecessary  or  ill-considered 
appropriations  and  the  scrupulous  regard 
for   the   economies,   without   diminishing 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  usefulness  of  any  of  the  departments 
of  government.  He  declined  a  renoraina- 
tion  in  1904,  and  has  since  devoted  him- 
self almost  exclusively  to  his  large  busi- 
ness interests.  He  married,  August  20, 
1877,  Estelle  Crist,  of  Newburgh  (died 
1888) ;  and  (second)  Mrs.  Linda  (Crist) 
Trophagen,  sister  of  his  first  wife. 


PARKER,  Alton  Brooks, 

Jurist,  Statesman. 

Hon.  Alton  Brooks  Parker,  who  was 
the  Democratic  nominee  for  the  presi- 
dency in  1904,  was  born  May  14,  1852,  at 
Cortlandt,  New  York,  son  of  John  Brooks 
and  Harriet  F.  (Stratton)  Parker.  Both 
parents  were  persons  of  more  than  ordi- 
nary intelligence  and  gentility — qualities 
which  were  reflected  in  the  son.  The 
Parker  family  was  prominent  in  Massa- 
chusetts, and  John  Parker,  paternal  great- 
grandfather of  Alton  Brooks  Parker, 
served  for  three  years  in  the  Revolution- 
ary army. 

Alton  Brooks  Parker  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  town,  the 
Cortlandt  Academy,  and  the  State  Normal 
School  at  the  same  place.  He  taught 
school  for  three  years  after  concluding  his 
studies,  and  then  engaged  in  the  study  of 
law  in  the  offices  of  Schoonmaker  &  Har- 
denbergh,  both  accomplished  lawyers,  and 
the  first  named  soon  afterward  becoming 
Attorney-General  of  the  State.  He  sub- 
sequently took  a  course  in  the  Albany 
Law  School,  from  which  he  graduated, 
and  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  on  attain- 
ing his  majority.  He  then  formed  a  law 
partnership  with  W.  S.  Kenyon,  of  Kings- 
ton, an  association  which  was  maintained 
until  1878.  Meantime  he  had  already 
entered  upon  a  public  career.  In  1877, 
at  the  age  of  twenty-five,  he  was  elected 
surrogate  of  Ulster  county,  the  youngest 
surrogate  ever  elected  in  the  county,  and 
his  popularity  is  attested  by  the  fact  that 


all  other  candidates  on  his  ticket  (the 
Democratic)  were  defeated  by  upwards  of 
a  thousand  votes.  In  1885  Governor 
David  B.  Hill  appointed  him  a  justice  of 
the  State  Supreme  Court  to  fill  a  vacancy 
occasioned  by  the  death  of  Judge  Theo- 
dore R.  Westbrook,  and  on  the  expiration 
of  the  term  he  was  elected  to  the  place 
for  the  full  fourteen  year  term,  no  Re- 
publican    candidate      being     nominated 

.  against  him.  Meantime  he  had  declined 
other  preferments — his  party  nomination 
for  Secretary  of  State,  and  for  Lieutenant- 
Governor,  and  later  the  profifer  of  the 
position  of  First  Assistant  Postmaster- 
General  by  President  Cleveland.  In  1885 
at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  many  of  the 
principal  men  of  his  party,  he  accepted 
the  chairmanship  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee of  the  Democratic  State  Commit- 
tee, and  in  this  position  exhibited  master- 
ly qualities  of  leadership  in  the  campaign 
which  resulted  in  the  election  of  David 
B.  Hill  as  Governor  in  succession  to 
Grover  Cleveland. 

In  1889,  under  a  division  of  the  courts, 
Judge  Parker  was  selected  to  serve  upon 
the  Court  of  Appeals  in  a  special  session 
— the  youngest  man  to  occupy  that  posi- 
tion. After  the  completion  of  this  work, 
the  judiciary  of  New  York  City  requested 
Governor  Flower  to  appoint  Judge 
Parker  to  sit  in  the  general  term  of  the 
First  Department.  The  Governor  com- 
plied, and  Judge  Parker  added  to  his 
celebrity  as  a  jurist,  and  to  such  a  degree 
that  in  1897  he  was  made  the  Demo- 
cratic nominee  for  Chief  Judge  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  and  was  elected  by  a 
majority  of  60,889,  over  the  distinguished 
Judge  William  J.  Wallace  (Republican), 
whereas  in  the  election  of  the  year  before, 
the  State  had  given  McKinley  a  major- 
ity of  268,469.  This  great  tribute  to  his 
character  and  talents  gave  Judge  Parker 
great  prestige,  and  in  1902  he  was  urgent- 
ly  requested   to   accept   the    Democratic 

16 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


nomination  for  Governor,  but  he  was 
averse  from  leaving  the  bench,  and  de- 
clined. However,  he  had  become  a  char- 
acter of  national  importance,  and  in  1904 
he  was  the  logical  candidate  for  the  presi- 
dential nomination.  In  the  convention,  no 
other  name  than  his  was  seriously  con- 
sidered. But  one  ballot  was  taken,  he 
receiving  689  out  of  the  869  ballots  cast, 
and  the  nomination  being  made  unani- 
mous. He  at  once  resigned  from  the 
bench,  and  retired  to  his  home  at  Esopus, 
on  the  Hudson  river,  where  during  the 
campaign  he  received  many  delegations 
comprising  the  influential  men  of  his 
party.  His  letter  of  acceptance  was 
marked  by  modesty  and  dignity,  as  were 
his  few  public  utterances  during  the  cam- 
paign. The  election  resulting  in  his  de- 
feat, he  at  once  resumed  his  law  practice 
in  New  York  City,  and  in  which  he  still 
continues.  He  has  handled  many  impor- 
tant cases  and  represented  many  large 
interests.  An  incident  of  his  practice  was 
his  appearance  as  counsel  for  the  man- 
agers of  the  impeachment  trial  of  Gov- 
ernor Sulzer,  in  1913. 

From  the  year  of  his  political  defeat,  he 
has  been  one  of  the  principal  leaders  of 
his  party.  In  1908  he  was  a  delegate-at- 
large  to  the  National  Democratic  Con- 
vention, and  a  member  of  its  platform 
committee;  in  the  convention  of  1912  he 
was  again  a  delegate-at-large,  and  tem- 
porary chairman ;  and  during  the  same 
years  he  occupied  similar  positions  in  the 
Democratic  State  Convention.  He  was 
president  of  the  American  Bar  Associ- 
ation in  1906-07;  of  the  New  York 
County  Lawyers'  Association  in  1909-11; 
of  the  New  York  State  Bar  Association  in 
1913  ;  and  first  vice-president  of  the  Amer- 
ican Academy  of  Jurisprudence  in  1914. 
He  married,  October  16,  1873,  Mary  L., 
daughter  of  M.  I.  Schoonmaker,  of 
Accord,  New  York. 

N  Y-Vol  iv-2  I 


ABBOTT,  Lyman,  D.  D., 

Pulpiteer  and  W^riter. 

The  Rev.  Lyman  Abbott,  D.  D.,  a 
leader  of  the  "New  Theology,"  who  suc- 
ceeded the  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher  as 
pastor  of  Plymouth  Church,  Brooklyn, 
New  York,  made  his  own  place  as  a  theo- 
logian and  a  pastor,  while  at  the  same 
time  he  maintained  the  traditions  of  that 
well  known  church  to  a  degree  that  could 
hardly  have  been  anticipated.  Himself  a 
member  of  the  church  for  more  than 
thirty  years,  in  sympathy  with  its  doc- 
trines and  its  history,  he  was  the  natural 
resource  of  the  church  during  the  anxious 
period  that  followed  the  death  of  Rev. 
Henry  Ward  Beecher,  when,  by  his  tact 
and  wisdom  in  utilizing  the  lessons  of 
affliction,  he  contributed  greatly  to  the 
maintenance  of  lofty  ideals  and  spiritual 
consecration  in  the  deeply-moved  con- 
gregation. For  more  than  a  year  he 
served  as  acting  pastor,  until  the  church, 
finding  that  the  pastor  they  sought  was 
already  with  them,  called  him  to  remain 
permanently,  and  he  served  acceptably 
and  usefully  until  his  resignation  in  1899. 

Rev.  Lyman  Abbott  was  born  in  Rox- 
bury,  Massachusetts,  December  18,  1835, 
third  son  of  Professor  Jacob  and  Harriet 
(Vaughan)  Abbott,  and  brother  of  Ben- 
jamin Vaughan  and  Austin  Abbott,  both 
of  whom  attained  eminence  in  the  law. 
Professor  Abbott  was  the  voluminous 
author  of  the  famous  "Rollo  Books,"  and 
other  series  for  the  young.  Lyman  Ab- 
bott was  graduated  from  the  University 
of  the  City  of  New  York,  Bachelor  of 
Arts,  1853,  and  then  became  a  law  student 
in  the  offices  of  his  brothers,  Benjamin  V. 
and  Austin  Abbott,  who  were  both  suc- 
cessful practitioners,  and  under  their  skill- 
ful guidance  and  preceptorship  he  made 
rapid  strides  and  was  admitted  to  the 
New  York  bar,  and  for  four  years  the 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


three  brothers  were  associated  in  the 
active  practice  of  their  profession.  At 
the  expiration  of  that  period  of  time,  Ly- 
man Abbott  abandoned  the  law  for  the 
ministry,  and  studied  theology  under  the 
guidance  of  his  uncle,  the  Rev.  John  S.  C. 
Abbott,  the  historian.  He  was  ordained 
to  the  ministry  in  i860  and  in  the  same 
year  was  offered  the  pastorate  of  a  Con- 
gregational church  in  Terre  Haute,  Indi- 
ana, where  he  remained  until  1865,  when 
the  secretaryship  of  the  American  Union 
Commission,  devoted  to  the  welfare  of 
the  freedmen,  was  offered  to  him,  which 
position  he  accepted,  the  duties  of  which 
brought  him  to  New  York  City.  He  also 
entered  upon  the  pastorate  of  the  New 
England  Congregational  Church,  New 
York  City,  and  assumed  the  dual  func- 
tions of  the  secretaryship  and  pastorate 
until  1868,  when  he  resigned  the  former, 
and  in  1869  he  resigned  the  pastorate,  and 
devoted  himself  to  editorial  work  on  the 
religious  press.  For  some  time  he  was 
assistant  editor  of  the  "Christian  Union," 
in  association  with  the  Rev.  Henry  Ward 
Beecher,  and  upon  the  retirement  of  the 
latter  he  became  editor-in-chief.  His  call 
to  Plymouth  Church,  after  the  death  of 
its  famous  pastor,  summoned  him  from 
the  active  editorial  management  of  the 
"Christian  Union."  A  disciple  of  his 
former  pastor,  he  had  made  his  paper  the 
leading  exponent  of  the  views  on  theology 
and  church  polity  which  were  familiar  to 
Plymouth  Church,  and  unexpectedly,  to 
himself  as  well  as  to  his  church,  he  found 
in  the  historic  pulpit  a  field  as  surely  his 
own  as  the  editorial  sanctum,  and  in  the 
congregation  so  great  an  inspiration  that 
in  a  very  short  period  of  time  he  became 
known  as  a  preacher  of  the  first  rank. 
He  admirably  directed  the  energies  of  his 
people,  who  were  aroused  by  the  death  of 
Mr.  Beecher  to  a  new  sense  of  individual 
responsibility  for  the  future  of  the 
church,  and  who  found  in  the  changing 


conditions  of  population  about  the  church 
ample  fields  for  new  work  along  new 
lines.  His  influence  with  young  men  was 
marked,  and  he  possessed  the  faculty  of 
drawing  the  congregation  closely  to  him- 
self through  his  tact  and  wisdom  in  the 
maintenance  of  lofty  ideals,  and  also  in 
drawing  large  audiences  of  non-church 
goers  over  whom  he  exerted  a  wonderful 
influence  for  good.  He  resigned  the 
pastorate  of  Plymouth  Church  in  1899  in 
order  to  devote  his  effort  entirely  to  the 
editorial  conduct  of  the  "Outlook."  He 
is  recognized  throughout  the  country  as 
the  representative  of  liberal  thought  and 
progressive  theology.  He  delivered  a 
series  of  sermonic  lectures  on  "The  Bible 
as  Literature,"  in  which  he  supported  the 
Driver-Briggs  variation  of  the  Kuenen- 
Wellhausen  school  of  higher  criticism  of 
the  Bible. 

For  a  number  of  years  Dr.  Abbott 
shared  with  Phillips  Brooks  and  others 
the  discharge  of  pastoral  duties  at  Har- 
vard University.  He  edited  the  Literary 
Record  of  "Harper's  Magazine"  and  of 
"Illustrated  Christian  Weekly,"  being  the 
founder  of  the  latter  named  in  1871  ;  since 
1893  editor-in-chief  of  the  "Outlook."  He 
is  the  author  of:  "Jesus  of  Nazareth," 
"Old  Testament  Shadows  of  New  Testa- 
ment Truth,"  "A  Layman's  Story,"  "How 
to  Study  the  Bible,"  "Illustrated  Com- 
mentary on  the  New  Testament,"  1875 ; 
"Dictionary  of  Religious  Knowledge" 
(with  late  T.  J.  Conant)  1876;  "A  Study 
in  Human  Nature,"  1885 ;  "In  Aid  of 
Faith,"  1891  ;  "Life  of  Christ,"  1894; 
"Evolution  of  Christianity,"  1896;  "The 
Theology  of  an  Evolutionist,"  1897; 
"Christianity  and  Social  Problems,"  1897; 
"Life  and  Letters  of  Paul,"  1898;  "The 
Life  That  Really  Is,"  1899;  "Problems  of 
Life,"  1900;  "Life  and  Literature  of  the 
Ancient  Hebrews,"  1900;  "The  Rights  of 
Man,"  1901 ;  "Henry  Ward  Beecher," 
1903;  "The  Other    Room,"   1904;    "The 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Great  Companion,"  1904;  "Christian 
Ministry,"  1905;  "Personality  of  God," 
1905;  "Industrial  Problems,"  1905; 
"Christ's  Secret  of  Happiness,"  1907; 
"The  Home  Builder,"  1908;  "The 
Temple,"  1909;  "The  Spirit  of  Democ- 
racy," 1910;  "America  in  the  Making," 
191 1  ;  and  "Letters  to  Unknown  Friends," 

1913- 

He  is  a  member  of  the  New  York 
Bar  Association,  American  Bar  Associ- 
ation, New  York  State  Historical  Asso- 
ciation, Indian  Rights  Association,  Amer- 
ican Forestry  Association,  Remabai  Asso- 
ciation, New  York,  Association  for  the 
Blind,  Association  for  Improving  the 
Condition  of  the  Poor,  National  Confer- 
ence of  Charities  and  Correction,  Aldine 
Association,  the  New  York  University 
Alumni,  American  Peace  Society,  Maine 
Society,  the  Religious  Educational  Asso- 
ciation, the  Armstrong  Association,  New 
York  Child  Labor  Commission,  National 
Child  Labor  Commission,  American  Insti- 
tute of  Sacred  Literature,  New  York 
State  Conference  of  Religion,  Universal 
Peace  Union,  National  Civil  Service  Re- 
form League,  American  Economic  Asso- 
ciation, Association  for  International  Con- 
ciliation, American  Academy  of  Political 
and  Social  Science,  Prison  Association  of 
New  York,  American  Society  of  Sanitary 
and  Moral  Prophylaxis,  Legal  Aid  Soci- 
ety, Italian  Immigrant  Society,  Grenfell 
Association,  Metropolitan  Museum  of 
Art,  Committee  of  One  Hundred,  Com- 
mittee of  Fourteen.  His  recreations  are 
driving,  walking,  travel.  He  received  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  New 
York  University,  1876,  Harvard,  1890,  and 
Yale,  1903;  that  of  Doctor  of  Laws  from 
Western  Reserve,  1900,  and  Amherst, 
1908;  and  that  of  Doctor  of  Higher 
Literature  from  Miami,  1909. 

Rev.  Lyman  Abbott  married,  October 
14,  1857,  Abby  Frances  Hamlin,  daughter 
of  Hannibal  Hamlin.     She  died  in  1907. 


Children :      Lawrence      F.,     Harriet     F., 
Herbert  V.,  Ernest  H.,  Theodore  J.,  and 


LOW,  Seth, 

Educator,  Publicist. 

Seth  Low,  ninth  president  of  Columbia 
College,  and  a  former  mayor  of  New  York 
City,  was  born  in  Brooklyn,  New  York, 
January  18,  1850,  son  of  Abiel  Abbott  and 
Ellen  Almira  (Dow)  Low;  the  father  was 
a  prominent  merchant  in  New  York  City. 

Seth  Low  attended  the  Brooklyn  Poly- 
technic Institute,  and  in  his  sixteenth 
year  entered  Columbia  College  and  was 
graduated  four  years  later  at  the  head  of 
his  class.  During  his  last  year  in  college 
he  attended  lectures  in  the  Columbia 
Law  School,  but  did  not  complete  the 
course,  leaving  to  become  a  clerk  in  his 
father's  tea  importing  house.  In  1875 
he  was  admitted  to  partnership  in  the 
firm,  and  when  his  father  retired  in  1879, 
he  was  among  the  partners  who  suc- 
ceeded to  the  business,  which  was  finally 
liquidated  in  1888.  Meantime  he  had 
become  a  member  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  in  which  he  soon  became  use- 
ful, frequently  serving  upon  important 
committees,  and  at  times  delivering 
addresses  which  commanded  attention. 

During  this  period,  he  had  become  in- 
terested in  social  and  economic  subjects. 
In  1876  he  became  a  volunteer  visitor  to 
the  poor,  in  a  movement  which  reformed 
and  subsequently  abolished  the  out-door 
relief  system  in  Kings  county,  and  which 
two  years  later  led  to  the  establishment 
of  the  Bureau  of  Charities,  of  which  he 
was  the  first  president.  In  1880  he  was 
president  of  the  Republican  campaign 
club  organized  to  promote  the  election  of 
Garfield  and  Arthur,  and  the  conspicuous 
success  of  that  body  in  swelling  the  party 
vote,  brought  its  president  into  public 
view  as  a  leader  of  men.    As  a  result,  in 


19 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


1881  he  was  elected  mayor  of  Brooklyn 
on  a  reform  ticket,  by  a  most  decided 
majority ;  and  as  the  result  of  a  highly 
successful  administration,  marked  by 
various  salutary  reform  measures,  among 
which  was  that  of  competitive  examina- 
tion for  appointment  to  municipal  posi- 
tions, he  was  reelected  in  1883,  leaving 
the  office  in  1886  with  a  national  reputa- 
tion as  a  practical  reformer  and  exponent 
of  honest  municipal  administration. 
After  a  visit  to  Europe,  he  again  engaged 
in  business,  in  which  he  continued  until 
1890,  when  he  was  called  to  the  presi- 
dency of  Columbia  College  (of  which  he 
had  been  a  trustee),  in  succession  to  Dr. 
F.  A.  P.  Barnard,  and  which  position  he 
occupied  with  distinguished  usefulness 
until  1901,  when  he  left  it  to  become 
mayor  of  the  City  of  Greater  New  York. 
Immediately  upon  taking  up  his  duties  as 
president  of  Columbia  College,  he  began 
to  infuse  new  life  into  that  venerable 
institution,  and  his  entire  management 
was  marked  by  most  wise  judgment.  In 
1890,  his  first  year,  the  several  instruc- 
tional departments,  which  had  been  main- 
tained independently  of  each  other,  were 
organically  united  and  brought  under  the 
control  of  a  university  council  created  for 
that  specific  purpose.  In  the  following 
year  the  old  historic  College  of  Physicians 
and  Surgeons  was  brought  within  the 
university  corporation,  and  the  School  of 
Mines  was  broadened  into  the  Schools  of 
Applied  Science.  By  the  year  1892  the 
university  had  been  so  expanded  that  the 
old  buildings  had  become  inadequate,  and 
a  change  of  location  was  determined 
upon.  A  committee  recommended  the 
site  of  the  old  Bloomingdale  Asylum  for 
the  Insane,  on  the  Morningside  Park 
heights,  valued  at  more  than  two  million 
dollars,  which  amount  was  paid  by  the 
year  1894 — a  result  in  large  measure  due 
to  the  persistent  interest  of  President 
Low — and  seven  and  a  half  million  dol- 


lars were  expended  in  the  erection  of  the 
new  buildings.  The  efficiency  of  the 
university  was  further  enhanced  by  the 
establishment  of  the  Columbia  Union 
Press,  for  the  publication  of  historic  and 
scientific  documents,  after  the  manner  of 
the  Oxford  Clarendon  Press  of  England. 
President  Low's  benefactions  during  this 
period  were  most  princely.  In  1894  he 
gave  to  the  university  the  sum  of  ten 
thousand  dollars  for  the  endowment  of  a 
classical  chair  in  honor  of  his  former 
teacher.  Professor  Henry  Drisler.  In 
1895  he  gave  a  million  dollars  for  the 
erection  of  the  new  university  library ; 
and  in  recognition  of  his  munificence  the 
trustees  established  twelve  university 
scholarships  for  Brooklyn  boys,  and 
twelve  in  Barnard  College  for  Brooklyn 
girls,  besides  establishing  eight  annual 
university  scholarships.  In  1896  Presi- 
dent Low  gave  $10,000  to  Barnard  Col- 
lege, and  $5,000  to  the  New  York  Kinder- 
garten Association.  He  was  meantime 
busied  with  various  benevolent  and  char- 
itable labors.  In  1893,  during  the  cholera 
epidemic,  he  rendered  useful  service  as 
chairman  of  a  committee  appointed  by 
the  New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce  to 
aid  the  authorities  in  precautionary 
measures,  and  the  quarantine  camp  estab- 
lished at  Sandy  Hook  by  the  national 
government  was  named  Camp  Low  in  his 
honor.  With  his  brother,  Abbott  Au- 
gustus Low,  in  1894  he  built  and  pre- 
sented to  the  mission  station  of  the  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  church  in  Wu  Chang, 
China,  a  completely  equipped  hospital  for 
the  use  of  the  mission,  and  named  in 
memory  of  their  father. 

Mr.  Low  resigned  the  presidency  of 
Columbia  University  in  1901,  to  enter 
upon  the  duties  of  mayor  of  the  City  of 
Greater  New  York,  which  position  he 
held  for  two  years,  fully  sustaining  his 
reputation  as  an  executive,  governed  by 
the  highest  possible  standards.     Since  his 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


retirement  from  that  high  office  he  has 
been  busied  with  personal  affairs,  giving 
a  large  share  of  his  attention  to  the 
benevolent  and  charitable  causes  vi^hich 
have  always  commanded  his  interest.  As 
a  master  spirit  in  the  field  of  social  and 
economic  science,  he  has  frequently  been 
an  arbitrator  of  labor  disputes.  In  1900 
he  succeeded  Charles  P.  Daly,  deceased, 
as  president  of  the  American  Geograph- 
ical Society ;  and  has  also  served  as  presi- 
dent of  the  Archaeological  Institution  of 
America;  as  vice-president  of  the  New 
York  Academy  of  Sciences ;  as  president 
of  the  American  Asiatic  Society ;  and  is 
president  of  the  National  Civic  Feder- 
ation ;  trustee  of  the  Carnegie  Institution, 
Washington  City ;  and  is  a  member  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society,  the  New 
York  Academy  of  Political  Science,  and 
the  American  Academy  of  Political  and 
Social  Science.  He  received  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  Amherst  Col- 
lege in  1889;  from  the  University  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  from  Harvard  Univer- 
sity, from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
and  from  Trinity  College  in  1890;  from 
Princeton  University  in  1896;  from  Yale 
University  in  1901  ;  and  from  the  Univer- 
sity of  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  in  1910.  He 
married,  December  9,  1880,  Annie,  daugh- 
ter of  Benjamin  R.  Curtis,  of  Boston, 
Massachusetts. 


HILLIS,  Newell  Dwight,  D.  D., 

Clergyman,  Author. 

Rev.  Newell  Dwight  Hillis,  the  present 
pastor  of  Plymouth  Church,  Brooklyn, 
New  York,  one  of  the  most  widely  known 
institutions  in  Brooklyn,  is  a  man  whose 
methods  and  style  are  peculiar  to  him- 
self, and  he  is  comparable  with  none 
other.  Orderly  and  logical  in  his  mental 
processes,  thoroughly  trained  in  theology 
but  too  broad-minded  to  make  subtle 
theological  distinctions,  a  profound  lover 


of  the  truth,  his  teachings  are  eminently 
practical  and  helpful  to  "all  sorts  and 
conditions  of  men."  With  wonderful 
command  of  language,  never  hesitating 
for  want  of  a  word  or  misusing  one,  his 
utterances  flow  with  almost  poetic  rythm. 
His  illustrations,  drawn  from  every-day 
life  and  from  recollections  of  scenes  of 
nature,  are  captivating,  and  he  impresses 
the  hearer  with  the  conviction  that  he 
seeks  to  aid  him  to  a  better  personal  life 
and  a  broader  scope  of  mental  vision. 

Plymouth  Church,  the  scene  of  his  pas- 
toral labors,  had  its  origin  in  the  desire 
of  the  supporters  of  the  Congregational 
polity  to  multiply  churches  of  that  de- 
nomination, notwithstanding  the  opinion 
of  many  at  the  time  that  Congregational- 
ism could  flourish  only  in  New  England, 
but  the  immediate  and  almost  unlocked 
for  success  of  the  Church  of  the  Pilgrims, 
of  Brooklyn,  then  less  than  two  years 
old,  encouraged  a  contrary  belief.  In 
1846  the  church  edifice,  then  recently 
vacated  by  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
was  purchased,  and  later  the  property  on 
Cranberry  street,  extending  to  Orange 
street,  where  ever  since  Plymouth  Church 
has  stood,  was  purchased.  The  church 
was  reopened  for  religious  worship.  May 
16,  1847,  and  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  then 
pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church 
in  Indianapolis,  who  had  come  to  New 
York  to  make  the  address  at  the  anniver- 
sary of  the  American  Home  Missionary 
Society,  was  invited  to  preach  the  open- 
ing sermon,  and  after  the  formal  organiza- 
tion of  the  church  he  was  unanimously 
called  to  the  pastorate.  The  history  of 
the  church  has  been  marked  by  many 
episodes  which  have  attracted  public  at- 
tention. Among  them  was  the  vigorous 
part  played  by  pastor  and  people  in  the 
anti-slavery  agitation.  More  than  once 
living  slaves  were  brought  upon  its  plat- 
form and  their  liberty  purchased  by  the 
congregation.     During  the  Civil  War  the 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


church  was  foremost  in  deeds  as  well  as 
words  for  the  maintenance  of  the  Union 
and  for  stimulating  a  patriotic  spirit.  The 
inner  life  of  the  church  has  always  been 
deep  and  full.  It  never  was  a  field  for 
religious  excitement,  though  it  has  shared 
with  other  churches  the  fruits  of  great 
revival  seasons. 

Newell  Dwight  Hillis  was  born  Sep- 
tember 2,  1858,  at  Magnolia,  Iowa,  a  son 
of  Samuel  Ewing  and  Margaret  Hester 
(Reichte)  Hillis,  and  a  descendant  of  a 
Scotch-English  origin,  Hyllis  being  the 
ancient  form  of  the  family  name,  and  his 
ancestors  fought  under  Cromwell,  remov- 
ing to  Ireland  after  the  restoration  of  the 
monarchy.  Members  of  the  American 
branch  of  the  family  served  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War  and  during  the  War  of  1812. 
The  mother  of  Dr.  Hillis  was  of  German 
descent. 

Dr.  Hillis  first  attended  the  schools 
of  his  native  town,  completing  the  course 
in  the  high  school,  after  which  he  was  a 
student  in  the  academy  at  Magnolia.  He 
supplemented  the  knowledge  thus  ob- 
tained by  a  course  at  Lake  Forest  Univer- 
sity and  in  McCormick  Theological  Semi- 
nary, graduating  at  the  former  named  in 
1884  and  at  the  latter  in  1887,  with  high 
honors,  receiving  the  degrees  of  Bachelor 
of  Arts  and  Master  of  Arts  from  the 
former  named.  In  early  life  his  thoughts 
turned  in  the  direction  of  the  ministry, 
and  when  seventeen  years  of  age  he  be- 
came a  missionary  for  the  American  Sun- 
day School  Union,  and  for  two  years 
labored  effectively  in  establishing 
churches  and  Sunday  schools.  He  was 
ordained  to  the  Presbyterian  ministry  in 
1887.  His  first  pastorate  was  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Peoria,  Illinois, 
which  he  served  from  1886  to  1889;  pastor 
of  the  church  at  Evanston,  Illinois,  1889 
to  1895;  Central  Church  (Independent) 
Chicago,  Illinois,  1895  to  1899;  Plymouth 
Congregational   Church,   Brooklyn,    New 


York,  since  January,  1899,  succeeding  the 
Rev.  Lyman  Abbott.  Great  congregations 
throng  to  the  church  at  every  service, 
attracted  by  the  personality  of  the  man 
and  by  the  bright  and  earnest  discourses 
he  delivers. 

The  congregation  to  which  Dr.  Hillis 
addresses  himself  is  not  to  be  numbered 
by  those  who  hear  his  voice.  During  his 
pastorate  in  Chicago  his  sermons  were 
published  in  full  in  one  of  the  leading 
daily  newspapers,  and  since  his  coming 
to  Brooklyn  a  journal  of  that  city  has 
given  them  similar  publicity.  He  is  also 
in  great  demand  as  a  lecturer  before  lead- 
ing educational  institutions  and  other 
important  audiences.  His  lecture  on 
"John  Ruskin's  Message  to  the  Twentieth 
Century"  has  been  delivered  over  two 
hundred  times.  He  is  the  author  of:  "A 
Man's  Value  to  Society,"  "How  the  Inner 
Light  Failed,"  "Investment  of  Influence," 
"Great  Books  as  Life  Teachers,"  "Fore- 
tokens of  Immortality,"  "Influence  of 
Christ  in  Modern  Life,"  "Quest  of  Hap- 
piness," "Success  through  Self-Help," 
"Building  a  Working  Faith,"  "The  Quest 
of  John  Chapman,"  "The  Fortune  of  the 
Republic,"  "Contagion  of  Character," 
"Anti-Slavery  Epoch,"  "Prophets  of  a 
New  Era,"  "Story  of  Phaedrus,"  "Lec- 
tures and  Orations  of  Henry  Ward 
Beecher,"  and  "Message  of  David  Irving." 
In  January,  1902,  Dr.  Hillis  entered  upon 
an  effort  for  the  erection  of  a  Beecher 
Memorial  Building  adjacent  to  Plymouth 
Church.  Dr.  Hillis  received  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  Northwestern 
University  in  1892,  and  L.  H.  D.  from 
Western  Reserve  University. 

Dr.  Hillis  married  in  Chicago,  Illinois, 
April  14,  1887,  Annie  Louise  Patrick, 
daughter  of  R.  M.  Patrick,  of  Marengo, 
Illinois.  Children :  Richard  Dwight,  born 
1888;  Marjorie  Louise,  1889;  Nathalie 
Louise,  1900. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


CORTELYOU,  George  Bruce, 

Man  of  Affairs,  Cabinet  Officer. 

George  Bruce  Cortelyou,  who  had  the 
distinction  of  holding  confidential  rela- 
tions to  three  presidents  of  the  United 
States — Cleveland,  McKinley  and  Roose- 
velt— was  born  in  New  York  City,  July 
26,  1862,  son  of  Peter  Crolius  and  Rose 
(Seary)  Cortelyou,  and  descended  from 
Captain  Jacques  Cortelyou,  who  was  in 
New  Amsterdam  (New  York)  prior  to 
1657,  in  which  year  he  aided  in  making 
the  first  map  of  the  place,  and  also  in  the 
erection  of  the  wall  which  gave  the  name 
to  Wall  street. 

He  was  of  remarkably  studious  disposi- 
tion. After  graduating  from  the  Hemp- 
stead (Long  Island)  Institute  at  the  age 
of  seventeen,  he  entered  the  Normal 
School  at  Westfield,  Massachusetts,  in 
1882.  For  a  time  he  was  a  school  teacher 
at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  meantime 
studying  music,  but  soon  returned  to  New 
York  to  continue  his  musical  studies. 
From  1883  to  1885  he  was  associated  with 
James  E.  Munson  as  a  law  reporter.  In 
1889  he  became  a  stenographer  and  type- 
writer in  the  customs  service,  and  after 
a  year  was  transferred  to  Washington 
City,  where  he  served  under  Postmaster- 
General  Bissell,  and  on  the  recommenda- 
tion of  that  official  became  secretary  to 
President  Cleveland  in  1895.  While  en- 
gaged in  the  two  last-named  positions  he 
studied  law  in  the  law  schools  of  George- 
town and  George  Washington  universi- 
ties, and  graduated  from  both.  On  Presi- 
dent Cleveland's  retirement  in  March, 
1897,  he  became  (on  recommendation  of 
Mr.  Cleveland)  assistant  secretary  to 
President  McKinley,  in  which  position  his 
duties  were  exceedingly  arduous  owing 
to  the  ill  health  of  Secretary  John  A.  Por- 
ter (whom  he  ultimately  succeeded),  and 
the  exactions  of  the  Spanish-American 
War  period.    He  was  at  the  side  of  Presi- 


dent McKinley  when  that  great  American 
was  prostrated  by  the  bullet  of  the  assas- 
sin, and  remained  at  the  bedside  of  his 
chief  until  death  closed  the  vigil.  The 
very  close  relationship  in  which  he  stood 
to  the  late  President  and  his  family  is 
evidenced  by  the  fact  that  Mrs.  McKinley 
declined  to  act  as  executrix  of  her  hus- 
band's will,  and  named  Mr.  Cortelyou, 
with  Judge  Day,  to  act  in  her  stead. 
When  Vice-President  Roosevelt  succeed- 
ed to  the  Presidency,  he  retained  Mr. 
Cortelyou  as  secretary  until  the  creation 
of  the  new  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Labor,  to  which  he  at  once  appointed  Mr. 
Cortelyou,  who  at  once  entered  upon  the 
great  task  of  organization.  Mr.  Cortel- 
you not  only  succeeded  masterfully  in  his 
new  position,  but  as  chairman  of  the  Re- 
publican National  Committee  he  aided 
largely  in  the  election  of  his  chief  to  the 
presidency,  and  at  the  beginning  of  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt's  administration  was 
called  to  his  cabinet  as  Postmaster-Gen- 
eral. In  his  new  position  he  displayed 
masterly  qualities,  and  instituted  numer- 
ous salutary  reforms,  establishing  the 
good  behavior  tenure  for  fourth-class 
postmasters,  extending  rural  free  delivery 
and  instituting  a  parcels  delivery  system, 
protecting  the  service  more  efficiently 
against  uses  for  fraudulent  and  immoral 
purposes,  and  also  materially  reducing 
the  annual  deficit  in  the  accounts  of  his 
department.  On  March  4,  1907,  Leslie  M. 
Shaw  resigned  the  Treasury  secretary- 
ship, and  Mr.  Cortelyou  was  made  his 
successor.  Within  a  few  months  a  mone- 
tary panic  set  in,  resulting  in  the  suspen- 
sion of  numerous  strong  financial  houses. 
The  condition  was  considerably  ameli- 
orated by  Mr.  Cortelyou's  judicious  dis- 
tribution of  funds  to  points  where  the 
monetary  stringency  was  most  severe, 
but  the  relief  was  only  partial,  and  re- 
sulted in  Mr.  Cortelyou  recommending 
more   adequate   provisions,   a   suggestion 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


which  Congress  at  once  acted  upon  by- 
passing an  act  providing  for  a  more  elas- 
tic currency  system,  and  which  was  later 
developed  into  that  which  now  obtains. 

Mr.  Cortelyou  retired  from  the  cabinet 
with  the  close  of  President  Roosevelt's 
administration,  and  became  president  of 
the  New  York  Consolidated  Gas  Com- 
pany, in  which  capacity  he  is  now  serv- 
ing. He  received  the  honorary  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Laws  from  Georgetown  Uni- 
versity, the  University  of  Illinois,  and  the 
Wesleyan  University  of  Kentucky.  He 
married,  in  1888,  Lilly  Morris,  daughter 
of  Dr.  Ephraim  Hinds,  who  was  his  pre- 
ceptor at  Hempstead  Institute.  A  biog- 
rapher has  said  of  Mr.  Cortelyou  that  "he 
is  the  most  notable  example  in  public  life, 
of  high  attainments  in  the  public  service, 
without  winning  any  distinction  whatever 
in  a  private  capacity,  or  relying  upon  out- 
side influence;  and  personally  serving 
three  presidents  of  strangely  divergent 
characteristics." 


DIX,  John  Alden, 

Ex-Governor  of  New  York. 

Ex-Governor  John  Alden  Dix  is  a  rep- 
resentative in  the  ninth  generation  of  a 
family  of  English  origin,  the  earliest 
known  members  of  which  were  in  the 
fleet  with  Governor  Winthrop  in  1630. 
They  settled  at  Watertown,  Massachu- 
setts, removing  later  to  Connecticut,  in 
which  State  many  of  their  descendants 
resided,  some  of  the  later  members  of 
the  family  residing  in  Vermont  and  New 
York,  the  latter  State  having  been  the 
birthplace  of  the  parents  of  Governor  Dix, 
namely,  James  Lawton  and  Laura  Ann 
(Stevens)  Dix. 

John  Alden  Dix  was  born  at  Glens 
Falls,  New  York,  December  25,  i860.  He 
studied  at  the  Glens  Falls  Academy, 
graduating  in  1879,  and  then  entered  Cor- 
nell University,  graduating  in  1883.     He 


worked  on  a  farm,  then  in  the  machine 
shops  of  his  native  town,  and  later  en- 
gaged in  the  lumber  business  with  Lemon 
Thomson,  of  Albany,  at  Thomson,  New 
York,  under  the  firm  name  of  Thomson 
&  Dix.  On  the  death  of  the  senior  part- 
ner in  February,  1897,  the  firm  was  dis- 
solved, and  Mr.  Dix  was  appointed  exec- 
utor of  his  deceased  partner's  estate.  He 
purchased  the  latter's  interest  and  de- 
veloped a  paper  mill  at  Thomson,  where 
his  chief  business  is  centered,  gradually 
building  up  one  of  the  most  efficient  wall 
paper  plants  in  the  country  and  at  the 
same  time  turned  his  attention  to  the 
conservation  of  natural  resources.  Mr. 
Dix  realized  that  much  of  New  York's 
wealth  lay  in  her  trees,  and  to  protect 
himself  he  acquired  a  tract  of  seventeen 
thousand  acres  for  his  own  mills,  and 
made  it  a  rule  that  for  every  tree  which 
was  cut  down  another  should  be  planted. 
Prior  to  this  he  was  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  Reynolds  &  Dix,  black  marble,  this 
connection  continuing  from  1882  to  1887. 
He  is  president  of  the  Iroquois  Paper 
Company  and  the  Moose  River  Lumber 
Company,  vice-president  of  the  Blandy 
Paper  Company  and  the  First  National 
Bank  (Albany),  treasurer  of  the  Ameri- 
can Wood  Board  Company,  and  director 
of  the  Albany  Trust  Company,  Glens 
Falls  Trust  Company,  National  Bank  of 
Schuylerville  and  the  Adirondack  Trust 
Company. 

In  politics  Mr.  Dix  is  a  Democrat,  and 
at  the  national  convention  at  St.  Louis  in 
1904  he  met  and  became  acquainted  with 
many  of  the  leading  men  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  In  1906  he  was  a  candidate 
for  the  gubernatorial  nomination  at  Buf- 
falo, New  York ;  in  the  fall  of  1908  was 
placed  on  the  ticket  as  Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor ;  in  the  spring  of  1910  was  chosen 
chairman  of  the  Democratic  State  Com- 
mittee, and  in  the  fall  of  1910  became  the 
Democratic   nominee   for    Governor   and 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


I 


was  elected.  He  was  an  advocate  of  an 
honest  revision  of  the  tariff,  of  an  eco- 
nomical administration  of  the  affairs  of 
the  State,  and  of  a  cutting  off  of  the  use- 
less expenditures.  Among  the  important 
and  constructive  laws  and  measures 
championed  and  approved  by  Governor 
Dix  were :  The  Fifty-four  Hour  Law,  the 
Cold  Storage  Law,  the  establishment  of  a 
State  Fire  Marshal's  Department,  insur- 
ance laws  improved  and  strengthened, 
and  agricultural  education  encouraged  by 
liberal  appropriations  and  the  establish- 
ment of  agricultural  schools  and  colleges. 
His  administration  was  unique  in  its  rec- 
cord  of  achievement.  Its  distinctive  fea- 
tures were  the  application  of  the  princi- 
ples of  efficiency  and  economy  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  business  of  the  State,  and  a 
determination  to  keep  faith  with  the  peo- 
ple. He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Democratic  League  and  as  such  stands 
for  personal  freedom,  national  and  State 
economy,  the  revision  of  the  tariff  and 
revenue  laws,  and  the  abolition  of  protec- 
tion for  gigantic  "Infant  industries."  Mr. 
Dix  is  a  warden  of  St.  Stephen's  Epis- 
copal Church  of  Schuylerville,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  Glens  Falls  Lodge,  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons,  Theta  Delta  Chi  frater- 
nity. Fort  Orange  Club,  Albany  Country 
Club,  Albany  Institute  and  Historical  and 
Art  Society,  National  Democratic  Club 
(New  York)  and  Lake  George  Club. 

Mr.  Dix  married  at  Albany,  New  York, 
April  24,  1889,  Gertrude  Alden  Thomson, 
born  at  Albany,  daughter  of  Lemon  and 
Abby  Galusha  (Sherman)  Thomson, 
granddaughter  of  Charles  C.  Thomson 
and  August  Sherman,  great-granddaugh- 
ter of  Charles  Thomson,  great-great- 
granddaughter  of  Benjamin  Thomson,  the 
emigrant  ancestor  of  the  family,  coming 
to  this  country  from  Scotland,  and  a  lineal 
descendant  of  Roger  Sherman,  a  signer 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and 
of  Joseph  Williams,  a  Revolutionary  sol- 
dier. 


FARLEY,  John  M., 

Cardinal. 

The  Right  Rev.  John  Murphy  Farley,  a 
Cardinal  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
was  born  at  Newton  Hamilton,  County 
Armagh,  Ireland,  April  20,  1842,  son  of 
Philip  and  Catherine  (Murphy)  Farley. 
The  Farley  family  comes  of  good  old 
Irish  stock  of  County  Monaghan,  Ireland, 
and  the  ardent  patriotism  that  has  dis- 
tinguished its  history  in  Ireland  for  gen- 
erations is  a  matter  of  the  keenest  pride 
with  all  its  members  at  the  present  time. 
Cardinal  Farley  has  always  devoted  him- 
self, heart  and  soul,  to  everything  per- 
taining to  the  welfare  of  Ireland.  In  boy- 
hood he  exhibited  a  singular  seriousness 
in  everything  he  said  or  did,  and  being 
a  remarkably  bright  boy  his  knowledge 
of  his  religion  was  such  that  he  was  con- 
firmed at  the  early  age  of  seven  years. 
On  that  occasion  the  bishop  said  that  he 
was  too  young  and  ordered  him  sent  back, 
but  the  priest  answered,  "Question  him 
on  his  catechism ;  no  one  here  knows  it 
better."  Then  the  bishop  gave  him  a  very 
rigid  examination,  asking  him  many  diffi- 
cult questions  and  he  was  perfectly  satis- 
fied with  the  answers. 

John  Murphy  Farley  received  his  early 
education  under  the  direction  of  a  private 
tutor  named  Hugh  McGuire,  a  very  pious 
and  serious  man  who  afterwards  became 
a  priest,  and  this  was  supplemented  by  a 
course  at  St.  Marcartan's  College,  Mon- 
aghan, Ireland.  In  1870  the  Farley  fam- 
ily removed  to  the  United  States,  and  the 
education  of  John  M.  was  continued  at 
St.  John's  College,  Fordham,  New  York, 
from  which  institution  he  was  graduated 
in  1866.  He  had  always  been  devoted  to 
the  church  as  a  child  and  those  who 
watched  him  felt  certain  that  he  would 
eventually  become  a  priest,  but  he  him- 
self never  dreamed  of  such  an  honor  until 
he  had  approached  very  near  to  maturity. 
Finally  deciding  to  study  for  the  ministry. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


he  went  to  St.  Joseph's  Seminary  at  Troy, 
New  York,  which  had  been  established  by 
Bishop  Hughes  a  few  years  previously. 
Here  he  displayed  such  evident  ability 
and  so  distinguished  himself  in  his  work 
that  he  attracted  the  attention  of  Arch- 
bishop McCloskey,  who  sent  him  to  the 
American  College  at  Rome  to  complete 
his  course,  and  he  was  a  student  there  for 
the  following  four  years  or  until  his  grad- 
uation. He  was  ordained  to  the  priest- 
hood in  Rome,  June  ii,  1870,  and  his  first 
appointment  was  as  curate  to  the  Rev. 
James  Conran,  pastor  of  St.  Peter's 
Church,  New  Brighton,  Staten  Island, 
New  York,  in  which  capacity  he  served 
until  1872.  In  that  year  Monsignor  Mc- 
Neirny  was  made  bishop  of  Albany,  and 
Cardinal  McCloskey  made  Father  Farley 
his  private  secretary  and  he  served  as 
such  until  the  year  18S4,  when  he  was 
appointed  pastor  of  St.  Gabriel's  Church, 
New  York  City,  to  succeed  Father  Clow- 
ny,  deceased,  and  during  his  pastorate 
there  he  erected  St.  Gabriel's  Parish 
School,  a  model  educational  institution. 
In  1884  Pope  Leo  XIII,  by  request  of 
Cardinal  McCloskey,  appointed  him  pri- 
vate papal  chamberlain  with  the  title  of 
Monsignor,  and  the  same  year  he  was 
unanimously  elected  rector  of  the  Ameri- 
can College  in  Rome,  which  honor,  at  the 
request  of  Cardinal  McCloskey,  who 
valued  his  services  to  the  diocese  so 
highly  that  he  would  not  consent  to  his 
departure  for  Rome,  he  declined.  In  1886 
he  was  appointed  diocesan  consulter,  one 
of  the  official  advisers  of  Archbishop  Cor- 
rigan,  and  for  some  time  he  was  also  a 
member  of  the  diocesan  school  board  and 
the  diocesan  board  of  examination.  In 
November,  1891,  Archbishop  Corrigan  ap- 
pointed him  vicar-general  of  the  arch- 
diocese of  New  York  to  succeed  Mon- 
signor Preston.  He  was  domestic  prel- 
ate of  Pope  Leo  XIII.,  appointed  April 
8,  1892 ;  prothonotary  apostolic,  appointed 


in  August,  1895.  On  December  21,  1895, 
he  was  consecrated  in  St.  Patrick's  Ca- 
thedral with  full  canonical  ceremony  titu- 
lar bishop  of  Zeugma  and  auxiliary  bishop 
of  New  York,  by  Archbishop  Corrigan, 
assisted  by  Bishop  McDonnell,  of  Brook- 
lyn, New  York,  and  Bishop  Gabriel,  of 
Ogdensburg,  New  York.  Bishop  Mc- 
Quade,  of  Rochester,  New  York,  preached 
the  sermon ;  the  Very  Rev.  Joseph  T. 
Mooney  was  assistant  priest ;  the  Rev. 
Edward  McKenna  and  the  Rev.  John  Ed- 
wards, deacons  of  honor;  the  Rev.  James 
H.  McGean,  deacon  of  the  mass ;  the  Rev. 
Charles  H.  Colton,  sub-deacon ;  the  Rev. 
Michael  J.  Lavelle,  chaplain  of  the  briefs; 
the  Rev.  Cornelius  G.  O'Keefe,  deacon  of 
the  cross ;  the  Very  Rev.  Albert  A.  Lings, 
the  Revs.  Francis  P.  Fitzmaurice,  James 
J.  Dougherty,  Nicholas  J.  Hughes,  M.  C. 
O'Farrell  and  John  J.  Flood,  chaplains. 
On  the  death  of  Archbishop  Corrigan, 
May  5,  1902,  Bishop  Farley  resigned  the 
pastorate  of  St.  Gabriel's  Church  and  was 
appointed  administrator  of  New  York, 
and  on  September  15,  1902,  he  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  Pope  to  be  the  fourth  arch- 
bishop of  New  York.  He  was  elected  to 
the  cardinalate,  November  2-j,  191 1.  He 
is  a  man  of  brilliant  attainments — active 
and  progressive — and  has  always  been 
staunch  in  his  advocacy  of  all  that  is 
Catholic,  and  outspoken  in  his  views  when 
the  interests  of  Catholicity  have  de- 
manded it.  He  is  the  author  of :  "Life  of 
Cardinal  McCloskey"  (serially  in  His- 
torical Records  and  Studies,  New  York), 
1899-1900;  "Neither  Generous  nor  Just" 
(reply  to  Bishop  Potter);  "Catholic 
World,"  1898;  "Why  Church  Property 
Should  Not  Be  Taxed,"  Forum,  1893; 
"History  of  St.  Patrick's  Cathedral." 


GOETHALS,  Col.  George  W., 
Military  Engineer. 

Colonel  George  Washington  Goethals, 
a  most  distinguished  engineer  officer,  and 


26 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


world-famous  for  his  achievements  in 
connection  with  the  Panama  Canal,  was 
born  in  Brooklyn,  New  York,  June  29, 
1S58,  son  of  John  Louis  and  Marie  (Le 
Barron)   Goethals. 

He  began  his  education  in  the  local  pub- 
lic schools,  pursued  advanced  branches  in 
the  College  of  the  City  of  New  York,  then 
receiving  appointment  to  the  Military 
Aacdemy  at  West  Point,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  at  the  age  of  twenty-two, 
with  the  commission  of  second  lieutenant 
of  engineers.  He  was  retained  for  a  time 
as  instructor  in  astronomy  at  the  acad- 
emy, and  was  then  assigned  to  duty  with 
the  corps  of  engineers  at  Willet's  Point, 
New  York ;  meantime  being  advanced  to 
a  first  lieutenantcy.  From  1882  to  1884 
he  served  under  General  Miles,  in  the 
Department  of  the  Columbia,  and  was 
then  made  assistant  to  Colonel  Merrill, 
at  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  Here,  on  the  Ohio 
river,  the  young  engineer  entered  first 
upon  experience  which  was  to  be  invalu- 
able to  him  in  after  years,  bringing  him  to 
some  of  most  important  construction 
work  on  canals,  dams,  and  locks.  From 
1885  to  1889  he  was  again  at  the  Military 
Academy,  as  instructor  and  professor  of 
engineering,  then  resuming  work  with  his 
corps  on  the  Ohio  and  Tennessee  rivers. 

When  the  Spanish-American  war  broke 
out,  he  was  a  captain,  and  he  was  now 
commissioned  lieutenant-colonel  of  volun- 
teers, and  assigned  to  duty  as  chief  engi- 
neer of  the  First  Army  Corps.  He  was 
honorably  discharged  from  the  volunteer 
service  at  the  end  of  the  war,  and  returned 
to  the  engineer  corps  of  the  regular  army, 
being  promoted  to  the  rank  of  major.  In 
1903  he  became  a  member  of  the  army 
general  staff  and  given  charge  of  the  forti- 
fication planning  and  construction  in 
Rhode  Island.  In  1905  he  was  graduated 
from  the  Army  War  College.  His  labors 
in  western  waters  had  given  him  a  broad 
prestige — especially  his  canal  construction 


on  the  Tennessee  river,  a  stream  abound- 
ing in  shoals — and  President  Roose- 
velt appointed  him  chairman  and  chief 
engineer  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  Canal 
Commission,  a  body  of  army  officers  ap- 
pointed to  succeed  civilian  engineers. 
The  members  of  the  commission  at  once 
took  up  their  residence  on  the  Isthmus, 
and  Colonel  Goethals  set  out  to  a  well 
defined  system  involving  radical  changes 
from  that  which  had  formerly  been  pur- 
sued, and  including  a  widening  of  the 
canal  and  locks,  and  a  relocation  of  the 
Isthmian  railroad.  His  labors  have  been 
of  so  technical  a  description  as  to  forbid 
relation  here.  Sufficient  to  say,  that  he 
could  not  escape  criticism  and  some  of  his 
methods  were  severely  attacked.  Presi- 
dents Roosevelt  and  Taft  both  personally 
inspected  the  scene  of  Colonel  Goethals 
labors,  and  the  former  appointed  an  ad- 
visory board  of  engineers  to  examine  into 
and  report  upon  the  canal  operations,  with 
the  result  of  entire  approval.  The  great 
engineer  became  a  full  colonel  in  1909, 
and  in  1914  was  made  civil  governor  of 
the  Panama  Canal  Zone — the  first  ap- 
pointee to  the  position.  He  has  received 
medals  of  honor  from  the  National  Geo- 
graphic Society,  the  Civic  Forum,  and  the 
National  Institute  of  Social  Sciences.  He 
received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws 
from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in 
1913.  He  married,  in  1884,  Effie,  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  R.  Rodman.  Of  their  two 
sons  the  eldest  George  R.,  is  a  lieutenant 
of  engineers,  United  States  Army. 


LEVY,  JefTerson  M., 

Owner  of  Monticello. 

Jefferson  Monroe  Levy,  member  of 
Congress  and  owner  of  Monticello,  the 
homestead  of  Thomas  Jeflferson,  was  born 
in  New  York  City,  a  son  of  Captain  Jonas 
P.  and  Fanny  (Mitchell)  Levy.  He  was 
educated  in   the  public   schools,   studied 


27 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


law  at  the  New  York  University,  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar,  and  entered  upon  prac- 
tice the  same  year.  He  was  elected  as  a 
Democrat  to  the  Fifty-sixth  Congress 
(1899),  by  a  majority  of  more  than  six 
thousand  over  James  W.  Perry,  chairman 
of  the  Republican  county  committee  of 
New  York,  overcoming  a  Republican  ma- 
jority of  seven  thousand  at  the  preceding 
election,  and  he  was  returned  to  the  Sixty- 
second  and  Sixty-third  Congresses.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Democratic  Club  of 
New  York,  which  he  organized,  and  of 
which  he  was  vice-president  many  years ; 
of  the  Manhattan  Club,  the  New  York 
Yacht  Club,  the  Meadow  Creek  Country 
Club,  the  Sandown  Park  Club,  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce,  and  the  Board  of  Trade 
and  Transportation  of  New  York. 

Mr.  Levy  is  a  nephew  of  Commodore 
Uriah  P.  Levy,  a  distinguished  officer  of 
the  United  States  Navy  of  the  last  gen- 
eration. Commodore  Levy  was  mainly 
instrumental  in  the  abolition  of  flogging 
in  the  navy.  In  1830,  at  the  suggestion  of 
President  Andrew  Jackson,  he  purchased 
Monticello,  the  homestead  of  Thomas 
Jefferson,  near  Charlottesville,  Virginia, 
and  which,  at  his  death,  descended  to 
Congressman  Jefferson  M.  Levy.  The 
homestead,  built  in  1764,  is  maintained 
by  Mr.  Levy  in  accordance  with  its  estab- 
lished traditions,  and  is  always  open  to 
those  of  the  public  who  desire  to  visit  this 
Mecca  of  Democracy,  and  of  whom  there 
are  thousands  every  year. 


DEPEW,  Chauncey  Mitchell, 

Statesman,    Orator,   Man    of   Large    Affairs. 

Chauncey  Mitchell  Depew  is  descended 
from  a  famous  Huguenot  family,  and  his 
New  England  ancestry  includes  the  im- 
portant Mitchell,  Sherman,  Palmer,  Win- 
ship,  Wellington,  Minott,  Chauncey  and 
Johnstone  families,  various  of  whom  are 
hereinafter  mentioned 


The  name  Du  Puy  or  De  Puy  is  one  of 
the  most  ancient  known  in  French  his- 
tory, and  was  prominent  in  Normandy  as 
early  as  the  eleventh  century.  Raphael 
Du  Puy  was  an  officer  of  rank  in  1030, 
under  Conrad  II.,  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Empire,  and  his  son  Hughes  distinguished 
himself  in  the  Crusades.  The  history  of 
the  family  in  France  is  marked  down  the 
centuries  by  many  noted  names  in  both 
church  and  state.  The  surname  Du  Puy 
has  masqueraded  in  many  forms  in  its 
passage  from  France  to  Holland,  and 
thence  to  America.  It  is  found  recorded 
as  Dupuis,  Depui,  Depuy,  Depee,  Depuy, 
De  Pue,  Depu,  etc.  Francois,  grandson 
of  the  original  Francois,  who  was  bap- 
tized August  20,  1700,  in  the  old  Dutch 
church  of  Sleepy  Hollow,  at  Tarrytown, 
is  generally  recorded  as  Frans  De  Pew ; 
later  the  name  took  its  present  form  of 
Depew. 

(I)  Francois  Dupuis  fled  from  France 
on  account  of  religious  persecution  and 
took  refuge  in  Holland,  whence  he  came 
to  America,  being  the  first  of  the  family 
to  locate  in  New  Amsterdam.  The  earli- 
est record  of  him  shows  him  as  one  of  the 
first  twenty  inhabitants  of  Boswyck 
(modern  Bushwick),  now  a  component 
part  of  Brooklyn.  He  signed  a  petition, 
dated  March  14,  1661,  asking  for  privi- 
leges usually  desired  by  a  newly  incor- 
porated village.  In  1663  his  name  is  en- 
rolled as  a  member  of  a  company  of 
militia  with  Ryck  Lykeker  as  captain, 
this  company  being  probably  organized 
for  the  purpose  of  protection  against  the 
Indians.  It  is  uncertain  how  long  he 
lived  at  Bushwick,  as  William  is  his  only 
child  known  to  have  been  born  there, 
although  there  may  have  been  others.  He 
may  have  resided  in  New  York  for  a  time, 
although  this  is  uncertain.  During  the 
years  1671-77  the  baptism  of  three  of  his 
children  is  recorded  in  the  New  York  Re- 
formed Church.    In  1677  it  is  claimed  that 


28 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


he  and  his  wife  became  members  of  the 
church  at  Flatbush,  where  their  next  two 
children  were  baptized  in  1679  and  1681, 
respectively.  He  had  a  grant  of  about 
eighty  acres  of  land  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Fresh  Kill  on  Staten  Island,  bearing 
date  December  21,  16S0,  and  April  4,  1685, 
and  received  another  grant  on  the  island  at 
Smoking  Point.  In  1686  Francois  Dupuis 
had  his  son  Nicholas  baptized  in  New 
York,  and  the  following  year  is  mentioned 
as  a  resident  of  Rockland  (now  a  part  of 
Orange  county),  where  on  September  26 
he  signed  the  oath  of  allegiance  with 
other  inhabitants  of  the  recently  estab- 
lished settlements  of  Haverstraw  and 
Orangetown.  Three  of  his  children  mar- 
ried and  settled  in  Rockland  county,  but 
he  had  crossed  the  river  before  the  cen- 
sus of  Orange  in  1702,  and  located  at 
Peekskill,  Westchester  county  (where 
others  of  his  children  had  made  their 
homes),  and  settled  on  a  tract  of  land 
originally  purchased  from  the  Indians  in 
1685,  under  a  license  from  Governor  Don- 
gan.  In  this  connection  it  is  interesting 
to  note  that  part  of  this  land  was  held  in 
fee  in  the  family  until  the  last  of  his 
share,  after  having  been  in  the  family 
two  hundred  and  eleven  years,  was  in  1896 
given  by  Chauncey  Mitchell  Depew  to 
the  village  of  Peekskill  for  a  public  park. 
Mary,  youngest  child  of  Francois  Du- 
puis, was  baptized  in  New  York,  where 
her  mother  is  mentioned  as  Annie  Elsten, 
who  must  have  been  his  second  wife.  On 
April  I,  1702,  he  and  his  daughter  Maria 
are  named  as  sponsors  or  godparents  at 
the  baptism  of  his  granddaughter, 
Grietje  Quorry,  in  the  Sleepy  Hollow 
church,  and  a  few  years  later  both  he  and 
this  daughter  are  recorded  as  members 
of  the  church,  having  residence  on  the 
patent  of  Captain  De  Kay  and  Ryck  Abra- 
hamsen  Lent,  a  grandson  of  the  latter 
having  previously  married  Maria.  It  is 
supposed  he  paid  close  attention  to  the 


cultivation  of  his  land  and  his  private 
affairs,  as  his  name  appears  so  seldom  in 
public  records,  but  through  careful  re- 
search among  the  records  of  the  Reformed 
churches  at  New  York,  Tappan,  Tarry- 
town,  and  Cortlandt,  enough  scraps  of  in- 
formation have  been  found  to  piece  to- 
gether the  record  of  his  descendants  which 
is  given  below.  On  August  26,  1661,  the 
banns  of  his  first  marriage  were  published 
in  the  records  of  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church  of  New  Amsterdam,  as  follows: 
"Francois  Dupuis,  young  man  of  Calais, 
France,  and  Geertje  Willems,  of  Amster- 
dam." They  were  married  just  one 
month  later,  in  Breuckelen,  their  marriage 
being  the  fifth  of  record  in  the  Dutch 
church  there,  as  follows:  "26  September, 
1661,  Francois  Dupuis  and  Geertje  Wil- 
lems, with  certificate  from  Manhattans." 
It  is  believed  by  eminent  authority  that 
Geertje  Willems  was  a  daughter  of  Wil- 
lem  Jacobse  Van  Boerum,  of  Flatbush, 
who  came  with  his  family  in  1649  from 
Amsterdam,  Holland,  given  in  the  register 
of  the  banns  as  the  birthplace  of  Geertje. 
Children  of  Francois  Dupuis:  William, 
of  whom  further;  Jannetje  (Jane),  mar- 
ried Kellem  Quorry,  or  McKorry ;  Grietje 
(Margaret),  baptized  in  New  York,  Oc- 
tober  I,    1671,   married  Ward,  of 

Haverstraw;  Jean  (John),  baptized  in 
New  York,  May  20,  1674,  married  Jan- 
netje Wiltse,  widow  of  Myndert  Hend- 
reickse  (Hogencamp);  a  child  (not 
named),  whose  baptismal  entry  was  made 
at  New  York,  February  14,  1677,  and 
who  may  have  been  Maria,  who  was 
sponsor  with  her  father  in  1702,  about 
which  time  she  married  Abraham  Hend- 
rickse  Lent,  of  Tarrytown ;  Sara,  bap- 
tized at  Flatbush,  February  23,  1679, 
married  Herman  Hendrickse  Blauvelt; 
Geertje  (Gertrude),  baptized  at  Flatbush, 
September  18,  1681,  of  whom  further  rec- 
ord is  not  to  be  found ;  Nicholaes,  bap- 
tized  in   New   York,   October    17,    1686,. 


29 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


whose  wife's  name  was  Barbara ;  Mary, 
baptized  in  New  York  City,  March  3, 
1689,  the  record  of  the  parents  being 
"PVancois  Puy  and  Annie  Elsten,"  no  fur- 
ther record  being  given  of  either  mother 
or  child. 

(II)  William  Depew,  probably  eldest 
child  of  Francois  and  Geertje  (Willems) 
Dupuis,  was  born  at  Bushwick,  and  was 
among  the  pioneers  of  the  locality  made 
famous  as  the  birthplace  of  Senator 
Chauncey  M.  Depew.  It  would  seem  that 
he  had  made  camp  on  the  point  of  land 
called  by  the  Indians  Meanagh,  or  Mer- 
nach,  and  afterwards  named  Verplanck's 
Point,  when  the  settlement  had  hardly 
begun,  he  then  being  unmarried.  He  was 
at  Mernach  as  early  as  1688,  and  probably 
strayed  over  from  Haverstraw,  where  his 
father  had  located  a  year  or  two  previous, 
and  where  his  brother  John  continued  to 
live  for  several  years  afterwards.  He 
there  made  a  home  for  his  future  bride,  a 
maiden  born  on  the  Island  of  Barbadoes, 
and  doubtless  of  English  parentage, 
shown  on  the  records  as  Lysbeth  Weyt, 
which  in  English  would  be  Elizabeth 
White.  She  was  living  a  little  further 
down  on  the  river  at  a  place  bearing  the 
Indian  name  of  Knightwanck,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Croton  river,  which  stream 
also  bore  the  name  of  the  locality.  Rec- 
ord of  the  banns  was  posted  on  the  regis- 
ter of  the  Dutch  church  of  New  York, 
the  nearest  one  to  their  home,  which 
church  issued  a  certificate  permitting  Wil- 
liam to  marry  at  the  home  of  the  bride. 
The  record  is  as  follows:  "loth  August, 
1688,  William  Dupuy,  j.  m.  Van  Boswyck, 
en  Lysbeth  Weyt,  j.  m.  van  de  Barba- 
does, d'Eerste  wonende  op  Mernach  en 
twede  tot  Kichtenwang."  This  marriage 
was  probably  executed  in  primitive  style 
at  Kichtewang  during  the  following 
month,  perhaps  the  first  marriage  in  the 
Manor  of  Cortlandt,  and  spoken  of  as  the 
forerunner  of  an  event  that  made  Peeks- 


kill  renowned  as  the  home  of  a  great  and 
popular  orator  in  a  later  generation  of  the 
family.  William  Depew  had  children  as 
follows :  Sara,  married  Willem  Dill,  Theil 
or  Teil;  Abigail,  married  Pieter  Consje; 
Thomas,  married  Cornelia  Lendel ;  Anna, 
baptized  at  Tarrytown,  August  2,  1698; 
Francois,  of  whom  further;  Pieter.  The 
father's  name  was  usually  spelled  Dupuy. 

(III)  Francois  (2),  son  of  William  and 
Lysbeth  (Weyt)  Depew,  was  born  near 
Tarrytown,  New  York,  in  August,  1700, 
and  was  baptized  August  20,  1700.  Not 
very  much  is  known  of  him  beyond  the 
fact  that  he  was  engaged  in  the  regular 
pioneer  and  agricultural  work  of  the 
neighborhood  around  Cortlandt  Manor. 
He  married,  at  Tarrytown,  New  York, 
June  3,  1727,  Maritje  Van  Thessel.  This 
marriage  is  recorded  in  the  Tarrytown 
church  in  the  style  of  the  period :  "Frans 
De  Pew  j.  m.,  en  Maritje  Van  Thessel." 
The  record  also  states  that  they  were  both 
born  on  Cortlandt  Manor,  he  being  a  resi- 
dent there,  and  she  a  resident  of  Tarry- 
town. Children :  Hendrikus,  of  whom 
further ;  Anneke,  baptized  at  Tarrytown, 
August  21,  1730;  William,  born  1732,  the 
muster  roll  of  Westchester  county  militia 
saying  of  him  in  1758,  "born  in  Cortlandt, 
aged  26,"  there  being  no  further  record 
concerning  him ;  Elizabeth,  baptized  at 
Tarrytown,  April  23,  1734,  married  Octo- 
ber 29,  1758,  John  Lent;  Abraham,  bap- 
tized at  Tarrytown,  April  13,  1736,  died 
young;  Sarah,  baptized  at  Tarrytown, 
April  19,  1738;  Abraham,  April  30,  1743. 

(IV)  Hendrikus  or  Henry  Depew,  son 
of  Francois  (2)  and  Maritje  (Van  Thes- 
sel) Depew,  was  baptized  at  Tarrytown, 
New  York,  April  27,  1728.  Very  little  is 
known  concerning  the  events  of  the  life  of 
Hendrikus.  The  only  child  that  the  rec- 
ords credit  to  him,  is  Abraham,  men- 
tioned below.  The  mother's  name  is  not 
mentioned.  The  sponsors  at  Abraham's 
baptism,  which  took  place  in  the  Dutch 


30 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


church  at  Tarrytown,  were  "Frans  Pue 
and  wife,"  without  doubt  the  parents  of 
Hendrikus.  It  is  fortunate  for  this  line- 
age, perhaps,  that  Abraham  received  so 
marked  a  distinction  as  to  have  his  bap- 
tism recorded.  The  other  children  of 
Hendrikus,  and  it  seems  that  they  had 
others,  were  not  so  favored.  Colonel 
Teetor  says  of  Abraham  that  he  was  in 
the  Revolutionary  War,  and  that  he 
was  the  great-grandfather  of  Chauncey 
Mitchell  Depew.  Our  own  researches 
have  tended  to  confirm  this  theory. 

(V)  Abraham  Depew,  son  of  Hend- 
rikus or  Henry  Depew,  was  born  at  Cort- 
landt  Manor,  New  York,  and  was  bap- 
tized in  the  Dutch  church  at  Tarrytown, 
New  York,  April  5,  1752.  His  youth  was 
undoubtedly  spent  on  the  family  home- 
stead, and  he  in  all  probability  received 
the  general  education  of  the  period. 
There  are  a  good  many  records  in  Tarry- 
town and  Cortlandt  concerning  various 
Abrahams  Depew,  but  it  is  usually  dififi- 
cult  to  ascertain  to  which  particular  Abra- 
ham any  two  records  refer.  One  author- 
ity says:  "The  church  baptismal  records 
of  Tarrytown  and  Cortlandt  furnish  very 
good  grounds  for  confusion  among  the 
various  Abrahams  Depew.  While  there 
is  an  apparent  lack  of  records  in  some 
directions,  there  seems  to  be  a  perplexing 
superfluity  of  fathers  Abraham,  whose 
sons  and  daughters,  to  straighten  and 
place  where  they  belong,  would  take  a 
man  with  more  wisdom  than  Solomon." 
Concerning  Abraham  Depew,  the  son  of 
Hendrikus  Depew,  another  authority 
gives  us  definite  particulars.  Abraham 
Depew  enlisted  January  2,  1777,  for  the 
Revolutionary  War,  in  Captain  Jacob 
Wright's  company,  in  the  regiment  com- 
manded by  Colonel  Philip  Van  Cortlandt. 
He  was  promoted  corporal,  June  i,  1777, 
and  was  discharged  January  3,  1780,  on 
account  of  the  expiration  of  term  of  serv- 
ice.    He  married  Catherine,  daughter  of 


Captain  James  Kronkite,  who  was  com- 
missioned captain,  October  19,  1775,  and 
served  in  the  Third  Regiment,  Manor  of 
Cortlandt,  commanded  by  Colonel  Pierre 
Van  Cortlandt.  Children :  Esther,  bap- 
tized September  18,  1797;  James  Kron- 
kite, born  August  25,  1791,  baptized  in 
1793;  Anne,  born  September  12,  1794; 
Elizabeth,  February  6,  1796;  Henry,  May 
18,  1798;  Isaac,  of  whom  further. 

(VI)  Isaac  Depew,  son  of  Abraham 
and  Catherine  (Kronkite)  Depew,  was 
born  at  Peekskill,  New  York,  about  181 1. 
He  spent  most  of  his  life  caring  for  the 
estate  which  his  paternal  ancestor  pur- 
chased from  the  Indians  more  than  a  hun- 
dred years  before.  He  was  a  respected 
citizen  of  Peekskill,  and  took  a  consider- 
able interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  town. 
He  married  Martha,  daughter  of  Chaun- 
cey Root  Mitchell,  a  distinguished  lawyer. 
Her  mother  was  a  daughter  of  Judge  Rob- 
ert Johnstone,  for  many  years  Senator 
and  judge,  who  owned  Lake  Mahopac  and 
a  large  estate  about  it.  Mrs.  Depew  was 
a  granddaughter  of  Rev.  Josiah  Sherman, 
brother  of  Roger  Sherman,  a  signer  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  Rev.  Josiah 
Sherman  was  a  captain  in  the  Seventh 
Connecticut  Regiment,  Continental  Line, 
and  three  of  his  brothers  were  also  in  the 
patriot  army ;  they  were  descended  from 
Captain  John  Sherman,  an  English  army 
officer,  who  was  born  in  Dedham,  County 
Essex,  in  1615.  Another  of  Mrs.  Depew's 
ancestors  was  Rev.  Charles  Chauncey, 
first  president  of  Harvard  College. 

(VII)  Hon.  Chauncey  Mitchell  Depew, 
son  of  Isaac  and  Martha  (Mitchell)  De- 
pew, was  born  in  Peekskill,  Westchester 
county,  New  York,  April  23,  1834.  He 
was  fitted  for  college  at  Peekskill  Acad- 
emy, and  in  1852  entered  Yale  College  in 
what  was  in  after  years  known  as  the 
"Famous  Class  of  '56."  Of  the  nine  mem- 
bers of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  the  highest  tribunal  in  the  nation 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  the  aspiration  of  every  lawyer,  were 
two  members  of  this  class,  Henry  Billings 
Brown  and  David  Josiah  Brewer.  Mr. 
Depew  was  graduated  from  Yale  in  1856; 
he  received  his  Master  of  Arts  degree  in 
due  course  and  in  1887  was  given  the 
honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  The 
following  year  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  Yale  Corporation,  which  position 
he  held  for  twelve  years. 

Immediately  after  leaving  college  he 
threw  himself  heart  and  soul  into  the 
canvass  in  support  of  Fremont  and  Day- 
ton, the  first  presidential  and  vice-presi- 
dential candidates  of  the  newly  formed 
Republican  party,  and  made  speeches 
throughout  the  country  in  support  of  the 
proposition  that  it  was  the  right  and  duty 
of  Congress  to  prohibit  slavery  and  polyg- 
amy in  the  territories.  In  1858  he  was 
elected  a  delegate  to  the  Republican  State 
convention,  and  has  since  been  a  delegate 
in  that  body  to  every  succeeding  conven- 
tion, except  two,  up  to  and  including 
191 2.  He  was  one  of  the  four  delegates- 
at-large  from  the  State  of  New  York  to 
the  Republican  national  conventions  of 
1888-92-96-1900-04,  and  a  delegate  to  six 
other  national  conventions.  In  1861  he 
was  elected  to  the  Legislature  from  the 
Third  Westchester  District,  was  re- 
elected in  1862,  and  became  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  ways  and  means  and 
leader  of  the  house ;  for  most  of  the  time 
he  also  acted  as  speaker  pro  ton.  In  1863 
he  headed  the  Republican  State  ticket  as 
candidate  for  Secretary  of  State,  and  was 
elected.  In  1866  President  Johnson  ap- 
pointed Mr.  Depew  United  States  Minis- 
ter to  Japan.  His  confirmation  by  the 
Senate  immediately  followed,  but  after 
holding  the  place  in  advisement  for  a  con- 
siderable time,  he  declined  the  position 
for  family  reasons.  In  1872  he  was  candi- 
date for  Lieutenant-Governor  on  the  Lib- 
eral Republican  ticket,  but  failed  of  elec- 
tion. In  1874  he  was  elected  by  the  Legis- 


lature regent  of  the  University  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  and  held  the  position  for 
thirty-four  years.  He  was  elected  by  the 
Alumni  of  Yale  University  a  member  of 
the  corporation  and  held  the  office  for 
twelve  years.  He  was  also  one  of  the 
commissioners  to  build  the  capitol  at  Al- 
bany. In  1881  Mr.  Depew  was  a  candi- 
date for  Senator,  following  the  resigna- 
tions of  Senators  Roscoe  Conkling  and 
Thomas  C.  Piatt.  After  the  fifty-sixth 
ballot,  in  which  he  received  the  largest 
number  of  votes  of  his  party,  he  withdrew 
to  secure  the  election  of  two  senators.  In 
1882  he  was  offered  the  Senatorship,  but 
declined  for  business  reasons.  In  1888  he 
received  the  unanimous  support  of  the 
State  of  New  York  for  the  presidential 
nomination,  and  received  ninety-nine 
votes  in  the  Republican  National  Con- 
vention. General  Benjamin  Harrison  was 
nominated,  and  after  his  election  he 
offered  Mr.  Depew  every  position  in  his 
cabinet,  excepting  that  of  Secretary  of 
State,  which  he  had  promised  to  Mr. 
Blaine,  or  if  he  preferred,  any  mission 
abroad  which  he  might  select,  and  all  of 
which  he  declined.  In  1894,  on  the  resig- 
nation of  Mr.  Blaine  as  Secretary  of 
State,  President  Harrison  tendered  that 
position  to  Mr.  Depew  and  this  was  also 
declined.  In  1899  ^^-  Depew  was  elected 
United  States  Senator  for  six  years,  and 
was  reelected  in  1905.  He  has  as  a  candi- 
date for  United  States  Senator  received 
the  ballots  of  the  members  of  his  party 
in  the  State  Legislature  more  than  any 
other  citizen  of  the  United  States,  namely 
sixty  ballots,  one  each  day  for  sixty  days 
in  1881,  and  sixty-four  during  forty-five 
days  in  191 1. 

Mr.  Depew  has  a  world-wide  reputa- 
tion as  a  public  speaker  and  has  been  the 
orator  on  many  occasions  of  national  im- 
portance. He  was  the  orator  selected 
to  deliver  the  oration  at  the  Centennial 
Anniversary  of  the   inauguration   of   the 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


I 


first  President  of  the  United  States ;  of  the 
organization  of  the  Legislature  of  the 
State  of  New  York;  of  the  capture  of 
Major  Andre;  at  the  dedication  of  the 
Bartholdi  Statue  of  Liberty  in  New  York 
harbor ;  at  the  opening  of  the  World's 
Fair  in  Chicago  in  honor  of  the  four  hun- 
dredth anniversary  of  the  discovery  of 
America  by  Columbus;  and  the  opening 
of  the  great  fairs  at  Omaha,  Nebraska, 
and  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  He 
made  the  nominating  speeches  for  Harri- 
son in  the  national  convention  in  1892, 
and  for  Roosevelt  in  1904.  His  last  nota- 
ble political  speech  was  in  advocacy  of 
the  reelection  of  President  Taft,  in  1912. 
His  numerous  addresses  have  been  col- 
lected and  published  in  a  work  of  eight 
volumes.  Justin  McCarthy,  in  his  "Remi- 
niscences," in  regard  to  after-dinner 
speakers,  and  giving  the  first  rank  to 
Charles  Dickens,  says:  "I  do  not  quite 
know  whom  I  should  put  second  to  him ; 
sometimes  I  feel  inclined  to  give  James 
Russell  Lowell  that  place,  and  sometimes 
my  mind  impels  me  to  give  it  to  Mr. 
Lowell's  countryman,  Mr.  Chauncey  De- 
pew." 

While  Mr.  Depew's  highest  reputation 
throughout  the  country  is  as  a  stateman 
and  orator,  his  life  has  been  crowded  with 
professional  and  business  activities.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1858.  In  1866 
he  became  attorney  for  the  New  York  & 
Harlem  Railroad  Company,  and  in  1869, 
when  that  road  was  consolidated  with  the 
New  York  Central  &  Hudson  River  rail- 
road, with  Commodore  Vanderbilt  at  its 
head,  Mr.  Depew  was  chosen  attorney  for 
the  new  corporation  and  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  directors.  As  the 
Vanderbilt  railroad  system  expanded,  Mr. 
Depew's  interests  and  duties  increased  in 
a  corresponding  degree,  and  in  1875  he 
was  appointed  general  counsel  of  the  en- 
tire system,  and  elected  a  director  of  the 
roads  of  which  it  was  composed.  On  the 
N  Y-Vol  iv-3  33 


resignation  of  Mr.  Vanderbilt  from  the 
presidency,  Mr.  Depew  was  made  second 
vice-president,  and  in  1885  he  was  ad- 
vanced to  the  presidency  of  the  New 
York  Central  &  Hudson  River  railroad. 
He  held  this  office  for  thirteen  years, 
during  which  period  he  was  president  also 
of  six  other  railroad  companies  in  the 
allied  system,  and  was  director  in  twenty- 
eight  additional  lines.  On  his  resigna- 
tion from  the  presidency  in  1898  he  was 
elected  chairman  of  the  board  of  directors 
of  the  New  York  Central  &  Hudson 
River  railroad,  the  Lake  Shore  &  Michi- 
gan Southern  railroad,  and  the  New  York, 
Chicago  &  St.  Louis  railroad,  which  posi- 
tion he  now  holds. 

Mr.  Depew  was  president  of  the  St. 
Nicholas  Society  for  two  years,  and  of 
the  Empire  State  Society  of  the  Sons  of 
the  American  Revolution  for  a  number  of 
years;  and  of  the  Yale  Alumni  Associa- 
tion of  New  York  for  ten  years ;  for  seven 
years  president  of  the  Union  League,  a 
longer  term  than  ever  held  by  any  other, 
and  on  declining  further  election  he  was 
made  an  honorary  life  member ;  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  New  York  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce; the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati;  a 
Master  Mason  of  Kane  Lodge  of  Peek- 
skill,  and  holds  the  thirty-third  degree  in 
the  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite, 
in  the  Valley  of  New  York;  the  Hugue- 
not Society ;  the  Metropolitan  Club ;  the 
Century  Club,  the  Holland  Society ;  the 
New  England  Society ;  the  Colonial  Wars 
Society ;  the  American  Bar  Association ; 
the  New  York  Bar  Association  ;  the  West- 
chester County  Bar  Association ;  the  Re- 
publican Club  ;  the  Lotos  Club  ;  the  Play- 
ers' Club  ;  the  Transportation  Club  ;  the 
Lafayette  Post ;  the  University  Club  ;  the 
Phi  Beta  Kappa  Club  and  the  Psi  Upsilon 
Club.  In  Washington,  D.  C,  he  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Metropolitan  Club ;  the  Chevy- 
Chase  Club  ;  the  Alibi  Club  ;  the  Country 
Club  and  the  University  Club;  is  also  a 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


director  in  many  financial,  fiduciary  and 
other  corporations.  Now  in  his  eighty- 
second  year,  he  is  as  vigorous  and  active 
in  business  affairs,  as  a  political  and 
after-dinner  speaker,  and  in  the  manifold 
duties  of  social  life,  as  in  any  period  of 
his  career. 

He  married,  in  1871,  Elise,  daughter  of 
William  Hegeman,  of  New  York.  She 
died  in  1892.  Of  this  marriage  was  born 
a  son,  Chauncey  M.  Depew,  Jr.  Mr.  De- 
pew  married  (second)  in  1901,  May  Pal- 
mer. 


ZIMMERMAN,  Jeremiah,  D.  D.,  tu  D., 
L.  H.  D. 

Clergyman,  Author,  Traveler. 

Rev.  Jeremiah  Zimmerman  was  born 
April  26,  1848,  near  Snydersburg,  Mary- 
land, a  son  of  Henry  and  Leah  Zimmer- 
man. The  father  was  a  well-to-do  farmer, 
endowed  with  more  than  ordinary  mental 
ability.  His  family  included  six  sons 
and  four  daughters.  One  of  the  sons.  Dr. 
Edwin  Zimmerman,  is  a  prominent  phy- 
sician in  New  York  City ;  another,  Rev. 
L.  M.  Zimmerman,  D.  D.,  is  one  of  the 
leading  clergymen  of  Baltimore,  Mary- 
land. 

After  passing  from  the  public  schools, 
Jeremiah  Zimmerman  attended  the  Man- 
chester Academy,  and  subsequently  spent 
two  years  in  Irving  College,  a  military 
school,  in  the  same  town.  The  following 
two  years  were  spent  at  the  Missionary 
Institute  in  Selinsgrove,  Pennsylvania. 
In  1870  he  entered  the  sophomore  class  in 
Pennsylvania  College  at  Gettysburg,  and 
graduated  with  honor  in  June,  1873.  In 
the  following  September  he  entered  the 
Lutheran  Theological  Seminary  at  Gettys- 
burg, where  he  completed  the  special 
course  of  three  years,  and  later  received 
the  degree  of  A.  M.  Throughout  his  life 
Dr.  Zimmerman  has  been  a  student  and 
lover  of  books,  and  has  the  distinction  of 


having  possessed  the  best  library  of  any 
student  that  ever  entered  that  institution. 
His  present  library  includes  some  thou- 
sands of  volumes  of  scholarly  works,  a 
great  number  of  them  on  scientific  re- 
search. Several  months  before  complet- 
ing his  course  in  theological  studies  he 
was  invited  by  three  different  congrega- 
tions to  become  their  pastor,  and  after 
due  consideration  he  decided  to  accept  the 
call  of  the  Lutheran  church  in  Valatie, 
Columbia  county.  New  York.  After 
graduation,  in  June,  1876,  he  proceeded 
to  his  new  field  of  labor,  stopping  for  a 
week  at  Philadelphia  to  visit  the  Centen- 
nial Exposition,  and  reached  Valatie  early 
in  July.  There  he  at  once  entered  upon 
his  work,  and  at  the  annual  convention 
of  the  New  York  and  New  Jersey  Synod 
(now  the  New  York  Synod),  held  in  his 
church  in  September,  he  was  solemnly 
ordained  to  the  Gospel  ministry,  and  at 
the  same  time  he  was  formally  installed 
as  pastor  of  the  church.  His  labors  in 
this  field  were  cut  short  in  January,  1878, 
by  the  sudden  death  of  his  wife,  M.  Adele 
(Springstein)  Zimmerman,  whom  he  had 
married  but  one  year  before.  He  at  once 
resigned  his  pastorate,  and  spent  some 
time  in  travel,  visiting  Egypt,  Palestine, 
Greece,  and  various  countries  of  Europe, 
and  returned  to  America  in  the  fall  of  the 
same  year. 

After  a  visit  of  some  months  at  his  old 
home  in  Maryland,  devoting  his  time  to 
study  and  preaching,  in  June,  1879,  by 
invitation,  he  went  to  Syracuse,  New 
York,  where  he  organized  the  First  Eng- 
lish Lutheran  Church  of  that  city.  For 
twenty-five  years  he  continued  as  its 
pastor.  The  first  religious  services  of  this 
body  were  held  in  the  courthouse,  where 
meetings  were  conducted  every  Sunday 
and  on  Wednesday  evenings,  until  the 
end  of  October,  1890,  at  which  time  they 
took  possession  of  the  former  Independ- 
ent Church  on  South  Salina  street.    Here 


34 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  society  continued  its  worship  until 
the  steady  progress  of  business  in  the 
central  part  of  the  city  demanded  the  site 
for  business  purposes,  and  the  property 
was  disposed  of  to  advantage.  With  the 
proceeds  a  tract  on  James  street  was  pur- 
chased, and  a  handsome  church  edifice 
was  erected,  free  from  all  encumbrance. 
Mr.  Zimmerman  was  active  in  whatever 
pertained  to  the  welfare  of  the  people  at 
large,  and  always  held  that  his  church  be- 
longed to  Syracuse.  In  the  early  period  of 
his  ministry  in  that  city  he  served  several 
years  as  president  of  the  Sunday  School 
Association  of  the  county,  and  for  many 
years  was  president  of  the  Bible  Society 
of  Onondaga  county.  As  president  of  the 
Sunday  School  Association  he  made  fre- 
quent addresses  in  the  various  towns. 
He  also  organized  the  English  Lutheran 
Church  in  Oswego.  For  seven  years  he 
was  secretary  of  the  Ministerial  Associ- 
ation, and  was  subsequently  its  presi- 
dent. During  his  pastoral  career  he  offi- 
ciated at  more  funerals  than  any  English 
speaking  pastor  in  the  city.  On  return- 
ing from  one  of  these  services  he  found 
a  request  to  speak  that  evening  in  behalf 
of  the  barbers,  who  under  the  leadership 
of  the  national  secretary,  were  laboring  to 
secure  the  passage  of  a  bill  in  the  Legis- 
lature to  close  the  barber  shops  of  the 
State  on  Sunday,  so  that  they  might  have 
a  day  of  rest.  Mr.  Zimmerman  continued 
his  labors  in  support  of  this  worthy  cause 
for  a  period  of  seven  years,  until  the  bill 
was  finally  passed.  The  law  was  applied 
to  the  entire  State,  with  the  exception  of 
New  York  City,  Saratoga  and  Niagara 
Falls.  Recently,  from  the  National  Sec- 
retary Klapetzky,  Dr.  Zimmerman  re- 
ceived a  letter  expressing  his  appreciation 
for  past  services,  and  telling  of  the  great 
benefit  that  came  to  the  barbers  as  a 
class  by  this  beneficent  law.  After  its 
enactment,  Dr.  Zimmerman  invited  the 
Syracuse  barbers  to  his  church  to  listen 


to  an  address  on  the  barber  in  history, 
going  back  to  prehistoric  times  among 
the  ancient  Egyptians  for  his  earliest 
examples,  when  shaving  was  accomplish- 
ed with  a  flint  knife.  Dr.  Zimmerman 
now  has  in  his  possession  several  flint 
knives  or  razors  from  that  early  period, 
and  three  bronze  razors  that  are  more 
than  3700  years  old,  which  he  collected 
during  his  travels  in  Egypt.  For  a  num- 
ber of  years  Dr.  Zimmerman  was  presi- 
dent of  the  Federation  of  Churches  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  also  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  National  Federation  of 
Churches.  Recognizing  the  fact  that 
with  all  our  distinct  denominations  we 
ought  to  cooperate  in  every  good  work  for 
the  welfare  of  humanity,  he  early  urged 
these  federations,  and  has  ever  been 
active  in  promoting  their  progress  and 
beneficent  work. 

He  married  (second)  January  21,  1890, 
Sophia  Elizabeth  (Cook)  Amos.  In  1903 
he  was  enabled  to  realize  his  long  and 
ardent  desire  to  visit  the  Far  East.  He 
secured  a  supply  for  the  church  during 
his  absence,  and  spent  twenty-eiglit 
months  in  travel  and  study,  making  the 
circuit  of  the  globe,  accompanied  by  his 
wife.  They  sailed  from  San  Francisco 
and  spent  several  weeks  on  the  Hawaiian 
Islands,  during  which  time  Dr.  Zimmer- 
man made  a  close  study  of  the  people  and 
their  institutions  of  learning,  which  he 
found  intensely  interesting  and  profitable. 
He  preached  and  lectured  many  times  in 
the  various  churches  and  schools  in 
Honolulu.  At  Hilo,  on  the  Island  of 
Hawaii,  he  had  a  unique  experience  as  a 
guest  of  honor  at  the  reception  of  the 
National  Guards  of  Honolulu,  whom  he 
had  recently  addressed,  during  their  brief 
encampment  near  the  vast  crater  of  the 
Volcano  Kilauea.  A  large  tent  had  been 
prepared  at  Hilo,  and  under  this  immense 
cover  the  invited  guests  sat  down  to  par- 
take of  a  genuine  Hawaiian  feast,  which 


35 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


all  greatly  relished  with  one  possible 
exception,  so  far  as  certain  dishes  were 
concerned.  However,  he  did  enjoy  the 
feast  of  soul  that  followed,  and  made 
a  speech,  characterized  by  its  American 
patriotism,  which  won  the  natives.  One 
of  his  most  interesting  experiences  in 
Honolulu,  where  he  sought  from  every 
available  source  to  gain  information  re- 
specting Captian  Cook  and  his  crew,  was 
his  interview  with  the  oldest  American 
resident  of  the  city  at  that  time,  Mrs. 
Taylor.  She  was  the  first  born  of  Amer- 
ican parents  on  the  Island,  a  daughter  of 
one  of  the  first  missionaries,  the  Rev.  Asa 
Thurston, and  shewas  personallyacquaint- 
ed  with  some  of  those  present  at  the  tragic 
death  of  Captain  Cook.  Dr.  Zimmerman 
preached  and  lectured  on  many  occasions 
in  the  various  cities  of  Japan,  speaking  in 
the  churches  and  national  schools  and 
colleges  in  Yokohama,  Tokio,  Shizuoka, 
Kumamoto,  Saga,  Nagasaki,  and  other 
places.  He  visited  many  of  the  American 
missions,  and  learned  much  of  the  social 
and  religious  conditions  of  the  people.  In 
Tokio  he  met  Count  Okumo,  the  Prime 
Minister,  who  invited  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Zim- 
merman to  his  home,  where  a  long  inter- 
view was  enjoyed.  The  introduction 
came  through  the  fact  that  Count  Okumo 
had  founded  a  large  university,  in  which 
the  Standard  Dictionary  was  the  leading 
authority  for  English,  and  when  he 
learned  that  Dr.  Zimmerman  was  one  of 
its  contributors,  he  sought  a  personal 
interview.  In  Korea,  Dr.  Zimmerman 
found  a  unique  people,  most  receptive 
of  Christianity,  who  deserved  a  better 
political  fate  than  the  complete  obliter- 
ation of  their  national  life  by  the  con- 
queror from  Japan.  He  was  profoundly 
impressed  by  what  he  saw  in  China,  with 
its  four  hundred  millions.  In  Shang- 
hai he  delivered  an  inspirational  address 
to  one  hundred  missionaries,  who  were 
about  to  go  to  their  respective  fields  of 


labor  in  the  interior  of  that  great  empire. 
At  this  meeting  Drs.  Hunter  and  Rich- 
ards spoke  in  enthusiastic  commendation 
of  Dr.  Zimmerman's  far  reaching  influ- 
ence through  his  messages  from  Amer- 
ica. They  urged  him  to  speak  in  the 
largest  church  of  the  city  on  the  following 
evening.  Wherever  opportunity  offered, 
he  continued  preaching  and  lecturing  on 
more  than  one  hundred  occasions  in  his 
tour  around  the  world,  and  visited  the 
leading  missions  of  every  Christian  de- 
nomination in  the  Far  East.  Dr.  Zim- 
merman travelled  independent  of  tourist 
parties,  and  took  time  for  special  observa- 
tion and  study,  visiting  many  places  off 
the  beaten  track  of  tourists.  He  saw  the 
Chinese  as  they  are,  and  was  often  amazed 
at  some  of  their  strange  customs.  In 
Canton,  China,  he  visited  the  Lutheran 
church  which  had  been  constructed  at  a 
cost  of  ten  thousand  dollars  by  native 
converts.  The  mission  of  which  it  formed 
a  part  included  nine  large  buildings,  one 
devoted  to  the  teaching  of  girls,  another 
a  theological  seminary  for  men,  in  which 
there  were  then  thirty-five  students  pre- 
paring for  the  ministry.  After  an  address 
delivered  by  Dr.  Zimmerman  before  these 
institutions,  he  was  astonished  as  well  as 
gratified  with  the  Chinese  to  find  that  a 
banquet  had  been  prepared  and  was 
served  by  the  mayor  and  common  council 
of  Canton,  in  the  home  of  the  superinten- 
dent of  the  mission,  as  an  endorsement  of 
his  work.  In  some  of  the  cities  which 
Dr.  Zimmerman  and  wife  visited  they 
were  regarded  by  the  natives  as  curiosi- 
ties. While  filling  his  pockets  with  silver 
Mexican  dollars,  which  were  obtained  for 
fifty  cents  each  of  American  money,  he 
was  reminded  of  the  monetary  free  silver 
heresy  which  came  so  near  leading  the 
American  people  to  disaster  in  1896.  At 
Kandy,  Ceylon,  by  special  permission,  he 
was  enabled  to  view  the  most  sacred  tradi- 
tional tooth  of  Buddha.     No  other  treas- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ure  in  all  the  world  is  inclosed  in  such  a 
pricelessly  jewelled  casket,  and  no  other 
relic  is  so  hallowed  by  the  several  hun- 
dred millions  of  Buddhists.  It  is  ex- 
hibited once  a  year,  and  faithful  pilgrims 
come  from  distant  countries.  The  rarest 
privilege  accorded  to  Dr.  Zimmerman  in 
his  many  years  of  travel  in  foreign  coun- 
tries occurred  in  April,  1914,  when,  in 
company  with  Ambassador  Morgenthau 
and  a  few  others,  he  was  permitted  to 
visit  the  tombs  of  the  Patriarchs  in  Heb- 
ron. Here  he  gazed  upon  the  cenotaphs 
of  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob  and  their 
wives.  On  two  former  occasions  he  had 
visited  Hebron,  and  with  intense  longings 
contemplated  the  exterior  of  that  sacred 
mosque,  and  ever  longed  to  enter  and  be- 
hold the  sacred  shrines.  Less  than  fifty 
persons  outside  the  Moslem  world  have 
ever  enjoyed  the  rare  privilege  of  visit- 
ing this  interior.  Dr.  Zimmerman  has 
travelled  more  than  five  thousand  miles 
in  India,  studying  the  social  and  religious 
condition  and  the  almost  incredible  prac- 
tices— for  in  India,  if  anywhere,  religion 
has  often  gone  mad.  He  has  given  many 
years  to  the  comparative  study  of  re- 
ligions, and  devoted  much  time  to  the 
examination  of  the  sacred  books  of  the 
East.  He  had  been  possessed  by  an  in- 
tense desire  to  see  other  world  religions 
in  action  and  judge  them  by  their  fruits 
and  practical  effect  upon  the  mind  and  life 
of  people  through  many  generations.  He 
often  went  beyond  the  usual  course  of 
tourists,  but  no  place  made  a  deeper  im- 
pression than  Puri,  where  the  Juggernaut 
gods  have  attracted  countless  millions  of 
pilgrims.  The  impressions  gained  by  his 
observations  and  the  study  of  the  won- 
derful belief  and  practices  have  been 
brought  out  in  his  work  entitled  "The  God 
Juggernaut  and  Hinduism  in  India."  This 
work  has  received  many  favorable  re- 
views from  the  press.  That  of  the  Syra- 
cuse "Post-Standard"  is  as  follows :  "Jere- 


miah Zimmerman  is  a  man  who  possesses 
in  extraordinary  measure  the  priceless 
faculty  of  being  interesting.  He  has  a 
devouring  appetite  for  facts  and  a  great 
passion  for  imparting  them.  For  the 
preparation  of  the  book,  'The  God  Jugger- 
naut and  Hinduism  in  India,'  Dr.  Zim- 
merman travelled  many  thousand  miles 
and  studied  the  sources  of  his  subject  in 
many  places." 

Dr.  Zimmerman's  interest  in  scientific 
and  archaeological  research  is  undimin- 
ished and  is  attested  by  his  valuable 
library.  He  was  active  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Syracuse  Branch  of  the 
Archaeological  Institute  of  America,  and 
has  served  as  one  of  its  presidents  and 
councillors.  For  many  years  he  was  one 
of  the  honorary  secretaries  of  the  Egypt, 
and  also  of  the  Palestine  Exploration 
fund,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Royal 
Numismatic  Society  of  London.  He  is 
honorary  correspondent  of  the  Victoria 
Institute  and  Philosophical  Society  of 
Great  Britain,  and  a  member  of  the 
American  Anthropological  Association. 
His  only  diversions  have  been  in  travel 
for  study.  At  home,  when  not  engaged 
in  some  public  service  for  the  people,  he 
can  always  be  found  at  work  in  his  library, 
for  he  has  ever  had  a  passion  for  study 
that  mastered  him,  often  going  beyond 
his  strength.  In  December,  1913.  he 
visited  Egypt  for  the  third  time,  and  re- 
mained until  the  following  April.  After 
going  up  the  Nile  by  steamer  to  Wadi 
Haifa,  he  proceeded  six  hundred  miles  by 
train  across  the  desert  to  Khartoum.  He 
spent  four  weeks  at  Luxor,  the  center  of 
Egypt's  ancient  remains,  and  every  day 
he  was  occupied  with  some  research  work, 
or  in  an  intimate  study  of  the  natives,  who 
greatly  interested  him.  As  a  lover  of  art 
and  history,  he  spent  days  and  weeks  in 
the  museums  of  every  country.  In  all  his 
journeys  he  was  accompanied  by  Mrs. 
Zimmerman,  who  shared  in  his  historical 


37 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tastes,  and  who  declared  that  she  could 
never  lose  him,  for  if  ever  missed,  he 
could,  with  certainty  of  discovery,  be 
sought  in  some  archaeological  museum  or 
gallery  of  art.  He  never  seemed  to  ex- 
perience fatigue  in  this  labor,  which  was 
to  him  a  true  diversion.  He  was  the  re- 
cipient of  many  special  favors  by  the 
keepers  of  the  great  museums,  receiving 
exceptional  opportunities  for  study  of 
particular  objects.  In  the  museum  at 
Constantinople  the  keeper  furnished  him 
daily  with  a  special  guide,  without  ex- 
pense. One  of  the  most  spectacular  and 
interesting  (though  not  edifying)  re- 
ligious ceremonies  that  he  witnessed  was 
the  so-called  descent  of  the  Holy  Fire  in 
the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  at  Jeru- 
salem. In  all  their  journeys  and  voyages 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Zimmerman  have  been 
especially  favored  by  the  absence  of 
accident  or  illness  and  the  presence  of 
favorable  weather.  When  visiting  the 
North  Cape  they  saw  the  midnight  sun 
on  five  consecutive  nights,  and  had  per- 
fect weather  during  the  several  months 
spent  in  Norway,  a  very  unusual  experi- 
ence in  that  country.  He  experienced 
some  severe  storms  on  sea,  especially  a 
violent  monsoon  that  drove  the  ship  from 
Hong  Kong  to  Singapore. 

In  addition  to  his  other  literary  work,  pub- 
lished in  various  journals,  he  contributed 
special  articles  to  the  "Lutheran  Quar- 
terly," "Records  of  the  Past,"  the  "Na- 
tional Geographic  Magazine,"  the  "Homi- 
letic  Monthly,"  the  "Numismatist,"  the 
"Numismatic  Circular"  of  London,  and 
other  periodicals.  He  has  the  distinction 
of  being  the  first  man  in  this  country  to 
lecture  on  the  coins  of  the  ancients  as 
monuments  of  ancient  history,  and  for 
many  years  delivered  lectures  on  this  sub- 
ject in  Syracuse  University  as  Professor 
of  Numismatics.  Since  1885  he  has  care- 
fully studied  the  famous  collections  of 
coins  in  the  great  museums  of  the  world 


because  of  their  fundamental  importance 
in  archaeological  research  in  giving  vivid 
objective  realism  to  the  historic  past.  By 
the  aid  of  the  ancient  medallic  art  that 
contains  contemporaneous  inscriptions, 
types,  copies  of  public  buildings,  statues, 
effigies  of  gods  and  goddesses,  and  the 
veritable  portraits  of  the  emperors,  kings 
and  members  of  the  royal  families  that 
were  stamped  upon  the  coins,  we  are 
enabled  to  reproduce  the  distant  past. 
Through  these  we  are  enabled  to  vital- 
ize those  ancient  heroes,  and  to  visu- 
alize the  remote  events  connected  with 
their  lives.  The  next  thing  to  seeing 
a  man  is  to  look  upon  his  portrait.  The 
portrait  of  every  coin  is  identified,  and 
there  is  no  uncertainty  in  their  portrait- 
ure. When  the  Standard  Dictionary, 
whose  production  cost  more  than  one 
million  dollars,  was  projected.  Dr.  Zim- 
merman, as  a  recognized  authority  on 
historic  coins  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans, 
was  selected  to  make  a  special  contribu- 
tion to  the  department  on  ancient  coins. 
Dr.  Funk,  the  editor-in-chief,  sent  this 
significant  caution:  "Be  careful  and  admit 
no  mistake  into  your  work,  for  if  the 
dictionary  is  wrong  where  shall  the 
people  go?"  Fortunately  his  work  es- 
caped adverse  criticism,  and  his  connec- 
tion with  this  great  dictionary  has  been 
his  ready  passport  into  all  the  great 
museums  of  the  world,  where  he  en- 
joyed special  privileges  for  critical  ex- 
amination and  study  of  rare  objects  not 
seen  by  the  general  public.  When  the 
words  "In  God  We  Trust"  were  omitted 
from  the  new  American  gold  pieces,  he 
wrote  a  number  of  articles  on  the  subject, 
illustrated  from  the  History  of  Coinage, 
and  elaborately  illustrated  articles  were 
furnished  for  the  "Records  of  the  Past" 
and  the  "Numismatic  Circular"  on  the  re- 
ligious character  of  ancient  coins.  This 
was  followed  by  a  request  from  a  London 
publisher  for  a  work  on  the  subject,  and 


38 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  due  time  it  was  issued.  An  English 
edition  of  his  "Spain  and  Her  People," 
was  also  published  in  London.  His  latest 
book  is:  "Help  When  Tempted." 

He  received  the  degfree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity  in  1896  from  Pennsylvania  Col- 
lege, from  Wittenberg  College  of  Spring- 
field, Ohio,  and  Susquehanna  University. 
In  1902  Pennsylvania  College  conferred 
upon  him  the  degree  of  LL.D.  for  scholar- 
ship, and  in  1908  he  received  the  degree 
of  L.  H.  D.  from  Susquehanna  University. 
Broad  scholarship  gained  through  exten- 
sive study  and  world-wide  travel,  a  fair- 
minded  and  sympathetic  nature,  an  in- 
tense love  for  his  fellowmen,  without  dis- 
tinction of  race  or  creed,  are  character- 
istics of  Dr.  Zimmerman.  His  broad  sym- 
pathies have  made  him  feel  at  home  with 
all  classes,  and  he  cherishes  with  special 
affection  the  personal  friendship  of  that 
celebrated  Algerine  chieftain,  Abd-el-Ka- 
der,  who  during  the  terrible  massacre  of 
August,  i860,  in  Damascus,  saved  twelve 
thousand  Christians  from  slaughter.  An- 
other was  that  eminent  scholar  and 
archaeologist  of  the  Ottoman  empire, 
Hamdy  Bey,  keeper  of  the  National  Mu- 
seum in  Constantinople ;  and  also  that 
remarkable  man,  ex-President  Diaz,  the 
waning  hope  of  Mexico.  In  Egypt  in 
the  Sudan  he  met  Lord  Kitchener,  and 
Sir  Rudolph  Slatin  Pasha,  the  two  heroic 
and  most  intimate  friends,  but  whom  this 
most  unnatural  war  has  alienated.  Dr. 
Zimmerman  has  many  friends  in  every 
country  and  a  dear  one  in  London,  whom 
he  baptized  at  the  Jordan,  in  1878,  but  he 
appreciates  the  fact  that  there  is  no  coun- 
try like  ours,  where  men  get  so  much 
money  for  service,  and  so  much  for  their 
money.  It  is  a  delusion  that  living  is  so 
cheap  in  Europe  and  so  expensive  in 
America.  It  is  the  high-artificial  or  fast 
Jiving  that  is  so  expensive. 

In  all  his  many  public  lectures  Dr.  Zim- 
merman has  sought  to  instruct  and  ele- 
vate, as  well  as  to  entertain,  and  to  em- 


phasize the  fact  that  a  life  of  honorable 
service  is  always  worth  the  living.  He 
says  it  is  easy  to  win  a  man  if  we  ap- 
proach him  with  a  human  heart  and  not 
with  a  cudgel.  The  greatest  object  of 
interest  that  he  ever  saw  was  not  the  Taj 
Mahal,  nor  the  vast  Himalayas,  but  Man, 
the  unrivalled  masterpiece  of  the  Al- 
mighty, and  made  in  God's  own  image. 
Dr.  Zimmerman  always  deplored  the 
spirit  of  bigotry  and  intolerance  as  being 
unreasonable  and  unchristian,  for  since 
man  is  a  thinker,  we  cannot  all  think 
alike,  although  we  can  all  love  alike.  It 
is  a  crime  to  attempt  the  impossible,  and 
to  coerce  a  man  to  believe  contrary  to  his 
will,  is  a  violation  of  liberty  of  con- 
science, that  inalienable  God-given  right 
of  every  man.  His  righteous  indignation 
was  aroused  by  a  minister  who  took  him 
to  task  as  having  committed  a  grievous 
offense  in  delivering  an  address  at  the 
dedication  of  the  Jewish  Temple  of  Con- 
cord in  Syracuse.  The  rage  and  em- 
barrassment of  the  critic  increased  as 
Dr.  Zimmerman  asked  him:  "To  whom 
did  Jesus  preach?  To  the  Jews.  I  have 
followed  his  example  and  spirit."  During 
one  of  his  visits  to  Palestine  he  partici- 
pated in  the  ceremonies  of  the  Samaritan 
Passover  and  dined  with  the  high  priest  in 
his  tent  on  Mt.  Gerizzim.  He  has  been 
present  at  special  services  of  the  Greek  and 
Latin  churches,  and  participated  in  the 
Easter  Day  services  about  the  Holy  Sepul- 
chre in  Jerusalem,  and  he  says:  "In  spite 
of  all  the  ecclesiastical  differences,  in  Christ 
we  may  be  one  in  love.  We  need  to  em- 
phasize the  words  of  Jesus :  'This  I  com- 
mand that  ye  love  one  another,  even  as 
I  have  loved  you.  By  this  shall  all  men 
know  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  have 
love  one  to  another.' "  A  different  stand- 
ard has  often  been  substituted.  In  view  of 
his  broad  catholicity  it  is  not  strange  that 
in  1912,  when  the  Secretary  of  the  State, 
owing  to  sudden  illness,  was  unable  to 
deliver  the  address  at  the  Centennial  of 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  Catholic  observances  on  Pompey  Hill, 
Onondaga  county,  the  presiding  judge 
and  priests  invited  Dr.  Zimmerman,  who 
happened  to  be  in  the  audience,  to  deliver 
the  address  instead.  He  at  once  re- 
sponded, to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  all 
concerned,  and  he  never  felt  more  at 
home.  On  the  evening  of  February  22nd, 
1916,  he  delivered  the  annual  address  on 
"Washington  and  America,"  before  the 
Knights  of  Columbus,  and  never  was 
there  greater  freedom  of  speech,  and  a 
more  enjoyable  evening  for  all.  It  was  a 
unique  occasion,  for  it  was  the  first  that 
a  Protestant  minister  had  spoken  in  the 
rooms  of  the  Knights  of  Columbus.  Sure- 
ly such  Christian  spirit  of  love  is  in- 
finitely more  pleasing  to  our  Heavenly 
Father  than  the  old-time  hatred.  That  he 
enjoys  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  all 
who  know  him  is  well  expressed  in 
an  editorial  which  appeared  in  the  "Post 
Standard,"  August  4,  1904,  more  than  a 
year  after  he  had  resigned  as  pastor  of 
his  church,  and  when  absent  on  his 
twenty-eight  months  of  travel  for  study 
around  the  world,  and  with  which  we 
close  his  sketch : 

Dr.  Zimmerman's  Retirement — The  announce- 
ment that  Rev.  Dr.  Jeremiah  Zimmerman  is  to 
retire  from  the  active  ministry  of  the  First  Eng- 
lish Lutheran  Church  in  this  city  is  received  with 
regret  by  a  great  many  persons.  There  is  prob- 
ably no  better  known  preacher  of  the  Gospel  in 
Syracuse  than  Dr.  Zimmerman.  He  has  spent 
twenty-five  active  years  with  the  First  English 
Lutheran  Church  and  during  that  period  he  has 
not  only  endeared  himself  to  the  members  of  the 
church  and  congregation,  but  through  hundreds 
of  kind  acts  has  won  a  place  in  the  hearts  of  the 
unchurched. 

Dr.  Zimmerman  is  of  the  broad  type.  Like  the 
late  Bishop  Huntingdon  he  possesses  a  feeling 
of  love  for  all,  and  he  loves  best  to  serve  the 
afTHcted.  Dr.  Zimmerman  is  called  upon  many 
times  every  year  to  minister  to  the  sick  and 
preach  for  the  dead  in  families  of  no  church 
connection.  It  is  this  class  of  people  that  will 
miss  him  now  that  he  is  to  lay  down  the  duties 
of  clergyman. 


Dr.  Zimmerman  has  been  honored  by  a  num- 
ber of  colleges  and  various  societies  and  when 
he  returns  from  his  present  foreign  travels  he 
will  be  warmly  welcomed  as  a  citizen  whose 
presence  is  helpful  to  the  community  as  well  as 
to  the  church. 


SATTERLEE,  Francis  Le  Roy, 

Physician,  Professional  Instmctor. 

Professor  Francis  Le  Roy  Satterlee  was 
born  June  15,  1847,  i"  New  York  City,  a 
descendant  of  New  England  forbears, 
who  were  many  of  them  distinguished 
citizens.  From  them  he  has  inherited 
many  qualities  that  make  for  supremacy, 
and  by  his  own  efforts  he  has  won  a  place 
of  distinction  in  the  Empire  State.  The 
family  is  claimed  to  have  descended  from 
Edmund  Satterley,  a  knight  of  Suffolk, 
England,  in  1235,  and  through  his  de- 
scendant, Sir  Roger  Satterley,  Lord  of  the 
Manor  of  Satterley,  in  Suffolk,  in  1307. 
The  line  is  completely  traced  from  Wil- 
liam Satterley,  Vicar  of  St.  Ide,  near 
Exeter,  England.  He  received  the  de- 
gree of  Master  of  Arts  from  Pembroke 
College,  Oxford,  and  was  imprisoned  by 
Cromwell  until  the  restoration,  for  loyalty 
to  the  king.  His  son  William  was  an 
Episcopalian  clergyman.  Another  son, 
Benedict  Satterley,  born  at  St.  Ide,  1656, 
was  a  captain  in  the  English  navy.  While 
his  vessel  was  in  the  harbor  of  New  Lon- 
don, Connecticut,  he  became  enamoured 
of  a  young  lady  there  and  resigned  his 
commission  and  settled  in  New  London. 
There  he  married,  August  2,  1682,  Re- 
becca Dymond,  daughter  of  James  Bemis, 
of  New  London.  Their  son,  William  Sat- 
terlee, born  1684,  in  New  London,  resided 
there,  and  married,  September  6,  171 1, 
Anne  Avery,  baptized  June  19,  1692, 
daughter  of  John  and  Abigail  (Chese- 
brough)  Avery,  of  Groton,  then  part  of 
New  London.  They  were  the  parents  of 
Benedict  Satterlee,  born  August  11,  1714, 
resided   first    in    New    London,   later    in 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Stonington,  Connecticut.  He  married, 
January  i6,  1738,  Elizabeth  Crary,  of  New 
London,  and  they  were  the  parents  of 
William  Satterlee,  a  soldier  of  the  French 
and  Indian  War,  later  of  the  Revolution- 
ary War,  in  which  he  was  a  brigade 
major.  He  was  a  captain  in  the  First 
Regular  Troops  established  by  the  pres- 
ent United  States  government.  Another 
son  of  Benedict  and  Elizabeth  (Crary) 
Satterlee,  was  Samuel  Satterlee,  born 
March  2,  1744,  in  Plainfield,  who  was  a 
captain  of  minute-men  in  the  Revolution, 
and  after  the  war  settled  at  Burnt  Hills, 
Saratoga  county,  New  York,  where  he 
died  April  12,  1831,  aged  eighty-eight 
years.  He  married,  in  1773,  Prudence, 
daughter  of  Rev.  John  and  Content 
(Brown)  Rathbone,  of  Rye,  New  York. 
Rev.  John  Rathbone  continued  his  serv- 
ices in  the  pulpit  to  the  age  of  ninety-six 
years. 

George  Crary  Satterlee,  born  Novem- 
ber 10,  1799,  in  Burnt  Hills.  New  York, 
married  Mary  Le  Roy  Livingston,  a  de- 
scendant of  the  old  New  York  family  of 
that  name  (see  below).  Children:  George 
Bowen,  born  1833;  Mary,  died  young; 
Livingston,  born  1840;  Walter,  January 
18,  1844;  Dr.  Francis  Le  Roy,  mentioned 
below;  Adele  Marie,  1853,  married  Wil- 
liam Henry  Willis. 

Dr.  Francis  Le  Roy  Satterlee,  son  of 
George  Crary  and  Mary  Le  Roy  (Liv- 
ingston) Satterlee,  combines  in  his  per- 
son the  mingled  qualities  of  the  Scotch 
and  the  New  England  blood.  As  a  youth 
he  was  a  student  in  the  schools  of  New 
York  City,  and  graduated  from  New 
York  University  with  the  degree  of  Bach- 
elor of  Philosophy  in  1865.  Three  years 
later  he  was  graduated  from  the  medical 
college  of  that  university,  and  received 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  and 
subsequently  Doctor  of  Philosophy.  In 
his  early  student  life  he  was  an  enthusias- 
tic devotee  of  chemistry,  and  his  precep- 


tor was  the  celebrated  Professor  John 
William  Draper,  president  of  the  New 
York  University  Medical  College.  Young 
Satterlee  made  a  specialty  of  the  study  of 
rheumatic  diseases,  being  himself  afflicted 
with  the  malady,  and  succeeded  in  curing 
himself.  For  some  years  after  graduation 
Dr.  Satterlee  was  Professor  of  Chemistry 
and  Hygiene  in  the  American  Veterinary 
College,  and  for  sixteen  years  was  a  police 
surgeon  of  the  City  of  New  York,  from 
which  he  resigned.  He  is  attending  phy- 
sician of  St.  Elizabeth's  Hospital,  New 
York,  consulting  physician  of  the  Mid- 
night Mission,  and  was  formerly  attend- 
ing physician  of  the  Northeastern  Dis- 
pensary, in  the  departments  of  skin  and 
rheumatism.  He  is  Professor  of  Physics, 
Chemistry  and  Metallurgy  in  the  New 
York  College  of  Dentistry,  where  he  still 
lectures  four  times  a  week,  and  was  until 
recently  surgeon  of  the  Eighty-fourth 
Regiment,  National  Guard,  State  of  New 
York.  He  is  the  ranking  member  of  the 
board  of  trustees  and  directors  of  the 
New  York  College  of  Dentistry,  having 
served  since  1869,  and  is  treasurer  of  the 
board.  Dr.  Satterlee  has  achieved  great 
success  in  the  treatment  of  disease,  espe- 
cially in  rheumatic  cases,  and  the  treat- 
ment of  gallstones  by  medicine  and  with- 
out operation,  and  has  thus  gathered  some 
of  the  emoluments  due  to  skill  and  indus- 
try. He  is  a  trustee  of  the  West  Side 
Savings  Bank  of  New  York  City ;  is  a 
fellow  of  the  New  York  Academy  of  Med- 
icine ;  a  member  of  the  New  York  County 
and  State  Medical  societies;  an  honor- 
ary member  of  the  Society  of  Arts,  Lon- 
don, England ;  American  Medical  Asso- 
ciation ;  member  of  the  Pathological  Soci- 
ety ;  American  Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  Science ;  Medical  Associa- 
tion of  Greater  New  York ;  New  York 
Geographical  Society,  and  fellow  of  the 
New  York  Historical  Society.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  various  patriotic  organiza- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tions,  including  Sons  of  the  Revolution, 
Society  of  Colonial  Wars  and  St.  Nicho- 
las Society.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Cen- 
tury Club  and  of  the  college  fraternity 
Zeta  Psi,  of  which  he  has  been  president. 
Dr.  Satterlee  has  been  a  writer  for  medi- 
cal publications,  and  is  an  acknowledged 
authority  on  uric  acid  disease,  in  whose 
treatment  he  has  been  wonderfully  suc- 
cessful, treating  patients  from  all  parts  of 
the  United  States.  He  is  the  author  of  pub- 
lications published  by  Davis  of  Detroit, 
Michigan,  and  others,  including:  "A 
Modern  View  of  Rheumatism,"  "Rheumat- 
ic Poison  and  its  Treatment,"  and  "Rheu- 
matism and  Gout"  (1890).  His  remark- 
able success  has  not  operated  to  injure 
his  disposition  or  manner,  and  he  is 
among  the  most  democratic  of  gentlemen, 
widely  known  and  universally  esteemed 
for  his  qualities  as  a  man. 

He  married  (first)  December  9,  1868, 
Laura  Suydam,  daughter  of  Henry  Suy- 
dam,  of  New  York;  (second)  September 
19,  1906,  Mary  Philipse  (Gouveneur)  Ise- 
lin,  widow  of  John  H.  Iselin,  and  grand- 
niece  of  the  Colonial  patriot,  Frederick 
Philipse.  Children :  Madeline  Le  Roy, 
Dr.  Henry  Suydam  Satterlee,  married 
Ethel  Whitney;  Francis  Le  Roy,  Jr.,  mar- 
ried Ebba  Peterson ;  Laura  Livingston, 
wife  of  Tracy  Johnston. 

(The  Livingston  Line). 

The  family  name  of  Livingston  origi- 
nated in  the  place  of  residence  of  its  users. 
It  was  at  first  de  Levingston,  meaning  of 
or  from  the  town  or  tun  of  Leving.  A 
tun  at  first  meant  the  quick-set  hedge  or 
stockade  around  the  home  of  the  head  of 
the  manor,  and  afterwards  came  to  mean 
the  manor  house  and  the  settlement 
around  it.  The  name  originated  in  Lin- 
lithgowshire, Scotland,  where  for  long  has 
been  the  village  of  Livingston,  known  at 
an  earlier  period  as  Levingstun,  and  as 
written  by  the  monks  Villa  Leving.    The 


Livingston  arms :  For  the  families  resid- 
ing in  America,  the  technical  blazon  of 
the  coat-of-arms  is :  Quarterly,  first  and 
fourth,  argent,  three  cinquefoils  gules, 
within  a  double  tressure  flowered  and 
counter-flowered  with  fleur-de-lis  vert,  for 
Livingston ;  second  and  third,  sable,  a 
bend  between  six  billets  or,  for  Callendar. 
Crest :  A  full-rigged  ship  at  sea,  proper. 
Motto :   Spcro  meliora. 

Robert  Livingston  was  the  first  Lord 
of  the  Manor  of  Livingston.  He  was 
born  at  Ancrum,  on  the  Teviot,  Rox- 
burghshire, Scotland,  December  13,  1654, 
son  of  Rev.  John  Livingston  and  his  wife, 
Janet  (Fleming)  Livingston.  He  is  gen- 
erally distinguished  in  history  as  "Rob- 
ert the  Elder,"  because  his  nephew,  like- 
wise a  prominent  person  in  the  colony, 
bore  the  same  name  and  was  known  as 
"Robert  the  Nephew."  At  the  time  of  his 
birth  his  father  was  the  minister  at  An- 
crum, and  this  son  accompanied  his  par- 
ents to  Rotterdam,  Holland,  in  the  win- 
ter of  1663,  when  nine  years  old.  During 
his  stay  there,  he  learned  to  speak  the 
Dutch  tongue  fluently,  which  was  excel- 
lent preparation  for  his  coming  to  live  in 
a  Dutch  colony  in  America,  where  he  rose 
to  be  one  of  the  most  influential  person- 
ages. He  was  eighteen  years  old  when 
his  father  died,  and  being  one  of  the  fif- 
teen children  of  one  who  had  earned  his 
living  by  preaching,  was  naturally  thrown 
upon  his  own  resources.  He  had  no 
thought  to  follow  in  his  father's  footsteps, 
having  sufTered  severely  through  the  re- 
ligious persecution  of  the  family,  hence 
he  decided  to  test  his  fortune  in  the  new 
world,  about  which  unexplored  place 
everyone  was  talking.  However,  he  went 
back  to  Scotland  with  his  mother  for  a 
short  stay  after  his  father's  death,  and 
on  April  28,  1673,  sailed  from  Greenoch 
on  the  ship  "Catherine,"  Captain  John 
Phillips,  commander,  bound  for  Charles- 
town  in  New  England,  which  facts  he  re- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


corded  in  a  diary.  He  shortly  removed 
from  New  England  and  selected  Albany, 
New  York,  for  his  abiding  place.  It  was 
only  a  few  months  after  his  arrival  there 
that  he  began  buying  land,  thus  inaugu- 
rating his  final  achievement  of  being  a 
great  landed  proprietor.  He  bought  what 
was  known  as  lot  "No.  i  on  the  hill,"  in 
March,  1675,  most  of  the  people  having 
residences  along  the  level  bank  of  the 
Hudson,  with  gardens  extending  to  the 
river.  Not  long  afterward,  he  added  the 
lot  on  the  south,  which  was  the  northwest 
corner  of  State  and  Pearl  streets,  now  the 
site  of  the  Tweddle  office  building.  He 
resided  there  until  he  bought  the  land  of 
his  manor,  and  thereupon  transferred  this 
Albany  property  to  his  son,  Philip,  the 
oldest  surviving  male  child  at  the  time. 
The  Manor  of  Livingston  originated  when 
Robert  Livingston  petitioned  Sir  Edmund 
Andros,  governor-general  of  New  York 
province,  to  allow  him  to  purchase  some 
of  the  land  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Hud- 
son river,  which  was  owned  by  the  In- 
dians, and  the  grant  was  signed  Novem- 
ber 12,  1680.  Robert  Livingston  married, 
in  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Albany, 
July  9,  1679  (old  style),  Alida  (Schuyler) 
Van  Rensselaer,  widow  of  Dominie  Nich- 
olas Van  Rensselaer,  and  daughter  of 
Philip  Pieterse  Schuyler.  She  was  born 
February  28,  1656,  died  March  2-j,  1729. 
They  had  nine  children. 

Philip  Livingston,  son  of  Robert  and 
Alida  (Schuyler-Van  Rensselaer)  Liv- 
ingston, was  born  July  9,  1686,  at  Albany, 
New  York,  and  died  February  4,  1749,  in 
New  York  City.  He  was  the  fourth  child 
and  second  son,  and  became  the  second 
Lord  of  the  Manor  of  Livingston.  On  the 
death  of  his  father,  in  1728,  he  succeeded 
to  ownership,  as  second  Lord  of  the 
Manor,  of  the  largest  portion  of  the  vast 
manorial  estate,  as  well  as  to  all  the  privi- 
leges. He  married,  September  19,  1707, 
Catrina  Van  Brugh,  born  at  Alban}',  New 


York,  but  baptized  in  the  Dutch  church, 
New  York  City,  November  10,  1689,  died 
February  20,  1756,  daughter  of  Colonel 
Pieter  Van  Brugh.  They  had  eleven  chil- 
dren. 

Robert  Livingston,  son  of  Philip  and 
Catrina  (Van  Brugh)  Livingston,  was 
born  December  16,  1708,  at  Albany,  and 
died  at  his  home  in  Clermont,  New  York, 
November,  1790.  He  succeeded  his  father 
as  the  third  Lord  of  the  Manor  of  Liv- 
ingston in  1749.  The  family  seat  in  the 
Legislature  was  occupied  by  his  uncle, 
Gilbert,  until  1737,  then  he  took  it  and 
held  it  until  1758.  At  the  other  extreme 
of  his  life,  when  the  Revolution  broke  out, 
he  was  too  old  to  take  an  active  part  as 
an  officer  or  member  of  the  manor  militia, 
but  he  urged  his  sons  to  belong,  and  four 
of  his  sons  took  active  positions  in  the 
struggle  for  liberty.  However,  instead  of 
remaining  inactive,  he  proved  his  loyalty 
by  placing  his  iron  mines  and  foundry  at 
the  disposition  of  the  committee  of  safety. 
He  married  (first)  May  20,  1731,  Maria 
Thong,  or  Tong,  daughter  of  Walter 
Tong,  born  June  3,  171 1,  died  May  30, 
1765.  He  married  (second)  Gertrude 
(Van  Rensselaer)  Schuyler,  born  October 
I,  1714,  died  previous  to  May  28,  1769. 
He  had  thirteen  children,  all  by  the  first 
marriage. 

John  Livingston,  son  of  Robert  and 
Maria  (Thong  or  Tong)  Livingston,  was 
born  February  11,  1749,  in  New  York 
City,  and  died  at  his  home,  "Oak  Hill," 
Columbia  county,  New  York,  October  24, 
1822.  He  built  the  Livingston  mansion 
known  as  "Oak  Hill,"  the  only  one,  ex- 
cept "Clermont,"  now  owned  by  a  Liv- 
ingston, where  he  lived  the  life  of  a  coun- 
try gentleman.  He  bequeathed  this  resi- 
dence to  his  youngest  surviving  son,  Her- 
man, and  many  of  the  ancestral  portraits, 
family  furniture  and  silver  combined  to 
make  it  a  charming  abode  for  his  descend- 
ants.     He    was    commissioned    aide-de- 


43 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


camp  to  Governor  George  Clinton,  in 
April,  1778,  and  accompanied  him  in  the 
pursuit  of  Sir  John  Johnson  and  his  raid- 
ers, in  May,  1780.  He  married  (first) 
May  II,  1775,  Mary  Ann  Le  Roy,  daugh- 
ter of  Jacob  and  Cornelia  (Rutgers)  Le 
Roy;  (second)  November  3,  1796,  Cath- 
erine Livingston  Ridley,  daughter  of  Hon. 
William  Smith,  "War  Governor  of  New 
Jersey."  He  had  ten  children,  all  by  first 
marriage. 

Daniel  Livingston,  son  of  John  and 
Mary  Ann  (Le  Roy)  Livingston,  was 
born  June  3,  1786,  resided  in  New  York 
City,  and  married  Eliza  Oothout.  Chil- 
dren:   Mary  Le  Roy  and  Eliza. 

Mary  Le  Roy  Livingston,  daughter  of 
Daniel  and  Eliza  (Oothout)  Livingston, 
became  the  wife  of  George  Crary  Satter- 
lee  (see  Satterlee). 


LIFE,  Willard  C-,  and  Clifford  E., 
Men  of  Enterprise. 

The  association  in  the  popular  mind  of 
the  names  of  particular  families  with  the 
localities  in  which  they  have  lived  and 
grown  to  prominence  and  influence  is  very 
natural,  and  under  the  old  aristocratic  in- 
stitutions of  the  past  it  was  a  matter  of 
common  occurrence  for  towns,  cities  and 
even  larger  regions  to  regard  some  family 
as  having  a  sort  of  half  proprietory  inter- 
est in  their  affairs  and  a  certain  hereditary 
right  to  preside  over  them.  It  is  out  of  the 
question,  of  course,  in  republican  America 
that  such  a  feeling  could  be  carried  to 
this  extent,  yet  even  here  we  often  see  the 
phenomenon  of  certain  names  being  re- 
garded with  a  peculiar  respect  for  a  num- 
ber of  generations  on  account  of  the  serv- 
ices rendered  by  them  to  the  community. 
There  is  one  profound  difference,  how- 
ever, between  the  occurrence  of  this  as  it 
prevailed,  let  us  say,  in  Europe  under  the 
feudal  system  and  in  America  to-day,  for 
in  the  first  place  it  was  then  often  only 


necessary  for  one  member  of  a  family  to 
display  an  especial  talent  or  ability  in 
order  that  honor  should  be  done  his  de- 
scendants for  an  indefinite  period,  while 
here  it  is  only  while  they  live  up  to  the 
standard  set  by  him  that  a  man's  de- 
scendants can  hope  to  share  his  honor.  It 
is  thus  a  far  more  notable  achievement 
for  a  family  to  remain  influential  and  re- 
spected here,  to-day,  than  it  ever  was 
elsewhere  in  other  ages,  and  we  feel  that 
an  added  praise  is  due  to  those  names 
that  have  persevered  in  their  high  places. 
Such  has  been  the  case  with  the  Lipe  fam- 
ily of  Syracuse  which  has  now  been  repre- 
sented for  two  generations  by  members 
who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  the 
industrial  life  of  that  flourishing  city  of 
Syracuse,  New  York.  It  is  with  men  of 
both  generations  of  the  Lipe  family  that 
this  brief  sketch  is  concerned.  Willard 
C.  Lipe  and  Clifford  E.  Lipe,  uncle  and 
nephew,  the  elder  of  whom  is  now  the 
active  head  of  many  important  industrial 
enterprises  in  Syracuse,  and  the  younger 
deceased,  his  brilliant  career  cut  off  short 
almost  at  the  threshold.  His  death  at 
Saranac  Lake  in  the  Adirondacks,  whither 
he  had  gone  for  his  health,  on  February 
7,  1916,  was  felt  as  a  severe  loss  by  the 
whole  community  and  mourned  by  a  large 
circle  of  devoted  friends  and  admirers. 

Willard  C.  Lipe  was  born  in  Mont- 
gomery county.  New  York,  December  21, 
1861,  a  son  of  John  E.  and  Susan  M. 
(Coughtry)  Lipe,  old  and  highly  re- 
spected residents  of  that  region.  The 
family  had  long  been  engaged  in  agri- 
culture in  Montgomery  county,  and  both 
John  E.  Lipe  and  his  father,  Jacob  I.  Lipe, 
were  successful  farmers  there.  The  latter 
died  in  1880  at  the  advanced  age  of 
eighty-four,  and  the  son,  John  E.,  died  in 
1910,  having  attained  the  same  age  as 
that  of  his  father,  eighty-four  years.  Wil- 
lard C.  Lipe  was  one  of  a  family  of  three 
children.     He  passed  his  childhood  in  his 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


native  region,  attending  the  local  district 
school  for  his  education  and  benefiting 
by  the  healthful  life  and  training  to  be 
gained  on  the  farm.  In  the  year  1880, 
before  he  had  completed  his  nineteenth 
year,  he  left  the  parental  home  and  re- 
moved to  the  city  of  Syracuse,  which  has 
ever  since  remained  his  home  and  the 
scene  of  his  busy  life.  In  his  youth  he 
attended  Clinton  Liberal  Institute  where 
he  studied  mechanical,  scientific  and  com- 
mercial lines  and  proved  himself  a  most 
apt  student  and  a  hard  and  industrious 
worker.  His  elder  brother,  Charles  E. 
Lipe,  had  already  made  an  entrance  into 
the  industry  of  manufacturing  of  machin- 
ery and  tools  and  founded  the  Lipe  Shops, 
and  it  was  into  this  establishment  that 
Willard  C.  Lipe  went  and  it  was  there 
that  he  gained  the  practical  knowledge 
that  he  has  of  his  business  in  all  its  de- 
tails. It  was  not  long  before  his  talent 
made  itself  apparent  and  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  drafting  room  where  the  de- 
signs of  the  machinery  were  made  which 
were  afterwards  constructed  in  the  shop. 
Here  his  ability  displayed  itself  to  even 
greater  advantage  and  he  was  steadily 
advanced  to  posts  of  greater  and  greater 
trust  and  responsibility.  His  talents  did 
not  stop  short  at  the  mechanical  side  of 
the  business,  but  as  he  advanced  to  a 
place  of  control  he  showed  himself  to  be 
a  man  of  general  executive  and  business 
capability  and  soon  was  recognized  as  an 
important  figure  in  the  industrial  world. 
Nor  were  his  business  connections  limited 
to  any  one  concern,  but  extended  them- 
selves until  they  embraced  many  great 
enterprises  and  he  to-day  holds  the  office 
of  president  of  the  Lipe-Walrath  Com- 
pany, the  Globe  Malleable  Iron  and  Steel 
Company  and  the  Railway  Roller  Bear- 
ing Company.  Besides  this  he  is  vice- 
president  of  the  Brown-Lipe  Gear  Com- 
pany, the  Brown-Lipe-Chapin  Company 
and    one    of   the    largest    owners    of    the 


Engelberg  HuUer  and  the  Endicott  Forg- 
ing companies.  The  Brown-Lipe  Gear 
Company  has  a  large  plant  near  the 
Straight  Line  Engine  Company's  works 
on  South  Geddes  street,  employing  five 
hundred  and  fifty  workmen  in  its  exten- 
sive operations.  The  Lipe  Shops  design 
and  build  special  machines,  tools  and  dies 
and  general  machine  work,  the  plant 
being  one  of  the  most  perfectly  equipped 
for  this  purpose  in  the  State.  Mr.  Lipe 
is  himself  an  expert  in  his  line,  possessing- 
the  most  complete  knowledge  of  the  prin- 
ciples underlying  mechanical  construction 
and  a  very  large  experience  of  the  actual 
workings  of  engines  and  mechanisms  gen- 
erally. To  this  he  adds  unusual  inventive 
ability  and  is  therefore  the  best  possible 
person  to  carry  on  the  business  founded 
by  his  brother. 

A  man  so  deeply  engaged  in  the  con- 
duct of  enterprises  of  such  moment,  it 
would  seem  could  scarcely  find  time  and 
opportunity  to  give  to  other  kinds  of 
activity,  yet  such  is  certainly  not  true  in 
the  case  of  Mr.  Lipe  who  is  very  promi- 
nent in  the  general  life  of  the  city.  He  is 
extremely  interested  in  the  general  wel- 
fare of  the  community  and  is  associated 
with  many  organizations  having  that  wel- 
fare as  their  objective.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  of  the 
Citizens'  and  Technology  clubs  and  in  his 
connection  with  them  amply  displays  his 
broad-minded  public  spirit.  Socially  and 
fraternally,  too,  he  is  active,  a  member  of 
Syracuse  City  Lodge,  No.  215,  Knights 
of  Pythias,  and  his  interest  extends  to 
sports  and  athletics  so  that  he  belongs  to 
the  Onondaga  Golf  and  Country  Club, 
also  the  Bellevue  Country  Club,  the  well- 
known  Mystique  Krewe,  and  the  Boys' 
Club.  In  politics  he  generally  votes  the 
Republican  ticket,  but  maintains  that  in- 
dependence of  mind  that  marks  him  in 
every  department  of  thought  and  activity, 
reserving  to  himself  the  privilege  of  se- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


lecting  the  best  cause  and  candidate  as  he 
sees  them  at  the  time.  He  is  affiliated 
with  the  Presbyterian  church  and  attends 
the  Fourth  Church  of  that  denomination 
in  Syracuse.  His  residence  is  the  hand- 
some one  at  No.  112  Summit  avenue. 

Mr.  Lipe  was  married  on  August  27, 
1884,  to  Jennie  Sponable,  a  daughter  of 
David  and  Margaret  (Vrooman)  Spon- 
able, of  Fort  Plain,  New  York,  and  of 
their  union  two  children  have  been  born, 
Marjorie  and  Willard  Charles. 

Mr.  Lipe  is  a  great  believer  in  organi- 
zaton  and  cooperation  and  has  learned  to 
economize  to  the  last  degree  all  the  fac- 
tors of  an  operation  to  the  production  of 
the  greatest  possible  result.  It  is  his 
policy  to  utilize  every  possible  opportun- 
ity to  promote  his  aims,  and  as  these  are 
so  closely  identified  with  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  community  it  is  obvious  in 
what  lies  his  great  value  as  a  citizen.  He 
stands  to-day  as  a  splendid  example  of 
the  man  of  enterprise  so  typical  of  our 
epoch  and  if  it  is  true,  as  it  unquestion- 
ably is,  that  America  can  boast  of  a  repu- 
tation as  the  leader  of  the  world  in  the 
conduct  of  all  successful  industrial  and 
commercial  affairs,  then  it  is  due  to  the 
presence  in  its  midst  of  men  of  action 
such  as  Mr.  Lipe. 

Clifford  E.  Lipe,  nephew  of  Willard  C. 
Lipe,  whose  tragic  and  untimely  death 
was  the  cause  of  so  general  a  regret,  was 
born  December  23,  1887,  in  Syracuse,  the 
lifelong  scene  of  his  short  but  active 
career.  He  was  a  son  of  Charles  E.  and 
Mary  (Sponable)  Lipe,  both  deceased,  his 
father  having  been  the  founder  of  the 
Lipe  Shops  and  a  part  founder  of  several 
other  great  concerns.  The  son  began  his 
education  in  the  excellent  public  schools 
of  his  native  city  and  graduated  from  the 
Central  High  School.  It  had  been  decided 
in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  both  him- 
self and  his  father  that  he  should  take  an 
engineering  course  and  with  this  end  in 


view  he  matriculated  at  Cornell  Univer- 
sity. Here  he  distinguished  himself  as  a 
student  of  unusual  aptness  and  diligence 
and  won  the  regard  and  affection  at  once 
of  his  masters  and  the  undergraduate 
body.  He  graduated  with  the  class  of 
191 1  and  received  a  degree  in  mechanical 
engineering.  He  then  went  abroad  with 
Mr.  Charles  S.  Brown  and  with  him  spent 
a  year  in  travelling  over  the  British  Isles 
and  the  Continent  of  Europe.  Returning 
to  America  he  at  once  began  active  busi- 
ness life  in  connection  with  the  engineer- 
ing and  machine  works  in  which  his 
father  was  so  deeply  interested,  and 
quickly  displayed  an  ability  in  business 
far  above  the  average  and  which  seemed 
to  promise  a  most  brilliant  career  for  the 
future.  Unfortunately  the  future  never 
arrived  for  him.  He  was  a  large  stock- 
holder in  the  Brown-Lipe-Chapin  Com- 
pany, the  Globe  Malleable  Iron  and  Steel, 
the  Railway  Roller  Bearing,  the  Engel- 
berg  Huller  and  the  Endicott  Forging 
companies.  He  was  also  vice-president 
and  a  large  stockholder  of  the  Brown- 
Lipe  Gear  Company.  He  was  also  very 
active  in  social  and  club  circles  in  the 
city  and  was  a  member  of  many  organ- 
izations. While  in  college  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Seal  and  Serpent  Frater- 
nity and  he  later  belonged  to  the  Ameri- 
can Society  of  Mechanical  Engineers,  the 
Technology  Club  of  Syracuse,  the  Cornell 
Club  of  New  York  and  the  Syracuse  Cor- 
nell Club.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the 
University,  City,  Century  and  Citizens' 
clubs  of  Syracuse.  Deeply  interested  in 
athletics  and  out-door  sports  he  was  one 
of  the  incorporators  and  a  director  of  the 
Bellevue  Country  Club  and  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Onondaga  Golf  Club,  the  Ya- 
hundasis  Golf  Club  of  Utica  and  the 
Automobile  Club  of  Syracuse. 

Unaccustomed  to  anything  in  the 
nature  of  ill  health — he  had  always  been 
robust  from  childhood — Mr.  Lipe  did  not 


46 


G- 


-Jlcf^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


realize  the  significance  of  certain  symp- 
toms of  disorder  which  attacked  him 
about  a  year  before  his  death,  and  con- 
tinued his  hard  work  until  they  had 
gained  too  great  a  hold  upon  his  system 
to  be  checked.  When  at  length  he  con- 
sented,upon  the  solicitations  of  his  friends, 
to  consult  a  physician,  he  was  already 
advanced  upon  a  decline  which  neither 
medical  skill  or  a  change  in  climate  could 
halt.  He  went  to  Saranac  Lake  in  the 
Adirondacks  and  was  there  under  the 
best  medical  treatment  for  some  months, 
but  eventually  succumbed  to  his  trouble. 
The  death  of  few  young  men  would  have 
been  felt  as  generally  as  his  as  the  words 
of  many  prominent  men  of  Syracuse 
amply  testify,  and  this  brief  appreciation 
cannot  be  more  fittingly  closed  than  by 
a  quotation  of  some  of  them. 

Of  Mr.  Lipe  Mr.  Alexander  T.  Brown 
said: 

When  Charles  E.  Lipe  died  in  his  prime  this 
city  suffered  a  great  loss.  Now,  in  the  death  of 
his  son,  Clifford  E.,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty- 
eight,  another  life  of  great  promise  ends.  Clif- 
ford E.  Lipe  inherited  his  father's  keen  mechan- 
ical and  business  sense,  and  this  was  linked  with 
a  thorough  theoretical  and  practical  education. 
His  ability  and  influence  were  widely  recognized. 
He  possessed  a  host  of  friends  and,  in  his  own 
quiet  way,  contributed  liberally  to  many  chari- 


Mr.  H.  W.  Chapin  said: 

From  his  earliest  boyhood,  through  his  school 
and  college  days,  I  have  watched  Clifford  E. 
Lipe  develop  into  a  lovable  and  splendid  young 
business  man.  It  is  a  pity  that  his  life  could 
not  have  been  spared  for  he  was  already  well 
along  the  way  to  a  manhood  of  great  usefulness. 
His  ability  in  business,  mechanical  and  financial 
matters  was  unusual.  The  men  in  the  factories 
admired  and  respected  him  as  their  friend.  He 
was  absolutely  square,  a  man  who  would  decide 
for  right  every  time  regardless  of  his  personal 
interests.     I  feel  his  loss  exceedingly. 

The  tribute  of  Arthur  E.  Parsons  was 
as  follows ; 


From  early  boyhood  Clifford  E.  Lipe  demon- 
strated that  he  possessed  the  Lipe  mechanical 
genius.  Repeatedly  as  a  young  boy  I  saw  him 
working  along  the  right  lines  on  mechanical 
devices.  Upon  his  graduation  from  college  he 
brought  to  his  business,  not  only  a  natural 
mechanical  ability,  but  a  fine  technical  knowledge 
and  a  keen,  shrewd  business  sense.  He  quickly 
developed  into  a  careful,  competent  manufac- 
turer, well  liked  and  relied  upon  by  his  associ- 
ates. In  his  death  Syracuse  loses  a  young  man 
who  was  already  one  of  her  captains  of  industry 
and  a  loved  and  respected  citizen. 


WHITRIDGE.  Frederick  Wallingford, 

Lawyer,  Railroad  President. 

Frederick  W.  Whitridge  springs  from 
New  England  ancestors,  and  partakes  of 
the  qualities  of  thrift  and  enterprise 
which  have  distinguished  the  people  of 
that  section  for  three  centuries.  The 
founder  of  the  family  in  this  country  was 
William  Whitridge,  born  1599,  died  De- 
cember 9,  1688,  came  to  America  in  the 
ship  "Elizabeth"  in  1625,  with  his  wife, 
Elizabeth,  born  1605,  and  son,  Thomas, 
from  Beninden,  County  Kent,  England. 
He  was  living  in  Ipswich,  Massachusetts, 
in  1637,  and  his  wife  died  before  1663,  in 
which  year  he  married  (second)  Susanna, 
widow  of  Anthony  Colby.  She  died  De- 
cember 9,  1668.  Thomas  Whitridge,  son 
of  William  and  Elizabeth  Whitridge, 
born  1625,  was  living  in  Ipswich,  Massa- 
chusetts, in  1648,  and  had  a  wife,  Flor- 
ence, who  died  in  1672.  Their  son,  Wil- 
liam Whitridge,  born  1659,  resided  in 
Rochester,  Massachusetts,  and  was  the 
father  of  Thomas  Whitridge,  born  there 
November  12,  1710,  died  March  7,  1795. 
His  intention  of  marriage  to  Hannah 
Haskell  was  entered  September  i,  1733. 
Their  third  son.  Dr.  William  Whitridge, 
was  born  February  13,  1748,  in  Roches- 
ter; settled  at  Tiverton,  Rhode  Island,  in 
1780,  dying  there  April  5,  1831.  In  1791 
he  received  the  honorary  degree  of  Mas- 
ter of  Arts   from   Yale   College,  and   in 


k 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


1823  received  the  honorary  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine  from  Harvard  Uni- 
versity. He  married  Mary  Cushing,  born 
July  21,  1759,  in  Scituate,  Massachusetts, 
died  in  Tiverton,  March  17.  1846.  They 
had  a  large  family  of  children  born  in 
Tiverton.  Of  these,  the  second  son,  Wil- 
liam Cushing  Whitridge,  was  born  No- 
vember 25,  1784,  in  Tiverton,  and  became 
a  physician,  practicing  many  years  with 
great  success  in  New  Bedford,  Massa- 
chusetts. He  married  his  cousin,  Olive 
Cushing,  born  February  20,  1783,  in  Bos- 
ton, eldest  daughter  and  fifth  child  of 
John  and  Olive  (Wallingford)  Cushing, 
of  South  Berwick,  Maine,  died  September 
9,  1876.  John  Cushing  Whitridge,  son  of 
William  C.  and  Olive  (Cushing)  Whit- 
ridge, was  born  in  Tiverton,  Rhode 
Island,  and  lived  in  New  Bedford,  Mas- 
sachusetts, where  he  died  in  1908.  He 
married  Lucia  Shaw  Bailey,  daughter  of 
John  G.  Bailey,  of  Newport,  Rhode  Island, 
and  they  were  the  parents  of  Frederick 
Wallingford  Whitridge. 

Frederick  Wallingford  Whitridge  was 
born  August  5,  1852,  in  New  Bedford, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  grew  up,  and 
received  his  primary  education  in  the 
public  schools.  Entering  Amherst  Col- 
lege, Amherst,  Massachusetts,  he  was 
graduated  A.  B.  in  1874,  following  which 
he  entered  Columbia  Law  School  in  New 
York  City,  from  which  he  received  the 
degree  of  LL.  B.  in  1877.  In  that  year 
he  was  admitted  to  the  New  York  bar, 
but  did  not  engage  in  active  practice.  For 
some  years  he  was  lecturer  in  the  school 
of  political  science  attached  to  Columbia 
University,  and  is  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  Civil  Service  Reform  Association. 
Mr.  Whitridge  has  given  his  talents  and 
energies  to  the  development  and  progress 
of  many  business  enterprises,  and  is  now 
a  director  of  the  Niagara  Development 
Company  and  the  Cataract  Construction 
Company.    He  is  and  has  been  for  several 


years  receiver  and  president  of  the  Third 
Avenue  Railroad  Company  of  New  York 
City.  In  religion  he  is  an  Episcopalian, 
and  in  politics  independent  of  party  dic- 
tation. On  the  occasion  of  the  marriage 
of  King  Alfonso  of  Spain  to  Princess  Vic- 
toria Eugenie  of  England,  Mr.  Whit- 
ridge was  appointed  by  the  President  as 
special  ambassador  to  attend  the  cere- 
monies as  representative  of  the  United 
States.  He  has  been  an  occasional  con- 
tributor to  magazines  on  various  subjects, 
and  has  demonstrated  a  large  amount  of 
business  ability  and  versatility  in  other 
directions.  He  is  a  member  of  several 
clubs,  including  the  University,  Knicker- 
bocker, Metropolitan,  City,  Downtown, 
Players,  Century  and  Westchester  Coun- 
ty clubs. 

He  married,  in  1884,  Lucy  Arnold, 
daughter  of  Matthew  and  Lucy  (Wight- 
man)  Arnold,  and  they  have  children : 
Arnold,  Eleanor,  Joan.  For  a  quarter  of 
a  century  the  family  has  resided  in  the 
same  house  on  East  Eleventh  street.  New 
York  City,  and  the  summers  are  spent  in 
the  Scottish  Highlands,  where  Mr.  Whit- 
ridge is  the  owner  of  a  beautiful  estate. 


IRVING,  Walter, 

Retired. 

Weaker  Irving,  of  Binghamton,  New 
York,  is  a  scion  of  a  family  which  has  be- 
come noted  in  history,  in  literature  and  in 
the  professions.  The  name  in  olden  times 
is  found  in  a  variety  of  forms.  Erevine, 
which  was  contracted  into  Irvine,  comes 
from  the  ancient  Celto-Sythick  Erinvane, 
or  Erinfeine,  signifying  a  true  or  stout 
Westland  man,  for  the  word  Erin,  both 
in  the  old  Gaelic-Welsh  and  the  old 
Gaelic  language,  signifies  "the  west," 
which  is  the  Ireland  of  to-day,  being  west 
of  Albia,  and  veine,  or  feine,  signifying 
"himself,"  meaning  as  that  of  a  strong, 
resolute  man.    Arms  of  the  Irving  family 


48 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  Drum  Castle:  Argent,  three  bunches 
of  holly  leaves  proper.  Crest:  Three  in 
each,  two  and  one.  Crest:  A  sheaf  of 
arrows.  Motto:  Sub  sole,  sub  umbra, 
virens.  The  device  on  the  arms,  consist- 
ing of  three  holly  leaves,  was  conferred 
about  the  year  1333,  A.  D.,  by  King 
Robert  Bruce  upon  William  de  Irvine, 
and  which  he  (Bruce)  had  borne  as  Earl 
of  Carrick.  The  story  in  this  connection 
is  that  when  Bruce  was  closely  pursued 
by  the  enemy,  and  accompanied  by  only 
three  of  four  followers,  he  was  so  over- 
come by  fatigue  that  he  required  a  few 
hours  of  rest,  and  lay  down  to  sleep  be- 
neath a  holly  bush,  whilst  Irvine  kept 
watch,  and  thus  chose  to  memorialize  the 
event  and  in  testifying  to  the  fidelity  of 
his  follower,  bestowed  the  motto:  Sub 
sole,  sub  umbra,  virens,  referring  both  to 
the  holly  and  to  his  companions  fidelity 
— "growing  or  flourishing  in  sunshine  and 
in  shade" — and  the  lands  of  Drum  in 
Aberdeenshire. 

William  Irving,  son  of  Magnus  and 
Catherine  (Williamson)  Irving,  was  the 
founder  of  this  American  branch  of  the 
Irving  family.  For  a  time  he  followed  a 
seafaring  life,  but  later  became  a  mer- 
chant. He  married  at  Falmouth,  Eng- 
land, in  1761,  Sarah  Sanders,  daughter  of 
John  and  Anna  Sanders,  and  granddaugh- 
ter of  an  English  curate  by  the  name  of 
Kent.  He  came  to  America  with  his  wife 
and  they  became  the  parents  of  eleven 
children,  among  whom  was  Washington 
Irving. 

Judge  John  Treat  Irving,  another  son 
of  William  and  Sarah  (Sanders)  Irving, 
was  born  in  New  York  City,  March  26, 
1778,  and  died  there,  March  15,  1838.  He 
was  graduated  at  Columbia  College  in 
1798;  admitted  to  the  bar;  was  a  member 
of  the  State  Assembly,  1816-17,  1819-20, 
and  a  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas,  serving  as  first  judge.  1821-38.  In 
his  earlier  years  he  contributed  political 

N  Y-Vol  IV— 4  49 


articles  to  "The  Chronicle,"  edited  by  his 
brother,  Washington  Irving.  He  was  a 
trustee  of  Columbia  College,  1818-28,  and 
a  vestryman  of  Trinity  Church,  New 
York.  He  married,  April  28,  1806,  Abby 
Spicer,  daughter  of  Gabriel  and  Sarah 
(Wall)  Furman. 

John  Treat  Irving,  son  of  Judge  John 
Treat  and  Abby  Spicer  (Furman)  Irving, 
was  born  in  New  York  City,  in  the  family 
mansion  in  Wall  street,  at  that  time  a 
select  residential  district,  December  2, 
1812,  and  died  in  the  same  city,  February 
27,  1906.  He  possessed  many  of  the  gifts 
of  his  famous  uncle,  Washington  Irving, 
his  works  being  characterized  by  the 
same  easy  style  and  literary  grace  that 
marked  the  masterpieces  of  his  eminent 
uncle.  His  maternal  grandfather,  Gabriel 
Furman,  was  one  of  the  first  aldermen  of 
New  York  City,  and  was  a  leading  citizen 
of  more  than  average  standing  and  re- 
pute. During  the  War  of  the  Revolution, 
he  fought  in  the  battle  of  Long  Island, 
and  while  attempting  to  join  Washing- 
ton's army  in  New  Jersey,  he  was  seized 
by  the  British  as  a  spy  and  held  for  three 
years,  being  confined  in  a  jail  on  what 
was  afterward  the  site  of  the  Hall  of 
Records.  The  younger  John  Treat  Irv- 
ing, like  his  father,  was  educated  at 
Columbia  College,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  with  the  class  of  1829,  living 
to  be  the  oldest  alumnus  of  that  institu- 
tion. In  June,  1832,  he  accompanied  the 
first  expedition  sent  by  the  government 
to  Fort  Leavenworth,  to  treat  with  the 
Indians,  and  was  acting  secretary,  and 
his  experiences  on  that  memorable  mis- 
sion were  afterward  embodied  in  his  first 
published  work,  which  appeared  in  1835 
under  the  title  "Indian  Sketches,"  the 
volume  attracting  wide  attention  by  rea- 
son of  its  graphic  descriptions,  both  at 
home  and  abroad,  being  given  the  dis- 
tinction of  republication  in  England.  On 
his  return  from  the  frontier,  he  took  up 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  study  of  law  under  Daniel  Lord,  and 
was  subsequently  admitted  to  practice  as 
a  member  of  the  New  York  bar.  In  1835 
he  went  to  Europe  and  for  the  next  two 
years  traveled  extensively,  returning  in 
1837.  In  the  meantime,  in  1836,  he  wrote 
"Hawk  Chief,"  an  Indian  tale  of  excep- 
tional merit  that  was  published  and 
achieved  popularity  both  in  this  country 
and  in  England.  Among  his  other  writ- 
ings were :  "The  Attorney,"  "Harry  Har- 
son,"  and  "The  Van  Gelder  Papers,"  all 
of  which  displayed  talent  of  a  high  order 
and  ranked  as  works  that  reflected  honor 
upon  American  literature,  .\fter  his  mar- 
riage, however,  Mr.  Irving  applied  him- 
self energetically  to  the  practice  of  his 
profession.  He  was  associated  with  Gar- 
diner Spring  at  this  stage  of  his  career, 
and  he  continued  to  practice  law  until 
1857,  in  which  year  he  retired.  In  1858 
he  became  a  real  estate  broker,  with 
offices  on  lower  Broadway,  and  he  re- 
mained identified  with  realty  interests 
until  1887,  when  he  withdrew  from  active 
pursuits  altogether,  spending  the  remain- 
der of  his  days  in  well  earned  rest.  As 
a  business  man,  in  his  real  estate  venture, 
he  exhibited  ability  and  gained  success 
equal  to  those  which  marked  his'  earlier 
professional  efforts  in  law  and  literature. 
He  was  a  Republican  in  his  political  prin- 
ciples but  was  never  active  as  a  poli- 
tician. He  was  a  member  of  the  Authors' 
and  Century  clubs,  and  the  Columbia 
University  Alumni  Association,  and 
served  as  president  of  the  New  York 
Chess  Club  when  that  former  metropoli- 
tan organization  was  enjoying  its  palm- 
iest days  prior  to  1863.  An  Episcopalian 
in  his  religious  faith,  he  was  at  one  time 
a  member  of  Grace  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  and  later  held  membership  in  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  of  the  In- 
carnation. He  was  president  of  the  Insti- 
tute for  the  Blind,  Thirty-fourth  street 
and  Ninth  avenue,  New  York  City,  and 


a  trustee  of  Roosevelt  Hospital.  Through- 
out his  entire  life,  and  up  to  the  very  last, 
he  manifested  a  warm  interest  in  charit- 
able work  and  his  deeds  of  good  in  that 
direction  were  without  number.  He  was 
always  ready  and  even  anxious  to  extend 
an  earnest  and  willing  hand  in  the 
reformation  of  drunkards  and,  with  true 
Christian  spirit,  rather  than  wait  to  be 
sought  and  importuned,  ministered  to  the 
sick  and  aided  the  unfortunate.  Many 
funerals  among  the  destitute  were  paid  for 
by  him,  and  his  benefactions  caused  him 
to  be  widely  loved.  A  man  of  culture 
and  refinement,  he  was  artistic  in  tem- 
perament and  was  especially  fond  of 
painting,  that  form  of  art  claiming  con- 
siderable of  his  leisure  time  in  his 
younger  years.  He  was  married  to  Helen 
Schermerhorn.  To  this  union  were  born 
eight  children,  namely,  five  sons  and 
three  daughters,  as  follows:  John,  who 
married  Josephine  E.  Peacock,  and  at- 
tained success  in  metropolitan  brokerage 
circles ;  Cortlandt,  who  became  a  noted 
jurist,  married  Theresa  R.  Beck;  Helen 
C. ;  Henry,  who  married  Josephine  K. 
Miller ;  Frances  R. ;  Edward,  who  mar- 
ried Julia  Atkins,  and  died  in  1880;  Wal- 
ter, whose  name  heads  this  sketch  ;  Mari- 
on H.,  who  died  in  1877.  The  death  of 
Mr.  Irving  at  an  advanced  age,  severed 
another  of  the  links  which  connects  the 
New  York  of  to-day  with  the  old  New 
York  of  the  past,  rich  in  its  memories  of 
honorable  business  achievements,  profes- 
sional eminence  and  intellectual  attain- 
ments. 

Walter  Irving,  son  of  John  Treat  and 
Helen  (Schermerhorn)  Irving,  was  born 
at  Glen  Cove,  Long  Island,  February  11, 
1857.  His  education  was  obtained  at  the 
University  Grammar  School  and  the  Col- 
umbia Grammar  School  of  New  York 
City.  In  his  very  early  manhood  he  en- 
tered upon  his  business  career  in  a  cleri- 
cal  capacity   in   Wall   street,   New   York 


50 


//, 


OX^O-^i^^-t-^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


City,  and  for  a  period  of  five  years  was 
associated  actively  with  that  busy  center 
of  the  city.  Impaired  health  obliged  him 
to  abandon  business  activities  and  for 
some  years  he  traveled  in  this  country. 
Later  he  devoted  himself  to  the  conduct 
of  his  private  business  affairs,  and  spent 
a  great  deal  of  his  time  in  his  fine  library, 
where  he  has  a  choice  collection  of  some 
two  thousand  volumes,  many  of  them 
rare  specimens.  He  has  been  a  member 
of  the  New  York  Historical  Society,  the 
New  York  Geographical  Society,  the  New 
York  Museum  of  Natural  History  and 
the  Academy  of  Science.  In  the  course 
of  time  he  has  resigned  from  all  of  these 
with  the  exception  of  the  New  York 
Geographical  Society. 

Mr.  Irving  married,  at  Elmira,  New 
York,  November  12,  1890,  Bessie  Louise 
Van  Sickler,  a  daughter  of  George  Wil- 
son and  Fayette  (Woodburn)  Van  Sick- 
ler. They  have  been  blessed  with  two 
sons :  Walter  Van  Courtlandt,  born  July 
13,  1901 ;  and  Harold,  born  December  5, 
1904.  They  are  members  of  the  Epis- 
copal church.  Mrs.  Irving  is  descended 
from  several  noted  and  well-known  fami- 
lies ;  the  Ridgeways,  of  Philadelphia ; 
the  Burrs,  the  Stocktons  and  the  Wood- 
burns.  Her  maternal  grandmother  was 
Jane  Burr  Ridgeway,  who  married  Hiram 
Woodburn ;  she  was  the  daughter  of 
David  Ridgeway,  of  Philadelphia,  whose 
first  American  ancestor  was  Richard 
Ridgeway,  who  came  from  England  in 
1677:  he  married  Abigail  Stockton,  a 
daughter  of  Richard  Stockton,  who  was 
the  ancestor  of  Richard  Stockton,  one  of 
the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, and  of  Admiral  Stockton.  The 
line  of  descent  from  the  American  pro- 
genitor, Richard  Ridgeway,  is  as  fol- 
lows: Joseph,  David,  another  David,  Jane 
Burr,  who  married  Hiram  Woodburn, 
and    whose    daughter,    Fayette,    married 


George  Wilson  Van  Sickler,  and  became 
the  mother  of  Mrs.  Irving,  as  above 
stated. 


YAWMAN,  Philip  H., 

Manufacturer,  Inventor. 

The  great  force  in  business  to-day  is 
not  capital,  nor  organization,  nor  methods, 
necessary  as  they  are,  but  it  is  man.  Em- 
erson says,  "Every  successful  institution 
is  the  lengthened  shadow  of  one  man," 
which  means  that  success  is  largely  due 
to  the  individual.  The  great  plants  of  the 
Yawman  &  Erbe  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, covering  as  they  do  an  area  of 
twenty  acres,  is  the  "lengthened  shadow" 
of  the  little  business  started  in  1880  by 
Philip  H.  Yawman  and  Gustav  Erbe  in 
a  little  shop  measuring  twenty  feet  in 
width,  thirty  feet  in  length,  located  in  the 
heart  of  the  business  district  of  Roches- 
ter, New  York.  From  such  a  small  be- 
ginning has  been  reared  a  great  organ- 
ization with  many  branches  in  the  United 
States  and  Canada  and  exclusive  selling 
agencies  throughout  the  world.  The 
company  owns  three  large  plants,  two  in 
Rochester,  one  in  Newmarket,  Canada, 
in  which  are  manufactured  more  filing 
cabinets  and  supplies  for  office  systems 
than  are  made  by  any  other  firm  in  the 
world.  Fifteen  hundred  people  are  em- 
ployed in  the  United  States  and  Canadian 
plants  exclusive  of  the  agency  salesmen, 
and  fourteen  branch  stores  in  the  United 
States  and  fourteen  in  Canada  stretch 
across  the  country  from  the  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific. 

As  was  said  in  the  beginning,  the  great 
force  in  businness  to-day  is  man.  The 
making  of  filing  cabinets  that  will  meet 
the  needs  of  great  modern  business 
houses  is  only  an  idea.  Philip  Yawman 
and  Gustav  Erbe  did  not  invent  the  letter 
file,  neither  are  they  the  fathers  of  ofiice 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


systems.  The  idea  of  filing  letters  and 
documents  for  future  reference  is  as  old 
as  writing  itself,  and  some  sort  of  system 
prevailed  in  the  first  business  office. 
What  these  men  have  done  is  to  take  the 
idea,  develop  it,  make  it  practical,  make 
it  comprehensive,  make  it  fit  the  needs, 
and  meet  the  demands  of  modern  busi- 
ness. The  object  of  this  article  is  to  give 
an  intimate  view  of  the  man,  Philip  H. 
Yawman,  who  all  through  the  years, 
thirty-five,  that  cover  the  life  of  the  Yaw- 
man  &  Erbe  Manufacturing  Company, 
has  been  its  presiding  mechanical  genius. 
Go  into  the  big  Rochester  plant  to-day 
and  you  will  probably  find  him  in  one  of 
the  mechanical  departments,  a  man  over 
seventy,  slightly  stooped,  with  loose  grey 
coat,  black  cap,  and  discerning  eye,  talk- 
ing with  this  foreman  or  that  workman. 
In  the  experimental  and  tool  making 
department  he  has  his  inventive  ideas 
worked  out  and  later  they  are  passed 
to  the  manufacturing  department  for 
adoption.  Many  of  the  best  patented 
features  of  the  "Y"  and  "E"  cabinets  and 
equipment  are  due  to  his  genius,  working 
along  original  lines.  Though  over  three 
score  years  and  ten,  he  is  still  an  active 
factor  in  the  business.  His  private  office 
adjoins  Mr.  Erbe's,  they  daily  confer, 
and  their  guiding  hands  can  be  seen  at 
every  turn.  The  whole  business  is  at 
their  finger  tips,  and  they  are  familiar 
with  every  part  of  both  manufacturing 
and  selling  organizations.  No  step  of 
importance  is  taken  without  their  knowl- 
edge, although  they  are  too  busy  to 
handle  details.  True  executives  in  every 
sense,  they  are  never  too  occupied  to  give 
attention  to  the  humblest  employee,  and 
every  man  in  the  great  organization  feels 
that  he  has  a  friend  in  Philip  H.  Yaw- 
man,  president,  and  in  Gustav  Erbe, 
treasurer  and  general  manager  of  the 
Yawman  &  Erbe  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany.     Both    of    these    men,    themselves 


risen  from  the  ranks,  look  upon  each  man 
as  an  individual,  deserving  individual 
consideration,  and  see  in  every  office  boy 
a  possible  manager,  in  every  workman  a 
possible  foreman.  Among  the  fifteen 
hundred  people  in  the  employ  of  the  com- 
pany there  are  many  who  have  been  there 
since  its  earliest  days,  there  are  more  who 
have  served  loyally  for  twenty  years,  and 
many  more  who  have  been  with  the  com- 
pany for  twelve  years.  So  in  addition  to 
being  the  largest  manufacturers  of  their 
lines  in  the  world,  the  company  stands  as 
a  shining  example  of  the  close  coopera- 
tion that  should  exist  between  employers 
and  employees.  The  firm's  first  office 
boy  of  over  thirty  years  ago  is  now  super- 
intendent of  the  Canadian  business,  and 
this  instance  is  typical,  not  an  exceptional 
case. 

Philip  H.  Yawman  was  born  Septem- 
ber I,  1839,  in  Rochester,  the  city  of  his 
early  struggles  and  later  successes.  He 
is  a  son  of  Nicholas  and  Anna  (Gorman) 
Yawman,  his  father  born  in  Schmidt- 
weiler,  Lorraine,  in  1816.  In  1832  Nicho- 
las Yawman  came  to  the  United  States 
with  his  father  and  four  brothers,  learned 
the  coopers'  trade,  and  engaged  in  busi- 
ness in  Rochester,  later  in  Scottsville, 
New  York.  His  wife,  Anna  (Gorman) 
Yawman,  died  when  her  son,  Philip  H., 
was  but  an  infant.  Philip  H.  Yawman 
attended  public  schools  and  in  boyhood 
worked  with  his  father  in  the  cooper  shop 
at  Scottsville.  Later  he  learned  the  ma- 
chinist's trade,  working  in  many  shops, 
becoming  a  master  mechanic  and  an  ex- 
pert workman.  While  in  the  employ  of 
a  large  optical  instrument  manufacturing 
company  of  Rochester,  where  it  was  his 
duty  to  invent,  design  and  improve  new 
machinery  and  methods,  he  formed  the 
acquaintance  of  Gustav  Erbe,  foreman  for 
the  same  company.  The  two  men  were 
much  together,  each  finding  the  other  a 
master,  and,  working  in  close  harmony, 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


each  supplementing  the  other's  efforts, 
they  accomplished  important  results  for 
their  firm.  Mr.  Erbe  stated  his  needs  and 
Mr.  Yawman's  inventive  genius  found  a 
solution,  as  a  result  many  machines  were 
perfected  to  do  work  formerly  performed 
by  hand.  In  1880  the  two  men  decided 
that  what  they  could  do  for  others  they 
could  do  for  themselves,  and  with  little 
capital,  but  with  unlimited  courage  and 
faith  in  themselves,  they  formed  a  part- 
nership and  launched  a  frail  bark  upon  a 
rough  business  sea.  They  began  under 
the  name  of  Yawman  &  Erbe  in  a  small 
room,  twenty  by  thirty  feet,  investing 
practically  their  entire  capital  in  ma- 
chinery. They  began  manufacturing  math- 
ematical, optical  and  surveying  instru- 
ments, and  from  the  first  resolved  that 
whatever  instrument  they  made  should 
be  of  the  best  quality.  It  was  not  easy 
going,  for  their  resources  were  small  and 
they  had  entered  a  field  occupied  by 
large,  well  established  firms.  The  part- 
ners, working  hard  and  conscientiously, 
had  many  discouragements  during  the 
early  years,  but  their  reputation  for  good 
work  and  fair  dealing  was  spreading  and 
business  gradually  increased.  They  made 
goods  for  other  concerns  and  soon  larger 
quarters  were  necessary.  At  the  end  of 
the  third  year  the  business  had  grown 
to  such  proportions  that  the  young  firm 
felt  that  their  fight  was  won.  James  Cut- 
ler, later  mayor  of  Rochester,  gave  them 
a  contract  for  manufacturing  a  mail  chute 
to  be  used  in  office  buildings  and  for 
twenty-five  years  Yawman  &  Erbe  made 
the  widely  known  Cutler  Mail  Chute. 
The  Eastman  Kodak  Company  did  not 
always  have  its  present  large  plant,  and 
in  the  spring  of  1883  Yawman  &  Erbe 
made  for  that  company  the  first  model 
film  holders,  and  in  1884  the  first  Model 
No.  I  Kodak.  Until  1895  they  continued 
doing  all  the  metal  work  and  assembled 


all  the  work  ready  for  inspection  for  the 
film  roll  holders  and  Nos.  i,  2,  3,  4, 
Kodaks  that  were  made  for  the  Eastman 
Kodak  Company.  There  is  a  picture  ex- 
tant taken  by  George  Eastman  with  his 
first  Kodak,  showing  Messrs.  Yawman 
and  Erbe,  standing  on  the  steps  leading 
to  their  little  shop.  In  the  spring  of  1883 
Yawman  &  Erbe  also  entered  into  an 
agreement  with  the  owners  of  the  patents 
to  manufacture  the  only  Shannon  Files 
for  letters,  bills,  etc.,  that  were  made  in 
the  United  States  at  that  time.  This 
Shannon  Arch  File,  consisting  of  an  arch, 
a  board,  a  compressor  cover,  an  index  and 
a  perforator,  had  been  invented  in  1877 
and  was  the  forerunner  of  the  modern 
business  filing  systems.  This  Shannon 
design,  with  many  improvements,  is  still 
made  by  Yawman  &  Erbe,  who  were 
among  the  first  to  manufacture  filing 
equipment.  During  this  early  period  and 
shortly  after  the  first  Shannon  File  was 
placed  on  the  market,  the  company  began 
the  manufacture  of  the  now  famed  Yaw- 
man and  Erbe  Rapid  Roller  Copier,  a 
machine  having  all  the  advantages  of 
letter  press  and  carbon  methods. 

In  1884,  feeling  that  their  prospects 
justified  the  move,  the  young  firm  pur- 
chased ground,  erected  a  four-story  brick 
factory,  and  to  their  product  added  metal 
interiors  for  vaults,  banks  and  public 
buildings.  This  brought  further  increase 
of  business,  and  in  1890  another  four- 
storied  building  was  erected  on  the  same 
lot.  Prior  to  1898  the  company  manu- 
factured for  other  concerns,  but  in  that 
year  they  incorporated  as  the  Yawman 
&  Erbe  Manufacturing  Company,  took 
over  the  entire  business  of  the  Office 
Specialty  Company,  and  instituted  their 
own  selling  organization.  They  then  dis- 
posed of  their  metal  working  business  to 
the  Art  Metal  Construction  Company,  of 
Jamestown,  New  York.     Their  business, 


53 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


still  increasing,  a  new  factory  was  erected 
in  Rochester  and  one  in  Canada,  which 
has  developed  into  the  extensive  New- 
market plant,  one  of  the  largest  com- 
pletely motorized  factories  in  the  Do- 
minion. In  1900  a  building  larger  than 
any  of  the  others  was  erected  in  the  rear 
of  the  original  plant,  where  now  all  the 
Yawman  &  Erbe  steel  and  paper  products 
are  manufactured.  From  1905  until  1908 
the  company  operated  both  day  and 
night,  and  in  1906  an  adjoining  building 
was  purchased.  In  1907,  to  provide  room 
for  present  and  future  needs,  fourteen 
acres  in  the  suburb  of  Gates  was  pur- 
chased and  a  modern  factory  was  erected, 
and  in  February,  1914,  the  largest  struc- 
ture of  all  was  built,  to  be  followed  by 
others  that  will  cover  the  entire  tract. 
The  entire  selling  organization  is  modern 
and  in  line  with  most  advanced  ideas. 
The  company  sells  service  and  maintains 
a  system  department  of  trained  experts 
whose  services  are  given  free  of  charge  to 
customers.  Every  salesman  is  trained  in 
the  company's  own  school  and  must 
qualify  as  a  system  expert  before  he  is 
assigned  territory.  The  factory  force  of 
five  has  grown  to  fifteen  hundred,  the 
floor  space  of  six  hundred  square  feet  to 
twenty  acres,  the  limited  capital  to  un- 
limited resources,  and  the  young  partners 
of  1880  to  the  veterans  of  1915  in  control, 
Mr.  Yawman,  president;  Mr.  Erbe,  treas- 
urer and  general  manager.  They  are  as 
enthusiastic  as  they  were  thirty  years 
ago,  when  it  took  a  year  to  do  as  much 
business  as  they  now  transact  in  a  week. 
Mr.  Yawman  can  review  with  satisfac- 
tion the  outcome  of  his  mechanical  and 
inventive  genius,  and  the  fact  that  his 
name  is  known  all  over  the  world  wher- 
ever office  systems  are  in  use,  which 
means  wherever  civilization  extends.  But 
more  than  his  mechanical  fame  he  values 
the  fact  that  Yawman  and  reliability  are 
synonymous  and  that  he  is  honored  as  a 


man  of  sound  judgment,  originality,  per- 
severance and  determination.  Kindly  .and 
friendly  to  all,  he  has  many  warm  friends, 
but  it  is  in  the  home  circle  that  his  best 
traits  of  character  are  made  manifest.  He 
is  a  director  of  the  Genesee  Valley  Trust 
Company,  but  he  has  seldom  gone  far 
beyond  his  own  particular  field  in  busi- 
ness enterprise. 

He  is  a  good  citizen  and  an  honor  to 
the  city  that  gave  him  birth  and  afforded 
him  business  opportunities,  and  in  return 
he  has  carried  her  name  to  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth  and  has  aided  to  a  great 
degree  in  spreading  the  name  and  fame 
of  Rochester  as  an  industrial  and  com- 
mercial center.  The  weight  of  seventy 
years  has  slightly  bent  his  frame  but  the 
spirit  of  progress  is  strong  within  him, 
and  while  the  heavier  burdens  have  been 
surrendered  he  keeps  in  close  touch  with 
every  movement  made,  and  his  approval 
is  always  secured  in  any  measure  of  im- 
portance afifecting  the  company  interests. 
A  strong  and  capable  executive,  a  kind 
and  generous  employer,  a  citizen  of  worth, 
a  man  among  men,  he  has  ever  been  the 
great  force  that,  more  than  capital,  more 
than  organization,  more  than  method,  has 
created  a  great  enterprise. 

Mr.  Yawman  married,  in  1863,  Mary  C 
Webber,  who  for  over  fifty  years  was  the 
queen  of  his  heart  and  the  mistress  of  his 
home.  She  died  November  11,  1914.  Nine 
children  were  born  to  Philip  H.  and  Mary 
C.  Yawman :  Cecelia  M. ;  Marie  Antoi- 
nette, married  Frederick  J.  Hafner,  of 
Rochester;  Julia  A.,  married  Harry 
Heistein,  of  Rochester;  Cora  Y.,  mar- 
ried Frank  W.  Hahn.  of  Rochester; 
Aloysia,  a  resident  of  Rochester;  Eu- 
genia, a  sister  of  St.  Joseph's  Convent; 
Josepha,  a  sister  of  Little  Sister  of  the 
Poor ;  Francis  J.,  secretary  of  the  Yaw- 
man &  Erbe  Manufacturing  Company; 
Victor,  residing  with  his  father. 


54 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


BREWSTER,  Henry  Colvin, 

Financier,  Humanitarian. 

It  is  the  record  of  such  men  as  Henry 
Colvin  Brewster  that  stands  as  contradic- 
tory evidence  of  the  statement,  too 
often  heard,  that  America  is  given  over 
to  the  spirit  of  commercialism ;  that  busi- 
ness and  naught  else  claims  the  attention 
and  efforts  of  our  leading  men.  Roches- 
ter knows  Henry  C.  Brewster  as  a  finan- 
cier of  ability,  but  has  known  him  more- 
over as  a  public-spirited  citizen,  as  a  man 
of  benevolences,  of  kindly  purposes  and 
high  ideals.  The  great  interests  of  the 
country  at  large — politics,  the  church  and 
the  charities — have  made  claims  upon  his 
attention,  claims  that  he  has  fully  met, 
and  while  the  business  activity  and  pros- 
perity of  the  city  have  been  greatly  aug- 
mented through  his  labors,  her  public 
welfare  has  profited  by  his  efforts  and  his 
history  is  one  which  reflects  honor  and 
credit  upon  Monroe  county  and  the  state- 
at-large. 

Rochester  may  well  be  proud  to  num- 
ber him  among  her  native  sons.  The  an- 
cestral history  is  one  of  close  connection 
with  America  through  manj-  generations. 
His  parents  were  Simon  L.  and  Editha 
(Colvin)  Brewster.  The  father,  who  was 
born  in  the  town  of  Griswold,  New  Lon- 
don county,  Connecticut,  in  1811,  ac- 
quired his  education  in  the  common 
schools  and  afterward  became  connected 
with  the  business  interests  of  his  native 
town.  For  ten  years  he  was  there  en- 
gaged in  manufacturing  and  in  his  thir- 
tieth year  he  removed  to  Rochester,  New 
York,  where  for  eighteen  years  he  was 
a  prominent  representative  of  mercantile 
interests.  On  the  expiration  of  that 
period  he  retired  from  business  life  in 
1859,  but  four  years  afterward  again  took 
his  place  in  the  business  world,  being 
elected  president  of  the  Traders'  Bank  in 


1863.  Two  years  subsequently  this  was 
reorganized  under  the  National  Bank  Act 
under  the  name  of  the  Traders'  National 
Bank  and  Simon  L.  Brewster  continued 
as  its  president  until  his  death,  which 
occurred  in  August,  1898.  He  was,  there- 
fore, for  more  than  a  third  of  a  century 
at  the  head  of  this  important  financial  in- 
stitution and  under  his  guidance  it  took 
rank  among  the  leading  monied  concerns 
of  the  Empire  State.  Its  business  covered 
every  department  of  banking  and  its  finan- 
cial strength,  based  upon  the  well-known 
reliability  and  business  methods  of  its 
president  and  other  stockholders  and 
officers,  secured  to  it  a  constantly  in- 
creasing patronage.  In  1844  Mr.  Brew- 
ster was  united  in  marriage  to  Editha 
Colvin,  a  daughter  of  Hiram  D.  Colvin, 
of  Rochester.    She  died  in  1899. 

September  7,  1845,  was  the  natal  day 
of  Henry  C.  Brewster,  who  was  reared 
amid  the  refining  influences  of  a  home  of 
culture.  Between  the  ages  of  six  and 
eighteen  years  his  time  and  attention 
were  largely  given  to  the  acquirement  of 
an  education,  and  he  then  became  a 
factor  in  financial  circles,  entering  the 
Traders'  Bank,  later  the  Traders'  Na- 
tional Bank,  in  the  fall  of  1863.  No  pa- 
rental influence  smoothed  his  pathway  or 
released  him  from  the  arduous  work 
which  constitutes  the  basis  of  advance- 
ment and  success.  It  was  personal  merit 
that  gained  him  promotion  as  he  mas- 
tered the  various  tasks  assigned  to  him  in 
the  different  positions  which  he  filled  in 
the  bank.  He  realized  that  there  is  no 
excellence  without  labor  and  in  the  years 
which  followed  he  so  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted himself  with  the  banking  busi- 
ness that  in  July,  1868,  he  was  chosen  by 
the  vote  of  the  directors  to  the  office  of 
cashier,  in  which  he  continued  to  serve 
for  more  than  twenty-six  years.  He  was 
then  elected  to  the  vice-presidency  in  the 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


fall  of  1894  and  five  years  later  succeeded 
his  father  as  president  of  the  Traders' 
National  Bank,  since  remaining  at  the 
head  of  the  institution. 

For  forty-four  years  Henry  C.  Brewster 
has  been  a  factor  in  financial  circles  in 
Rochester,  his  usefulness  and  activity  con- 
stantly increasing  as  time  has  passed. 
He  was  for  many  years  the  first  vice- 
president  of  the  Rochester  Trust  &  Safe 
Deposit  Company,  and  for  a  considerable 
period  was  president  of  the  Genesee  Val- 
ley Trust  Company,  which  was  organized 
by  him.  In  1893  he  became  the  founder 
of  the  Alliance  Bank  of  Rochester  and  for 
nearly  seven  years  served  as  its  first  vice- 
president.  As  a  financier  he  is  known 
and  honored  throughout  New  York.  In 
1899  he  was  elected  to  the  presidency  of 
the  New  York  State  Bankers'  Associa- 
tion, which  he  had  assisted  in  organizing 
five  years  before,  acting  as  its  vice-presi- 
dent during  the  first  year  of  its  existence. 
He  was  also  vice-president  of  the  Ameri- 
can Bankers  from  the  State  of  New  York 
for  five  years.  His  course  has  ever  been 
such  as  would  bear  the  closest  investiga- 
tion and  scrutiny.  There  is  in  him  a 
native  sagacity  and  a  weight  of  character 
that  well  qualify  him  for  leadership  and 
command  for  him  admiration  and  confi- 
dence. No  trust  reposed  in  him  has  ever 
been  betrayed  in  the  slightest  degree  and 
in  fact  his  entire  career  has  been  an  ex- 
emplification of  the  old  and  time-tried 
maxim  that  honesty  is  the  best  policy. 

His  broat  humanitarianism  has  led  to 
his  support  of  various  charitable  and  be- 
nevolent interests  and,  while  report  says 
that  he  gives  generously  in  cases  of  need, 
he  has  always  done  so  in  a  most  unosten- 
tatious manner.  In  fact,  he  is  opposed  to 
display  of  any  character  and  is  never 
given  to  weighing  any  act  in  the  scale  of 
public  policy.  Principle  has  guided  his 
conduct  and  shaped  his  course  and  his 
views  of    life  are  based  upon   a  recog- 


nition of  individual  responsibility  and  the 
brotherhood  of  man.  He  has  served  as 
one  of  the  trustees  of  St.  Peter's  Presby- 
terian Church,  and  is  connected  with  the 
Rochester  Homoeopathic  Hospital  as  a 
member  of  the  board  of  governors.  He 
acted  as  its  first  treasurer  and  has  done 
much  in  the  interests  of  that  institution. 
Socially  he  is  connected  with  the  Genesee 
Valley  and  the  Country  clubs  of  Roches- 
ter, while  his  membership  relations  also 
extend  to  the  Union  League  Club  of  New 
York  City.  In  those  societies  which 
foster  patriotism,  historical  research  and 
an  appreciation  of  the  honor  which  is 
ever  due  to  a  worthy  ancestry,  he  is  also 
known.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Society 
of  Mayflower  Descendants,  being  eligible 
by  reason  of  the  fact  that  his  ancestry  is 
directly  traceable  to  Elder  William  Brew- 
ster, who  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  the  his- 
toric vessel  which  brought  the  first  set- 
tlers to  New  England.  He  is  likewise  a 
member  of  the  Society  of  Colonial  Wars, 
the  Sons  of  the  American  Revolution,  and 
the  New  England  Society  of  New  York. 
In  his  citizenship  he  has  ever  stood  for 
advancement  and  improvement  and  is  not 
unknown  in  political  circles.  On  the  con- 
trary he  believes  it  the  duty  as  well  as 
the  privilege  of  every  American  citizen 
to  exercise  the  right  of  franchise  and  sup- 
port those  principles  which  seem  most 
beneficial  in  bringing  about  good  govern- 
ment. His  stalwart  republicanism  and 
his  well-known  devotion  to  high  ideals  in 
political  life  led  to  his  selection  in  the  fall 
of  1894  for  representative  in  Congress 
from  the  Thirty-first  district  of  New 
York.  He  served  in  the  Fifty-fourth  and 
Fifty-fifth  congresses  and  during  his  first 
term  was  a  member  of  the  committee  on 
coinage,  weights  and  measures.  The  fol- 
lowing term  he  was  made  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  the  alcoholic  liquor 
traffic  and  a  member  of  the  committee 
on  invalid  pensions.     In   1900  he  repre- 


56 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


sented  New  York  in  the  Republican  Na- 
tional Convention  which  placed  William 
McKinley  at  the  head  of  the  ticket,  and 
was  an  alternate-at-large  in  1904.  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  New  York  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  for  fifteen  years. 

Most  happily  situated  in  his  home  life, 
Henry  C.  Brewster  was  married  in  Octo- 
ber, 1876,  to  Alice  Chapin,  a  daughter  of 
Louis  and  Rachel  (Shepard)  Chapin,  of 
Rochester,  and  they  have  two  daughters, 
Rachel  A.  and  Editha  C.  Their  home  is 
the  center  of  a  cultured  society  circle  and 
their  friends  are  many.  Mr.  Brewster 
has  never  allowed  the  accumulation  of 
wealth  to  affect  in  any  way  his  manner 
toward  those  less  fortunate  and  entrance 
to  the  circle  of  his  friends  is  gained  by 
character  worth  and  not  by  material  pos- 
sessions. His  associates  know  him  as  a 
most  genial,  kindly  gentleman  and,  while 
he  has  made  the  acquaintance  of  many 
men  distinguished  in  state  and  national 
affairs,  he  holds  as  his  most  priceless 
treasure  the  friendship  and  respect  of  his 
fellow-townsmen,  among  whom  his  entire 
life  has  been  passed  and  who  are  thor- 
oughly familiar  with  his  history  from  his 
boyhood  down  to  the  present  time. 


VAN  DUYN.  John,  M.  D.,       / 

CiTll  War  Veteran,  Physician. 

One  of  the  foremost  members  of  the 
medical  fraternity  of  Syracuse,  Dr.  John 
Van  Duyn,  in  whom  the  public  has  long 
reposed  trust  and  confidence  of  his  skill, 
was  born  in  Kingston,  New  York,  July 
24,  1843,  a-  son  of  Abraham  and  Sarah 
Van  Duyn. 

His  early  education,  which  was  of  a 
literary  and  classical  nature,  finally  led  to 
his  graduation  from  Princeton  in  the  class 
of  June,  1862,  and  thus  broadly  equipped, 
he  undertook  the  study  of  his  profession, 
having  paved  the  way  to  success  by  first 
learning  the  power  of  expressing  himself. 


His  degree  of  M.  D.  was  received  from 
the  Kentucky  School  of  Medicine.  At 
that  time  he  enlisted  his  services  in  de- 
fence of  his  country,  was  a  member  of 
the  medical  cadet  corps,  and  upon  receiv- 
ing his  medical  degree  he  became  assis- 
tant surgeon  in  the  United  States  Volun- 
teers, and  continued  as  such  until  the  fall 
of  1865.  After  the  war,  Dr.  Van  Duyn 
turned  his  attention  to  building  up  a 
practice,  locating  at  first  in  the  State  of 
New  Jersey,  where  he  remained  until  the 
year  1868,  when  he  removed  to  Syracuse, 
New  York,  this  move  being  due  to  his 
relations  with  Dr.  Wilbur,  the  founder  of 
the  State  Idiot  Asylum,  who  offered  him 
the  position  of  physician  to  that  institu- 
tion, in  which  capacity  he  served  for  a 
short  period  of  time.  He  then  engaged  in 
private  practice  in  Syracuse,  which  in  due 
course  of  time  became  both  extensive  and 
important.  He  has  also  taught  in  the 
Medical  School  of  Syracuse  University 
since  its  establishment,  and  his  ability  as 
an  educator  has  found  no  fewer  encomi- 
ums than  his  ability  in  the  art  of  heal- 
ing. Many  are  the  scholars  who  will  pass 
along  the  secrets  of  his  vast  knowledge, 
for  as  a  teacher  Dr.  Van  Duyn  has  given 
as  freely  of  his  gifts  as  he  has  received 
them.  He  was  one  of  the  originators  and 
founders  of  the  Syracuse  Free  Dispensary 
and  of  the  Hospital  of  the  Good  Shep- 
herd, serving  the  latter  institution  in  the 
cacapity  of  surgeon.  He  is  also  surgeon 
for  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  West- 
ern Railroad.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Syracuse  Academy  of  Medicine,  of  the 
American  Ophthalmological  Society,  of 
the  American  Otological  Society  and  of 
the  New  York  State  Medical  Association. 
He  is  president  of  the  University  Club  of 
Syracuse,  president  of  the  Princeton  Club 
of  Central  New  York,  a  member  of  the 
Hospital  Association,  of  the  Onondaga 
Country  Club,  of  the  Ka-Noo-No  Karni- 
val   Company,  of  the  Automobile  Club, 


57 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  the  Loyal  Legion,  and  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic.  In  Masonry  he 
has  taken  all  the  degrees  of  the  York  Rite 
and  has  attained  the  thirty-second  degree 
in  the  Scottish  Rite.  He  has,  moreover, 
given  of  his  time  as  commissioner  of 
education  and  as  health  officer,  in  both 
of  which  offices  he  rendered  valuable 
service.  In  February,  1915,  the  Syracuse 
Academy  of  Medicine  and  the  Onondaga 
County  Medical  Society  gave  an  enter- 
tainment in  honor  of  the  completion  of 
his  fiftieth  year  in  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine. 

Dr.  Van  Duyn  married,  December  i, 
1866,  in  Elizabeth,  New  Jersey,  Sarah 
Faulks,  who  bore  him  two  sons  and  one 
daughter,  namely:  Edward  Seguin,  Wil- 
bur, and  Gertrude,  who  became  the  wife 
of  E.  F.  Southworth,  of  Syracuse.  Ed- 
ward Seguin  Van  Duyn  was  born  in  Au- 
gust, 1872;  graduated  from  the  Syracuse 
High  School,  class  of  1889;  Princeton 
University,  class  of  1894;  Syracuse  Medi- 
cal College,  class  of  1897;  Rhode  Island 
Hospital,  1899,  3^"d  studied  in  New  York 
and  abroad  during  the  years  1900  and 
1901.  He  is  professor  of  clinical  surgery 
at  the  Syracuse  University  Medical 
School,  surgeon  of  the  Hospital  of  the 
Good  Shepherd  and  of  the  Syracuse  Free 
Dispensary,  consulting  surgeon  of  the 
Ogdensburg  State  Institution,  president 
of  the  board  of  managers  of  the  Syracuse 
State  Institution  for  the  Feeble  Minded, 
and  a  fellow  of  the  American  College  of 
Surgeons.  Professor  Edward  S.  Van 
Duyn  had  conferred  on  him  the  degrees 
of  B.  S.,  M.  D.  and  F.  A.  C.  S.  Mrs. 
Van  Duyn  died  December  21,  1915.  For 
many  years  she  was  prominent  in  social 
circles  of  Syracuse.  She  was  a  member 
of  the  Fortnightly  Club,  of  which  she  was 
one  of  the  founders,  and  the  Social  Arts 
Club.  She  was  widely  known  in  church 
circles  and  took  an  active  interest  in 
causes  of  religious  and  charitable  natures. 


The  Rev.  Dr.  A.  H.  Fahnestock,  pastor  of 
the  First  Ward  Presbyterian  Church,  a 
cousin  of  Mrs.  Van  Duyn,  officiated  at 
the  funeral  services  and  interment  was 
in  Oakwood  Cemetery. 

The  demands  made  upon  Dr.  Van  Duyn 
by  his  profession  have  left  him  little  time 
to  lead  what  might  be  generally  termed  a 
social  life.  But  this  man,  to  whom  so 
many  have  come  in  time  of  need  to  profit 
by  what  he  has  learned  through  wide 
study,  research,  investigation  and  experi- 
ment, can  claim  undoubtedly  more  of  a 
place  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  than  one 
who  has  striven  merely  to  be  socially 
popular. 


ROGERS,  Clinton, 

Merchant,  Financier,   Philanthropist. 

Rochester  is  a  city  noted  for  its  great 
industries  and  stable  commercial  houses, 
but  her  true  source  of  greatness  has  ever 
been  the  quality  of  her  citizens.  Her 
Roll  of  Fame  includes  men  who,  from 
small  beginnings,  have  built  colossal 
manufacturing  houses,  and  others  who, 
as  retailers,  have  attained  the  same  de- 
gree of  prominence.  The  latter  group 
includes  Clinton  Rogers,  who  with  J.  H. 
Howe  established  the  firm  of  Howe  & 
Rogers  in  1857,  and  who  now  at  the  age 
of  eighty-two  years  still  gives  the  busi- 
ness his  daily  attention.  From  a  very 
modest  start  with  three  employees  in 
1857  in  a  building  thirty  by  one  hundred 
feet  devoted  to  the  sale  of  carpets,  ex- 
pansion has  been  constant  until  now  the 
handsome  five-storied  fireproof  building 
at  the  corner  of  South  avenue  and  John- 
son Park,  completed  in  1915,  is  required 
to  properly  house  the  very  large  business 
in  carpets,  rugs,  draperies,  and  a  very 
extensive  and  varied  line  of  furniture, 
which  will  be  a  new  and  important  part 
of  the  business,  and  one  hundred  em- 
ployees  are   necessary   to   transact  busi- 


58 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ness  with  their  numerous  customers. 
This  in  itself  is  a  wonderful  life  work, 
and  had  Mr.  Rogers  no  other  claim  to 
place  in  the  history  of  Rochester  it  would 
be  sufficient.  This,  however,  is  but  one 
of  his  entitling  rights  to  the  high  place 
he  holds  in  the  esteem  of  his  fellow-men. 
For  nearly  fifty  years  he  was  a  director 
of  the  Traders'  National  Bank,  and  as  one 
of  the  founders  and  members  of  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  has  been  an  active 
worker  in  promoting  measures  and  enter- 
prises resulting  in  the  development  of 
his  city  and  in  advancing  the  public  good. 
Outside  of  the  realm  of  business  he  has 
also  borne  well  his  part,  and  to  St.  Luke's 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  the  Roches- 
ter Historical  Society,  to  charitable  and 
philanthropic  causes  he  has  been  a  tower 
of  strength.  Extensive  home  and  foreign 
travel  has  broadened  his  vision  and  now, 
far  beyond  man's  allotted  "three  score 
and  ten  years",  he  is  in  the  enjoyment  of 
the  mental  and  physical  vigor  that  has 
characterized  his  useful  life.  He  traces 
his  ancestry  to  early  Colonial  New  Eng- 
land days  and  to  forbears  who,  as  "minute- 
men"  responded  to  the  call  to  arms  and 
at  Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill  proved 
their  valor. 

Clinton  Rogers  was  born  at  Wales, 
Hampden  county,  Massachusetts,  De- 
cember 3,  1832,  son  of  Joel  and  Mary 
(Shaw)  Rogers.  He  obtained  his  educa- 
tion in  public  schools,  and  began  busi- 
ness life  as  a  clerk  in  his  brother's  store 
at  Wales.  He  remained  with  his  brother 
for  two  years,  then  was  clerk  in  a  Wor- 
cester, Massachusetts,  store  for  two  years, 
locating  in  Rochester,  New  York,  in  1855. 
He  entered  the  employ  of  Wilder,  Case 
&  Company  as  a  clerk,  and  two  years 
later,  in  March,  1857,  in  partnership  with 
J.  H.  Howe  entered  the  mercantile  field 
as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Howe  & 
Rogers,  dealers  in  carpets.  From  that 
distant  date  over  a  period  of  fifty-eight 


years  he  has  been  engaged  in  the  same 
busines  under  the  same  name,  changing, 
however,  from  a  partnership  to  a  corpo- 
ration in  1898.  The  young  partners 
started  with  little  capital,  their  chief 
asset  being  character;  but  so  favorably 
were  they  known  that  the  Lowell  Carpet 
Company,  departing  from  their  estab- 
lished policy,  sold  them  their  initial  stock 
on  credit.  The  business  grew  by  leaps 
and  bounds,  the  young  men,  capable,  en- 
ergetic and  upright  both,  building  on  the 
foundations  of  best  quality,  perfect  serv- 
ice, and  the  principle  of  fairest  dealing. 
As  they  grew  older  and  gained  greater 
experience  these  principles  were  not  devi- 
ated from  but  rather  intensified  in  their 
application.  Perfect  confidence  was  estab- 
lished between  merchant  and  buyer,  and 
every  efifort  was  put  forth  to  strengthen 
the  bond.  This  has  always  characterized 
the  business  and  now,  after  half  a  cen- 
tury, the  motto  "a  square  deal  to  all"  is 
still  the  store  slogan.  On  September  3, 
1903,  Mr.  Howe  passed  away,  thus  break- 
ing business  ties  that  had  bound  him  to 
Mr.  Rogers  harmoniously  and  profitably 
for  nearly  half  a  century.  The  place  left 
vacant  by  Mr.  Howe's  death  was  filled  by 
his  son  and  business  continued  as  before. 
Located  in  the  handsomest  business 
building  in  the  city  and  with  a  volume 
of  trade  largest  of  its  kind  in  Western 
New  York,  Mr.  Rogers  may  review  his 
business  career  with  satisfaction.  He  has 
honorably  won  wealth  and  reputation, 
and  no  man  in  all  Rochester's  list  of  emi- 
nent business  men  is  held  in  higher 
esteem. 

With  advancing  years  Mr.  Rogers  has 
surrendered  the  heavier  burdens  of  busi- 
ness, but  is  daily  at  his  desk,  his  wise 
judgment  and  abundant  experience  fitting 
in  well  with  the  enthusiasm  of  his  efifici- 
ent  associates.  He  has  likewise  sur- 
rendered interests  of  importance  outside, 
after,  in  some  instances,  a  connection  of 


59 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


fifty  years.  For  that  period  he  was  a 
director  of  the  Traders'  National  Bank 
of  Rochester,  and  still  is  a  director  of  the 
Genesee  Valley  Trust  Company.  He  has 
been  a  member  of  the  Rochester  Chamber 
of  Commerce  since  its  organization,  was 
its  president  in  1905,  and  during  his  term 
of  office  secured  the  passage  of  a  "smoke" 
ordinance  through  the  Council  that  has 
greatly  abated  the  smoke  nuisance  in  the 
city.  He  also  secured  the  passage  of  an 
ordinance  for  the  establishment  of  the 
Municipal  Hospital  with  a  liberal  appro- 
priation from  the  city.  He  has  long  been 
identified  with  the  Rochester  Historical 
Society,  and  for  two  years,  1906,  1907, 
was  its  president. 

Mr.  Rogers  has  made  a  number  of 
foreign  tours,  his  fine  collection  of  steel 
engravings  being  largely  acquired  while 
abroad.  While  travel  has  been  a  favorite 
way  of  spending  his  days  "oflF  duty",  he 
has  kept  in  touch  with  the  social  life  of 
his  city  through  church,  club  and  frater- 
nity membership.  His  clubs  are  the 
Whist,  Country  and  Genesee  Valley,  and 
his  fraternal  affiliation  is  with  the  Ma- 
sonic Order,  the  "best  tenets"  of  which 
institution  he  exemplifies  in  his  life.  In 
political  faith  he  is  a  Republican,  and  in 
1912  was  presidential  elector  on  the  Taft 
ticket.  Mr.  Rogers'  high  ideals  of  busi- 
ness probity  have  been  in  keeping  with 
his  high  ideals  of  private  life,  and  both 
are  founded  on  a  deep  religious  senti- 
ment. He  is  not  a  dogmatic  Christian, 
but  believes  in  religion  as  the  mainspring 
of  life,  a  living,  practical  rule  of  life, 
bringing  peace,  contentment  and  joy  to 
the  possessor.  For  many  years  he  has 
been  a  vestryman  and  warden  of  St. 
Luke's  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  ever 
active  in  the  support  of  any  worthy 
object,  religious,  charitable  or  educational 
in  character. 

Clinton  Rogers  married,  August  23, 
1876,  Fannie  C,  daughter  of  Henry  E. 


Rochester,  and  granddaughter  of  Colonel 
Nathaniel  Rochester,  founder  of  the  city 
that  bears  his  name.  The  children  of 
Clinton  and  Fannie  C.  Rogers  are:  Fan- 
nie Beatrice,  wife  of  S.  S.  B.  Roby,  of 
Rochester;  Alice  Montgomery',  wife  of 
Joseph  Roby,  M.  D.,  of  Rochester; 
Rochester  Hart,  a  lawyer  of  Rochester; 
Helen,  residing  at  home. 


MERRITT,  Edwin  Atkins, 

Legislator,  Federal  OfiBcial,  Soldier. 

The  immigrant  ancestor  of  the  Merritt 
family  was  Henry  Merritt,  a  native  of 
England,  who  emigrated  to  this  country 
probably  as  early  as  1626,  and  was  among 
the  pioneer  settlers  of  Scituate,  Massa- 
chusetts. Tradition  says  that  he  was 
born  in  County  Kent,  England,  1590.  He 
died  at  Scituate,  November  30,  1653.  The 
line  descends  through  his  son,  John  Mer- 
ritt, who  was  born  about  1635,  died  in 
Scituate,  about  1674.  His  son,  John  (2) 
Merritt,  was  born  in  Scituate,  1660,  died 
there,  June  5,  1749.  His  son,  Jonathan 
Merritt,  was  born  in  Scituate,  May,  1702, 
died  in  Hebron,  Connecticut,  October  27, 
1758,  having  removed  thither  about  1730. 
His  son,  Noah  Merritt,  was  born  in  1732, 
died  in  Templeton,  Massachusetts,  March 
24,  1814.  His  son,  Noah  (2)  Merritt,  was 
born  in  Templeton,  October,  1758,  died  in 
Sudbury,  Vermont,  August  21,  1843.  He 
was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution  from 
Templeton,  having  enlisted,  February  21, 
1778,  for  three  years,  and  he  was  also  an 
active  participant  in  hostilities  in  the  year 
1780.  His  son,  Noadiah  Merritt,  was 
born  in  Templeton,  December  3,  1782, 
died  in  Pierrepont,  New  York,  January  i, 
1854.  He  married  Relief,  daughter  of 
Jeremiah  and  Relief  (Rogers)  Parker,  the 
latter  named  having  been  a  descendant, 
according  to  family  tradition,  of  John 
Rogers,  the  Martyr,  burned  at  the  stake 
at  Smithfield,  1554.    They  were  the  par- 


60 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ents   of   General   Edwin   Atkins   Merritt, 
whose  name  heads  this  sketch. 

General  Edwin  Atkins  Merritt  was 
born  in  Sudbury,  Vermont,  February  26, 
1828.  He  accompanied  his  family  upon 
their  removal  to  St.  Lawrence  county, 
New  York,  in  1841,  and  has  resided  in 
that  section  of  the  State  ever  since,  mak- 
ing his  home  in  Potsdam.  After  complet- 
ing his  studies  in  the  public  schools  adja- 
cent to  his  home,  he  served  in  the  capac- 
ity of  school  teacher  in  St.  Lawrence 
county.  New  York,  but  this  occupation 
not  proving  to  his  liking  he  qualified  him- 
self for  the  profession  of  civil  engineer 
and  surveyor,  which  lines  of  work  he  fol- 
lowed for  many  years,  mainly  in  the  Ad- 
irondacks.  He  published  the  first  map 
for  the  use  of  tourists  in  the  wilderness, 
and  was  the  engineer  in  charge  of  the 
construction  of  the  eastern  section  of  the 
Rome,  Watertown  &  Ogdensburg  Rail- 
road. In  1854  he  was  elected  supervisor 
of  the  town  of  Pierrepont  and  reelected 
the  two  following  years.  From  1857  to 
i860  he  was  clerk  of  the  Board  of  Super- 
visors of  St.  Lawrence  county,  and  in 
1859  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  State 
Assembly  from  the  second  district  of  this 
county,  receiving  a  plurality  of  one  thou- 
sand, three  hundred  and  two  votes,  and 
in  i860  he  was  reelected  by  two  thousand, 
two  hundred  and  fifty-nine  plurality.  In 
1867  he  was  elected  to  the  constitutional 
convention  of  the  State  of  New  York  and 
was  chairman  of  the  committee  on  organ- 
ization of  the  Legislature.  For  several 
years  he  was  a  leading  member  of  the 
Republican  State  Central  Committee.  In 
March,  1869,  he  was  appointed  naval 
officer  of  the  Port  of  New  York  by  Presi- 
dent Grant,  and  held  that  office  for  one 
year  and  four  months.  In  1875  he  was 
the  unsuccessful  candidate  for  state  treas- 
urer, but  two  years  later  President  Hayes 
appointed  him  surveyor  of  the  Port  of 
New  York  to  succeed  General  Sharp,  and 
his  administration  was  so  successful  that 


the  President  promoted  mm  to  the  col- 
lectorship  of  the  port  in  July,  1878,  and 
up  to  that  time  he  was  the  only  man  who 
enjoyed  the  honor  of  having  held  the 
three  ofifices  of  surveyor,  naval  officer  and 
collector  of  the  Port  of  New  York.  In 
1881,  shortly  after  the  inauguration  of 
President  Garfield,  he  was  appointed 
United  States  consul-general  at  London, 
England,  in  which  capacity  he  served  until 
1885,  displaying  the  utmost  zeal  and 
efficiency.  In  1871  he  had  been  oflfered 
the  post  of  United  States  minister  to 
Brazil,  but  he  declined  the  honor. 

General  Merritt  also  has  had  a  notable 
military  career.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
Civil  War,  1861,  he  was  appointed  quar- 
termaster of  the  Sixtieth  New  York  Regi- 
ment of  Volunteers.  He  served  with  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  after  the  battle 
of  Gettysburg  went  west,  participating  in 
the  battles  about  Chattanooga  and  in 
Sherman's  Georgia  campaign  as  far  as 
Big  Shanty,  near  Marietta,  Georgia,  when 
he  received  from  President  Lincoln  a 
commission  as  commissary  of  subsistence 
with  the  rank  of  captain,  and  was  ordered 
to  Washington  and  stationed  on  the 
Potomac  river  to  supply  reinforcements 
proceeding  to  join  Sheridan's  army.  At 
the  close  of  the  campaign  he  was  ordered 
to  Annapolis.  Maryland,  to  pay  commu- 
tation of  rations  to  the  soldiers  returning- 
from  rebel  prisons.  While  on  this  service 
he  was  appointed  quartermaster-general 
on  the  staflf  of  Governor  Fenton  and  en- 
tered upon  the  duties  of  his  office,  January 
1, 1865,  and  continued  until  January,  1869. 
Subsequently  he  was  superintendent  of 
the  Soldiers'  Home  and  established  free 
agencies  for  collection  of  bounties,  back 
pay  and  pensions  due  soldiers  from  New 
York  State.  He  has  always  taken  an  ac- 
tive interest  in  educational  affairs,  and 
was  one  of  the  prime  movers  in  securing 
the  location  of  the  State  Normal  School 
at  Potsdam,  of  whose  board  of  trustees 
he  has  been  president  for  many  years,  has. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


also  served  in  a  similar  office  in  St.  Law- 
rence University  at  Canton,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  Clark- 
son  Institute  of  Technology  of  Potsdam. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Military  Order  of 
the  Loyal  Legion. 

General  Merritt  married,  May  5,  1858, 
Eliza,  daughter  of  Jacob  Rich.  Children  : 
I.  Edwin  Albert,  born  July  25,  i860,  in 
Pierrepont,  New  York,  died  December  4, 
1914;  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  College, 
class  of  1884;  was  deputy  consul-general 
at  London,  England,  1885;  admitted  to 
the  practice  of  law  and  was  a  member  of 
the  Bar  Association  of  St.  Lawrence 
County,  and  of  the  State  Bar  Associ- 
ation ;  for  several  years  was  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  League  of  Republican  Clubs 
of  the  State  of  New  York;  supervisor  of 
the  town  of  Potsdam  for  seven  years ; 
elected  assemblyman  in  1901,  reelected  in 
1902,  1903,  1904,  1905,  1906, 1907,  and  dur- 
ing these  terms  was  a  member  and  often 
chairman  of  various  important  com- 
mittees; and  speaker  of  the  Assembly, 
1913  and  1914;  and  was  elected  to  the 
House  of  Representatives  in  1913  to  suc- 
ceed George  Mulby,  and  was  a  member 
at  the  time  of  his  death  ;  married,  Janu- 
ary 24,  1888,  Edith  Sophia  Wilcox.  2. 
Arthur  Rich,  born  August  31,  1863,  died 
1867.  3.  Parker  Wilson,  born  December 
7,  1865,  died  1867.  4.  Darwin  Fenton, 
born  July  21,  1867,  died  1875. 

General  Merritt  is  still  living  (1916) 
in  hale  old  age  with  faculties  unimpaired. 
Of  his  fidelity  to  the  important  trusts 
committed  to  him,  of  his  sterling  char- 
acter, the  friendships  he  has  inspired,  and 
the  esteem  in  which  he  is  held  by  his 
community  too  much  cannot  be  said. 


STEWART,  William  Adams  Walker, 

IjiaxryeT,  Philanthropist. 

William  A.  W.  Stewart,  an  attorney  of 
New  York,  is  of  Scotch  antecedents,  as 


his  name  indicates.  His  grandfather,  John 
A.  Stewart,  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  who 
came  to  New  York  City,  and  here  was 
born  his  son,  William  Adams  Walker 
Stewart,  who  died  in  1888.  The  latter 
graduated  at  Princeton  College,  Prince- 
ton, New  Jersey,  in  1871,  and  at  Columbia 
Law  School,  New  York  City,  with  the 
degree  of  LL.  B.,  and  engaged  in  practice 
of  law  in  New  York  City.  He  married 
Frances  Gray,  a  native  of  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts. 

William  A.  W.  Stewart,  Jr.,  son  of 
William  A.  W.  and  Frances  (Gray)  Stew- 
art, was  born  September  10,  1876,  in  New 
York  City,  and  was  prepared  for  college 
at  the  Berkeley  School  of  New  York,  and 
at  Princeton  Preparatory  School,  where 
he  spent  one  year.  Following  this  he 
pursued  the  classical  course  at  Princeton 
College,  and  was  graduated  with  the  de- 
gree of  A.  B.  in  1897.  In  the  fall  of  the 
same  year  he  entered  Columbia  Law 
School  in  New  York,  and  was  graduated 
in  1900  with  the  degree  of  LL.  B.  In  the 
same  year  he  was  admitted  to  practice  at 
the  New  York  bar,  and  entered  the  law 
office  of  Edward  W.Sheldon,  in  New  York, 
where  he  continued  in  a  subordinate  ca- 
pacity for  six  years.  At  the  end  of  this 
period  he  became  a  partner  in  the  law 
firm  of  Sheldon  «S:  Stewart,  which  sub- 
sequently became  Stewart  &  Shearer, 
which  firm  is  pursuing  an  active  practice 
in  New  York  City,  with  offices  on  Wall 
street.  Mr.  Stewart  has  taken  an  active 
interest  in  philanthropic  work  of  the  city, 
and  is  a  trustee  of  the  New  York  Infirm- 
ary for  Women  and  Children.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  and 
in  politics  acts  independently  of  party 
guidance.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Associ- 
ation of  the  Bar  of  the  City  of  New  York, 
and  New  York  State  Bar  Association. 
Among  his  clubs  may  be  mentioned  the 
Union,  Racquet  and  Tennis,  University, 
Metropolitan,    Piping    Rock    and    Jekyl 


62 


eTTfT^^^^^-^^tX 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Island  clubs.  He  married,  May  i,  1900, 
Frances  Emily  de  Forest,  born  in  New 
York  City,  daughter  of  Robert  W.  and 
Emily  (Johnston)  de  Forest.  Children: 
Frances  Dorothy,  Ethel,  William  Adams 
Walker,  Edward  Sheldon,  Beatrice  and 
Nancy. 


MEACHEM,  Thomas  WUliam, 
Manufacturer,  Financier. 

Thomas  William  Meachem,  son  of  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Goldesbrough  and  Caroline 
(Yates)  Meachem,  was  born  at  East 
Bloomfield,  Ontario  county,  New  York, 
June  7,  1849.  His  education,  which  was 
good  and  practical  as  far  as  it  went,  was 
obtained  in  Cortland,  New  York,  where 
he  was  a  student  at  the  Cortland  Acad- 
emy until  he  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  at 
which  time  he  left  his  home  to  make  his 
way  in  the  world.  His  first  position  was 
as  a  clerk  in  the  Lake  Shore  Bank,  at 
Skaneateles,  New  York.  He  held  this 
first  position  for  a  period  of  two  years, 
then  was  three  years  bookkeeper  at  the 
Syracuse  Savings  Bank.  Ten  years  were 
then  spent  as  teller  of  the  Auburn  Sav- 
ings Bank,  a  position  he  resigned  in  1879 
in  order  to  again  take  up  his  residence  in 
Syracuse,  with  which  city  he  has  since 
been  identified.  He  organized  the  Bene- 
dict Table  Manufacturing  Company,  an 
enterprise  which  was  a  success  from  the 
outset,  and  of  which  he  later  disposed. 
He  founded  the  New  Process  Raw  Hide 
Company  in  1888,  the  name  of  which  has 
since  been  changed  to  The  New  Process 
Gear  Corporation,  and  he  has  been  the 
president  of  this  since  its  inception.  This 
corporation  has  a  captial  of  three  million 
dollars  and  employs  upward  of  one  thou- 
sand men.  The  business  ability  of  Mr. 
Meachem  has  been  recognized  by  his 
fellow  citizens,  who  elected  him  presi- 
dent of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  in 
which  he  served  in  1908  and  1909.     His 


official  connection  with  other  enterprises 
of  importance  is  as  follows :  Vice-presi- 
dent of  the  Merchants'  National  Bank, 
Onondaga  Provident  Loan  Association, 
the  Palmer-Moore  Company  and  the  On- 
ondaga Hotel  Corporation ;  director  in 
the  Inter-State  Hotel  Company,  Omaha; 
trustee  of  the  Onondaga  County  Savings 
Bank  and  the  American  Scenic  and  His- 
toric Preservation  Society ;  member  of 
the  Syracuse  Grade  Crossing  Commis- 
sion; and  commissioner  of  the  State 
Reservation  at  Niagara.  The  political 
support  of  Mr.  Meachem  has  always  been 
given  to  the  Democratic  party,  and  he 
has  served  as  delegate  to  the  State  Con- 
vention which  nominated  Grover  Cleve- 
land as  a  candidate  for  governor  of  the 
State ;  delegate  to  the  National  Conven- 
tion which  nominated  Woodrow  Wilson 
for  President ;  he  was  an  earnest  advocate 
in  favor  of  both  of  these  nominations. 

Mr.  Meachem  married,  in  1875,  Jessie 
Sabine,  a  daughter  of  William  Sabine,  of 
Onondaga  Valley,  New  York,  and  they 
have  two  sons :  Thomas  Goldesbrough, 
born  April  3,  1878,  and  Joseph  Forman 
Sabine,  born  December  17,  1880,  both  of 
whom  are  prominent  figures  in  the  busi- 
ness life  of  Syracuse. 


DAY,  James  Roscoe, 

Clergyman,  Educator,  Author,  I<ectnrer. 

The  science  of  pedagogy  has  become 
more  and  more  fully  recognized  as  one  of 
the  most  vital  importance  in  the  commu- 
nity, and  foremost  in  its  ranks,  as  well  as 
occupying  a  high  position  as  a  divine,  au- 
thor and  lecturer,  is  James  Roscoe  Day, 
S.  T.  D.,  D.  C.  L.,  LL.  D.,  Chancellor  of 
Syracuse  University.  He  has  also  shown 
himself  possessed  of  business  ability  of 
an  exceedingly  high  order,  and  of  him  it 
may  truly  be  said  that  he  is  in  that  class 
of  men  who,  in  the  midst  of  apparently 
overwhelming    business    affairs,    always 


63 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


find  time  to  spare  to  assume  additional 
duties,  and  thus  appear  to  accomplish 
wonders.  A  very  simple  principle  lies  at 
the  root  of  this  state  of  affairs.  No  time 
is  lost  in  idle  speculation,  but  every 
moment  of  time  is  given  its  true  valua- 
tion, and  every  phase  of  life  is  appreci- 
ated in  proportion  to  the  useful  work 
which  has  been  faithfully  performed.  He 
is  descended  from  the  Days  of  Cape  Ann, 
the  first  president  of  Yale  College  also 
being  a  member  of  this  branch,  and  an- 
other member  being  Professor  George 
Edward  Day.  He  is  a  son  of  Thomas 
and  Mary  Plummer  (Hillman)  Day,  the 
latter  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Hill- 
man,  his  maternal  grandmother  was  a 
Norton,  of  Livermore,  Maine,  the  line 
from  which  Nordica  descended  on  her 
paternal  side.  The  Hillmans  were  from 
Chilmark,  Martha's  Vineyard.  Thomas 
Day  was  engaged  in  lumbering  in  Maine, 
and  in  steamboating,  staging,  and  similar 
occupations  in  the  State  of  Washington. 

James  Roscoe  Day  was  born  at  Whit- 
neyville,  Maine.  His  classical  and  scien- 
tific training  was  acquired  in  the  Maine 
Wesleyan  Seminary,  at  Bowdoin  College. 
He  was  compelled  to  leave  Bowdoin  at 
the  close  of  his  sophomore  year  by  reason 
of  impaired  health.  The  degree  of  Bache- 
lor of  Arts  was,  however,  conferred  upon 
him  subsequently,  and  his  name  enrolled 
in  the  class  of  1874,  in  which  he  would 
naturally  have  been  graduated.  While 
still  in  his  teens  he  spent  nearly  five  years 
in  the  West,  in  Washington  and  Oregon, 
but  his  early  training  enabled  him  to 
resist  the  temptations  which  were  the 
ruin  of  so  many  young  men  of  that  period 
in  that  section.  Shortly  after  leaving 
college  he  entered  the  ministry  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  and  labored 
effectively  as  a  pastor  in  Auburn,  Bath. 
Biddeford  and  Portland,  Maine;  Nashua, 
New  Hampshire  ;  Boston.  Massachusetts  ; 
Newburgh,   New   York,   and   again    New 


York,  New  York.  In  1883  he  received 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from 
both  Dickinson  College  and  Wesleyan 
University;  that  of  Sacrae  Theologiae 
Doctor  from  Bowdoin  College  in  1894, 
and  that  of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  North- 
western University  in  1898.  On  Novem- 
ber 16,  1893,  M^r.  Day  was  elected  Chan- 
cellor of  Syracuse  University.  Although 
he  was  elected  a  bishop  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  church  in  May,  1894,  Dr.  Day 
decided  to  remain  at  the  university.  It 
is  not  amiss  to  give  here  a  summary  of 
the  organization  and  rise  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Syracuse.  It  was  organized  in 
1871  with  forty  students,  and  this  number 
of  students  had  grown  to  six  hundred  and 
forty-one  at  the  time  Chancellor  Day  took 
matters  in  hand.  So  successful  have  been 
his  methods  in  every  respect,  that  there 
is  now  an  annual  attendance  of  nearly 
four  thousand  students.  The  college 
property  consisted  of  but  five  buildings: 
The  Hall  of  Languages,  dedicated  in 
1873 ;  the  John  Crouse  Memorial  Col- 
lege;  the  Holden  Observatory;  the  Von 
Ranke  Library ;  and  the  Gymnasium. 
The  financial  affairs  were  in  a  very  seri- 
ous state,  owing  to  the  panic  of  1893,  a 
large  portion  of  the  funds  being  invested 
in  mortgages  on  unproductive  western 
farm  lands.  It  became  necessary  to  fore- 
close these  mortgages,  many  hundreds 
of  acres  becoming  the  property  of  the 
university,  and  these  have  increased  in 
value  since  that  time  and  some  of  them 
have  been  sold,  so  that  the  original  in- 
vestment has  been  more  than  covered. 
Chancellor  Day  at  once  recognized  the 
gravity  of  the  financial  condition  of  the 
university,  and  put  carefully  formed  plans 
into  execution.  For  a  number  of  years 
much  of  his  time  and  attention  was  de- 
voted to  regulating  the  internal  affairs 
of  the  institution,  for  in  addition  to  solv- 
ing the  financial  problem,  new  courses  of 
study  were  to  be  formulated.     In  a  com- 


64 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


paratively  short  time  he  had  matters  in 
fair  working  order,  and  now  turned  his 
attention  to  increasing  the  facilities  of 
the  university.  He  purposed  to  extend 
the  university  in  every  possible  direction, 
and  the  first  step  he  made  in  this  direc- 
tion was  the  erection  of  the  main  Medical 
College  building.  A  fine  building  lot  in 
the  center  of  the  city  had  been  donated 
by  Eliphalet  Remington,  and  Chancellor 
Day  saw  the  possibilities  of  developing 
this  as  an  income  bearing  property  by 
the  erection  of  the  present  university  in- 
vestment building  upon  it.  This  was 
done  at  a  cost  of  almost  one  million  dol- 
lars, but  the  amount  it  contributes  to  the 
funds  of  the  institution  to-day  proves  the 
wisdom  of  the  proceeding.  The  greater 
part  of  1897-98  was  consumed  in  this 
work,  and  to-day  the  property  of  the 
university,  together  with  its  endowment 
fund,  amounts  to  approximately  five  mil- 
lions of  dollars.  Under  the  administra- 
tion of  Chancellor  Day  the  Esther  Baker 
Steele  Hall  of  Physics  was  erected,  this 
being  his  first  building  to  occupy  the 
campus ;  Winchell  Hall  followed,  this  be- 
ing a  dormitory  for  women,  and  Haven 
Hall  was  also  erected.  L.  C.  Smith, 
founder  of  the  typewriter  industry  of 
Syracuse,  donated  the  Lyman  Cornelius 
Smith  College  of  Applied  Science,  one  of 
the  foremost  technical  schools  in  America, 
and  this  was  taxed  to  its  utmost  capacity 
immediately  upon  completion.  The  area 
of  the  campus  also  became  too  limited  for 
the  increasing  number  of  students,  and 
in  1902  thirty-four  acres  were  purchased 
adjoining  on  the  south,  and  in  1904  the 
old  Crouse  homestead,  at  the  corner  of 
South  State  and  East  Fayette  streets  was 
purchased,  and  became  the  home  of  the 
Law  School.  In  1905  the  Renwick  Castle 
estate  was  purchased,  this  consisting  of 
fourteen  acres  with  Renwick  Castle  stand- 
ing upon  it,  and  a  College  for  Teachers 
was  established  there  in  1906.    Numerous 

N  Y-Vol  lV-5 


gifts  have  been  made  to  the  university, 
with  the  condition  attached  that  an  equal 
or  given  sum  be  raised  by  the  univer- 
sity, and  on  each  occasion  the  condition 
has  been  successfully  overcome,  mainly 
through  the  indefatigable  energy  and  en- 
thusiasm of  Chancellor  Day.  When  John 
D.  Archbold  made  an  ofifer  of  a  gift  of 
this  nature,  amounting  to  four  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  Dr.  Day  assisted  by  his 
financial  secretary,  worked  with  such 
energy  that  he  raised  the  sum  of  one  mil- 
lion two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars.  Another  important  building 
secured  to  the  university  was  the  Car- 
negie Library,  commencing  with  a  gift 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars 
from  Mr.  Carnegie,  secured  upon  the  con- 
dition that  a  similar  amount  should  be 
raised  for  its  endowment.  This  building 
was  completed  and  occupied  in  1907,  and 
is  considered  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
on  the  campus.  The  John  Lyman  Hall 
of  Natural  History,  donated  by  the  late 
John  Lyman,  was  completed  in  1907,  and 
a  new  Hall  of  Chemistry  was  donated  by 
Samuel  W.  Bowne.  The  Stadium,  an- 
other gift  of  John  D.  Archbold,  president 
of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  univer- 
sity, is  one  of  the  finest  athletic  grounds 
in  America,  and  is  provided  with  asphalt 
seats  to  the  number  of  twenty  thousand. 
The  great  gymnasium  by  Mr.  Archbold 
soon  followed.  While  Chancellor  Day  is 
a  strong  advocate  of  athletic  training, 
he  does  not  believe  in  giving  these  ad- 
vantages to  a  selected  few,  but  thinks 
that  all  students  should  make  use'  of  the 
opportunities  of  this  nature  which  are 
placed  at  their  disposal. 

In  political  matters  Dr.  Day  gives  his 
support  to  the  Republican  party,  with  the 
one  exception  that  he  is  a  warm  advocate 
of  temperance  principles.  He  has  been  a 
frequent  contributor  to  periodical  litera- 
ture on  current,  economic  and  religious 
questions,  and  is  the  author  of  a  book, 
65 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


"The  Raid  on  Prosperity,"  which  is  op- 
posed to  the  restrictions  and  interpreta- 
tions of  the  privileges  of  large  business, 
of  commerce,  the  constitution  of  our 
government,  the  courts,  etc.  Not  many 
years  ago  a  man  of  socialistic  tendencies 
pointed  to  the  Carnegie  Library,  and  said 
to  Dr.  Day:  "Why  didn't  Carnegie  give 
that  money  to  the  poor?"  The  answer,  a 
prompt  one,  was  as  follows:  "He  did  give 
it  to  the  poor.  Every  man  who  has 
worked  on  that  building,  of  the  hundred 
employed  there,  was  a  poor  man,  and  it 
will  be  used  forever  for  the  poor.  Have 
you  heard  of  any  rich  man  working  in 
the  building?  Even  the  steel  and  con- 
crete and  stone  represent  day  laborers  by 
the  thousands.  In  no  better  way  could 
money  be  given  to  the  poor.  You  ought 
to  thank  God  that  there  is  a  man  of  Mr. 
Carnegie's  millions  and  philanthropy.  Of 
the  half-dozen  buildings  being  erected 
here,  everyone  was  given  by  a  million- 
aire, and  but  for  these  millionaires  not  a 
man  of  you  hundreds  of  workingmen 
would  have  had  a  day's  labor  on  this 
campus.  And  you  will  go  and  vote  for 
some  demagogue  who  excites  the  work- 
ingmen with  hatred  against  the  men  who 
make  it  possible  for  them  to  secure  in- 
creasing pay  for  decreasing  hours."  This 
is  but  one  instance  of  the  fearless  manner 
in  which  Chancellor  Day  expresses  his 
well  considered  views  for  the  good  of  his 
fellow-men.  He  has  no  sympathy  with 
those  so  ready  to  make  attacks  upon  men 
of  huge  fortunes,  and  in  this  connection 
recently  said:  "If  this  mania  continues 
it  is  not  far  on  to  a  crash  that  will  carry 
down  all  confidence,  confuse  all  property 
rights,  block  the  wheels  of  all  progress, 
and  wreck  not  only  the  millionaire's  for- 
tune but  the  laborer's  cottage." 

Chancellor  Day  married,  July  14,  1873, 
Anna  E.  Richards,  daughter  of  the  Rev. 
R.  R.  Richards,  of  Maine,  and  they  have 
one    child,    Mary    Emogene,    who    was 


graduated  from  Syracuse  University. 
Absorbed  in  the  work  and  problems  of 
his  high  position.  Dr.  Day  has  not  allied 
himself  with  any  fraternal  or  social  or- 
ganizations. His  life  has  touched  every 
phase  of  work  wherein  he  has  believed 
that  his  efforts  would  prove  beneficial  to 
the  community  in  any  manner.  The 
world  is  better  for  his  having  lived,  and 
long  after  his  personality  shall  have  faded 
from  the  minds  of  men,  as  his  associates 
in  life  one  by  one  pass  away,  the  move- 
ments which  he  instituted  will  remain  as 
a  monument  to  his  memory.  He  posses- 
ses a  most  genial  manner,  cordial  spirit 
and  kindly  disposition,  and  his  unfailing 
courtesy  and  ready  adaptability  make 
him  popular  wherever  he  is  known. 


SLATER,  Samuel  Scott, 

Lairyer,  Legislator. 

From  sturdy,  industrious  and  enter- 
prising ancestors,  Mr.  Slater  has  inherited 
qualities  which  make  for  success  in  life. 
In  his  veins  are  mingled  English,  Scotch 
and  Dutch  blood.  The  Slater  family  is  of 
English  extraction,  and  had  branches 
located  in  Ireland.  From  a  neighbor- 
hood called  Slater  Hill,  Northern  Ireland, 
an  immigrant  of  the  name  removed  to 
Owen  Sound,  Canada.  He  married  a 
daughter  of  Samuel  Maclean,  of  a  Scot- 
tish family,  and  when  it  became  neces- 
sary that  she  sustain  herself,  she  walked 
from  beyond  the  St.  Lawrence  river  at 
Owen  Sound  to  Boston,  Massachusetts, 
taking  with  her  an  infant  daughter,  swim- 
ming the  river,  and  after  her  arrival  in 
Massachusetts  was  born  to  her  a  son, 
whom  she  named  Samuel  Maclean  Slater. 
She  worked  at  weaving,  and  by  careful 
handling  of  her  earnings  acquired  prop- 
erty and  owned  a  house.  She  married 
for  her  second  husband  a  man  named 
Bingham,  but  when  he  became  addicted 
to  drink  she  forcibly  put  him  out  of  her 


66 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


house,  and  continued  to  live  alone,  and 
brought  up  her  children  to  be  worthy 
citizens.  Her  daughter  became  an  elocu- 
tionist, and  died  in  her  thirtieth  year. 
Samuel  Maclean  Slater  became  a  manu- 
facturer in  New  York.  He  married  Jane 
Scott,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Scott,  of  a 
Scottish  family.  She  was  born  in  Ireland 
and  came  to  this  country  at  the  age  of 
three  years.  Her  mother  was  a  Calvert, 
niece  of  a  prominent  builder  of  the  city 
of  New  York,  three-quarters  of  a  century 
ago. 

Samuel  Scott  Slater,  son  of  Samuel 
Maclean  and  Jane  (Scott)  Slater,  was 
born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  at  the 
homestead  established  by  his  Grand- 
mother Slater,  on  West  Forty-first  street 
between  Eighth  and  Ninth  avenues.  When 
his  father  was  a  boy  living  on  this  home- 
stead, the  Hudson  river  came  up  to  what 
is  now  Tenth  avenue,  and  the  nearest 
house  to  the  Slater  or  Bingham  home- 
stead was  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
distant.  This  was  a  farming  section  in 
the  days  when  Fourteenth  street  was 
considered  the  farthest  limit  uptown. 
Samuel  Scott  Slater  attended  the  public 
schools  and  the  New  York  University. 
In  1S90  he  entered  Cornell  University, 
and  was  graduated  B.  L.  in  1894,  receiv- 
ing the  additional  degree  of  LL.B.  He  was 
the  first  man  to  receive  the  two  degrees 
from  the  university.  Before  the  close  of 
the  year  he  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession  in  New  York  City,  and  soon 
after  became  a  member  of  the  law  firm 
of  Baldwin  &  Slater,  for  the  general  prac- 
tice of  law.  This  firm  continued  about 
three  years,  and  during  this  time  and 
subsequently  Mr.  Slater  was  a  reporter 
and  writer  for  the  press  of  New  York. 
He  became  a  member  of  the  law  firm  of 
Fitch,  Slater  &  Randall,  which  continued 
three  years,  and  since  that  time  has  prac- 
ticed law  with  great  success  independ- 
ently.    In  recent  years  his  practice  has 


largely  developed  in  the  handling  of 
corporation  matters.  While  in  college 
Mr.  Slater  worked  his  way  by  his  own 
effort,  acting  as  correspondent  for  vari- 
ous journals,  including  the  Chicago 
"Tribune,"  Philadelphia  "Press,"  New 
York  "World,"  New  York  "Recorder" 
and  three  college  papers.  He  was  com- 
mencement day  orator  and  took  a  prize 
for  his  law  thesis.  He  is  a  progressive 
Republican,  and  a  member  of  his  Repub- 
lican district  club,  and  has  achieved  dis- 
tinction in  direction  of  legislative  matters 
in  his  native  State.  He  served  in  the 
State  Assembly  in  1898  and  1899,  and  in 
the  State  Senate  in  1900  and  1901.  In  the 
house  he  was  a  member  of  the  committee 
on  cities,  and  served  in  the  senate  on  the 
judiciary  and  code  committees.  He  was 
the  author  of  the  first  employers'  liability 
act  in  New  York  State,  and  thereby  be- 
came the  father  of  the  Employers'  Liabil- 
ity Law  in  New  York  State.  While  in 
the  lower  house  he  was  in  charge  of 
Senator  Ford's  Franchise  Tax  Law 
(1899),  which  subseqently,  at  a  special 
session,  was  amended  and  passed,  and  is 
known  as  the  Roosevelt  Franchise  Tax 
Bill.  He  was  the  author  of  a  law  which 
stopped  the  shooting  of  pigeons  for  sport, 
promoted  by  the  Society  for  the  Pre- 
vention of  Cruelty  to  Animals,  and  in 
recognition  of  this  service  the  society  has 
made  him  an  honorary  life  member.  Mr. 
Slater  is  interested  in  various  business 
enterprises;  is  a  director  of  the  Cold 
Process  Company  of  New  York,  the 
Millington  Company,  and  a  director  and 
treasurer  of  the  United  Cotton  Gin  Com- 
pany. He  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist 
church,  and  is  affiliated  with  the  Masonic 
fraternity  as  a  member  of  Harlem  Lodge, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  Sylvan 
Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons.  He  is  also 
a  member  of  the  New  York  Bar  Associa- 
tion, the  New  York  County  Bar  Associa- 
tion, New  York  County  Lawyers'  Asso- 


67 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ciation,  and  three  college  fraternities:  Phi 
Gamma  Delta,  Phi  Delta  Phi  and  Alpha 
Zeta.  His  clubs  include  the  Republican, 
Cornell,  Harlem  Republican  and  Phi 
Gamma   Delta. 


MORSE,  Waldo  Grant, 

Lawyer,  Publicist. 

Waldo  Grant  Morse,  one  of  the  success- 
ful attorneys  of  New  York  City,  wields  a 
large  influence  in  moulding  the  thought 
of  the  State  and  nation.  He  comes  of 
the  best  New  England  stock,  inheriting 
through  the  Morse  and  Grant  families 
blood  of  ancestors  who  were  active  in 
founding  the  nation  and  in  the  develop- 
ment of  its  material  and  moral  progress, 
down  to  the  present  day.  The  Alorse 
family  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  America, 
and  has  been  conspicuous  in  both  English 
and  American  annals,  traced  with  toler- 
able accuracy  to  the  time  of  William  the 
Conqueror.  The  name  is  inseparably 
connected  with  the  invention  of  the  elec- 
tric telegraph,  and  is  otherwise  distin- 
guished in  relation  to  the  science,  liter- 
ature and  all  the  influences  that  make  for 
the  betterment  of  the  condition  of  man- 
kind. Its  bearers  are  to  be  found  in  re- 
motely separated  districts  of  the  United 
States,  and  they  have  been  noted  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  standards  set  up  by 
their  Puritan  fathers.  The  American 
family  has  been  traced  to  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Morse,  who  resided  at  Foxearth, 
in  the  county  of  Essex,  England.  There 
were  several  of  the  name  early  estab- 
lished in  Essex  county,  Massachusetts, 
including  William,  Anthony,  Samuel  and 
Joseph  Morse,  all  of  whom  were  the  an- 
cestors of  a  numerous  progeny. 

(II)  Samuel  Morse,  son  of  Rev. 
Thomas  Morse,  of  Foxearth,  was  born  in 
1585,  and  embarked  for  New  England  at 
London  in   1635,  settling  first  at  Water- 


town,  Massachusetts,  whence  he  soon  re- 
moved to  Dedham.  He  became  one  of 
the  original  settlers  of  Medfield,  formerly 
a  part  of  Dedham,  where  he  died  April  5, 
1664.  His  wife,  Elizabeth,  probably  sur- 
vived him  one  year. 

(III)  Joseph  Morse,  third  son  of 
Samuel  and  Elizabeth  Morse,  was  born 
in  1615,  and  was  approaching  his  major- 
ity when  he  came  with  his  parents  to 
America.  For  a  time  his  residence  was 
in  Dorchester,  and  meantime  he  was 
clearing  land  and  preparing  a  home  in 
Medfield,  whither  he  did  not  remove.  He 
died  in  1654,  prior  to  the  completion  of 
his  residence.  In  1638  he  married  Han- 
nah Philips,  who  survived  him,  and  mar- 
ried (second)  Thomas  Boyden.  She  died 
at  the  home  of  her  daughter  in  Boston,  in 
1676. 

(IV)  Joseph  (2)  Morse,  second  son  of 
Joseph  (i)  and  Hannah  (Philips)  Morse, 
was  born  March  25,  1679,  and  resided  in 
Sherborn,  Massachusetts,  where  he  died 
April  18,  1734.  He  married,  April  14, 
1702,  Prudence  Adams,  born  April  10, 
1683,  died  1772,  daughter  of  Henry  and 
Prudence  (Frairy)  Adams. 

(V)  Jacob  Morse,  fifth  son  of  Joseph 
(2)  and  Prudence  (Adams)  Morse,  was 
born  in  Sherborn,  Massachusetts,  Sep- 
tember 21,  1717.  He  settled  in  Douglass, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  died  March  30, 
1800.  He  married,  in  1753-54,  Mary 
Merrifield. 

(VI)  Jacob  (2)  Morse,  eldest  child  of 
Jacob  (i)  and  Mary  (Merrifield)  Morse, 
was  born  in  Sherborn,  Massachusetts, 
July  II,  1755.  He  lived  most  of  his  life 
in  Sutton,  Massachusetts,  but  died  in 
Sherborn,  January  5,  1841.  He  married, 
June  II,  1782,  Rebecca  Smith. 

(VII)  Amos  Morse,  eldest  child  of 
Jacob  (2)  and  Rebecca  (Smith)  Morse, 
was  born  in  Douglass,  Massachusetts, 
April  8,    1783.     He   married,  January  9, 


68 


XzdU^  ^.  y{/L^JU 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


1806,  Mary  Hale.  He  resided  in  Doug- 
lass, Worcester  county,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  died  in  1845. 

(VIII)  Adolphus  Morse,  eldest  child 
of  Amos  and  Mary  (Hale)  Morse,  was 
born  in  1807.  He  received  an  excellent 
education,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
Worcester,  and  there  began  the  practice 
of  his  profession.  In  1850  he  removed  to 
Rochester,  New  York,  where  he  engaged 
in  business,  and  died  in  1873.  He  was 
well  known  in  business  and  social  circles 
of  Western  New  York,  esteemed  for  his 
high  character  as  a  man.  He  married 
(first)  Lavinia  Robbins,  of  Worcester, 
who  bore  him  two  children,  who  survived 
him,  Charles  Adolphus  and  Jennie.  He 
married  (second)  Mary  Elizabeth  Grant, 
born  in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  in 
1821,  daughter  of  Abraham  Grant,  of 
Cambridge,  and  his  wife,  Margaret 
(Cheever)  Grant,  of  Chelsea,  Massachu- 
setts, daughter  of  Joshua  Cheever,  de- 
scendant of  another  old  Essex  county 
family.  She  was  very  highly  esteemed  in 
Rochester  for  her  broad  charities  and 
many  adornments  of  character.  She  was 
among  the  most  active  patrons  of  the 
Charitable  Society  and  the  Old  Ladies' 
Home  of  Rochester,  and  was  ever  distin- 
guished for  her  service  to  others.  After 
a  long  life  of  usefulness  in  giving  happi- 
ness to  those  about  her,  she  died  at 
Rochester  in  1912. 

She  was  descended  from  Christian 
Grant,  born  1608,  in  England,  who  settled 
early  in  Watertown,  Massachusetts,  with 
his  wife  Mary,  and  lived  in  the  north- 
east corner  of  the  town,  near  Fresh  Pond, 
where  he  died  September  6,  1685.  The 
inventory  of  his  personal  estate  amounted 
to  two  hundred  and  ninety-six  pounds, 
ten  shillings.  His  fourth  son,  Joseph 
Grant,  was  born  September  :z'j,  1646,  in 
Watertown,  where  he  died  February  12, 
1722.  He  married,  December  24,  1684, 
Mary    Grafton,   who   was   born    in    1664. 


Their  fifth  son  and  fourteenth  child  was 
Christopher  Grant,  who  resided  in  Water- 
town,  with  his  wife  Mercy,  and  they  were 
the  parents  of  Christopher  Grant,  born 
February  4,  1747,  who  lived  in  Water- 
town  with  his  wife  Sarah.  Their  fourth 
son,  Abraham  Grant,  was  born  January 
22,  1779,  in  Watertown,  and  married  in 
Chelsea,  Massachusetts,  May  28,  1807, 
Margaret  Cheever,  born  there  1783,  bap- 
tized July  13  of  that  year,  seventh  daugh- 
ter of  Joshua  and  Abigail  (Eustis) 
Cheever,  descended  from  Ezekiel  Chee- 
ver, a  pioneer  settler  of  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts. Ezekiel  Cheever  was  born 
January  26,  1615,  in  London,  and  m  1637 
came  to  Boston,  where  he  was  the  famous 
schoolmaster  of  the  Boston  Latin  School. 
He  removed,  in  1638,  to  New  Haven, 
afterwards  to  Ipswich,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  was  living  in  1650,  to  Charles- 
town  in  November,  1661,  and  returned  ten 
years  later  to  Boston,  where  he  died 
August  21,  1708.  He  was  an  interesting 
figure  in  the  early  history  of  the  colonies, 
and  is  the  subject  of  a  volume  recently 
published  by  President  Eliot  of  Harvard 
University.  He  married  (second)  No- 
vember 18,  1652,  Ellen,  a  sister  of  Captain 
Thomas  Lothrop,  of  Beverly.  She  died 
September  10,  1706.  His  fifth  son  and 
fourth  child  of  his  second  wife,  Ellen 
(Lothrop)  Cheever,  was  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Cheever,  who  was  born  August  23,  1658, 
in  Ipswich,  graduated  from  Harvard  in 
1677,  was  admitted  to  the  First  church  at 
Boston  in  1680,  and  took  the  freeman's 
oath  there  October  13  of  that  year.  He 
began  preaching  at  Maiden  in  1679,  and 
was  ordained  there  July  27,  1681,  as  a 
colleague  of  Rev.  Michael  Wigglesworth. 
Later  he  was  a  teacher,  and  subsequently 
pastor  of  the  church  at  Rumney  Marsh 
(now  Chelsea),  where  he  was  ordained 
October  19,  1715,  as  the  first  minister, 
and  continued  in  service  until  1747.  At 
his  death  in  November,  1749,  he  was  the 


69 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


oldest  living  graduate  of  Harvard.  He 
married  Sarah,  daughter  of  James  Bill, 
Sr.  Their  youngest  child,  Nathan 
Cheever,  born  March  i6,  1694,  in  Boston, 
was  constable  and  selectman  of  Chelsea, 
a  member  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable 
Artillery  Company  of  Boston,  and  died 
September  30,  1774.  He  married  (second) 
in  Boston,  February  17,  1738,  Anna, 
widow  of  Nathan  Fuller,  and  daughter  of 
Samuel  Burrill,  of  Lynn.  She  died  No- 
vember 10,  1740.  He  had  a  son  Nathan 
by  his  first  marriage,  and  the  onh^  child 
of  the  second  marriage  was  Joshua 
Cheever,  born  October  10,  1740,  in  Chel- 
sea, died  January  15,  1813.  He  is  called 
gentleman  in  the  records,  and  left  a  p'?r- 
sonal  estate  valued  at  $5,478.50.  He 
married  in  Chelsea.  May  8,  1765,  Abigail 
Eustis,  born  1745-46,  died  in  February, 
1809,  in  Chelsea.  Their  seventh  daugh- 
ter and  ninth  child,  Margaret,  born  1783, 
as  above  noted,  became  the  wife  of  Abra- 
ham Grant. 

(IX)  Waldo  Grant  Morse,  son  of 
Adolphus  and  Mary  Elizabeth  (Grant) 
Morse,  was  born  March  13,  1859,  in 
Rochester,  New  York,  where  he  was 
educated  in  its  schools  and  the  Univer- 
sity of  Rochester.  He  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1884.  Since  1888  he  has  been 
actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession  in  New  York  City,  with  office 
on  \\^all  street.  While  conducting  a  large 
practice,  Mr.  Morse  has  always  found 
time  to  devote  to  the  public  interest,  and 
is  very  earnest  in  his  labors  with  pen  and 
voice  in  behalf  of  American  progress.  He 
was  appointed  by  Governor  Levi  P.  Mor- 
ton, of  New  York,  a  member  of  the  Pali- 
sade Commission,  established  under  legis- 
lation which  he  framed,  and  drew  the  Pali- 
sades National  Preservation  bills  which 
were  passed  by  the  Legislatures  of  New 
York  and  New  Jersey,  and  his  work  has 
been  largely  instrumental  in  preserving 
the  great  natural  beauties  of  Hudson  river 


scenery.  Mr.  Morse  is  a  member  of  the 
committee  of  the  Scenic  and  Historic 
Preservation  Society,  in  charge  of  the 
preservation  of  the  highlands  of  the  Hud- 
son. He  was  the  second  president,  and 
is  now  a  director  of  the  Morse  Society, 
incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  engaged  in  the  publication 
of  a  history  of  the  great  Morse  family. 
He  is  president  of  the  National  Editorial 
Service,  Incorporated;  vice-president  of 
the  State  Bank  of  Seneca  Falls,  New 
York :  director  of  and  counsel  for  the 
Sonora  Phonograph  Corporation ;  coun- 
sellor and  treasurer  of  the  American 
Academy  of  Jurisprudence;  life  member 
of  Council  of  National  Advisors,  and 
chairman  of  the  Division  of  American 
Jurisprudence  of  the  National  Highways 
Association,  and  member  of  the  follow- 
ing: American  Bar  Association,  Ameri- 
can Academy  of  Politics  and  Social 
Science,  American  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science,  New  York  State 
Bar  Association,  Association  of  the  Bar 
of  the  City  of  New  York,  New  York 
County  Lawyers'  Association,  Westches- 
ter County  Bar  Association,  Society  of 
Colonial  Wars,  Sons  of  the  Revolution, 
Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Training  for 
the  Public  Service,  National  Municipal 
League,  Lawyers  Club,  Bankers  Club, 
Reform  Club,  Quill  Club,  Press  Club, 
Amackkassin  Club,  Hudson  River  Coun- 
try Club.  Wykagyl  Country  Club.  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  of  the  United  States, 
Yonkers  Chamber  of  Commerce,  National 
Municipal  League,  and  National  Eco- 
nomic League. 

As  a  member  of  the  National  Editorial 
Faculty  Mr.  Morse  has  written  signed 
editorials  dealing  with  legal  and  govern- 
mental questions  which  have  been  of 
great  value  in  moulding  public  opinion 
and  directing  the  thought  of  the  Ameri- 
can people  toward  the  best  means  of 
promoting  stable  government  and  social 


70 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


welfare.  These  have  been  widely  pub- 
lished throughout  the  land.  The  follow- 
ing are  the  closing  paragraphs  of  one 
upon     "Government     by     Commission :" 

Adam,  broadly  delegated  to  replenish  the 
earth  and  subdue  it,  held  the  first  coinmission. 
The  earth  having  become  replenished,  there- 
upon Moses,  Saul,  Solomon  and  the  others, 
made,  adjudicated  and  executed  laws,  all  with 
ample  sanction  and  authorization.  But  the  earth 
as  a  whole  still  remained  to  be  and  was  sub- 
dued, though  as  to  Who  or  What  has  been  back 
of  Menes  and  Rameses  Second,  Nebuchadnez- 
zar, Phillip  and  Alexander,  Caesar  and  Nero, 
Genghis  Kahn,  the  Manchus,  the  Romanoffs, 
and  the  rest,  we  may  have  our  doubts,  but  still 
they  were  commissioners — all  true  commission- 
ers— in  all  things  except  the  name.  What  is 
the  logical  ending  of  the  road  upon  which  we 
have  apparently  set  our  feet?  Are  we  to  go 
forward,  allowing  our  legislatures  to  add  im- 
possible tasks  to  their  unfulfilled  duties  and  then 
delegate  to  commissioners  not  only  their  own 
powers  but  others,  rewarding  each  failure  with 
greater  extension  of  powers  and  the  authority 
to  lay  heavier  penalties?  Not  until  the  millen- 
nium can  government  by  commission  be  one  of 
equity  and  justice,  but  then  we  shall  need  no 
rulers. 

Mr.  Morse  married,  in  Seneca  Falls, 
New  York,  June  22,  1886,  Adelaide  P. 
Cook,  daughter  of  Albert  Cook,  of  that 
town.  His  home  is  in  Yonkers,  and 
summer  residence  at  Seneca  Falls,  New 
York. 


WOODLEY,  Alvin  Clayton,  M.  D.,  C.  M. 

Physician,   Specialist. 

After  receiving  his  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine,  C.  M.,  from  Trinity  College 
of  Medicine,  Toronto,  Canada,  in  1886, 
Dr.  Woodley,  after  gaining  experience 
under  eminent  physicians,  came  to  the 
United  States  and  has  since  operated  as 
a  specialist  in  the  cities  of  Rochester, 
Buffalo  and  Binghamton.  He  is  a  phy- 
sician of  the  old  school  and  keeps  abreast 
of  all  medical  progress,  for  he  is  a  tireless 
worker  notwithstanding  the  demands  of 


a  large  practice,  and  he  continues  the 
student  and  investigator. 

Alvin  Clayton  Woodley  was  born  in 
Waterford,  Province  of  Ontario,  Canada, 
December  20,  1861,  son  of  George  and 
Marietta  (Home)  Woodley.  The  Wood- 
leys  are  an  old  English  family  often 
found  as  Woodleigh  in  England,  but  in 
Canada  where  George  Woodley  the  father 
of  Dr.  Woodley  was  born,  the  latter  form 
of  the  name  is  general.  George  Woodley 
was  a  prosperous  agriculturist,  and  a  man 
progressive  and  public-spirited  in  his 
citizenship.  He  was  a  deacon  of  the 
Baptist  church  and  active  in  g^ood  works 
for  many  years,  until  his  death  in  Cali- 
fornia in  1901.  He  had  three  children, 
Dr.  Alvin  C,  of  Binghamton  ;  Clara,  wife 
of  SafTord  Kitchen,  residing  in  Blooms- 
burg,  Canada;  Martha  (Mattie),  wife  of 
H.  A.  Horning,  also  residing  in  Canada. 

Dr.  Alvin  C.  Woodley  began  his 
studies  in  Grove  Union  School,  continued 
them  in  the  Canadian  Literary  Institute 
(now  Woodstock  College),  completed  his 
studies  there,  graduating  in  class  of  1881, 
then  entered  Trinity  University  at 
Toronto,  Canada.  He  there  completed 
a  literary  course,  then  entered  the  medical 
department  of  the  university  whence  he 
was  graduated  as  Doctor  of  Medicine, 
C.  M.  in  class  of  1886.  He  had  the  benefit 
of  association  while  a  student  with  the 
best  physicians  and  hospital  workers, 
notably  Drs.  Emerick,  of  Waterford,  and 
Hayes,  of  Sinco,  Ontario.  After  receiving 
his  degree  he  located  in  Rochester,  New 
York,  practiced  there  for  a  time,  then 
after  post-graduate  courses  in  New  York 
City  institutions  he  opened  offices  in 
Buffalo.  In  that  city  he  specialized  in 
diseases  of  the  respiratory  organs, 
nervous  and  blood  diseases,  also  main- 
taining branch  offices  in  several  of  the 
principal  cities  of  New  York  State.  In 
1904  he  located  in  Binghamton.  where  he 
continues.    His  practice  is  very  large,  his 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


clientele  of  the  best  standing  coming 
from  far  and  near.  He  is  a  hard,  con- 
scientious worker  and  has  given  his  best 
to  his  profession.  During  the  summer  of 
1915  he  gave  himself  much  needed  re- 
laxation and  made  an  extended  southern 
and  western  tour.  His  office  is  at  No.  45 
Court  street,  Binghamton,  New  York ;  his 
residence  at  No.  245  Vestal  avenue.  Dr. 
Woodley  has  been  examining  physician 
for  many  of  the  fraternal  insurance 
orders,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Western 
New  York  Medical  Society  and  the  First 
Baptist  Church  of  Binghamton. 


HONSINGER,  Frederick  S.,  M.  D., 

Physician,  Public-spirited  Citizen. 

The  medical  fraternity  of  Syracuse  has 
many  representatives,  yet  none  who  are 
more  devoted  to  their  profession  or  are 
more  earnest  in  the  discharge  of  profes- 
sional duties  than  Dr.  Frederick  S.  Hon- 
singer,  who  was  born  in  Rome,  New 
York,  January  9,  1874,  son  of  Abram  W. 
and  Welthy  B.  (Sanford)  Honsinger. 
The  family  is  of  Holland  Dutch  descent 
in  the  paternal  line,  and  in  the  maternal 
is  of  English  lineage  and  eligible  to  mem- 
bership in  the  Society  of  Mayflower 
Descendants. 

Dr.  Honsinger  began  the  mastery  of 
those  branches  of  learning  which  con- 
stitute the  public  school  education,  and 
later  he  became  a  student  of  the  academy 
in  his  native  city,  there  pursuing  higher 
branches  of  study.  With  the  desire  to 
become  a  member  of  the  m,edical  profes- 
sion, he  matriculated  in  the  Syracuse 
University  and  there  pursued  both  scien- 
tific and  medical  courses  and  was  gradu- 
ated with  the  class  of  1898.  While  pur- 
suing his  collegiate  course  he  became  a 
member  of  the  Phi  Delta  Theta  and  the 
Nu  Sigma  Nu  fraternities.  Immediately 
following  his  graduation  he  filled  the 
position  of  interne  in  St.  Joseph's  Hos- 


pital, during  the  years  1898-99,  and  there 
added  to  his  theoretical  college  training 
the  broad  and  practical  experience  that 
comes  in  hospital  work.  He  then  opened 
an  office  for  the  active  practice  of  hi.'^ 
profession,  and  in  due  course  of  time  was 
in  receipt  of  an  extensive  practice  which 
is  increasing  steadily,  and  he  has  gained 
recognition  as  one  of  the  able  and  suc- 
cessful physicians  of  Syracuse,  and  by  his 
labors,  his  high  professional  attainments 
and  his  sterling  characteristics  has  justi- 
fied the  respect  and  confidence  reposed  in 
him  by  the  medical  fraternity  and  the 
public.  He  keeps  in  touch  with  the  most 
advanced  methods  and  thoughts  of  the 
day  that  bear  upon  his  chosen  calling  by 
a  thorough  course  of  reading.  Dr.  Hon- 
singer is  a  very  public-spirited  man,  dis- 
playing commendable  zeal  in  the  varied 
interests  of  the  city.  His  loyal  support 
can  be  counted  upon  to  further  all  pro- 
gressive movements  that  tend  to  promote 
municipal  reform  or  to  advance  the  up- 
building of  Syracuse.  He  casts  his  vote 
for  the  candidates  of  the  Republican 
party,  the  principles  of  which  he  loyally 
upholds.  He  holds  membership  in  Lodge 
No.  31,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks ;  in  the  Citizens'  Club,  and  served 
in  the  capacity  of  president  of  the 
Anglers'  Association,  which  is  the  largest 
organization  of  sportsmen  in  the  United 
States,  banded  for  the  protection  of 
forests,  fish,  game,  song  and  insectivorous 
birds  for  the  benefit  of  the  public.  He 
takes  a  deep  interest  in  this  organization 
and  through  his  efforts  its  membership 
has  been  increased  from  a  few  hundred 
to  over  two  thousand. 

Dr.  Honsinger  married,  October  9, 
1900,  Evalina  Vernon,  born  in  Rome, 
Italy,  August  9,  1876,  daughter  of  Dean 
and  Emily  (Barker)  Vernon.  They  are 
the  parents  of  five  children:  Evalina 
Frances,  born  February  21,  1902;  Leroy 
Vernon,  born  September  5,   1906;  Helen 


72 


r 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


B.,  born  December  i,  1908;  Fredericka 
W.,  born  April  21,  1913;  and  Abram 
Barker,  born  February  14,  1915.  Both 
Dr.  Honsinger  and  his  wife  are  members 
of  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  Syracuse.  While  Dr.  Honsinger  has 
attained  prominence  in  his  profession,  he 
has  gained  popularity  in  social  circles  and 
has  won  the  firm  friendship  of  all  with 
whom  he  has  been  brought  in  contact  in 
his  home  life. 


GOODELLE,  William  Prevost,    / 
Lawyer,  Fnlilicist. 

Hon.  William  Prevost  Goodelle,  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  members  of  the 
New  York  bar,  whose  eloquence,  com- 
bined with  his  logic  and  his  comprehen- 
sive knowledge  of  the  principles  of  juris- 
prudence, has  j^ained  him  preeminence  as 
a  representative  of  the  legal  profession, 
was  born  in  Tally,  Onondaga  county, 
New  York,  May  25,  1838,  a  son  of  Aaron 
B.  and  Eleanor  (Prevost)  Goodelle. 

His  father  followed  general  agricultural 
pursuits,  and  -he  boyhood  and  youth  of 
his  son,  William  Prevost,  were  spent  on 
the  old  homestead,  during  which  time  he 
attended  the  district  schools.  He  readily 
mastered  the  branches  taught  in  these, 
was  a  student  in  Homer  Academy  for 
one  year,  and  later  entered  Cazenovia 
Seminary,  where  he  was  one  of  the  only 
two  students  to  take  a  five  years'  course 
in  that  institution.  He  left  it  in  i860,  and 
in  the  spring  of  1861  matriculated  as  a 
sophomore  at  Dartmouth  College,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  with  the  highest 
honors  in  the  class  of  1863.  He  then 
accepted  the  proffered  position  of  prin- 
cipal in  an  academy  at  Moravia,  New 
York,  but  at  the  close  of  the  school  year 
resigned  from  this  office  in  order  to  take 
up  th:  study  of  law,  which  he  did  in  the 
office,  and  under  the  preceptorship,  of  L. 
H.  and  F.  Hiscock,  of  Syracuse.     His  ex- 


cellent reputation  as  an  educator,  how- 
ever, led  to  his  selection  as  principal  of 
the  Onondaga  Valley  Academy  and, 
yielding  to  urgent  solicitation,  he  became 
the  incumbent  of  this  office,  which  he 
retained  two  years,  during  which  time 
the  institution  profited  largely  by  his 
administration  of  affairs.  His  leisure 
time  during  this  period  was  devoted  to 
the  study  of  law,  which  he  again  took  up 
in  the  office  of  L.  H.  and  F.  Hiscock,  with 
whom  he  continued  for  an  entire  year 
after  his  admission  to  the  bar  in  October, 
1868.  He  then  established  himself  in 
independent  practice,  which  he  pursued 
successfully  three  years,  making  a  mark 
for  himself  by  his  brilliant  advocacy  of 
the  cases  entrusted  to  him.  He  was  then 
chosen  district  attorney  of  Onondaga 
county.  He  was  one  of  the  most  fearless, 
the  most  able  and  successful  officers  to 
have  held  that  position  in  the  county. 
His  election  was  at  a  time  when  the 
district  attorneys  were  given  one  term 
only.  He  was  called  into  cases  by  his 
successors  on  many  occasions.  He  acted 
in  forty  odd  capital  cases,  either  prose- 
cuting or  defending  the  person  accused 
of  murder  and  on  trial  for  his  life.  After 
three  years  spent  in  the  faithful  dis- 
charge of  the  responsible  duties  of  this 
office,  he  resumed  his  legal  practice, 
in  which  he  made  continued  advance- 
ment until  he  had  attained  a  position 
equaled  by  few,  and  surpassed  by  none, 
of  the  leading  members  of  the  bar 
of  New  York  State.  He  had  been  a 
member  of  several  firms,  many  of  them 
disintegrated  by  the  accession  of  some 
of  the  members  to  the  judicial  bench.  He 
is  now  (1915)  the  head  of  the  firm,  of 
Goodelle  &  Harding.  After  his  retire- 
ment from  the  office  of  district  attorney 
the  New  York  Central  Railroad  Company, 
attracted  by  his  brilliant  record,  retained 
him  as  general  criminal  counsel  and  attor- 
ney.     His   field   of  labor  extended   from 


7Z 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Buffalo  to  Albany,  and  he  served  in  this 
capacity  until  appointed  a  member  of  the 
State  Board  of  Law  Examiners  in  1894. 
While  well  versed  in  every  department 
of  the  law,  and  while  he  has  an  enviable 
record  in  civil  proceedings,  he  has  become 
especially  noted  in  the  practice  of 
criminal  law.  Hundreds  of  law  breakers 
have  been  brought  to  punishment  through 
his  efforts.  There  is  scarcely  a  county  in 
the  State,  and  certainly  none  along  the 
line  of  the  Central  railroad,  where  he  is 
not  well  known  as  a  lawyer,  and  where 
his  eloquent  voice  has  not  been  heard  in 
behalf  of  peace  and  security  from  crime. 
So  effective  were  his  efforts  in  this  direc- 
tion that  it  is  a  well  known  and  freely 
acknowledged  fact,  that  crimes  against 
the  railroad  company  within  Mr.  Good- 
elle's  jurisdiction  had  almost  completely 
ceased  at  the  time  he  severed  his  relations 
with  the  company. 

He  has  won  notable  forensic  successes 
when  opposed  to  some  of  the  strongest 
counsel  for  the  State,  and  his  name 
figures  prominently  on  the  pages  of  the 
judicial  history  of  New  York.  Among 
the  early  important  criminal  cases  with 
which  he  was  connected  was  the  prose- 
cution of  Owen  Lindsay,  charged  with 
the  murder  of  Francis  Colvin,  in  1874. 
For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  juris- 
prudence he  brought  into  the  case  the 
point  of  determining  the  difference  be- 
tween stains  made  by  human  blood  and 
those  made  by  the  blood  of  other  animals. 
His  conduct  of  the  case  showed  untiring 
research,  patient  investigation  and  gen- 
eral legal  ability,  and  awakened  the  high- 
est commendation  of  the  bench  and  bar 
throughout  New  York,  as  well  as  that  of 
the  laity.  There  was  much  favorable 
comment  in  the  press,  one  of  the  local 
papers  saying:  "Air.  Goodelle's  address 
to  the  jury  was  a  most  fitting  close 
to  his  untiring  labors  as  a  public  officer 
of   Onondaga   county."     During  the   de- 


livery, not  only  the  jury,  but  the  entire 
audience  gave  that  attention  which 
demonstrated  the  power  of  the  learned 
counsel's  eloquence  and  the  strength  of 
his  argument.  Mr.  Goodelle  often  rose 
to  heights  of  impassioned  eloquence.  He 
forgot  his  associates ;  he  forgot  the  audi- 
ence hanging  upon  his  words ;  he  forgot 
all  but  his  case  and  the  jury.  His  presen- 
tation of  the  people's  evidence  was  per- 
fect. Taken  altogether,  the  effort  of  Mr. 
Goodelle  in  its  plain  statement  of  the 
work  the  people  had  to  perform,  in  its 
minute  tracing  of  the  testimony,  in  its 
final  welding  of  the  circumstantial  and 
direct  evidence  into  an  unbroken  chain 
and  fastening  the  same  about  the 
prisoner,  formed  one  of  the  most  masterly 
efforts  ever  made  at  the  bar  of  the  county. 
Perhaps  no  better  indication  of  Mr. 
Goodelle's  ability  can  be  given  than  by 
quoting  from  the  press,  which  is  the 
mirror  of  public  opinion.  In  defense  of 
Mary  J.  Holmes,  charged  with  poisoning 
her  husband,  the  trial  lasted  six  weeks 
and  resulted  in  an  acquittal.  A  prominent 
paper  said  of  this: 

The  last  tick  of  the  parting  day  was  almost 
simultaneous  with  the  final  words  of  an  argu- 
ment for  the  prisoner  which  had  consumed  seven 
hours.  The  counselor's  face  bore  the  plain  evi- 
dence of  the  mental  and  physical  strain  to  which 
he  put  himself.  A  masterly  eflfort  had  been 
expected  from  Mr.  Goodelle,  whose  acumen  and 
learning  are  a  source  of  pride  to  the  bar  of  this 
county.  Never  in  the  criminal  history  of  Onon- 
daga county  was  a  more  comprehensive  defense 
made  of  human  life.  Mr.  Goodelle's  impassioned 
style  of  oratory  put  into  graceful  language  his 
logical  deductions  from  an  investigation  of  the 
case  as  viewed  from  the  side  of  the  defense. 
Every  point  was  covered,  one  by  one,  but  at  no 
time  was  there  a  break  in  the  continuity  of  the 
argument.  It  was  probably  the  longest  argu- 
ment ever  oflfered  in  the  Court  of  Justice  in  Syra- 


That  Mr.  Goodelle  has  become  known 
as  one  of  the  ablest  lawvers  of  the  State 


74 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


is  indicated  b}'  the  fact  that  he  has  been 
frcquenth'  called  to  conduct  both  civil  and 
criminal  cases  in  various  counties  of  New 
York.  Few  lawyers  have  made  a  more 
lasting  impression  on  the  bar  of  the  State, 
both  for  legal  ability  of  a  high  order,  and 
for  the  sterling  personal  characteristics 
which  have  impressed  themselves  on  the 
community.  A  member  of  a  family  con- 
spicuous for  strong  intellect,  indomitable 
courage  and  energy,  his  force  of  character 
and  natural  qualifications  have  over- 
come all  obstacles,  and  he  has  written  his 
name  upon  the  keystone  of  the  legal  arch. 
In  fact,  he  has  been  one  of  the  most  con- 
spicuous figures  in  the  history  of  the 
jurisprudence  of  the  State  during  the  past 
five  decades.  He  has  argued  many  cases, 
and  lost  few.  No  one  better  knows  the 
necessity  for  thorough  preparation,  and 
no  one  more  industriously  prepares  his 
cases  than  he.  His  handling  of  them  is 
always  comprehensive  and  accurate ;  his 
analysis  of  the  facts  is  clear  and  exhaus- 
tive ;  he  sees  without  efTort  the  relation 
and  dependence  of  the  facts,  and  so 
groups  them  as  to  enable  him  to  throw 
their  combined  force  upon  the  point  they 
had  to  prove. 

Mr.  Goodelle  is  a  stalwart  Republican, 
but  not  a  politician.  While  he  is  not 
v.'ithout  that  personal  ambition  which  is 
an  important  element  in  the  capable  con- 
duct of  official  duties,  he  yet  regards  the 
pursuits  of  private  life  as  abundantly 
worthy  of  his  best  efforts,  and  has  con- 
centrated his  time,  energy  and  talents 
upon  his  profession.  He  has,  however, 
addressed  the  public  on  many  occasions 
in  discussion  of  the  issues  and  questions 
before  the  people,  and  never  fails  to  im- 
press his  auditors  by  the  strength,  truth 
and  force  of  his  argument.  His  public 
addresses,  however,  have  not  been  con- 
fined to  political  questions.  In  fact,  it  is 
a  matter  of  surprise  that  one  of  his  ability 
a<;  a  lawver  has  had  time  to  so  thoroughlv 


familiarize  himself  with  the  great  variety 
of  questions  that  he  has  discussed  from 
the  public  platform.  He  has  been  an 
omnivorous  reader,  has  had  the  ability  to 
coordinate  the  knowledge  gained  from 
various  sources,  drawing  his  deductions 
and  forming  his  conclusions  in  the  same 
logical  and  discriminating  manner  that 
characterizes  his  professional  work. 

Almost  the  only  public  position  he  has 
filled,  aside  from  the  one  already  men- 
tioned, was  that  of  a  member  of  the 
Constitutional  Convention,  and  that  was 
in  the  direct  path  of  his  profession,  in  the 
framing  of  the  organic  laws  of  the  State. 
This  convention  was  in  1894,  and  Mr. 
Goodelle,  who  was  one  of  the  five  dele- 
gates-at-large  from  Western  New  York, 
was  appointed  by  President  Choate,  chair- 
man of  the  committee  on  suffrage,  num- 
bering among  its  members  men  of  na- 
tional repute.  His  position  in  this  con- 
nection was,  next  to  that  of  speakership, 
perhaps  the  most  conspicuous  in  the 
convention,  and  only  the  highest  merit 
and  capability  could  have  led  to  his  selec- 
tion to  this  honor.  He  was  also  second 
on  the  committee  on  the  powers  and 
duties  of  the  legislature,  and  was  promi- 
nent in  almost  all  of  the  proposed  amend- 
ments, and  early  became  one  of  the 
leaders  of  the  convention.  It  was  in  this 
committee  that  the  subject  of  giving 
women  equal  suffrage  was  discussed. 
There  was  no  question  before  the  con- 
vention, nor  has  there  ever  been  one  in 
the  history  of  the  State  for  years,  that 
has  created  such  wide-spread  interest. 
i\Ir.  Goodelle  gave  to  the  question  the 
utmost  attention,  and  his  opinions  and 
the  course  he  followed  were  the  result 
of  profound  thought,  wide  investigations 
and  thorough  understanding  of  the  sub- 
ject. Possessing  a  natural  chivalry  to- 
ward women,  and  a  never-failing  cour- 
tesy, he  has  never  believed  that  the  right 
of  suffrage  could  result  in  good  of  any 


75 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


kind  and  least  of  all  to  woman  herself. 
The  debate  on  the  subject  before  the 
convention  was  closed  by  Mr.  Goodelle 
in  what  has  been  termed  the  "greatest 
and  most  successful  effort  of  his  life,  both 
as  an  exhibition  of  eloquent  and  wonder- 
ful oratory  and  as  an  argumentative  and 
logical  display."  The  "Troy  Times" 
voiced  the  general  opinion  in  the  follow- 
ing: 

The  argument  of  Mr.  Goodelle  is  e.xhaustive. 
It  covers  the  whole  ground  of  objections.  And 
is  so  grounded  in  common  sense  and  so  grandly 
sustains  the  chivalrous,  sentimental  sentiment 
and  conception  of  woman's  true  relation  to  soci- 
ety and  the  State,  that  it  may  be  pronounced 
unanswerable.  Sophistry  may  assail  it  and  per- 
sonal ambition  decry  it,  but  as  a  just  and  accu- 
rate presentation  of  woman's  cause,  a  summary 
of  her  rights,  achieved  through  the  steady 
advance  of  civilization,  the  high  position  which 
has  been  accorded  her  because  of  the  recognized 
and  steadily  growing  importance  of  her  posi- 
tion in  the  State,  it  is  complete. 

The  address  was  pronounced  by  lead- 
ing members  of  the  convention  "the  most 
classical  and  finished  that  was  made 
before  the  body."  Mr.  Goodelle  received 
many  congratulatory  letters  and  tele- 
grams from  people  prominent  throughout 
New  York,  upon  his  speech  on  this  oc- 
casion. He  took  an  active  part  in  the 
framing  of  the  new  laws,  and  was  the 
champion  of  many  other  progressive 
measures  and  much  needed  amendments 
during  the  progress  of  this  convention, 
and  was  an  influential  factor  in  molding 
the  policy  of  State. 

Prior  to  1894  applicants  for  admission 
to  the  bar  appeared  before  an  examining 
committee  in  each  judicial  district,  and 
for  several  years  Mr.  Goodelle  had  been 
a  member  of  this  committee  in  his  district. 
At  the  date  mentioned  above,  pursuant 
to  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  a  State 
Board  of  Law  Examiners  was  appointed 
by  the  Court  of  Appeals,  with  full  and 
absolute    authority    to   accept    or    reject 


applicants  for  admission  to  the  bar  from 
any  part  of  the  State.  Mr.  Goodelle  was 
appointed  a  mem,ber  of  this  board,  was 
chosen  its  president,  and  is  still  the  in- 
cumbent of  this  office.  During  his  activ- 
ity, despite  the  strict  standard  of  exami- 
nations set  in  this  State,  more  than  six- 
teen thousand  applicants  have  received 
their  permits  from  the  board  to  practice 
law.  It  was  recently  estimated  that  fifty 
per  cent,  of  the  practicing  lawyers  of  New 
York  gained  admission  to  the  bar  during 
the  administration  of  Mr.  Goodelle  as 
president  of  the  examiners.  He  was 
president  of  the  Onondaga  County  Bar 
Association  for  twelve  years,  and  then 
declined  further  service  in  this  office. 
Recently  he  was  elected  referee  by  the 
State  Bar  Association  to  settle  all  dis- 
putes between  members.  In  February, 
1905,  Mr.  Goodelle  was  appointed  by  the 
State  Bar  Association  as  its  counsel  and 
representative  to  prosecute  charges 
against  Warren  B.  Hooker,  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  for  his  removal  from 
ofiice  for  malfeasance.  The  preliminary 
investigations  of  the  charges  before  the 
Assembly  Judiciary  Committee  (required 
under  the  constitution)  took  about  four 
weeks.  The  Assembly  Committee  su- 
stained the  informal  charges.  Formal 
charges  were  then  preferred  to  the  Senate 
with  the  recommendation  that  Mr. 
Hooker  be  put  on  trial  upon  the  charges. 
Mr.  Goodelle  appeared  as  counsel  for  the 
State  Bar  Association  at  the  trial  before 
the  Senate  and  Assembly.  The  trial 
lasted  about  three  weeks  and  resulted  in  a 
respectable  majority  voting  for  the  re- 
moval, but  the  required  affirmative  two- 
thirds  vote  for  removal  was  not  obtained. 
Mr.  Goodelle  bore  the  brunt  of  the  con- 
test with  the  same  force  and  ability 
which  attended  the  discharge  of  the  other 
important  duties  which  had  been  en- 
trusted to  him.  In  January,  1906.  he  was 
appointed  by  the  State  Bar  Association 


76 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


to  represent  the  Fifth  Judicial  District  on 
a  committee  of  the  association  to  lend 
its  efforts  in  securing  the  nomination  and 
election  of  worthy  candidates  for  justices 
of  the  Supreme  Court  throughout  the 
State,  and  to  prevent  unworthy  candi- 
dates from,  being  elected  or  selected, 
which  position  he  still  holds.  Upon  the 
death  of  Dean  Huffcut  in  1907,  at  the 
time  private  counsel  to  Governor  Hughes, 
Mr.  Goodelle  was  appointed  by  President 
Choate  of  the  association,  as  chairman  of 
the  State  grievance  committee,  to  fill  the 
vacancy  caused  by  the  death.  At  the  next 
January  meeting  of  the  association,  he 
was  reelected  as  a  member  of  the  griev- 
ance committee,  and  again  designated  as 
its  chairman.  It  may  be  said  that  this 
committee  is  by  far  the  most  important 
of  the  committees  of  the  association,  and 
one  on  which  heavy  responsibilities  de- 
volve. It  acts  at  all  times  independently, 
and  mainly  from  the  direction  and  advice 
of  its  chairman.  Its  efforts  and  purpose 
are  to  elevate  and  maintain  not  only  the 
moral  standard  of  the  members  of  the 
profession  throughout  the  State,  but  of 
the  judiciary  as  well,  as  evidenced  in  the 
Hooker  case,  which  was  under  the  charge 
of  the  grievance  committee. 

In  January,  1907,  the  Bar  Association 
directed  the  appointment  of  a  committee 
to  consider  abuses  in  the  profession  and 
to  report  at  its  January  meeting,  1908. 
Mr.  Goodelle  was  appointed  from  this 
district  with  many  eminent  associates  in 
the  profession.  The  report  of  that  com- 
mittee having  been  unanimously  adopted 
by  the  association,  the  same  committee 
was  reappointed  to  force  to  passage  the 
proposed  amendments,  of  which  Mr. 
Goodelle  has  personal  charge. 

Mr.  Goodelle  married,  September  8, 
1869,  Marian  H.  Averill,  of  Baldwinsville, 
New  York,  who  died  in  April,  1901,  leav- 
ing an  only  child,  Una  Mae.  The  family 
is  very  prominent  socially,  and  the  doors 


of  their  beautiful  and  hospitable  home  on 
James  street  are  always  open  to  their 
many  friends.  He  is  endowed  with  the 
ability  of  putting  aside  absolutely  all  his 
professional  problems  when  he  enters 
upon  the  social  side  of  his  career,  this 
happy  faculty  indicating  his  thoroughly 
well  balanced  mind.  Equipped  by  nature 
with  high  intellectual  qualities,  to  which 
are  added  the  discipline  and  embellish- 
ments of  culture,  his  is  a  most  attractive 
personality.  Well  versed  in  the  learning 
of  his  profession,  and  with  a  deep  knowl- 
edge of  human  nature  and  the  springs  of 
human  conduct,  with  great  shrewdness, 
sagacity  and  extraordinary  tact,  he  is  in 
the  courts  an  advocate  of  great  power  and 
influence.  Both  judges  and  juries  always 
listen  to  him  with  attention  and  deep 
interest. 


GANNON,  Frank  Stanislaus,  Jr., 

La-wye  r. 

Frank  S.  Gannon,  Jr.,  one  of  the  suc- 
cessful lawyers  of  New  York  City,  has 
made  his  way  to  an  eminent  position  at 
the  bar,  through  native  ability,  reinforced 
by  studious  application.  He  is  a  grand- 
son of  John  and  Mary  (Clancy)  Gannon, 
of  Irish  birth,  who  established  themselves 
in  Spring  Valley,  New  York,  in  the  early 
part  of  the  nineteenth  century.  His 
father,  Frank  Stanislaus  Gannon,  was 
born  September  16,  185 1,  at  Spring  Val- 
ley, and  educated  in  the  public  schools 
of  Port  Jervis,  New  York.  At  the  age 
of  seventeen  years  he  entered  the  service 
of  the  Erie  railroad  as  a  telegraph  oper- 
ator, in  which  he  continued  from,  1868  to 
1870.  Following  this  he  was  with  the 
Midland  railroad,  now  the  New  York, 
Susquehanna  &  Western,  a  part  of  the 
Erie  system,  serving  in  the  various  capa- 
cities of  clerk,  terminal  agent  and  train 
dispatcher,  from  1870  to  1875,  and  later, 
until    1881,  master  of  transportation   on 


77 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  Long  Island  railroad.  In  the  latter 
year  he  was  supervisor  of  trains  on  the 
Baltimore  &  Ohio  railroad,  and  from  1881 
to  1886  general  superintendent  of  the 
New  York  City  &  Northern  railroad. 
From  1886  to  1894  he  was  general  super- 
intendent, and  from  1894  to  1896  general 
manager  of  the  Staten  Island  Transit 
railway.  From  1893  ^o  i8g6  he  was  presi- 
dent of  that  railroad,  and  from  1900  to 
1906  general  superintendent  of  the  New 
York  division  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
railway.  He  was  subsequently  third 
vice-president  and  general  manager  of  the 
Southern  railway ;  president  and  director 
of  the  Norfolk  &  Southern  railroad  in 
1909;  president  of  the  Montana,  Wyom- 
ing &  Southern  railroad  ;  Virginia  &  Caro- 
lina Coast  railroad,  Atlantic  &  North 
Carolina  railroad,  Pamlico,  Oriental  & 
Western  railroad.  He  is  a  director  of  the 
New  York  City  railway,  Broadway  & 
Seventh  Avenue  railroad.  Forty-second 
Street  &  Grand  Street  Ferry  railroad, 
Fulton  Street  railroad,  Thirty-fourth 
Street  Crosstown  railway,  Twenty-third 
Street  railway,  Twenty-eighth  &  Twenty- 
ninth  Street  Crosstown  railroad.  He  is  a 
director  of  the  Metropolitan  Securities 
Company,  and  the  Immigrant  Industrial 
Savings  Bank  of  New  York.  He  married, 
in  Jersey  City,  September  24,  1874, 
Marietta  Burrows.  They  are  the  parents 
of  a  large  family  of  sons :  Frank  Stanis- 
laus, John  W.,  James  A.,  Gregory,  Ed- 
ward, Albert,  Robert  and  Benedictine. 

Frank  Stanislaus  Gannon,  Jr.,  was  born 
December  16,  1877,  in  Long  Island  City, 
and  in  youth  was  a  student  of  public 
schools  of  New  York.  Entering  St. 
Francis  Xavier  College  of  New  York,  he 
was  graduated  Bachelor  of  Arts  1898, 
Master  of  Arts  1899.  In  1900  he  gradu- 
ated from  the  New  York  Law  School 
with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws,  and 
was  at  once  admitted  to  the  bar.  He 
gained  a  legal  experience   in   the   offices 


of  Tracy,  Boardman  &  Piatt,  of  New 
York  City,  where  he  continued  three 
years,  at  the  end  of  which  period  he  be- 
came a  member  of  the  law  firm  of 
Murphy,  Curry  &  Gannon.  After  one 
year  the  senior  partner  withdrew,  and  the 
firm  became  Gannon  &  Curry,  and  in 
1907  was  formed  a  new  law  partnership 
under  the  style  of  Gannon,  Seirbert  & 
Riggs.  This  association  has  enjoyed  a 
liberal  share  of  the  law  practice  of  the 
metropolis.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  church,  with  his  family, 
and  is  independent  of  party  dictation  in 
political  action.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
American  Bar  Association,  New  York 
Bar  Association,  and  the  Association  of 
the  Bar  of  the  City  of  New  York,  of  the 
Lawyers'  Club  of  New  York  City,  Rich- 
mond Country  Club,  Staten  Island 
Cricket  Club,  Catholic  Club,  Westchester 
Golf  Club  and  the  Mummers,  and  of  the 
Xavier  Alumni  Association,  Xavier  So- 
dality, and  Friendly  Sons  of  St.  Patrick. 
He  married,  April  5,  1910,  Frances, 
daughter  of  Michael  Foley,  of  New  Jer- 
sey, and  they  are  the  parents  of  two  chil- 
dren: Frank  Stanislaus  (3),  born  July, 
1912,  at  St.  George.  Staten  Island,  and 
Marietta,  born  August,  1913,  in  Living- 
ston, Staten  Island.  The  home  of  the 
family  is  now  on  Bard  avenue,  Living- 
ston, Staten  Island. 


CHASE,  Austin  C, 

Man  of  Affairs. 

The  phenomenal  growth  of  many 
American  cities  is  due,  in  large  measure, 
to  the  enterprise  and  intense  energy  of  a 
comparatively  small  number  of  men. 
To  them  is  due  the  inception  of  work  that 
employs  thousands,  and  the  organization 
and  continuance  of  those  great  combina- 
tions which  set  industry  to  work  on  the 
vast  material  resources  of  the  country. 
In    their    imagination    first    take    shape 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


those  movements  which  are  the  steps  of 
progress,  and  many  of  the  developments 
along  the  higher  levels  of  human 
achievement  are  made  possible  by  the 
immensity  of  the  flood  of  business  at  the 
present  day.  Of  such  men,  whose  acts 
have  been  written  large  over  their  home 
town,  Austin  C.  Chase  may  be  considered 
typical. 

Austin  C.  Chase,  who  at  the  present 
time  (1915),  although  eighty-one  years 
old,  is  in  his  usual  health  and  spirits, 
actively  engaged  in  business,  serving  as 
trustee  and  advisor  of  the  Chase  Motor 
Truck  Company.  He  was  born  in  the 
town  of  Whitefield,  New  Hampshire, 
November  16,  1834.  He  attended  the 
common  schools  of  the  neighborhood,  and 
when  seventeen  years  of  age,  being  am- 
bitious and  resolute,  he  went  to  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  to  learn  the  trade  of 
piano  maker,  and  when  twenty-one  years 
of  age  removed  to  Syracuse,  New  York, 
where  he  began  the  sale  and  manufacture 
of  musical  instruments,  which  business 
he  continued  for  thirty  years,  in  connec- 
tion with  many  other  lines  of  thought 
and  work.  He  was  an  extensive  builder, 
having  erected  large  blocks  and  very 
many  dwellings,  and  he  also  developed 
one  of  the  finest  tracts  in  Syracuse  for 
first-class  residential  purposes,  on  Univer- 
sity Hill.  He  has  also  been  an  extensive 
farmer,  owning  the  old  homestead  at 
Whitefield,  New  Hampshire,  where  he 
spends  his  summers,  and  on  which  he  has 
made  extensive  improvements,  and  he  js 
also  the  owner  of  one  of  the  finest  farms 
in  Onondaga  county,  New  York,  com- 
prising six  hundred  and  fifty  acres, 
whereon  is  to  be  found  the  finest  thor- 
oughbred stock.  In  July,  1882,  he  was 
elected  president  of  the  Chilled  Plow 
Company,  when  that  institution  was  in 
very  straightened  circumstances  and  its 
afifairs  in  an  unsatisfactory  condition,  and 
under  his  management  it  was  placed  on 


a  firm  footing,  paid  very  satisfactory 
dividends  and  its  business  was  largely 
increased.  In  addition  to  this  position  of 
trust,  Mr.  Chase  was  appointed  trustee 
and  advisor  of  the  Chase  Motor  Truck 
Company,  trustee  and  vice-president  of 
the  Syracuse  Savings  Bank,  president  of 
the  Lakeside  Boulevard  Association, 
president  of  the  Homoeopathic  Hospital, 
trustee  of  the  Onondaga  Orphan  Asy- 
lumn  trustee  of  St.  Joseph's  Hospital, 
trustee  of  the  New  York  State  Experi- 
ment Station,  superintendent  of  the 
State  Fair,  treasurer  and  member  of  the 
executive  board  of  the  New  York  State 
Agricultural  Society,  member  of  the 
executive  committee  of  the  New  York 
State  Board  of  Trade,  chairman  of  the 
finance  committee  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor 
and  Charities,  member  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  of  New  York  State,  member 
of  the  Republican  Club  of  New  York 
City,  supervisor  of  the  Sixth  Ward  in 
1875,  but  resigned  in  1880  to  accept  the 
position  of  postmaster  of  Syracuse,  in 
which  capacity  he  served  for  almost  nine 
}ears  ;  and  inspector  of  rifle  practice,  with 
the  rank  of  lieutenant-colonel,  on  the 
Sixth  Division  Staflf,  New  York  State 
National  Guard.  From  childhood  Mr. 
Chase  was  a  devotee  at  the  shrine  of 
music,  and  no  one  has  ever  done  more — 
few  as  much — to  raise  the  standard  or 
educate  the  general  public  to  a  better 
appreciation  of  that  which  is  best  and 
most  elevating  in  this  line,  giving  freely  of 
his  time  and  money  to  make  it  possible 
for  the  music-loving  public  to  listen  to 
the  works  of  the  great  masters.  Mr. 
Chase  is  a  man  of  genial  attributes  and 
kindly  ways,  and  throughout  his  entire 
career  has  had  the  general  good  of  the 
community  ever  at  heart. 

Mr.  Chase  married  (first)  September 
14,  1859,  Harriet  M.  Stevens,  born  May 
22,  1834,  daughter  of  George  Stevens,  of 
Syracuse,   New  York.     She  died  March 


79 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


23,  1866.  Mr.  Chase  married  (second) 
July  3,  1867,  Lavina  Bunton,  born  August 
19,  1843.  Children  of  first  wife:  Henry 
M. ;  Carleton  A.,  born  in  Syracuse,  New- 
York,  November  25,  1864;  William  G. ; 
and  Orrin  N. 


VAN  WYCK,  Augustus, 

Iiawyer,  Jurist,  Political  Leader. 

Augustus  Van  Wyck,  former  Supreme 
Court  Justice  of  New  York,  and  now  a 
leader  of  the  bar  in  Greater  New  York, 
derives  those  qualities  which  have  made 
him  preeminent  in  his  profession,  and  a 
leader  in  various  lines  of  endeavor,  from 
a  multitude  of  ancestors  many  of  whom 
belonged  to  the  early  Dutch  families 
which  settled  in  that  section.  He  is  de- 
scended from  Samuel  Maverick  and  Gen- 
eral Robert  Anderson,  two  distinguished 
representatives  of  Southern  families,  who 
settled  in  South  Carolina  soon  after  1630, 
and  through  his  mother  he  inherits  those 
softer  qualities  which  distinguish  South- 
ern families,  thus  combining  the  practical 
strength  of  the  Northland  and  the  charm- 
ing manners  of  the  South.  Through  the 
various  intermarriages  down  through  the 
generations  the  present  descendants  of 
the  Van  Wyck  family  are  connected  with 
most  of  the  old  and  aristocratic  families 
of  early  New  York,  including  those  of  Van 
Cortlandt,  Livingston,  Van  Rensselaer, 
Beekman,  Hewlett,  Lefferts,  Lot,  Loril- 
lard,  Ludlow,  Polhemus,  Governor  Sey- 
mour and  Chancellor  James  Kent,  Stuy- 
vesant.  Van  Vechten,  Ver  Plant  and 
others.  The  name  Van  Wyck  is  one  of 
the  many  Dutch  place  names,  indicating 
the  point  whence  the  immigrant  came  to 
America. 

The  first  in  this  country  was  Cornelius 
Barentse  (son  of  Barent),  who  was  de- 
scribed in  the  early  Dutch  records  as 
Van  Wyck,  that  is,  from  Wyck,  a  hamlet 
in  North  Brabant,  Holland.     He  came  to 


America  in  1650,  settled  at  Flatbush,  was 
a  member  of  the  Dutch  colony  there  in 
1677,  and  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  English  government  in  1687.  He  was 
descended  from  Chevalier  Hendrick  Van 
Wyck,  who  lived  in  1400.  In  1575  Jan 
Van  Wyck  of  the  council  of  Utrecht  mar- 
ried Wyander  Van  Asch,  the  last  of  that 
family.  She  received  her  brother's  prop- 
erty provided  her  descendants  would  join 
the  family  arms  and  carry  the  name  Van 
Asch  Van  Wyck.  (A  descendant,  Robert 
Anderson  Van  Wyck,  was  first  mayor  of 
Greater  New  York).  From  her  son  Jacob, 
born  at  Utrecht,  1584,  died  1635,  married 
Anna  Van  Rynevelt,  the  whole  Protestant 
branch  of  Van  Wycks  descend. 

Theodorus  Van  Wyck,  son  of  Cornelius 
Barentse  Van  Wyck,  was  born  Septem- 
ber 19,  1668,  resided  at  Great  Neck,  Long 
Island,  and  was  an  extensive  land  holder, 
especially  in  Flushing  and  Hempstead. 
He  was  justice  of  the  peace  under  the 
king,  supervisor  of  Queens  county  in 
1726,  and  again  justice  in  1745.  He  pre- 
sented the  first  registry  book  to  St. 
George's  Protestant  Episcopal  Parish  of 
Hempstead,  Long  Island,  and,  like  many 
of  the  Dutch  settlers  of  that  day,  gave 
support  for  a  time  to  this  church  until  a 
Dutch  church  was  organized  in  his 
vicinity,  at  Jamaica.  He  married,  April 
29,  1693.  Margareta,  daughter  of  Abra- 
ham and  Altie  (Stryker)  BrinckerhoflF,  of 
Newtown,  and  granddaughter  of  Joris 
and  Susanna  Brinckerhofif.  Their  son, 
Barent  Van  Wyck,  born  March  4,  1703, 
died  January,  1750,  settled  at  East 
Woods,  now  Woodbury,  Long  Island, 
where  he  had  a  large  tract  of  land,  and 
was  one  of  the  firm  supporters  of  the 
Dutch  church.  He  married,  November 
12,  1727,  Hannah,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Carman,  born  1704,  died  June  9,  1760. 
Their  third  son,  Samuel  Van  Wyck,  born 
August  4.  1735.  died  November  6,  1810, 
was,  with  his  brother,  Abraham,  a  banker 


^yT^^-y^^^-^t^^^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  Long  Island,  and  served  as  assessor  of 
Oyster  Bay.  He  married,  August  30, 
1766,  Hannah,  daughter  of  Captain  John 
and  Hannah  (Jackson)  Hewlett,  born 
July  25,  1733,  died  Alay  16,  1808.  His 
brother,  Captain  Abraham,  Van  Wyck, 
was  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Militia, 
and  his  sword  is  still  preserved  at  his 
homestead  at  West  Neck,  Long  Island. 
He  married  Elizabeth  Wright,  and  their 
daughter  Zeruah  vowed  slTe  would  never 
change  her  name,  and  kept  her  vow  by 
marrying  her  cousin,  Abraham  Van 
W^yck,  the  next  mentioned. 

Abraham  Van  Wyck,  eldest  child  of 
Samuel  and  Hannah  (Hewlett)  Van 
Wyck,  was  born  October  21,  1767,  and 
died  January  30,  1852,  at  West  Neck.  He 
had  a  large  tract  of  land  at  Clason  Point, 
on  the  main  land  of  New  York,  but  after 
his  marriage  to  his  cousin,  Zeruah  Van 
Wyck,  January  24,  1790,  above  men- 
tioned, he  sold  his  farm  for  five  thousand 
pounds,  and  removed  to  West  Neck, 
where  he  purchased  from  his  uncle  and 
father-in-law.  Captain  Abraham  Van 
Wyck,  his  homestead,  for  which  he  paid 
ten  thousand  dollars.  This  estate  em- 
braced five  hundred  acres,  and  at  that 
time  about  thirty  slaves  were  employed 
in  its  cultivation. 

William  Van  Wyck,  youngest  son  of 
Abraham  and  Zeruah  (Van  Wyck)  Van 
Wyck,  was  born  January  24,  1803,  and 
died  June  30,  1867.  He  resided  in  New 
York  City,  was  a  distinguished  lawyer, 
often  in  the  public  service,  and  a  judicial 
officer.  He  married,  in  1833,  Lydia  An- 
derson Maverick,  of  South  Carolina,  born 
in  Charleston,  in  1814,  daughter  of  Sam- 
uel and  Elizabeth  (Anderson)  Maverick, 
granddaughter  of  General  Robert  Ander- 
son, a  distinguished  soldier  in  the  War  of 
the  Revolution,  and  a  public  officer  of  the 
State  of  South  Carolina  for  over  thirty 
years,  the  county  of  Anderson  being 
named  in  his  honor,  and  a  descendant  of 

NY-VolIV-6  8] 


John  Maverick,  who  was  among  the  earli- 
est settlers  of  Charleston,  and  whose 
brother,  Samuel  Maverick,  settled  in  Bos- 
ton in  1630.  Members  of  the  family  were 
prominent  in  the  affairs  of  New  York 
when  it  passed  into  the  possession  of  the 
Duke  of  York,  and  the  Southern  branch 
of  the  family  has  been  extremely  promi- 
nent in  several  States.  Samuel  Maverick, 
father  of  Mrs.  Van  Wyck,  was  born  at 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  1772,  and 
his  wife  was  born  at  Pendleton,  Anderson 
county.  South  Carolina.  Children:  Samuel 
Maverick,  M.  D.,  died  1861 ;  William,  died 
1887;  Zeruah,  married  Charles  Banks, 
of  New  York;  Abraham;  Mary;  and  a 
second  Abraham,  died  in  infancy;  Au- 
gustus and  Robert  A.,  who  receive  further 
mention  in  this  work ;  Lydia  Ann  Maver- 
ick, married  General  Robert  Hoke,  of 
Raleigh,  North  Carolina ;  Benjamin 
Stevens,  a  physician,  died  in  1888. 

Augustus  Van  Wyck  was  fitted  for 
college  at  Philips  Exeter  Academy,  and 
graduated  with  high  honors  from  the 
University  of  North  Carolina.  Immedi- 
ately after  his  admittance  to  the  bar,  he 
entered  upon  the  practice  of  the  law  in 
New  York  City,  where  he  quickly  gained 
clients  and  a  prominent  position.  Very 
early  in  life  he  took  an  interest  in  political 
afifairs,  and  in  New  York  City  he  became 
head  of  the  reorganized  Democracy, 
which  movement  led  to  the  nomination 
of  Grover  Cleveland  for  Governor.  Mr. 
Van  Wyck  conducted  the  campaign 
which  resulted  in  Mr.  Cleveland's  elec- 
tion, and  for  twelve  years  the  power  of 
Democracy  thus  regained  continued  in 
the  State.  Mr.  Van  Wyck  was  a  delegate 
to  the  National  Convention,  representing 
Kings  county,  and  through  his  influence 
the  delegates  from  that  section  remained 
firm  in  support  of  Mr.  Cleveland  for  the 
presidential  nomination,  and  thus  se- 
cured that  happy  result.  Again  Mr.  Van 
Wyck  took  charge  of  the  campaign  which 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


resulted  in  the  triumph  of  his  candidate. 
Subsequently  he  was  elected  to  the 
bench,  and  continued  as  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  until  he  resigned  to  be- 
come the  standard  bearer  of  his  party  in 
the  State  campaign,  as  a  candidate  against 
Theodore  Roosevelt  for  Governor.  Judge 
Van  Wyck  was  especially  fitted  by  nature 
and  training  for  his  position  upon  the 
bench,  which  was  most  congenial  to  him, 
and  it  was  with  regret  that  he  left  it,  but 
was  compelled  to  do  so  by  his  sense  of 
duty  to  his  party,  as  he  seemed  to  be  the 
only  available  candidate  in  that  campaign. 
After  the  close  of  the  campaign  he  re- 
sumed his  practice  at  the  bar,  and  has 
since  vigorously  and  successfully  con- 
tinued in  charge  of  many  important  cases. 
He  has  refused  several  nominations 
which  would  have  restored  him  to  the 
bench,  and  can  now  be  seen  daily  in  our 
courts  conducting  a  general  practice. 
He  occupies  a  high  position  before  all  the 
courts  of  the  State,  both  trial  and  appel- 
late, as  well  as  the  United  States  courts. 
Judge  Van  Wyck  was  chief  counsel  for 
Senator  Conger  in  the  trial  of  his  charges 
against  Senator  Allds,  who  was  im- 
peached by  the  State  Senate,  and  secured 
the  latter's  conviction,  which  is  a  most 
unique  exception  to  the  usual  result  of 
such  trials,  to  the  great  and  lasting  honor 
of  the  Senate  of  the  State.  Less  than 
three  months  before  the  trial.  Senator 
Allds  had  been  elected  as  president  pro 
tern,  of  the  Senate,  which  clothed  him  with 
all  the  powers  of  leadership  of  what  was 
then  the  majority  party.  Judge  Van 
Wyck  has  always  been  active  in  educa- 
tional, charitable,  church  and  social 
work,  and  has  served  as  trustee  of 
schools,  collegiate  institutions,  and  hos- 
pitals, and  a  leading  lay  member  of  the 
standing  committee  of  the  diocese  of 
Long  Island  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
church.  He  has  also  been  very  active  in 
many    social    organizations,     acting    as 


president  of  the  New  York  Holland  So- 
ciety, the  Southern  Society,  the  North 
Carolina  Society,  the  South  Carolinians, 
and  the  New  York  Alumni  Association 
of  North  Carolina  University.  While  in 
college  he  was  active  in  Greek  letter 
societies,  and  has  served  as  grand  master 
of  the  Zeta  Psi  fraternity  of  North 
America.  He  was  president  of  the  New 
England  Society  of  Brooklyn,  and  is  a 
member  of  many  clubs,  including  the 
Lincoln,  Oxford,  Brooklyn,  Crescent 
Athletic,  Hamilton  and  Montauk  clubs 
of  Brooklyn,  and  the  Lawyers',  Manhat- 
tan, and  National  Democratic  clubs  of 
Manhattan.  He  has  always  been  ready 
to  give  of  his  time  and  counsel  in  the 
interests  of  the  Democratic  party,  has 
attended  many  local  State  and  National 
conventions,  and  in  the  National  Con- 
vention of  1900  he  was  selected  as  New 
York's  member  of  the  platform  commit- 
tee. He  has  ever  urged  what  seemed  to 
him  as  the  most  advanced  and  practical 
action  of  the  party,  and  at  the  National 
Convention  of  1900  he  held  the  platform 
committee  in  consecutive  session  for 
about  fourteen  hours,  in  the  discussion  of 
his  views  in  the  interest  of  harmonizing 
his  party  upon  the  platform.  For  many 
years  Judge  Van  Wyck  was  a  member 
of  the  Democratic  State  Committee,  and 
he  has  participated  in  many  struggles  for 
the  attainment  of  high  ideals.  In  1909 
he  suggested  a  plan  for  the  restoration 
of  his  party  to  power  in  Kings  county, 
and  at  great  sacrifice  on  his  part  he 
accepted  the  chairmanship  of  the  com- 
mittee, which  was  unanimously  tendered 
him  by  the  regular  county  and  district 
leaders.  This  resulted  in  the  election  of 
the  local  ticket,  and  contributed  to  the 
election  of  Judge  Gaynor  as  mayor  of 
New  York  City.  The  New  York  State 
League,  which  was  modelled  upon  his 
plan  for  Kings  county,  was  very  helpful 
in  achieving  success  of  the  State  ticket 


(J^J^i'^-^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  the  succeeding  year,  and  in  this  organi- 
zation Judge  Van  Wyck  acted  as  a  pri- 
vate. Judge  Van  Wyck  has  a  most  exten- 
sive acquaintance  in  all  parts  of  the  coun- 
try, and  in  every  circle  he  is  welcomed  as 
a  congenial  and  able  public  man. 

His  devotion  to  his  principles  has  cost 
the  jurisprudence  of  New  York  State  the 
loss  of  an  able  judge. 

Judge  Van  Wyck  married  Leila  G. 
Wilkins,  of  Richmond,  Virginia,  and  they 
have  two  children :  William  Van  Wyck, 
formerly  assistant  district  attorney  of 
Kings  county ;  and  Leila  Grey,  the  wife 
of  James  W.  Osborne,  of  New  York  City, 
formerly  assistant  district  attorney  of 
New  York  county. 


VAN  WYCK,  Robert  Anderson, 

First  Mayor  of  Greater  New  York. 

Robert  Anderson  Van  Wyck,  sixth  son 
of  William  and  Lydia  Anderson  (Maver- 
ick) Van  Wyck,  of  New  York  City,  was 
born  in  1849,  '"  New  York.  He  was 
prepared  for  college  at  the  celebrated 
Wilson  Academy  in  North  Carolina,  and 
later  graduated  from  Columbia  College, 
New  York,  as  valedictorian  of  his  class. 
His  earlier  years  were  spent  in  banking 
and  mercantile  pursuits,  after  which  he 
prepared  for  the  practice  of  law,  and  for 
many  years  has  enjoyed  a  large  and 
lucrative  practice  in  New  York  city.  In 
18S9  he  was  elected  a  judge  of  the  City 
Court,  and  became  presiding  judge  of  that 
court.  In  November,  1897,  he  was  elected 
mayor  of  Greater  New  York  at  the  first 
election  held  under  its  charter.  The  task 
which  confronted  him  as  chief  executive 
of  the  several  combined  boroughs  forming 
the  greater  city  was  a  gigantic  one,  but 
he  brought  order  out  of  what  seemed 
almost  like  chaos.  The  interests  of  the 
various  municipal  corporations  involved 
were  harmonized  and  adjusted,  and  under 
Mayor  Van   Wyck's   administration  was 


constructed  the  first  subway  raihoad  in 
Manhattan,  and  provision  was  a.ade  for 
the  construction  of  the  tunnel  to  Brook- 
lyn, and  the  first  subway  in  that  borough. 
He  was  also  an  advocate  c*  greater  bridge 
facilities  connecting  the  boroughs  of 
Brooklyn  and  Manhattan,  and  the  further 
extension  of  tunnels  under  both  rivers 
bordering  the  latter.  He  had  long  been 
active  in  political  affairs,  attending  many 
conventions.  State  and  national.  By  tak- 
ing advantage  of  a  division  of  forces  in 
the  National  Convention,  he  and  a  few 
others  without  organized  political  back- 
ing secured  the  nomination  of  General 
Winfield  Scott  Hancock  as  the  Demo- 
cratic candidate  for  President  of  the 
United  States,  in  1880.  Judge  Van  Wyck 
is  pleasantly  and  prominently  identified 
with  social  institutions,  has  been  presi- 
dent of  the  Holland  Society,  a  member  of 
many  social  clubs,  and  prominent  in 
Masonic  circles,  affiliating  with  the  An- 
cient Lodge  of  New  York  City.  He  is 
very  fond  of  traveling,  and  has  indulged 
in  that  pleasure  to  a  large  extent,  accom- 
panied by  his  estimable  wife. 

The  brothers  Augustus  and  Robert  A. 
\'an  Wyck  have  both  been  highly  hon- 
ored by  their  fellow  citizens,  and  m,aintain 
a  most  constant  intimate  and  aiTectionate 
association. 


83 


DONOHUE,  Florince  O.,  M.  D., 

Physician,    Sanitationist,   Author. 

Among  all  the  vocations  that  con- 
tribute to  the  welfare  and  happiness  of 
mankind,  none  stands  in  closer  relation- 
ship than  the  medical  profession,  for  to 
be  of  any  great  use  to  himself  or  the 
world  at  large  it  is  quite  necessary  that 
a  man  should  possess  a  "sound  mind  in 
a  sound  body."  While  there  have  been 
instances  of  genius  making  itself  known, 
and  even  accomplishing  what  seemed  to 
be   its   complete   mission,   under   adverse 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


physical  conditions,  still  the  question  is 
always  open  as  to  the  amount  of  good 
which  might  have  been  achieved  without 
the  handicap  of  weakness.  Therefore,  the 
man  who  chooses  as  his  lifework  the  task 
of  promoting  the  physical  well  being  of 
his  fellowmen  performs  a  mission  the 
result  of  which  is  too  far  reaching  to  be 
estimated  by  the  amount  of  suffering  re- 
lieved. Prominent  among  the  members 
of  the  medical  profession  in  Syracuse, 
New  York,  is  Florince  O.  Donohue,  M. 
D.,  ex-president  of  the  State  Board  of 
Health,  and  who  has  filled  a  number  of 
other  offices  of  equal  importance  and  re- 
sponsibility. He  is  a  son  of  Cornelius 
and  Ellen  Donohue,  both  natives  of  Ire- 
land, who  came  to  this  country  in  1847, 
the  former  dying  here  in  1900,  and  his 
wife  in  1907.  Mr.  Donohue  was  a  well 
known  merchant  of  Syracuse  in  his  day. 
Florince  O.  Donohue,  M.  D.,  was  born 
in  Syracuse,  New  York,  October  8,  1850. 
As  a  lad  he  attended  the  public  schools 
of  the  city.  When  he  reached  the  age  of 
nine  years  his  parents  removed  to  the 
town  of  Onondaga,  where  he  went  to 
school  winters  and  worked  on  the  farm 
summers  until  1869,  after  which  he  spent 
two  years  in  Onondaga  Academy  and  one 
year  at  Cazenovia  Seminary,  alternating 
with  terms  of  teaching  at  Navarino  and 
Onondaga  Hill.  Being  endowed  with 
mental  qualifications  of  exceptional 
strength  and  activity,  and  possessing 
scholarly  attributes  of  a  high  order,  he 
had  by  this  time  thoroughly  equipped 
himself  for  college,  and  also  earned  suffi- 
cient money  to  pay  his  own  way,  and 
having  decided  on  medicine  as  a  profes- 
sion he  entered  the  Medical  Department 
of  Syracuse  University  in  1874  and  re- 
mained two  years,  living  in  the  meantime 
with  Dr.  W.  W.  Porter,  under  whose  able 
tutelage  he  supplemented  his  studies  with 
hard  work.  In  1876  he  entered  Long 
Island  College  Hospital  and  was  gradu- 


ated therefrom  in  1877  with  high  honors. 
Since  then  he  has  been  in  constant  prac- 
tice in  Syracuse,  where  he  has  won 
unusual  success  and  wide  professional 
recognition  both  at  home  and  abroad. 

Dr.  Donohue,  being  an  enthusiast  in 
every  branch  of  his  profession,  has  mas- 
tered its  mysteries  with  commendable 
persistency,  and  as  an  obstetrician  has, 
perhaps,  gained  his  highest  renown, 
though  his  knowledge  of  medicine  and 
surgery  is  fully  as  extensive  and  practical. 
He  became  a  member  of  the  New  York 
State  Medical  Association  on  November 
20,  1884,  and  in  October,  1885,  was  elected 
a  delegate  from  that  body  to  the  British 
Medical  Association,  of  which  he  has 
been  a  member  thirty  years,  and  took  part 
in  its  deliberations  in  1886  and  again  in 
1889.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Onondaga 
County  Medical  Society  and  the  Amer- 
ican Medical  Association,  served  as  presi- 
dent of  the  Syracuse  Medical  Association 
two  years,  and  has  been  president  of  the 
Syracuse  Academy  of  Medicine.  On  Oc- 
tober 31,  1889,  he  was  appointed  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Syracuse  Board  of  Health,  and 
on  November  26,  of  the  same  year,  was 
appointed  one  of  the  State  Commissioners 
of  Health,  by  Governor  David  B.  Hill. 
His  term  on  the  State  Board  expired  in 
February,  1892,  and  in  the  following  July 
he  was  reappointed  by  Governor  Roswell 
P.  Flower.  At  the  first  meeting  there- 
after he  was  elected  president  of  the 
board,  and  was  reelected  to  that  position 
three  successive  years,  the  last  time  just 
prior  to  the  expiration  of  his  term  of 
membership,  in  June,  1895.  In  1892  he 
was  appointed  by  President  Harrison  a 
member  of  the  United  States  Pension 
Board  of  Surgeons,  and  is  still  president 
of  this  body.  President  McKinley  ap- 
pointed him  special  United  States 
Medical  Examiner  of  Central  New  York 
State,  and  he  is  still  the  incumbent  of  this 
office.     In  May,  1894,  he  was  appointed 


84 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


by  Governor  Flower  a  member  of  a 
special  commission  of  five  to  investigate 
the  prevalence  and  distribution  of  tuber- 
culosis in  the  milk  supply  of  the  State 
and  report  thereon.  This  commission  re- 
ported and  went  out  of  existence  in  Janu- 
ary, 1895,  at  which  time  Dr.  Donohue  was 
its  secretary  and  chief  executive  ofificer. 
The  Legislature  then  passed  a  law  which 
provided  that  two  members  of  the  State 
Board  of  Health  should  be  appointed  to 
continue  the  investigation,  thus  creating 
the  New  York  State  Commission  of 
Tuberculosis,  of  which  Dr.  Donohue  was 
made  chairman,  and  is  still  in  office.  In 
1906  he  was  elected  president  of  the 
American  Anti-Tuberculosis  League  at 
Atlantic  City.  He  was  a  mem-ber  of  the 
local  Board  of  Health,  having  been  ap- 
pointed by  Mayor  Kirk  in  18S9. 

Dr.  Donohue  occupies  a  foremost  posi- 
tion among  the  leading  physicians  and 
surgeons  of  Central  New  York.  He  is  a 
writer  of  force  and  ability  on  a  wide 
range  of  medical  subjects  and  has  con- 
tributed numerous  articles  to  the  leading 
medical  journals  of  the  country.  He  is 
the  author  of  the  "Report  of  the  Special 
State  Commission  of  Tuberculosis ;" 
"The  Progress  of  the  Science  and  Art 
of  Obstetrics  ;"  "A  Retrospect  of  Medi- 
cine and  Report  of  the  Proceedings  of  the 
International  Medical  Congress  of  Mos- 
cow," 1897;  and  numerous  papers  on 
tuberculosis.  In  all  official  capacities  he 
has  been  fearless,  effective  and  useful, 
and  locally  he  is  always  alive  to  the  needs 
of  the  city,  not  only  from  a  sanitary 
standpoint,  but  in  a  general  way.  He  is 
public-spirited,  progressive  and  popular, 
respected  and  esteemed  by  friends  and 
opponents  alike,  and  enjoys  to  the  fullest 
extent  the  confidence  of  both  the  profes- 
sion and  of  the  public. 

Dr.  Donohue  married,  September  27, 
1877,  Lucy  A.  Moseley*  who  died  in 
1905,  a  daughter  of  the  late  William  T. 


Moseley,  and  a  granddaughter  of  Judge 
Daniel  Moseley,  whose  career  in  the 
jurisprudence  of  the  State,  and  especially 
in  this  county,  is  detailed  elsewhere  in 
this  work. 


CONKLIN,  William  Rowe, 

Laxiryer,  Man  of  Affairs. 

The  Conklin  or  Conkling  family  is 
among  the  oldest  in  New  York,  having 
Ipcated  in  Long  Island  as  early  as  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century.  John 
Conklin  came  from  England  in  1638  and 
settled  at  Salem,  Massachusetts,  whence 
he  removed  in  1650  to  Easthampton, 
Long  Island.  Annanias  Conklin,  who 
came  to  Salem  and  Easthampton  at  the 
same  time,  is  supposed  to  have  been  his 
son.  John  Conklin  received  a  grant  of 
land  at  Salem,  May  30,  1649,  and  con- 
tinued to  own  it  until  1683,  when  he 
deeded  it  to  his  son,  John.  The  elder 
was  residing  at  that  time  in  Huntington, 
Long  Island.  While  in  Eastham.pton  he 
lived  in  the  section  known  as  "Hasha- 
mommuck,"  and  was  subject  to  the  colony 
of  Connecticut,  which  made  him  and  his 
son,  John,  freemen  in  1662.  John  Conk- 
lin, Jr.,was  born  in  1630  in  Nottingham- 
shire, England,  and  died  April  6,  1694,  in 
Southold,  New  York,  as  shown  by  his 
gravestone.  He  was  the  father  of  Nicho- 
las Conklin,  born  1661,  in  Easthampton, 
and  lived  in  East  Chester,  New  York. 
John  Conklin,  son  of  the  last  named,  was 
born  in  1700  in  East  Chester,  and  located 
at  Haverstraw,  New  York,  about  the  time 
of  attaining  his  majority.  His  son,  Nicho- 
las Conklin,  was  born  in  1724  at  Haver- 
straw, and  died  at  Cochecton,  Sullivan 
county.  New  York,  in  1815.  He  was  the 
father  of  John  Conklin,  born  May  8.  1756, 
at  Haverstraw,  died  in  Cochecton,  April 
15,  1856. 

William  A.  Conklin.  son  of  John  Conk- 
lin, was  born  March  3,  1787,  at  Cochec- 


85 


ENCYCLOf  EDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ton,  died  in  Conklin,  New  York,  in  1850. 
George  Conklin,  son  of  William  A.  Conk- 
lin, was  born  January  22,  1822,  in  Conk- 
lin, died  in  New  York  City  in  1901.  He 
lived  for  some  years  at  Amenia,  Dutchess 
county,  New  York,  where  his  son.  Wil- 
liam Balis  Conklin,  was  born  June  24, 
1844.  In  1876  the  latter  moved  to  New 
York  City,  and  continued  to  reside  there 
until  his  death,  November  26,  1915.  He 
was  president  of  the  Orange  County  Milk 
Association,  and  treasurer  of  the  Ocma 
Realty  Company  of  New  York.  He  mar- 
ried Helen,  daughter  of  Clinton  and  Mary 
(Rowe)  Rowe. 

William  Rowe  Conklin,  son  of  William 
Balis  and  Helen  (Rowe)  Conklin,  was 
born  March  2,  1876,  at  Amenia,  and  came 
to  New  York  City  with  his  parents  when 
three  months  old.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  New  York  in  childhood,  was 
later  a  student  at  the  Condon  private 
school  on  Fifth  avenue  in  the  city,  and 
entered  Williams  College,  Williamstown, 
Massachusetts,  in  1896.  Four  years  later 
he  was  graduated  with  the  degree  of  A. 
B.,  and  immediately  entered  the  New 
York  Law  School,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  with  the  degree  of  LL.  B.  in 
1902.  In  the  same  year  he  was  admitted 
to  the  New  York  bar,  and  entered  the  law 
ofSce  of  Frederic  J.  Swift,  on  Broadway, 
New  York,  where  he  continued  until 
May,  1906.  Following  that  he  engaged  in 
practice  independently,  with  offices  at 
No.  100  Broadway,  until  May,  191 1,  when 
he  formed  a  law  partnership  with  John 
Reid,  Jr.,  under  the  title  of  Conklin  & 
Reid.  This  firm  has  since  engaged  in 
general  practice,  devoting  especial  atten- 
tion to  surrogate  and  real  estate  law.  Mr. 
Conklin  succeeded  his  father  as  president 
of  the  Orange  County  Milk  Association, 
and  is  active  in  real  estate  operations,  be- 
ing treasurer  of  the  Ocma  Realty  Com- 
pany. He  has  had  much  to  do  in  handling 
large   estates   in   his   surrogate   practice. 


such  as  the  Rockefeller  properties  and 
others  of  that  class,  and  has  gained  a  high 
reputation  in  that  line  of  legal  work.  He 
is  attorney  and  counsel  for  the  village  of 
Great  Neck  Estates,  Long  Island,  and  has 
devoted  much  time  to  philanthropic  and 
religious  works.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Fifth  Avenue  Baptist  Church  of  New 
York,  secretary  of  its  board  of  trustees, 
a  member  of  the  executive  committee  of 
the  New  York  City  Baptist  Mission  So- 
ciety, and  of  the  advisory  committee  of 
the  Baptist  Home  for  the  Aged.  He  is 
also  a  member  of  the  law  committee  of 
the  Northern  Baptist  Convention.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Association  of  the  Bar  of 
New  York,  and  of  the  Phi  Delta  Pheta 
college  fraternity  and  the  Williams  Col- 
lege club  of  New  York.  Mr.  Conklin  is 
a  steadfast  supporter  of  Republican  prin- 
ciples and  policies  in  the  management  of 
public  affairs,  but  has  always  avoided  any 
official  station. 

He  married,  September  16,  1909,  at 
Great  Neck,  New  York,  Anna  Lulu  Dick- 
erson,  granddaughter  of  the  late  Commo- 
dore John  S.  Dickerson,  of  the  New  York 
Yacht  Club.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Conklin  are 
the  parents  of  two  sons,  William  Dicker- 
son,  born  December  22,  191 1,  and  Frank 
B.,  December  17,  1914. 


CALDWELL,  George  B., 

Expert  Accountant,  Financier. 

Although  of  New  York  birth,  parentage 
and  ancestry,  Mr.  Caldwell,  from  the  age 
of  five  years,  has  spent  his  life  outside  his 
native  State,  returning  in  1915,  weighted 
with  business  honors  gained  in  many 
fields  of  activity.  As  clerk,  bookkeeper, 
state  accountant,  national  bank  examiner 
and  banker,  he  has  had  an  experience 
most  unusual  for  a  man  of  his  years ;  an 
experience  that  particularly  fits  him  for 
the  position  he  returned  to  New  York  to 
fill,  president  of  the  Sperry  &  Hutchinson 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Company,  the  pioneer  profit  sharing  and 
largest  premium  giving  company  in  the 
world. 

Mr.  Caldwell  is  one  of  a  number  of  men 
who  have  been  called  from  positions  of 
trust  and  responsibility  in  the  West  to 
manage  large  New  York  City  enterprises, 
and  he  is  one  of  the  men  whose  names 
carry  weight  in  banking  and  business 
circles  from  coast  to  coast.  There  is 
something  inspiring  in  the  life  history  of 
George  B.  Caldwell,  who,  beginning  at 
the  bottom  of  the  ladder,  has  won  to  such 
a  position  of  eminence  in  the  business 
world  that  his  speech  at  the  third  annual 
convention  of  the  Investment  Bankers'  of 
America  was  published  in  all  the  large 
papers  of  the  country,  and  as  a  message 
to  the  business  men  of  America  was  so 
strong,  so  full  of  encouragement  and 
optimism,  that  it  marked  the  turn  of 
public  sentiment  for  the  better. 

His  father,  Charles  Melville  Caldwell, 
born  at  Jamestown,  Chautauqua  county, 
New  York,  became  a  substantial  farmer 
of  that  county.  But  in  1868  he  moved  to 
Ionia  county,  Michigan,  where  he  in- 
vested in  land  and  continued  prosperous 
and  prominent  until  his  death  at  the  age 
of  sixty-two  years.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  religious  body.  Disciples  of  Christ, 
was  affiliated  with  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows  and  with  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  and  was  an  ardent  supporter  of 
the  Democratic  party.  His  wife,  Mary 
Ann  (Kelner)  Caldwell,  born  at  Elyria, 
Ohio,  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-six  years, 
the  mother  of  two  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters. 

George  B.  Caldwell,  eldest  child  of 
Charles  Melville  and  Mary  Ann  (Kelner) 
Caldwell,  was  born  at  Dunkirk,  New 
York,  August  24.  1863.  and  at  the  age  of 
five  years  was  taken  by  his  parents  to 
Ionia  county,  Michigan.  His  early  edu- 
cation    was    obtained     in     Ionia     public 


schools  and  at  Greenville  High  School 
was  finished,  save  for  a  course  in  com- 
mercial college  at  Grand  Rapids,  com- 
pleted by  graduation  in  1881.  He  taught 
school  the  winter  following  his  gradu- 
ation, then  brought  his  talents,  his  energy 
and  his  ambition  to  the  business  world, 
his  first  position  being  as  clerk  in  a  hard- 
ware store  at  Greenville,  Michigan.  One 
year  was  passed  in  that  capacity,  then 
being  offered  a  position  as  bookkeeper  in 
the  City  National  Bank  of  Greenville,  he 
accepted  the  offer.  He  was  soon  prc>- 
moted  teller  of  the  bank,  a  position  he 
held  until  his  resignation  in  1888. 

These  years  with  the  bank  had  been 
extremely  busy  years  and  crowded  with 
success  outside  his  banking  duties.  In 
1884  he  was  elected  city  clerk,  and  in 
1886  he  established  the  first  electric  light 
plant  in  Greenville,  a  public  utility  that 
he  afterward  sold  at  a  substantial  profit. 
After  resigning  his  position  with  the 
Greenville  bank,  he  located  in  Grand 
Rapids  and  there  became  cashier  and 
chief  accountant  for  Tucker,  Hoops  & 
Company,  one  of  the  largest  lumber 
manufacturing  and  wholesale  lumber 
dealing  firms  in  Michigan,  operating  mills 
at  Chase  and  Luther,  Michigan.  For  two 
years  he  was  chief  accountant  for  this 
great  firm,  resigning  his  position  in  1900 
after  his  appointment  as  State  Accountant 
by  George  W.  Stone,  State  Auditor  of 
Michigan.  During  his  two  years  service 
as  State  accountant,  1900-1902,  Mr.  Cald- 
well established  a  uniform  system  of  ac- 
counting in  all  State  institutions,  boards 
and  commissions. 

Mr.  Caldwell  had  won  even  more  than 
state-wide  reputation  for  his  efficiency  in 
handling  State  accounting,  and  in  1893 
he  was  appointed  national  bank  examiner 
by  James  H.  Eckles.  then  United  States 
comptroller  of  the  currency.  He  made 
his    headquarters    at    Detroit   during   his 


87 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


term  as  national  bank  examiner,  a  posi- 
tion he  held  until  March,  1899,  a  period 
of  six  years.  These  years  had  been  of 
inestimable  value  to  the  young  man  not 
only  in  giving  him  the  closest  possible 
connection  with  national  banking  and 
financiering  but  in  widening  his  acquain- 
tance among  financiers  of  national  repu- 
tation. 

From  1899  uiitil  1902  he  was  assistant 
cashier  of  the  Merchants'  National  Bank 
of  Indianapolis.  From  1902  until  1910  he 
was  manager  of  the  bond  department  of 
the  American  Trust  Company  and  Sav- 
ings Bank  of  Chicago.  In  1910  that  insti- 
tution was  merged  with  the  Continental 
and  Commercial  Trust  Company  and 
Savings  Bank,  Mr.  Caldwell  continuing 
as  manager  of  the  bond  department  of  the 
consolidated  banks,  which  united  formed 
one  of  the  largest  banking  institutions  in 
this  country. 

With  the  year  1912,  Mr.  Caldwell 
reached  executive  position,  being  elected 
a  vice-president  of  the  bank  he  had  so 
long  served  as  manager  of  its  bond  de- 
partment. His  peculiar  qualifications  for 
executive  management  were  again  recog- 
nied  in  1912  by  his  election  to  the  presi- 
dency of  the  newly  organized  Investment 
Bankers'  Association  of  America,  an  as- 
sociation of  the  bond  investment  houses 
of  the  United  States,  which  Mr.  Caldwell 
had  taken  an  active  part  in  forming.  He 
continued  president  of  the  association 
until  November,  1914,  when  he  resigned, 
and  on  December  1st,  following,  he  offered 
his  resignation  as  vice-president  of  the 
Continental  and  Commercial  Trust  and 
Savings  Bank,  having  been  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  Sperry  &  Hutchinson  Com- 
pany. He  entered  upon  his  duties  as 
president  of  that  great  company,  January 
I,  1915,  and  has  since  made  New  York 
City  his  home. 

The  magnitude  of  the  business  of  which 
Mr.  Caldwell  is  the  honored  head  is  little 


realized,  so  great  has  been  its  develop- 
rnent  and  so  rapid  its  growth.  The  Sperry 
&  Hutchinson  Company  were  the  pio- 
neers in  their  system  of  profit  sharing 
through  premium  giving,  and  it  is  esti- 
mated that  more  than  one  hundred  mil- 
lions of  dollars  are  employed  in  their 
business.  The  executive  management  of 
this  vast  business  is  a  task  not  lightly 
to  be  assumed,  but  the  years  of  training 
with  great  financial  institutions  and  the 
great  responsibilities  he  has  heretofore 
successfully  carried  have  thoroughly 
fitted  Mr.  Caldwell  for  that  important 
duty.  He  is  one  of  the  able  financiers 
and  executives  of  his  day  and  generation, 
and  to  experience  he  adds  ability,  energy, 
strength  of  character  and  a  nobility  of 
purpose  that  marks  the  well  poised  capa- 
ble leader  of  men. 

While  a  New  York  man  by  birth,  he 
has  a  love  for  the  county  and  State  of  his 
boyhood,  youth  and  manhood  years,  and 
in  his  accumulation  of  real  estate,  Ionia 
county,  Michigan,  has  been  given  a 
strong  preference.  His  holding  of  land  in 
that  county  is  large  and  includes  the 
homestead  farm  to  which  he  was  taken 
when  a  boy  of  but  five  years. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Midday  Club, 
the  Union  League,  Oak  Park  Club,  all  of 
Chicago,  and  is  past  president  of  the  last 
named;  the  Aldine  Club  and  New  York 
Athletic  Club,  also  Baltusral  Golf  Club 
and  Wykagyl  Golf  Club.  He  is  a  past 
president  of  the  Michigan  Society  of 
Chicago,  and  is  now  president  of  the 
Michigan  Society  of  New  York,  and  is  a 
member  of  both  the  Masonic  and  Knights 
of  Pythias  orders.  He  is  a  Congregational- 
ist  in  religious  faith,  and  in  politics  an 
Independent. 

Mr.  Caldwell  married,  in  1886,  Lucy 
S.  Patrick,  of  Ionia  county,  Michigan. 
They  have  a  daughter,  Helen  Marie  Cald- 
well. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


DURAND,  John  Ewing, 

Liawyer,  Active  in  Conimniiity  Affairs. 

Thoroughly  conversant  with  the  details 
of  his  profession,  energetic  in  all  his  com- 
mercial transactions,  as  well  as  honorable 
and  high  minded  in  all  the  different 
phases  of  life,  John  Ewing  Durand 
occupies  an  enviable  position  among  his 
fellow  citizens,  who  willingly  accord  to 
him  a  place  in  their  front  ranks,  not  alone 
for  his  many  professional  and  business 
qualities,  but  for  every  trait  that  marks 
the  true  Christian  gentleman  and  man  of 
honor. 

The  Durands  of  Rochester  descend 
from  Samuel  Durand,  an  early  Colonial 
settler  of  New  England,  where  the  line 
is  traced  for  two  and  a  half  centuries. 
The  first  of  this  branch  to  settle  in 
Rochester  was  Frederick  L.  Durand,  a 
lawyer,  in  1845,  coming  from  the  State 
of  Connecticut.  He  practiced  law  at  the 
Monroe  county  bar  from  1845  until  his 
death  in  1903,  leaving  to  his  two  sons, 
John  E.  and  Harrison  C,  an  unsullied 
name.  He  married  Lydia  W.  Powers,  a 
native  of  Vermont,  descended  from  one 
of  the  oldest  families  of  that  State,  and 
a  stepdaughter  of  Judge  William  Buell. 
They  were  the  parents  of  four  children, 
John  E.  Durand  being  the  only  surviving 
member  of  the  family. 

John  E.  Durand  was  born  in  Rochester, 
New  York,  February  5,  1856,  son  of  that 
distinguished  lawyer  and  citizen,  Fred- 
erick L.  Durand  and  his  wife,  Lydia  W. 
(Powers)  Durand.  Reared  in  the  city  of 
his  nativity,  Mr.  Durand  was  a  student 
in  the  Satterlee  Collegiate  Institute  and 
the  Wilson  Grammar  School.  Subse- 
quently he  attended  Yale  and  was  gradu- 
ated on  the  completion  of  a  successful 
course,  class  of  1876.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Delta  Kappa  Epsilon  (Yale).  Tak- 
ing up  the  study  of  law  with  his  father 


he  entered  upon  active  practice  as  his 
father's  partner,  which  connection  con- 
tinued until  the  death  of  Frederick  L. 
Durand  in  1903,  since  which  time  he  has 
practiced  alone,  much  of  his  time  being 
given,  however,  to  the  management  of 
large  estates  and  other  legal  work  of  this 
nature,  as  well  as  to  the  care  of  his  per- 
sonal holdings  and  investments. 

Mr.  Durand  is  a  director  in  the  Roches- 
ter Trust  &  Safe  Deposit  Company,  presi- 
dent of  Brick  Church  Institute,  a  charter 
member  of  the  Genesee  Valley  Club,  of 
Rochester,  and  belongs  to  Frank  R.  Law- 
rence Lodge,  No.  797,  Ancient  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons,  and  Hamilton  Chapter, 
Royal  Arch  Masons.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Kent  Club,  composed  of  prominent 
attorneys  of  Rochester,  the  Rochester 
Historical  Society  and  the  University  and 
Country  clubs  of  Rochester.  His  re- 
ligious faith  is  indicated  by  his  member- 
ship in  the  Brick  (Presbyterian)  Church, 
and  his  devotion  to  the  public  welfare  is 
manifested  by  his  active  cooperation  in 
many  movements  and  measures  for  the 
public  good.  For  many  years  he  served 
as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Park  Com- 
missioners for  Rochester,  in  which  con- 
nection he  accomplished  much  in  beauti- 
fying and  improving  the  city  through  its 
great   park   system. 

He  has  also  been  active  and  helpful  in 
the  cause  of  education,  serving  as  com- 
missioner of  schools  for  some  years.  He 
is  a  trustee  of  the  Industrial  School,  the 
objects  of  which  are  to  gather  into  the 
school  destitute  children,  and  to  take  care 
of  young  children  through  the  day,  while 
their  mothers  are  at  work.  In  fact,  no 
good  work  done  in  the  name  of  charity 
or  religion  seeks  his  cooperation  in  vain, 
and  he  brings  to  bear  in  his  work  of  this 
character  the  same  discrimination  and 
thoroughness  which  are  manifest  in  his 
business  life.    He  stands  to-day  as  a  type 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  the  American  citizen  whose  interests 
are  broad  and  whose  labors  are  a  mani- 
festation of  a  recognition  of  the  respon- 
sibilities of  wealth. 

In  1894  was  celebrated  the  marriage  of 
Mr.  Durand  and  LilHe  C.  McConnell, 
daughter  of  Robert  Y.  McConnell,  of 
Rochester.  They  have  one  son,  Samuel 
Ewing,  now  at  Yale.  Mrs.  Durand  has 
also  taken  a  prominent  place  in  the  vari- 
ous charitable  and  social  activities  of 
Rochester,  serving  on  many  boards,  and 
giving  of  her  time  and  means  for  the 
improvement  of  conditions  of  the  poor. 
She  occupies  a  leadership  in  social  circles 
for  which  her  grace  and  accomplishments 
eminently  fit  her.  Their  home  is  one  of 
the  principal  centers  of  refined  and  culti- 
vated societv  in  Rochester. 


DURAND,  Harrison  C, 

Lumber  Expert,  Financier. 

For  a  quarter  of  a  century  Harrison  C. 
Durand  was  identified  with  the  lumber 
business  in  Rochester,  the  city  of  his 
birth,  although  the  last  three  years  of  his 
life  were  largely  spent  in  efforts  to  regain 
his  health.  He  spent  the  winters  of  those 
years  under  California  and  Florida  skies, 
hoping  much  from  the  balmy  air  and 
healthful  conditions  of  those  States,  but 
the  edict  had  gone  forth  and  at  the  age  of 
forty-eight  years  his  earthly  career  closed. 

Harrison  C.  Durand,  second  son  of 
Frederick  L.  and  Lydia  W.  (Powers) 
Durand,  was  born  in  Rochester,  August 
4,  i860,  died  in  his  native  city,  November 
I,  1908.  He  was  educated  and  prepared 
for  college  at  Rochester  Free  Academy, 
entered  the  University  of  Rochester  but 
before  completing  his  course  withdrew 
to  enter  business  life.  He  chose  the 
lumber  industry  as  the  line  of  activity 
he  would  engage  in,  and  for  twenty-five 
years  followed  closely  the  choice  of  his 
younger    years.      He    became    a    lumber 


expert  and  as  a  business  man  and  finan- 
cier ranked  very  high.  For  many  years 
he  was  treasurer  and  general  manager  of 
the  Hollister  Lumber  Company  of 
Rochester,  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
important  lumber  companies  of  New 
York  State.  While  highly  regarded  by  his 
business  associates  and  by  all  with  whom 
he  came  in  contact,  Mr.  Durand's  warm 
social  nature  drew  to  him  a  large  circle 
of  true  friends,  attracted  and  held  solely 
by  a  most  pleasing  personality  combined 
with  most  manly  qualities.  He  was  a 
charter  member  of  the  Genesee  Valley 
and  the  Rochester  Country  clubs,  in  both 
very  popular  and  active.  He  met  all  the 
requirements  of  good  citizenship  and  will 
long  be  remembered  as  an  honorable, 
efficient  business  man,  a  true  friend  and 
a  most  companionable  gentleman. 


MAHON,  George  S.,  Rev. 

Clergyman,  Friend  of  Education, 

When  appointed  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop 
John  Grimes,  September  11,  1913,  pastor 
of  the  Church  of  the  Most  Holy  Rosary 
at  Syracuse,  Father  Mahon  was  a  priest 
without  a  parish.  The  boundaries  of  his 
territory  were  drawn  shortly  after  his 
arrival,  and  on  October  6  a  site  for  a 
church  selected  and  the  work  of  organiz- 
ing a  parish  commenced. 

There  was  no  hall  or  building  within 
the  confines  of  his  parish  in  which  he 
could  bring  his  parishoners  together,  but 
that  fact  did  not  deter  him  in  the  least. 
Within  eighteen  working  days  a  tempo- 
rary frame  church  with  a  seating  capacity 
of  six  hundred  was  erected,  many  people 
cooperating  to  erect  the  building  quickly, 
and  the  first  mass  celebrated,  December 
8,  1913.  The  church  was  built  before  the 
congregation  was  organized.  By  the  time 
two  years  had  elapsed,  an  imposing  brick 
edifice  stood  adjoining  the  site  of  the  orig- 
inal frame  structure.   This  new  edifice,  a 


90 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


combination  church,  school  and  social  cen- 
ter for  the  parish,  stands  on  Bellevue  ave- 
nue, between  Roberts  and  Hubble  ave- 
nues, a  site  acknowledged  to  be  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  in  residential  Syracuse,  on 
Bellevue  Heights,  overlooking  the  city. 
Ground  was  broken  for  this  new  permanent 
structure,  July  20,  1914,  the  cornerstone 
laid  October  4,  and  the  first  services  held 
in  the  edifice,  March  25,  1915.  The  per- 
sonalit}-  of  the  man  who  from  practically 
nothing  wrought  such  wondrous  results 
in  so  short  a  time,  becomes  of  interest  as 
a  man  of  exceptional  executive  ability, 
an  organizer  and  an  eloquent  pulpit 
orator. 

George  S.  Mahon  was  born  in  Syra- 
cuse, New  York,  February  i,  i860,  third 
child  of  Patrick  Samson  and  Catherine 
(Foley)  Mahon.  who  came  from  Ireland 
to  the  United  States  in  1848.  Patrick  S. 
Mahon  was  born  in  Drumsna,  Leitrim, 
Ireland,  in  1829,  died  at  Oxford,  New 
York,  February  13,  1893.  Catherine 
Foley  was  born  near  Boyle,  Sligo,  Ire- 
land, in  1830,  died  at  Oxford,  New  York, 
July  22,  1894.  Both  are  buried  in  the 
family  plot  at  Fayetteville,  New  York. 
They  came  from  Ireland  at  about  the 
same  time,  met  in  Syracuse  and  were 
married  in  1852.  Shortly  after  his  mar- 
riage Mr.  Mahon  obtained  a  position  as 
engineer  on  the  New  York  Central  Rail- 
road, which  position  he  held  until  1862 
when  he  moved  to  Dry  Hill,  near  Fayette- 
ville. Near  there  was  the  home  of  a 
young  man  who  later  was  to  receive 
from  his  fellow  citizens  the  highest  office 
within  their  gift,  Grover  Cleveland.  They 
became  fast  friends  and  though  rank  and 
distance  later  widely  separated  them, 
their  friendship  was  never  broken  save 
by  death.  In  1878  he  went  west  and 
located  in  Harney  county.  Oregon,  and  in 
1880  his  wife  joined  him  there.  They  re- 
mained in  Oregon  until  1892  when,  both 
having  been  seriously  injured  in  an  acci- 


dent, they  expressed  a  desire  to  return 
to  New  York,  that  they  might  spend  their 
declining  days  among  friends  and  kindred. 
In  the  spring  of  that  year,  Father  Mahon 
brought  them  to  his  home  in  Oxford 
where  they  spent  the  little  time  remain- 
ing them  for  earthly  residence.  Patrick 
Mahon  was  a  good  speaker,  expressing 
himself  forcibly  and  easily.  He  also  was 
a  writer  of  ability.  Mrs.  Mahon  is  re- 
membered in  the  neighborhood  of  Fay- 
etteville, where  the  family  home  was 
located,  for  her  open  mind  and  hand  and 
her  deep  human  sympathy.  They  had 
children :  James  F.,  John  J.,  George  S., 
William  H.,  and  Catherine,  the  latter 
dying  in  infancy.  Although  a  personal 
friend  of  Grcver  Cleveland  and  of  Gov- 
ernor Horatio  Seymour,  Patrick  Mahon 
never  sought  or  held  any  political  office. 
George  S.  Mahon  acquired  his  early 
education  in  district  schools,  and  in  1871, 
being  then  eleven  years  of  age,  he  entered 
Manlius  Union  School  and  a  year  later 
became  a  student  at  Fayetteville  Acad- 
emy where  he  was  graduated,  March  22, 
1878.  During  those  years  he  gave  evi- 
dence of  the  qualities  made  manifest  in 
his  later  life.  He  excelled  in  oratory, 
mathematics  and  in  history,  his  fellow 
students  of  the  academy  recognizing  his 
merit  by  electing  him  president  of  the 
William  Cullen  Bryant  Literary  Society. 
After  graduation  from  the  academy  he 
felt  the  call  of  the  priesthood.  His  father, 
and  his  brothers.  John  J.,  James  F.  and 
William  H.,  were  settled  in  Oregon  en- 
gaged in  stock  raising  and  farming.  His 
mother  had  remained  behind  with  her 
boy,  but  when  he  was  well  embarked 
upon  his  studies  for  the  priesthood  she 
too  went  west  and  left  him  alone.  He 
entered  Niagara  University  in  the  fall  of 
1878  and  there  again  excelled  in  history, 
literature  and  mathematics.  He  was 
graduated  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  June,  1883, 
winning  class  honors.     In  1886  his  alma 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


mater  conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of 
Master  of  Arts.  From  his  graduation  in 
18S3  until  his  ordination  to  the  priesi- 
hood  he  was  pursuing  his  theological 
studies  at  the  Seminary  of  Our  Lady  of 
Angels,  Niagara  University,  and  at  St. 
Joseph's  Provincial  Seminar}',  Troy,  New 
York,  which  he  entered  in  January,  1S84. 
There  he  was  president  of  St.  Joseph's 
Literary  Society  and  otherwise  won  ap- 
preciation. Ha  was  ordained  December 
18,  1886,  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Francis  McNer- 
•ney,  D.  D..  Bishop  of  Albany. 

His  first  appointment  was  assistant  to 
the  pastor  of  Saint  Mary's  Church,  Os- 
wego, New  York,  where  he  displayed  a 
commendable  zeal  in  his  holy  calling.  A 
year  later  he  w:is  transferred  to  Saint 
Paul's  Church,  Whitesboro,  as  assistant 
to  the  pastor,  Rev.  John  Grimes,  later 
bishop  of  Syracuse.  He  spent  sixteen 
months  at  Whitesboro,  then  was  ap- 
pointed pastor  of  Saint  Joseph's  Church 
at  Oxford,  New  York.  Although  the 
Catholic  population  of  southern  Chenan- 
go was  widely  scattered,  Father  Mahon 
labored  zealously  and  was  a  true  apostle 
of  the  church.  At  Greene  he  purchased 
and  paid  for  the  Catholic  church  within 
six  weeks  after  his  appointment.  He 
labored  in  Oxford  fourteen  years,  win- 
ning the  love  of  his  own  people  and  the 
respect  of  all.  There  too  he  endured  the 
sorrow  of  the  loss  of  both  parents  whom 
he  had  brought  from  Oregon  to  end  their 
days  with  him. 

Father  Mahon  always  evinced  particu- 
lar interest  in  the  children  of  his  parish 
and  community.  This  interest  in  Oxford 
was  expressed  in  a  class  to  whom  he 
offered,  gratis,  training  in  declamation 
and  debate,  Catholic  and  non-Catholic 
students  alike  availing  themselves  of  his 
offer  of  tutelage.  Soon  the  medals  and 
prizes  offered  by  Oxford  and  neighboring 
academies  were  being  won  by  the  stu- 
dents who  had  been   instructed  and   de- 


veloped by  him.  From  his  class  went 
out  many  who  later  became  men  of 
prominence  in  different  professions,  who 
acknowledge  their  debt  to  the  training 
received  from  such  an  able  and  trained 
public  speaker. 

At  Oxford  he  practically  reorganized 
the  mission  work  of  his  field  and  won 
commendation  for  his  earnest,  successful 
efforts.  On  January  25,  1903,  he  was 
transferred  to  the  church  at  Pompey  and 
there  his  favorite  interest  found  methods 
of  expression.  He  labored  for  the  cause 
of  education  with  all  his  might  and  was 
elected  president  of  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, which  position  he  held  during  the 
ten  years  of  his  pastorate  in  that  historic 
town.  His  love  of  history  found  expres- 
sion in  the  staging  of  a  series  of  annual 
historic  celebrations  which  became  fa- 
mous throughout  all  central  and  western 
New  York.  These  celebrations  were  in 
the  nature  of  tableaux:  "The  Coming  of 
Father  Le  Moyne,"  "The  Discovery  of 
Salt  in  Salina,"  "The  Irish  Peddler," 
"Governor  Seymour's  Day,"  "Moses  De 
Witt,"  "The  Centennial  Celebration  of 
Pompey  Academy,"  and  others.  Father 
Mahon  also  took  up  the  fight  against  the 
lax  sale  of  liquor  in  the  towns  of  Pompey, 
Fabius  and  La  Fayette,  because  of  the 
great  injury  it  was  inflicting  upon  youth 
and  manhood.  He  appealed  to  the  people 
to  refuse  license  privileges  for  the  sale  of 
liquor  in  their  townships,  and  after  a 
bitter  contest  no  license  prevailed  and 
this  has  since  been  the  law  of  that  sec- 
tion. 

The  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  his  or- 
dination to  the  priesthood  was  marked  by 
a  most  beautiful  testimonial  of  the  appre- 
ciation of  his  people.  A  purse  of  three 
thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
was  presented  him  to  defray  the  expenses 
of  a  tour  of  Europe  and  the  Holy  Land. 
He  spent  the  spring  and  summer  of  1913 
in  foreign  lands,  and  upon  his  return  was 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


notified  of  his  appointment  as  pastor  of 
the  Church  of  the  Alost  Holy  Rosary, 
Syracuse,  New  York.  The  results  of  his 
work  there  in  the  two  years  since  ap- 
pointment have  been  remarkable.  His 
parish  has  felt  both  the  spiritual  and 
temporal  effects  of  his  enthusiasm  and 
have  responded  nobly  to  his  eli'orts  in 
their  behalf.  Plis  interest  in  the  children 
has  provided  a  school  wherein  they  may 
he  trained  for  future  usefulness.  The 
cost  of  this  building,  fully  equipped,  was 
$125,000.  The  present  estimated  value  of 
his  church  property  is  $250,000.  Over 
four  hundred  pupils,  now  in  daily  attend- 
ance, are  taught  by  ten  Sisters  of  the 
Immaculate  Heart  of  Mary.  He  also  has 
charge  of  the  House  of  Providence,  1164 
West  Onondaga  street,  where  some  two 
hundred  boys,  mostly  orphans,  are  cared 
for  by  twelve  Sisters  of  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul. 

Striking  in  his  personal  appearance, 
powerful  in  denunciation  of  wrong,  mas- 
ter of  the  art  of  pleading,  a  lover  of  chil- 
dren, he  is  the  champion  of  righteousness 
and  a  fearless  opponent  of  evil.  His 
home  is  at  the  rectory,  No.  1103  Bellevue 
avenue.  His  assistants  are  the  Rev. 
Thomas  H.  Quinn  and  the  Rev.  Anthony 
J.  Logan. 


CLARKE,  John  J., 

Civil  W^ar  Veteran,   Real  Estate  Operator. 

John  J.  Clarke,  treasurer  of  the  county 
of  Onondaga,  is  a  native  of  England, 
born  in  Rochdale,  in  1848,  the  youngest 
of  a  family  of  twelve  children.  His  father, 
James  Clarke,  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  a 
farmer,  having  charge  of  a  large  estate  in 
England.  His  mother  was  Mary  (Ma- 
loney)  Clarke. 

John  J.  Clarke  was  very  early  made  ac- 
quainted with  the  necessity  of  industry 
in  sustaining  one's  self,  and  at  the  age  of 
nine  years  entered  a  mill,  where  he  con- 


tinued to  be  employed  until  1861,  when 
he  came  to  America,  being  then  thirteen 
years  of  age.  For  a  time  he  resided  in  Mar- 
cellus,  Onondaga  county.  New  York, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  the  woolen  fac- 
tory, making  army  cloth.  At  the  early 
age  of  sixteen  years  he  enlisted  in  the  de- 
fence of  his  adopted  country,  September 
6,  1864,  as  a  member  of  Company  D,  One 
Hundred  and  Eighty-lifth  Regiment  New 
York  Volunteers.  Only  eight  days  after 
his  enlistment  this  regiment  arrived  at 
the  firing  line  in  front  of  Petersburg,  and 
young  Clarke  participated  in  all  the 
battles  succeeding  that,  around  Peters- 
burg and  Richmond,  down  to  and  includ- 
ing Appomattox.  His  regiment  was  de- 
tailed to  receive  the  surrender  of  Lee's 
army.  After  peace  was  restored,  young 
Clarke  returned  to  Onondaga  county,  and 
worked  on  farms  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Skaneateles  for  three  years,  settling,  in 
Syracuse  in  1868.  For  the  period  of 
twenty-six  years  he  was  employed  in  the 
railway  mail  service,  and  resigned  in 
1907,  since  which  time  he  has  engaged 
with  success  in  the  real  estate  business. 
He  has  always  been  prominent  in  Grand 
Army  matters,  and  was  junior  vice-com- 
mander of  Root  Post,  and  commander  in 
1911. 

Mr.  Clarke  has  always  been  a  loyal 
supporter  of  Republican  principles  and 
policies,  and  has  taken  an  active  part  in 
the  councils  of  his  party.  In  1908  he  was 
a  candidate  for  the  nomination  for  the 
ofifice  of  county  treasurer,  but  withdrew 
in  favor  of  another,  and  the  same  con- 
ditions again  obtained  in  191 1.  In  1914, 
in  spite  of  the  fierce  opposition  of  the 
organization  whom  he  had  for  so  many 
years  faithfully  sustained,  he  won  out  in 
the  Republican  district  primaries,  and 
was  triumphantly  elected  by  a  larger  ma- 
jority than  any  other  candidate  on  the 
ticket.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Citizens' 
Club  of  Syracuse,  the  Republican  Escort, 


93 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  the  local  lodge,  Knights  of  Pythias. 
Mr.  Clarke  has  constructed  over  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars  worth  of  build- 
ings in  Syracuse,  and  has  contributed  ma- 
terially to  the  advancement  and  welfare 
of  the  city,  to  whose  best  interests  he  is 
warmly  devoted. 

Mr.  Clarke  married,  in  1867,  Mary  Sul- 
livan, and  their  children  are:  Jesse  W., 
born  October  7,  1868;  Percy,  June,  1872, 
died  in  infancy;  Teressa  C,  April  26, 
1874;  Agnes,  December  14,  1878;  Frank 
D.,  June  28,  1882. 


HUBBARD,  William  A.,  Jr., 

Mannfactnrer,  Financier. 

For  sixty-five  years  the  name  of  Hub- 
bard has  been  identified  with  the  business 
interests  of  the  city  of  Rochester,  Wil- 
liam A.  Hubbard,  Sr.,  there  locating  in 
1851,  passing  to  the  reward  of  a  long  and 
well  spent  life  in  1914,  aged  eighty-seven 
years,  his  son,  William  A.  Hubbard,  Jr., 
president  of  Hubbard,  Eldredge  &  Miller, 
being  the  present  representative  of  the 
family.  The  business  career  of  William 
A.  Hubbard,  Sr.,  began  at  the  age  of 
fifteen  years  with  a  dry  goods  firm  in 
New  York  City  and  terminated  in  Roches- 
ter with  his  retirement  in  18S7.  He  was 
a  pillar  of  strength  to  Washington  Street, 
now  Central  Presbyterian  Church,  where 
for  fifty-six  years  he  led  the  prayer  meet- 
ing singing  and  was  a  member  of  the 
choir  for  many  years,  his  wife  its  leading 
soprano  for  twenty  years,  and  both  de- 
'  voted  in  their  interest  in  all  departments 
of  church  work.  Two  strong  Presby- 
terian churches  of  the  city  owe  their  in- 
ception to  his  conscientious  work  as  a 
home  missionary,  and  a  record  of  his  life 
reveals  constant  work  in  behalf  of  the 
Master  he  so  truly  served. 

William  A.  Hubbard  was  born  at 
Ossinning,  New  York,  October  5,  1826, 
died  in  Rochester,  February  8,  1914.    His 


school  years  terminated  in  1841,  and  for 
the  succeeding  ten  years  he  was  in  the 
employ  of  a  dry  goods  jobbing  house  in 
New  York  City,  rising  from  a  lowly  posi- 
tion to  that  of  confidential  clerk.  In 
1 85 1,  a  young  man  of  twenty-five  years, 
he  located  in  Rochester,  becoming  a 
member  of  the  dry  goods  firm  of  Bar- 
tholomew &  Hubbard,  later,  after  Mr. 
Bartholomew's  death,  trading  as  Hub- 
bard &  Torrance,  still  later  as  Hubbard 
&  Northrop.  In  1871,  after  a  continuous 
connection  of  over  twenty  years,  Mr. 
Hubbard  retired  from  the  dry  goods  busi- 
ness, but  only  to  assume  new  duties.  He 
formed  an  association  with  the  Rochester 
Paper  Company,  continuing  with  that 
company  until  his  retirement  from  all 
business  activities  in  1887.  He  was  for 
many  years  a  trustee  of  the  East  Side 
Savings  Bank,  and  a  member  of  the  origi- 
nal board  of  directors  of  the  Homoeo- 
pathic Hospital.  He  was  a  man  of  fine 
personal  appearance,  gifted  in  mind,  pos- 
sessed keen  powers  of  observation,  was 
sympathetic  and  kindly  by  nature,  benev- 
olent, upright  and  honorable.  Fie  was  an 
ardent  Abolitionist,  an  active  temper- 
ance worker,  and  although  deeply  in- 
terested in  public  affairs  and  anxious  for 
the  success  of  the  Republican  party, 
which  he  supported  for  a  lifetime,  he 
never  accepted  ofifice  for  himself.  He  be- 
longed to  the  ]\Iasonic  order  and  was  a 
loyal  Presbyterian.  In  185 1  both  he  and 
his  wife  joined  Washington  Street  Pres- 
byterian Church  and  both  became  mem- 
bers of  the  choir,  and  active  workers  in 
the  Sunday  school.  Mr.  Hubbard  was 
also  musical  director  of  the  Sunday 
school  and  prayer  meeting  service,  his 
musical  connection  with  the  church  cover- 
ing a  period  of  over  half  a  century.  He 
was  a  trustee  and  elder  for  many  years, 
giving  to  Central  (as  Washington  Street 
Church  was  renamed)  his  best  energy 
and   endeavor.     He  was   one   of  the   or- 


<J4 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ganizers  of  West  Avenue  Mission  Sun- 
day School,  from  which  later  sprang 
Westminster  Presbyterian  Church.  In 
1869,  in  association  with  Albert  AI.  Hast- 
ings and  William  S.  Ailing,  he  founded 
North  Mission  Sunday  School,  now  North 
Presbyterian  Church. 

Mr.  Hubbard  married,  in  1847,  Sarah 
L.  Peck.  For  sixty-three  years  they 
walked  life's  path  hand  in  hand,  celebrat- 
ing their  golden  wedding  in  1897,  their 
sixtieth  anniversary  in  1907,  and  three 
years  of  the  seventh  decade  had  passed 
when,  in  August,  1910,  the  bonds  of  love 
that  had  so  long  bound  them  were  sun- 
dered by  the  death  of  Mrs.  Hubbard  at 
the  age  of  eighty-three  years.  Four  years 
later  Mr.  Hubbard  joined  her  in  that 
fairer  land,  the  inheritance  of  those  who 
"keep  the  faith"  as  they  had  kept  it 
throughout  their  long  and  useful  lives. 
Children :  Elizabeth  R.,  married  Preston 
H.  Allen,  then  of  Omaha,  Nebraska,  now 
of  Webster  Grove,  Missouri ;  William  A., 
Jr.,  of  further  mention  ;  Mary  L.,  married 
Edmund  R.  Huddleston,  of  Rochester, 
New  York;  Helen  C,  married  Charles 
B.  Peck,  of  Rochester. 

William  A.  Hubbard,  Jr.,  only  son  of 
William  A.  and  Sarah  L.  (Peck)  Hub- 
bard, was  born  in  New  York  City,  No- 
vember 6,  1850.  In  1851  his  parents 
moved  to  Rochester,  where  he  has  since 
resided  continuously.  After  preparation 
in  public  and  private  schools  he  com- 
pleted his  studies  at  Hamilton  College, 
beginning  active  business  life  with  his 
father  in  1871.  Father  and  son  continued 
in  association  as  manufacturers  of  under- 
wear for  several  years,  then  the  younger 
man  entered  the  employ  of  James  Mc- 
Donell  &  Company,  remaining  until  the 
year  1884.  In  that  year  he  became  identi- 
fied with  the  manufacture  of  chairs,  a 
line  of  activity  with  which  he  has  been 
connected  from  that  date.  His  business, 
established  in  Rochester  in  1870  by  I.  H. 


Dewey,  was  incorporated  as  the  I.  H. 
Dewey  Furniture  Company  in  1884,  and 
at  that  time  Mr.  Hubbard  became  associ- 
ated therewith.  In  1898  the  business  was 
reorganized  as  the  Hubbard  &  Eldredge 
Company,  and  again  in  1906  as  the  Hub- 
bard, Eldredge  &  Miller  Company,  Wil- 
liam A.  Hubbard,  Jr.,  president.  The 
company  is  one  of  Rochester's  largest  in- 
dustrial plants,  using  one  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  square  feet  of  factory 
space  in  addition  to  large  lumber  yards 
at  Lyell  and  Dewey  streets.  Four  hun- 
dred hands  are  employed  in  the  manu- 
facture of  fancy  chairs  and  upholstered 
furniture,  the  output  being  marketed  all 
over  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

A  Republican  in  politics,  Mr.  Hubbard 
takes  more  than  a  passive  interest  in 
public  affairs  and  manifests  the  concern 
of  a  good  citizen  in  promoting  good  gov- 
ernment. His  aid  can  always  be  de- 
pended upon  in  any  movement  tending  to 
promote  the  public  good,  and  in  all  things 
he  measures  up  to  the  full  stature  of  a 
man.  He  has  other  large  business  in- 
terests, is  a  director  of  the  Curtice 
Brothers  Company,  director  of  the 
Rochester  Trust  and  Safe  Deposit  Com- 
pany, and  trustee  of  the  Monroe  County 
Savings  Bank.  His  clubs  are  the  Roches- 
ter Country  and  the  University.  He  is  an 
elder  of  Central  Presbyterian  Church  and 
in  all  the  activities  of  that  church  is 
deeply  interested.  Since  1873  he  has 
taught  a  men's  Bible  class  in  the  Sunday 
school,  his  class  now  numbering  about 
two  hundred  members.  For  forty-two 
years  he  has  led  this  class  in  Bible  study, 
has  been  constant  in  attendance,  and  to 
this  unselfish  form  of  Christian  work  has 
given  of  his  best.  The  class  is  a  power 
for  good  in  church  and  city,  many  mem- 
bers having  gone  out  from  it  to  become 
useful  workers  in  other  fields.  Fathers 
and  sons  have  sat  under  his  teaching  and 
in  the  spiritual  strength  he  has  given  to 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


others  his  own  strength  has  been  re- 
newed. Mr.  Hubbard  served  the  local 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  as 
director  and  president  of  the  board  for 
many  years,  and  is  now  a  member  of  the 
advisory  board.  Loyal  in  his  devotion 
to  truth  and  right  living,  generous  in  his 
giving,  and  strong  in  his  integrity,  he  has 
won  the  highest  esteem  of  his  fellow  men, 
with  whom  he  has  lived  in  close  associ- 
ation during  his  entire  life. 

Mr.  Hubbard  maried,  in  1885,  Helen  C, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Hiram  D.  Vosburgh,  of 
Lyons,  New  York.  Children  :  Evelyn  ; 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  Andrew  R.  Sutherland, 
of  Rochester,  New  York;  Ruth  Porter, 
wife  of  Gideon  C.  Wolfe,  of  Scranton, 
Pennsylvania. 


KELLOGG,  Luther  Laflin, 

Contract  Lair  Expert. 

Luther  Laflin  Kellogg  descends  from  a 
very  ancient  family,  and  inherits  qualities 
which  have  brought  him  to  a  prominent 
position  at  the  New  York  bar.  The 
earliest  record  of  the  family  in  England 
is  in  Debden,  County  Essex,  where  Nicho- 
las Kellogg  was  taxed  in  1525.  The 
name  appears  with  a  variety  of  spellings, 
including  Kelhogge,  Kellogue,  Kellock, 
Calaug,  and  many  others.  The  name  is 
supposed  to  have  been  formed  from  two 
Gaelic  words,  meaning  lake  and  cemetery, 
making  it  a  place  name. 

Nicholas  Kellogg  was  born  about  1488, 
and  was  buried  at  Debden,  May  17,  1558. 
His  son,  Thomas  Kellogg,  who  resided  in 
Debden,  was  probably  the  father  of 
Philip  Kellogg,  who  was  living  in  Bock- 
ing,  County  Essex,  in  1583.  He  was  the 
father  of  Martin  Kellogg,  baptized  No- 
vember 25,  1595,  in  Great  Leigh,  and  re- 
sided there  and  at  Braintree.  He  mar- 
ried, at  St.  Michaels,  in  Hertford.  1621, 
Prudence  Bird,  whom  he  survived.  Their 
fourth  son,  Daniel  Kellogg,  was  baptized 


February  6,  1630,  at  Great  Leigh,  and 
was  an  early  settler  at  Norwalk,  Connec- 
ticut. He  is  said  to  have  been  the  largest 
man  in  the  province,  seven  feet  tall,  and 
of  proportionate  figure.  For  many  years 
he  represented  Norwalk  in  the  General 
Assembly.  His  second  wife,  Bridget,  was 
a  daughter  of  John  and  Alice  Bouton,  and 
their  second  son,  Samuel  Kellogg,  born 
February  19,  1673,  was  a  prominent  citi- 
zen of  Norwalk.  He  married  Sarah  Piatt, 
daughter  of  Deacon  John  and  Hannah 
(Carr)  Piatt,  of  Norwalk,  and  their  youn- 
gest child,  Epenetus  Kellogg,  lived  for 
a  time  on  Long  Island,  but  returned  to 
Norwalk,  and  lived  at  "White  Oak 
Shade."  He  was  born  June  26,  1719, 
died  June  19,  1774,  in  Norwalk.  He  mar- 
ried, in  1740,  Jemima  Rogers,  of  Hunt- 
ington, New  York,  who  died  June  9,  1789. 
Their  third  son,  Stephen  Kellogg,  was 
born  July  I,  1757,  in  Norwalk,  and  re- 
moved to  Troy,  New  York,  where  he 
died  July  30,  1842.  He  was  a  farmer,  and 
a  member  of  St.  Paul's  Church.  He  mar- 
ried, November  24,  1778,  Lydia  Ronton, 
born  January  21,  1758,  in  Norwalk,  died 
in  Troy,  June  28,  1845,  daughter  of  Na- 
thaniel and  Lydia  (Penoyer)  Bouton. 
Their  fifth  son,  Stephen  (2)  Kellogg, 
born  April  26,  1797,  in  Norwalk,  died  No- 
vember 12,  1845,  in  Maiden,  New  York, 
where  he  was  a  merchant  from  1822  to 
1833.  He  removed  to  Troy,  where  he 
was  in  the  mercantile  business  about 
three  years,  then  returned  to  Maiden.  He 
married,  January  i,  1823,  Susan  Emeline 
Bigelow,  born  December  5,  1805,  in  Cole- 
brook,  Connecticut,  daughter  of  Asa  and 
Lucy  (Isham)  Bigelow,  died  February 
13,  1884,  in  New  York  City.  Their  eldest 
son,  Nathan  Kellogg,  was  born  February 
18,  1825,  in  Maiden,  and  graduated  from 
Rensselaer  Polytechnic  Institute  at  Troy, 
March  16,  1841.  He  was  a  Presbyterian, 
served  as  supervisor  in  Ulster  county, 
and  affiliated  with  the  Democratic  party  in 


96 


J 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


politics.  He  married,  June  12,  1847,  '^i 
Saugerties,  New  York,  Helen  Maria  Laf- 
lin,  born  April  6,  1826,  in  Blanford,  Mas- 
sachusetts, daughter  of  Luther  and  Al- 
mira  (Sylvester)   Laflin. 

Luther  Laflin  Kellogg,  eldest  child  of 
Nathan  and  Helen  Maria  (Laflin)  Kel- 
logg, was  born  July  i,  1849,  in  Maiden, 
New  York.  He  there  grew  to  maturity, 
and  received  his  primary  education  in  the 
private  schools,  entering  Rutgers  College 
at  New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey,  from 
which  he  graduated  in  1870  with  the  de- 
gree of  Bachelor  of  Arts  and  three  years 
later  received  the  degree  of  Master  of 
Arts.  In  1901  Rutgers  conferred  upon 
him  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Laws.  Having  determined  upon  the  pro- 
fession of  law,  Mr.  Kellogg  entered  Col- 
umbia Law  School,  of  New  York,  from 
which  he  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Laws  in  1872.  In  the  same  year  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  began  prac- 
tice in  New  York  City  in  1872,  and  at  the 
present  time  (1916)  is  the  head  of  the  law 
firm  of  Kellogg  &  Rose.  Mr.  Kellogg  is 
particularly  known  and  distinguished  at 
the  bar  as  a  trial  lawyer.  His  specialty 
is  contract  law  covering  state,  municipal 
and  private  contracts.  His  opinion  is 
generally  received  as  authority  on  all 
questions  relating  to  this  branch  of  the 
law.  An  examination  of  the  Reports  of 
the  State  will  show  that  he  has  been  con- 
nected with  nearly  every  noted  case  of 
this  nature.  He  has  also  been  engaged  in 
arguing  before  the  highest  courts  of  this 
State  and  the  United  States  many  ques- 
tions involving  Constitutional  Law. 

Mr.  Kellogg  resides  in  the  City  of  New 
York,  where  he  is  a  vestryman  of  All 
Angels  (Protestant  Episcopal)  Church, 
and  is  associated  with  numerous  clubs, 
including  the  Manhattan,  Players,  Lotos, 
Church  and  Fort  Orange ;  was  for  several 
years  president  of  the  Colonial  Club;   is 

N  Y-Vol  IV-7  97 


a  member  of  the  Lawyers'  Club  and  the 
Delta  Phi  college  fraternity.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  American  Bar  Associ- 
ation, the  New  York  State  Bar  Associ- 
ation, the  Association  of  the  Bar  of  the 
City  of  New  York,  the  New  York  County 
Lawyers'  Association,  and  is  a  life  trustee 
of  Rutgers  College.  He  is  at  present  one 
of  the  members  of  the  Court  House 
Board,  charged  with  the  duty  of  erecting 
the  new  Court  House  for  New  York  City. 
He  is  a  director  of  the  Colonial  Insurance 
Company  of  New  York.  Politically  he 
acts  with  the  Democratic  party. 

Mr.  Kellogg  married,  in  New  Bruns- 
wick, New  Jersey,  June  10,  1874,  Eliza 
Stout  Mcintosh,  born  July  12,  185 1,  in 
Buffalo,  New  York,  daughter  of  General 
John  B.  and  Amelia  (Stout)  Mcintosh, 
who  died  October  5,  1912.  Children: 
Mcintosh,  born  May  21,  1875  ;  Helen  Laf- 
lin, January  4,  1877,  died  1884;  Luther 
Laflin,  October  6,  1878,  died  1905  ;  Lee 
Stout,  July  19,  1881  ;  Elsie  Mcintosh, 
May  13,  1883;  Laura  Runyon,  February 
9,  died  February  22,  1886. 


HANCOCK,  Theodore  E.,    ' 

Lawyer,  Fnblic  OfBcial. 

The  Hon.  Theodore  E.  Hancock  had  a 
fixed  rule  in  the  practice  of  law,  and  that 
was  never  to  waste  energy  upon  points 
which  did  not  count.  He  made  that  move 
which  was  necessary  to  win,  and  saved 
the  others  for  a  possible  failure.  All 
through  his  life,  which  has  brought  him 
one  of  the  highest  honors  in  the  gift  of 
the  people  of  his  State,  that  of  Attorney- 
General,  Mr.  Hancock  has  made  it  his 
rule  to  go  directly  to  the  root  of  matters 
and  never  waste  energy.  This  trait  was 
directly  the  cause  of  his  being  the  choice 
in  many  important  cases,  it  made  him  the 
counsel  who  was  sought  after,  and  when 
it  came  to  the  administration  of  the  affairs 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  his  high  office,  he  was  the  man  who      under  the   name  of   Hancock,   Hogan   & 


could  not  be  swerved  from  his  fixed  pur- 
pose to  serve  the  people  all  the  time. 

Mr.  Hancock  was  born  in  the  town  of 
Granby,  Oswego  county.  New  York,  May 
30,  1847.  His  ancestors  were  Martha 
Vineyard  stock,  several  generations  of 
sturdy  sailors  who  faced  the  rigors  of 
long  whaling  voyages,  and  women  who 
had  learned  the  patience  that  comes  of 
watching  and  waiting.  Mr.  Hancock  re- 
ceived his  early  education  at  Falley  Semi- 
nary, Fulton,  New  York,  from  which  he 
went  to  the  Wesleyan  University,  and 
was  graduated  from  this  institution  in  the 
class  of  1871.  He  next  became  a  student 
at  Columbia  Law  School,  New  York  City, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  with  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws  in  1873,  and 
in  September  of  the  same  year,  having 
been  duly  admitted  to  the  bar,  com- 
menced his  legal  practice  in  Syracuse. 
He  formed  a  law  partnership  with  Wil- 
liam Gilbert,  under  the  firm  name  of  Gil- 
bert &  Hancock,  which  was  continued  for 
some  time.  Subsequently  he  took  as  a 
partner  Page  Monroe,  the  firm  being 
Hancock  &  Monroe,  and  in  1888  the 
famous  firm  was  organized  which  was 
known  as  Hancock,  Beach,  Peck  &  De- 
vine.  In  1889  Mr.  Hancock  was  elected 
district  attorney  of  Onondaga  county,  an 
office  which  he  administered  with  signal 
ability.  November  7,  1893,  he  was  elected 
Attorney-General,  succeeding  himself  at 
the  next  election  for  this  office,  and  serv- 
ing until  January  i,  1899.  William  A. 
Beach,  one  of  the  members  of  the  firm, 
retiring  from  it,  John  W.  Hogan,  who 
had  served  long  and  well  in  the  Attorney- 
General's  office  in  Albany,  came  to  Syra- 
cuse from  Watertown,  and  the  firm  of 
Hancock,  Hogan  &  Devine  was  formed. 
Some  time  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Devine, 
in  1907,  Stewart  F.  Hancock,  a  son  of  the 
Hon.  Theodore  E.  Hancock,  was  admit- 
ted  to   the   firm,   and   it   became    known 


Hancock.  Upon  the  election  of  John  W. 
Hogan  as  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals 
in  1912,  the  firm  became  Hancock, 
Spriggs  &  Hancock,  the  present  mem- 
bers being:  Theodore  E.  Hancock,  Stew- 
art F.  Hancock,  Clarence  Z.  Spriggs, 
Clarence  E.  Hancock,  Myran  S.  Melvin. 

Of  the  many  matters  to  the  credit  of 
Mr.  Hancock  while  serving  as  Attorney 
General,  none  has  received  wider  pub- 
licity and  greater  attention  from  the  peo- 
ple at  large  than  the  inauguration  and 
continuance  of  the  fight  to  preserve  the 
great  forests  of  the  State  for  the  people. 
Only  those  who  were  conversant  with  the 
situation  will  ever  know  the  influences 
which  were  brought  to  bear  to  get  these 
forests  away  from  the  State.  In  both 
civil  and  criminal  practice  Mr.  Hancock 
has  shown  his  legal  acumen,  and  this  has 
placed  his  name  among  the  great  lawyers 
of  Onondaga.  As  an  orator  he  is  of  the 
direct  and  forcible  kind,  yet  possessed  of 
a  power  of  descriptive  effort  which  has 
made  quotations  from,  his  speeches  to 
juries  and  upon  the  political  forum  mat- 
ters of  record.  It  was  Mr.  Hancock's 
speech  at  a  reunion  of  veterans,  at  which 
time  he  called  attention  to  the  power  of 
a  county  to  issue  bonds  for  the  purpose 
of  erecting  a  soldiers'  monument,  that  re- 
vived the  interest  in  a  soldiers'  memorial, 
and  started  the  movement  which  resulted 
in  the  acquirement  of  the  monument  now 
built  on  Clinton  Square.  In  pursuance 
of  his  idea  of  thorough  investigation  and 
progress  in  public  aiifairs,  Mr.  Hancock 
has  been  chosen  to,  and  served  in,  the 
directorates  of  many  charitable  and  other 
public  institutions.  In  1897  Wesleyan 
University  conferred  the  degree  of  Doc- 
tor of  Laws,  of  which  institution  he  is 
still  a  trustee.  He  was  president  of  the 
Onondaga  County  Bar  Association  from 
1900  to  1907. 

Mr.  Hancock  married,  in  1882,  Martha 


98 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Connelly,  of  Wheeling,  West  Virginia, 
and  three  children  were  born  to  them:  i. 
Stewart  F.,  born  in  Syracuse,  April  4, 
1883 ;  received  his  elementary  education 
in  the  public  schools  of  Syracuse,  was 
graduated  from  Wesleyan  University  in 
the  class  of  1905,  from  the  Law  School 
of  Syracuse  in  1907,  in  which  year  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar;  he  at  once  com- 
menced the  practice  of  law  in  the  same 
year  in  Syracuse,  as  a  member  of  the  firm 
of  Hancock,  Hogan  &  Hancock  ;  he  served 
as  assistant  corporation  counsel  of  the 
city  of  Syracuse  from  January  i,  1908,  to 
January  i,  1914;  his  religious  member- 
ship is  with  the  Park  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  his  fraternal  with  the  follow- 
ing organizations :  University  Club,  City 
Club,  Citizens'  Club,  and  Central  City 
Lodge,  and  Westminster  Lodge,  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows ;  Mr.  Han- 
cock married  Marion,  a  daughter  of  the 
late  Justice  Peter  B.  McLennan ;  two 
children  were  born  of  this  union.  2.  Clar- 
ence E.,  born  in  Syracuse,  February  13, 
1885 ;  was  graduated  from  the  public 
schools  there,  from  Wesleyan  University 
in  1906,  and  from  the  New  York  Law 
School  in  1908;  admitted  to  the  bar  in  the 
same  year,  he  is  now  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Hancock,  Spriggs  &  Hancock;  he 
is  a  member  of  the  Alpha  Delta  Phi,  Phi 
Beta  Kappa,  Alpha  Delta  Phi  Club  of  New 
York,  Onondaga  Golf  and  Country  Club, 
Sedgwick  Farm  Club,  University  Club, 
City  Club  and  Troop  D,  National  Guard 
of  New  York.  3.  Martha,  educated  at 
Syracuse  University  and  at  Wellesly  Col- 
lege; resides  at  home. 


HAZARD,  Frederick  Rowland, 

Manufacturer,    Public-spirited    Citizen. 

Frederick  Rowland  Hazard,  of  Syra- 
cuse, inherits  from  early  New  England 
families  the  qualities  which  have  ever 
stood  for  moral,  social  and  material  prog- 


ress, and  exemplifies  in  his  person  and 
career  the  character  which  has  ever  stood 
preeminent  in  the  United  States.  The 
family  occupies  a  prominent  position  in 
the  civil,  commercial,  judicial  and  mili- 
tary history  of  Rhode  Island,  and  is  de- 
scended from  Thomas  Hazard,  born  1610, 
in  England.  He  first  appears  of  record  in 
America  in  1635,  at  Boston,  where  he  was 
admitted  a  freeman  in  1638,  and  was  two 
years  later  a  resident  of  Portsmouth, 
Rhode  Island.  He  was  among  the  found- 
ers and  first  town  officers  of  Newport, 
Rhode  Island,  associated  with  Codding- 
ton,  Easton,  Coggeshall,  Brenton,  the 
Clarks,  Bull  and  Dyer.  He  was  made  a 
freeman  of  Newport  in  1639,  and  in  1640 
was  appointed  a  member  of  the  General 
Court  of  Elections.  His  first  wife,  Mar- 
tha, died  in  1669,  and  he  married  (second) 
Martha,  widow  of  Thomas  Sheriff. 

His  eldest  child  was  Robert  Hazard, 
born  in  1635.  admitted  a  freeman  of  Ports- 
mouth in  1665,  and  prominent  in  Colonial 
aiTairs  until  1698.  In  1671  he  purchased 
five  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Kings  Town, 
and  soon  after  1687  built  there  his  house, 
which  was  still  standing  in  the  early  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  He  died  in 
1710.  He  married  Mary,  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Anne  Brownell,  who  lived 
to  be  one  hundred  years  old,  and  died 
January  28,  1739.  Her  obituary  states 
that  she  was  accounted  a  very  useful 
gentlewoman. 

Her  eldest  child  was  Thomas  Hazard, 
born  1660,  died  1746.  He  was  a  freeman 
of  Portsmouth  in  1684,  and  of  Kings 
Town  in  1717.  He  was  a  large  purchaser 
of  lands,  paying  £700  for  nine  hundred 
acres  in  1698,  and  £500  for  three  hundred 
acres  in  1710.  His  aggregate  possessions 
reached  nearly  four  thousand  acres.  He 
gave  land  to  each  of  his  sons  on  attaining 
majority,  and  the  inventory  of  his  estate 
amounted  to  £3,785.  He  married  Susanna 
Nichols,  whom  he  survived. 


99 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Their  eldest  son  was  Robert  (2)  Haz- 
ard, born  May  23,  1689,  died  May  20, 
1762.  He  inherited  six  hundred  and  fifty 
acres  of  land  from  his  father,  also  acquired 
lands  by  purchase,  was  residuary  legatee 
in  his  father's  will,  which  brought  him 
other  lands.  In  his  own  will  he  be- 
queathed negro  slaves  to  his  children.  He 
married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Richard  and 
Innocent  Borden,  born  July  31,  1694. 

Their  second  son  was  Thomas  (3)  Haz- 
ard, born  September  15,  1720,  called  "Col- 
lege Tom,"  died  1798.  He  was  a  freeman 
of  South  Kingstown  in  1742,  and  in  1748 
was  clerk  of  the  council.  He  entered 
Yale  College,  but  did  not  complete  the 
course,  because  of  his  sentiment  as  a 
member  of  the  Society  of  Friends  that 
college  honors  were  not  desirable.  For 
forty  years  he  was  a  preacher  in  the 
Society  of  Friends  and  the  first  among 
them  to  advocate  the  emancipation  of 
slaves.  In  1764,  with  some  fifty  others, 
he  petitioned  for  the  privilege  of  found- 
ing and  endowing  a  college  or  university. 
This  petition  was  granted,  and  he  was 
one  of  the  eleven  fellows  designated  to 
establish  what  was  then  called  Rhode 
Island  College,  now  Brown  University. 
His  home  was  on  Tower  Hill.  He  mar- 
ried, March  27,  1742,  Elizabeth,  daughter 
of  Governor  William  and  Martha  (Pot- 
ter) Robinson,  born  June  16,  1724,  died 
February  5,  1804,  a  great-granddaughter 
of  Thomas  (i)  Hazard,  founder  of  the 
family  in  America. 

They  were  the  parents  of  Rowland 
Hazard,  born  June  4,  1763,  who  early  en- 
gaged in  manufacturing  at  what  is  now 
Peacedale,  Rhode  Island,  where  was  set 
up  the  first  carding  machine  in  South 
Kingstown.  He  was  also  interested  in 
shipping,  first  at  Charleston,  South  Caro- 
lina, and  later  at  Narragansett.  Late  in 
life  he  removed  to  Pleasant  Valley,  New 
York,  where  he  died  July   i,   1835.     He 


married,  in  1793,  Mary  Peace,  for  whom 
the  town  of  Peacedale  was  named,  daugh- 
ter of  Isaac  Peace.  She  died  June  28, 
1852. 

Their  third  son,  Rowland  Gibson  Haz- 
ard, was  born  October  9,  1801,  in  Kings- 
town, on  the  homestead  of  his  grand- 
father, on  Tower  Hill.  In  early  child- 
hood he  went  to  Bristol,  Pennsylvania, 
where  he  lived  in  the  home  of  his  grand- 
father, Isaac  Peace.  He  attended  school 
in  Burlington,  New  Jersey,  and  in  Bris- 
tol, and  from  1813  to  1818  was  a  student 
of  the  West  Town  School.  He  had  an 
especial  faculty  for  mathematics,  and  dis- 
covered new  modes  of  demonstration  in 
conic  sections,  and  was  also  an  eager 
reader  of  classic  history.  In  1819  he  re- 
turned to  Rhode  Island,  and  in  1833  set- 
tled at  Peacedale,  where,  in  association 
with  his  brother,  Isaac  Peace  Hazard,  he 
took  charge  of  the  manufacturing  busi- 
ness established  by  his  father.  The  busi- 
ness grew  under  their  management,  and 
Rowland  G.  Hazard  made  many  trips  in 
promoting  its  interests.  From  1833  to 
1843  he  made  many  visits  to  the  South, 
where  he  observed  the  working  of  the 
slave  system,  which  excited  in  him,  great 
horror.  He  made  many  speeches  in  favor 
of  the  abolition  of  slavery,  and  was  alsa 
widely  known  as  a  writer.  He  married, 
September  25,  1828,  Caroline,  daughter 
of  John  Newbold,  of  Bucks  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  they  were  the  parents  of 
two  sons. 

The  eldest,  Rowland  Hazard,  was  born 
August  16,  1829,  in  Newport,  Rhode 
Island,  and  grew  up  at  Peacedale.  For 
several  years  he  was  a  student  at  the 
Friends'  College,  Haverford,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  graduated  from  Brown  Uni- 
versity at  the  age  of  twenty  years,  in 
1849.  During  his  first  three  years  he 
gained  first  prize  in  mathematics,  and  the 
second  prize  in  his  fourth  year.     Active: 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  town  and  village  affairs  at  Peacedale, 
in  1854  he  organized  a  Sunday  school, 
which  met  in  the  school  house,  and  was 
among  the  founders  of  the  Second  Con- 
gregational Church  of  South  Kingstown, 
which  was  organized  in  a  meeting  held 
at  his  house,  February  13,  1857.  In  1872 
he  built  the  stone  church  occupied  by  this 
society,  from  his  own  plans,  and  in  the 
same  year  constructed  from  his  plans  the 
large  worsted  mill  at  Peacedale.  The 
picturesque  stone  bridges  in  and  about 
that  village  are  also  his  work.  He  insti- 
tuted the  Narragansett  Literary  and  High 
School,  which  was  built  on  lands  donated 
by  him.  The  system  of  profit-sharing 
adopted  by  the  Peacedale  Mills  was  of 
his  institution.  He  was  interested  in 
agriculture,  and  was  president  of  the 
Washington  County  Agricultural  Soci- 
ety. In  1875,  ^s  independent  candidate 
for  Governor  of  the  State,  he  received  a 
plurality  of  votes,  but  according  to  the 
State  Constitution,  the  election  was  car- 
ried to  the  Legislature,  in  which  he  was 
defeated.  Among  his  many  activities  was 
the  promotion  of  lead  mining  in  Missouri, 
and  he  became  interested  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  soda  ash  in  America,  after  investi- 
gation of  the  processes  used  in  that  indus- 
try in  Europe,  whence  most  of  the  Amer- 
ican supply  had  been  previously  derived. 
He  organized  the  Solvay  Process  Com- 
pany, of  Syracuse,  New  York,  of  which 
he  was  the  first  president,  and  this  estab- 
lishment is  now  very  extensively  engaged 
in  supplying  the  American  demand  for 
soda  ash.  He  married,  March  29,  1854, 
Margaret  Anne,  daughter  of  Rev.  Anson 
Rood,  of  Philadelphia,  died  in  August, 
1895- 

Frederick  Rowland  Hazard,  second  son 
of  Rowland  and  Margaret  Anne  (Rood) 
Hazard,  was  born  June  14,  1858,  in  Peace- 
dale,  where  his  early  years  were  spent, 
and  in  1881  graduated  from  Brown  Uni- 

lOI 


versity,  Providence.  Following  his  grad- 
uation he  spent  two  years  in  the  woolen 
mills  of  his  native  town,  and  in  the  fall 
of  1883  entered  the  employ  of  the  Solvay 
Process  Company,  of  Syracuse,  of  which 
his  father  had  been  president  since  its 
founding.  In  September  of  that  year  he 
sailed  for  Europe  to  investigate  the  pro- 
cesses of  manufacture  of  soda  products. 
For  nine  months  he  pursued  his  investi- 
gations in  the  works  of  Solvay  &  Com- 
pany at  Dombasle,  France.  In  May  of 
the  following  year  he  returned  to  Amer- 
ica, and  entered  upon  his  duties  as  assist- 
ant treasurer  of  the  Solvay  Process  Com- 
pany, of  Syracuse,  one  of  the  greatest  in- 
dustries of  that  progressive  city.  In  June, 
1887,  he  was  promoted  to  the  office  of 
treasurer,  and  continued  in  that  capacity 
to  1898,  with  residence  in  Syracuse.  He 
was  made  president  following  the  death 
of  his  father.  Since  their  organization  he 
has  been  treasurer  of  the  Tully  Pipe  Line 
and  Split  Rock  Cable  Road  companies, 
and  was  also  president  of  the  Syracuse 
Athletic  Association  until  it  was  dis- 
banded in  1902.  He  was  elected  the  first 
president  of  Solvay  Village,  a  Syracuse 
suburb,  upon  its  establishment,  May  15, 
1904,  and  is  active  in  various  enterprises 
which  are  contributing  to  the  growth  and 
eminence  of  Syracuse.  He  is  a  prominent 
member  of  the  Citizens'  Club,  enjoys  the 
friendship  and  esteem  of  the  residents  of 
his  home  city,  and  is  ever  ready  to  further 
any  undertaking  calculated  to  promote 
the  moral,  social  and  pecuniary  welfare 
of  the  community. 

He  married,  May  29,  1886,  Dora  G. 
Sedgwick,  daughter  of  the  late  Charles 
B.  Sedgwick,  of  Syracuse.  Their  home 
is  at  "Upland  Farm^"  and  they  have  chil- 
dren :  Dorothy,  born  May  21,  1887;  Sarah 
Sedgwick,  August  2,  1889;  Katherine, 
November  7,  1890 ;  Frederick  Rowland, 
December  6,  1891. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


WILES,  Ben, 

Teacher,  Uaiiryer,  Journalist. 

A  student  of  two  universities,  a  teacher, 
member  of  the  Onondaga  county  bar 
since  1910,  prominent  in  politics  as  a  cam- 
paign orator  and  manager,  a  candidate 
for  mayor  of  the  city  of  Syracuse,  a  news- 
paper and  magazine  editor,  corporation 
coimsel,  exposer  of  graft,  head  of  a  fam- 
ily and  just  thirty  years  of  age,  consti- 
tutes the  outlines  only  of  Mr.  Wiles' 
career  to  date.  Should  corresponding 
activity  be  manifested  during  the  coming 
thirty  years  the  duty  of  the  chronicler  of 
1945  will  be  a  pleasant  but  an  arduous 
one.  Fourteen  of  his  years  have  been 
spent  in  Syracuse  and  most  of  the 
achievement  outlined  has  been  com- 
pressed into  that  period.  He  is  very 
popular  in  the  city,  particularly  so  in  offi- 
cialdom and  in  the  neighborhood  of  his 
home  in  the  Seventeenth  Ward,  a  section 
of  suburban  type,  where  people  know 
their  neighbors,  and  "drop  in"  from  pure 
interest  in  each  other. 

Ben  Wiles  was  born  at  Vanhornesville, 
Herkimer  county.  New  York,  January  3, 
1886,  son  of  John  Milton  and  Ida  M. 
(Young)  Wiles,  and  a  descendant  of 
Dutch  and  German  ancestry.  John  Mil- 
ton Wiles,  who  was  a  prominent  citizen 
of  Herkimer  county.  New  York,  died  in 
1913  at  the  age  of  fifty-six.  His  wife  is  a 
daughter  of  Lewis  G.  Young,  a  well- 
known  Democratic  politician  of  Herki- 
mer county,  and  a  descendant  of  the  early 
Dutch  stock  of  the  Mohawk  Valley.  He 
obtained  his  early  and  preparatory  edu- 
cation in  the  district  public  schools,  at 
Richfield  Springs  High  School,  spent  a 
year  at  Colgate  University,  then  came  to 
Syracuse,  entering  the  Law  School  of  the 
University,  was  graduated  Bachelor  of 
Laws,  and  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1910. 
During  his  university  course   he  taught 


in  the  night  schools  and  took  a  deep  in- 
terest in  the  Boys'  Club,  an  interest  that 
has  never  abated. 

In  191 1  he  was  attorney  for  the  comp- 
troller in  inheritance  tax  matters  in 
Herkimer  county,  was  owner  and  editor 
of  the  Herkimer  "Democrat,"  published 
at  Herkimer,  New  York,  and  in  1912  was 
manager  of  the  "Craftsman,"  a  magazine 
published  in  New  York  City.  In  1913  he 
became  a  member  of  the  law  firm,  Godelle, 
Harding  &  Wiles,  of  Syracuse,  and  in 
1914  organized  the  law  firm,  of  Wiles, 
Neily  &  Nichols,  his  present  partnership. 
In  1914  he  was  appointed  assistant  cor- 
poration counsel  of  Syracuse  by  J.Iayor 
Louis  Will.  He  is  one  of  the  younger 
lights  of  the  Onondaga  bar  and  is  meet- 
ing with  unusual  success  in  his  profes- 
sion, specializing  in  municipal  and  cor- 
poration  law. 

Mr.  Wiles  has  been  active  in  politics 
ever  since  becoming  a  voter.  As  editor 
of  the  Herkimer  "Democrat,"  he  wielded 
a  strong  influence  in  county  affairs,  was 
twice  chosen  chairman  of  Democratic 
county  conventions,  and  as  a  campaign 
orator  contributed  largely  to  party  suc- 
cess in  several  campaigns.  He  bore  a  very 
prominent  part  in  the  municipal  cam- 
paign of  1913,  his  tireless  work,  his  tact- 
ful, forcible,  eloquent  speeches  and  per- 
sonal work  contributing  to  a  marked  de- 
gree in  the  election  of  Louis  Will  for 
mayor,  by  a  small  plurality  after  a  heated 
canvass.  In  1915  he  was  nominee  of  the 
Citizens'  and  the  Democratic  parties  for 
mayor.  He  gained  prominence  in  the 
county  by  his  exposure  of  graft  and  offi- 
cial delinquency  in  the  erection  of  the 
Onondaga  County  Tuberculosis  Sana- 
torium. He  is  possessed  of  an  intense 
public  spirit  and  is  deeply  concerned  in 
the  betterment  of  public  conditions.  Per- 
sonal political  ambition  does  not  impel 
him  in  his  public  life,  but  rather  the  de- 


v^uum 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


sire  to  lend  a  hand  in  upbuilding  a  better 
Syracuse.  He  loves  the  excitement  of  a 
campaign  and  considers  it  "most  inter- 
esting" no  matter  who  wins. 

Mr.  Wiles  takes  life  very  seriously,  is 
a  close  and  keen  student,  and  loves  the 
knotty  problems  the  law  and  municipal 
government  present,  and  is  devoted  to  his 
home  and  family.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Order  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  the 
Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  the 
University,  Citizens'  and  City  clubs,  and 
the  Phi  Kappa  Psi  and  Phi  Delta  Phi,  col- 
lege fraternities.  He  is  greatly  interested 
in  athletic  games. 

Mr.  Wiles  married,  October  19,  191 1, 
Barbara  Stickley,  daughter  of  Gustav 
Stickley,  a  furniture  manufacture,  founder 
in  Syracuse  of  the  Craftsman  Shops. 
They  have  three  children  :  Barbara,  Edith 
and  John. 


KING,  Melvin  LaVern, 

Architect. 

There  are  few  portions  of  the  world 
which  combine  so  large  a  share  of  natural 
beauty  with  so  romantic  a  history  as  that 
pnrt  of  New  York  State  which  might 
]iropcr!y  be  called  the  Iroquois  country. 
Here  are  innum,erable  lakes  ranging  from 
the  little  woodland  water  to  those  mon- 
sters of  the  species,  Ontario  and  Erie, 
which  bound  the  district  to  the  north  and 
west ;  here  also  are  countless  streams  and 
rivers,  lovely  vales  and  majestic  moun- 
tains, the  shattered  fragments  of  the  old, 
primeval  wilderness ;  and  hung  over  all 
the  romance  of  those  anamolous  peoples, 
praised  by  some,  cursed  by  others,  but 
wondered  at  by  all,  who  together  made 
up  the  "Five  Nations,"  the  "Great 
League."  From  the  most  centrally  situ- 
ated and  the  most  powerful,  at  least  nu- 
merically, of  these,  in  which  the  strange 
figure  of  Hiawatha  appeared  and  began 
his  errand  of  conversation  and  organiza- 


tion, from  the  great  Onondaga  Nation, 
has  come  the  name  of  a  county  of  modern 
New  York  in  which  the  past  and  present 
may  be  said  to  meet.  In  the  name  itself 
the  State  celebrates  its  early  history  and 
the  mythical  legendary  period  preceding 
it,  but  in  the  condition  of  the  country  as 
it  exists  to-day  the  modern  American 
spirit  of  progress  may  be  seen  on  every 
hand. 

In  this  most  interesting  region  there 
was  born  on  December  7,  1868,  in  the 
rural  township  of  LaFayette,  Melvin  La- 
Vern King,  a  son  of  Russell  G.  and  Mal- 
vina  (Abbott)  King,  and  the  member  of 
a  very  old  family,  his  ancestors  being 
traceable  for  many  generations  both  on 
this  and  the  other  side  of  the  ocean.  In 
the  direct  line  his  descent  runs  back  to 
the  Kings  of  London  who  settled  in 
Northampton,  Massachusetts,  about  the 
year  1660,  and  includes  the  names  of  Paul 
King  and  Paul  King,  Jr.,  both  soldiers  in 
the  Revolution,  enlisting  from  Chester- 
field, Massachusetts,  the  younger  of 
which  two  men  afterwards  settled  in 
Onondaga  county.  New  York,  about  1798. 
On  his  mother's  side  of  the  house  also, 
Mr.  King  is  descended  from  fine  old 
stock,  a  direct  ancestor,  George  Abbott, 
settling  in  Andover,  Massachusetts,  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  and  later  Ab- 
botts being  among  the  pioneers  in  Onon- 
daga county.  With  the  marriage  of  Mr. 
King's  grandfather,  Asahel  King,  to 
Maria  Green,  the  Kings  became  related  to 
a  house  which  traces  its  ancestry  to  the 
eleventh  century.  The  history  of  the 
Greens  is  full  of  stirring  incident  all  the 
way  from  old  Sir  Alexander  DeGreen  De- 
Boketon,  who  received  his  title  from  the 
hands  of  King  John  of  England  in  the 
year  1202  and  was  himself  the  great- 
grandson  of  one  of  the  nobles  in  the  train 
of  William  the  Conqueror  at  Hastings  in 
1066,  to  modern  times.  It  includes  the 
names  of  many  most  worthy  gentlemen 


103 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  through  various  marriages  connects 
the  members  of  the  family  with  many  of 
the  greatest  names  in  England  and  the 
Continent  and  among  others  with  that  of 
Hugh  Capet,  king  of  France ;  Robert  the 
Strong,  duke  of  France ;  the  Earl  of  Win- 
chester, who  signed  the  Magna  Charta ; 
Lord  Chief  Justice  Drayton  of  England 
and  many  others. 

Melvin  LaVern  King  passed  the  first 
fourteen  years  of  his  life  on  his  father's 
farm  near  the  village  of  LaFayette,  where 
he  was  born.  These  years  he  spent  in  the 
customary  occupations  of  childhood,  chief 
among  which  was  the  gaining  of  his  edu- 
cation, which  he  did,  so  far  as  the  pre- 
liminary portion  of  it  was  concerned,  at 
the  local  schools.  In  the  year  1882,  when 
he  had  arrived  at  the  age  of  fourteen, 
however,  he  was  sent  to  Syracuse,  there 
to  complete  his  studies.  Mr.  King  dis- 
played considerable  artistic  taste  as  a 
youth,  and,  this,  together  with  much  apti- 
tude for  technical  engineering  subjects 
impelled  him  to  take  up  architecture  as  a 
profession.  Accordingly  in  the  year  18S6, 
at  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  he  entered 
the  ofifice  of  James  H.  Kirby,  an  archi- 
tect of  Syracuse,  in  the  capacity  of 
draughtsman.  He  had  not  mistaken  his 
talent  and  soon  began  to  show  much  abil- 
ity in  his  work.  There  was  at  that  time 
practicing  architecture  in  Syracuse,  a  Mr. 
Archemedes  Russell,  who  was  recognized 
as  standing  at  the  head  of  his  profession 
and  did  a  large  business  in  that  region. 
Mr.  King  entered  'Sir.  Russell's  office, 
thus  beginning  an  association  that  was  to 
last  for  years  and  only  end  with  the  elder 
man's  death.  It  was  in  1889  that  Mr.  King 
entered  the  new  office  and  for  seventeen 
years  he  continued  as  a  draughtsman 
until,  in  1906,  the  latter  admitted  him  to 
partnership  under  the  firm  name  of  Rus- 
sell &  King.  Mr.  Russell's  death  in  1915 
closed    this    partnership,    and    since    that 

104 


time  Mr.  King  has  continued  the  busi- 
ness alone.  The  reputation  and  success 
of  this  business  so  far  from  diminishing 
since  the  days  when  they  were  first  won 
by  Mr.  Russell  have  increased  rather,  and 
with  this  increase  the  skill  and  ability  of 
Mr.  King  has  had  much  to  do.  He  has 
continued  the  standards  of  efficiency, 
probity  and  artistic  excellence  estab- 
lished by  his  predecessor  and  is  to-day 
regarded  as  one  of  the  most  able  and  suc- 
cessful architects  in  the  city.  Among  the 
recent  examples  of  his  art  should  be 
enumerated  a  large  mercantile  building 
in  Albany,  the  men's  dormitory  building 
at  the  Onondaga  County  Home,  St.  Mat- 
thew's Church  at  East  Syracuse,  as  well 
as  other  important  work  in  his  home  city 
and  in  Rochester  and  many  other  nearby 
cities  and  towns.  This  will  give  some 
idea  of  the  distance  to  which  Mr.  King's 
reputation  has  spread,  and  the  size  of  the 
business  conducted  by  him. 

On  June  28,  1892,  Mr.  King  was  united 
in  marriage  with  Gertrude  Edith  Gridley, 
of  Syracuse,  and  to  them  have  been  born 
six  children,  as  follows :  Mable,  who  mar- 
ried Mr.  Schuyler  Baum,  of  Syracuse ; 
Russell  J.,  Helen  M.,  Harry  A.,  Ruth  G., 
and  Melvin  L.,  Jr. 

Mr.  King  is  a  man  of  the  most  sterling 
character  and  strong  personality.  The 
reputation  he  has  won  in  his  part  of  the 
State  is  a  well  deserved  one,  the  outcome 
of  his  own  worthy  efforts.  He  is  still  a 
young  man  and  it  seems  probable  but  at 
the  beginning  of  a  career  already  bril- 
liant, and  which  may  lead  him  no  one 
can  say  whither.  One  thing  at  least  is 
certain,  however,  that  he  already  repre- 
sents an  important  influence  for  good  in 
the  community  which,  with  greater  op- 
portunities, such  as  advancing  years 
bring,  is  bound  to  increase  and  eventually 
place  his  name  among  those  most  hon- 
ored and  loved  in  the  community. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


COBB,  D.  Raymond, 

The  profession  of  the  law,  when  clothed 
with  its  true  dignity  and  purity  and 
strength,  must  rank  first  among  the  call- 
ings of  men,  for  law  rules  the  universe. 
The  work  of  the  legal  profession  is  to 
formulate,  to  harmonize,  to  regulate,  to 
adjust,  to  administer  those  rules  and  prin- 
ciples that  underlie  and  permeate  all  gov- 
ernment and  society,  and  control  the 
varied  relations  of  man.  As  thus  viewed 
there  attaches  to  the  legal  profession  a 
nobleness  that  cannot  but  be  reflected  in 
the  life  of  the  true  lawyer  who,  conscious 
of  the  greatness  of  his  profession  and 
honest  in  the  pursuit  of  his  purpose,  em- 
braces the  richness  of  learning,  the  pro- 
foundness of  wisdom,  the  firmness  of  in- 
tegrity and  the  purity  of  morals,  together 
with  the  graces  of  modesty,  courtesy  and 
the  general  amenities  of  life.  D.  Ray- 
mond Cobb,  of  Syracuse,  New  York,  is 
certainly  a  type  of  this  class  of  lawyers, 
and  as  such  he  ranks  among  the  most 
eminent  members  of  the  State  bar.  He 
has  inherited  many  of  the  sterling  traits 
which  characterized  his  ancestry  who 
emigrated  to  New  England  prior  to  the 
Revolution.  Among  the  noted  names  of 
his  forbears  we  find :  Raymond,  Hunt- 
ington, Peck,  Hyde,  Joslyn,  Ouincy, 
Hartshorn,  Burleigh,  Rockwell  and 
Greenleaf.  Some  of  his  Revolutionary 
ancestors  were:  Ebenezer  Hartshorn, 
Amos  Raymond,  Captain  Thomas  Hyde 
and  Captain  Eleazer  Huntington. 

Dr.  Aurelius  Howard  Cobb,  father  of 
D.  Raymond  Cobb,  was  born  in  Wind- 
ham, Vermont,  in  1843,  ^"^  departed  this 
life  in  Ulysses,  Potter  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  1914.  He  was  active  in  defence 
of  the  rights  of  the  Union,  becoming  a 
member  of  the  First  New  York  Dragoons, 
as  a  volunteer  non-commissioned  officer, 
and  was  in  active  service  more  than  three 


years.  He  married  Louise  Raymond, 
daughter  of  Deacon  Joel  Raymond,  of  the 
Massachusetts  family  of  that  name,  and 
they  had  children :  D.  Raymond  and 
Aurelia. 

D.  Raymond  Cobb  was  born  at  Bing- 
ham, Potter  county,  Pennsylvania,  May 
16,  1871.  After  a  preparatory  training  he 
entered  the  Genesee  Wesleyan  Seminary, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the 
spring  of  1888.  He  then  matriculated  at 
the  University  of  Syracuse,  from  which 
institution  he  was  graduated  in  the  spring 
of  1892,  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Philos- 
ophy being  conferred  upon  him.  While 
there  he  was  a  member  of  the  Psi  Upsilon 
fraternity  and  was  later  awarded  the  key 
of  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society.  Follow- 
ing his  graduation  from  the  university, 
he  commenced  reading  law  in  the  office  of 
Edgar  N.  Wilson,  at  Syracuse,  New  York, 
and  with  the  exception  of  a  comparatively 
short  period  of  study  spent  at  the  School 
of  Law  of  Cornell  University,  remained 
with  Mr.  Wilson  until  he  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1895.  He  then  became  asso- 
ciated in  a  partnership  with  Mr.  Wilson, 
and  although  the  name  of  the  firm  has 
undergone  a  number  of  changes  in  the 
course  of  time,  the  association  of  these 
two  men  has  remained  uninterrupted  up 
to  the  present  time,  when  they  are  prac- 
ticing under  the  firm  name  of  \\'ilson, 
Cobb  &  Ryan.  Mr.  Cobb  takes  a  great 
interest  in  political  affairs,  is  ever  ready 
to  support  his  position  by  intelligent 
argument,  and  is  accustomed  to  address- 
ing public  assemblies  upon  the  issues  of 
the  day.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican. 
He  was  employed  as  special  counsel  for 
the  city  of  Syracuse  in  1907,  in  its  investi- 
gation of  the  Lighting  Company:  in  1915 
he  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  New 
York  State  Constitutional  Convention, 
and  served  as  a  member  of  the  committees 
on  judiciary,  privileges  and  elections,  and 
at  the  conclusion  of  the  work  was  made 


105 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


a  member  of  the  special  committee  of  five 
on  time  and  manner  of  submission  of  the 
constitution.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
S3'racuse,  and  also  of  a  large  number  of 
clubs  and  other  associations. 

Mr.  Cobb  married,  April  i6,  1895,  Kath- 
arine Miller,  daughter  of  Riley  V.  Miller, 
of  Syracuse.  The  children  who  have 
blessed  this  union  are :  Raymond  Miller, 
born  November  30,  1897;  Helen  Hunt- 
ington, October  13,  1899;  Katharine 
Tyrell,  September  10,  1901.  The  home 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Cobb  is  the  center  of  a 
cultured  circle  and  their  friends  are  nu- 
merous. Mr.  Cobb  is  a  man  of  broad 
public  spirit,  deeply  interested  in  every- 
thing pertaining  to  the  general  welfare 
and  to  progress  along  material,  social, 
moral  and  intellectual  lines.  He  is 
honored  and  respected  in  all  classes  of 
society,  inspiies  personal  friendship  of 
unusual  strength,  and  all  who  know  him 
have  the  highest  admiration  for  his  good 
qualities  of  heart  and  mind. 


EDGERTON,  Hiram  H., 

Contracting   Bnilder,   Pnblio   Official. 

The  popular  verdict  expressed  at  the 
polls  does  not  always  signify  a  wise 
choice,  but  the  public  seldom  repeats  a 
mistake  made  in  their  estimate  of  a  man 
and  his  fitness  to  rule  over  them.  Hence 
a  reelection  is  more  highly  valued  than 
the  first  choice,  a  third  term,  speaks  of 
well  proven  qualities,  and  a  fourth  and 
fifth  election  is  an  endorsement  few  ever 
receive.  This  is  the  endorsement,  how- 
ever, that  Rochester  has  given  her  chief 
executive.  Hiram  H.  Edgerton,  and  is  the 
highest  praise  she  can  bestow.  Roches- 
ter does  not  lack  for  able  men  to  fill  the 
chair,  but  the  unsullied  character  Mr.  Ed- 
gerton bears,  the  confidence  his  public 
and    private    life    has    inspired,    and    the 

106 


manner  in  which  he  has  fulfilled  his  obli- 
gations as  chief  executive  of  the  city  so 
won  the  electorate  that  all  serious  thought 
of  a  successor  was  precluded. 

His  father,  Ralph  H.  Edgerton,  born  at 
Port  Henry,  on  Lake  Champlain,  in  1821, 
was  but  fourteen  years  of  age  when  he 
first  located  in  Rochester,  then  a  small 
but  thriving  town.  He  continued  his  resi- 
dence in  Rochester,  with  the  exception  of 
a  few  years,  until  his  death  in  1867,  build- 
ing up  and  conducting  an  extensive  lum- 
ber business. 

Hiram  H.  Edgerton,  son  of  Ralph  H. 
and  Octavia  C.  Edgerton,  was  born  at 
Belfast,  Allegany  county.  New  York, 
April  19,  1847.  He  completed  a  high 
school  course  in  Rochester,  then  became 
his  father's  assistant  in  the  lumber  busi- 
ness, continuing  until  the  latter's  death 
in  1867.  The  son  then  became  head  of 
the  business  and  successfully  conducted 
it  until  1880.  In  that  year  he  disposed  of 
the  lumber  yard  and  since  has  devoted 
himself  to  a  building  contracting  busi- 
ness, a  business  made  profitable  by  the 
rapid  growth  of  Rochester  and  its  enor- 
mous demands  upon  the  contractors  for 
public  and  private  improvements.  Mr. 
Edgerton  rose  to  a  high  rank  as  a  con- 
tractor and  there  stand  to  his  credit  in 
Rochester  forty  churches  and  church 
buildings  alone,  public  library  buildings, 
and  hundreds  of  private  residences,  many 
of  them  palatial  in  their  proportions  and 
fittings,  also  many  of  the  great  office,  mer- 
cantile and  factory  buildings.  Just,  lib- 
eral, and  eminently  fair  with  his  work- 
men, it  is  his  proud  boast  that  he  has 
never  had  a  strike  among  them,  and  that 
he  holds  their  confidence,  respect  and 
good  will.  In  his  relations  with  capital 
he  has  won  the  same  high  standing,  and 
his  name  upon  a  contract  is  considered  a 
guarantee  of  fair  dealing  and  good  work- 
manship.    He  has  been  for  years  a  mem- 


vl  /t/tr  cuu^   ^  ^  c>^^^o^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ber  of  the  Builders'  Exchange,  of  which 
he  is  an  ex-president,  and  is  a  director  of 
the  National  Association  of  Builders. 

A  Republican  in  politics,  he  has  always 
been  loyal  to  the  party,  not  through  nar- 
row partisanship,  but  through  a  strong 
belief  that  his  party  stands  for  the  best 
interests  of  the  country.  He  served  as  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Education  from 
1872  until  1876  and  during  two  years  of 
his  service  was  president  of  the  board. 
He  was  president  of  the  commission  hav- 
ing in  charge  the  construction  of  the  East 
Side  Sewer,  the  commission  under  Mr. 
Edgerton's  careful  guidance  returning  to 
the  city  an  appreciable  portion  of  the 
million  dollars  appropriated  for  the  work. 
When  the  White  Charter  went  into  efifect, 
January  i,  1900,  reorganizing  Rochester's 
municipal  government,  Mr.  Edgerton  be- 
came presiding  ofificer  of  the  Common 
Council,  continuing  in  that  office  through 
successive  reelections  for  eight  years, 
leading  the  head  of  the  ticket  at  each  of 
the  four  elections.  By  virtue  of  his  office 
he  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Esti- 
mate and  Apportionment,  the  chief  exec- 
utive board  of  the  city  government,  pre- 
paring the  tax  budget,  inaugurating  all 
municipal  improvements  and  municipal 
reforms.  In  this  connection  Mr.  Edger- 
ton rendered  invaluable  service  to  the 
city  and  strongly  entrenched  himself  in 
public  esteem.  In  1907  he  was  elected 
mayor  of  Rochester,  his  first  election 
being  in  response  to  a  popular  demand 
for  a  straightforward  business  adminis- 
tration. At  the  end  of  his  term  his  record 
demanded  that  he  be  continued  for  an- 
other term  of  two  years ;  then  a  third, 
then  a  fourth  term,  and  now  a  fifth  term, 
by  largest  majority  ever  received,  was 
the  insistent  demand  of  the  city  and  it 
was  so  ordered  at  the  polls. 

To  recite  the  benefits  Rochester  has  re- 
ceived during  Mayor  Edgerton's  eight 
years  as  chief  executive  is  not  possible  in 


this  place.  Among  the  more  notable  are 
these :  The  city  government  has  been 
reorganized  and  the  recent  report  of  the 
New  York  Bureau  of  Municipal  Research 
declares  that  "Rochester,  out  of  the  fifty- 
three  cities  examined,  is  the  best  gov- 
erned;" the  public  library  and  its 
branches  have  been  established ;  Exposi- 
tion Park  and  the  Rochester  Exposition 
Company  organized ;  the  Municipal  Mu- 
seum founded  ;  the  park  system  and  play 
grounds  enlarged  and  improved,  the  addi- 
tion of  play  grounds  lessening  truancy 
and  adding  to  school  efficiency.  Good 
schools,  pure  water,  and  adequate  sew- 
age disposal  have  been  the  administration 
slogans,  and  in  these  respects  Rochester 
is  the  peer  of  any  city. 

Mayor  Edgerton  is  a  member  of  Frank 
R.  Lawrence  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons ;  Hamilton  Chapter,  Royal  Arch 
Masons ;  Monroe  Commandery,  Knights 
Templar,  also  a  member  of  the  Shrine, 
Grotto,  etc.,  and  the  Benevolent  and  Pro- 
tective Order  of  Elks.  His  clubs  are  the 
Genesee  Valley,  Masonic  and  Rochester. 

He  married,  in  1868,  Medora  De  Witt, 
of  Henrietta,  New  York.  Children  :  Edna, 
wife  of  Henry  Lambert,  of  Rochester ; 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  Benjamin  T.  Rood- 
house,  of  Chicago. 


POWELL,  Edward  Alexander, 

Leader  in  Commanity  Affairs. 

The  man  of  genuine  business  ability, 
the  man  whose  judgment  is  never  warped, 
whose  foresight  is  never  clouded,  and 
whose  integrity  is  incorruptible,  the  man 
whose  discretion  is  unfailing  and  whose 
honor  is  unquestioned,  is  the  man  who, 
whatever  may  be  his  place  in  life,  is  in- 
dispensable. He  is  a  man  to  be  trusted 
and  looked  up  to  as  a  leader,  and  his  fear- 
lessness in  defense  of  his  honest  convic- 
tions awakens  the  respect  of  even  those 
who  oppose  him.  Ready  to  meet  any  obli- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


gallons  of  life  with  the  confidence  and 
courage  which  come  of  rare  personal  abil- 
ity, right  conceptions  of  things,  and  an 
habitual  regard  for  what  is  best  in  the 
exercise  of  human  activities,  Edward 
Alexander  Powell,  of  Syracuse,  New 
York,  is  a  man,  take  him  for  all  in  all, 
that  the  town  may  well  claim  with  pride 
as  one  of  her  leading  and  most  enlight- 
ened citizens.  The  name  of  Powell  is  of 
Welsh  origin  and  was  originally  Ap 
Howell,  being  gradually  contracted  to 
Powell.  The  early  seat  of  the  family 
was  at  Breckonch,  South  Wales,  where 
the  town  of  Breconshire  is  now  located. 
It  has  been  largely  represented  in  the  pro- 
fessions, but  most  of  its  bearers  have 
been  engaged  in  agriculture.  Wherever 
found,  people  of  this  name  are  noted  for 
their  industry,  thrift,  and  kind  and  oblig- 
ing dispositions. 

The  founder  of  this  branch  of  the  fam- 
ily ,  in  the  United  States  was  Watkin 
Powell,  who  with  his  son  Watkin  (2)  and 
daughter-in-law  Rebecca  (Adams)  Pow- 
ell came  from  near  Breckonch,  South 
Wales,  in  1801,  settling  near  Utica,  New 
York.  Watkin  Powell,  the  elder,  died 
there  in  1802  and  was  buried  near  his 
home.  Watkin  (2)  Powell  continued  his 
residence  there  until  after  the  death  of 
his  wife,  Rebecca  (Adams)  Powell,  in 
1814,  and  his  second  marriage  to  Mrs. 
Nichols  in  1815.  They  then  in  1816  moved 
with  their  family  to  Shadeland,  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  both  husband  and  wife  died 
in  1850. 

Howell  Powell,  fourth  son  of  Watkin 
Powell,  was  born  near  Utica,  New  York, 
March  11,  1804,  died  February  11,  1873. 
At  the  age  of  twelve  years  he  was  taken 
to  Pennsylvania  by  his  parents  and  there 
obtained  an  education,  gained  a  practical 
knowledge  of  all  agricultural  matters,  and 
became  a  famous  stock  breeder  and 
farmer.  In  public  life  he  also  achieved 
prominence,  was  one  of  the  leaders  in  his 


county  in  the  Abolition  movement,  and 
represented  Crawford  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, in  the  State  Legislature.  He  was 
a  man  of  wide  spreading  and  beneficial  in- 
fluence and  highly  esteemed  until  his 
death  at  the  age  of  sixty-eight  years.  He 
married,  April  11,  1833,  Sally  Beatty, 
born  in  Crawford  county,  Pennsylvania, 
a  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Susan  (Lint- 
ner)  Beatty.  They  had  eight  children,  of 
whom  Edward  Alexander  Powell  is  of 
further  mention ;  three  compose  the  firm 
of  Powell  Brothers,  engaged  in  business 
in  Shadeland,  Pennsylvania;  one  was  an 
attorney  and  practiced  at  Cincinnati, 
Ohio ;  a  daughter  married  George  C.  Gal- 
lawhur,  of  Girard,  Pennsylvania ;  and  two 
died  in  infancy. 

Edward  Alexander  Powell  was  born  on 
the  Shadeland  farm,  Crawford  county, 
Pennsylvania,  January  27,  1838.  In  the 
district  and  select  schools  of  his  native 
county  he  obtained  an  excellent  educa- 
tion, which  he  has  supplemented  by  a  life- 
long course  of  judicious  reading  and 
study.  At  the  age  of  eighteen  years  he 
engaged  in  the  profession  of  teaching, 
which  he  followed  successfully  for  a  num^ 
ber  of  years,  and  before  abandoning  this 
profession  was  with  his  brother,  W.  G. 
Powell,  in  charge  of  the  schools  at  New 
Carlisle,  Ohio.  Ahvays  a  lover  of  out- 
door life,  he  then  established  himself  in 
the  nursery  business  as  vice-president  of 
the  Smith  &  Powell  Company,  with  which 
he  was  successfully  identified.  He  next 
added  to  this  industry  the  breeding  of  fine 
strains  of  cattle,  making  a  specialty  of 
Holstein-Friesian  blood.  In  this  field  he 
gained  notable  successes,  becoming  one 
of  the  famous  breeders  of  America,  and 
for  five  years  served  as  president  of  the 
Holstein  Friesian  Association  of  Amer- 
ica. He  is  an  oft  quoted  authority  on  his 
special  strain  of  cattle  and  an  extensive 
exporter  of  live  stock,  having  shipped  to 
nearly  every  country  of  the  globe  where 


108 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  breeding  of  live  stock  is  an  industry. 
He  has  taken  active  part  in  other  busi- 
ness affairs,  serving  as  president  of  the 
Sjracuse,  Lake  Shore  &  Northern  rail- 
road five  years ;  trustee  of  the  Onondaga 
County  Savings  Bank  for  nearly  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century,  and  was  the  first  presi- 
dent of  the  Syracuse  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, serving  six  years.  The  parks  and 
streets  of  the  city  received  an  especial 
share  of  his  attention  while  in  that  office 
and  the  beauty  of  the  city  was  greatly 
enhanced  by  his  wise  suggestions  and  aid. 
The  Syracuse  Nurseries  with  which  he  has 
been  connected  for  forty-eight  years  have 
furnished  and  planted  trees  without 
charge  in  the  streets  of  Syracuse  and  sur- 
rounding sections  equivalent  to  a  con- 
tinuous row  forty  feet  apart  for  a  distance 
of  twenty-five  miles. 

]\Ir.  Powell  is  a  man  of  many  sided  abil- 
ities and  broad  interests.  In  spite  of  the 
manifold  demands  made  upon  him  by  his 
business  activities,  he  has  ever  been  ■  a 
lover  and  reader  of  good  literature,  and 
has  spent  much  time  in  furthering  the  in- 
terests of  charitable  projects  in  the  city. 
He  is  a  m,ember  of  the  Historical  Society 
and  of  the  Fortnightly  Club ;  is  president 
of  the  Council  of  the  Old  Ladies'  Home  of 
Syracuse,  and  trustee  of  the  Homceo- 
pathic  Hospital  ten  years ;  was  president 
for  six  years  of  the  Society  for  the  Pre- 
vention of  Cruelty  to  Children ;  president 
of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  and  Charities  six 
years ;  president  of  the  Onondaga  County 
Agricultural  Society  nine  years ;  presi- 
dent of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  twenty-two  years ; 
president  of  the  Holstein-Friesian  Club 
of  the  State  of  New  York  two  years ; 
president  of  the  Onondaga  County  Farm 
Bureau  three  years ;  director  of  the 
Onanda  Historical  Society  twenty-two 
years ;  director  of  the  New  York  State 
Breeders'  Association  three  years ;  and 
a  member  of  the  executive  committee  of 
the  Fortnightly  Club. 


Mr.  Powell  married,  in  1868,  Lucy 
Smith.  Their  only  child,  Edward  Alex- 
ander Powell,  Jr.,  after  completing  his 
education  entered  the  United  States  diplo- 
matic service,  which  has  for  several  years 
compelled  his  residence  abroad.  He  is 
also  a  well  known  litterateur  and  the 
author  of  many  books  widely  read  and 
recommended.  For  a  year  he  was  vice- 
consul  at  Beirut,  Arabia,  following  that 
service  as  consular  agent  at  Alexandria, 
Egypt.  When  the  present  European 
war  began  in  1914  he  went  to  Belgium 
and  there  served  as  official  reporter  from 
the  Belgian  government  to  the  United 
States,  and  was  war  correspondent  of  the 
New  York  "World."  He  remained  in 
Belgium  until  the  capture  of  Antwerp. 
He  then  reached  London,  but  in  such  a 
broken  condition  physically  that  he  was 
for  some  time  under  treatment  at  a  hos- 
pital. While  convalescing  there  he  dic- 
tated his  book,  "Fighting  in  Flanders," 
later  published  in  the  United  States  by 
Scribners.  Later  in  1914  he  returned  to 
the  United  States  and  entered  the  lecture 
field  and  is  touring  the  country  deliver- 
ing his  interesting  and  valuable  lectures 
dealing  with  the  war  in  Europe.  His  pub- 
lished books  are  :  "The  Last  Frontier,"  a 
work  on  South  Africa;  "The  Beckoning 
Land;"  "Gentleman  Rovers;"  "The  End 
of  the  Trail,"  an  account  of  a  journey 
from  Mexico  to  Alaska  by  automobile; 
"The  Road  to  Glory ;"  "Vive  La  France ;" 
"Fighting  in  Flanders,"  and  "The  Secret 
of  the  Submarine,"  all  published  by  Scrib- 
ners. 


HOLLISTER,  Granger  A., 

Leader  in  Public  Utilities,  Financier. 

Every  man  who  has  served  his  day  and 
generation  well  has  done  so  along  special 
lines  for  which  he  was  peculiarly  well 
adapted.  The  service  rendered  Rochester 
by  Mr.  Hollister  has  been  in  connection 
with  public  utilities,  for  which  his  abil- 


109 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ity  as  an  organizer  and  as  an  executive 
peculiarly  adapted  him.  No  city  in  the 
State  of  New  York  can  boast  of  a  better 
system  of  street  railway  transportation  or 
of  a  better  system  of  lighting  its  streets, 
buildings,  and  homes  than  Rochester,  and 
to  Air.  Hollister  this  condition  is  largely 
due.  What  has  been  accomplished  in 
bringing  these  public  utilities  to  such  a 
condition  of  perfection  in  Rochester  he 
has  repeated  in  other  places  through  his 
connection  with  light  and  railway  com- 
panies. He  is  also  deeply  interested  in 
financial  institutions  and  other  business 
enterprises,  and  is  not  in  any  sense  a  man 
of  one  idea,  but  is  progressive,  public- 
spirited,  and  interested  in  all  that  makes 
for  the  public  good.  His  work  in  Roches- 
ter has  been  spoken  of  as  "the  splendid 
success  of  an  honest  man  in  whose  life 
business  ability  and  recognition  of  his 
obligations  to  his  fellow  men  are  well 
balanced  forces."  To  these  forces  may 
well  be  added  intense  civic  pride. 

He  traces  descent  from  Lieutenant 
John  Hollister,  who  in  1640  came  to  New 
England  from  England,  settling  at  Glas- 
tonbury, Connecticut.  From  Connecti- 
cut, the  home  of  his  forbears,  came 
George  A.  Hollister,  who  settled  in 
Rochester  in  1826.  In  1832  he  established 
a  lumber  business  which  two  succeeding 
generations  continued.  Emmett  H.,  son 
of  George  A.  Hollister,  born  in  Rochester 
in  1829,  after  association  with  his  father 
succeeded  him  in  business  on  the  death 
of  the  founder  in  1854,  and  successfully 
conducted  it  until  his  own  death  in  1871. 
He  married  Sarah,  daughter  of  Austin 
Granger,  of  Troy,  New  York,  who  died 
in  1894,  leaving  two  sons,  Granger  A.  and 
George  C.  Hollister,  who  continued  the 
business  under  the  firm  name  of  Hollister 
Brothers  until  1888,  when  the  Hollister 
Lumber  Company,  Limited,  was  incor- 
porated, of  which  George  C.  Hollister  is 

I] 


now  president.  This  successful  connec- 
tion with  a  business  for  three  generations 
under  a  family  name  is  unusual  in  this 
country,  where  changes  are  frequent,  sons 
seldom  and  grandsons  rarely  engaging 
in  the  same  business  with  the  same  con- 
spicuous success  as  the  founders. 

Granger  A.  Hollister  was  born  in 
Rochester  in  1854.  He  was  educated  in 
Rochester's  private  schools,  continuing 
his  studies  until  the  death  of  his  father 
in  1871.  He  then  entered  into  active  busi- 
ness life  in  connection  with  the  lumber  busi- 
ness founded  by  his  grandfather  and  con- 
tinued by  his  father,  forming  later,  with 
his  brother,  George  G.  Hollister,  a  part- 
nership and  trading  as  Hollister  Brothers. 
In  1888  the  Hollister  Lumber  Company 
was  incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $125,- 
000 — Granger  A.  Hollister,  president ; 
George  G.  Hollister,  vice-president.  Seven 
years  later,  in  1895,  Granger  A.  Hollister 
disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  company, 
which  still  continues,  the  largest  lumber 
and  coal  company  in  Western  New  York, 
George  G.  Hollister,  president.  About 
the  year  1884  Mr.  Hollister  became  inter- 
ested in  the  business  that  has  since  prin- 
cipally claimed  him,  and  with  a  few  asso- 
ciates organized  the  Edison  Illuminating 
Company,  entering  into  competition  with 
three  other  companies  occupying  the 
Rochester  field,  the  Rochester  Electric 
Light  Company,  the  Brush  Electric  Light 
Company  and  the  Rochester  Gas  Com- 
pany. Realizing  the  futility  of  attempt- 
ing the  object  upon  which  he  was  bent 
under  the  competition  then  existing,  the 
perfecting  of  an  electric  lighting  system 
for  the  city,  Air.  Hollister  and  the  others 
associated  with  him  determined  upon  a 
plan  of  bringing  these  four  antagonistic 
interests  into  harmony  through  consoli- 
dation. With  a  few  associates  he  pur- 
chased all  of  the  stock  of  the  Rochester 
Electric    Light    Company,    a    controlling 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


interest  in  the  Brush  Electric  Light  Com- 
pany, and  a  large  interest  in  the  Roches- 
ter Gas  Company.  The  consolidation  of 
the  four  lighting  companies  followed 
under  incorporate  title,  the  Rochester  Gas 
and  Electric  Light  Company.  Vast  im- 
provements were  made  and  a  perfected 
system  installed  with  results  that  have 
realized  the  hopes  of  Mr.  Hollister  and 
his  associates,  justified  their  plans,  and 
proved  the  clearness  of  their  foresight. 
With  a  perfected  lighting  system  estab- 
lished, the  weakness  of  the  street  railway 
system  became  more  apparent.  The  Clark- 
Hodenpyl-Walbridge  Syndicate,  then  in 
control  of  the  Rochester  Railway  Com- 
pany, was  brought  by  Mr.  Hollister  into 
possession  by  purchase  of  a  considerable 
interest  in  the  Rochester  Gas  and  Elec- 
tric Company,  and  in  1904  the  lighting 
and  traction  interests  of  the  city  were 
merged  into  one  corporation,  the  Roches- 
ter Railway  and  Light  Company,  a  cor- 
poration of  which  Mr.  Hollister  is  first 
vice-president.  With  the  formation  of 
the  new  company  an  era  of  expansion  and 
improvement  in  transit  facilities  began 
that  has  continued  greatly  to  the  benefit  of 
Rochester  and  a  great  area  of  contiguous 
territory.  The  lighting  and  traction  sys- 
tems of  the  city  are  unexcelled  and  are 
Rochester's  pride.  In  addition  to  his 
official  responsibility  as  vice-president  of 
the  railway  and  light  company,  Mr.  Hol- 
lister is  vice-president  and  director  of  the 
Dispatch  Heat,  Light  and  Power  Com- 
pany, the  Ontario  Light  and  Traction 
Company,  and  the  Canandaigua  Gas 
Light  Company,  which  are  subsidiaries  of 
the  Rochester  Railway  and  Light  Com- 
pany. He  also  is  a  director  of  the  Roches- 
ter Electric  Railway  Company,  the  New 
York  State  Railway  Company,  and  the 
Syracuse  and  Suburban  Railway  Com- 
pany. He  is  the  second  vice-president  of 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  member 


of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  of  the  United  States,  one  of 
the  two  members  from  New  York  State. 

His  banking  and  financial  interests  are 
equally  important.  Since  1886  he  has 
been  a  trustee  of  the  Rochester  Savings 
Bank  and  is  the  present  first  vice-presi- 
dent In  1892  he  aided  in  organizing  the 
Security  Trust  Company,  was  chosen  its 
first  manager,  has  been  a  trustee  of  the 
company  since  its  incorporation,  and  is 
the  present  vice-president  and  chairman 
of  the  executive  committee.  In  June, 
1907,  he  was  elected  a  director  of  the 
great  New  York  Life  Insurance  Company 
and  he  is  now  a  member  of  the  executive 
committee  of  the  board  of  directors.  He 
is  charitable  and  philanthropic,  interested 
in  various  enterprises  for  the  betterment 
of  mankind,  and  serves  as  president  of  the 
board  of  governors  of  the  Homceopathic 
Hospital  of  Rochester. 

Mr.  Hollister  married  (first)  Isabelle 
M.  Watson,  of  Rochester,  who  died  in 
1903,  daughter  of  Don  Alonzo  Watson, 
one  of  the  organizers  of  the  Western 
Union  Telegraph  Company.  He  married 
(second)   in   1906,   Elizabeth  C.  Watson. 

This  necessarily  brief  record  of  the  life 
of  Granger  A.  Hollister  reveals  a  man 
strong  in  executive  ability,  with  the 
capacity  for  the  organization  and  man- 
agement of  great  enterprises.  He  entered 
a  field  already  occupied  and  in  it  brought 
about  great  improvement,  harmonized 
conflicting  interests,  impressed  others 
with  the  wisdom  of  his  plans,  and  to  him 
and  to  his  associates  Rochester  is  in- 
debted for  its  present  excellent  street  rail- 
way and  lighting  service.  Civic  pride, 
long  dormant,  was  aroused  and  the  exam- 
ple of  public  spirit  thus  set  has  been  fol- 
lowed in  other  directions  until  Roches- 
ter has  become  a  shining  light  to  other 
municipalities. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


STRONG,  Henry  A., 

Man  of  Enterprise,  Philantliropist. 

Commercial  interests  have  assumed  ■ 
such  extensive  proportions,  industries 
have  become  of  such  mammoth  growth, 
such  princely  fortunes  are  controlled 
by  corporations  and  individuals,  that  no 
longer  can  any  business  concern  of  medi- 
um size  make  any  noticeable  impression 
upon  the  history  of  the  country.  The 
men  whose  names  are  before  the  public 
associated  with  the  world  of  business  are 
men  of  master  minds,  capable  of  planning 
and  directing  enterprises  of  far-reaching 
import  and  benefit,  effective  in  working  a 
change  in  conditions  that  will  influence  a 
wide  trade,  will  alter  the  established 
order  of  things  and  prove  advantageous 
to  the  public.  The  two  men  comprising 
the  firm  of  Strong  &  Eastman,  established 
in  iS8o,  and  which  later  became  the  East- 
man Kodak  Company,  were  Henry  A. 
Strong  and  George  Eastman.  To  the 
former  belongs  the  credit  for  a  broad 
vision  that  saw  the  possibilities  of  the 
undertaking  so  clearly  that  he  furnished 
the  capital  and  became  the  business  head, 
while  to  the  latter  belongs  the  honor  for 
the  constructive  genius  and  ability  that 
has  developed  the  business  to  its  present 
gigantic  proportions. 

Henry  A.  Strong  traces  his  ancestry  to 
the  early  Puritans  who  settled  in  New 
England,  ancestors  strong  both  by  name 
and  nature.  He  is  a  son  of  Alvah  and 
Catherine  (Hopkins)  Strong,  the  former 
named  removing  to  Rochester,  New  York, 
from  Scipio,  same  State,  at  an  early  day, 
he  a  barefoot  boy  driving  the  cattle  that 
accompanied  the  wagon  in  which  the 
family  belongings  were  carried.  On  the 
way  into  Rochester  the  Strong  family 
stopped  to  rest  at  Castle  Rock,  from 
which  point  they  viewed  the  site  of  the 
present  "Flower  City."  Thus  it  will  be 
seen  that  Mr.  Strong  was  one  of  the  early 

112 


settlers  of  the  city  of  Rochester,  and  in 
due  course  of  time  became  one  of  its 
prominent  and  public-spirited  citizens. 
Henry  A  Strong,  in  honor  of  his  parents, 
erected  in  1907,  on  the  grounds  of  the 
Rochester  Theological  Seminary,  "Alvah 
Strong  Memorial  Hall" ;  "Catherine 
Strong  Hall"  to  the  Women's  Depart- 
ment of  the  University  of  Rochester;  in 
1909  gave  to  Brick  Church  the  building, 
completed  in  1910,  known  as  Brick 
Church  Institute,  a  four-storied  structure 
with  assembly  halls,  dining  room,  social 
halls,  gymnasium,  swimming  pool,  quar- 
ters for  boys'  and  girls'  clubs,  manual 
training  room,  and  eighty  sleeping  rooms 
for  men;  and  in  191 1  his  gift  to  the 
Young  Women's  Christian  Association 
was  their  Administration  Building,  corn- 
pleted  in  1912,  of  handsome  brick  con- 
struction, two  stories  in  height,  with  a 
roof  garden.  All  were  given  in  a  most 
unostentatious  manner,  in  keeping  with 
the  characteristics  of  the  donor. 

Henry  A.  Strong  was  born  in  Roches- 
ter, New  York,  August  30,  1838,  and 
there  he  has  always  maintained  his  resi- 
dence. He  was  educated  in  the  public 
schools,  passed  his  youth  in  varied  man- 
ner, little  of  general  interest  entering  his 
life  until  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War. 
He  was  then  twenty-three  years  of  age, 
and  on  enlistment  was  appointed  assis- 
tant paymaster  in  the  United  States 
navy,  there  serving  four  years.  After  the 
cessation  of  hostilities,  he  returned  to 
Rochester  and  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  whips  in  partnership  with  an 
uncle,  Myron  Strong,  and  later  he  pur- 
chased the  interest  of  his  uncle  and  con- 
ducted the  business  on  his  own  account 
for  a  number  of  years.  He  next  became 
associated  in  business  with  E.  F.  Wood- 
bury, a  connection  that  existed  until  1889. 
It  was,  however,  nine  years  prior  to  the 
latter  date  that  he  became  interested  in 
the  plans  and  hopes  of  George  Eastman, 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  believing  his  plans  to  offer  a  reason- 
able prospect  of  success  furnished  the 
capital  with  which  to  make  a  proper  be- 
ginning. Under  the  firm  name  of  Strong 
&  Eastman,  they  began  the  manufacture 
of  dry  plates  for  photographic  use,  and 
success  attended  their  venture.  In  1884 
Strong  &  Eastman  incorporated  as  the 
Eastman  Dry  Plate  and  Film  Company, 
with  Henry  A.  Strong  as  president,  and 
later  a  legal  change  of  name  was  made, 
and  as  the  Eastman  Kodak  Company 
they  have  made  a  business  conquest  of 
the  realm  of  photography  all  over  the 
world.  They  led  in  the  development  of 
the  technical  processes  and  the  perfection 
of  apparatus  that  made  photography  a 
pleasure  to  so  many  people,  and  that  has 
made  possible  the  wonderful  effects  that, 
from  a  mere  mechanical  process,  has  lifted 
photography  to  a  place  among  the  fine 
arts. 

Their  plant  is  conducted  under  the 
most  perfect  organization  in  manufactur- 
ing and  selling  departments  known  to  the 
manufacturing  world.  Every  department 
is  under  the  charge  of  an  expert,  the  most 
efficient  in  his  specialty,  and  the  wonder- 
ful success  attained  is  due  not  more  to 
the  perfection  of  product  than  to  the  per- 
fection of  organization,  the  two  coordi- 
nating and  cooperating.  It  is  impossible 
to  separate  the  names  Strong  and  East- 
man in  their  relation  to  the  Eastman  Ko- 
dak Company,  the  largest  concern  of  its 
kind  in  the  world,  producing  everything 
in  the  way  of  apparatus  or  material  neces- 
sary to  the  practice  of  every  branch  of 
photography  by  professional  or  amateur, 
as  they  have  worked  in  perfect  harmony 
and  to  both  the  result  achieved  must  be 
attributed. 

Mr.  Strong  has  devoted  a  portion  of  his 
time,  experience  and  ability  to  financial 
institutions  of  his  city,  and  for  many 
years  has  served  as  a  director  of  the  Alli- 
ance Bank,  the  Monroe  County  Savings 

N  Y-Vol  IV-8  1 1 


Bank,  and  the  Security  Trust  Company, 
and  thus  has  borne  his  full  share  in  aid- 
ing the  growth  of  his  native  city.  He  is 
also  deeply  interested  in  the  work  of  the 
Brick  Church  (Presbyterian),  is  a  trustee 
of  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Associ- 
ation, a  trustee  of  the  Rochester  Orphan 
Asylum,  and  a  firm  friend  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Rochester. 

Mr.  Strong  married  (first)  August  3, 
1859,  Helen  P.  Griffin,  daughter  of  Robert 
I.  Griffin,  of  Niles,  Michigan,  who  bore 
him  four  children :  Gertrude,  widow  of 
Henry  L.  Achilles;  Herbert,  died  in  in- 
fancy ;  Helen,  wife  of  ex-Governor  George 
R.  Carter,  of  Hawaii;  Henry  G.,  of 
Rochester.  Mr.  Strong  married  (second) 
June  14,  1905,  Hattie  M.  Lockwood,  a 
native  of  Connecticut,  daughter  of  James 
H.  and  Marie  R.  Corrin. 


NOTTINGHAM,  William,  - 

Iiairyer,  Leader  in  Corporation  Affairs, 

Individual  merit  may  claim  a  recogni- 
tion in  America  that  is  accorded  it  in  no 
other  country  on  the  face  of  the  globe. 
The  power  of  personality  to  conquer  fate. 
to  utilize  opportunities  and  to  take  ad- 
va'ntage  of  possibilties  to  rise  to  higher 
planes  is  acknowledged  here,  and  the  man 
who  depends  upon  his  own  ability,  enter- 
prise and  honesty,  and  not  upon  the  repu- 
tation of  his  ancestors,  is  the  man  who 
wins  public  honor  and  fame.  William 
Nottingham,  whose  extensive  practice 
places  him  among  the  leading  lawyers  of 
the  State  of  New  York,  has  achieved  that 
success  which  is  the  natural  result  of 
systematic  effort,  straightforward  dealing 
and  resolute  purpose.  He  has  climbed 
upon  a  ladder  of  his  own  building  to 
prominence  and  prosperity,  and  has 
earned  the  well  merited  esteem  and  re- 
spect of  his  fellow  men.  In  the  course 
of  his  practice  Mr.  Nottingham  has  de- 
voted much  attention  to  corporation  law. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  has  not  alone  benefited  the  city  of 
Syracuse,  but  has  organized  many  corpo- 
rations which  have  been  instrumental  in 
increasing  the  prosperity  of  the  State. 

The  Nottingham  family  is  of  Dutch 
descent,  and  came  to  this  country  at  an 
early  date,  several  of  its  members  taking 
an  active  part  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 
One  of  the  three  Nottingham  brothers 
who  came  to  America  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  eighteenth  century  settled 
in  New  York,  and  another  in  Virginia. 
The  father  of  William  Nottingham,  Van 
Vleck  Nottingham,  married  Abigail  Maria 
(Williams)  Nottingham,  who  was  a  de- 
scendant of  the  Williams  and  Stark  fami- 
lies, both  also  prominent  in  the  War  of 
the    Revolution. 

William  Nottingham  was  born  in  De 
Witt,  Onondaga  county.  New  York,  No- 
vember 2,  1853,  and  his  early  years,  which 
were  spent  on  the  farm,  gave  him  the 
splendid  physique  which  has  enabled  him 
to  work  with  an  incomparable  vim  and 
energy.  His  early  life  was  filled  with  toil 
and  hardships,  but  through  it  all  rose 
his  fixed  determination  to  acquire  an  edu- 
cation and  make  his  mark  in  life.  In 
order  to  acquire  the  earliest  rudiments  of 
this  education,  he  was  obliged  to  rise 
early  and  toil  late,  and  thus  obtained  the 
necessary  time  to  devote  to  his  studies. 
He  was  obliged  to  walk  to  and  fro,  be- 
tween De  Witt  and  Syracuse,  in  order  to 
attend  the  public  schools  in  the  latter 
city.  For  a  number  of  years  he  lived 
with  the  greatest  economy,  carefully  put- 
ting aside  as  much  as  possible  of  his 
earnings,  in  order  to  accumulate  a  suffici- 
ent sum  to  enable  him  to  pursue  his 
studies  in  Syracuse  University,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  the  class  of 
1876  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts. 
Of  a  severely  analytical  turn  of  mind,  he 
had  long  planned  to  fit  himself  for  the 
legal  profession,  and  in  furtherance  of 
this  plan,  studied  law  in  Syracuse  from 


October,  1876,  to  June,  1879,  when  he 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Buft'alo,  New 
York.  He  at  once,  with  his  characteristic 
energy,  established  himself  in  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  in  Syracuse,  and  has 
been  chiefly  identified  with  that  city  since 
that  time.  In  1881  the  firm  of  Goodelle 
&  Nottingham  was  established,  with  Wil- 
liam Nottingham  as  the  junior  partner, 
and  was  continued  under  that  style  until 
1900,  increasing  years  continually  adding 
to  its  fame.  The  firm  of  Goodelle,  Not- 
tingham Brothers  &  Andrews  was  organ- 
ized in  1900,  and  continued  in  force  until 
April,  1907,  when  William  and  Edwin 
Nottingham  left  it  and  commenced  inde- 
pendent practice  under  the  firm  name  of 
Nottingham  &  Nottingham,  which  has 
become  widely  known.  While  they  are 
engaged  in  general  practice,  they  make  a 
specialty  of  corporation  and  banking  law, 
and  have  became  known  throughout  the 
Union.  William  Nottingham  is  acknowl- 
edged by  those  competent  to  judge  as  be- 
ing one  of  the  most  able  corporation 
counsels  in  the  the  United  States.  In 
1912  he  was  president  of  the  New  York 
State  Bar  Association.  He  has  displayed 
wonderful  powers  of  organization,  nota- 
bly in  industrial  and  transportation  lines. 
Among  the  organizations  which  had  their 
first  inception  in  his  brain  are:  The  Com- 
mercial National  Bank  in  1891 ;  the  Syra- 
cuse Trust  Company,  1903;  many  indus- 
trial and  transportation  companies,  in- 
cluding six  interurban  railway  companies 
and  two  large  steamship  companies,  one 
of  which  is  the  Great  Lakes  Steamship 
Company,  operating  on  the  Great  Lakes 
and  owning  and  controlling  a  large  fleet 
of  vessels,  Mr.  Nottingham  being  vice- 
president  and  the  general  counsel  of  this 
company ;  a  vice-president  and  director 
of  the  Syracuse  Trust  Company;  and  a 
director  of  the  Commercial  National 
Bank.  For  many  years  he  was  a  lecturer 
on  corporation  law  at  the  Law  College  of 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Syracuse  University,  and  was  a  trustee 
of  this  institution  until  elected  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  University 
of  New  York  State.  In  more  recent  years 
he  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  executive 
committee  of  The  Trust  Companies'  As- 
sociation of  the  State  of  New  York.  The 
University  of  Syracuse  conferred  upon 
him  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  in  1877, 
that  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  in  1878,  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  in  1903,  and  he 
was  president  of  the  Syracuse  University 
Alumni  Association  in  1885-86.  In  politi- 
cal matters  Mr.  Nottingham  is  a  Repub- 
lican, and  while  he  is  loyal  to  his  party, 
he  has  consistently  refused  nomination  to 
the  numerous  offices  tendered  him,  and 
which  it  is  a  foregone  conclusion  that  he 
would  fill  with  honor  and  credit  to  him- 
self and  benefit  to  the  community.  He 
holds  the  opinion  that  a  man  cannot  serve 
two  masters,  and  therefore  prefers  to  give 
his  undivided  attention  to  his  legal  in- 
terests. His  religious  affiliation  is  with 
the  First  Methodist  Church,  to  which  he 
gives  generous  support.  Fraternally  he 
is  a  member  of  the  Pilgrims'  Club  of  New 
York  and  London,  Recess  Club  of  New 
York,  Citizens'  Club  and  Century  Club 
of  Syracuse,  the  Delta  Kappa  Epsilon 
and  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa. 

Mr.  Nottingham  married,  October  26, 
1881,  Eloise  Holden,  a  daughter  of  Eras- 
tus  F.  Holden,  one  of  the  organizers  of 
the  firm  of  Holden  Brothers,  coal  mer- 
chants, later  Holden  &  Sons.  Mr.  Holden 
occupied  a  prominent  place  in  the  coal 
trade,  and  had  one  of  the  largest  concerns 
in  Central  New  York. 


WILKINSON,  John, 

Automobile  Expert  and  Inventor, 

John  Wilkinson,  the  efficient  chief  engi- 
neer in  the  automobile  works  of  H.  H. 
Franklin  Company  and  an  inventor  of 
more  than  local  note,  was  born  February 


II,  1868,  in  Syracuse,  and  is  a  representa- 
tive of  one  of  the  oldest  and  best  known 
families  of  Onondaga  county.  His  great- 
grandfather in  the  paternal  line  was  John 
Wilkinson,  who  served  as  a  soldier  in  the 
Revolutionary  War,  and  being  captured 
was  incarcerated  on  the  Jersey  prison 
ship  which  has  figured  largely  on  the 
pages  of  history.  He  came  to  Skaneateles 
in  1795  from  Rhode  Island  and  since  that 
date  the  family  has  been  well-known  in 
Onondaga  county,  its  representatives  in 
the  succeeding  generations  taking  an  ac- 
tive part  in  the  substantial  development 
and  upbuilding  of  this  portion  of  the 
State.  John  Wilkinson,  the  grandfather, 
was  born  in  Skaneateles,  September  30, 
1798,  over  a  century  ago.  At  one  time 
he  was  president  of  the  old  Syracuse  & 
Utica  railroad,  and  also  of  the  Michigan 
Central  Railroad  Company.  He  gave  to 
Syracuse  its  name  and  was  the  first  post- 
master of  the  city.  He  donated  to  the 
New  York  Central  Railroad  Company  the 
tract  of  land  between  Geddes  and  West 
street  and  Fayette  street  and  the  Erie 
canal  for  their  shops  and  yard.  As  a  pro- 
motor  of  railroad  interests  and  in  various 
other  ways  his  life  work  proved  of  the 
greatest  value  to  the  county  and  he  may 
well  be  numbered  among  its  founders  and 
promotors,  for  he  aided  in  laying  broad 
and  deep  the  foundation  upon  which  its 
present  prosperity  and  progress  rests.  J. 
Forman  Wilkinson,  father  of  John  Wil- 
kinson, of  this  review,  served  as  a  soldier 
in  the  Civil  War  with  the  One  Hundred 
and  Forty-ninth  Infantry.  He  married 
Louisa  Raynor,  and  to  them  were  born 
five  children :  Mrs.  R.  S.  Bowen ;  ThecH 
dore  K.  Wilkinson;  Mrs.  N.  J.  Black- 
wood, whose  husband  is  a  member  of  the 
navy  with  the  rank  of  major;  Forman 
Wilkinson,  and  John  Wilkinson,  whose 
name  introduces  this  review. 

John   Wilkinson   was   educated   in   the 
Syracuse    High    School    and    in    Cornell 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


University,  being  graduated  on  the  com- 
pletion of  the  mechanical  engineer's 
course  in  1899.  He  entered  business  life 
as  a  machinist  with  R.  C.  Stearns  & 
Company  of  Syracuse,  with  whom  he  re- 
mained for  about  three  months,  when  he 
engaged  with  Henry  R.  Worthington,  of 
Brooklyn,  New  York.  He  filled  that 
position  for  a  year,  after  which  he  be- 
came a  draughtsman  with  the  Solvay 
Company,  with  which  he  continued  for 
four  years.  He  was  then  a  designer  for 
the  Syracuse  Cycle  Company  for  about 
four  years,  and  during  the  succeeding 
two  years  devoted  his  time  largely  to 
experimenting  with  automobiles.  Dur- 
ing the  past  five  years  he  has  been  chief 
engineer  with  the  H.  H.  Franklin  Com- 
pany in  their  automobile  works  and  has 
filled  the  position  with  great  efficiency. 
Mr.  Wilkinson  is  the  inventor  of  the 
Franklin  automobile  and  the  promotor 
and  veteran  builder  of  the  same.  He  is 
now  one  of  the  directors  and  owns  a 
large  interest  in  the  business. 

On  April  23,  1896,  Mr.  Wilkinson  was 
married  to  Edith  Belden,  who  was  born 
September  24,  1869,  and  was  the  third 
child  of  Mead  and  Gertrude  (Woolston) 
Belden.  Her  father  was  a  brother  of  J.  J. 
and  A.  C.  Belden.  The  sisters  of  the 
family  are :  Mrs.  Andrew  S.  White,  a 
resident  of  Syracuse,  and  Mrs.  Henry 
Wigglesworth,  a  resident  of  Garden  City, 
New  York.  Mrs.  Wilkinson  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Keeble  School  of  Syracuse 
and  in  Ogontz,  Pennsylvania.  By  her 
marriage  she  has  become  the  mother  of 
two  daughters  and  a  son:  Helen,  born 
April  5,  1897;  Anne  Belden,  bom  Octo- 
ber 9,  1900;  and  John  Belden,  February 
13'  1905- 

In  politics  Mr.  Wilkinson  is  independ- 
ent, casting  his  ballot  without  regard  for 
party  tides.  He  belongs  to  the  Unitarian 
church,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Psi  Up- 
silon,   a    college    fraternity.      He   greatly 


enjoys  athletics  and  manly  out-door 
sports  and  belongs  to  a  number  of  dif- 
ferent clubs.  He  is  regarded  as  a  w6rthy 
scion  of  his  race  and  creditable  represen- 
tative of  a  prominent  and  honored  pio- 
neer family.  As  such  he  deserves  men- 
tion in  this  volume,  while  his  personal 
worth  and  his  business  acomplishments 
also  entitle  him  to  recognition  as  one  who 
merits  the  esteem,  respect  and  good  will 
of  his  fellow  men. 


ANDREWS,  Charles, 

Lawyer,  Former  Chief  Justice. 

Charles  Andrews,  late  Chief  Justice  of 
the  New  York  State  Court  of  Appeals, 
and  for  many  years  a  leading  attorney  of 
Syracuse,  was  born  May  27,  1827,  at  New 
York  Alills,  in  the  town  of  Whitestown, 
Oneida  county.  New  York.  After  an  at- 
tendance upon  the  common  schools  near 
his  birthplace,  he  was  a  student  at  the 
Oneida  Conference  Seminary,  at  Caze- 
novia.  New  York.  Determining  to  adopt 
the  profession  of  the  law,  he  began  his 
studies  with  Sedgwick  &  Outwater,  a 
leading  firm  of  Syracuse,  and  pursued  his 
studies  with  such  diligence  that  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  January,  1849,  in 
his  twenty-second  year.  The  city  of 
Syracuse  was  at  that  time  a  station  of 
considerable  importance  on  the  Erie 
Canal,  the  chief  means  of  transportation, 
and  was  especially  favored  by  commerce 
as  the  junction  point  of  the  Oswego  Canal 
with  the  Erie.  The  city  at  that  time 
numbered  several  other  able  attorneys 
among  its  inhabitants,  and  here  he  found 
such  competition  as  to  spur  him  to  his 
best  efforts.  In  185 1  he  formed  an  asso- 
ciation in  the  practice  of  law  with  Charles 
B.  Sedgwick,  under  the  style  of  Sedgwick 
&  Andrews,  and  four  years  later  Mr. 
George  M.  Kennedy  was  admitted  to  the 
firm,  which  now  became  Sedgwick,  An- 
drews  &   Kennedy.     This   firm   handled 


CHAR.LES    ATMDREV^S 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


much  of  the  most  important  litigation  in 
its  time,  and  was  ranked  among  the  ablest 
in  the  State. 

In  1853  Mr.  Andrews  was  elected  dis- 
trict attorney  for  a  period  of  three  years, 
and  in  1861-62,  and  again  in  1868,  he  was 
mayor  of  the  city.  He  was  very  active, 
in  association  with  other  leading  citizens, 
in  securing  the  location  of  Syracuse  Uni- 
versity in  his  home  city,  and  for  many 
years  he  was  a  trustee  of  that  institution. 
During  his  first  terms  as  mayor,  in  the 
early  years  of  the  Civil  War,  he  had  many 
puzzling  tasks  to  perform,  and  among 
other  movements  to  which  he  strongly 
contributed  was  that  of  securing  recruits 
for  the  Union  army.  In  1867  he  was 
elected  a  delegate-at-large  to  the  State 
Constitutional  Convention,  which  body 
reconstructed  the  Court  of  Appeals,  and 
in  1870  Mr.  Andrews  became  a  candidate 
for  judge  of  that  court,  and  was  elected 
May  17  of  that  year,  taking  his  place  on 
the  bench,  July  i.  In  1881  he  was  desig- 
nated by  Governor  Cornell  as  chief  judge 
to  succeed  Judge  Folger,  who  then  re- 
tired. At  the  election  soon  after  ensu- 
ing Judge  Andrews  was  the  candidate  on 
the  Republican  ticket  for  chief  judge,  but 
was  defeated.  He  was,  however,  reelect- 
ed for  another  term  of  fourteen  years  as  a 
judge  of  the  court  in  1884,  being  the  can- 
didate of  both  the  leading  parties  of  the 
State,  and  in  1892  he  was  elected  chief 
judge,  continuing  to  hold  that  position 
until  his  retirement  under  the  constitu- 
tional age  limit,  December  31,  1897.  At 
this  time  Judge  Andrews  was  in  full  pos- 
session of  all  his  powers,  and  by  the  oper- 
ation of  the  age  limit,  the  courts  of  the 
State  were  deprived  of  his  most  able  serv- 
ices. His  interest  in  the  aflfairs  of  his 
native  county  has  not  been  lessened  by 
his  retirement,  and  he  still  exerts  a  most 
influential  power  in  the  State.  While  not 
actively  pursuing  the  practice  of  law,  he 
is  often  retained  as  counsel  to  others.  His 


natural  judicial  bent,  his  industry  and 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  law  contrib- 
uted greatly  to  his  usefulness  upon  the 
bench,  and  is  still  of  great  service  to  the 
community.  Judge  Andrews  is  fond  of 
outdoor  life,  and  has  always  found  his 
recreation  in  fishing  and  other  diversions 
which  lead  to  the  woods,  fields  and 
streams.  He  received  the  honorary  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  Hamilton 
College,  Columbia,  Yale  and  Syracuse 
universities.  He  has  made  many  able 
addresses  on  various  occasions  in  the  in- 
terest of  progress  and  human  welfare.  He 
has  long  been  a  useful  member  of  the 
Episcopal  church,  and  is  universally 
esteemed  by  the  people  of  Syracuse  for 
his  high  character,  intellectual  attain- 
ments and  long  and  valuable  services  to 
the  State. 


BRADLEY,  Christopher  Columbus,  Jr., 
Manufactnrer,  Public  Official. 

A  man  of  serious  aims,  broad  views  on 
all  questions,  and  shrewd  business  opin- 
ions, is  to  be  found  in  the  person  of  Chris- 
topher Columbus  Bradley,  of  Syracuse, 
president  of  the  firm  of  C.  C.  Bradley  & 
Son,  manufacturers  of  power  hammers, 
forges  and  carriage  shaft  couplers.  He  is 
genial  and  courteous  on  all  occasions,  and 
his  accurate  estimate  of  men  has  enabled 
him  to  fill  the  many  responsible  branches 
of  his  business  with  assistants  who  thor- 
oughly understand  the  nature  of  the 
work  they  are  called  upon  to  perform, 
and  conduct  in  the  most  masterly  man- 
ner the  numerous  details  connected  with 
it.  Mr.  Bradley  gives  his  whole  soul  to 
whatever  he  undertakes,  and  allows  none 
of  the  many  interests  entrusted  to  his 
care  to  suffer  for  want  of  close  and  able 
attention.  As  a  citizen  he  is  universally 
esteemed,  and  in  every  relation  of  life  he 
has  shown  himself  to  be  a  man  of  the 
highest  principles.     In  his  private  life  as 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


well  as  in  his  business  capacity,  Mr. 
Bradley  is  a  man  of  indefatigable  energy 
and  ambition.  In  other  words,  he  is  a 
man  whose  power  of  concentration  has 
been  developed  to  a  remarkable  degree. 

The  Bradley  family  is  an  old  one  in 
this  country,  and  traces  back  to  England, 
the  name  being  also  spelled  Bradlee.  The 
earliest  mention  in  England  of  the  name 
of  Bradley  is  in  the  year  1183,  at  the  feast 
of  St.  Cuthbert,  in  Lent,  when  the  Lord 
Hugh,  Bishop  of  Durham,  caused  to  be 
described  all  the  revenues  of  his  bishop- 
ric. In  1437  there  is  mention  made  of 
Bradleys,  of  Bradley.  The  name  seems 
to  have  applied  to  places  in  England  at  a 
comparatively  early  date.  The  Bradleys 
of  Acworth  are  the  first  who  had  their 
arms  and  pedigree  preserved,  and  that  by 
a  visitation  of  the  County  of  York  by  Wil- 
liam Dugdale,  Norroy  King  of  Arms, 
1665-66.  The  arms  are :  Or,  a  fess  azure, 
between  three  buckles  gules.  They  are 
proved  by  the  visitation  of  Berkshire.  A 
number  of  Bradleys  are  found  among  the 
early  settlers  of  New  England,  and  as  the 
same  names  are  often  repeated,  they  prob- 
ably had  a  common  ancestor. 

The  American  ancestry  of  this  branch 
of  the  Bradley  family  can  be  traced  to 
William  Bradley,  who  came  from  Old 
England  to  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  in 
July,  1637.  His  son,  Daniel  Bradley,  of 
New  Haven,  Connecticut,  died  about  the 
year  1705,  aged  sixty-eight  years.  His 
son.  Deacon  Daniel  Bradley,  of  Hamden, 
died  in  February,  1773,  in  the  sixty-sev- 
enth year  of  his  age.  His  son.  Captain 
Jesse  Bradley,  was  born  May  4,  1736,  died 
July  26,  1812.  He  served  with  honor  in 
the  Revolutionary  War.  He  removed  to 
the  State  of  New  York  from  Lee,  Massa- 
chusetts. His  wife,  Mamre  Bradley,  born 
May  2,  1738,  bore  him  the  following 
named  children :  Esther,  born  November 
17-  1753'  died  May  24,  1776;  Jared,  born 
August  25,  1760;  Eli,  born  May  3,  1762; 

II 


Jesse,  born  December  22,  1765  ;  Mamre, 
born  December  22,  1765;  Joseph,  born 
October  19,  1767;  Lydia,  born  September 
4,  1769,  died  February  11,  1773;  William, 
born  August  i,  1771 ;  Lewis,  born  June 
28,  1773  ;  Lydia,  born  September  28,  1775  ; 
Daniel,  born  March  4,  1779.  The  line  of 
descent  is  carried  through  the  youngest 
son,  Daniel  Bradley,  who  married  Pa- 
tience   ,  born  March  4,   1780,  and 

their  children  were :  Christopher  Colum- 
bus, mentioned  below ;  Marilla,  born 
April  16,  1802;  Daniel,  born  August  23, 
1804;  Joseph  I.  B.,  born  March  i,  1806; 
Hannah,  born  April  12,  1808;  David,  born 
November  8,  181 1;  Mary,  born  August 
II,  1813;  Esther,  born  May  23,  1817; 
Lemi,  born  June  12,  1822. 

Christopher  Columbus  Bradley,  born 
December  6,  1800,  died  January  3,  1872. 
He  was  a  resident  of  Groton,  New  York, 
and  from  that  town  removed  to  Syracuse, 
New  York,  in  1822.  He  established  the 
first  foundry  in  Syracuse.  The  business 
prospered,  and  was  an  important  factor 
in  the  growth  and  development  of  the 
town,  and  Mr.  Bradley  became  one  of  the 
most  important  figures  in  the  community. 
In  1855  he  removed  from  the  "Old  City 
Foundry"  to  the  corner  of  Marcellus  and 
Wyoming  streets,  and  took  his  sons. 
Waterman  Chapman  and  Christopher 
Columbus,  Jr.,  into  partnership  with  him 
under  the  firm  name  of  C.  C.  Bradley  & 
Sons.  Among  a  number  of  public  offices 
filled  by  him  were  those  of  village  trustee 
and  county  treasurer.  He  married  Hul- 
dah  Gilbert,  born  December  28,  1802,  died 
June  15,  1889,  and  their  children  were: 
I.  Daniel  Carr,  born  August  12,  1827,  died 
June  20,  1867.  2.  George  Willett,  born 
April  8,  1830,  died  February  20,  1882 ;  he 
was  appointed  captain  and  assistant  quar- 
termaster in  a  New  York  regiment  in 
1862,  served  until  September,  1864,  when 
he  was  made  chief  quartermaster  of  the 
Tenth   Army   Corps   under   General   Bir- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ney ;  he  earned  recognition  from  General 
Grant  and  was  soon  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  colonel ;  he  remained  in  the  service 
until  iS66,  and  was  then  transferred  to 
the  regular  army,  where  he  filled  various 
important  positions  in  militafry  circles 
until  his  death.  3.  Waterman  Chapman, 
born  January  9,  1832,  who  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  C.  C.  Bradley  &  Sons. 
4.  Christopher  Columbus,  mentioned  be- 
low. 5.  Sarah  E.,  born  February  23,  1841. 
6.  Rowland  G.,  born  April  28,  1843,  died 
August  ID,  1847. 

Christopher  Columbus  Bradley,  Jr., 
was  born  in  Syracuse,  New  York,  March 
6,  1834.  The  public  schools  of  his  native 
town  furnished  him  with  a  substantial 
and  practical  education,  and  from  his 
earliest  years  his  spare  time  was  spent 
in  the  foundry  established  by  his  father. 
In  this  manner  he  acquired  a  practical 
knowledge  of  the  details  of  the  industry, 
which  was  of  great  benefit  to  him  when, 
at  the  age  of  seventeen  years,  he  became 
associated  with  his  father  in  the  busi- 
ness. He  and  his  brother,  Waterman 
Chapman,  were  admitted  to  the  firm  as 
partners,  the  style  of  the  firm  being 
changed  to  C.  C.  Bradley  &  Sons.  W.  C. 
Bradley  subsequently  withdrew  from  the 
firm,  and  the  business  was  continued  as 
C.  C.  Bradley  &  Son,  until  the  death  of 
the  elder  Bradley,  when  it  was  again 
changed,  this  time  to  Bradley  &  Company, 
and  continued  thus  until  1896,  when  the 
present  firm  of  C.  C.  Bradley  &  Son  was 
organized  for  the  manufacture  of  carriage 
shaft  couplers.  The  present  members  of 
the  firm  are  :  C.  C.  Bradley,  Sr.,  president ; 
Cora  M.  Bradley,  vice-president ;  C.  C. 
Bradley,  Jr.,  secretary  and  treasurer.  An- 
other firm,  for  the  manufacture  of  power 
hammers  and  forges,  was  organized  in  1894 
as  the  Bradley  Company,  with  officers  as 
follows :  C.  C.  Bradley,  Sr.,  president ; 
C.  C.  Bradley,  Jr.,  vice-president;  W.  C. 
Bradley,  secretary  and  treasurer ;  Calvin 


S.  Bunnell,  assistant  treasurer.  When  W. 
C.  Bradley  died  in  1902,  this  second  com- 
pany was  merged  into  the  firm  of  C.  C. 
Bradley  &  Son.  Mr.  Bradley  has  always 
given  his  staunch  and  consistent  support 
to  the  Republican  party,  but  he  has  had 
but  little  time  to  spare  from  his  numerous 
and  responsible  business  interests.  How- 
ever, yielding  to  repeated  solicitation,  he 
served  as  alderman  of  the  Fifth  Ward 
during  the  administration  of  Mayor 
Frank  Carroll.  He  is  a  life  member  of 
the  New  York  State  Agricultural  Society, 
the  Century  Club,  the  Citizens'  Club,  the 
Syracuse  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

Mr.  Bradley  married,  January  28,  1857, 
Emma  Pelton,  daughter  of  Robert  M. 
Pelton,  a  tanner  of  Syracuse.  Mrs.  Brad- 
ley is  a  charter  member  of  the  Fourth 
Presbyterian  Church.  Children:  i. 
Hattie  L.,  who  became  the  wife  of  Ed- 
ward R.  Woodle,  of  Chicago.  2.  Cora 
M.,  member  of  the  firm  of  Bradley  Com- 
pany. 3.  Christopher  Columbus,  also 
member  of  Bradley  &  Company ;  he  was 
born  January  26,  1873  i  married,  April  12, 
1899,  Elizabeth  Goodwin,  of  Kane,  Penn- 
sylvania ;  children :  Charles  Goodwin, 
born  July  5,  1901,  and  Christopher  Co- 
lumbus, born  January  20,  1909. 


LUDINGTON,  James  S., 

Lawyer,  Public  Official. 

The  efi^orts  of  James  S.  Ludington, 
known  for  many  years  as  one  of  the  ablest 
and  most  distinguished  lawyers  of  Onon- 
daga county.  New  York,  have  proved  of 
the  greatest  value  to  his  fellow  citizens 
as  well  as  to  himself.  He  has  shaped  his 
career  along  worthy  lines,  and  his  talents 
have  been  discerningly  directed  along 
well  defined  channels  of  endeavor.  He  is 
a  man  of  distinct  and  forceful  individual- 
ity, of  marked  sagacity,  of  undaunted 
enterprise,  and  in  manner  he  is  genial, 
courteous  and  approachable.     His  career 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


is  such  as  to  warrant  the  trust  and  con- 
fidence of  the  public  and  his  activity  in 
legal  circles  forms  no  unimportant  chap- 
ter in  the  history  of  the  State.  The  public 
is  rarely  mistaken  in  its  estimation  of  a 
man,  and  were  Mr.  Ludington  not  most 
worthy,  he  could  not  have  gained  the 
eminent  position  he  has  so  long  held  in 
legal,  public  and  social  life,  without  any 
abatement  of  his  popularity.  By  his  own 
persistent  and  legitimate  labors  he  has 
won  for  himself  a  name  whose  luster 
future  years  will  most  surely  augment. 

Mr.  Ludington's  sterling  qualities  have 
been  transmitted  to  him  by  a  distin- 
guished ancestry,  among  which  we  find : 
William  Ludington,  who  became  a  resi- 
dent of  Charlestown,  Massachusetts,  in 
1642,  and  died  there  in  1662.  Comfort 
Ludington,  another  member  of  the  family, 
of  Rambout  Precinct,  Dutchess  county. 
New  York,  who  affixed  his  name  to  the 
"Revolutionary  Pledge,"  signed  by  the 
freeholders  of  that  county  in  the  spring 
of  1775;  following  the  outbreak  of  hos- 
tilities he  served  as  captain  in  Colonel 
Jacob  Swartwout's  regiment  of  Ulster 
county.  New  York,  in  1775,  and  in  1776 
commanded  a  company  of  the  Fourth 
New  York  Foot.  Again  the  family  was 
represented  in  military  service  by  Zalmon 
Ludington,  who  served  as  a  soldier  in  the 
War  of  1812  ;  his  distinguished  sons  were  : 
Major-General  Marshall  I.  Ludington, 
who  was  placed  on  the  retired  list  at  his 
own  request  in  1903  ;  Hagan  Z.  Luding- 
ton, who  served  in  the  Civil  War  as  cap- 
tain in  the  Eighty-fifth  Regiment  Penn- 
sylvania Volunteers  ;  Horace,  who  served 
in  the  same  struggle  as  major  and  sur- 
geon of  the  One  Hundredth  Regiment 
Pennsylvania  Volunteers ;  and  Elisha  H., 
who  also  served  in  the  Civil  War,  as  cap- 
tain in  the  Seventeenth  Regiment  United 
States  Infantry,  and  was  subsequently 
major    and    brevet    colonel,     inspector- 

120 


department.     United      States 
Ludington,  son  of  George  W. 


general's 
army. 

James  S. 

Ludington,  was  born  in  Parish,  Oswego 
county.  New  York,  January  25,  1858.  He 
was  educated  at  the  academies  in  Mexico 
and  Pulaski,  being  graduated  from  the 
latter  in  1877,  when  he  at  once  took  up 
the  study  of  law  in  Syracuse,  New  York, 
in  the  office  of  Ludington  &  DeCamp,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  January,  1880. 
He  commenced  the  active  practice  of 
his  profession  in  Vinton,  Iowa,  in  the 
spring  of  1880,  but  soon  returned  to 
Oswego  county,  where  he  was  engaged 
in  practice  in  Parish  and  Phoenix  until 
April,  1893,  when  he  removed  to  Syra- 
cuse, since  which  time  he  has  been  promi- 
nently identified  with  the  law  and  polit- 
ical affairs  in  that  city.  He  has  had  as 
partners  at  various  times,  Jay  B.  Kline, 
B.  J.  Shove,  Daniel  Y.  Salmon,  J.  J. 
Kennelly,  M.  L.  McCarthy,  and  at  the 
present  time  the  firm  is  Ludington,  Hay- 
den  &  Setright.  During  his  residence 
in  Oswego  county,  Mr.  Ludington  served 
as  school  commissioner  for  the  Second 
District  for  a  period  of  three  years,  com- 
mencing in  1884,  and  in  that  campaign 
only  fourteen  votes  were  cast  against  him 
in  his  home  town  of  Parish.  He  was 
elected  alderman  from  the  Fourth  Ward 
in  Syracuse  in  the  fall  of  1897.  Since  liv- 
ing in  Syracuse,  Mr.  Ludington  has  been 
active  in  behalf  of  his  party,  and  has  fre- 
quently spoken  for  its  nominees.  In  1899 
he  was  appointed  assistant  corporation 
counsel  by  Mayor  James  K.  McGuire,  and 
served  in  that  capacity  two  years.  In 
the  fall  of  191 1  he  was  the  candidate  of 
the  Democratic  party  for  the  office  of 
mayor  of  Syracuse.  He  is  a  member  of 
Republican  Lodge,  No.  325  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons,  of  Parish ;  Oswego  River 
Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  of  Phoenix, 
New  York;  Modern  Woodmen  of  Amer- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ica ;  Onondaga  County  Bar  Association ; 
Masonic  Temple  Club  ;  and  the  City  Club. 
Mr.  Ludington  married,  in  June,  1884, 
Kate  M.,  daughter  of  C.  W.  Woods,  of 
Pulaski,  New  York,  and  they  have  one 
,  son  :  George  W.  Mr.  Ludington  is  essen- 
tially cosmopolitan  in  his  ideas,  a  man  of 
the  people  in  the  fullest  sense,  and  a  rep- 
resentative type  of  that  strong  American 
manhood  which  commands  and  retains 
respect  by  reason  of  inherent  merit,  sound 
sense  and  correct  conduct.  He  has  so 
impressed  his  individuality  upon  his  fel- 
lowmen  wherever  his  lot  has  been  cast, 
as  to  win  their  highest  esteem  and  become 
a  strong  and  influential  power  in  leading 
them  to  high  and  noble  things.  Measured 
by  the  accepted  standard  of  excellence  his 
career  has  been  eminently  honorable  and 
useful,  and  his  life  fraught  with  great 
good  to  humanity  and  to  the  world. 


SMITH.  Wing  R., 
Leading   Cattle   Importer   and   Breeder. 

Wing  R.  Smith,  a  highly  respected 
citizen  of  Syracuse,  is  a  lineal  descendant 
of  the  Rev.  Nehemiah  Smith,  who  came 
to  America  from  England  in  1630,  and 
located  in  Nantic,  Connecticut,  where  his 
farm  is  still  owned  by  his  posterity. 

William  Brown  Smith,  father  of  Wing 
R.  Smith,  was  born  in  Brighton,  Monroe 
county.  New  York,  March  2,  1815,  son  of 
Job  C.  and  Esther  (Brown)  Smith.  His 
mother  died  at  the  time  of  his  birth,  and 
he  was  placed  in  the  care  of  Mrs.  Jere- 
miah Maples,  of  West  Walworth,  New 
York,  where  he  remained  until  1828,  when 
his  foster  father  died,  his  foster  mother 
having  died  some  six  years  previously. 
His  own  father  had  married  again  and 
moved  to  Ohio.  William  B.  Smith  then 
learned  the  trade  of  cabinetmaking,  under 
Joshua  Hicks,  of  Walworth,  and  after 
his  death  continued  with  his  son,  Levi  J. 
Hicks,    in   the    shop   and    on   the    farm. 


When  twenty-one  years  of  age  he  pos- 
sessed a  trade,  a  set  of  tools,  good  cloth- 
ing, and  one  hundred  dollars  in  money. 
After  a  canal  trip  to  Buffalo  and  lake  trip 
to  Sandusky,  Ohio,  he  paid  his  first  visit 
to  his  father,  and  returning  he  entered 
the  cabinet  shop  of  James  Jenner,  of 
Palmyra,  New  York,  and  soon  became  a 
foreman,  and  four  years  later  had  laid  up 
a  thousand  dollars.  He  then  entered  into 
mercantile  business  in  Walworth  with  his 
brother-in-law,  T.  G.  Yeomans,  which 
connection  continued  for  some  time. 
About  1844  Mr.  Smith  came  to  Syracuse 
and  purchased  an  interest  in  a  small 
nursery  of  about  five  acres,  of  Alanson 
Thorp,  on  West  Genesee  street.  The 
business  increased  under  various  part- 
ners, and  finallj  Mr.  Smith  became  sole 
owner.  In  1868  Edward  A.  Powell,  his 
son-in-law,  became  his  partner,  and  soon 
after  live  stock  interests  were  added,  from 
which  was  developed  the  celebrated 
"Lakeside  Stock  Farm."  In  1877  Wing 
R.  and  Judson  W.  Smith  entered  the  firm 
under  the  style  of  Smiths  &  Powell,  and 
in  1885  Anthony  Lamb  became  a  partner 
under  the  name  of  Smiths,  Powell  & 
Lamb.  Later  the  Smiths  &  Powell  Com- 
pany was  incorporated  with  William 
Brown  Smith,  president;  Edward  A. 
Powell,  vice-president;  Wing  R.  Smith, 
secretary;  and  W.  Judson  Smith,  treas- 
urer. Prior  to  this  the  nursery  business 
had  become  of  paramount  importance, 
while  considerable  attention  was  given  to 
flowers  and  hot  house  plants,  the  florist 
branch  being  conducted  under  the  name 
of  P.  R.  Quinlan  &  Company.  Shortly 
after  the  death  of  Mr.  Smith,  which 
occurred  at  his  home  in  West  Genesee 
street,  Syracuse,  March  10,  1896,  the  busi- 
ness was  given  up  and  the  lands  were 
partitioned  off,  each  member  of  the  cor- 
poration holding  and  cultivating  in  their 
own  name  parts  of  the  original  farm.  Mr. 
Smith,  Sr.,  was  also  largely  interested  in 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


real  estate.  He  served  as  school  commis- 
sioner several  terms,  president  of  the 
board  one  year;  was  president  of  Oak- 
wood  Cemetery,  vice-president  of  the 
Syracuse  Savings  Bank,  director  in  the 
Salt  Springs  National  Bank  and  old  Syra- 
cuse Water  Company,  treasurer  of  the 
Holstein-Friesian  Association  of  America, 
counselor  of  the  Old  Ladies'  Home,  and 
trustee  of  May  Memorial  Church  and 
president  of  the  board. 

Mr.  Smith  married  (first)  Lucy,  daugh- 
ter of  Gilbert  Yeomans,  of  Walworth. 
He  married  (second)  Augusta  Maria, 
daughter  of  Silas  and  Keziah  (Hallock) 
Boardman,  of  Westerlo,  Albany  county, 
New  York,  whose  family  of  three  sons 
and  six  daughters  grew  to  maturity  and 
all  lived  long  and  useful  lives ;  Silas  died 
at  age  of  ninety-five,  Adeline  at  age 
of  ninety-three,  Lucy  at  age  of  eighty- 
nine,  and  Augusta  at  age  of  eighty-seven 
years.  Silas  Boardman  descended  from 
the  early  English  settlers,  the  "Bormans" 
of  Wethersfield,  Connecticut,  and  from 
whence  have  descended  the  Boardman 
family  known  throughout  the  United 
States  in  professional  and  business  life  as 
men  of  character  and  integrity  and  as 
women  of  pure  and  moral  life,  choosing 
to  be  home  makers  rather  than  seeking 
for  name  and  fame  outside  of  the  home. 

Augusta  Maria  (Boardman)  Smith  was 
born  in  South  Westerlo,  Albany  county. 
New  York,  March  i6,  1S19,  the  youngest 
daughter  and  child  in  the  family.  She 
cast  her  lot  with  that  never-to-be-forgot- 
ten, liberal-minded,  energetic,  trustworthy 
townsman,  William  Brown  Smith,  who 
for  nearly  sixty  years  made  Syracuse  his 
home  and  place  of  residence.  They  were 
married  in  the  home  they  afterwards 
made  their  owni6r  many  years,  but  which 
at  the  time  w/s  owned  and  occupied  by 
Alanson  TJ^orp,  who  married  Lucy 
Boardman,  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Smith.  For 
sixty  years  Mrs.  Smith  acted  as  queen  of 

12 


this  household  and  only  relinquished  its 
control  when  weight  of  years  and  the 
hand  of  time  made  her  pleased  to  turn  to 
her  only  daughter,  Mrs.  Edward  A. 
Powell,  who  had  always  made  her  home 
with  her,  and  yield  to  her  the  domestic 
power  she  had  so  long  held ;  this  enabled 
her  to  live  a  life  of  freedom  from  care 
for  a  year  or  more,  and  happy  in  her 
ability  to  amuse  herself  with  her  garden, 
of  which  she  was  passionately  fond,  and 
to  be  able  to  visit  her  son  whose  ill  health 
had  driven  him,  with  his  family,  to  the 
Pacific  coast,  and  there  for  a  few  weeks 
she  was  able  to  see  and  realize  the  beau- 
ties and  glories  of  that  beautiful  land  of 
fruit  and  flowers,  in  company  with  her 
son  and  his  family,  whom  she  held  so 
dear.  Upon  her  return  home  she  visited 
all  those  cities  of  which  she  had  read  and 
heard  so  much,  this  being  a  crowning 
act  and  a  fitting  one  to  her  long  and  useful 
life.  Always  pure  in  heart  as  well  as  in 
spirit,  she  kept  her  mind  singularly  free 
from  the  gossips  and  slanders  that  fill  in 
so  much  of  the  life  of  the  women  of  our 
day.  Always  being  desirous  of  being 
helpful,  she  gave  of  her  strength  and  sub- 
stance freely  until  saddened  by  the  loss  of 
her  husband,  when  she  turned  to  her 
friends  and  her  flowers,  in  that  quiet  and 
unostentatious  way  that  left  her  as  one 
forgotten  except  to  those  into  whose  life 
she  was  able  to  throw  some  sunshine  and 
happiness.  An  intelligent  and  careful 
reader,  she  had  stored  her  mind  with 
much  that  lends  polish  and  grace  to  a 
person  of  years  and  made  her  a  charming 
companion.  Abhoring  cant  and  falsity 
she  tried  by  her  words  and  her  acts  to 
teach  truth,  right  living,  pure  thoughts 
and  a  spirit  of  peace  and  love  towards  all. 
Almost  too  outspoken  in  her  desire  to 
express  her  abhorence  of  what  she  con- 
sidered base  and  ignoble  or  false,  she 
never  willingly  gave  offence  but  was  al- 
ways fearless  in  her  utterance.     She  was 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


long  identified  with  the  Unitarian  church 
and  was  for  many  years  a  regular  attend- 
ant. Her  home  was  her  realm  and  there 
she  ruled  through  love,  justice  and  con- 
tentment. Four  children  were  born  to 
her:  Lucy  C,  who  became  the  wife  of 
Edward  A.  Powell,  aforementioned ; 
Wing  R.,  of  whom  further;  William 
Judson,  who  died  in  Monrovia,  Califor- 
nia, October  5,  1907,  and  who  married 
Laura  Geddes,  daughter  of  James  and 
Frances  Terry  Geddes,  having  a  son,  Wil- 
liam Brown  Smith ;  Julia,  who  died  in 
early  childhood.  The  mother  of  these 
children  passed  away  December  26,  1906, 
and  was  laid  in  beautiful  Oakwood  Ceme- 
tery, which  her  husband  did  so  much  to 
establish  and  beautify. 

Wing  R.  Smith  was  born  in  Syracuse, 
New  York,  on  West  Genesee  street, 
March  9,  1850,  and  has  always  maintained 
a  residence  in  that  city,  where  he  at 
present  resides  at  No.  601  Park  avenue, 
corner  of  Van  Rensselaer  street.  He  re- 
ceived his  education  at  the  public  and 
private  schools  in  Syracuse,  having  been 
under  the  instruction  of  W.  W.  Ray- 
mond in  old  No.  5  or  Prescott  School, 
and  under  T.  D.  Camp  in  old  No.  7  or 
Putnam  School.  From  those  he  went  to 
Peekskill  Military  Academy,  on  the  Hud- 
son, and  remained  one  year,  and  in  the 
year  186S  he  entered  Cornell  University 
under  Andrew  D.  White,  affiliating  him- 
self with  the  Kappa  Alpha  Society,  in 
which  he  still  maintains  great  interest. 
After  two  years  spent  in  the  study  of 
agriculture  at  Cornell  he  spent  a  winter 
in  the  National  Greenhouses  in  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  under  Mr.  William 
Saunders,  and  later  returned  to  Syracuse 
and  entered  into  the  employ  of  the  firm 
of  Smith,  Clark  &  Powell.  A  year  and  a 
half  spent  in  Europe,  mostly  in  Paris, 
Berlin,  and  Hanover,  in  studying  the 
French  and  German  languages,  and  in 
travel  over  northern  Europe,  brought  him 


back  to  his  native  land  and  city,  and  here 
he  again  connected  I  himself  with  his 
father's  business  until  he  was  admitted 
to  partnership  in  1877,  with  his  father, 
brother  and  brother-in-law,  also  An- 
thony Lamb,  under  the  firm  name  of 
Smiths,  Powell  &  Lamb,  and  which  later 
became  incorporated  under  the  name  of 
Smiths  &  Powell  Company,  and  during 
this  time  Mr.  Smith  made  a  number  of 
trips  to  Europe  and  there  made  selections 
of  animals  for  his  firm,  a  number  of  which 
have  gone  down  in  history  as  animals  of 
great  achievements,  and  from  these  were 
founded  the  world  renowned  families  of 
Holstein-Friesian  cattle  known  as  Aaggie, 
Netherland,  Clothilde,  Artis,  Alexander, 
numbers  of  which  have  become  famous 
alike  in  the  production  of  milk  and  butter 
and  in  the  show  ring  as  well,  and  at  the 
present  time  (1915)  many  of  the  greatest 
animals  of  the  breed  trace  directly  to 
these  families.  In  the  division  of  the 
lands  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Smith,  Sr., 
aforementioned,  Mr.  Wing  R.  Smith  be- 
came the  owner  of  the  farm  and  stables 
at  what  is  known  as  "Lakeland,"  where 
he  maintains  a  large  herd  of  beautiful 
Holstein-Friesian  cattle.  Succeeding  his 
father  as  treasurer  of  the  Holstein-Fries- 
ian Association  of  America,  Mr.  Smith 
has  since  held  that  exalted  position  and 
under  his  management  of  the  funds  the 
association  has  grown  to  be  the  most 
influential  and  wealthiest  association  of 
its  kind  in  the  world.  Mr.  Smith  is  a 
vice-president  of  the  New  York  State 
Agricultural  Society,  secretary  of  the  Hol- 
stein-Friesian Breeders'  Club  of  New 
York  State,  a  trustee  in  the  Syracuse 
Savings  Bank,  in  Oakwood  Cemetery, 
in  St.  Joseph's  Hospital  Aid  Society,  a 
director  in  the  Farmers'  and  Traders' 
Life  Insurance  Company,  and  also  holds 
other  important  and  responsible  positions. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Citizens'  Club  of 
Syracuse,  the  City  Club  of  Syracuse,  and 


123 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


other  social  and  fraternal  organizations  of 
the  city  and  State. 

Mr.  Smith  married,  December  21,  1881, 
Mary  A.,  daughter  of  Payn  and  Hannah 
(Munro)  Bigelow,  of  Baldwinsville,  New 
York.  Three  daughters  were  born  to 
them:  Hannah  Munro,  who  became  the 
wife  of  Lewis  Dudley  Waters,  of  Hast- 
ings, Michigan,  where  they  and  their  two 
daughters,  Jane  and  Betty,  reside; 
Esther  Wing,  unmarried,  living  with  her 
parents;  Dorothy  Bigelow,  who  became 
the  wife  of  Oscar  Frank  Soule,  and  with 
their  son,  Channing  F.,  live  in  Syracuse, 
Mr.  Soule  being  connected  with  the  firm 
of  Merrell-Soule  Company. 


MAGEE,  Walter  Warren,  ' 

Iiavyer,  Congressman. 

Walter  Warren  Magee  was  born  at 
Groveland,  Livingston  county,  New  York, 
May  23,  1861,  a  son  of  John  and  Mariet 
(Patchin)  Magee.  He  attended  the  com- 
mon schools  and  Geneseo  State  Normal, 
was  graduated  from  Phillips  Exeter  Acad- 
emy at  Exeter,  New  Hampshire,  in  the 
class  of  1885  and  from  Harvard  College 
in  the  class  of  1889,  receiving  an  honor- 
able, mention  in  history  and  political 
economy  and  delivering  his  class  day 
oration. 

His  paternal  grandfather  came  to  this 
country  with  two  of  his  brothers  from 
the  north  of  Ireland  in  1792.  His  father, 
John  Magee,  was  born  in  181 2  at  Grove- 
land.  His  mother,  whose  maiden  name 
was  Mariet  Patchin,  was  the  granddaugh- 
ter of  Dr.  Warren  Patchin,  who  founded 
Patchinsville,  Steuben  county.  New  York. 
She  was  of  New  England  Yankee  and 
Pennsylvania  Dutch  ancestry,  and  died  in 
1892.  His  father  and  mother  were  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  was 
the  sixth  of  a  family  of  nine  children: 
Frances,  Luella,  Charles  M.,  John  C, 
Jane,   Walter  W.,   Edward   M.,    Evangia 


ixnd  Mary.  His  brother,  Charles  M.,  a 
prominent  surgeon  in  Syracuse,  died  in 
October,  1896.  His  brother,  Edward  M., 
is  now  serving  his  third  term  in  the  New 
York  State  Assembly  from  Livingston 
county.  His  father  was  prominent  in  the 
old  training  days  in  the  State,  and  in 
1842  was  made  a  colonel  in  the  State 
militia,  receiving  his  commission  from 
Governor  William  H.  Seward.  He  was  a 
Democrat  in  politics  until  the  election  of 
i860,  when  he  cast  his  first  Republican 
vote  for  Abraham  Lincoln.  He  died  in 
1890. 

Of  the  three  Magee  brothers  who  came 
to  this  country  in  1792,  one  settled  in  the 
south  and  was  lost  track  of;  Mr.  Magee's 
grandfather  located  at  Groveland  and  the 
third  brother  also  in  the  north.  John 
Magee,  a  son  of  this  third  brother,  served 
with  distinction  in  the  War  of  1812.  He 
resided  in  Bath,  New  York,  and  later 
became  a  member  of  Congress,  serving  in 
that  body  from  1828  to  1832. 

In  September,  1889,  Walter  W.  Magee 
located  in  Syracuse.  He  studied  law  in 
the  offices  of  Baldwin,  Lewis  &  Kennedy, 
and  in  November,  1891,  was  admitted  to 
the  bar.  He  served  as  a  member  of  the 
board  of  supervisors  of  Onondaga  county 
in  the  session  of  1892-93.  In  1896  he  be- 
came the  law  partner  of  Charles  G.  Bald- 
win, Esq.,  with  whom  he  is  still  asso- 
ciated. He  was  corporation  counsel  of 
the  city  of  Syracuse  for  ten  years  from 
January  i,  1904,  serving  under  Mayors 
Fobes  and  Schoeneck.  In  November, 
1914,  he  was  elected  to  the  Sixty-fourth 
Congress  as  the  representative  of  the 
Thirty-fifth  District,  New  York,  by  ap- 
proximately 8,000  plurality.  He  is  fond 
of  outdoor  sports  and  recreation.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Citizens'  Club,  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  Century  Club,  Onondaga 
Golf  and  Country  Club,  University  Club, 
Harvard  Club  of  Syracuse,  Hasty  Pud- 
ding Club  of  Harvard,  Masonic  Temple 


S^^^Ty:^^^^^^^^— 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Club,  Syracuse  Escort  and  Banner  Young 
Men's  Republican  Club. 

He  was  married,  at  Fort  Niobrara, 
Nebraska,  in  1895,  to  Sarah  Genevieve 
Wood,  a  daughter  of  Brigadier-General 
Palmer  G.  Wood,  who  now  resides  at 
Los  Angeles,  California.  They  have  no 
children. 


WARD,  Levi, 

Connecticut  Tract  Agent. 

From  early  Colonial  days  the  name 
Ward  has  been  prominently  known  in 
New  England,  and  since  1816  has  been 
a  familiar  and  honored  one  in  Western 
New  York,  its  introduction  following  by 
but  a  few  years  the  first  settlement  at 
Falls  Town,  now  the  city  of  Rochester. 
Dr.  Levi  Ward,  grandfather  of  Frank 
Addison  Ward,  came  to  Bergen,  a  village 
of  Genesee  county,  eighteen  miles  south- 
west of  Rochester,  in  1816,  as  agent  for 
the  State  of  Connecticut.  His  mission 
was  to  dispose  of  ico,ooo  acres  of  land 
known  as  the  "Connecticut  Tract"  belong- 
ing to  the  school  fund  of  that  State. 
Bergen,  being  located  in  about  the  center 
of  the  tract,  was  chosen  as  his  first  resi- 
dence but  he  soon  afterward  made 
Rochester  his  home.  Dr.  Ward's  agency 
for  the  sale  of  the  "Connecticut  Tract" 
continued  during  his  lifetime  and  at  his 
death  passed  to  his  son,  Levi  A.  Ward, 
who  acted  as  agent  until  it  was  all  sold. 
Dr.  Levi  Ward  was  born  in  Haddam, 
Connecticut,  was  a  graduate  of  Yale  Col- 
lege, and  practiced  medicine  in  Haddam 
until  coming  to  Western  New  York. 


WARD,  Levi  A., 

Pioneer,   Enterprising  Citizen. 

Levi  A.  Ward,  son  of  Dr.  Levi  Ward, 
was  born  in  Haddam,  Connecticut,  in 
1801,  died  in  Rochester,  New  York,  Au- 
gust 6,  1881.    He  came  to  Rochester  with 


his  father  in  1816,  and  as  that  city  was 
also  in  its  infancy  at  that  time  they  liter- 
ally grew  up  together,  Mr.  Ward  bearing 
an  important  part  in  the  development  of 
his  adopted  city  throughout  a  long  and 
useful  life.  He  began  business  life  as  a 
merchant,  but  later  became  very  promi- 
nent in  the  insurance  world  as  agent  and 
official.  His  partner  in  mercantile  life 
was  William  H.  Ward,  but  after  entering 
the  insurance  business  Mr.  Ward  asso- 
ciated with  his  son,  Levi  F.  Ward,  under 
the  firm  name  of  L.  A.  &  L.  F.  Ward. 
Their  agency  was  a  very  successful  one, 
representing  a  number  of  the  strongest 
fire  insurance  companies  and  has  never 
passed  out  of  the  family  name,  being  now 
conducted  by  a  grandson  of  the  founder 
as  Levi  S.  Ward  &  Company.  In  1836 
Levi  A.  Ward  aided  in  the  organization 
of  the  Monroe  County  Mutual  Insurance 
Company,  of  which  he  was  secretary 
until  it  passed  out  of  existence  through 
voluntary  liquidation  in  1865.  That  com- 
pany during  its  twenty-nine  years  of  life 
wrote  $100,000,000  of  insurance  and  when 
the  books  were  finally  closed,  a  surplus 
remained  that  was  voted  as  a  gift  to  the 
Rochester  Female  Charitable  Society  of 
which  Mr.  Ward  was  also  secretary.  He 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  original 
Rochester  Gas  Company  and  its  president 
from  incorporation  until  its  absorption  by 
another  company.  The  public  service 
rendered  by  Mr.  Ward  to  his  city  and  its 
institutions  were  exceedingly  varied  and 
weighty.  While  still  a  young  man  he 
served  several  terms  on  the  board  of 
supervisors  and  was  the  first  president  of 
the  board  of  education.  From  1845  to 
1847  he  was  a  member  of  Common  Coun- 
cil and  in  1849  ^^s  elected  mayor.  The 
years  of  his  term  were  also  Ireland's  years 
of  suffering  from  the  "great"  famine, 
suffering  that  Rochester  under  the  active 
lead  of  Mayor  Ward  did  a  great  deal  to 
relieve  by  donations  of  money  and  pro- 


125 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


visions.  In  1849  the  Rochester  Athen- 
aeum adopted  a  new  constitution  and 
under  its  provisions  Mr.  Ward  was 
chosen  president  until  the  new  year 
began,  then  was  elected  for  a  full  term. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  first  board  of 
directors  of  the  City  Hospital,  a  director 
of  the  Industrial  School  and  a  manager 
of  the  House  of  Refuge,  serving  for  one 
year  as  president  of  the  board.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  building  committees  in 
charge  of  the  erection  of  the  old  Monroe 
court  house,  the  old  county  poor  house 
and  the  city  hall  (1850)  and  the  Rochester 
City  Bank  building.  For  many  years  he 
was  an  elder  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  for  fifteen  years  was  super- 
intendent of  the  Sunday  school.  He  aided 
in  organizing  and  founding  St.  Peter's 
Presbyterian  Church,  was  chosen  one  of 
its  first  elders  and  for  many  years  served 
in  that  capacity. 

It  was  said  of  Mr.  Ward  by  one  of  his 
contemporaries :  "He  was  always  a 
vigorous  and  pushing  man  and  possessed 
in  the  best  sense  those  qualities  which 
make  the  successful  man,  the  kind  neigh- 
bor, the  good  citizen.  He  was  by  nature 
a  leader  and  when  he  supported  a  move- 
ment he  was  sure  to  make  his  influence 
felt  for  its  good.  His  ideas  were  broad  and 
well  defined,  while  the  power  to  execute 
them  was  illustrated  in  many  and  varied 
fields."  Said  another.  "He  was  regarded 
as  a  safe  and  accurate  judge  of  securities 
and  large  matters  were  entrusted  to  him." 
The  death  of  Mr.  Ward  was  genuinely 
regretted  by  his  community,  for  during 
his  long  career  he  had  served  the  public 
without  consideration  of  personal  inter- 
ests and  his  sterling  qualities  of  mind  and 
heart  had  won  perfect  confidence  and 
loyal  esteem. 

He  married  Harriet  Kemp,  born  in 
England,  daughter  of  George  Kemp,  who 
came  to  Livingston  county.  New  York,  in 
1825.      Children:      Levi     F.,    deceased; 


Frank  Addison,  of  further  mention  ;  Her- 
bert L.,  of  Rochester;  Rev.  George  K., 
of  New  York  City ;  ,  married  Au- 
gustus Waters,  deceased ;  Mary,  deceased. 


WARD,  Frank  Addison,  ' 
Head  of  Natural  Science  Establislinieiit. 

Frank  Addison  Ward,  son  of  Levi  A. 
and  Harriet  (Kemp)  Ward,  was  born  in 
Rochester,  New  York,  185 1.  He  prepared 
at  Satterlee  Collegiate  Institute  of 
Rochester,  then  entered  Princeton  Uni- 
versity, whence  he  was  graduated  Bach- 
elor of  Arts,  class  of  1870.  From  1870 
until  1875  he  was  associated  with  his 
father  in  the  fire  insurance  business,  then 
became  identified  with  the  business  of 
which  he  is  now  the  executive  head.  The 
business  founded  by  Henry  A.  Ward  was 
incorporated  in  1890  as  Ward's  Natural 
Science  Establishment,  Henry  A.  Ward, 
president,  Frank  A.  Ward,  treasurer. 
Upon  the  death  of  the  president  in  1906 
Frank  A.  Ward  succeeded  him  as  direct- 
ing head  of  a  business  whose  value  in  the 
promotion  of  knowledge  is  little  under- 
stood outside  educational  circles.  The 
mission  of  the  establishment  is  to  supply 
colleges,  museums  and  collectors  in  this 
country  and  Europe  with  natural  history 
specimens  of  any  kind  or  in  any  quantity 
desired.  This  requires  the  establishment 
to  carry  large  and  varied  stocks  and  to 
this  end  they  are  themselves  large  col- 
lectors of  rare  and  valuable  specimens. 
As  president  and  treasurer  of  the  estab- 
lishment and  in  the  collection,  description 
and  classification  of  specimens,  Mr. 
Ward's  time  would  seem  to  be  fully 
occupied,  but  he  has  been  a  director  of 
the  Merchants'  Bank  for  several  years  and 
a  director  of  the  Rochester  Trust  &  Safe 
Deposit  Company  since  its  incorporation. 

Like  his  honored  father  Mr.  Ward  is 
keenly  alive  to  his  responsibilities  as  a 
citizen  and  has  devoted  a  generous  por- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tion  of  his  time  to  the  public  service  of 
his  city.  For  twelve  years  he  has  served 
as  a  member  of  Common  Council  and  has 
always  been  found  among  the  supporters 
of  those  measures  and  identified  with 
those  movements  tending  to  promote  the 
common  good.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  an  Episcopalian  in  religious  faith 
and  for  nearly  forty  years  has  been  a 
vestryman  of  Christ  Parish  of  which  he  is 
now  senior  warden.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  of  the 
Genesee  Valley  and  Rochester  Country 
clubs. 

He  married  Mary  H.,  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam B.  Douglas,  of  Rochester.  Their 
living  children  are  :  William  Douglas,  M. 
D. ;  Frank  Hawley ;  Charlotte,  married 
Commander  Amon  Bronson,  of  the 
United  States  navy;  Emma,  married  Wil- 
liam G.  Woolfolk,  of  Chicago ;  George 
Merritt;  Marie,  married  Harold  G.  Bent- 
ley,  of  Rochester;  Cornelia;  Dudley  L. 


RANDALL,  James  A., 

Accomplished  Architect. 

It  does  not  need  the  name  of  the  artist 
on  a  painting  to  determine  who  the  artist 
was  and  so  it  is  with  the  really  talented 
architect.  His  work  bears  the  imprint  of 
his  genius  and  can  everywhere  be  distin- 
guished from  that  of  others.  So  with  the 
pretentious  buildings  planned  by  Mr. 
Randall.  He  has  an  original  manner  of 
treating  the  different  orders  of  architec- 
ture and  so  designing  a  building  that  its 
location,  material  and  design  all  blend 
into  one  complete  and  harmonious  whole. 
In  fact  the  genius  he  displays  in  creating 
buildings  that  harmonize  with  their  sur- 
roundings, the  material  of  which  they  are 
constructed  and  the  purpose  for  which 
they  are  intended,  proves  that  he  is  an 
architect  and  not  a  draughtman  merely 
or  a  drawer  of  tasteful  designs. 

Mr.  Randall  has  had  a  wide  experience 


in  designing  and  construction  and  it  is 
worthy  of  comment  that  the  architect 
under  whom  he  studied  and  perfected  his 
art,  thought  so  highly  of  his  attainments 
that  for  several  years  they  were  asso- 
ciated in  partnership  as  Kirby  &  Randall, 
architects  of  Syracuse,  New  York. 

James  A.  Randall  was  born  at  Syra- 
cuse, December  21,  1861,  son  of  Colonel 
James  Randall,  a  former  contractor  of 
stone  constructive  work,  and  a  noted 
builder.  He  attended  the  public  schools 
of  Syracuse,  and  after  a  course  in  high 
school,  in  1880  entered  the  office  of  James 
H.  Kirby,  a  leading  architect  of  Syracuse, 
as  an  apprentice.  He  completed  a  full 
course  of  architectural  instruction  under 
Mr.  Kirby  and  in  his  studies  went  far 
beyond  the  routine  of  office  study,  thor- 
oughly mastering  every  collateral  study 
that  would  add  to  his  mental  and  artistic 
equipment.  During  the  construction  of 
the  West  Shore  railroad  he  made  his 
home  in  New  York  City,  being  a  member 
of  the  staff  of  that  company  in  charge  of 
the  architectural  designing  of  its  many 
buildings  of  various  kinds  in  all  cities  and 
towns  through  which  the  road  passed. 
This  gave  him  rich  experience  and  so 
established  him  in  his  profession  that 
commissions  awaited  him  upon  his  return 
to  private  designing. 

After  the  completion  of  the  West  Shore 
he  returned  to  Syracuse  and  accepted  the 
offer  of  his  old  instructor,  James  H. 
Kirby,  to  form  a  partnership.  The  firm 
of  Kirby  &  Randall  was  thus  formed  and 
so  continued  for  several  years.  Later  the 
partnership  was  dissolved  and  the  firm  of 
Merrick  &  Randall  formed  that  has 
existed  for  the  past  twenty  years. 

There  are  many  monuments  standing 
in  Syracuse  and  vicinity  to  the  skill  and 
genius  of  Mr.  Randall,  among  the  most 
noteworthy  the  following  perhaps,  best 
display  his  versatility  and  originality: 
Carnegie     Library,     Syracuse ;    Carnegie 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Library,  Solvay ;  Sacred  Heart  Polish 
Church,  Syracuse ;  the  reconstructed 
Church  of  the  Assumption  and  Convent, 
Syracuse ;  the  Poultry  Building,  State 
Fair  Grounds;  Temple  Theatre,  Syra- 
cuse; residence  of  Bishop  John  Grimes, 
Syracuse ;  residence  of  Edwin  F.  Torrey, 
Clinton,  New  York ;  Syracuse  Vocational 
School,  and  Delaware  School,  Syracuse. 

Mr.  Randall  is  a  man  of  strong  public 
spirit  and  aids  with  personal  work  and 
influence  in  the  management  of  many  of 
the  institutions  of  his  city.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  board  of  managers  of  Newark 
Asylum  for  Feeble  Minded  Women,  also 
is  one  of  the  managers  of  that  great  Syra- 
cuse organization,  the  Citizens'  Club,  and 
that  true  philanthropy,  the  Newsboys 
Club.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  Onondaga 
Historical  Society.  Other  clubs  to  which 
Mr.  Randall  belongs  other  than  the  two 
mentioned  are  the  Century,  Onondaga 
Country,  Bellevue  Country,  Technolog>', 
and  the  order  of  Knights  of  Columbus. 
He  has  ever  been  a  devotee  of  sports  of 
the  great  "out-of-doors,"  with  a  particular 
liking  for  tennis,  holding  with  the  late  A. 
D.  Jenney  the  local  double  championship 
for  several  years  in  succession. 


BENTON,  George  Alden,  ^' 
LaMpyer,  Jurist. 

A  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
State  of  New  York  for  many  years,  Judge 
Benton  reached  that  high  judicial  position 
solely  through  genuine  ability,  strength 
of  character  and  fitness,  the  honor  coming 
from  his  fellow-citizens  in  recognition  of 
the  sterling  qualities  that  distinguish 
him.  Although  born  in  Connecticut  he  is 
a  graduate  of  New  York's  two  great  uni- 
versities, Cornell  and  Columbia,  his 
student  years  marked  by  a  high  order  of 
scholarship  and  honors  conferred  by  his 

I 


class.  His  legal  career  has  been  a  suc- 
cession of  honors  bestowed  by  his  fellow- 
men,  the  first  in  recognition  of  the  high 
standing  he  attained  during  his  first  ten 
years  of  legal  practice,  each  succeeding 
office  filled  clearly  demonstrating  his 
fidelity  to  duty  and  ability  to  fulfill 
greater  trusts.  As  practitioner,  district 
attorney,  surrogate,  county  judge  and 
Supreme  Court  Justice  he  has  justified 
the  confidence  reposed  in  him  and  the 
legal  records  of  his  State  teem  with 
evidences  of  his  learning,  wisdom  and 
judicial  acumen.  His  opinions  are  always 
clear,  profound  and  logical,  delivered  in 
as  few  words  as  the  character  of  the  case 
under  consideration  will  permit.  His  life 
has  been  devoted  to  his  profession  and 
every  public  honor  that  has  come  to  him 
has  been  of  a  legal  character.  This  does 
not  argue  that  he  is  not  interested  in 
other  things  that  affect  the  public  welfare 
— for  he  is — that  interest  having  been 
strongly  displayed  in  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion, in  fraternal  affiliation,  in  political 
activity  and  many  other  ways.  His  inter- 
est in  the  Masonic  order  covers  a  period 
of  many  years  and  in  the  Scottish  Rite  he 
has  attained  that  greatly  coveted  degree, 
the  thirty-third,  one  that  is  only  bestowed 
in  recognition  of  distinguished  service  in 
behalf  of  the  order. 

George  Alden  Benton  was  born  in  Tol- 
land, Connecticut,  May  7,  1848,  son  of 
Azariah  L.  and  Louisa  (Alden)  Benton. 
On  his  mother's  side  he  traces  direct  de- 
scent from  John  Alden.  His  youth  was 
spent  in  acquiring  a  preparatory  educa- 
tion, followed  by  two  years  at  Williams 
College,  1867-68.  He  then  entered  Cornell 
University,  receiving  from  that  institution 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  class  of 
1871,  he  also  having  been  honored  with 
the  presidency  of  his  class.  For  one  year 
after  leaving  the  university  he  taught 
school,     then     entered     Columbia     Law 


28 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


School,  New  York  City,  whence  he  was 
graduated  Bachelor  of  Laws,  class  of 
1874.  He  at  once  began  the  practice  of 
law,  locating  in  Rochester,  New  York, 
where  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
Pomeroy  P.  Dickenson,  an  association 
terminated  in  1884  by  the  election  of  Mr. 
Benton  as  district  attorney  of  Monroe 
county.  From  1884  until  1890  he  filled 
that  office  with  credit  to  himself  and 
benefit  to  the  county,  prosecuting  vigor- 
ously when  justice  so  demanded,  but  ever 
tempering  justice  with  mercy.  From 
1890  until  1894  he  was  engaged  in  private 
practice  in  Rochester,  but  in  the  latter 
year  was  again  called  into  the  public  serv- 
ice through  election  to  the  office  of  sur- 
rogate of  Monroe  county.  He  served  as 
surrogate  until  1906,  then  was  appointed 
by  Governor  Higgins  county  judge  of 
Monroe  county.  He  served  on  the  county 
bench  until  December  31,  1906,  then  took 
his  seat  upon  the  Supreme  Court  bench, 
having  been  elected  a  justice  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  at  the  general  State  election 
held  the  preceding  November.  His  term 
of  office  will  expire  December  31,  1918. 
Although  a  lifelong  Republican  with 
potent  influence  in  party  councils,  he  has 
never  sought  the  preferment  and  honor 
received  from  his  party.  Quiet  and  rather 
reserved  in  manner  he  has  pursued  the 
even  tenor  of  his  way,  doing  each  day's 
work  as  it  presented  itself,  growing 
stronger  as  the  years  progressed,  shirking 
no  responsibility,  but  meeting  each  new 
demand  made  upon  him  by  his  fellowmen 
as  the  call  of  duty  not  to  be  disregarded. 
He  is  an  honor  to  an  honored  profession, 
and  in  return  for  each  office  conferred  has 
given  the  people  the  best  of  his  learning, 
wisdom,  judgment  and  experience. 

For  many  years  Judge  Benton  has  been 
a  member  of  the  Masonic  order  and  now 
holds  all  degrees  of  both  York  and  Scottish 
Rites.    He  is  a  past  master  of  Yonnondio 

N  Y-Vol  IV-9  I ; 


Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  a 
companion  of  Hamilton  Chapter,  Royal 
Arch  Masons;  a  sir  knight  of  Monroe 
Commandery,  Knights  Templar ;  a  noble 
of  Damascus  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic 
Order  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine,  and  a 
thirty-third  degree  Mason  of  Rochester 
Consistory,  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scot- 
tish Rite.  He  was  president  of  the  asso- 
ciation that  erected  the  Masonic  Temple 
in  Rochester  and  has  rendered  the  order 
much  distinguished  service  that  has  been 
recognized  officially  by  the  bestowal  upon 
him  of  Masonry's  highest  degree,  the 
thirty-third,  a  degree  that  may  not  be 
applied  for,  but  is  in  reality  conferred  as 
an  honor  that  has  been  won.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Alumni  associations  of 
Cornell  and  Columbia  universities,  and  at 
alumni  reunions  has  been  the  orator  of 
the  occasion.  His  fraternities  are  D.  U. 
and  Phi  Beta  Kappa. 

Judge  Benton's  home  is  at  Spencerport, 
Monroe  county.  New  York,  nine  miles 
from  Rochester,  that  town  also  being  the 
home  of  the  Farmers'  Library,  the  oldest 
of  its  kind  in  the  State  of  New  York. 
That  institution,  once  prosperous  and  use- 
ful, having  fallen  into  a  state  of  coma, 
was  revived  by  Judge  Benton  and  his 
friends,  and  with  his  election  to  the  presi- 
dency the  library  is  again  an  excellent 
source  of  benefit  to  the  community.  This 
is  in  line  with  the  lifelong  interest  he  has 
taken  in  the  cause  of  education  and  in 
educational  movements.  In  earlier  days 
he  was  a  very  effective  campaign  orator 
and  active  party  worker.  During  the 
lifetime  of  the  Lincoln  Club  of  Rochester, 
1880  to  1890,  he  was  commander  of  that 
club,  once  one  of  the  strong  factors  in 
arousing  enthusiasm  for  the  Republican 
tickets. 

Judge  Benton  married,  July  8,  1892, 
Catherine  S.  Westerdick  and  has  four 
children  :    Ethel,  George,  Alice,  Helen. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


CLEVELAND,  Merritt  Andrus,  ^ 
Civil  Engineer. 

There  are  many  men  who  gain  promi- 
nence that  makes  them  well  known  in 
their  own  generation,  but  whose  great- 
ness does  not  outlive  their  own  time.  The 
name  of  Merritt  Andrus  Cleveland,  of 
Brockport,  New  York,  will,  however,  be  a 
familiar  one  in  the  annals  of  the  State  of 
New  York  as  long  as  people  are  interested 
in  her  history.  He  was  the  promoter  of 
much  of  the  means  of  her  present  pros- 
perity, for  of  what  avail  are  large  fac- 
tories, fine  crops,  etc.,  if  there  are  not 
ample  means  of  transportation.  He  was 
also  identified  with  many  important  enter- 
prises in  New  York  and  Canada. 

Merritt  Andrus  Cleveland,  son  of  Phil- 
ander Blodgett  and  Mercy  (Richardson) 
Cleveland,  and  grandson  of  Stephen  Rich- 
ardson, was  born  in  East  Houndsfield, 
JeiTerson  county,  New  York,  August  27, 
1849,  ^"<i  died  suddenly,  May  19,  1912. 
Until  the  year  1869  he  was  a  student  at 
schools  in  East  Houndsfield,  Brownville, 
Dexter  and  Watertown,  all  in  Jefferson 
county,  and  at  the  same  time  assisted  his 
father  in  the  cultivation  of  his  farms.  In 
1870  he  became  a  member  of  the  civil 
engineering  corps  of  the  Carthage, 
Watertown  &  Sackett's  Harbor  railroad, 
where  the  railroad  was  being  constructed, 
and  subsequently  was  employed  in  a 
similar  capacity  by  the  Clayton  &  Theresa 
Railroad  Company,  and  then  obtained  a 
position  with  the  Watertown  Water 
Works,  and  was  employed  in  the  city 
engineer's  office  the  first  year  that  Water- 
town  was  incorporated  as  a  city.  Until 
1872  he  resided  a  part  of  the  time  at 
Watertown,  and  then  at  Clayton.  He 
was  appointed  division  engineer  of  the 
Lake  Ontario  Shore  railroad  in  April, 
1872,  and  the  following  year  took  charge 
of  the  construction  work  of  the  Kingston 
&  Pembroke  railway  of  Canada,  and  for 


some  time  lived  in  Kingston,  Canada.  He 
organized  the  firm  of  Hunter  &  Cleveland 
in  July,  1874,  establishing  this  for  regular 
contract  work  in  connection  with  the  con- 
struction of  railroads ;  and  completed  the 
Lake  Ontario  Shore  railroad,  and  several 
other  contracts  on  the  line  of  the  railroad 
between  Oswego  and  Niagara  Falls. 
Three  years  later  he  organized  the  firm 
of  Hunter,  Murray  &  Cleveland,  and,  hav- 
ing received  the  contract  for  the  con- 
struction of  a  part  of  the  Welland  Canal 
in  Canada,  from  the  Dominion  govern- 
ment, he  carried  this  tremendous  water- 
way to  completion  at  Port  Colborne, 
Welland  and  St.  Catherine's,  making  his 
home  at  Port  Colborne  at  this  time,  in 
order  to  be  able  to  superintend  the  work 
personally.  The  Murray  Canal  and 
many  harbors  on  the  Upper  Lakes  were 
also  constructed  by  him.  The  firm  of 
Warren  &  Cleveland  was  formed  in  1882 
and,  having  taken  the  contract  to  build 
the  Pittsburgh,  Cleveland  &  Toledo  rail- 
road in  Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  Mr. 
Cleveland  removed  to  Youngstown, 
Ohio,  and  resided  there  until  March,  1884. 
In  1886  the  firm  of  Murray  &  Cleveland 
was  formed  at  St.  Catherine's,  Ontario, 
for  the  purpose  of  general  contracting, 
and  it  accepted  the  contract  from  the 
Dominion  government  to  deepen  the 
Welland  Canal,  Port  Dalhousie.  In  1888 
the  Dominion  government  again  called 
on  the  services  of  Mr.  Cleveland  to  con- 
struct the  Galop  Canal  around  the  Galop 
Rapids  in  the  St.  Lawrence  river,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  construct  an  eastern 
entrance  to  Toronto  Harbor,  on  Lake 
Ontario.  June  i,  1897,  Mr.  Cleveland 
commenced  work  on  what  is  known  as 
the  North  Channel,  about  two  miles  above 
the  Galop  Rapids,  and  the  result  obtained 
was  an  unimpeded  British  channel, 
eighteen  feet  deep,  three  hundred  feet  in 
width,  and  an  air  line  of  three  and  a  half 
miles  in  length,  and  thus  an  easy  entrance 


130 


(j2--''C.^^-y^yC-^=:^-^7-'.  ,^' 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


is  gained  to  the  great  Canadian  canal 
system  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  In  all  these 
huge  enterprises,  it  is  to  be  remembered 
that  thousands  of  men,  skilled  and  un- 
skilled laborers,  were  employed  by  Mr. 
Cleveland.  To  his  credit  be  it  said,  that 
while  strikes  raged,  and  governments  and 
judiciaries  were  compelled  to  interfere, 
Mr.  Cleveland  never  had  strikes  or  labor 
troubles  of  any  kind  arising  from  the 
many  quarrels  and  misunderstandings 
almost  sure  to  crop  out  in  these  days,  and 
especially  in  great  undertakings.  The 
building  of  the  channel  attracted  univer- 
sal attention.  The  "Illustrated  London 
News,"  in  its  issue  of  August  26,  1899, 
gave  an  elaborate  and  detailed  account  of 
the  grand  work.  The  Montreal,  Toronto 
and  Ottawa  papers  followed  the  work 
while  in  the  course  of  construction  with 
the  closest  attention,  and  delighted  to  use 
their  columns  in  praise  of  the  great 
achievement  of  Mr.  Cleveland.  The 
Watertown  "Daily  Times"  honored  its 
former  citizen  in  a  special  issue ;  and  the 
New  York  "Herald"  had  an  exhaustive 
account  of  the  work  done  at  Port  Col- 
borne  on  the  Welland  Canal,  in  its  issue 
of  April  12,  1880.  The  Cleveland  &  Sons 
Company,  with  Mr.  Cleveland  and  his  two 
Sons — Milo  L.  and  Harold — was  formed 
in  December,  1908,  and  engaged  in  work 
on  Contract  No.  61,  of  the  Barge  Canal 
in  this  State.  This  was  not  completed  at 
the  time  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Cleveland. 
He  was  the  largest  land  owner  in  the 
county  and  one  of  the  largest  in  the  State. 
His  holdings  in  Lorraine  and  Worth  alone 
totaled  more  than  ten  thousand  acres,  and 
he  also  had  vast  estates  in  Canada. 

Mr.  Cleveland  married  at  Sodus,  New 
York,  May  20,  1875,  Ellen  Elizabeth 
Smith,  born  in  Sodus,  July  24,  1857,  died 
April  30,  191 5.  She  was  a  daughter  of 
Orril  and  Caroline  (Prosser)  Smith.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Cleveland  had  children :  Milo 
L.,  born  at  Port  Colborne,  January  21, 


1S79;  Helen  Louise,  born  at  Port  Col- 
borne, April  4,  1880,  married  Richard  O. 
Marsh,  of  Warsaw,  Illinois,  a  civil  engi- 
neer, who  constructed  a  dam  across  the 
Mississippi;  Harold,  born  at  Brockport, 
New  York,  June  24,  1885,  married,  in 
1912,  Mary  Louise  Gaines,  of  Kansas 
City,  Missouri ;  Florence  Murray,  born 
in  Brockport,  February  2,  1893.  The 
home  of  the  family  has  been  at  Brock- 
port, New  York,  since  1884.  Mr.  Cleve- 
land was  a  man  of  fine  personal  appear- 
ance, and  possessed  the  genial  qualities 
which  rendered  him  popular.  He  won 
friends  easily  and  had  the  happy  faculty 
of  retaining  them.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Brock- 
port, and  of  a  number  of  organizations 
of  varied  character,  among  them  being 
the  following  mentioned ;  Black  River 
Valley  Club,  of  Watertown;  St.  Ann's 
Shooting  and  Fishing  Club,  of  Toronto; 
Rochester  Whist  Club;  the  Silsby  Hose 
Company;  Brownville  Lodge,  No.  53, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  Watertown 
Chapter,  No.  59,  Royal  Arch  Masons ;  and 
was  an  honorary  member  of  Capen  Hose 
Company. 

The  sudden  death  of  Mr.  Cleveland  was 
a  great  shock  to  the  community.  He  had 
been  about  his  home  in  the  forenoon 
apparently  in  his  usual  health,  and,  after 
playing  with  his  grandchildren,  as  he  was 
in  the  habit  of  doing,  went  to  his  barn 
to  take  an  inventory  of  the  amount  of  hay 
on  hand.  He  had  been  there  but  a  few 
moments  when  one  of  his  men  saw  him 
fall  forward  on  a  bale  of  hay.  Medical 
assistance  was  at  once  summoned,  but 
before  it  arrived  he  had  breathed  his  last. 
We  quote  the  following  from  one  of  the 
papers  of  the  time: 

Some  of  his  employes  had  been  with  him 
twenty,  thirty,  and  in  one  instance,  forty  years. 
All  day  long  it  was  their  one  theme  of  conver- 
sation. He  was  always  the  same  to  one  and  all. 
Genial,  kind  hearted,  the  employe  who  showed  his 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


worth  was  always  repaid,  as  many  of  them  can 
fully  testify  in  their  long  service,  and  by  the 
many  acts  of  kindness  shown  them  and  their 
families.  Again  the  beautiful  floral  offering,  a 
rose  blanket,  sent  by  the  workmen,  and  their  at- 
tendance in  a  body  at  the  last  sad  rites  to  the  de- 
ceased, all  anxious  to  pay  their  tribute  of  love 
and  esteem,  were  alone  expressive  of  their  feel- 
ings. They  knew  his  worth  and  keenly  felt  their 
loss.  With  our  townspeople  he  was  held  in  high 
esteem  and  the  best  interests  of  the  village  were 
always  his  interests.  In  matters  of  importance  his 
opinion  was  sought,  and  his  conservative  manner 
of  looking  on  all  sides  won  appreciation  from  all. 
No  one  can  say  aught  of  his  charitable  ways,  for 
he  was  always  the  first  to  give  for  any  good 
cause,  and  generously  too,  and  many  a  poor  home 
can  attest  to  substantial  remembrances  from  the 
unknown  giver. 

The  following  memorial  is  from  the 
Silsby  Hose  Company : 

The  death  of  Merritt  A.  Cleveland,  for  many 
years  a  member  of  Silsby  Hose  Company,  means 
a  loss  which  is  felt  personally  by  the  members, 
and  more  particularly  to  the  older  men,  those 
who  were  active  in  the  company  when  he  joined 
it.  Mr.  Cleveland  became  a  member  of  the  Com- 
pany, March  i,  1885,  and  continued  in  active 
membership  to  the  time  of  his  death.  While  his 
large  business  interests  and  frequent  absences 
from  the  village  necessarily  prevented  his  partici- 
pation in  many  of  the  activities  of  the  Company, 
he  nevertheless  felt  and  showed  at  all  times  a 
sincere  interest  in  its  affairs.  He  was  for  many 
years  a  trustee,  and  was  always  to  be  relied  upon 
for  any  service  which  it  was  in  his  power  to 
render.  It  is  as  a  friend  as  well  as  a  fellow 
member  that  we  mourn  his  departure.  We, 
therefore,  feel  that  it  is  most  fitting  that  we,  as  a 
Company,  express  our  deep  sorrow  in  this  loss, 
and  our  sincere  sympathy  with  Mr.  Cleveland's 
family.  GEORGE  H.  Reynolds, 

Secretary. 


CLEVELAND,  Mile  L., 

Civil  Engineer. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  sons  of  great 
men  seldom  attain  to  distinction,  imply- 
ing that  more  or  less  of  a  handicap  is 
entailed  through  standing  in  the  shadow 
of  such  greatness.     This  may  be  true  in 


many  cases,  the  annals  of  our  as  well  as 
those  of  other  nations  showing  such  to  be 
the  fact,  but  in  contradistinction  are 
found  so  many  instances  where  sons  have 
added  laurels  to  honored  names  of  fathers 
that  there  can  be  naught  but  perversity 
of  spirit  and  obliquity  of  vision  when  it  is 
maintained  that  the  above  premise  is  in- 
variably correct.  An  instance  is  afforded 
in  the  career  of  Milo  L.  Cleveland,  of 
Brockport,  New  York,  who  is  numbered 
among  the  leaders  of  the  younger  busi- 
ness men  and  civil  engineers  of  the  city 
and  State  that  were  honored  and  dignified 
by  the  life  and  services  of  the  late  Merritt 
Andrus  Cleveland,  to  whom  a  memorial  is 
dedicated  in  this  work.  Milo  L.  Cleve- 
land has  achieved  much  in  an  individual 
way  not  dependent  upon  hereditary  pres- 
tige, and  has  proved  himself  a  worthy 
factor  in  the  line  of  industry  he  has 
elected  to  follow.  He  is  a  splendid  ex- 
ample of  the  virile  and  progressive  young 
man  who  believes  in  doing  well  whatever 
is  worth  doing  at  all,  a  man  of  keen  dis- 
cernment and  sound  judgment,  broad- 
minded,  and  a  follower  of  the  highest 
business  and  social  ethics.  Though  a 
busy  man,  he  is  very  approachable  and 
unassuming  in  his  manner,  being  genial 
and  pleasing  in  his  address,  and  because 
of  his  genuine  worth  he  is  well  liked  by 
all  with  whom  he  comes  in  contact. 

Milo  L.  Cleveland  was  born  in  Port 
Colborne,  Province  of  Ontario,  Canada, 
January  i,  1879,  and  was  a  child  when  his 
parents  first  made  their  home  in  Brock- 
port,  New  York,  where  he  acquired  his 
earlier  education  in  the  public  schools. 
He  was  then  in  succession  a  student  at 
Bradstreet's  Preparatory  School,  in 
Rochester ;  the  Cascadilla  School,  in 
Ithaca;  the  Brockport  Normal  School, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1900; 
and  finally  matriculated  at  Cornell  Uni- 
versity, where  he  took  a  course  in  civil 
engineering,  and  was  graduated  from  this 


[32 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


institution  in  the  class  of  1905.  He  at 
once  became  associated  with  his  talented 
father,  in  the  important  contracts  of  the 
latter  in  Canada,  and  with  Contract  No. 
61,  of  the  Barge  Canal  work  at  Brock- 
port.  After  the  death  of  his  father  he  was 
elected  to  the  presidency  of  the  corpor- 
ation founded  by  his  father,  known  as 
Cleveland  &  Sons  Company,  and  is  still 
the  incumbent  of  this  office.  In  1913-14, 
under  his  supervision,  the  firm  con- 
structed the  locks,  dams  and  bridge  on 
Seneca  river.  In  all  that  he  undertakes 
Mr.  Cleveland  displays  the  thoroughness 
and  progressiveness  of  the  well-trained 
business  man  of  the  present  generation, 
young  in  years,  but  apparently  old  in 
experience,  by  whom  the  work  of  the 
world  appears  to  be  carried  on  in  the 
present  period.  His  popularity  in  social 
circles  is  on  a  par  with  his  usefulness  '.n 
the  business  world,  and  he  is  a  member  of 
the  following  named  organizations : 
Sigma  Phi  fraternity,  Cornell  University ; 
order  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of 
Brockport;  Genesee  Valley  Club,  of 
Rochester ;  Cornell  clubs,  of  New  York 
City  and  Rochester.  His  religious  affili- 
ation is  with  the  Presbyterian  church. 

Mr.  Cleveland  married,  in  Kansas  City, 
Missouri,  September  6,  1906,  Kathryn 
Callaway,  a  daughter  of  Redman  and 
Antonia  Callaway.  This  union  has  been 
blessed  with  two  children :  Sybil  and 
Merritt  Andrus.  Men  of  Mr.  Cleveland's 
caliber  and  makeup  are  needed  in  every 
community,  as  an  example  of  what  un- 
remitting zeal  and  ability  may  accomplish 
in  developing,  directly  or  indirectly,  all 
lines  of  industry  and  progress.  Optimistic 
in  temperament,  he  always  sees  the  bright 
side  of  life  and  endeavors  to  spread  the 
gospel  of  good  cheer  among  all  with 
whom  he  comes  in  contact.  He  is  not 
demonstrative  in  his  feelings  toward 
others,  yet  he  makes  friends  easily,  values 
them  at  their  true  worth,  and  his  intense 


loyalty  to  them  is  one  of  his  striking  char- 
acteristics. At  every  stage  of  his  career 
he  is  the  same  honest,  cheerful,  generous 
soul,  living  not  for  himself  alone,  un- 
known to  selfishness,  a  stranger  to  dis- 
honor, and  in  everything  "standing  four 
square  to  every  wind  that  blows." 


LEWIS,  Merton  Elmer, 

Lawyer,   Public  Official. 

For  many  years  the  keen  intellect  and 
energy  of  Mr.  Lewis  have  been  employed 
in  the  public  service,  and  he  is  still  active 
in  directing  the  conduct  of  afifairs  through 
political  action.  He  is  descended  from  old 
New  England  stock,  and  exemplifies 
those  characteristics  which  led  people  to 
cross  a  wide  ocean  and  settle  in  a  wilder- 
ness because  of  principle.  He  was  born 
December  10,  1861,  in  Webster,  Monroe 
county,  New  York,  son  of  Charles  Chad- 
wick  and  Rhoda  Ann  (Willard)  Lewis. 
Rhoda  Ann  Willard  was  a  descendant  of 
Major  Simon  Willard,  a  member  of  Gov- 
ernor Winthrop's  council  in  Massachu- 
setts Bay  Colony,  and  in  command  of  a 
regiment  in  King  Philip's  War,  and  also 
chief  in  command  in  the  Pequot  Indian 
War.  He  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  New 
England,  whose  family  has  been  conspicu- 
ous in  many  lines  of  endeavor  down 
through  the  generations  to  the  present 
time.  She  was  born  August  25,  1826,  in 
Williamson,  Wayne  county,  New  York, 
a  daughter  of  John  Ray  and  Sarah 
Violetta  (Purdy)  Willard,  and  died  at 
Webster,  New  York,  in  February,  1892. 

Merton  Elmer  Lewis  attended  the  com- 
mon schools  including  the  Webster  Union 
School,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
June  2,  1882.  He  studied  law  with  James 
Breck  Perkins  at  Rochester,  New  York, 
and  later  with  the  firm  of  Perkins  &  Hays, 
at  Rochester,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  June,  1887.  Since  that  time  he  has 
been  continuously  engaged  in  the  practice 


133 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  his  profession  at  Rochester,  New  York, 
and  is  now  attorney  for  the  Traders'  Na- 
tional Bank  of  that  city,  of  which  he  was 
for  several  years  a  director.  From  early 
life  he  took  a  keen  interest  in  political 
movements,  and  directed  his  energies  in 
the  support  of  Republican  principles. 
From  May,  1890,  to  December  31,  1895, 
he  served  as  alderman  of  the  city  of 
Rochester,  and  was  president  of  the  Com- 
mon Council  of  that  city  from  March, 
1893,  to  December  31,  1895.  He  was  a 
delegate  to  the  New  York  State  Con- 
stitutional Convention  in  1894,  and  a 
member  of  the  State  Assembly  in  1897, 
1899,  1900  and  1901.  In  1895  he  was  act- 
ing mayor  of  the  city  of  Rochester,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  State  Senate,  repre- 
senting the  Forty-third  District,  in  1902- 
03-04-05-06.  He  was  chairman  of  the 
executive  committee  of  the  Republican 
State  Committee  in  1912-13-14-15,  and  in 
the  latter  year  was  appointed  first  deputy 
attorney-general  of  the  State.  Wherever 
duty  calls  him,  Mr.  Lewis  is  found  to  be 
faithful  to  every  charge,  and  his  forceful 
and  energetic  nature  have  won  for  him  a 
recognized  position  both  in  the  politics 
of  the  State  and  as  a  lawyer  in  active 
practice.  That  he  occupies  a  high  posi- 
tion at  the  bar  is  evidenced  by  his  ap- 
pointment as  first  deputy  attorney-gen- 
eral of  the  State.  In  1906  he  was  the 
Republican  candidate  for  the  office  of 
State  comptroller. 

He  has  been  for  many  years  a  member 
of  the  Rochester  Bar  Association,  the 
New  York  State  Bar  Association  and  the 
American  Bar  Association.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Rochester  Club  and  the 
Republican  Club  of  New  York  City.  He 
is  a  man  of  genial  and  kindly  nature,  with 
pleasing  manners,  and  enjoys  the  friend- 
ship and  esteem  of  those  highest  in  the 
councils  of  the  State.  With  his  family  he 
is  affiliated  with  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
church. 


He  was  married  (first)  at  Webster, 
New  York,  January  2,  1886,  to  Adeline 
Louise  Moody,  and  (second)  at  Roches- 
ter, November  9,  1899,  to  Eva  Juliet 
Gates,  daughter  of  Nehemiah  Francis  and 
Amorette  Lemira  (Brinsmaid)  Gates. 
There  are  two  children  of  the  first  mar- 
riage now  living,  namely:  Donald  M.  B., 
born  July  15,  1888,  and  Roscoe  Chadwick 
Moody,  June  12,  1893.  The  children  of 
the  second  mariage  are :  Margaret,  born 
November  24,  1904,  and  Virginia,  August 
26,  1907. 


PENNOCK,  John  Downer, 

Mannf  actnring  Chemist. 

John  Downer  Pennock,  born  August 
16,  i860,  at  Morristown,  Lamoine  county, 
Vermont,  is  a  son  of  Samuel  McMaster 
and  Alma  Maria  (Tinker)  Pennock.  The 
original  Pennock,  Samuel  by  name,  came 
from  Cornwall,  England,  about  1700,  and 
settled  in  Middletown,  Connecticut.  The 
name  appears  in  Cornwall  and  Glouces- 
tershire sometimes  as  Pennock,  Pinnock, 
Pinoke  and  Pignoc  (silent  g).  The  family 
goes  back  to  Cornwall,  to  the  time  of  the 
early  British  churches,  when  according 
to  custom  they  canonized  anyone  pos- 
sessing the  least  renown,  hence  we  have 
the  Parish  of  St.  Pinnock  in  Cornwall, 
and  the  Chapelry  or  District  of  Pinnock 
in  Gloucestershire,  which  was  formerly 
called  Pinnockshire.  This,  says  an  old 
historian,  is  written  in  the  "Dooms'  Day 
Book"  (Temp.  William  I)  Pignoc  scire 
which  means  the  scire  or  share  of  a  por- 
tion of  some  Saxon  property  named 
Pignoc.  The  coat-of-arms  of  the  Corn- 
wall Pennocks  is  the  same  as  that  of  the 
Pinnocks.  The  coat-of-arms,  sable  pas- 
sant, is  the  one  presented  by  William  III. 

As  above  stated,  Samuel  Pennock  came 
to  the  Colonies  about  1700.  The  next  in 
line,  James  Pennock,  son  of  Samuel  Pen- 
nock, with  wife  and  several  children  left 


^34 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Goshen,  Connecticut,  went  west  and  north 
into  Vermont,  broke  ground  and  estab- 
lished the  town  of  Strafford,  Vermont,  in 
1768.  James  Pennock  was  a  man  of  more 
than  ordinary  ability.  In  1770  he  was 
justice  of  the  peace,  assistant  justice  of 
the  Superior  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for 
Gloucestershire  county,  attended  session 
of  court  at  Kingsland  (now  Washington) 
May  29,  1770,  also  court  at  Newbury  in 
1773  and  1774;  for  eight  years  justice  at 
Strafford ;  is  buried  in  Strafford,  and  on 
his  tombstone  is  carved  the  most  remark- 
able record  as  to  the  number  of  his  de- 
scendants. James  Pennock,  Esq.,  died 
December  2,  1808,  aged  ninety-six  years. 
Thankful  Pennock  died  December  23, 
1798,  aged  eighty-one  years.  Also  carved 
on  his  tombstone  is  the  following:  "Let 
it  be  remembered  that  this  family  was 
the  first  to  break  the  soil  of  this  town, 
1768."  They  left  six  children,  sixty-four 
grandchildren,  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
nine  great-grandchildren,  and  sixteen  of 
the  fourth  generation.  Samuel,  Isaac,  and 
Isaac,  representatives  of  the  third,  fourth 
and  fifth  generations,  all  lived  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Strafford,  Vermont. 

Samuel  McMaster  Pennock,  father  of 
John  Downer  Pennock,  born  in  Strafford, 
Vermont,  in  1820,  was  a  member  of  the 
Vermont  State  Assembly,  one  year,  and 
senator  two  years ;  moved  to  Boston  in 
1865  with  seven  children,  and  was  there 
a  merchant  until  his  death  in  1889.  He 
took  active  part  in  civic  affairs  in  his 
home  town,  Somerville,  Massachusetts, 
served  on  the  school  board,  common 
council,  board  of  aldermen,  presiding  on 
the  latter  board  one  year. 

On  his  mother's  side,  John  Downer 
Pennock  descended  from  John  Tinker, 
nephew  of  Thomas  Tinker,  who  came 
over  in  the  "Mayflower."  His  name  ap- 
pears in  records  as  early  as  1638;  he  was 
of  a  remarkable  versatility,  appears  as 
manufacturer  and  trader  with  the  Indians. 


importer  of  goods  to  the  Colonies  from 
England,  agent  for  the  Governors  Win- 
throp,  a  successful  lawyer,  and  as  a 
"grave  and  able  man"  he  expounded  the 
Scriptures  in  the  absence  of  a  minister; 
was  one  of  the  principal  founders  of 
Groton,  Massachusetts,  and  was  town 
clerk  until  his  removal  to  New  London 
in  1658.  From  New  London  he  was 
elected  as  deputy  to  the  General  Court 
of  the  Colony,  and  later  made  assistant  to 
the  governor,  the  highest  office  within  the 
election  of  the  people.  In  the  Massachu- 
setts collection  of  historical  papers  are 
about  twenty  letters  from  John  Tinker 
addressed  to  the  Governors  Winthrop, 
father  and  son.  In  the  collection  of  James 
Russell  Lowell's  writings  there  is  a  very 
interesting  paper  of  considerable  length 
reviewing  these  Tinker  letters  with  high 
appreciation  of  the  man  and  also  of  his 
literary  style.  Next  in  line  Samuel  Tin- 
ker, born  in  New  London,  1659,  "i'^d  i733- 
We  find  he  lived  in  Lyme.  Connecticut, 
in  1684,  later  in  Shelter  Island  and  South- 
hold.  Next  John  Tinker,  born  1678,  died 
1781,  aged  one  hundred  and  three  years. 
John  Tinker,  born  1713.  Elihu  Tinker, 
born  1739,  lived  in  Worthington,  Massa- 
chusetts ;  married  Lydia  Huntington, 
daughter  of  Solomon  and  Mary  (Buck- 
ingham) Huntington,  fourth  generation 
from  Thomas  Buckingham,  who  came  to 
New  Haven,  Connecticut,  in  1638.  James 
Tinker,  born  in  Worthington,  Connecti- 
cut, 1785,  died  at  Morristown,  Vermont, 
i860.  He  was  a  physician,  studied  first 
with  Dr.  Holland,  father  of  James  G. 
Holland,  author  and  editor,  in  Worthing- 
ton, Connecticut.  Regarding  James  Tin- 
ker, the  "Vermont  Historical  Magazine" 
says :  "Soon  obtained  a  very  extensive 
practice  extending  through  the  towns  of 
Stowe,  Waterbury,  Mansfield,  Sterling, 
Johnson,  Hyde  Park,  Eden  and  Wolcott, 
frequently  obliged  to  ride  both  night  and 
day   to  answer  the   demands   upon   him, 


135 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


was  a  man  of  very  strong  mind,  deep 
thinker,  powerful  reasoner,  of  good 
scholarship  and  skillful  physician  and 
surgeon,  strong  fluent  and  forceful  writer, 
educated  a  Calvinist,  became  a  Univer- 
salist.  Alma  Maria  Tinker,  born  1825, 
died  1865,  married  Samuel  McMaster 
Pennock.  Alma  Maria  Tinker,  of  sweet 
and  gentle  disposition,  had  rare  qualities 
of  mind,  was  finely  educated,  an  excel- 
lent French  scholar,  and  led  a  class  of 
theological  students  in  Latin." 

John  Downer  Pennock  received  his 
early  education  in  the  public  schools  of 
Somerville,  Massachusetts,  graduating 
from  the  Somerville  High  School  in  1879, 
and  from  Harvard  College  in  1883.  He 
remained  at  Harvard  for  one  year  as  as- 
sistant instructor  in  chemistry,  having 
specialized  in  his  college  course  in  that 
subject.  He  was  engaged  by  the  Hon. 
Rowland  Hazard  as  assistant  chemist  in 
the  soda  ash  plant  of  the  Solvay  Process 
Company,  at  Syracuse,  New  York,  in 
November,  1884.  Two  years  later  he 
was  made  chief  chemist,  and  subse- 
quently, in  1897,  chief  chemist  of  the 
Semet  Solvay  Company,  serving  as  chief 
chemist  for  both  companies  until  1913, 
when  he  was  made  general  manager  of 
the  Solvay  Process  Company ;  director  in 
both  companies  since  1909.  He  has  been 
vestryman  of  St.  Mark's  Church,  Syra- 
cuse, for  twenty  years ;  member  of  the 
Society  of  Chemical  Industry ;  American 
Chemical  Society;  American  Institute  of 
Mining  Engineers ;  Electro-Chemical  So- 
ciety, and  to  these  societies  has  con- 
tributed a  number  of  papers  on  chemical 
subjects;  president  of  Syracuse  Chemical 
Society  for  a  number  of  years.  He  was 
sent  by  Secretary  of  State  John  Hay  as 
United  States  delegate  to  the  Interna- 
tional Congress  of  Applied  Chemistry  at 
Berlin  in  1903.  Appointed  Belgian  repre- 
sentative on  jury  of  awards,  chemical  sec- 
tion, St.  Louis  Exposition,  in  1904.   Coun- 


cillor of  the  American  Chemical  Society. 
He  made  trips  to  Europe  in  1887,  1897 
and  1903  to  study  the  methods  of  manu- 
facture in  the  Belgian,  French  and  Ger- 
man soda  ash  plants.  Locally  he  is  a 
member  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
served  on  various  committees,  particu- 
larly that  on  education,  of  which  he  was 
chairman  for  two  years ;  member  of  the 
Onondaga  Historical  Society  and  of  vari- 
ous clubs,  including  Onondaga  Golf  and 
Country,  Citizens',  Syracuse,  Harvard, 
University,  Bellevue  Country  and  the 
Century. 

John  Downer  Pennock  married  Una 
Amelia  Bagg,  daughter  of  Stanley  and 
Amelia  (Bassett)  Bagg,  June  17,  1890. 
Children:  Stanley  Bagg,  born  June  15, 
1892;  John  Winthrop,  October  4,  1894; 
Ruth  Huntington,  June  7,  1896;  Marian 
Bowditch,  April  4,  1898;  Helen  Titus, 
June  23,  1906. 


BROWN,  Selden  S..  ' 

La-uryer,  Jurist. 

Learned  in  the  law,  logical  in  his  rea- 
soning, sound  in  his  deductions,  able  to 
divest  his  mind  of  all  prejudice  or  bias, 
with  the  faculty  of  divesting  a  legal 
proposition  of  all  that  beclouds  and  to 
go  directly  at  the  heart  of  a  problem, 
then  in  clear,  terse  language  to  clothe  his 
opinions  or  decisions.  Judge  Brown  is  the 
ideal  jurist.  For  the  past  ten  years  sur- 
rogate of  Monroe  county,  and  from  1882 
imtil  assuming  the  duties  of  that  ofifice  an 
active  member  of  the  Monroe  county  bar, 
he  has  won  the  entire  confidence  of  his 
legal  brethren  and  no  man  in  public  or 
private  life  is  more  highly  esteemed. 
With  his  unfailing  courtesy,  perfect  men- 
tal poise  and  unimpeachable  character  he 
has  also  won  public  regard  and  the  num- 
ber of  his  friends  is  "legion."  The  views 
of  contemporaries  are  always  enlighten- 
ing,   therefore    the    following    extract    is 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


pertinent.  A  Rochester  journal  in  com- 
menting upon  Judge  Brown's  career  re- 
cently said:  "Judge  Brown  has  a  natural 
judicial  air.  His  dignity  is  blended  with 
courtesy  and  a  kindliness  of  heart  that 
makes  him  popular  with  the  members  of 
the  bar  who  come  before  him  in  practice. 
His  ability  commands  respect,  while  his 
reception  of  practitioners,  litigants  and 
visitors,  inspires  regard.  In  the  surro- 
gate's court  several  hundred  people  come 
in  the  course  of  a  year ;  and  often  under 
distressing  circumstances.  Usually  the 
handling  of  law  questions  involved  in 
any  proceeding  may  be  simple,  but  there 
often  is  need  of  personal  sympathy  and 
a  kindly  word  of  advice  from  the  surro- 
gate, that  counts  as  much  in  relieving  dif- 
ficulties as  a  decision  of  the  law  in  a  case. 
Judge  Brown  fills  all  the  requirements." 
Selden  S.  Brown  was  born  in  Scotts- 
ville,  Monroe  county,  New  York,  October 
-3>  1855.  eldest  son  of  D.  D.  S.  Brown. 
He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of 
Scottsville,  Rochester  Collegiate  Institute 
and  the  University  of  Rochester,  complet- 
ing his  course  at  the  university  and 
graduating  Bachelor  of  Arts,  class  of 
1879.  After  graduation  he  registered  as 
a  law  student  in  the  office  of  Hubbell  & 
McGuire,  and  in  1883,  having  met  all  the 
requirements  of  the  examining  board,  was 
admitted  to  the  Monroe  county  bar.  He 
at  once  began  practice  in  Rochester,  soon 
won  recognition  as  one  of  the  strong 
young  lawyers  of  his  bar,  and  in  a  rela- 
tively short  time  took  rank  among  the 
leaders.  His  business,  general  in  its  char- 
acter, extended  to  all  State  and  Federal 
courts  of  the  district  and  until  1896  he 
conducted  it  alone.  In  that  year  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  Harry  Otis 
Poole,  an  association  that  continued  until 
1905  when  it  was  dissolved  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  Judge  Brown  by  Governor 
Higgins  to  fill  out  an  unexpired  term  as 
surrogate  of  Monroe  county.    At  the  next 


general  election  following  his  appoint- 
ment he  was  continued  in  the  surrogate's 
office  by  popular  vote,  his  majority  over 
his  opponent  being  a  most  generous  en- 
dorsement. At  the  expiration  of  his  first 
elective  term  Judge  Brown  was  again 
chosen  to  succeed  himself,  his  incum- 
bency of  the  surrogate's  office  now  cover- 
ing a  term  of  ten  years. 

In  political  faith  he  is  a  Republican,  his 
opinions  and  advice  carrying  weight  in 
party  councils.  He  has  been  delegate  to 
many  county,  district  and  State  conven- 
tions and  in  1904  was  alternate  to  the 
Republican  National  Convention  that 
nominated  Theodore  Roosevelt  for  Presi- 
dent. For  many  years  he  served  as  a 
member  of  the  school  board  at  Scotts- 
ville, his  home,  and  in  many  ways  has 
manifested  his  deep  and  abiding  interest 
in  the  town  of  his  birth.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  American  Bar,  the  New  York  State 
Bar  and  the  Rochester  Bar  associations, 
the  Genesee  Valley  Club,  the  University 
Club  of  Rochester,  and  a  non-resident 
member  of  the  Alpha  Delta  Phi  Club  of 
New  York  City,  his  membership  in  Alpha 
Delta  Phi  fraternity  dating  from  his 
university  years.  He  has  served  as  chan- 
cellor of  the  diocese  (Episcopal)  since 
1905,  being  appointed  by  Bishop  Walker; 
warden  of  Grace  Church,  Scottsville, 
since  the  establishment  of  the  church, 
1886:  delegate  as  superintendent  of  this 
diocese  various  years. 

Judge  Brown  married  (first)  in  1883, 
Adell  Franklin,  who  died  April  23,  1912, 
leaving  a  son,  Selden  King  Brown,  born 
October  13,  1886.  He  married  (second) 
June  17,  1914,  Mary  Elizabeth  Stewart. 


YEATMAN,  Pope, 

Consalting  and  Mining  Engineer. 

Preeminently  a  man  of  affairs,  one  who 
has  wielded  a  wide  influence  and  whose 
sound  business  and  technical  judgment  is 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


such  that  his  cooperation  is  continually 
sought  in  the  control  and  management  of 
important  mining  operations,  Mr.  Pope 
Yeatman  is  a  consulting  and  mining  engi- 
neer whose  reputation  is  second  to  none 
in  this  country.  It  has  been  universally 
conceded  that  the  busiest  men  are  those 
who  always  find  time  to  spare  in  order 
to  assume  additional  duties,  and  appar- 
ently they  are  able  to  accomplish  won- 
ders. A  very  simple  principle  lies  at  the 
root  of  this  state  of  affairs,  and  this  is 
systematic  and  methodical  work.  To 
every  moment  of  time  is  given  its  full 
valuation,  and  every  phase  of  life  is  ap- 
preciated in  proportion  to  the  useful 
work  which  has  been  accomplished  in  its 
duration.  Among  those  men  who  fully 
appreciate  the  immense  value  of  each 
moment  of  time,  and  who  has  accom- 
plished a  truh'  remarkable  amount  of 
work  in  the  field  of  mining  engineering, 
Mr.  Yeatman  takes  a  foremost  place.  In 
the  paternal  line  he  is  of  Scotch-Irish 
descent,  his  ancestors  having  come  to 
America  during  the  eighteenth  century, 
and  his  maternal  ancestry  is  purely  Eng- 
lish. 

Pope  Yeatman,  son  of  Thomas  and 
Lucretia  (Pope)  Yeatman,  was  born  in 
St.  Louis,  Missouri,  August  3,  1861,  and 
there  the  earlier  years  of  his  life  were 
spent.  The  terrible  days  of  the  Civil  War 
were  over  before  he  was  old  enough  to 
realize  their  significance,  but  the3%  no 
doubt,  had  their  influence  in  shaping  his 
character  along  more  serious  lines  than 
are  usually  found  in  childhood.  His  edu- 
cation was  an  excellent  and  comprehen- 
sive one,  and  was  acquired  in  New 
Haven,  Fort  Leavenworth  and  St.  Louis. 
In  his  native  city  he  became  a  student  at 
Washington  University,  which  had  been 
founded  in  1857,  and  from  this  he  was 
graduated  in  the  class  of  1883,  the  degree 
of  Mining  Engineer  being  conferred  upon 
him.     Volumes  could  be  filled  were  the 


achievements  of  Mr.  Yeatman  in  this 
field  of  endeavor  to  be  discussed  in  detail ; 
the  limits  of  this  article,  however,  will 
permit  of  but  brief  mention ;  the  results 
are  matters  of  world  history.  Almost  at 
once  after  his  graduation  Mr.  Yeatman 
became  associated  with  the  St.  Genevieve 
Copper  Company,  of  South-Eastern  Mis- 
souri, continuing  this  association  for  a 
period  of  eighteen  months.  During  a  part 
of  1885  he  was  engaged  in  mining  at 
Gage,  New  Mexico,  and  during  the  re- 
mainder of  that  year  and  in  1886,  he  was 
busy  in  the  State  of  Sonora,  Mexico.  In 
the  summer  of  1886  his  mining  connec- 
tion was  with  the  Zacetacas  Mines  of 
Mexico,  and  from  December,  1887,  to  Au- 
gust, 1888,  he  was  consulting  engineer 
and  also  manager  of  the  famous  Jumbo 
Gold  Mining  Company,  at  Breckenridge, 
Colorado.  From  that  time  until  August, 
1891,  he  was  actively  engaged  as  super- 
intendent of  the  mining,  smelting  and 
concentrating  work  at  Doe  Run  Mines. 
His  next  field  of  activity  was  as  super- 
intendent of  the  Empire  Zinc  Company, 
at  Joplin,  Missouri,  where  he  remained 
until  June,  1893,  then  resumed  his  work 
as  consulting  engineer,  with  which  he  was 
fully  occupied  until  1895,  when  his  asso- 
ciation with  the  mining  industry  of  South 
Africa  commenced.  He  made  his  head- 
quarters at  Johannesburg  from  1895  to 
1899,  and  during  this  time  was  one  of  the 
mining  engineers  of  the  Consolidated 
Gold  Fields  of  South  Africa,  Limited,  as 
well  as  manager  of  the  Robinson  Deep 
Gold  Mining  Company,  and  in  1899,  gen- 
eral manager  of  the  Simmer  and  Jack 
Proprietary  Gold  Mining  Company, 
Limited.  From  November,  1899,  to  July, 
1904,  he  was  general  manager  and  con- 
sulting engineer  of  the  Randfontein 
Estates  Gold  Mining  Company,  Limited, 
of  the  Transvaal.  At  the  expiration  of 
this  period  he  again  resumed  his  work  as 
a  consulting  engineer,  and  continued  this 


138 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


until  he  became  associated  with  the 
various  enterprises  of  the  Guggenheims. 
From  June,  1906,  up  to  the  present  time 
(191 5)  he  has  been  consulting  engineer 
of  M.  Guggenheim's  Sons,  and  in  addition 
at  the  present  time  is  consulting  engineer 
of  the  Guggenheim  Exploration  Com- 
pany, of  the  Nevada  Consolidated  Copper 
Company,  the  Braden  Copper  Company, 
and  the  Chile  Exploration  Company,  both 
of  Chile.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Amer- 
ican Institute  of  Mining  Engineers,  the 
American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  the 
Engineers'  Society  of  St.  Louis,  the  In- 
stitute of  Mining  and  Metallurgy  of 
London,  the  Mining  and  Metallurgical 
Society  of  America,  the  Century  Asso- 
ciation and  Engineers'  and  Rocky  Moun- 
tain clubs  of  New  York  City. 

Mr.  Yeatman  married,  June  28,  1894, 
Georgie  Claiborne  Watkins,  of  Little 
Rock,  Arkansas,  and  to  them  were  born : 
Jane  Bell,  Georgina  Pope  and  Pope,  Jr. 


SCHUMACHER,  Albert  C, 
Business  Man. 

Albert  C.  Schumacher,  conducting  a 
large  undertaking  establishment  in  the 
central  part  of  Syracuse,  was  born  Sep- 
tember 25,  1879,  '"  Clarksfield,  Ohio,  his 
parents  being  Dr.  Carl  and  Louisa  Schu- 
macher ;  the  former  named,  who  was  a 
successful  practicing  physician,  died  Jan- 
uary 2,  1903. 

The  removal  of  the  family  to  Syracuse 
during  the  early  boyhood  days  of  Albert 
C.  Schumacher  enabled  him  to  pursue  his 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  this 
city,  and  after  passing  successfully  from 
one  grade  to  a  higher  one,  he  was  eventu- 
ally graduated  from  the  high  school  on 
June  24,  1897.  During  his  school  days 
from  the  time  he  was  ten  years  of  age  his 
leisure  hours  after  school  and  on  Satur- 
days were  spent  as  an  employee  in  the 
tea  and  grocery  store  of  G.  J.  Lindemer 


at  No.  476  North  Salina  street.  His 
father  desired  that  he  should  engage  in 
the  practice  of  medicine  and  surgery,  but 
Mr.  Schumacher  had  a  great  desire  to 
learn  embalming  and  become  an  under- 
taker, so  that  after  his  graduation  he  at 
once  associated  himself  with  John  Bauer, 
an  undertaker,  and  continued  in  his  em- 
ploy for  about  four  years.  In  November, 
1901,  he  went  before  the  Embalming 
Board  of  Examiners  of  the  State  of  New 
York  and  passed  the  examination  at 
Rochester,  receiving  license  No.  2922. 
About  the  first  of  May,  1902,  he  opened 
an  establishment  on  the  north  side,  and 
two  years  later  removed  to  the  southern 
end  of  the  city.  On  May  i,  1906,  he 
located  in  the  central  portion  of  the  city 
at  No.  119  West  Onondaga  street,  owing 
to  the  increase  in  his  business  which  ne- 
cessitated larger  quarters.  He  has  re- 
cently purchased  the  property  at  No.  715 
South  Warren  street,  and  after  remodel- 
ing it  extensively  has  one  of  the  best 
funeral  parlors  and  chapels  in  New  York 
State.  He  has  also  installed  a  motor 
hearse  and  can  conduct  automobile 
funerals  to  great  satisfaction.  Mr.  Schu- 
macher belongs  to  various  fraternal  or- 
ganizations, of  which  he  is  a  popular  rep- 
resentative, namely :  Central  City  Lodge, 
No.  305,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons; 
Central  City  Chapter,  Royal  Arch 
Masons ;  Fralist  Chapter,  No.  550,  Order 
of  Eastern  Star;  also  thirty-second 
degree.  He  is  a  past  sachem  of  Dekani- 
sora  Tribe,  No.  316,  Improved  Order  of 
Red  Men ;  a  past  councilor  of  Onondaga 
Council,  No.  10,  Junior  Order  of  United 
American  Mechanics ;  a  past  grand  of 
Armory  Lodge,  No.  895,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows ;  of  Onondaga 
Council  of  the  Degree  of  Pocahontas  ;  and 
of  Humboldt  Lodge,  No.  537,  D.  O.  H. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  Zion's  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Church.  Mr.  Schumacher  is  yet 
a  young  man,  but  has  already  attained  a 


139 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


gratifying  measure  of  success,  while  his 
many  good  qualities,  his  social  manner, 
his  genial  disposition  and  his  cordiality 
have  made  him  popular  with  those  with 
whom  he  has  been  brought  in  contact. 
He  is  a  Republican  member  of  the  board 
of  supervisors.  Thirteenth  Ward,  elected 
November,  1915. 

On  November  25,  1903,  Mr.  Schu- 
macher was  married  to  Louise  S.  West, 
of  Syracuse,  a  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
John  West.  They  now  have  one  son, 
Albert  Otis,  born  October  10,  1907,  and 
one  daughter  Norma  Louise,  born  No- 
vember 28,  191 1. 


HESSLER,  Holister  E., 

Mannfacturer,  Enterprising  Citizen. 

Honored  and  respected  by  all,  there  is 
no  man  who  occupies  a  more  enviable 
position  in  commercial  circles  in  Syracuse 
than  Holister  E.  Hessler,  president  of  the 
H.  E.  Hessler  Company,  manufacturers 
and  dealers  in  hardware  and  sheet  metal 
specialties.  Success  is  determined  by  the 
ability  to  recognize  opportunity  and  to 
pursue  it  with  a  resolute,  unflagging 
energy.  Success  results  from  continued 
labor  and  the  man  who  accomplishes  his 
purpose  usually  becomes  an  important 
factor  in  the  business  circles  of  the  com- 
munity with  which  he  is  connected.  Mr. 
Hessler,  through  such  means,  has  attained 
a  leading  place  among  the  representative 
men  of  his  adopted  city,  and  his  well 
spent  and  honorable  life  commands  the 
respect  of  all  who  know  him. 

One  of  the  native  sons  of  the  Empire 
State,  his  birth  occurred  in  Cazenovia, 
New  York,  February  26,  1854.  His 
parents  were  farming  people  and  he  was 
reared  to  agricultural  pursuits.  He  com- 
pleted his  education  in  Chittenango  Poly- 
technic Institute.  He  remained  upon  the 
home  farm  until  he  attained  the  age  of 
fifteen    years,    then,    seeking    other    pur- 


suits more  congenial  and  a  broader  field 
of  labor,  he  left  the  parental  homestead 
and  took  up  his  residence  in  Syracuse. 
No  especially  fortunate  family  or  pecu- 
niary advantages  favored  him  at  the  out- 
set of  his  career,  but  he  early  came  to  a 
realization  of  the  fact  that  persistent 
labor  is  the  basis  of  all  honorable  success 
and  that  unfaltering  energy  will  even- 
tually reach  the  goal  of  prosperity.  Ac- 
cordingly he  resolutely  set  himself  to  the 
task  of  working  his  way  upward,  gaining 
promotion  by  merit  and  resolute  purpose. 
For  one  year  after  his  arrival  in  Syra- 
cuse, Mr.  Hessler  was  in  the  employ  of 
W.  H.  Colebrook,  a  tinner,  and  during  the 
following  two  years  was  in  partnership 
with  that  gentleman.  Later  he  was  fore- 
man and  general  manager  for  the  firm  of 
Merriam  &  Gregory,  stoves  and  tin  shop, 
and  on  July  i,  1879,  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  G.  Frederick  Schafer,  under  the 
firm  style  of  Hessler  &  Schafer,  for  the 
conduct  of  a  hardware  and  furnishing 
goods  store.  They  purchased  the  stock 
of  John  F.  Walter  and  this  was  the  be- 
ginning of  the  present  extensive  business 
which  is  now  conducted  under  the  name 
of  the  H.  E.  Hessler  Company.  The  firm 
as  it  was  originally  formed  had  a  continu- 
ous existence  of  fifteen  years,  but  on  Feb- 
ruary I,  1894,  Mr.  Hessler  purchased  his 
partner's  interest  and  conducted  the  busi- 
ness alone  until  it  was  incorporated  in 
1900.  The  present  officers  are :  H.  E. 
Hessler,  president;  Dayton  S.  Hessler, 
vice-president ;  Harlan  H.  Phillips,  treas- 
urer ;  and  Norbert  T.  Alletzhauser,  secre- 
tary. They  conduct  a  wholesale  and 
retail  business  in  the  sale  of  hardware, 
home  furnishing  goods,  stoves,  tinware 
and  tinners'  supplies,  having  the  largest 
and  best  equipped  sheet  metal  factory  in 
Central  New  York,  and  the  business  has 
been  successfully  carried  on  at  the  same 
place  for  three  decades.  The  company  is 
extensively  engaged  in  the  manufacture 


u^T^^c^c^  ?y^^^66t.<^va^/A^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  rural  free  delivery  mail  boxes,  having 
manufactured  and  sold  over  one  million, 
sent  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States. 
They  have  erected  an  extensive  new  fac- 
tory for  this  branch  of  the  business  and 
give  employment  to  about  one  hundred 
people  in  the  factory.  The  building  is  a 
fine  one,  situated  at  the  corner  of  Division 
and  North  State  streets,  its  location  en- 
abling them  to  have  excellent  shipping 
facilities  both  by  rail  and  canal.  They 
also  manufacture  the  McGuire  Adjustable 
Plumbers'  Roof  Flange,  employing  a 
large  number  of  men  in  this  branch,  this 
article,  which  is  patented,  being  sold  in 
every  station  in  the  United  States  as  well 
as  Canada.  The  pay  roll  of  the  company 
amounts  to  thousands  of  dollars  monthly, 
and  the  enterprise  is  one  of  the  leading 
industries  of  that  thriving  city.  The  busi- 
ness has  been  developed  until  it  is  one  of 
the  largest  and  most  valuable  productive 
enterprises  in  Syracuse,  and  its  growth 
is  attributable  in  a  very  large  measure 
to  its  founder,  who  in  all  that  he  has 
undertaken  has  displayed  an  aptitude  for 
successful  management,  combined  with 
keen  discernment  and  farsighted  business 
sagacity.  The  old  and  time-tried  maxim, 
"Honesty  is  the  best  policy,"  has  been 
the  keynote  of  the  trade  and  relations, 
while  to  his  employees  Mr.  Hessler  has 
ever  been  just  and  considerate,  showing 
no  trait  of  the  overbearing  taskmaster. 
His  success  is  due  to  unwearied  industry, 
capable  management  and  care  in  expen- 
ditures, and  the  Hessler  business  is  now 
an  important  factor  in  the  life  of  the  city. 
In  addition  to  the  time  and  energy  ex- 
pended in  the  management  of  his  exten- 
sive business  interests,  Mr.  Hessler  also 
takes  an  active  part  in  other  matters.  He 
is  a  charter  member  of  the  Central  City 
Trust  Company,  and  has  served  on  its 
executive  board  since  its  organization, 
and  it  is  chiefly  through  his  excellent 
management  that   it   is   now  one   of  the 

14] 


strongest  banks  for  a  new  institution  in 
the  city.  In  politics  Mr.  Hessler  is  a 
Republican,  deeply  interested  in  the  party 
and  its  success,  and  he  has  always  used 
his  influence  to  further  its  interests,  being 
a  stalwart  champion  of  its  recognized 
principles.  He  has  been  frequently  urged 
to  accept  the  nomination  for  various 
public  offices,  but  has  steadfastly  refused 
to  allow  his  name  to  appear  in  connection 
therewith.  The  only  public  office  he  has 
filled  was  that  of  commissioner  of  public 
safety,  appointed  by  Hon.  Mayor  Schoe- 
neck,  in  which  he  served  two  terms  and 
was  then  reappointed  for  another  term. 
The  life  history  of  Mr.  Hessler  most  hap- 
pily illustrates  what  may  be  attained  by 
faithful  and  continued  effort  in  carrying 
out  an  honest  purpose.  Untiring  activity 
and  energy  have  been  prominent  points 
of  his  success,  and  his  connection  with 
business  enterprises  and  industries  have 
been  of  decided  advantage  to  the  city  of 
Syracuse,  promoting  its  material  welfare 
in  no  uncertain  manner. 

Mr.  Hessler  married,  October  11,  1874, 
Delia  H.  Wise,  and  they  have  since 
traveled  life's  journey  together,  sharing 
with  each  other  its  joys  and  sorrows,  its 
adversity  and  prosperity.  They  are  the 
parents  of  three  children:  i.  Dayton  S. 
Hessler,  now  vice-president  of  the  H.  E. 
Hessler  Company;  married,  and  they  are 
the  parents  of  one  son.  2.  Mrs.  Vernie  L. 
House,  wife  of  L.  H.  House,  who  is  en- 
gaged in  the  soda  water  business ;  they 
are  the  parents  of  two  sons  and  one 
daughter.  3.  Olive  E.,  wife  of  William 
Lepold,  who  is  connected  with  the  Bell 
Telephone  Company ;  they  are  the  parents 
of  two  sons. 


WOLLENSAK,  Andrew, 

Manufacturer,  Inventor. 

It  pleases  Americans  to  speak  of  their 
country  as  the  "land  of  opportunity,"  and 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


so  it  is,  but  opportunity  only  knocks,  the 
man  must  answer,  rise  and  embrace. 
Opportunity  lurks  everywhere  and  accom- 
plishes nothing  until  seized  by  the  right 
man,  then  together  great  deeds  are  ac- 
complished. There  is  something  fine  to 
contemplate  in  the  life  history  of  Andrew 
Wollensak,  of  Rochester,  New  York,  one 
of  the  men  of  that  city  whose  fame  as  a 
manufacturer  has  made  it  famous.  He 
came  to  Rochester  in  1882,  arriving  with 
five  cents  in  his  pocket,  a  stranger  in  a 
strange  land.  But  he  was  master  of  a 
good  trade,  possessed  a  stout  heart,  be- 
lieved in  God  and  himself. 

With  mechanical  ability  and  strong 
personal  attributes  as  capital,  he  began 
life  in  Rochester  in  1882,  served  in  sub- 
ordinate capacities  until  1890,  then  seized 
the  great  opportunity  and  to-day  is  the 
employer  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  em- 
ployees, located  in  a  healthful,  beautiful 
factory  home,  manufacturing  a  product  of 
superior  quality  known  in  every  photo- 
graphic art  studio  of  repute  in  the  United 
States.  Thirty-three  years  cover  his 
career  in  Rochester,  but  for  only  sixteen 
years  of  that  period  has  he  been  a  manu- 
facturer of  photographic  shutters,  and 
only  since  1903  have  photographic  lenses 
been  a  part  of  his  factory  product.  Yet 
in  that  time  he  has  placed  his  goods  so 
high  in  the  estimation  of  dealer  and  user 
that  Wollensak  stamped  on  lens  or  shut- 
ter is  a  guarantee.  Opportunity  and  the 
man  met,  but  honor  goes  to  this  man  of 
high  ideals,  deep  religious  convictions, 
mechanical  and  business  ability,  who,  un- 
daunted and  unafraid,  used  his  talents  and 
won  for  himself  an  honored  place  in  the 
commercial  world,  a  private  reputation 
without  a  blemish,  and  citizenship  beyond 
reproach. 

Wollensak  is  an  ancient  German  family 
name.  Andrew  Wollensak,  grandfather 
of  Andrew  Wollensak,  of  Rochester,  was 
twice   married,    and  died    at  the  age    of 


eighty-two  years.  Johan  Wollensak,  son 
of  Andrew  Wollensak  and  his  first  wife, 
Helena,  was  a  carpenter.  He  married 
Elizabeth  Bollin,  daughter  of  Johan  and 
Barbara  (Mohr)  Bollin,  who  bore  him 
twelve  children,  three  of  whom  are  now 
living,  Andrew,  of  Rochester ;  John  C, 
associated  with  his  brother  Andrew  in 
business  ;  Victoria,  wife  of  John  Hicks,  of 
Rochester.  Johan  Wollensak,  the  father, 
died  in  1880,  aged  fifty-seven  years ;  his 
wife  died  in  1874,  aged  forty-two  years. 

Andrew  Wollensak,  son  of  Johan  and 
Elizabeth  (Bollin)  Wollensak,  was  born 
in  Wiechs,  Baden,  Germany,  November 
13,  1862.  He  attended  public  school  until 
fourteen  years  of  age,  then  left  home  to 
become  apprentice  to  the  trade  of  mill- 
wright and  machinist.  He  remained  in 
his  native  land  until  1882,  then  came  to 
the  United  States,  locating  in  Rochester, 
New  York,  his  funds  barely  allowing  him 
to  reach  that  city.  He  secured  work  at 
his  trade,  and  in  the  following  year  en- 
tered the  employ  of  the  Bausch  &  Lomb 
Optical  Company.  Quickly  mastering 
the  detail  of  optical  instrument  and  lens 
manufacture  as  practiced  by  the  company 
he  was  employed  with,  he  attracted  favor- 
able notice  and  received  several  promo- 
tions during  the  sixteen  years  he  re- 
mained in  that  employ,  finally  becoming 
foreman  of  a  department.  After  sixteen 
years'  service  with  the  Bausch  &  Lomb 
Company,  he  resolved  to  test  his  own 
ability  and  to  engage  in  business  on  his 
own  account,  therefore  he  tendered  his 
resignation,  and  in  June,  1899,  he  began 
with  a  factory  force  consisting  of  him- 
self and  one  boy  to  manufacture  shutters 
for  photographic  cameras.  The  shutter 
was  of  his  own  design,  was  satisfactory 
in  its  operations,  and  soon  a  demand  was 
created,  the  price  as  well  as  the  quality 
being  attractive  to  the  trade.  For  four 
years  he  continued  the  exclusive  manu- 
facture  of  shutters,  increasing  his  force 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  enlarging  his  quarters.  In  1903  he 
added  the  manufacture  of  camera  lenses, 
that  department  being  in  charge  of  his 
brother,  John  C.  Wollensak.  Both  de- 
partments have  prospered  abundantly, 
both  shutter  and  lens  being  kept  on  sale 
by  practically  every  dealer  in  photo- 
graphic supplies  in  the  United  States, 
dealer  and  user  having  found  that  "Wol- 
lensak" stands  for  unsurpassed  excellence 
in  quality  and  a  "square  deal"  both  for  the 
man  who  sells  and  for  him  who  uses.  His 
trade  in  the  United  States  is  very  large 
and  widely  extended,  an  export  trade  of 
generous  proportions  also  having  been 
developed.  The  officers  of  the  company 
are  :  Andrew  Wollensak,  president ;  H. 
C.  Gorton,  vice-president  and  treasurer ; 
John  C.  Wollensak,  secretary ;  Jacob  G. 
Magin,  assistant  secretary.  The  presi- 
dent, Andrew  Wollensak,  has  invented 
and  patented  some  twenty-four  machines 
and  devices  pertaining  to  the  manufacture 
of  shutters  and  lenses.  He  is  the  inventor 
of  the  first  automatic  shutter  and  has  re- 
cently (191 5)  invented  and  patented  the 
first  high-speed  automatic  shutter,  which 
will  soon  be  placed  upon  the  market 
under  the  name  of  "Optimo." 

There  is  a  great  deal  of  sentiment  in 
Mr.  Wollensak's  nature  and  one  form  of 
it  is  displayed  in  the  conditions  under 
which  his  two  hundred  and  fifty  em- 
ployees work.  Everything  in  his  great 
factory  (he  is  the  largest  manufacturer  of 
camera  shutters  in  the  United  States)  is 
designed  for  comfort,  health,  efficiency 
and  the  safeguarding  of  his  employees, 
there  being  a  separate  entrance  for  the 
women  employed,  and  a  strict  rule  of  the 
establishment  is  that  no  profanity  or  ob- 
jectionable language  be  used,  the  result 
being  that  parents  are  pleased  to  find  em- 
ployment there  for  their  sons  and  daugh- 
ters. The  grounds  surrounding  the  fac- 
tory  are    beautifully    laid    out    and    well 


kept,  the  fine,  modernly-equipped  power 
plant  located  at  a  distance  from  the  fac- 
tory, and  the  entire  forty  thousand  feet 
of  floor  space  in  the  factory  laid  off  with 
the  idea  that  perfect  goods  can  only  be 
made  under  perfect  conditions.  The  fac- 
tory, two  hundred  by  one  hundred  and 
seventy  feet  in  area,  two-storied  in  front, 
one-storied  in  the  rear,  contains  as  one  of 
its  departments  a  machine  shop  in  which 
all  the  tools  used  are  made.  This  plant 
and  business,  the  outcome  of  sixteen 
years  as  a  manufacturer,  shows  the  qual- 
ity of  the  man  who  accomplished  it,  his 
executive  ability  as  well  as  his  inventive 
mechanical  skill.  But  back  of  his  skill 
and  his  ability  has  been  his  indomitable 
will,  perseverance  and  industry,  a  few 
days'  vacation  in  the  sixteen  years  cover- 
ing the  period  of  relaxation  from  toil. 

Mr.  Wollensak  considers  religion  one 
of  the  serious  concerns  of  life,  and  so 
orders  his  affairs.  He  is  a  member  of  St. 
Michael's  Roman  Catholic  Church,  has 
served  on  its  board  of  trustees  for  twenty- 
four  years,  and  is  devoted  to  the  parish 
interests.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Knights 
of  St.  John,  the  Catholic  Mutual  Bene- 
ficial Association,  St.  Anthony's  Benevo- 
lent Association,  and  the  Badicchen 
Verein.  He  abjures  politics,  but  performs 
his  duties  as  a  citizen  faithfully.  His 
family,  his  business,  his  church,  and  his 
fraternities  meet  all  the  requirements  of 
his  nature,  public  life  having  for  him  no 
charm.  No  call  of  charity  or  religion  is 
disregarded,  and  his  place  among  the 
prominent,  respected  business  men  of  his 
community  is  secure. 

Mr.  Wollensak  married  Frances, 
daughter  of  Joseph  and  Barbara  (Tra- 
bert)  Noll,  of  Sargenzell,  Germany.  She 
died  November  11,  1913,  leaving  a  daugh- 
ter, Emma,  wife  of  Jacob  G.  Magin,  asso- 
ciated as  assistant  secretary  in  the  busi- 
ness of  his  father-in-law. 


143 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


BROWN,  Charles  J., 
Nurseryman,  Financier,  Public   Official. 

Rochester  has  been  the  home  of  Charles 
J.  Brown  and  his  forbears  for  three 
generations,  his  grandfather,  Robert 
Brown,  being  the  American  founder  of 
the  family.  Robert  Brown,  born  in  Eng- 
land, lived  for  a  time  in  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts, after  coming  to  this  country. 
He  then  located  in  Rochester,  New  York, 
that  now  great  city  being  then  but  a  vil- 
lage. There  his  son,  John  S.  Brown,  was 
born  and  still  lives,  a  man  now  aged 
eighty-three  years.  John  S.  Brown  was 
a  contractor  and  builder  during  his  active 
years,  but  is  now  passing  the  closing 
years  of  a  long  and  useful  life  in  honored 
retirement.  He  is  a  lifelong  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  and  by 
his  faith  and  by  his  works  has  been  a 
strong  pillar  of  support  to  his  church.  He 
married  Esther  Cowles.  Their  son, 
Charles  J.  Brown,  president  of  the  Brown 
Brothers  Company,  and  now  serving  a 
second  term  as  treasurer  of  Monroe 
county,  has  from  the  date  of  his  gradu- 
ation from  high  school  been  connected 
with  the  nursery  business,  is  one  of  the 
leading  men  in  that  great  Rochester  activ- 
ity and  has  won  high  standing  in  bank- 
ing, real  estate  and  other  corporations  of 
his  native  city.  He  has  the  faculty  of 
quickly  dispatching  a  large  volume  of 
business,  going  directly  to  the  kernel  of 
a  proposition  and  divesting  it  of  all  non- 
essentials. His  speech  is  straight  at  the 
main  point  and  in  action  he  is  direct  and 
forceful.  He  thus  conserves  his  time  and 
energy  for  the  important  details  of  the 
large  business  he  transacts  and  the  public 
service  he  renders  his  city  and  county. 
He  is  not  alone  the  "man  of  afifairs"  but 
in  lodge,  fraternity  and  club  enjoys  to  the 
full  the  social  side  of  life. 

Charles  J.  Brown  was  born  in  Roches- 
ter, New  York,  December  ii,  1861,  son  of 


John  and  Esther  (Cowles)  Brown.  He 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  the 
city,  finishing  a  full  course  and  gradu- 
ating from  high  school.  He  then  spent 
three  years  in  the  employ  of  Glenn 
Brothers,  nurserymen  of  Rochester,  then 
started  in  business  for  himself  in  the  same 
line,  forming  a  partnership  with  his 
brother.  The  brothers  were  masters  of 
their  business  and  as  the  years  progressed 
expansion  kept  pace.  In  1888  they  in- 
corporated as  the  Brown  Brothers  Com- 
pany with  Charles  J.  Brown  as  president, 
an  executive  position  he  has  most  effi- 
ciently filled  and  still  holds.  The  com- 
pany transacts  a  very  large  general  nur- 
sery business  through  one  thousand 
agents  that  cover  the  entire  country  with 
the  products  of  one  thousand  home  acres 
where  hundreds  of  varieties  of  plants, 
trees,  shrubs  and  flowers  are  cultivated  by 
a  force  of  one  hundred  workers,  the  num- 
ber varying  with  the  seasons.  From  fifty 
to  seventy-five  people  are  required  to  con- 
duct the  office  business  and  over  all  Mr. 
Brown  is  the  directing  head.  He  has 
other  important  business  connections,  be- 
ing a  director  of  the  Traders'  National 
Bank  ;  director  of  the  Rochester  and  Lake 
Ontario  Water  Company ;  was  one  of  the 
organizers  and  is  president  of  the  General 
Realty  Service,  a  real  estate  corporation 
rapidly  advancing  in  importance  ;  director 
of  the  Brown-Croft  Realty  Corporation  ; 
is  an  ex-president  and  a  present  trustee 
of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce;  director  of 
Rochester  General  Hospital ;  director  of 
the  Friendly  Home ;  director  of  Rochester 
Orphan  Asylum,  and  since  191 1  has  been 
treasurer  of  Monroe  county,  his  second 
term  expiring  in  October,  1918.  Mr. 
Brown  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order, 
belonging  to  lodge,  chapter  and  com- 
mandery  of  the  York  Rite,  and  in  the 
Scottish  Rite  has  attained  the  thirty-sec- 
ond degree.  He  is  also  a  "Shriner,"  an 
"Elk,"  and  a  "Woodman."    His  clubs  are 


144 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  Rochester,  Genesee  Valley,  the  Coun- 
try, the  Masonic,  the  Whist  and  the  Auto- 
mobile, having  served  the  last  named  for 
two  years  as  president.  In  political  faith 
he  is  a  Republican,  and  in  religious  affili- 
ation a  member  of  Central  Presbyterian 
Church. 

Mr.  Brown  married  Dora,  daughter  of 
George  W.  Clarke,  of  Rochester.  They 
have  three  children :  Margaret,  married 
George  J.  Kaelber;  Leland,  and  Donald. 


REDMAN,  Hemy  S., 

Civil   War  Veteran,   Public   Official. 

Lieutenant  Henry  S.  Redman,  for 
twenty-seven  years  superintendent  of  the 
Court  House  of  Monroe  county,  was 
born  August  2,  1844,  in  Clarkson,  this 
county,  his  parents  being  Perry  and  Julia 
Ann  (Harris)  Redman,  the  former  a  na- 
tive of  the  Empire  State  and  the  latter 
of  Vermont.  The  paternal  grandfather 
was  born  in  Holland  and  came  to  this 
country  in  his  youth,  settling  in  the  town 
of  Clarkson,  where  he  followed  farming. 
It  was  his  team  that  was  used  in  carrying 
Morgan,  who  exposed  the  secrets  of  Ma- 
sonry, across  the  country.  Perry  Red- 
man was  also  a  farmer  by  occupation  and 
lived  and  died  in  Monroe  county. 

Lieutenant  Redman  of  this  review  was 
reared  to  farm  life,  spending  his  boyhood 
days  on  the  homestead  and  in  Brighton 
village,  where  he  attended  the  high 
school.  He  was  there  as  a  student  at 
the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  and  on 
December  19,  1863,  two  years  before 
he  had  attained  his  majority,  he  joined 
Company  L,  of  the  Twenty-first  New 
York  Cavalry,  known  as  Griswold's  Light 
Cavalry,  and  with  this  command  he 
served  until  the  close  of  the  war  and  was 
honorably  discharged  on  July  28,  1865. 
A  contemporary  biographer  has  said : 
"His  own  record,  when  he  started  to  the 
front  as  a  seventeen-year  old  boy,  is  one 
NY— Vol  IV— 10  145 


of  which  any  man  might  be  proud.  He 
participated  in  twelve  engagements  after 
he  went  to  the  front,  December  19,  1863, 
falling  on  the  field  at  Ashby's  Gap,  shot 
through  the  lungs  and  left  for  dead  over 
night.  He  was  captured  by  Moseby, 
escaped  and  was  honorably  discharged, 
July  28,  1865,  for  disability  arising  from 
wounds  received  in  action.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  crowd  into  the  space  of 
eighteen  months  a  more  brilliant  war 
record  than  that  of  the  young  man,  who 
sought  to  enlist,  ran  away  from  home 
only  to  be  brought  back  by  his  father, 
and  finally  went  to  the  front  in  the  dark- 
est days  of  the  war,  after  he  reached  his 
eighteenth  year."  After  the  war  closed 
Lieutenant  Redman  served  his  time  with 
the  National  Guard,  retiring  on  January 
I,  1876,  with  the  commission  of  first  lieu- 
tenant in  Battery  B,  S.  N.  Y.  He  has 
occupied  his  present  position  as  superin- 
tendent of  the  Court  House  at  Rochester 
for  twenty-seven  years  and  has  made  a 
creditable  record  for  faithfulness  and  re- 
liability. 

Lieutenant  Redman  is  a  member  of  all 
the  Masonic  bodies,  belonging  to  the  Blue 
Lodge,  Chapter,  Council  and  Comman- 
dery.  He  has  also  taken  the  thirty-sec- 
ond degree  of  the  Scottish  Rite  and  is 
connected  with  the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  has 
been  one  of  the  most  efifective  and  faith- 
ful workers  of  the  Grand  Army  cause 
in  the  county.  He  holds  membership 
with  Myron  Adams  Post,  No.  84,  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  of  which  he  has 
been  commander  for  sixteen  years.  He 
was  also  assistant  quartermaster-general 
under  Department  Commanders  Joseph  P. 
Cleary,  James  S.  Graham  and  Henry  N. 
Burhans,  and  was  assistant  inspector- 
general  on  the  staff  of  the  commander- 
in-chief,  Leo  Rasseur.  He  was  one  of 
the  earnest,  and  has  always  been  among 
the  most  zealous,  workers  in  Grand  Army 
affairs.     As  a  veteran  he  upheld  his  flag 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  the  Civil  War  and  although  he  was 
severely  wounded  in  action  he  served  his 
time  in  the  National  Guard  and  he  has 
given  the  best  years  of  his  life  to  Grand 
Army  interests.  Having  been  always 
loyal  in  his  citizenship,  Lieutenant  Red- 
man is  entitled  to  special  mention  in  this 
volume. 

On  July  3,  1866,  Lieutenant  Redman 
married  (first)  Harriet  E.  Jones,  of  Web- 
ster, Monroe  county,  New  York,  who 
died  in  December,  1889.  On  August  12. 
1901,  he  married  (second)  Catherine 
Ayers.  By  his  first  marriage  he  had  a 
daughter,  Cora  Alice,  now  the  wife  of 
C.  A.  Dutcher. 


GRAVES.  Maurice  A., 

War  Veteran,  Man  of  Enterprise. 

Maurice  A.  Graves  is  a  son  of  Abial 
Stark  and  Elizabeth  (Brockett)  Graves,  a 
grandson  of  Benjamin  and  Mary  (Stark) 
Graves,  and  a  great-grandson  of  Elijah 
Graves,  who  served  six  years  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary War,  enlisting  from  Connecti- 
cut. The  family  came  from  England  in 
1643,  vvhere  many  of  its  members  were 
connected  with  the  royal  army  and  navy. 
Benjamin  Graves,  whose  wife  was  a  cousin 
of  Mary  Stark,  of  Bennington  fame,  came 
on  foot  from  Connecticut  to  Westmore- 
land, Oneida  county.  New  York,  and  set- 
tled there  at  a  very'  early  date.  He  made 
frequent  trips  to  Salt  Point  when  the  site 
of  Syracuse  was  largely  a  swamp.  He 
died  March  23,  1868,  aged  eighty-four 
years.  Of  his  eight  children  Abial  Stark 
lived  in  Westmoreland  and  died  Febru- 
ary 3  1905,  aged  eighty-three  years.  He 
enlisted  in  Company  I,  Eighty-first  Regi- 
ment, New  York  Volunteers,  in  1862,  and 
was  discharged  in  1865.  His  wife's  family 
came  from  England  and  settled  in  Con- 
necticut in  1637.  Her  father,  Eli  Broc- 
kett, came  to  Westmoreland  at  an  early 
date,  served  as  captain  at  Sacketts  Har- 


bor, in  the  War  of  1812,  and  died  in  Au- 
gust,  1871,  aged  eighty-five  years. 

Maurice  A.  Graves  was  born  in  West- 
moreland, New  York,  April  23,  1846.  He 
received  a  district  school  education  in  his 
native  town,  and  came  to  Syracuse  in 
September,  1865.  He  was  bookkeeper  for 
the  old  Fourth  National  Bank  and  for  the 
wholesale  tea  and  cofifee  house  of  F.  H. 
Loomis,  three  years  each,  and  afterward 
occupied  various  responsible  positions. 
In  1875  hs  became  a  bookkeeper  for  John 
Crouse  &  Company,  the  largest  wholesale 
grocery  establishment  in  Central  New 
York,  and  six  months  later  was  made 
financial  manager,  having  entire  charge 
of  the  collecting  department,  a  position 
he  held  until  the  firm  went  out  of  busi- 
ness in  February,  1887.  He  continued  as 
confidential  man  to  John  and  D.  Edgar 
Crouse  until  the  former's  death,  June  25, 
1889,  and  then  remained  in  the  same  ca- 
pacity with  D.  Edgar  until  his  death,  No- 
vember ID,  1892.  Meanwhile  Mr.  Graves 
closed  up  the  estate  of  John  J.  Crouse, 
the  business  of  John  Crouse  &  Company, 
and  the  estate  of  the  late  John  Crouse,  all 
involving  extensive  interests  in  Syracuse 
and  elsewhere.  D.  Edgar  Crouse,  by  his 
will,  appointed  him  one  of  his  executors, 
and  early  in  1893  ^^-  Graves  commenced, 
with  Jacob  A.  Nottingham,  the  settle- 
ment of  that  well-known  estate,  to  which 
he  has  since  largely  given  his  attention. 
He  is  also  interested  in  various  other 
business  enterprises.  In  1895  he  pur- 
chased of  the  George  F.  Comstock  estate, 
the  Comstock  farm  of  one  hundred  and 
five  acres,  lying  east  of  the  university, 
and  laid  out  a  large  part  of  it  in  building 
lots.  This  tract  is  known  as  University 
Heights,  and  is  one  of  the  largest  pieces 
of  city  real  estate  which  one  man  alone 
ever  attempted  to  develop.  Here,  on  the 
most  elevated  point,  Mr.  Graves  erected 
in  1895,  a  handsome  dwelling,  in  which 
he   stored   his   valuable   library   of   about 


146 


C^l^J^^r^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


two  thousand  five  hundred  volumes,  many 
of  them  very  rare  and  obtained  at  great 
expense. 

Mr.  Graves  has  never  sought  political 
ofifice,  but  his  public  spirit  and  patriotism 
led  him  on  September  8,  1862,  to  enlist  in 
Company  I,  Eighty-first  New  York  Vol- 
unteers, in  which  he  served  until  Decem- 
ber, 1864,  when  he  was  transferred  to 
Company  I,  Tenth  Veteran  Reserve 
Corps,  which  was  stationed  in  Washing- 
ton during  the  last  year  of  the  Rebellion, 
guarding  the  White  House,  War  Depart- 
ment, and  other  public  buildings.  He 
was  present  at  President  Lincoln's  sec- 
ond inauguration,  took  an  active  part  in 
the  exciting  scenes  attending  the  Presi- 
dent's assassination,  and  has  in  his  pos- 
session the  drum  that  sounded  the  call 
for  the  first  troops  on  that  occasion.  He 
also  participated  in  the  funeral  obsequies 
and  other  events,  including  the  grand  re- 
view, when  he  was  stationed  with  his 
drum  corps  opposite  the  grandstand  to 
salute  the  regimental  colors  as  they 
passed.  He  was  honorably  discharged, 
July  18,  1865,  and  since  September  of  that 
year  has  resided  in  Syracuse,  where  he 
has  taken  an  active  part  in  church  and 
missionary  work.  He  was  for  many  years 
a  deacon  and  trustee  of  the  Dutch  Re- 
formed church  in  James  street,  and  for 
some  time  was  engaged  in  Sunday  school 
mission  work  in  connection  With  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 
About  1882  he  was  elected  superintend- 
ent of  Rose  Hill  Mission  (Sunday  school) 
and  continued  in  that  capacity  for  twelve 
years.  In  1886  this  mission  was  reorgan- 
ized into  the  Westminster  Presbyterian 
Church,  largely  through  the  zealous 
labors  of  Mr.  Graves,  who  was  elected 
one  of  the  first  trustees,  a  position  he  held 
for  some  time,  was  an  elder  in  that  church 
for  ten  years.  He  was  for  several  years 
a  member  of  Syracuse  Presbytery,  and  in 
1894  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  general 


assembly  held  at  Saratoga.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Citizens'  Club  ;  Masonic  Club  ; 
Anglers'  Association  ;  Root  Post,  No.  151, 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic ;  General 
Sniper  Camp,  No.  166,  Sons  of  Veterans; 
Syracuse  Lodge,  No.  501,  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons ;  Central  City  Comman- 
dery.  No.  25,  Knights  Templar ;  Central 
City  Consistory,  Supreme  Princes  of  the 
Royal  Secret,  thirty-second  degree;  Zi- 
yara  Temple,  Mystic  Shrine,  and  the  Ma- 
sonic Veteran  Association. 

Mr.  Graves  married,  January  17,  1872, 
Christina,  daughter  of  Philetus  Reed,  of 
Syracuse,  and  they  have  three  child'^en : 
Nathan  R.,  Alice  R.,  and  Helen  B. 


SCOTT,  Frederick  Bartlett,        ^ 
Manafactnrer,  Financier. 

There  is  no  rule  for  achieving  success. 
Many  theories  have  been  advanced  and 
much  has  been  written  on  the  subject, 
and  yet  investigation  into  the  lives  of  suc- 
cessful men  brings  to  light  the  fact  that 
they  owe  their  progress  and  prosperity, 
not  to  any  favorable  chance,  but  to  the 
untiring  labor  which,  carefully  directed 
by  sound  judgment,  never  fails  to  win  a 
merited  reward.  This  statement  finds 
verification  in  the  life  of  Frederick  Bart- 
lett Scott,  of  Syracuse,  president  of  the 
Syracuse  Supply  Company,  and  holding 
that  and  other  official  position  in  a  num- 
ber of  other  corporations.  It  has  been  his 
watchfulness  of  the  trade,  his  careful  rec- 
ognition of  the  demands  of  the  public, 
and  his  strong  and  steady  purpose  to 
achieve  success  through  persistent  and 
honorable  labor,  that  has  gained  for  him 
his  present  prosperity. 

Leonard  W.  Scott,  a  descendant  of  the 
kings  of  Holland,  was  born  in  Johns- 
town, Fulton  county,  New  York,  and  died 
in  Syracuse,  New  York,  in  February, 
1882.  Having  taken  up  his  residence  in 
Onondaga  county.  New  York,  he  was  for 


147 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


many  years  a  dealer  in  carriages  in  Syra- 
cuse, becoming  later  a  contractor  on  an 
extended  scale.  He  married  Harriet  Bart- 
lett,  a  Puritan  descendant,  who  was  born 
in  Cleveland,  New  York,  and  died  in  1904. 
They  have  five  children  of  whom  the  only 
survivor  at  the  present  time  is: 

Frederick  Bartlett  Scott,  who  was  born 
in  Constantia,  Oswego  county.  New  York, 
September  26,  1857.  He  attended  the 
public  schools  of  his  native  town  until 
the  age  of  fourteen  years,  when  the  family 
removed  to  Syracuse,  and  his  education 
was  completed  in  the  public  schools  of 
that  city.  His  entrance  upon  his  busi- 
ness career  was  as  an  employe  of  S.  P. 
Pierce  &  Sons,  dealers  in  china  and  glass- 
ware, where  he  remained  for  a  period 
of  eleven  years,  during  which  time  he 
learned  every  detail  of  this  business  thor- 
oughly, and  rose  to  a  responsible  position 
with  the  concern.  Other  positions  brought 
him  into  contact  with  other  concerns  and 
greatly  extended  his  field  of  service. 
Having  decided  to  establish  himself  in 
business  independently,  Mr.  Scott,  in 
February,  1887,  founded  the  business  con- 
ducted under  the  name  of  the  Syracuse 
Supply  Company,  and  this  was  incorpo- 
rated in  1891,  and  reincorporated  in  1905. 
Fifty-five  people  are  constantly  employed 
in  the  manufacture  of  leather  belting, 
and  in  dealing  in  iron  and  wood  working 
machinery,  boilers,  engines,  steam  appli- 
ances and  manufacturers'  supplies.  They 
are  also  jobbers  in  electrical  machinery 
and  supplies,  and  from  the  outset  the 
afifairs  of  this  concern  have  been  con- 
ducted along  the  most  modern  and  pro- 
gressive lines.  Great  as  have  been  the 
demands  made  upon  the  time  of  Mr. 
Scott  by  his  important  business,  he  has 
nevertheless  been  identified  with  a  va- 
riety of  interests  also  of  great  importance 
and  value.  He  is  vice-president  of  the 
Holcomb  Steel  Company,  the  Hudson 
Portland  Cement  Company,  the  Amphion 


Piano  Player  Company  of  Syracuse,  and 
was  for  several  years  vice-president  of 
the  Hudson  River  Realty  Company.  He 
is  president  of  the  Star  Lake  Land  Com- 
pany at  Star  Lake,  New  York,  president 
of  the  Glenwood  Land  Company,  New 
Jersey ;  vice-president  of  the  Hammond 
Steel  &  Forge  Company,  Syracuse;  di- 
rector of  Morris  Plan  Company  Bank, 
and  his  executive  ability  in  all  of  these 
responsible  offices  has  been  largely  in- 
strumental in  their  continued  success. 
The  Republican  party  has  always  had  his 
consistent  support,  and  on  many  occa- 
sions he  has  served  in  public  afifairs, 
greatly  to  the  benefit  of  the  community. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Park  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  a  trustee  of  this  institution. 
His  membership  with  various  organiza- 
tions is  as  follows :  The  Citizens'  Club, 
the  Technology  Club,  the  Anglers'  Asso- 
ciation, Bellevue  Country  Club.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Syracuse  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  and  as  a  director  of  this  body 
his  sound  judgment  was  a  factor  not  to 
be  overlooked.  He  has  served  on  the 
commission  to  build  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  and  on  that  to  in- 
vestigate the  lighting  system  of  the  city. 
Mr.  Scott  married,  in  September,  1886, 
Belle,  a  daughter  of  Hiram  L.  and  Ruth 
M.  Hawley,  of  Syracuse.  Children  :  Wal- 
ter H.  and  Harold  H.,  who  have  been 
graduated  from  Yale  University  ;  Harold 
B.,  married  Mabel  Brace,  of  Tarrytown, 
New  York ;  Frederick  H.,  student  at  Cor- 
nell University,  who  has  just  attained  his 
majority;  Marion  Belle,  graduate  of 
Syracuse  University,  married  Maxwell 
Brace,  of  Tarrytown,  New  York,  1913. 


ALDRIDGE,  George  Washington,  Jr., 

Man  of  Affairs.  Public  Official. 

Perhaps  in  no  field  of  life's  activity  is 
success  won  at  a  greater  personal  cost 
than  in  public  life.     A  loser  receives  no 


148 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


sympathy,  a  winner  no  real  gratitude 
from  his  party.  Opponents  watch  eagerly 
for  even  the  slightest  mistake,  and  those 
who  should  support  a  man  most  strongly  are 
so  anxious  to  advance  their  own  interests 
and  so  filled  with  a  sense  of  their  own 
importance  that  they  are  a  hindrance 
rather  than  a  help.  The  public  career  of 
George  W.  Aldridge  furnishes  an  illus- 
tration of  a  man  strong  in  the  qualities 
that  make  for  success  and  who  has  risen 
to  commanding  position  in  the  councils 
of  the  Republican  party  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  and  to  leadership  in  the  city 
of  Rochester.  Loyal  in  his  devotion  to 
party  he  has  for  himself  accepted  no  posi- 
tion he  was  not  eminently  qualified  to  fill. 
Faithful  in  the  discharge  of  every  official 
duty,  true  to  every  trust  reposed  in  him. 
a  wonderful  organizer,  and  a  fearless 
leader,  he  has  become  a  tower  of  strength 
to  his  party  and  a  man  to  be  reckoned 
with  in  political  encounter. 

George  W.  Aldridge  was  born  in 
Michigan  City,  Indiana,  December  28, 
1856,  son  of  George  W.  and  Virginia  (De 
Orsey)  Aldridge,  his  father  of  New  York, 
his  mother  of  Ohio  birth.  The  senior 
George  W.  Aldridge  after  locating  in 
Rochester  won  high  reputation  as  a  mas- 
ter builder,  and  was  honored  by  the 
voters  of  the  city  by  election  to  the  chief 
magistracy  of  the  city,  and  by  them  also 
to  membership  on  the  board  of  aldermen. 

George  W.  Aldridge,  Jr.,  obtained  a 
good  education  in  the  public  schools,  De 
Graff  Military  Institute,  of  Rochester, 
and  Gary  Collegiate  Seminary  at  Oak- 
field,  New  York.  He  then  began  busi- 
ness life  in  association  with  his  father,  and 
together  they  continued  as  general  con- 
tractors until  the  death  of  the  senior 
partner  in  1877,  when  George  W.  Al- 
dridge, Jr.,  assumed  the  management  of 
the  business.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Lin- 
coln National  Bank,  and  has  other  large 
interests  in  the  city,  among  which  is  the 


presidency   of   the    American    Clay    and 
Cement  Corporation. 

Mr.  Aldridge  early  displayed  an  in- 
terest in  public  affairs,  his  natural  fitness 
for  leadership  becoming  manifest.  He 
was  but  twenty-si.x  years  of  age  when 
first  elected  a  member  of  the  executive 
board  of  the  city,  a  board  having  in 
charge  the  departments  of  water,  street, 
fire  and  public  improvements.  His  con- 
nection with  the  executive  board  won 
public  approval  and  his  efficiency  was  so 
apparent  that  he  was  four  times  reelected, 
each  successive  return  showing  increas- 
ing majorities  over  opposing  candidates. 
In  1894  he  was  elected  chief  magistrate 
of  the  city  and  ably  filled  the  mayor's 
chair  until  the  following  year,  when  he 
was  called  to  higher  position  by  Gov- 
ernor Morton,  who  appointed  him  State 
Superintendent  of  Public  Works.  This 
necessitated  his  resignation  of  the  mayor's 
office,  which  followed,  and  during  the 
terms  of  Governor  Morton  and  Governor 
Black,  the  latter  of  whom  reappointed 
him,  he  continued  the  efficient  head  of 
the  State  Department  of  Public  Works. 
During  his  incumbency  of  the  office  the 
work  of  improving  the  Erie  Canal  was 
begun  and  the  long  delayed  completion 
of  the  State  Capitol  at  Albany  accom- 
plished. In  1905  Governor  Higgins  ap- 
pointed Mr.  Aldridge  a  member  of  the 
New  York  State  Railroad  Commission, 
and  in  1907  he  became  chairman  of  the 
commission.  His  work  as  a  public  ser- 
vant, endorsed  by  three  chief  executives, 
has  been  valuable  to  the  State,  and  has 
brought  him  prominently  into  public 
view,  adding  to  his  prestige  as  a  leader 
in  his  own  city,  and  making  him  a  promi- 
nent figure  in  State  politics.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Republican  State  Com- 
mittee, a  position  he  has  held  since  the 
year  1887.  He  has  met  the  fate  of  all 
leaders,  at  times  suffering  defeats,  but 
has   never   been   dethroned,   and   at   the 


149 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


present  time  (1915)  is  strong  in  his  lead- 
ership and  a  power  in  the  Republican 
party.  His  friends  are  legion  and  he  is 
associated  with  them  in  many  organiza- 
tions, societies  and  clubs. 

In  volunteer  fire  department  days  he 
was  an  active  member  of  Alert  Hose 
Company,  for  five  years  was  president  of 
the  Exempt  Firemen's  Association,  and 
still  holds  membership  in  that  body.  He 
is  an  ex-trustee  of  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce of  Rochester.  He  is  a  Master  Ma- 
son, a  Royal  Arch  Mason,  a  Knight 
Templar,  and  in  Scottish  Rite  Masonry 
holds  all  degrees  up  to  and  including  the 
thirty-second  degree.  He  is  also  afliliated 
with  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows and  the  Knights  of  Pythias.  His 
clubs  are  the  Rochester,  Country,  Whist, 
Athletic  (life  member),  and  Oak  Hill 
Country,  all  of  Rochester;  the  Lotos, 
Republican  and  Lawyers',  of  New  York 
City.  He  is  an  interested  member  of  the 
Rochester  Historical  Society,  the  Roches- 
ter Municipal  Art  Commission,  and  in  all 
these  organizations  he  takes  more  than  a 
passive  interest.  Through  his  patriotic 
ancestry  he  has  gained  admission  to  the 
Sons  of  the  Revolution. 

Open-handed  and  generous,  he  is  most 
unostentatious  in  his  giving,  and  no 
worthy  cause  fails  to  receive  his  support. 
He  is  a  man  of  tremendous  industry  and 
energ}%  and  has  gained  his  position  in  the 
business  world  through  merit  and  by  the 
exercise  of  the  qualities  upon  which  alone 
an  enduring  business  edifice  can  be 
erected.  He  is  respected  by  his  associ- 
ates in  business  and  public  life,  loved  by 
his  friends,  and  both  feared  and  respected 
by  his  opponents.  He  has  also  success- 
fully asserted  his  rights  to  leadership, 
and  in  Rochester,  where  he  is  best  known, 
is  regarded  as  a  man  who  can  be  trusted 
and  safely  followed.  Disorganized  forces 
never  win,  and  he  who  can  organize,  ma- 
neuver, and  lead  masses  of  men  to  sue 


cessful  assertion  of  party  principles  at  the 
polls  is  no  less  worthy  of  the  regard  of  his 
fellow  men  than  he  who  leads  men  to  an 
assertion  of  national  honor  upon  actual 
fields  of  battle.  "Peace  hath  her  vic- 
tories" as  well  as  war,  and  peaceful  vindi- 
cation of  party  principles  through  the 
medium  of  the  ballot  box  requires  gen- 
eralship of  the  highest  quality. 


SNOW,  Charles  Wesley, 

Financier,  Man  of  Affairs. 

The  men  most  influential  in  promoting 
the  advancement  of  society  and  in  giving 
character  to  the  times  in  which  they  live 
are  cf  two  classes — the  men  of  study  and 
the  men  of  action.  Whether  we  are  more 
indebted  for  the  improvement  of  the  age 
to  the  one  class  or  to  the  other  is  a  ques- 
tion of  honest  difference  of  opinion ; 
neither  class  can  be  spared  and  both 
should  be  encouraged  to  occupy  their 
several  spheres  of  labor  and  influence, 
zealously  and  without  mutual  distrust. 
In  the  following  paragraphs  are  briefly 
outlined  the  leading  facts  and  character- 
istics in  the  career  of  a  gentleman, 
Charles  Wesley  Snow,  who  combines  in 
his  makeup  the  elements  of  the  scholar 
and  the  energy  of  the  public-spirited  man 
of  affairs.  He  is  essentially  cosmopolitan 
in  his  ideas,  and  a  representative  of  that 
strong  American  manhood  which  com- 
mands and  retains  respect  by  reason  of 
inherent  merit,  sound  sense  and  correct 
conduct.  Measured  by  the  accepted 
standard  of  excellence,  his  career  has 
been  eminently  honorable  and  useful,  and 
his  life  fraught  with  great  good  to  human- 
ity and  to  the  world  at  large.  Hiram 
Snow,  his  father,  died  in  Syracuse  in  1854, 
and  his  mother,  Alidar  Ann  (Squier) 
Snow,  died  in  the  same  city  in  1889. 
They  had  twelve  children. 

Charles  Wesley  Snow  was  born  in 
Peterboro,  Madison  county,  New  York, 


150 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


March  ii,  1S35,  the  second  child  of  bis 
parents.  He  was  still  in  infancy  when  his 
parents  removed  to  Messina  Springs,  and 
was  in  his  sixth  year  when  the  family 
home  was  established  in  Syracuse,  New 
York,  with  which  city  practically  his  en- 
tire life  has  been  identified.  The  public 
schools  of  Syracuse  furnished  him  with 
excellent  educational  advantages,  and  ho 
made  the  best  use  of  his  opportunities  in 
them.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  years  he  en- 
tered upon  his  business  career  by  becom- 
ing a  clerk  in  the  employ  of  W.  B.  Tobey, 
the  proprietor  of  a  drug  store.  Four 
years  were  spent  in  such  faithful  dis- 
charge of  the  numerous  and  responsible 
duties  of  this  position,  that  at  the  end  of 
this  period,  1854,  Mr.  Tobey  admitted 
him  to  a  partnership,  the  firm  continuing 
the  business  under  the  style  of  Tobey  & 
Snow  until  1866.  In  that  year,  Mr.  Snow, 
desiring  to  be  unhampered  in  the  pursuit 
of  his  progressive  ideas  in  regard  to  the 
conduct  of  a  business,  decided  to  estab- 
lish himself  independently,  and  accord- 
ingly opened  a  drug  store  at  old  No.  28 
East  Genesee  street.  In  the  course  of 
time  this  became  a  wholesale  as  well  as  a 
retail  concern,  and  was  actively  con- 
ducted in  the  same  location  for  a  period 
of  twenty-two  years.  In  the  meantime, 
Mr.  Snow  had  purchased  the  property  at 
Nos.  214-216  South  Warren  street  and 
erected  in  1888  the  lofty  brick  and  iron 
fireproof  structure,  which  housed  the 
drug  business  of  C.  W.  Snow  &  Com- 
pany. From  the  time  of  its  first  estab- 
lishment the  business  had  grown  steadily 
and  consistently,  branching  out  over  an 
extensive  territory  in  addition  to  having 
a  large  local  trade.  This,  however,  is  not 
the  only  business  enterprise  with  which 
Mr.  Snow  is  prominently  connected. 
Since  1887  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
board  of  directors  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Syracuse,  and  in  1902  was  hon- 
ored with  the  vice-presidency  of  this  in- 


stitution;  he  served  in  this  office  until 
1910,  and  in  February  of  that  year  was 
elected  president  of  this  bank,  remaining 
the  incumbent  of  this  ofifice  until  his 
resignation  in  November,  1914,  when  he 
was  elected  chairman  of  the  board.  For 
many  years  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  Onondaga  Coun- 
ty Savings  Bank.  He  has  also  served  as 
president  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce 
of  Syracuse.  His  religious  affiliation  is 
with  the  Unitarian  church,  of  which  he 
is  a  member  and  trustee,  and  his  con- 
nection with  various  benevolent  and  char- 
itable institutions  is  a  prominent  and  ex- 
tensive one,  as  he  gives  his  personal  serv- 
ice as  well  as  of  his  means. 

Mr.  Snow  married,  October  20,  1863, 
Harriet  L.  Powers,  only  daughter  of  Dr. 
Nelson  C.  Powers.  Children  :  Nelson  P., 
born  December  9,  1868 ;  Carrie  L.,  Octo- 
ber 15,  1874.  In  the  public  issues  and 
questions  of  the  day  Mr.  Snow  takes  an 
intelligent  interest,  but  his  political  activ- 
ity is  confined  to  his  exercise  of  the  right 
of  franchise.  His  is  the  story  of  a  life 
whose  success  is  measured  by  its  useful- 
ness— a  life  that  has  made  for  good  in  all 
its  relations  with  the  world.  Always 
calm  and  dignified,  never  demonstrative, 
his  life  is,  nevertheless,  a  persistent  plea, 
more  by  precept  and  example  than  by 
spoken  word,  for  purity  and  grandeur  of 
right  principles  and  the  beauty  and  eleva- 
tion of  wholesome  character.  To  him 
home  life  is  a  sacred  trust,  friendship  is 
inviolable,  and  nothing  can  swerve  him 
from  the  path  of  rectitude  and  honor. 


SALISBURY,  Bert  Eugene,  /-- 

Manufacturer,    Inventor,    Financier. 

Bert  Eugene  Salisbury,  who  by  con- 
secutive steps  has  steadily  climbed  up- 
ward in  the  business  world  until  he  is  at 
the  present  time  (1916)  president  and 
general  manager  of  Pass  &  Seymour,  In- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


corporated,  at  Solvay,  Onondaga  county, 
New  York,  was  born  in  the  town  of 
Geddes,  New  York,  May  28,  1870,  son  of 
Henry  O.  and  Celia  (Seaman)  Salisbury. 
Henry  O.  Salisbury  was  also  a  native  of 
Onondaga  county.  New  York,  and  his 
wife  a  native  of  Connecticut,  living  at  the 
present  time.  The  father  was  a  builder 
and  contractor,  and  was  well  known  be- 
cause of  his  business  enterprises  and  the 
extent  of  his  industrial  interests.  He  died 
in    1891. 

Bert  Eugene  Salisbury  pursued  his 
early  education  in  the  Geddes  Union 
Free  School,  now  Porter  School,  and  was 
graduated  from  the  Syracuse  High  School 
with  the  class  of  1890.  He  also  attended 
Cazenovia  Seminary  for  a  short  period 
of  time,  but  in  the  meantime  was  em- 
ployed by  the  Solvay  Process  Company 
and  also  in  the  drug  business.  Later  he 
entered  the  employ  of  his  father,  which 
connection  continued  until  February, 
1891,  when  he  became  connected  with 
the  firm  of  Pass  &  Seymour,  where  he 
has  risen  gradually  to  his  present  impor- 
tant position,  his  promotions  coming  to 
him  in  recognition  of  merit  and  ability 
displayed  in  the  mastery  of  the  various 
tasks  and  duties  assigned  him.  He  was 
serving  as  superintendent  when  in  1901 
he  was  made  secretary  and  general  man- 
ager ;  in  January,  1906,  he  was  elected 
to  the  positions  of  vice-president,  treas- 
urer, and  general  manager,  and  in  Janu- 
ary, 1914,  was  made  president  and  gen- 
eral manager,  in  which  capacities  he  is  still 
serving.  He  has  been  instrumental  in  in- 
troducing the  manufacture  of  various  com- 
plete and  successful  articles  now  produced 
by  the  concern.  Thoroughness,  which  has 
characterized  him  in  everything  that  he 
has  undertaken,  has  brought  to  him  inti- 
mate knowledge  of  the  business  in  prin- 
ciple and  detail,  and,  recognizing  needs 
and  possibilities  he  has  carried  forward 
experiments  and  investigations  until  his 

152 


labors  have  resulted  in  inventions,  upon 
which  he  has  taken  out  many  patents. 
The  trademark  of  the  company  is  P.  & 
S.  and  the  products  of  the  factory  are 
disposed  of  through  the  regular  channels 
Four  hundred  workmen  are  now  em- 
ployed, and  the  business  is  constantly 
growing  along  substantial  lines  that  in- 
sure its  future  success  and  progress.  In 
addition  to  this  he  became  a  director  of 
the  Onondaga  Pottery  Company,  of 
Syracuse,  New  York,  and  three  years 
later  was  elected  president  and  treasurer 
of  the  concern,  succeeding  James  Pass. 
The  product  of  this  company  combines 
the  beauty  of  historic  porcelain  with  the 
durability  made  possible  by  modern  sci- 
ence, and  the  great  advantage  of  this 
company's  china  is  that  its  composition 
and  the  qualities  of  its  materials  are  al- 
most exactly  the  same  as  those  used  in 
the  world-famous  potteries  of  Conti- 
nental Europe.  The  china  is  really  a 
product  combining  the  best  in  the  older 
materials  and  processes  in  order  to  pro- 
duce a  new  and  better  china  that  is  dis- 
tinctively American.  The  result  is  that 
there  is  no  fine  table  china  on  the  market 
to-day  that  will  compare  with  O.  P.  Co. 
Syracuse  China  for  durability  and  serv- 
ice. He  is  a  director  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank,  Syracuse ;  director  of  the 
Morris  Plan  Bank,  Syracuse ;  member  of 
the  board  of  governors  of  Associated 
Manufacturers  of  Electrical  Supplies ; 
member  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce; 
president  of  the  Billy  Sunday  Business 
Men's  Club  of  Syracuse;  trustee  of  Syra- 
cuse University,  Cazenovia  Seminary, 
the  Central  New  York  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Conference,  and  the  Myrtle  Hill 
Cemetery ;  vice-president  of  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association  ;  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Efficiency  Society  of  New 
York,  the  American  Ceramic  Society,  the 
New  York  State  Ceramic  Society,  the 
Electrical  Manufacturers'  Club,  the  En- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


gineers'  Club  of  New  York,  the  Jovian 
Order,  the  Technology  Club,  the  Citizens' 
Club,  the  Onondaga  Golf  and  Countrj- 
Club,  Bellevue  Country  Club,  Chamber 
of  Commerce  of  the  United  States,  and 
the  Mystic  Krewe.  He  also  holds  mem- 
bership in  and  is  a  trustee  of  the  West 
Genesee  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican,  but  aside  from 
keeping  well  informed  on  the  questions 
and  issues  of  the  day  and  supporting  the 
party  by  his  ballot,  he  takes  no  active 
interest  in  political  affairs.  Mr.  Salis- 
bury finds  in  photography  a  favorite  form 
of  recreation,  and  also  greatly  enjoys 
boating.  He  has,  however,  concentrated 
his  energies  upon  his  business  interests, 
and  believing  that  integrity  and  straight- 
forward dealing  can  go  hand  in  hand  with 
success  has  worked  to  that  end.  and  his 
own  life  record  is  verification  of  this  be- 
lief. 

Mr.  Salisbury  married,  December  3, 
1895,  Mary  P.  Pharis,  of  Syracuse,  New 
York,  a  daughter  of  Mills  P.  and  Eliza 
A.  Pharis.  Their  children  are:  Kather- 
ine,  born  February  13,  1905 ;  Robert, 
born  December  25,  1906;  Henry,  born 
October  5,  1908;  William,  born  June  20, 
191 1.  The  city  residence  of  the  family  is 
at  No.  1810  West  Genesee  street,  Syra- 
cuse, and  their  summer  home  is  located 
on  Fourth  Lake  in  the  Adirondacks. 


WHITMORE,  Valentine  P., 

Bnilding  Contractor,  Public  Official. 

The  great  works  now  necessary  to  sup- 
ply municipalities  and  corporations  with 
the  means  properly  to  meet  their  needs 
employ  a  vast  army  of  workmen  who 
must  be  organized  and  directed  by  men 
of  superior  executive  ability,  by  men  who 
can  themselves  grasp  the  problems  of 
construction  presented  them  by  engi- 
neers, by  men  who  can  plan  and  success- 
fully execute  the  work.     The  engineers 


plan  without  regard  to  the  difficulty  of 
the  work ;  the  contractor  must  execute 
according  to  the  plan,  regardless  of  rock, 
quicksand,  flood,  scarcity  of  labor,  or  fail- 
ure of  supplies.  Valentine  F.  Whitmore 
grew  up  amid  such  problems,  and  from 
the  age  of  fifteen  years  has  been  engaged 
on  public  works  of  importance,  beginning 
as  a  water  boy,  and  now  is  the  honored 
head  of  the  Whitmore,  Rauber  &  Vicin- 
us  Contracting  Company,  of  Rochester. 
He  acquired  experience  as  a  working 
man,  rose  to  authority  as  superintendent, 
and  when,  in  1868,  he  entered  the  con- 
tracting field,  there  was  no  man  better 
equipped  to  handle  important  construc- 
tion work.  He  has  won  success  as  a 
builder,  as  a  business  man,  and  as  an 
executive,  and  has  to  his  credit  some  of 
the  largest  Western  New  York  contracts 
successfully  executed,  this  being  particu- 
larly true  in  the  city  of  Rochester. 

Valentine  F.  Whitmore  was  born  in 
Germany,  September  17,  1844,  and  was 
brought  to  the  United  States  by  his  par- 
ents in  1849.  His  first  American  home 
was  in  Syracuse  and  there  until  he  was 
fifteen  years  of  age  he  attended  the  public 
schools.  He  then  became  a  wage  earner, 
his  first  job  being  as  water  boy  on  public 
works  in  Syracuse.  As  he  grew  in  years 
and  experience  he  obtained  more  respon- 
sible positions,  and  after  locating  in 
Rochester  in  1863  became  superintendent 
of  construction  on  the  Erie  Canal.  He 
was  ambitious,  and  when  opportunity 
offered  to  obtain  a  contract  to  repair  a 
section  of  the  canal  he  embraced  it.  He 
continued  in  canal  work  under  Lewis 
Selye  until  1868,  then  definitely  engaged 
in  business  for  himself  as  a  general  con- 
tractor. He  was  successful  in  securing 
some  good  contracts,  which  he  satisfac- 
torily executed,  continuing  in  business 
alone  until  January  i,  1875,  when  he  en- 
tered into  partnership  with  John  Rauber 
(now    deceased)    and    William    Vicinus. 


153 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


As  a  partnership,  greater  expansion  was 
possible,  but  later,  more  capital  and 
leaders  being  necessary,  the  business  was 
incorporated  with  Valentine  F.  Whit- 
more,  president;  John  N.  Rauber,  vice- 
president  ;  Lewis  S.  Whitmore,  treasurer, 
and  William  Vicinus,  secretary.  The 
record  of  Mr.  Whitmore  as  individual 
contractor,  partner  and  chief  executive  has 
been  one  of  success  and  his  business  one 
of  constant  growth.  He  has  executed 
some  of  the  largest  of  Western  New 
York  contracts,  but  a  great  part  of  his 
work  and  that  of  his  company  has  been  in 
connection  with  the  public  improvements 
of  Rochester.  Among  their  important 
works  of  these  years  may  be  cited  the 
Rochester  Water  Works  conduit,  twenty- 
six  and  one  half  miles  in  length,  three  feet 
four  inches  in  diameter;  Central  avenue 
concrete  bridge ;  a  large  section  of  the 
East  Side  trunk  sewer;  a  section  of  the 
disposal  sewer;  miles  of  streets  and  con- 
necting sewers.  The  company  owns  ex- 
tensive limestone  quarries  and  are  also 
contractors  of  cutstone  and  interior  mar- 
ble work,  and  dealers  in  masons'  supplies. 
Mr.  Whitmore  has  other  important  busi- 
ness interests,  being  president  of  the 
Rochester  German  Brick  and  Tile  Com- 
pany, is  vice-president  and  a  director  of 
the  Merchants'  Bank,  director  of  the  East 
Side  Savings  Bank  and  of  the  Genesee 
Valley  Trust  Company. 

A  Republican  in  politics,  he  has  always 
taken  an  active,  influential  part  in  public 
affairs.  For  four  years  he  served  as 
school  commissioner  and  for  four  years 
was  a  member  of  the  board  of  aldermen. 
His  official  record  shows  the  same  thor- 
ough and  business-like  devotion  to  public 
duty  that  has  characterized  his  conduct 
of  his  private  afifairs,  and  city  interests 
have  ever  been  held  paramount.  Broad- 
minded  and  progressive,  he  is  very  de- 
liberate in  forming  his  opinions  and  plans, 
but  most  determined  when  a  plan  of  ac- 


tion has  been  decided  upon.  He  possesses 
a  sympathetic,  kindly  nature,  is  most  ap- 
preciative of  the  good  traits  of  others, 
knows  the  value  of  friendships,  and  ever 
remembers  that  "to  have  a  friend  one 
must  be  one." 

Mr.  Whitmore  married,  February  21, 
1867,  Eunice  L.  Haight.  Their  children 
are:  Lewis  S.,  Walter  V.,  Eunice,  mar- 
ried William  H.  Vicinus  ;  Homer  G.  All 
his  sons  and  his  son-in-law  are  engaged 
with  him  in  business,  Lewis  S.  Whitmore 
being  treasurer,  William  H.  Vicinus,  sec- 
retary, of  the  Whitmore,  Rauber  &  Vicin- 
us Company,  incorporated  in  1904. 


MEANY,  Edward  P., 

Lavryer,  Man  of  AfPairs, 

Brevet  Major-General  Edward  P.  Meany 
was  born  in  Louisville,  Kentucky,  May 
13,  1854,  son  of  the  late  Judge  Edward  A. 
and  Maria  Lavinia  (Shannon)  Meany,  of 
English  anc  ^rish  ancestry.  For  many 
years  his  father,  Judge  Edward  A.  Meany, 
was  conspicuously  identified  with  the 
jurisprudence  of  the  South,  having  previ- 
ously attained  an  honored  position  on  the 
bench  and  at  the  bar.  His  family  in- 
cluded Captain  John  Meany,  a  d-stin- 
guished  citizen  of  Philadelphia,  Penns}J- 
vania.  He  was  also  related  on  the  ma- 
ternal side  to  Commodore  Barry,  of  Phil- 
adelphia, one  of  the  founders  of  the 
United  States  Navy,  to  whom  President 
Washington  presented  the  first  commis- 
sion to  any  ofificer  of  the  navy  created 
under  the  Constitution — "Captain,"  this 
being  the  highest  rank  conferred  at  that 
time.  Commodore  Barry  has  been  con- 
sidered by  many  naval  historians  as  the 
Father  of  the  American  Navy.  Maria 
Lavinia  (Shannon)  Meany,  mother  of 
General  Meany,  was  a  daughter  of  Henry 
Gould  Shannon,  who  settled  at  Louis- 
ville, Kentucky,  in  1810,  and  was  among 
the  leading  citizens  of  that  city. 


154 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


As  a  youth  General  Meany  was  studi- 
ous and  ambitious,  and  after  making  ex- 
cellent progress  in  the  schools  of  his  na- 
tive State,  he  completed  the  course  of  the 
St.  Louis  University  at  St.  Louis,  Mis- 
souri. Under  the  careful  and  thorough 
direction  of  his  father  he  was  prepared 
for  the  practice  of  law,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1878.  For  many  years  he 
was  counsel  for  the  American  Telephone 
and  Telegraph  Company,  and  held  other 
positions  of  confidence  and  responsibility 
with  associated  corporations.  His  legal 
and  financial  abilities  were  in  demand, 
and  he  became  a  director  of  important 
railway,  financial  and  other  corporations. 
As  vice-president  of  the  New  Mexico 
Central  &  Southern  Railway  Company, 
he  represented  that  company  in  1884  be- 
fore the  government  of  Mexico,  and  in 
financial  circles  of  Europe,  and  his  diplo- 
matic and  legal  talents  served  the  com- 
pany well  in  his  intercourse  with  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  Republic  of  Mexico  in 
1884.  General  Meany  is  still  identified 
with  various  business  interests,  being 
vice-president  and  director  of  the  Trust 
Company  of  New  Jersey ;  a  director  of 
the  Colonial  Life  Insurance  Company  of 
America;  the  National  Bank  of  Morris- 
town,  New  Jersey ;  the  Cartaret  Trust 
V  "-mpany ;  the  Laurel  Coal  &  Land  Com- 
pany, and  Pond  Fork  Coal  &  Land  Com- 
pany of  West  Virginia. 

In  1886  he  moved  to  New  Jersey,  where 
he  soon  joined  the  National  Guard.  In 
1893  lis  ■W'^s  appointed  judge  advocate 
general  of  New  Jersey,  with  the  rank  of 
brigadier-general,  and  in  the  following 
year  was  made  one  of  the  Palisade  com- 
missioners of  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  a 
body  formed  to  preserve  the  natural 
scenery  of  the  State  on  the  banks  of  the 
Hudson  river.  For  several  years  he  acted 
as  trustee  and  treasurer  of  the  Newark 
Free  Public  Library.  General  Meany  was 
reared  under  influences  which  naturally 


led  him  to  affiliate  with  the  Democratic 
party,  and  he  has  always  manfully  sup- 
ported its  principles.  In  the  National 
Democratic  Conventions  of  1896  and  1900 
he  represented  the  State  of  New  Jersey, 
and  in  both  those  bodies  he  earnestly  sup- 
ported the  principles  of  the  old  line  De- 
mocracy, and  vigorously  protested  against 
the  abandonment  by  the  party  of  those 
principles.  His  influence  in  the  councils 
of  the  party  in  New  Jersey  is  potent  and 
widely  felt,  and  he  is  esteemed  and  re- 
spected by  all  classes  regardless  of  poli- 
tical affiliations,  for  his  upright  and  man- 
ly course  in  standing  by  his  principles. 
In  1914,  upon  his  own  request.  General 
Meany  was  placed  on  the  retired  list  of 
the  National  Guard  of  New  Jersey,  with 
the  rank  of  brevet  major-general.  He  is 
identified  with  many  prominent  clubs,  in- 
cluding the  Lawyers'  Club,  the  Morris 
County  Golf  Club,  the  Morris  County 
Country  Club,  the  Whippany  River  Club, 
and  the  Morristown  Club.  Through  his 
marriage  to  Rosalie,  daughter  of  Peter 
Behr,  Esq.,  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  Gen- 
eral Meany  has  now  living  a  son.  Shan- 
non Lord  Meany. 


MOULTON,  Webster  Collins, 

Arcbitect. 

Since  the  completion  of  his  university 
course  in  1912,  Mr.  Moulton  has  pursued 
his  professional  work  in  Syracuse,  the 
city  of  his  birth,  with  the  exception  of 
the  time  spent  in  New  York  City  in  con- 
nection with  the  Sage  Foundation  Homes 
Company.  Although  as  yet  young  in  his 
full  honors  as  an  architect,  he  has  had 
opportunity  to  demonstrate  his  quality 
and  is  well-known  as  talented,  capable 
and  reliable.  Moulton  is  a  name  well- 
known  in  the  engineering  world  through 
the  unusual  activity  of  Guy  Moulton, 
civil  engineer  of  Syracuse,  whose  con- 
nection with  railroad,  water  works  and 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


canal  construction  has  been  long  con- 
tinued and  important.  The  record  of  his 
honored  father  is  an  inspiration  and  a 
stimulant  to  the  son  and  in  a  different  but 
kindred  field  he  aspires  to  achieve  equally 
honorable  reputation. 

Guy  Moulton,  father  of  Webster  Collins 
Moulton,  was  born  in  Cicero,  Onondaga 
county,  New  York,  February  25,  1861, 
son  of  Emery  and  Mary  J.  (Churchill) 
Moulton.  He  is  a  graduate  of  Cornell 
University,  B.  S.,  class  of  1881,  and  since 
1910  has  been  division  engineer,  Middle 
Division,  New  York  State  Canals.  He 
began  his  engineering  career  in  1882  as 
assistant  engineer  with  the  Buffalo, 
Rochester  &  Pittsburgh  Railroad  Com- 
pany, beginning  with  the  pieliminary  sur- 
vey and  continuing  until  the  completion 
of  the  road.  He  abandoned  engineering 
in  1883  and  until  1889  engaged  in  farm- 
ing, but  in  the  latter  year  entered  the  em- 
ploy of  the  Lehigh  Railroad  Company  as 
assistant  engineer  on  the  Lizard  Creek 
branch  in  Pennsylvania,  also  building 
twelve  miles  of  that  branch.  He  was 
connected  with  the  Buffalo  extension  of 
the  same  road  in  1890-92  in  the  same  ca- 
pacity, building  twelve  miles  of  the  ex- 
tension and  completing  an  additional 
twelve  miles.  In  1893  he  improved  and 
extended  the  Watkins  Water  System. 
During  1894  he  was  engaged  in  railway 
engineering  in  New  York  and  Tennessee. 
He  spent  the  years  1895-96  in  Pennsyl- 
vania as  engineer  and  general  manager 
for  a  coal  mining  company  and  in  Alichi- 
gan  as  assistant  engineer  of  the  Jackson 
&  Mackinaw  railroad,  also  constructing 
a  twelve-mile  section  of  that  road. 

He  began  his  connection  with  New 
York  State  canal  construction  in  1896  as 
engineer  and  general  manager  for  Mc- 
Donald &  Sayre,  contractors  of  canal 
work  under  the  Nine  Millions  Act,  con- 
tinuing with  that  firm  until  1897.  I"  that 
year  he  was  appointed  first  assistant  engi- 


neer of  the  Middle  Division,  New  York 
State  Canals,  acting  in  that  capacity  until 

1903,  when  he  was  advanced  to  the  post 
of  resident  engineer  on  the  Barge  Canal 
project.  He  held  that  position  until  1909, 
then  became  division  engineer  of  the 
Middle  Division,  New  York  State  Canals, 
and  in  1910  first  resident  engineer  of  the 
Middle  Division,  which  position  he  now 
holds. 

He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  trustee 
of  the  Universalist  Society  of  Syracuse, 
member  of  the  American  Society  of  Civil 
Engineers,  the  Technology  Club  of  Syra- 
cuse and  belongs  to  both  lodge  and  chap- 
ter of  the  Masonic  order. 

He  married  at  Clay,  Onondaga  county. 
New  York,  March  16,  1887,  Sara  Adaline 
Wright.  Children:  Webster  Collins,  of 
further  mention  ;   Lloyd  W. ;  and  Guy  W. 

\\'ebster  Collins  Moulton,  eldest  son  of 
Guy  and  Sara  Adaline  (Wright)  Moulton, 
was  born  in  Syracuse,  New  York,  No- 
vember 19,  1889.  He  obtained  his  pre- 
paratory education  in  the  city  schools, 
graduating  from  grammar  school  in  June, 

1904,  and  from  high  school  with  the  class 
of  June,  1908.  He  then  pursued  a  four 
years'  course  at  Syracuse  University, 
whence  he  was  graduated  in  the  class  of 
June,  1912.  He  had  chosen  architecture  as 
his  life  work  and  until  191 5  was  engaged 
as  draughtsman  with  Gordon  Wright, 
architect  of  Syracuse,  with  the  Sage  Foun- 
dation Homes  Company,  New  York,  and 
with  the  city  of  Syracuse.  In  August, 
1915,  he  first  announced  himself  to  the 
public  as  an  architect,  establishing  offices 
in  the  Union  Building,  441  Salina  street, 
Syracuse.  The  public  has  responded  to 
his  claim  to  recognition  and  the  year  that 
has  elapsed  has  been  most  satisfactory. 
During  the  summers  of  1909  and  191 1, 
while  a  student  at  the  university,  Mr. 
Moulton  held  civil  service  position  with 
the  city  of  Syracuse.  He  is  a  member  of 
the    First   Universalist   Church   of   Syra- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


cuse,  the  Technology,  City  and  Ka-Xe- 
Enda  Canoe  clubs.  He  married,  June  3, 
1916,  at  Syracuse,  Hazel  Marie,  daughter 
of  Bernard  and  Lottie  Sophia  (Peck) 
Cohn. 


NETTLETON,  Albert  E., 

Manufacturer,  Financier. 

The  city  of  Syracuse,  New  York,  is 
justly  celebrated  as  a  manufacturing  cen- 
ter, and  the  business  of  manufacturing 
shoes  is  one  of  its  most  important  indus- 
tries. Prominently  identified  with  this 
particular  branch  of  manufacture  is  Al- 
bert E.  Nettleton,  who  is  regarded  as  one 
of  the  conservative  business  men  of  the 
city,  progressive  and  modern  in  all  that 
he  undertakes  to  do.  The  social  and 
political  afifairs  of  the  city  are  given  their 
fair  share  of  his  attention,  and  he  is  an 
unostentatious  yet  generous  patron  of  any 
plan  that  is  afoot  to  better  the  cause  of 
humanity. 

For  the  greater  part  of  a  century,  the 
name  of  Nettleton  has  been  associated 
with  the  shoe  trade  in  the  State  of  New 
York.  Edward  Nettleton  established  one 
of  the  first  boot  and  shoe  stores  in  the 
village  of  Fulton,  New  York,  about  1837, 
and  personally  and  successfully  con- 
ducted this  until  his  death  in  1864,  when 
his  sons,  Franklin  E.  and  Samuel  W., 
succeeded  him,  and  conducted  afifairs  ac- 
cording to  the  most  approved  methods, 
and  they  in  turn  were  succeeded  by  their 
brother,  Augustus  C.  Nettleton. 

Albert  E.  Nettleton,  son  of  Edward 
Nettleton,  was  born  in  Fulton,  Oswego 
county,  New  York,  October  29,  1850.  His 
early  education  was  acquired  in  the  public 
schools  of  that  section,  and  this  he  later 
supplemented  by  attendance  at  the  Falley 
Seminary,  in  Fulton,  being  graduated 
from  this  institution  in  the  class  of  1869. 
Upon  the  completion  of  his  studies,  he 
found  employment  in  the  business  of  his 


brother,  Augustus  C.  Nettleton,  who  had" 
succeeded  his  two  older  brothers,  and  in 
1872  Albert  E.  Nettleton  succeeded  his 
brother,  Augustus  C,  purchasing  the 
business  from  him .  In  1875  he  also 
established  a  shoe  store  in  Cazenovia, 
New  York,  which  he  conducted  until 
1881,  and  from  1881  to  1884  he  also  con- 
ducted a  shoe  store  in  Lyons,  New  York. 
In  1879  he  came  to  Syracuse,  and  there 
purchased  the  boot  and  shoe  factory  of 
James  R.  Barrett,  and  later  formed  a 
partnership  with  W.  A.  Hill,  this  firm 
conducting  business  under  the  style  of  A. 
E.  Nettleton  &  Company.  By  purchas- 
ing the  interests  of  his  associates,  Mr. 
Nettleton  became  the  sole  owner  of  the 
concern,  making  a  specialty  of  the  manu- 
facture of  men's  shoes,  for  which  his  plant 
earned  a  well  merited  reputation.  He 
employed  upwards  of  six  hundred  hands, 
and  the  products  of  the  factory  go  to  all 
parts  of  the  world,  finding  a  ready  sale. 
Only  the  best  materials  are  used,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  cost  of  the  finished  product, 
and  only  the  best  work  done.  His  aim 
was  to  build  up  a  reputation  and  business 
on  the  actual  value  and  merit  of  his 
product,  and  this  he  accomplished  most 
successfully. 

But  the  manufacture  of  shoes  is  not 
the  only  enterprise  with  which  Mr.  Net- 
tleton is  closely  connected.  He  was 
elected  president  of  the  Fulton  Paper 
Company  in  November,  1893 ;  is  presi- 
dent of  the  C.  A.  Whelan  Company  ;  sec- 
ond vice-president  of  the  Great  Lakes 
Steamship  Company ;  trustee  of  Onon- 
daga County  Savings  Bank;  director  of 
the  National  Bank  of  Syracuse  ;  director 
of  the  Syracuse  Trust  Company  ;  director 
of  the  Empire  Savings  and  Loan  Associ- 
ation, elected  in  April,  1892,  and  director 
of  the  Paragon  Plaster  Company,  becom- 
ing a  member  of  its  board  of  directors  at 
its  organization  in  1888.  Mr.  Nettleton 
has  shown  marked  ability  as  a  financier, 


157 


EXXYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


his  counsel  and  advice  being  frequently 
sought  and  always  followed. 

Mr.  Nettleton  is  deeply  interested  in 
the  public  welfare,  and  uses  his  utmost 
influence  to  better  existing  conditions  in 
every  way  that  lies  in  his  power,  succeed- 
ing well  in  his  efforts.  His  life  history 
most  happily  illustrates  what  may  be 
attained  by  faithful  and  continued  effort 
in  carrying  out  an  honest  purpose.  Un- 
tiring activity  and  energy  are  prominent 
factors  in  the  success  he  has  achieved, 
and  his  example  is  well  worthy  of  emula- 
tion by  the  youth  of  the  present  day.  He 
is  scrupulously  honorable  in  all  his  under- 
takings with  mankind,  and  bears  a  repu- 
tation for  public  and  private  integrity  sec- 
ond to  no  man.  He  is  sociable  and  genial 
in  disposition,  and  has  a  wide  circle  of 
friends. 


OWEN,  Charles  Sumner, 

Business  Man,  Public  OfBcial. 

It  was  an  immortal  saying  of  a  great 
citizen  of  the  State  of  New  York  and  a 
great  American  that  "A  public  office  is 
a  public  trust."  That  sentiment  has  taken 
deep  root  in  American  politics  and  there 
are  men  in  office  to-day  who  so  regard 
public  office,  as  it  was  so  regarded  by 
many  before  President  Cleveland  voiced 
the  truth.  Such  a  man  is  Charles  Sumner 
Owen,  who  as  supervisor,  commissioner 
of  public  safety  of  Rochester  and  sheriff 
of  Monroe  county,  has  shown  a  devotion 
to  official  duty  that  has  won  him  the  un- 
qualified confidence  of  the  public.  With 
devotion,  efficiency  has  gone  hand  in 
hand,  and  while  his  term  as  sheriff  has 
not  yet  expired,  his  record  as  commis- 
sioner of  safety  was  one  marked  with 
such  an  advance  in  the  efficiency  of  that 
department  of  municipal  government  that 
Rochester  holds  his  name  in  grateful  re- 
membrance. Since  1894  Sheriff  Owen 
has  been  connected  with  the  business  in- 


terests of  his  native  city,  beginning  as 
office  boy,  and  is  now  vice-president  of 
the  Chapin-Owen  Company,  dealers  in 
auto  supplies,  motor  engines,  and  sports- 
man's goods.  He  holds  high  position  in 
the  Masonic  order  and  is  a  most  worthy 
exponent  in  his  daily  walk  of  the  best 
tenets  of  that  ancient  institution.  His 
rise  to  public  favor  and  the  success  he 
has  attained  are  not  due  to  a  lucky  turn 
of  Fortune's  wheel,  but  to  his  own  strong 
personality,  his  keen  powers  of  observa- 
tion, his  clear  mind,  his  energy,  his  cour- 
age, his  unblemished  integrity,  and  his 
manly  life.  He  is  a  true  son  of  the  Em- 
pire State,  son  of  Wilbur  F.  and  Mary 
Ellen  (Brady)  Owen,  both  born  in  New 
York,  his  father  having  spent  almost  his 
entire  life  in  Rochester,  where  for  many 
years  he  has  been  associated  with  the 
firm  of  Smith,  Beir  &  Gormley,  jobbers 
of  dry  goods. 

Charles  Sumner  Owen  was  born  in 
Rochester,  January  7,  1869,  second  in  a 
family  of  six  children.  He  attended  pub- 
lic school  until  fifteen  years  of  age,  then 
became  a  wage  earner,  entering  the  em- 
ploy of  Sargent  &  Greenleaf,  lock  manu- 
facturers, as  office  boy.  Two  years  later 
he  went  with  May  Brothers  in  a  higher  ca- 
pacity, and  about  1887  with  Moore  & 
Beir,  clothing  manufacturers.  He  rapid- 
ly advanced  in  rank  with  the  last  named 
firm,  his  efficiency  and  ability  being  fully 
recognized  and  amply  rewarded.  In  1903 
the  firm  of  Moore  &  Beir  became  a  corpo- 
ration, Mr.  Owen  being  chosen  the  first 
vice-president.  He  continued  an  impor- 
tant factor  in  the  management  and  suc- 
cess of  the  company  until  1909,  when  he 
became  commissioner  of  public  safety  for 
the  city  of  Rochester.  Since  that  time  he 
has  devoted  himself  to  the  public  service 
of  city  and  county,  becoming,  however,  a 
member  of  the  Chapin-Owen  Company  in 
1915,  serving  that  company  as  vice-presi- 
dent. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Since  becoming  a  voter  Sheriff  Owen 
has  been  an  active  Republican.  On  Feb- 
ruary I,  1903,  he  was  appointed  a  member 
of  the  board  of  supervisors  of  Monroe 
county,  to  fill  out  the  unexpired  term  of 
Willis  K.  Gillette.  At  the  next  regular 
election  he  was  the  Republican  candidate 
for  that  office  from  the  Third  Ward  of 
the  city  of  Rochester,  was  elected,  and 
served  with  such  acceptance  that  in  1905 
he  was  reelected.  On  January  i,  1907,  he 
was  chosen  chairman  of  the  board,  serv- 
ing in  that  position  until  the  end  of  his 
term  of  office.  On  January  i,  1908,  he 
was  appointed  commissioner  of  public 
safety,  a  responsible  position  in  which  he 
demonstrated  his  full  power  of  organiza- 
tion, his  firm  grasp  of  municipal  con- 
ditions, and  his  ability  to  cope  with 
weighty  problems  of  administration.  He 
brought  system,  order  and  reliability  out 
of  inferior  conditions  and  gave  to  Roches- 
ter an  administration  of  the  Department 
of  Public  Safety  such  as  it  had  never 
known.  In  1914  he  was  the  Republican 
nominee  and  the  successful  contender  for 
the  office  of  sheriff  of  Monroe  county. 
He  assumed  the  duties  of  that  position, 
January  i,  191 5,  and  his  discharge  of  the 
obligations  of  the  sheriff's  office  is  on  the 
same  high  plane  of  prompt,  thorough  and 
conscientious  service  that  has  character- 
ized his  official  as  well  as  his  business 
career. 

In  the  Masonic  order  Mr.  Owen  has 
ever  been  active,  his  official  career  being 
highly  honorable  and  an  evidence  of  his 
standing  in  the  esteem  of  his  brethren. 
He  is  past  master  of  Valley  Lodge,  No. 
109,  Free  and  Accepted  IMasons ;  past 
high  priest  of  Hamilton  Chapter,  No.  62, 
Royal  Arch  Masons ;  Sir  Knight  of  Mon- 
roe Commandery,  Knights  Templar,  and 
a  Noble  of  Damascus  Temple,  Ancient 
Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine.  He  has  been  connected  with  the 
Masonic  Temple  Association  from  its  in- 


ception, serving  as  a  director,  and  is  an 
ex-president  of  the  Masonic  Club.  He  is 
also  a  member  of  the  Rochester  Club. 

Sheriff  Owen  married,  April  18,  1882, 
Delphine  A.  Cragg,  of  Rochester,  and  has 
a  daughter,  Dorothy  Cragg  Owen. 


i' 

STONE,  Charles  Luke, 

Iiaixryer,  Referee  in  Bankruptcy. 

Charles  Luke  Stone  is  descended  from 
a  very  ancient  family,  whose  name  ap- 
pears to  have  been  derived  from  a  place 
of  residence.  The  early  Ardleigh  records 
speak  of  William  Att  Stone,  which  indi- 
cates that  his  name  arose  from  his  resi- 
dence, near  some  important  rock,  perhaps 
a  land  mark.  Symond  Stone,  the  earliest 
known  ancestor  of  this  branch  of  the 
Stone  family,  made  a  will  on  May  12, 
1506,  the  record  of  which  is  on  the  parish 
records  of  Much  Bromley,  England.  The 
will  was  proved  February  10,  15 10;  he 
bequeathed  to  his  son  Walter  his  tene- 
ment in  Ardleigh,  and  as  Ardleigh  is  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  Much  Bromley, 
it  would  appear  that  this  first  Symond 
was  a  descendant  of  the  William  at  the 
Stone,  mentioned  above.  In  a  court  roll 
of  1465,  in  the  reign  of  Edward  IV.,  refer- 
ence is  made  to  three  fields  called  Stone- 
land.  David  Stone,  son  of  Symond  Stone, 
lived  also  at  Much  Bromley,  County  Es- 
sex, England,  early  in  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. Symond  (2)  Stone,  son  of  David 
Stone,  also  lived  at  Much  Bromley.  His 
wife's  name  was  Agnes.  David  (2)  Stone, 
son  of  Symond  (2)  or  Simon  Stone,  was 
born,  lived  and  died  at  Much  Bromley. 
He  had  wife  Ursula.  It  has  been  posi- 
tively proved  that  he,  and  not  Rev.  Timo- 
thy Stone,  as  formerly  supposed,  was  the 
father  of  the  two  American  immigrants, 
Gregory  and  Simon,  next  mentioned. 

Simon  Stone,  son  of  David  (2)  Stone, 
was  the  immigrant  ancestor  of  this  branch 
of  the  family  in  America.     He  was  born 


159 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  Much  Bromley,  County  Essex,  Eng- 
land, where  he  was  baptized  February  9, 
1585-86.  Before  1624  he  and  his  wife 
moved  to  Boxted,  a  few  miles  from  Much 
Bromley,  and  from  Boxted  he  and  his 
family  are  believed  to  have  come  to  this 
country.  On  April  15,  1636,  the  father, 
aged  fifty  ;  mother,  aged  thirty-eight ;  and 
five  children,  embarked  from  London  on 
the  ship  "Increase,"  Robert  Lee,  master, 
for  New  England,  after  receiving  permis- 
sion from  the  government  to  leave  Eng- 
land for  America.  They  settled  first  in 
Watertown,  Massachusetts,  having  forty 
acres  of  land  along  the  banks  of  the 
Charles  river,  south  of  the  present  Mount 
Auburn  Cemetery;  it  is  believed  that  a 
part  of  his  farm  is  now  covered  by  the 
cemetery.  Simon  Stone  was  admitted  a 
freeman.  May  25,  1636,  with  his  brother, 
Gregory,  who  emigrated  at  the  same 
time.  He  was  selectman  from  1637  to 
1656,  and  was  a  deacon  of  the  church  for 
many  years.  One  of  the  pear  trees 
planted  by  him  is  said  to  have  borne  fruit 
for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years,  and  was 
still  vigorous  in  1899.  Mr.  Stone  became 
a  prominent  real  estate  owner,  and  ac- 
cording to  tradition  built  a  large  old- 
fashioned  house,  colonial  in  style,  which 
served  as  a  home  for  his  descendants  for 
six  generations,  but  was  finally  destroyed 
by  fire.  He  married  (first)  August  5, 
1616,  Joan  or  Joana  Clark,  daughter  of 
William  Clark,  and  their  two  eldest  chil- 
dren were  baptized  in  Bromley,  England, 
the  others  being  born  in  Boxted.  He 
married  (second)  about  1654,  Sarah 
Lumpkin,  widow  of  Richard  Lumpkin,  of 
Ipswich,  Massachusetts.  She  also  came 
from  Boxted,  County  Essex,  England, 
and  left  a  will  dated  March  25,  1663. 
Simon  Stone  died  in  Watertown,  Septem- 
ber 22,  1665.  Children  by  first  wife: 
Frances,  baptized  January  20,  1619; 
Mary,  October  i,  1621,  died  young;  Ann, 
born    1624;     Simon,    mentioned    below; 


Mary,  1632;  John,  August  6,  1635;  Eliza- 
beth, April  5,  1639,  died  young.  Simon 
(2)  Stone,  son  of  Simon  (i)  Stone,  was 
born  in  1631,  in  Boxted,  England,  died 
February  27,  1708.  He  and  his  brother 
John  divided  the  real  estate  left  by  their 
father,  Simon,  keeping  the  homestead  for 
his  home.  He  was  deacon  of  the  church, 
and  held  various  public  offices.  For  sev- 
eral years  he  served  as  selectman,  and 
was  town  clerk  for  ten  years.  From  1678 
to  1684,  inclusive,  he  was  representative 
to  the  General  Court,  and  in  1686-89-90 
one  of  the  original  proprietors  of  Groton, 
Massachusetts.  In  1662  he  owned  an 
eighteen  acre  right  in  Groton,  increasing 
his  holding  there  in  1670  to  more  than 
eighty-seven  acres,  although  he  may  not 
have  lived  there.  He  married  Mary 
Whipple,  daughter  of  Elder  John  W'hip- 
ple,  an  early  settler  of  Ipswich,  Massa- 
chusetts. She  was  born  in  1634,  died 
June  2,  1720.  Children:  Simon,  men- 
tioned below ;  John,  mentioned  below ; 
Matthew,  born  February  16,  1660;  Na- 
thaniel, February  22,  1662,  died  same 
year;  Ebenezer,  February  27,  1663;  Mary, 
1665;  Nathaniel,  1667;  Elizabeth,  Octo- 
ber 9,  1670;  David,  October  19,  1672; 
Susanna,  November  4,  1675;  Jonathan, 
December  26,  1677.  Simon  (3)  Stone, 
son  of  Simon  (2)  Stone,  born  September 
8,  1656,  settled  in  Groton,  Massachusetts, 
as  early  as  1694.  His  son,  Simon  (4), 
born  about  1690,  married  Sarah  Farns- 
worth.  He  lived  in  Groton  and  Harvard, 
Massachusetts.  The  records  of  Groton 
are  very  imperfect,  and  do  not  note  all 
the  births  there.  John  Stone,  son  of 
Simon  (2)  Stone,  was  born  July  23,  1658, 
in  Watertown,  and  settled  in  Groton.  He 
had  a  son,  James  Stone,  born  there  Janu- 
ary 23,  1701,  whose  son,  James  Stone, 
born  in  1724,  in  Groton,  married  Deborah 
Nutting,  and  was  probably  the  father  of 
Philip  Stone,  born  1751.  Philip  Stone, 
of  Groton,  was  the  first  permanent  settler 


160 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  the  town  of  Bridport,  Addison  county, 
Vermont,  in  1772.  There  he  married, 
November  25,  1773,  a  Miss  Ward,  of 
Addison,  Vermont.  They  were  the  par- 
ents of  Isaac  Stone,  who  lived  in  Brid- 
port until  1825,  and  soon  after  removed 
to  Mexico,  Oswego  county,  New  York. 
He  married,  in  Vermont,  January  20, 
1815,  Lydia  Hurlbut,  born  February  i, 
1796,  in  Sudbury,  Vermont,  daughter  of 
Samuel  and  Jerusha  (Higgins)  Hurlbut, 
natives  respectively  of  Chatham  and  Had- 
dam,  Connecticut,  descended  from  Thom- 
as Hurlbut,  who  was  a  soldier  under  Lion 
Gardiner  in  the  settlement  at  Saybrook, 
Connecticut.  Isaac  Stone  was  a  farmer 
and  a  shoemaker,  and  died  in  Mexico, 
New  York,  November  4,  1848.  He  had 
twelve  children,  of  whom  the  eldest  son 
and  second  child  was  Samuel  Hurlbut 
Stone,  born  March  6,  1818,  in  Bridport, 
Vermont.  He  was  a  merchant  in  Mexico, 
in  association  with  his  brother,  Benjamin 
Sage  Stone,  and  was  a  prominent  citizen 
of  that  town,  filling  various  offices.  He 
was  executor  of  the  will  of  Peter  Chand- 
ler, of  that  town,  and  died  there  January 
20,  1887.  He  married,  June  12,  1844, 
Rhoda  A.  Butterfield,  daughter  of  Luke 
and  Sophronia  (Kellogg)  Butterfield,  of 
Mexico.  Their  second  son  and  child  is 
the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

Charles  Luke  Stone  was  born  April  2, 
1848,  in  Mexico,  where  he  grew  up  and 
received  his  primary  education.  He 
graduated  with  the  degree  of  A.  B.  at 
Hamilton  College  in  1871,  and  subse- 
quently received  from  this  institution  the 
degrees  of  A.  M.  and  LL.  B.  He  engaged 
in  practice  of  law  at  Syracuse,  New  York, 
where  he  has  continued  to  the  present 
time,  and  has  attained  a  commanding 
position  at  the  bar.  Since  1878  he  has 
been  attorney  for  the  Onondaga  County 
Savings  Bank,  was  city  counsel  from  1887 
to  1889,  and  counsel  to  the  Syracuse 
Water  Board  and  Department  from  1889 
NY-VolIV_n  161 


to  1906.  Since  1898  he  has  been  a  referee 
in  bankruptcy,  and  is  a  trustee,  attorney 
and  director  of  the  Onondaga  County 
Savings  Bank,  and  New  Process  Raw 
Hide  Company.  He  is  and  has  been  at 
the  head  of  the  law  firms  of  Stone,  Gan- 
non &  Petit; Stone  &  Petit,  and  now  of 
Stone  &  Stone.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Onondaga  County  Bar  Association,  New 
York  State  Bar  Association,  Sons  of  the 
American  Revolution,  and  the  college  fra- 
ternity Phi  Beta  Kappa.  He  is  or  has 
been  also  associated  with  several  clubs, 
including  the  Century,  Citizens'  and  Uni- 
versity clubs  of  Syracuse.  In  religion  a 
Presbyterian,  in  politics  a  Republican,  he 
exerts  a  large  influence  in  political  coun- 
cils. 

He  married  at  College  Hill,  Clinton, 
New  York,  1872,  Zilla  Buttrick  Sackett, 
daughter  of  William  A.  and  Charlotte 
(Buttrick)  Sackett.  Children:  Char- 
lotte S.,  MacDougall,  Harold  and  Rhoda 
Zilla  Palmer. 


CLARKE,  Charles  J., 

Clerk  of  Snpreme  Conrt. 

Mr.  Clarke  is  a  descendant  of  Scotch 
and  Irish  ancestry,  and  was  born  Febru- 
ary 24,  1864,  in  the  city  of  New  York. 
His  father,  Thomas  W.  Clarke,  was  a 
noted  secret  service  man  in  the  employ  of 
the  United  States  government  during  the 
Civil  War,  and  was  also  connected  with 
the  navy.  He  lost  his  life  at  the  battle 
of  Fort  Fisher,  January  15,  1865.  His 
mother  was  a  member  of  the  Scott  family 
of  Dublin,  Ireland,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Scott,  who  was  queen's  counsel  for  the 
city  of  Dublin  for  about  forty-five  years, 
having  previously  earned  credit  by  gal- 
lantry in  the  Spanish  War.  He  was  a 
relative  of  William  Smith  O'Brien,  the 
Irish  patriot. 

Charles  J.  Clarke  received  his  educa- 
tion in  the  common  schools,  and  started 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


out  in  life  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years  as 
a  night  messenger  boy,  at  a  salary  of 
eight  dollars  a  month,  working  from  8 
P.  M.  until  7  A.  M.  After  two  years  of 
this  service  he  became  an  apprentice  to 
the  moulding  trade,  becoming  a  skilled 
iron  moulder,  and  continued  in  that  occu- 
pation until  he  attained  his  majority.  At 
this  time  he  started  out  on  the  road,  sell- 
ing iron  goods,  and  thus  continued  until 
1900,  when  he  was  appointed  to  a  minor 
clerkship  in  the  Onondaga  county  clerk's 
office.  From  this  humble  beginning  he 
won  steady  promotion,  and  in  time  be- 
came deputy  county  clerk,  in  charge  of 
the  Court  of  Records.  In  1908  he  was 
advanced  to  the  position  of  clerk  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  having  received  the 
unanimous  endorsement  of  the  judiciary 
of  the  fifth  district  of  the  Supreme  Court. 
When  the  present  Court  of  Claims  was 
organized  by  the  Republican  administra- 
tion, the  chief  clerkship  was  offered  to 
him  without  any  solicitation  on  his  be- 
half, but  was  declined.  It  was  his  duty 
to  make  all  the  arrangements  for  the 
famous  Barnes  vs.  Roosevelt  trial,  held  in 
Onondaga  county  in  April  and  May,  1915. 
Mr.  Clarke  is  a  collector  of  bric-a-brac 
and  old  mahogany  furniture,  and  has  a 
large  and  rare  collection  of  pictures,  num- 
bering nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty  of 
all  kinds.  His  spare  time  is  devoted  to  a 
sixty-five  acre  farm,  located  in  Oswego 
county.  New  York,  on  which  he  has 
erected  all  necessary  farm  buildings  by 
his  own  hands,  thus  demonstrating  a  na- 
tural mechanical  skill,  as  he  never  re- 
ceived any  training  as  a  carpenter.  It 
has  always  been  the  custom  of  Onondaga 
county  to  give  the  county  clerks  two 
terms,  and  after  the  expiration  of  the 
present  term  of  his  superior,  by  common 
consent  the  succession  will  fall  to  Mr. 
Clarke.  He  is  a  member  of  all  the  Ameri- 
can Rite  Masonic  bodies  and  also  a  thirty- 
second  degree  Scottish  Rite  Mason  ;  mem- 


ber of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  Maccabees,  Knights  of  P^'thias, 
Citizens'  Club,  and  secretary  of  the  Onon- 
daga County  Men's  League  for  Woman's 
Suffrage. 

He  married,  June  12,  1889,  M.  Belle 
Herrick,  a  resident  of  Syracuse,  and  one 
of  the  descendants  of  the  Von  Steinbergh 
family  of  Albany  and  Syracuse,  noted 
in  the  Revolutionary  annals  of  the  State. 
They  are  the  parents  of  two  sons,  Charles 
J.,  Jr.,  and  Scott  H.  Clarke. 


CLAPP,  Edward  Everett, 

Financier,  Real  Estate  Operator. 

The  surname  Clapp  or  Clap  had  its 
origin  in  the  proper  or  personal  name  of 
Osgod  Clapa,  a  Danish  noble  of  the  court 
of  King  Canute  (1007-1036).  The  site  of 
his  country  place  was  known  as  Clapham, 
County  Surrey.  The  ancient  seat  of  the 
family  in  England  is  at  Salcombe,  in 
Devonshire,  where  important  estates 
were  owned  for  many  centuries  by  this 
family.  Coat-of-arms  of  this  branch: 
First  and  fourth,  three  battle  axes ;  sec- 
ond, sable  a  griffin  passant  argent ;  third, 
sable  an  eagle  with  two  heads  displayed 
with  a  border  engrailed  argent.  A  coat- 
of-arms  in  common  use  by  the  Clapp 
family  in  England  and  America  is :  Vaire 
gules  and  argent  a  quarter  azure  charged 
with  the  sun  or.  Crest :  A  pike  naiant 
proper.  Motto :  Fais  ce  que  dois  advienne 
que  pourra. 

The  American  family  is  descended 
from  six  immigrants,  Edward  and  Cap- 
tain Roger,  sons  of  William  Clapp,  and 
John,  Nicholas,  Thomas  and  Ambrose, 
sons  of  Nicholas  Clapp,  of  Venn  Ottery, 
Devonshire,  England.  The  fathers,  Wil- 
liam and  Nicholas,  were  brothers.  All 
came  to  Dorchester,  Massachusetts,  May 
30,  1630,  and  formed  one  of  the  most 
prominent  and  influential  families  of  that 
town.      William    Clapp,    of    the    ancient 


(^/.^^tJ^^^^^lj^^      


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Devonshire  family,  lived  at  Salcombe 
Regis,  Devonshire.  Captain  Roger  Clapp, 
son  of  William  Clapp,  was  born  in  Sal- 
combe Regis,  Devonshire,  England,  April 
6,  1609,  and  died  in  Boston,  February  2, 
1691,  whither  he  had  removed  in  1686. 
He  sailed  from  Plymouth  on  the  ship 
"Mary  and  John"  for  New  England, 
March  20,  1630,  arriving  at  Nantasket, 
May  30,  of  the  same  year.  He  was  a 
proprietor,  and  was  admitted  a  freeman. 
May  4,  1634.  At  the  first  regular  organi- 
zation of  the  militia  in  1644,  he  was  made 
lieutenant  of  the  Dorchester  company 
and  later  was  made  captain.  In  August, 
1665,  he  was  appointed  by  the  General 
Court  commander  of  Fort  Independence  in 
Boston  harbor,  which  position  he  held  for 
twenty  years,  or  until  he  was  seventy- 
seven,  when  he  retired  to  his  residence 
in  Boston,  and  died  there  in  his  eighty- 
second  year.  He  was  also  a  member  of 
the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery 
Company.  He  was  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  Dorchester  church  and  a  member 
for  sixty  years.  He  married,  November 
6.  1633,  Johanna,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Ford,  of  Dorchester,  England.  Their  son, 
Preserved  Clapp,  born  November  23, 1643, 
died  September  20,  1720,  lived  in  Dor- 
chester until  he  was  about  twenty  years 
old,  when  he  removed  to  Northampton 
and  became  one  of  the  leading  citizens 
there.  He  was  captain  of  the  militia, 
ruling  elder  of  the  church,  and  deputy 
to  the  General  Court.  He  married  Sarah, 
daughter  of  Major  Benjamin  Newberry, 
of  Windsor,  Connecticut,  and  their  son. 
Captain  Roger  (2)  Clapp,  was  born  May 
24,  1684,  and  died  January  9,  1762.  He 
lived  in  Northampton,  was  a  captain  in 
the  militia,  and  representative  to  the 
General  Court.  He  married  Elizabeth, 
daughter  of  Samuel  Bartlett,  born  Octo- 
ber 27,  1687,  died  August  g,  1767.  Their 
fifth  son.  Supply  Clapp,  was  born  1721, 
in  Northampton,  died  October  11,  1784. 


He  was  a  soldier  in  the  French  and  In- 
dian War,  1755,  a  sergeant  in  the  regi- 
ment of  Colonel  Seth  Pomeroy,  and  was 
taken  prisoner  at  Lake  George,  in  the 
capture  of  which  fort  that  regiment  took 
an  important  part.  His  name  was  on  the 
sick  list  returned  by  Thomas  Williams, 
surgeon,  November  23,  1755.  He  was 
also  in  the  expedition  to  Crown  Point, 
Captain  Elisha  Hawley's  company.  He 
married  (second)  December  30,  1756, 
Sarah  Lyman.  Their  eldest  child.  Supply 
(2)  Clapp,  was  born  February  22,  1767, 
and  died  June  20,  1800.  His  first  wife 
was  Lucretia,  daughter  of  Deacon  Mar- 
tin Clark,  of  Westhampton.  Justice 
Clapp,  eldest  child  of  Supply  (2)  and 
Lucretia  (Clark)  Clapp,  was  born  August 
26,  1795,  and  died  October  15,  1849,  in 
Becket,  Massachusetts.  He  married,  June 
3,  1823,  Lucretia  Clark,  daughter  of  Julius 
Clark,  fifth  descendant  from  Lieutenant 
William  Clark.  She  was  born  January 
26,  1802,  and  died  May  14,  1840. 

Edward  Everett  Clapp,  son  of  Justice 
and  Lucretia  (Clark)  Clapp,  was  born 
January  5,  1838,  in  Holyoke,  Massachu- 
setts. His  mother  died  when  he  was  two 
years  old,  and  his  father  when  he  was 
eleven.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  came  to 
Newburg,  New  York,  and  attended  the 
Newburg  Academy  under  Professor  Reed, 
living  with  his  brother,  George  M.  In 
April,  1861,  he  sailed  for  China  with  the 
purpose  of  seeing  more  of  the  world  and 
securing  a  suitable  business  opening.  He 
found  his  opportunity  in  the  cotton  trade 
in  China,  where,  owing  to  the  Civil  War 
in  America,  cotton  was  in  demand  for 
export  to  supply  the  cotton  mills  of  Eng- 
land and  other  countries.  In  1875,  after 
spending  most  of  the  intervening  years 
abroad,  he  established  an  insurance 
agency  in  Albany,  New  York,  represent- 
ing twelve  fire  insurance  companies,  one 
life,  and  the  Fidelity  &  Casualty  Com- 
pany of  New  York,  and  enjoyed  from  the 
163 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


outset  an  excellent  patronage.  In  1881 
the  president  of  the  Fidelity  &  Casualty 
Company  persuaded  him  to  sell  his  Al- 
bany business  and  devote  his  entire  atten- 
tion to  the  New  York  business  of  that 
company.  His  firm,  E.  E.  Clapp  &  Com- 
pany, consists  of  Mr.  E.  E.  Clapp  and  Mr. 
Edward  Griffith,  under  the  firm  name  of 
E.  E.  Clapp  &  Company.  They  are  man- 
agers of  the  disability  department  of  the 
Fidelity  &  Casualty  Company  for  New 
York,  New  Jersey,  Massachusetts  and 
Rhode  Island,  and  for  many  years  have 
been  first  in  the  amount  of  business 
written  among  the  general  agents  of  the 
entire  world.  In  191 1  this  firm  paid  the 
Fidelity  &  Casualty  Company  over  $1,- 
450,000,  In  the  special  field  of  disability 
and  accident  insurance,  Mr.  Clapp  is  rec- 
ognized as  one  of  the  foremost  author- 
ities in  this  country.  He  has  taken  a 
leading  part  in  the  development  of  this 
form  of  insurance  from  its  inception.  In 
politics  Mr.  Clapp  is  a  Republican  of 
some  prominence.  In  religion  he  is  an 
Episcopalian.  He  is  a  thirty-second  de- 
gree Mason,  a  member  of  the  New  York 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  the  Union  League 
Club,  the  Down  Town  Association,  the 
Republican  Club,  the  Peace  Society,  and 
the  Economic  Club  of  New  York,  also 
the  Essex  County  Country  Club,  the  New 
England  Society  of  Orange,  and  the  So- 
ciety of  Colonial  Wars  of  New  Jersey. 
His  home  is  in  East  Orange,  New  Jersey. 
Mr.  Clapp  married,  while  in  the  United 
States,  in  April,  1864,  Eliza  Brooks  Town- 
send,  born  June  29,  1838,  daughter  of 
William  Townsend,  a  descendant  of 
Henry  Townsend,  who  in  1661  settled 
in  Oyster  Bay,  New  York;  his  brother, 
John  Townsend,  received  in  1645  ^rom 
Grovernor  Keift  a  patent  for  the  town  of 
Flushing,  and  Henry  remained  there  with 
him  until  1661.  After  his  marriage  Mr. 
Clapp  returned  to  China,  taking  his  wife 
with   him.      Child :    Annie    Brooks,   born 


April  28,  1866,  married  Robert  Henry 
Hillis,  and  has  one  child,  Edward  Clapp 
Hillis,  born  November  24,  1908. 


HOLMES,  Daniel, 

Pioneer   Ua^ryer. 

Daniel  Holmes,  now  living  retired,  was 
the  pioneer  lawyer  of  Brockport  and  for 
many  years  a  prominent  attorney  of  the 
Monroe  county  bar.  He  is  a  native  of 
West  Bloomfield,  Ontario  county.  New 
York,  born  September  11,  1828,  and  is  a 
son  of  Daniel  and  Susan  (Hale-Stuart) 
Holmes,  natives  of  Massachusetts,  who, 
removing  westward  about  181 2,  settled 
in  Ontario  county,  New  York,  where  they 
cast  in  their  lot  with  those  who  were  re- 
claiming a  frontier  district  for  agricul- 
tural uses.  The  father  served  his  country 
as  a  soldier  in  the  War  of  1812  and 
participated  in  the  battle  of  Buffalo.  The 
maternal  ancestry  of  Mr.  Holmes  was 
represented  in  the  Revolutionary  War, 
the  grandfather,  Thomas  Hale,  being  a 
drummer  boy  at  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill. 

Daniel  Holmes  was  reared  at  Aliens- 
hill,  New  York,  his  father  being  proprie- 
tor of  a  hotel  at  that  place  for  a  number 
of  years.  After  mastering  the  elementary 
branches  of  learning  he  prepared  for  col- 
lege at  the  Brockport  Collegiate  Institute 
and  received  his  university  training  at 
Yale,  which  he  entered  in  1846.  He  is 
numbered  among  the  alumni  of  1848,  hav- 
ing been  graduated  with  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Arts.  Subsequently  in  1853, 
he  received  from  the  University  of 
Rochester  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts, 
and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar,  for  which  he  had  pre- 
viously prepared.  He  immediately  be- 
gan the  practice  of  his  profession  in 
Brockport,  where  he  has  resided  continu- 
ously since,  having  been  in  practice  here 
for  more  than  a  half  century.  He  was. 
64 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  pioneer  lawyer  of  the  town  and  his 
ability  enabled  him  always  to  maintain 
a  place  in  the  foremost  ranks  of  its  legal 
fraternity.  In  recent  years,  however,  he 
has  retired  from  active  practice  to  enjoy 
well  earned  ease. 

In  early  manhood  Daniel  Holmes  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Mary  J.  Hawes,  of 
Brookfield,  Massachusetts,  of  whom  ex- 
tended mention  is  made  in  following 
pages.  Theirs  was  an  ideal  relation,  their 
mutual  love  and  confidence  increasing 
year  by  year  as  they  met  together  the 
joys  and  sorrows,  the  adversity  and  pros- 
perity, the  disappointments  and  the  pleas- 
ures which  checker  the  careers  of  all. 
Closer  grew  their  friendship  as  time  went 
by,  the  desire  of  each  being  always  for 
the  best  interests  and  happiness  of  the 
other,  but  on  October  6,  1907,  they  were 
separated  through  the  death  of  Mrs. 
Holmes. 

Mr.  Holmes  still  continues  to  reside  in 
Brockport,  where  for  many  years  he  has 
figured  prominently  in  community  affairs. 
For  thirty  years  he  served  as  justice  of 
the  peace  of  Brockport,  his  decisions  be- 
ing strictly  fair  and  impartial,  so  that  he 
"won  golden  opinions  from  all  sorts  of 
people."  He  was  also  clerk  of  the  village 
for  twenty  years  and  in  community  affairs 
was  actively  and  helpfully  mterested,  be- 
ing secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  State 
Normal  School  at  Brockport,  for  many 
years. 

Mr.  Holmes  is  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic fraternity,  belonging  to  Monroe 
Lodge,  No.  173,  Ancient  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons,  of  which  he  is  a  past  mas- 
ter. He  also  belongs  to  Daniel  Holmes 
Chapter,  No.  294,  Royal  Arch  Masons, 
and  to  Monroe  Commandery,  No.  12, 
Knights  Templar,  of  Rochester.  He  is 
senior  warden  of  St.  Luke's  Church  at 
Brockport.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Empire  State  Chapter  of  the  Sons  of  the 
American  Revolution  and  a  member  of 


the  New  York  State  Bar  Association.  He 
is  one  of  the  oldest  attorneys  of  Monroe 
county  and  while  his  professional  career 
gained  him  rank  with  the  leading  lawyers 
of  Brockport  he  has  also  been  well  known 
because  of  his  activity  in  connection  with 
the  interests  bearing  upon  the  general 
welfare  of  society  and  the  upbuilding  and 
improvement  of  the  community. 


HOLMES,  Mrs.  Mary  J., 

Favorite  Author. 

With  one  exception  the  works  of  no 
American  novelist  have  been  so  widely 
read  as  those  of  Mrs.  Mary  J.  Holmes, 
and  Brockport  was  proud  to  number  her 
among  its  citizens,  but  while  her  name 
was  a  household  word  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  this  land,  in  her 
home  town  she  was  loved  for  personal 
traits  of  character  that  endeared  her  to 
all  with  whom  she  came  in  contact.  She 
was  the  wife  of  Daniel  Holmes,  whose 
sketch  precedes  this.  In  her  maidenhood 
she  was  Mary  J.  Hawes,  of  Brookfield, 
Massachusetts,  a  daughter  of  Preston 
Hawes,  a  man  of  rare  mentality,  while 
from  her  mother  she  inherited  a  love  of 
poetry  and  of  fine  arts.  When  but  three 
years  of  age  she  began  to  attend  school, 
studied  grammar  at  the  age  of  six,  and 
began  teaching  school  when  but  thirteen 
years  old.  Her  first  article  was  published 
when  she  was  only  fifteen  years  old. 
Very  early  in  life  she  manifested  rare 
ability  for  story  telling,  entertaining  her 
young  companions  with  tales  of  her  own 
invention.  Her  precocity  has  been  borne 
out  by  the  work  of  her  later  years,  for 
there  is  perhaps  no  American  author 
whose  works  are  more  widely  read  than 
those  of  Mrs.  Mary  J.  Holmes. 

Over  two  million  copies  of  her  books 
have  been  published  and  the  demand  for 
all  of  them  continues.  The  annual  sale 
amounts  to  thousands  of  copies  and  no 


>65 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


better  proof  of  their  merit  and  popu- 
larity could  be  given.  A  list  of  her  pub- 
lished works  includes  the  following: 
"Tempest  and  Sunshine,"  "English  Or- 
phans," "Homestead  on  Hillside,"  "Lena 
Rivers,"  "Meadow  Brook,"  "Dora  Deane," 
"Cousin  Maude,"  "Marian  Grey,"  "Dark- 
ness and  Daylight,"  "Hugh  Worthing- 
ton,"  "Cameron  Pride,"  "Rose  Mather," 
"Ethelyn's  Mistake,"  "Millbank,"  "Edna 
Browning,"  "West  Lawn,"  "Edith  Lyle," 
"Mildred,"  "Daisy  Thornton,"  "Forrest 
House,"  "Chateau  d'Or,"  "Madeline," 
"Queenie  Hetherton,"  "Christmas  Sto- 
ries," "Bessie's  Fortune,"  "Gretchen." 
"Marguerite,"  "Dr.  Hathern's  Daugh- 
ters," "Mrs.  Hallam's  Companion,"  "Paul 
Ralston,"  "The  Tracy  Diamonds,"  "The 
Cromptons,"  "The  Merivale  Banks," 
"Rena's  Experiment,"  and  "The  Aban- 
doned Farm."  As  an  author  she  had  a 
most  happy  career,  with  none  of  the  trials 
which  fall  to  the  lot  of  so  many  writers, 
and  her  publishers  have  always  been  her 
friends.  G.  W.  Carlton  and  later  Dilling- 
ham had  charge  of  the  sale  of  her  books. 
Her  first  novel,  "Tempest  and  Sunshine," 
was  published  in  1854  and  since  that  time 
her  writings  have  been  constantly  on  the 
market.  With  the  possible  exception  of 
Mrs.  Stowe,  no  American  woman  has 
reaped  so  large  profits  from  her  copy- 
rights, some  of  her  books  having  attained 
a  sale  of  fifty  thousand  copies. 

In  commenting  on  this,  the  Brockport 
"Republic"  said: 

Her  success  as  an  author  is  said  by  some  to  be 
the  result  of  her  power  of  description;  others 
assert  it  was  her  naturalness,  her  clear  concise 
English  and  the  faculty  to  hold  the  reader's  sym- 
pathy from  the  beginning  to  the  end;  others  at- 
tribute it  to  the  fact  that  there  was  nothing  in 
her  works  but  what  was  pure  and  elevating.  We 
who  know  her  best,  feel  that  all  this  has  made 
her  the  successful  writer  that  she  was. 

Mrs.  Holmes  was  deeply  interested  in 
benevolent  works  in    Brockport    and   in 


those  organizations  which  promote  cul- 
ture, charity  and  patriotism.  She  was 
president  of  the  Brockport  Union  Char- 
itable Society  and  vice-regent  of  the 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution. 
She  was  indefatigable  in  the  founding  and 
sustaining  of  a  free  reading  room  and  did 
everything  in  her  power  to  promote 
knowledge  and  culture  among  the  young 
people,  of  whom  she  was  particularly 
fond.  She  often  talked  to  them  concern- 
ing art  and  foreign  travel,  on  which  sub- 
jects she  was  well  versed,  she  and  her 
husband  having  made  various  trips 
abroad,  visiting  the  noted  art  centers  of 
the  Old  World.  As  a  hostess  she  was 
chariTiingly  gracious  and  hospitable,  hav- 
ing the  ready  tact  that  enabled  her  to 
make  all  guests  feel  at  home.  Her  be- 
nevolence was  also  one  of  her  strongly 
marked  characteristics.  In  early  life  she 
made  it  her  plan  to  give  one-tenth  of  her 
income  to  charity  and  this  she  did  ever 
afterward.  St.  Luke's  Episcopal  Church, 
of  which  she  was  a  member,  is  greatly  in- 
debted to  her  for  its  prosperous  condition. 
Her  charitable  work,  however,  was  done 
quietly  and  few  people  knew  the  great 
amount  of  good  she  did.  She  cared  not 
for  public  recognition  of  her  benevolence, 
content  in  the  consciousness  of  having 
aided  a  fellow  traveler  on  life's  journey. 
While  she  had  thousands  of  admirers 
throughout  the  country,  in  her  home 
town  where  she  was  best  known  she  was 
much  loved  by  the  people  among  whom 
her  daily  life  was  passed. 

The  summer  of  1907  was  spent  by  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Holmes  at  Oak  Bluflfs,  Martha's 
Vineyard,  and  while  on  the  return  trip 
Mrs.  Holmes  became  ill.  After  improv- 
ing to  a  slight  degree  she  insisted  on  con- 
tinuing the  journey  but  lived  for  only  a 
brief  period  after  she  reached  Brockport, 
passing  away  on  October  6,  1907.  Per- 
haps no  better  testimonial  of  the  regard 
in  which  she  was  held  in  Brockport  can 


166 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


be   given   than   by   quoting 
paper,  which  said : 

During  the  many  years  of  Mrs.  Holmes'  resi- 
dence in  Brockport  her  influence  for  good  has 
been  constant  and  unvarying,  and  every  enter- 
prise that  made  for  the  welfare  of  the  village 
received  her  most  hearty  sanction  and  support. 
With  charity  toward  all,  with  malice  toward 
none,  she  moved  among  us  the  very  embodiment 
of  gracious  kindness.  And  so,  in  thousands  of 
ways  her  death  will  prove  an  inestimable  loss  to 
this  community,  and  to-day  nearly  every  house- 
hold is  shadowed  by  a  personal  grief.  She  went 
to  her  death  wearing  the  white  rose  of  a  blame- 
less life.     The  world  is  the  poorer  for  her  going. 


MATHEWS,  John  Alexander, 

Scientist,  Man  of  Affairs. 

John  Alexander  Mathews,  Sc.  D.,  Ph. 
D.,  is  not  a  native  son  of  New  York  but 
was  born  in  the  old  college  town  of 
Washington,  Pennsylvania,  May  20,  1872. 
His  father,  William  Johnston  Mathews, 
was  a  prosperous  merchant  who  died  in 
1874,  leaving  a  widow,  Frances  Sage 
Pelletreau  Mathews,  and  four  young  chil- 
dren. Shortly  afterward  the  family  re- 
moved to  Wisconsin  and  for  seven  years 
lived  upon  a  farm.  When  the  older  chil- 
dren were  ready  for  college  preparation, 
they  returned  to  Washington  and  John 
A.  attended  public  and  high  school,  then 
preparatory  school  and  later  entered 
Washington  and  Jefferson  College,  gradu- 
ating with  honors  in  1893,  with  the  de- 
gree of  B.  Sc.  He  later  received  the  de- 
gree of  M.  Sc,  and  in  1902  received  the 
first  award  of  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Science,  causa  honoris,  ever  conferred  by 
his  alma  mater.  During  college  days  he 
worked  for  various  newspapers  and  upon 
graduation  thought  seriously  of  continu- 
ing newspaper  work.  Armed  with  letters 
of  introduction  he  assailed  every  news- 
paper office  in  Pittsburgh,  but  receiving 
no  encouragement  and  no  job.  A  week 
later  he  enrolled  at  Columbia  University 


from  a  local  as  a  student  of  chemistry.  So  successful 
was  he  in  this  that  he  earned  his  M.  A. 
(1895)  and  Ph.  D.  (1898)  in  course  and 
was  awarded  first  the  University  Fellow- 
ship in  Chemistry  (1897),  and  later  re- 
ceived a  three-year  appointment  to  the 
"Barnard  Fellowship  for  the  Encourage- 
ment of  Scientific  Research."  It  was  un- 
derstood that  one  year  of  this  occupancy 
should  be  spent  studying  abroad  and  Dr. 
Matthews  chose  to  work  with  Professor 
Sir  William  Roberts-Austen,  K.  C.  B.,  F. 
R.  S.,  at  the  Royal  School  of  Mines,  Lon- 
don. Professor  Roberts- Austen  was  chair- 
man of  the  alloys  research  committee  of 
the  Institution  of  Mechanical  Engineers 
and  it  was  along  the  line  of  alloys  research 
that  Dr.  Matthews  studied.  While  in  Lon- 
don in  1900-1901  Andrew  Carnegie  en- 
dowed certain  research  scholarships  in  the 
gift  of  the  Iron  and  Steel  Institute  of  Great 
Britain.  These  were  open  to  interna- 
tional competition  and  the  first  three  ap- 
pointees included  an  Englishman,  an  Aus- 
trian and  an  American — Dr.  Mathews. 
This  award  was  made  with  the  under- 
standing that  he  should  return  to  Colum- 
bia University  and  take  up  special  studies 
in  iron  and  steel  under  Professor  Henry 
M.  Howe.  A  scholarship  "going  and  com- 
ing" was  so  much  of  a  novelty  that  Hon. 
Seth  Low,  then  president  of  Columbia 
University,  referred  to  this  unique  record 
at  some  length  in  his  commencement  ad- 
dress in  1901  and  one  year  later  took 
pleasure  in  announcing  that  the  first  "An- 
drew Carnegie  Gold  Medal  for  Research" 
had  been  awarded  Dr.  Mathews  as  a  re- 
sult of  his  work  while  holder  of  the  Car- 
negie Scholarship. 

The  work  connected  with  this  scholar- 
ship directed  Dr.  Mathews'  attention  to 
steel  and  in  the  course  of  his  work  he 
secured  permission  to  carry  on  some  ex- 
periments on  a  commercial  scale  at  the 
Sanderson  Brothers  Works,  Syracuse, 
New     York.       The     acquaintances     thus 


167 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


formed  led  to  the  offer  of  a  position  with 
that  company  upon  the  completion  of  his 
investigations,  so  in  September,  1902,  he 
came  to  Syracuse  as  metallurgist  in 
charge  of  research  work  for  the  Crucible 
Steel  Company  of  America  of  which  the 
Sanderson  Works  forms  a  part.  Even 
then  he  had  not  fully  decided  to  give  up 
his  wish  for  teaching.  Several  years  at 
Columbia  had  been  spent  as  instructor  in 
chemistry  and  when  he  accepted  a  posi- 
tion in  an  industrial  plant  it  was  with  the 
idea  of  securing  some  practical  experi- 
ence to  better  fit  him  for  a  professorship  in 
applied  science.  The  fates,  however,  de- 
cided otherwise  and  in  less  than  two 
years  he  had  become  assistant  manager 
of  the  Sanderson  Works,  and  in  1908  he 
went  to  the  Halcomb  Steel  Company  of 
Syracuse  as  operating  manager  and  gen- 
eral superintendent.  He  later  became  a 
director  in  the  corporation  and  general 
manager.  In  1915  he  succeeded  Mr.  H. 
S.  Wilkinson  as  president  of  the  com- 
pany and  of  the  Syracuse  Crucible  Steel 
Company,  an  affiliated  interest. 

Dr.  Mathews  is  a  member  of  many 
technical  societies,  domestic  and  foreign, 
and  has  been  a  frequent  contributor  to 
their  journals.  He  was  a  special  con- 
tributor on  steel  to  the  "Encyclopedia 
Americana,"  second  edition,  and  frequent- 
ly lectures  before  learned  societies.  While 
a  recognized  authority  upon  the  science 
of  iron  and  steel  he  is  also  a  successful 
executive  and  manager.  The  companies 
with  which  he  has  been  associated  enjoy 
enviable  reputations  for  the  highest 
grades  of  tool  and  alloy  steels. 

Aside  from  his  business  Tie  has  given 
freely  of  his  time  and  talents  to  civic 
affairs,  philanthropy  and  charities.  He 
has  never  held  or  sought  political  office 
but  has  had  the  rare  distinction  of  ap- 
pointment by  Presidents  McKinley, 
Roosevelt  and  Taft  to  the  Assay  Com- 
mission. At  present  he  is  president  of  the 


Manufacturers'  Association  of  Syracuse ; 
first  vice-president  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  a  director  of  the  First  Na- 
tional Bank  and  the  Provident  Loan  As- 
sociation. He  was  formerly  a  trustee  of 
the  Hospital  of  the  Good  Shepherd  and 
has  served  on  several  commissions  to  in- 
vestigate municipal  problems,  frequently 
as  chairman.  His  reports  upon  smoke 
abatement,  city  pavings,  municipal  own- 
ership of  gas  and  electric  plants,  etc., 
have  attracted  much  more  than  local  at- 
tention. In  politics  he  has  been  a  staunch 
Republican  and  Protectionist ;  in  religion 
a  Presbyterian.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Engineers'  and  Chemists'  clubs  of  New 
York ;  the  University,  Onondaga  Golf 
and  County  Club  and  the  Bellevue  Coun- 
try Club  of  Syracuse.  His  chief  diversion 
has  been  the  collection  of  old  books  of 
metallurgical  value  and  his  library  con- 
tains many  of  the  rarest  books  in  exis- 
tence on  this  subject,  as  for  example : 
copies  of  Biringuccio  (1540),  Agricola 
(1563)  and  Gilbert  (1600),  beside  many 
others. 

Dr.  Mathews  is  of  mixed  ancestry.  His 
father  was  Scotch-Irish,  the  great-grand- 
parents coming  to  America  shortly  after 
the  Revolution.  His  mother  was  of 
French  Huguenot  lineage,  the  first  mem- 
bers of  the  family  coming  to  America  in 
1685,  and  for  many  generations  lived  at 
Southampton,  Long  Island.  In  1903  Dr. 
Mathews  married  Florence  Hosmer  King, 
of  Columbus,  Ohio,  and  they  have  two 
children,  Margaret  King,  born  1903,  and 
John  Alexander,  Jr..  born  1908. 


PERKINS.  Robert  Patterson, 

Mannfactnrer. 

Mr.  Perkins  was  born  in  December, 
1861,  in  New  York  City,  and  is  a  descend- 
ant of  one  of  the  oldest  New  England 
families.  Peter,  being  one  of  the  twelve 
Apostles,  his  name  was  a  favorite  one  for 


168 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


centuries  among  Christians.  It  assumed 
the  form  of  Pierre  in  France,  whence  it 
found  its  way  into  England  and  there 
took  the  diminutive  form  of  Perkin.  This 
gradually  and  naturally  became  Perkins 
and,  in  time,  was  bestowed  upon  or  as- 
sumed by  one  as  a  surname.  Many  of 
the  name  were  among  the  early  settlers 
of  New  England,  and  their  descendants 
have  borne  honorable  part  in  the  develop- 
ment of  modern  civilization  in  the  West- 
ern Hemisphere.  John  Perkins,  born  1590, 
in  Newent,  Gloucestershire,  England,  set 
sail  from  Bristol  in  the  "Lyon,"  William 
Pierce,  master,  on  December  i,  1630,  with 
his  wife,  Judith  (Gater)  Perkins,  five 
children,  and  about  a  dozen  other  com- 
panions. They  reached  Nantasket,  Feb- 
ruary 5,  1631,  and  settled  in  Boston.  He 
was  the  first  of  that  name  to  come  to 
New  England,  and  was  one  of  the  twelve 
who  accompanied  John  Winthrop,  Jr.,  to 
settle  in  Ipswich,  where  he  was  made 
freeman.  May  18,  1631.  On  April  3,  1632, 
^'It  was  ordered"  by  the  General  Court, 
"that  noe  pson  wtsoever  shall  shoot  att 
fowle  upon  Pullen  Poynte  or  Noddles 
Ileland ;  but  that  the  sd  places  shalbe 
reserved  for  John  Perkins  to  take  fowle 
wth  netts."  Also,  November  7,  1632, 
John  and  three  others  were  "appointed 
by  the  Court  to  sett  downe  the  bounds 
betwixte  Dorchester  and  Rocksbury." 
He  at  once  took  a  prominent  stand  among 
the  colonists,  and  in  1636  and  for  many 
years  afterward  represented  Ipswich  in 
the  General  High  Court.  In  1645  he  was 
appraiser,  and  signed  the  inventory  of  the 
estate  of  Sarah  Dillingham.  In  1648  and 
1652  he  served  on  the  grand  jury,  and  in 
March,  1650,  "being  above  the  age  of 
sixty  he  was  freed  from  ordinary  train- 
ing by  the  Court."  He  made  his  will 
(probate  office,  Salem,  Massachusetts), 
March  28,  1654,  and  died  a  few  months 
later,  aged  sixty-four.  Thomas  Perkins, 
second  son  of  John  and  Judith    (Gater) 


Perkins,  born  about  1616,  in  England, 
came  to  America  at  the  age  of  fifteen 
years  with  his  parents.  He  settled  in 
Ipswich,  Massachusetts,  where  he  owned 
Sagamore  Hill,  an  elevated  tract  one 
hundred  and  seventy  feet  high.  After 
a  few  years  he  removed  to  Topsfield, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  was  deacon, 
selectman,  and  often  on  committees  rep- 
resenting the  town  and  the  church.  A 
farmer  by  occupation,  he  bought  and  sold 
much  land,  and  died  May  7,  1686.  He 
married  in  Topsfield,  about  1640,  Phebe, 
daughter  of  Zachary  and  Phebe  Gould, 
born  in  England,  baptized  September  20, 
1620,  at  Hemel  Hempstead.  On  her  mar- 
riage she  received  from  her  father  a  gift 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  land. 
Her  husband  subsequently  purchased  the 
tract  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
acres  upon  which  he  lived  in  the  town  of 
Topsfield.  Timothy  Perkins,  son  of 
Thomas  and  Phebe  (Gould)  Perkins,  was 
born  June  6,  1661,  in  Topsfield,  and  re- 
ceived by  inheritance  a  portion  of  his 
father's  farm,  upon  which  he  lived,  and 
died  December  18,  1751.  His  first  wife, 
Hannah,  died  November  14,  1690.  She 
was  the  mother  of  Jonathan  Perkins,  bap- 
tized January  22,  1693,  in  Topsfield,  died 
June  2,  1749.  He  married  at  Salem,  De- 
cember II,  1722,  Elizabeth  Potter,  born 
April  23,  1695,  in  Ipswich,  daughter  of 
John  and  Sarah  (Kimball)  Potter.  They 
were  the  parents  of  David  Perkins,  born 
December  6,  1725,  in  Topsfield,  died  April 
30,  1803.  He  married,  March  id,  1752, 
at  Wenham,  Massachusetts,  Mary  Fisk, 
of  that  town,  born  March  9,  1729,  daugh- 
ter of  Ebenezer  and  Elizabeth  (Fuller) 
Fisk,  died  October  19,  1777.  Their  son, 
David  (2)  Perkins,  born  May  11,  1756,  in 
Topsfield,  was  baptized  on  the  i6th  of 
the  same  month,  and  died  July  27,  1827. 
He  married  (intentions  published  in  both 
Topsfield  and  Beverly,  November  2, 
1783),   Nabby   Conant,  of  Beverly,   born 


169 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


February  25,  1756,  died  November  25, 
1842,  daughter  of  Lott  and  Abigail  (Per- 
kins) Conant.  Benjamin  Conant  Perkins, 
son  of  the  above  couple,  was  born  Sep- 
tember II,  1803,  in  Topsfield,  and  there 
married,  March  10,  1835,  Lucy  Peabody, 
born  August  24,  1812,  in  Topsfield, 
daughter  of  Ebenezer  and  Mercy  (Per- 
kins) Peabody.  They  were  the  parents 
of  Charles  Lawrence  Perkins,  who  mar- 
ried Elizabeth  West  Nevins. 

Robert  Patterson  Perkins,  son  of 
Charles  Lawrence  and  Elizabeth  W. 
(Nevins)  Perkins,  was  born  in  New  York 
City,  and  was  educated  in  a  private  school 
conducted  by  a  Dr.  Calerson,  and  at  St. 
Paul's  Episcopal  School,  Concord,  New 
Hampshire,  where  he  spent  six  years  in 
preparation  for  college.  In  1879  he  en- 
tered Harvard  University,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  A.  B.  in  1884.  Having 
determined  to  engage  in  business,  he  en- 
tered the  general  offices  of  the  Delaware, 
Lackawanna  &  Western  Railroad  Com- 
pany of  New  York,  where  he  continued 
one  year,  after  which  he  was  with  H.  C. 
Thacker  &  Company,  wool  dealers,  of 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  until  1892, 
when  he  became  secretary  of  the  Higgins 
Carpet  Company,  continuing  in  that  posi- 
tion some  four  years,  after  which  he  was 
vice-president  of  the  company.  In  asso- 
ciation with  others  he  purchased  this 
business,  of  which  he  became  president, 
and  continued  two  years  until  1894,  when 
it  became  the  Hartford  Carpet  Company, 
a  corporation  of  which  he  was  president. 
In  1914  this  company  purchased  the  Bige- 
low-Lowell  Carpet  Company,  and  now 
maintains  factories  at  Thompsonville, 
Connecticut,  and  Clinton  and  Lowell, 
Massachusetts,  and  is  one  of  the  largest 
establishments  of  the  kind  in  the  United 
States.  Mr.  Perkins  resides  in  New  York 
City,  and  is  a  communicant  of  the  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  church.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Brook  Club,  of  which  he  was 


four  years  president,  is  a  trustee  of  St. 
Paul's  School  of  Concord,  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  a  friend  of  education  and  prog- 
ress. Politically  he  acts  with  the  Re- 
publican party. 


17^ 

LEE,  John  Mallory, 

Surgeon,   Hospital   Official. 

Dr.  John  Mallory  Lee,  a  native  of  this 
State,  was  born  in  Cameron,  Steuben 
county,  September  29,  1852,  and  he  is 
among  the  most  prominent  surgeons  en- 
gaged in  practice  in  New  York  State.  He 
is  descended  from  good  old  Revolution- 
ary stock.  His  paternal  great-grandfather 
aided  the  colonies  in  their  struggle  for 
independence,  and  members  of  his  family 
served  in  the  late  War  of  the  Rebellion. 
Dr.  Lee's  grandfather  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  Steuben  county.  New 
York,  where  he  carried  on  farming  for 
many  years,  and  there  Dr.  Lee's  father, 
Joseph  R.  Lee,  spent  his  entire  life.  He 
engaged  in  business  as  a  contractor  and 
builder  throughout  the  years  of  his  man- 
hood ;  he  also  served  as  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  was  a  deacon  and  chorister  in 
the  Baptist  church  of  South  Pulteney. 
In  early  life  he  married  Sarah  Wagener, 
a  daughter  of  Melchoir  Wagener  and  a 
granddaughter  of  David  Wagener,  who 
was  of  German  birth  and  a  Quaker.  He 
removed  from  Pennsylvania  to  Yates 
county.  New  York,  at  an  early  day  and 
became  the  owner  of  a  large  tract  of  land 
on  which  Penn  Yan  was  afterward  laid 
out.  He  was  prominently  identified  with 
the  development  and  upbuilding  of  the 
village,  to  which  he  gave  its  name,  taken 
from  "Penn"  and  "Yankee."  He  contrib- 
uted the  site  for  the  cemetery  and  was 
the  first  white  man  to  be  buried  there. 
His  oldest  son,  Melchoir,  grandfather  of 
Dr.  Lee,  moved  to  Pulteney  in  181 1, 
where  he  purchased  a  section  of  land  and 
developed     extensive     milling     interests. 


170 


^ojL^ki. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


During  her  girlhood  days  Mrs.  Lee  at- 
tended the  Franklin  Academy  at  Pratts- 
burg,  New  York,  where  she  was  gradu- 
ated. She  died  in  1898,  at  the  age  of 
ninety-three  years,  and  long  survived  her 
husband,  who  passed  away  in  1861.  They 
were  people  of  prominence  in  the  com- 
munity where  they  made  their  home  and 
were  highly  respected. 

Left  fatherless  at  the  early  age  of  nine 
years.  Dr.  Lee  has  practically  made  his 
own  way  in  the  world  and  success  is  due 
to  his  untiring  efforts.  He  attended  the 
schools  of  Pulteney,  Steuben  county;  the 
Penn  Yan  Academy,  and  was  also  in- 
structed by  a  college  professor  at  Palo, 
Michigan,  where  he  was  employed  as 
clerk  in  a  drug  store  for  three  years. 
Under  his  guidance  Dr.  Lee  was  fitted  to 
enter  college  and  he  graduated  from  the 
University  of  Michigan  in  1878  with  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  He  opened 
an  office  in  Rochester  in  June,  1878,  and 
engaged  in  general  practice  for  nine 
years,  but  finally  decided  to  devote  his 
attention  to  surgery  and  with  this  end  in 
view  he  took  post-graduate  work  in  the 
Polyclinic  of  New  York  City  in  1880  and 
the  Post-Graduate  School  of  New  York 
in  1890,  1891,  1892  and  1894.  He  is  to- 
day numbered  among  the  most  eminent 
surgeons  of  the  State  and  has  met  with 
remarkable  success  in  his  practice.  He  as- 
sisted in  founding  the  Rochester  Homoeo- 
pathic Hospital  and  its  Training  School 
for  Nurses  and  was  vice-president  of  the 
medical  and  surgical  stafif  of  the  hospital 
during  the  first  ten  years  of  its  existence. 
He  has  also  been  surgeon,  surgeon-in- 
chief  and  consulting  surgeon  at  different 
times.  In  1897  he  established  a  private 
hospital  at  179  Lake  avenue  and  from  the 
start  success  has  attended  his  efforts  in 
this  direction. 

Dr.  Lee  stands  deservedly  high  in  the 
estimation  of  his  fellow  practitioners  and 
he  has  been  called  upon  to  serve  in  many 


positions  of  honor  and  trust,  such  as  pres- 
ident of  the  HomcEopathic  Medical  Soci- 
eties of  Monroe  County,  of  Western  New 
York  and  of  the  New  York  State  Society. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Alpha  Sigma  fra- 
ternity, Ann  Arbor  Chapter;  president  of 
the  Alumni  Association  of  the  Homceo- 
pathic  Department  of  the  University  of 
Michigan  ;  president  of  Rochester  District 
Alumni  Association,  University  of  Michi- 
gan ;  an  honorary  member  of  the  Homceo- 
pathic  Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
Michigan  ;  and  a  member  of  the  American 
Institute  of  Flomceopathy.  He  was  also 
chairman  of  the  legislative  committee  ap- 
pointed by  the  State  Homceopathic  Medi- 
cal Society  of  New  York,  which  commit- 
tee secured  the  appropriation  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  Gowanda  State  Hos- 
pital for  the  Insane,  an  institution  which 
has  accommodations  for  about  fourteen 
hundred  patients.  Dr.  Lee  has  been  pres- 
ident of  the  New  York  State  Board  of 
Homceopathic  Medical  Examiners  and 
the  joint  board  composed  of  the  three 
recognized  schools  of  medicine.  He  is  an 
associate  alumnus  of  the  New  York 
Homoeopathic  Medical  College  and  be- 
longs to  the  Medical-Chirurgical  Society 
of  Central  New  York,  the  Southern  Tier 
Medical  Society,  the  Surgical  and  Gyne- 
cological Association  of  the  American  In- 
stitute of  Homoeopathy,  the  National  So- 
ciety of  Electrotherapeutists,  the  Roches- 
ter Medical  Association ;  cohsulting  sur- 
geon to  the  Gowanda  State  Hospital,  the 
Rochester  Hahnemann  Hospital  and  cen- 
sor of  the  Cleveland  Homoeopathic  Medi- 
cal College.  He  is  a  director  of  several 
business  corporations  of  Rochester  ;  direc- 
tor of  the  Rochester  Public  Health  Asso- 
ciation ;  director  of  the  Children's  Hos- 
pital and  the  State  Industrial  School  at 
Industry,  New  York.  For  several  years 
Dr.  Lee  was  associate  editor  of  the  "Phy- 
sicians and  Surgeons  Investigator"  and 
was  one  of  the  corps  of  writers  of  the 
171 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


"Homceopathic  Text-Book  of  Surgery." 
His  original  research  and  investigation 
have  led  to  the  preparation  of  many  valu- 
able papers  and  addresses  which  may  be 
found  in  the  transactions  of  these  soci- 
eties and  the  magazines  of  his  school. 

Dr.  Lee  married  (first)  September  28, 
1876,  Idella  Ives,  a  daughter  of  Dr. 
Charles  E.  Ives,  of  Savannah,  Wayne 
county,  tiew  York.  She  died  October  11, 
1897,  leaving  two  children :  Maud,  the 
wife  of  A.  Dix  Bissell,  Esq.,  of  Pitts- 
burgh, Pennsylvania,  and  Carrie  Eliza- 
beth. On  June  20,  1899,  Dr.  Lee  married 
(second)  Carrie  M.  Thomson,  a  daughter 
of  the  late  John  Church  Thomson,  of  Bat- 
tle Creek,  Michigan. 

In  religious  faith  Dr.  Lee  is  a  Baptist; 
he  belongs  to  the  Baptist  Social  Union, 
the  Lake  Avenue  Baptist  Church,  and  is 
chairman  of  its  board  of  trustees.  In  his 
fraternal  relations  he  is  connected  with 
Corinthian  Temple  Lodge,  No.  805,  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons ;  Hamilton  Chap- 
ter, No.  62,  Royal  Arch  Masons ;  Doric 
Council,  No.  19,  Royal  and  Select  Mas- 
ters ;  and  Monroe  Commandery.  He  has 
attained  the  thirty-second  degree  in  Scot- 
tish Rite  Masonry  and  is  second  lieuten- 
ant commander  of  Rochester  Consistory, 
and  past  president  of  the  Rochester  Ma- 
sonic Temple  Association.  He  is  also  a 
mem,ber  of  Damascus  Temple,  Ancient 
Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the  Mystic 
Shrine;  Lalla  Rookh  Grotto,  No.  113,  M. 
O.  V.  P.  E.  R. ;  and  the  Rochester  Ma- 
sonic Club.  He  belongs  to  the  Genesee 
Valley  Club,  the  Oak  Hill  Country  Club, 
the  Rochester  Medical  Club,  and  the 
Rochester  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  by 
his  ballot  supports  the  men  and  measures 
of  the  Republican  party.  Although  prom- 
inent socially  his  time  and  attention  are 
almost  wholly  devoted  to  his  professional 
duties  and  he  has  that  love  for  his  wor;< 
which  has  been  rewarded  by  success,  so 
that  he  ranks  with  the  ablest  representa 


tives  of  the  medical  fraternity  in  the  State 
of  New  York. 


GARVAN,  Francis  Patrick, 

Lawyer,    Public    Official. 

Mr.  Garvan  is  the  child  of  Patrick  and 
Mary  (Carroll)  Garvan,  natives  of  Ire- 
land, who  came  to  this  country  and  set- 
tled at  East  Hartford,  Connecticut.  Pat- 
rick Garvan  became  an  active  and  useful 
citizen,  represented  his  district  in  the 
State  Senate,  and  was  one  of  the  best 
known  paper  manufacturers  of  the  State. 
He  died  in  London  in  1912. 

Francis  P.  Garvan  was  born  June  13, 
1875,  in  East  Hartford,  and  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools,  including  the  high 
school  of  Hartford,  Connecticut.  He  en- 
tered Yale  University,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  1897,  and 
subsequently,  for  a  time,  attended  the 
Catholic  University  at  Washington,  D. 
C.  He  took  the  lead  in  his  classes  and 
was  very  active  in  college  fraternities. 
From  the  New  York  Law  School  he  re- 
ceived the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  New  York 
in  1899.  For  some  time  he  was  a  clerk 
in  the  law  office  of  James,  Schell  &  Elkus, 
and  in  1901  was  appointed  assistant  dis- 
trict attorney  of  New  York  county  under 
District  Attorney  Jerome,  continuing  to 
serve  under  that  noted  official  for  a  period 
of  eight  years.  Mr.  Garvan  was  in  full 
charge  of  the  homicide  cases  and  was 
practically  the  chief  of  District  Attorney 
Jerome's  staff.  He  was  a  very  active 
figure  in  the  prosecution  of  many  world- 
famous  cases,  including  the  murder  trial 
of  Patrick,  and  of  Molineaux  and  Harry 
K.  Thaw.  He  also  prosecuted  railroad 
fraud  cases  and  a  large  number  of  in- 
dividuals for  false  claims  against  insur- 
ance companies.  In  this  trying  position 
Mr.  Garvan  developed  the  keenest  of  abil- 
ities, and  assisted  greatly  in  making  the 

72 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


great  reputation  which  surrounded  Mr. 
Jerome  as  State's  attorney.  No  man  in 
that  position  ever  achieved  a  finer  record 
than  Mr.  Garvan.  He  is  a  member  of 
many  organizations  and  clubs,  among  the 
latter  including  the  Manhattan,  Piping 
Rock  Racquet  and  Tennis,  Rockaway 
Hunt,  University,  Yale  Club,  and  the 
Delta  Psi  college  fraternity.  In  addition  to 
a  large  general  law  practice,  he  is  inter- 
ested in  various  enterprises,  and  is  a  direc- 
tor of  P.  F.  Collier  &  Sons,  one  of  the 
largest  publishers  in  the  country.  On 
leaving  the  district  attorney's  office  Mr. 
Garvan  became  a  m.ember  of  the  law  firm 
of  Osborne,  Lamb  &  Garvan.  Here  he 
finds  field  for  the  exercise  of  his  unusual 
talents,  and  is  making  rapid  strides 
toward  the  position  of  a  leader  at  the  New 
York  bar.  He  has  been  retained  in  much 
important  litigation,  and  has  ever  acquit- 
ted himself  with  credit  and  success.  He 
is  a  faithful  member  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic church,  and  in  political  action  has 
ever  been  an  unswerving  Democrat,  hav- 
ing faith  in  the  principles  which  have 
made  his  party  an  active  factor  in  the 
direction  of  aiTairs  since  the  time  of 
Thomas  Jefiferson. 

He  married,  June  9,  1910,  in  Albany, 
Mabel  Brady,  daughter  of  the  late  An- 
thony N.  Brady,  one  of  the  most  success- 
ful business  men  of  New  York,  and  a 
prominent  politician.  Mr.  Brady  was 
born  August  22,  1843,  in  Lille,  France, 
and  came  with  his  parents  to  the  United 
States  in  childhood.  His  wife,  Marcia 
Ann  (Myers)  Brady,  was  born  July  10, 
1849,  in  Bennington,  Vermont.  Mr.  Gar- 
van's  children  are  :  Patricia,  Francis  Pat- 
rick, Jr.,  and  Flora  Brady. 


GERE,  James  Brewster, 

Bnsiness  Man. 

Identified   with   the   business   interests 
of  Syracuse  since  1896,  Mr.  Gere  is  well 


known  in  commercial  circles  as  the  capa- 
ble president  of  the  Gere  Coal  Company 
and  of  the  Onondaga  Vitrified  Brick  Com- 
pany. He  is  a  son  of  Colonel  James  Mon- 
roe Gere,  one  of  the  best  known  Civil 
War  veterans  of  Onondaga  county,  who 
answered  final  roll  call,  July  12,  1908,  at 
the  age  of  eighty-four  years. 

The  family  name  is  found  spelled  both 
Geer  and  Gere,  the  earliest  known  ances- 
tor of  the  family,  Walter  Geere,  of  Heavi- 
tree,  Devonshire,  England,  living  in  the 
fifteenth  century.  He  married,  about 
1450,  Alice  Somaster,  of  Southams,  Dev- 
onshire, England,  and  from  them  all  Dev- 
onshire Geers  sprang.  The  origin  of  the 
name  is  said  to  have  been  from  the  occu- 
pation of  the  man  who  first  bore  it,  John 
of  the  Gear.  He  was  in  the  service  of  a 
chieftain  and  was  chosen  to  superintend 
the  war  equipment  of  the  chieftain's  men. 
All  such  equipment  was  then  designated 
as  "gear,"  and  when  surnames  came  into 
vogue,  about  the  middle  of  the  eleventh 
century,  "John,  of  the  Gear,"  became  John 
Gear.  The  immediate  ancestor  of  J.  Brew- 
ster Gere,  of  Syracuse,  was  Jonathan 
Geer,  of  Heavitree,  Devonshire,  of  whom 
little  is  known  further  than  that  he  left 
considerable  property  and  two  sons, 
George  and  Thomas,  in  charge  of  his 
brother.  George  Geer  was  born  about 
1621,  his  brother  Thomas  in  1623.  Their 
uncle  gave  them  no  educational  advan- 
tages and  began  at  once  to  plan  getting 
rid  of  them  in  order  to  secure  their  patri- 
mony, left  in  his  care.  He  finally  got  the 
boys  upon  a  ship  about  to  sail  for  Amer- 
ica by  requesting  them  to  deliver  a  letter 
to  the  captain  for  him.  The  letter  asked 
that  the  captain  take  the  boys  to  Amer- 
ica, and  before  they  discovered  the  trick 
they  were  at  sea.  This  was  in  1635,  and 
after  the  arrival  of  the  ship  at  Boston  the 
boys  went  ashore,  without  money,  all 
trace  of  them  being  lost  for  many  years. 
George  is  on  record  as  one  of  the  early 
73 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


settlers  of  New  London,  Connecticut,  in 
1651  ;  Thomas  was  living  in  Enfield  in 
1682. 

George  Geer,  the  ancestor  of  this 
branch,  married  Sarah  Allyn  in  February, 
1658,  and  lived  at  Groton  until  about 
1720.  then  moved  to  Preston,  where  he 
made  his  home  with  a  daughter,  ^lar- 
garet,  wife  of  Thomas  Gates,  until  his 
death  in  1726,  aged  one  hundred  and  five 
years,  having  been  totally  blind  for  sev- 
eral years.  The  line  of  descent  was 
through  George  ;  his  son,  Robert ;  his  son, 
Ebenezer;  his  son,  David;  his  son,  Wil- 
liam Stanton ;  his  son.  Colonel  James 
Monroe ;  his  son,  J.  Brewster  Gere,  of 
Syracuse. 

William  Stanton  Gere,  born  in  Octo- 
ber, 1785,  died  September  15,  1852.  He 
married,  February  14,  1816,  Louisa  Brew- 
ster. Their  son.  Colonel  James  Monroe 
Gere,  was  born  November  15,  1824,  died 
in  Camillus,  July  12,  1908,  the  last  sur- 
vivor of  the  seven  children  of  William 
Stanton  Gere.  He  died  in  the  house  in 
which  he  was  born  eighty-two  years  be- 
fore, a  house  that  had  been  his  residence 
and  home  during  nearly  his  entire  life. 
His  military  career  was  attended  by  many 
dangers  and  thrilling  experiences.  He 
enlisted  in  1862  and  was  at  once  commis- 
sioned captain  of  Company  F,  One  Hun- 
dred and  Twenty-second  Regiment  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  a  company  recruited  in 
Camillus.  He  fought  with  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac  from  Antietam  to  the  Wil- 
derness, rising  in  rank  to  lieutenant-colo- 
nel, and  for  some  time  prior  to  his  death 
was  the  highest  officer  in  rank  among  the 
survivors  of  his  regiment.  During  the 
Federal  occupancy  of  Danville,  Virginia, 
Captain  Gere  was  assistant  provost  mar- 
shal and  for  several  weeks  commanded 
the  forces  holding  that  city.  At  the  battle 
of  the  Wilderness  he  ranked  as  captain 
and  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  enemy.  He 
was   confined  in    Confederate   prisons   at 


Macon,  Savannah,  Charleston  and  Colum- 
bia, twice  escaped  and  was  recaptured, 
but  a  third  attempt  was  successful  after 
a  six  months'  imprisonment.  He  made 
his  escape  from  Columbia  prison  in  the 
night,  and  after  eight  weeks  of  hunger, 
suffering  and  privation  joined  a  detach- 
ment of  troopers  from  Colonel  Kirk's 
command,  who  were  raiding  the  moun- 
tains of  Tennessee.  He  was  aided  in  his 
get-away  by  a  loyal  Union  man,  a  North 
Carolina  mountaineer,  who  fed,  clothed 
and  cared  for  him  as  best  he  could,  and 
instructed  him  as  to  the  proper  course  to 
pursue.  Colonel  Gere  never  forgot  this 
man  and  the  only  break  in  his  Camili 
residence  was  during  the  ten  years  he 
spent  in  North  Carolina  engaged  in  min- 
ing mica  with  the  man  as  partner  who 
had  befriended  him  in  his  hour  of  need. 
Colonel  Kirk,  after  Captain  Gere  reported 
to  him,  aided  him  to  get  to  Washington, 
and  soon  afterward  he  was  sent  back  to 
his  regiment,  arriving  in  time  to  accom- 
pany it  on  the  Petersburg  campaign.  At 
the  storming  of  Lee's  lines  at  Petersburg 
the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-second 
New  York  took  part,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Gere  leading  his  men. 

Colonel  Gere  married,  October  8,  1856, 
Helen  Hopkins,  daughter  of  Anson  Hop- 
kins, of  Amboy,  Onondaga  county.  New 
York.  She  was  born  July  7,  1832,  died 
February  26,  1913,  at  Gere  Locks,  a  mile 
west  of  Solvay,  aged  eighty  years.  At 
the  time  of  her  death  she  was  the  last 
survivor  of  the  first  members  of  the  Am- 
boy Presbyterian  Church,  one  of  the  old- 
est churches  in  the  county.  She  was  born 
in  Amboy  and  never  resided  outside  of 
Onondaga  county.  After  the  death  of 
Colonel  Gere  in  1908  she  made  her  home 
at  the  old  Gere  homestead. 

Colonel  Gere  for  thirty-five  years  was 
elder  of  Amboy  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
the  year  prior  to  his  death  represented 
that  church  in  Syracuse  Presbytery.    For 


c=^^J.?^^^5iCL 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


many  years  he  was  engineer  of  the  town 
of  Solvay,  and  for  many  years  was  con- 
nected with  the  manufacture  of  Solar  Salt 
in  Syracuse.  Children  of  Colonel  James 
M.  and  Helen  (Hopkins)  Gere:  Helen 
Eliza,  born  June  lo,  1858,  graduated  from 
Syracuse  University,  Bachelor  of  Philos- 
ophy, class  of  1881,  now  a  teacher  of 
science ;  William  Anson,  born  September 
3,  i860,  married  Caroline  Munro,  June  4, 
1890;  James  Brewster,  of  further  men- 
tion ;  Mary  Emmeline,  born  October  2, 
1870,  died  March  27,  1872. 

James  Brewster  Gere  was  born  in  Ca- 
millus,  New  York,  August  14,  1867.  He 
obtained  his  early  education  in  the  schools 
of  that  town,  and  then  entered  Syracuse 
High  School,  continuing  there  until  1883, 
when  he  left  school  to  become  his  father's 
farm  assistant.  In  1896  he  engaged  in 
the  retail  coal  business  in  Syracuse,  and 
in  1899  added  a  wholesale  department. 
In  1907  he  incorporated  his  business 
under  the  title  of  the  Gere  Coal  Company, 
of  which  he  is  president.  He  is  also  presi- 
dent of  the  Onondaga  Vitrified  Brick 
Company,  both  companies  leaders  in  their 
respective  lines.  Mr.  Gere  is  an  active 
member  of  the  Syracuse  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  is  a  trustee  of  Geddes  Congre- 
gational Church,  is  a  member  of  the  Ma- 
sonic order,  of  the  Citizens'  Club,  and  is 
an  ardent  Republican. 

He  married,  November  i,  1894,  Harriet, 
daughter  of  Henry  S.  Munro,  of  Belle 
Isle,  New  York.  Children:  Wendell, 
born  September  28,  1897;  James  Brew- 
ster (2),  born  June  17,  1900;  Caroline, 
born  May  25,  1902;  Donald  Kerr,  born 
December  25,  1903. 


CHAPMAN,  Levi  Snell, 

Lawyer,  Man  of  Affairs,  Legislator. 

Levi  Snell  Chapman  was  born  at  Fay- 
etteville,  Onondaga  county.  New  York,  on 
October  15,  1865.    His  father  was  Nathan 


Randall  Chapman,  who  after  practicing 
law  in  that  village  for  fifty-seven  years, 
died  March  21,  1897,  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
eight  years.  As  an  evidence  of  the  esteem 
in  which  he  was  held,  the  IMethodist, 
Presbyterian,  Episcopal  and  Baptist 
churches  united  for  a  union  memorial 
service  on  the  Sunday  evening  following 
his  funeral.  His  mother  was  Martha 
Maria  (Tibbits)  Chapman,  who  was  born 
in  Syracuse  on  April  i,  1829,  and  who 
married  Nathan  R.  Chapman  on  Decem- 
ber 2-j,  1847.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Otis 
and  Rebecca  Tibbits,  who  were  early  set- 
tlers in  Syracuse,  where  she  died  on 
IMarch  31,  1909,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years, 
leaving  her  surviving  three  children,  Sara 
Fidelia  Chapman,  now  living  in  Syracuse  ; 
Ella  Chapman  Dike,  wife  of  Rev.  Otis  A. 
Dike,  of  Lake  Placid,  New  York;  and 
Levi  Snell  Chapman,  the  two  latter  being 
twins.  Thomas  D.  Chapman,  a  half- 
brother  and  a  veteran  of  the  Civil  War, 
died  at  Fayetteville  in  1901. 

Mr.  Chapman  can  trace  his  ancestry  on 
his  father's  side  in  an  unbroken  line  al- 
most to  the  beginning  of  American  his- 
tory. His  father  was  born  at  Stonington, 
Connecticut,  April  21,  1809,  and  with  his 
father,  Nathan  Chapman,  and  his  mother, 
Hannah  (Randall)  Chapman,  and  an 
uncle.  Smith  Chapman,  who  later  re- 
moved to  Rochester,  New  York,  came  to 
Lenox,  Madison  county,  New  York,  about 
1818,  long  before  the  advent  of  railroads 
and  when  Central  New  York  was  almost 
a  wilderness.  There  he  lived  for  years  in 
a  log  cabin  and  helped  his  father  clear  the 
virgin  soil  of  the  county  of  which  his 
brother,  Sanford  Palmer  Chapman,  after- 
wards became  sherifT,  and  his  cousin, 
Benjamin  Franklin  Chapman,  became 
county  judge. 

After  graduating  from  Cortland  Acad- 
emy at  Homer,  New  York,  in  1831,  the 
elder  Chapman  entered  Hamilton  College, 
at  Clinton,  New  York,  from  which  he  was 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


graduated  with  high  rank  in  1835.  He 
survived  every  other  member  of  his  class 
and  lived  to  be  the  ninth  oldest  alumnus 
of  his  alma  mater.  Later  he  taught  Greek, 
Latin  and  mathematics  in  the  Manlius 
Academy,  and  in  the  year  1836,  became 
a  teacher  in  the  Fayetteville  Academy,  of 
which  he  afterwards  became  principal, 
which  position  he  held  for  two  and  one- 
half  years.  During  his  administration  the 
Fayetteville  Academy,  which  was  a  pri- 
vate preparatory  school,  had  an  attend- 
ance of  nearly  three  hundred  students,  as 
the  old  catalogues  show,  coming  from  all 
parts  of  Central  New  York.  While  teach- 
ing, the  elder  Chapman  studied  law  in  the 
offices  of  Nicholas  P.  Randall,  a  relative 
on  his  mother's  side,  of  Manlius,  and 
Judge  Watson,  at  Fayetteville,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1840. 

Mr.  Chapman's  father,  grandfather  and 
great-grandfather  all  bore  the  Christian 
name  of  Nathan.  Both  his  great-grand- 
fathers were  captains  in  the  War  of  the 
Revolution,  one  of  whom,  Peleg  Randall, 
his  grandmother's  father,  as  Bachus' 
"History  of  the  Baptists,"  volume  3,  page 
259,  informs  us  was  a  lieutenant,  and  at 
the  surrender  of  Burgoyne,  the  captain 
having  been  killed,  took  command  of  the 
company.  This  same  Peleg  Randall  was 
for  thirty  years,  as  Benedict's  "History  of 
the  Baptists,"  page  475,  tells  us,  pastor  of 
the  First  Baptist  Church  of  North  Ston- 
ington,  Connecticut,  one  of  the  earliest 
Baptist  churches  in  New  England.  The 
first  Nathan  Chapman  was  a  deacon  in 
this  church,  and  his  son,  Nathan,  Jr.,  mar- 
ried the  daughter  of  this  pastor,  Hannah 
Randall,  May  29,  1808.  Her  mother  was 
Hannah  Palmer,  who  married  Rev.  Peleg 
Randall,  in  1772,  thus  connecting  the 
Chapman  family  with  the  ancient  Ran- 
dall and  Palmer  families,  the  first  of 
which  traces  its  ancestry  back  to  John 
Randall,  who  died  at  Westerly,  Rhode 
Island,  in  1684,  and  the  second  of  which, 


by  an  equally  continuous  genealogical 
record,  traces  its  ancestry  back  to  Walter 
Palmer,  who  lived  in  Charlestown,  Mas- 
sachusetts, as  far  back  as  1629. 

This  particular  Chapman  family  begins 
with  John  Chapman,  who  was  born  in 
England,  near  London,  in  or  about  the 
year  1694,  and  came  to  America  in  1712, 
having  been  impressed  on  a  British  man- 
of-war,  from  which  he  escaped  in  Boston, 
and  fled  back  into  the  wilderness,  where 
he  stayed  with  the  Pequot  Indians  until 
he  could  make  his  way  to  Westerly, 
Rhode  Island,  where  in  or  about  the  year 
1714  he  married  Sarah  Brown.  They  had 
five  children,  viz.,  John  Chapman,  who 
settled  at  Westerly,  Rhode  Island;  Wil- 
liam Chapman,  who  settled  at  North  Bol- 
ton, Connecticut ;  Andrew  Chapman,  born 
in  the  year  1722,  who  settled  at  Stoning- 
ton,  Connecticut ;  Thomas  Chapman,  who 
settled  at  North  Bolton,  Connecticut ;  and 
Sumner  Chapman,  who  settled  at  West- 
erly, Rhode  Island.  Andrew,  the  third  of 
these  five  sons,  was  the  great-great-grand- 
father of  Levi  S.  Chapman,  and  died  at 
North  Stonington,  Connecticut,  April  15, 
1794,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six  years.  His 
wife,  Hannah  Smith  Chapman,  to  whom 
he  was  married  in  1744,  died  June  31, 
1783,  at  the  age  of  fifty-six  years.  They 
had  seven  children,  of  whom  Nathan 
Chapman  was  the  fourth,  born  October 
7,  1760,  and  who  was  married  July  7,  1785, 
to  Nabby  Peabody,  who  was  born  Sep- 
tember 20,  1763.  The  first  Nathan  died 
at  North  Stonington,  Connecticut,  Febru- 
ary 14,  1824,  and  his  widow  died  at  Fay- 
etteville, New  York,  May  12,  1847.  They 
had  seven  children  of  whom  the  oldest 
was  Nathan,  Jr.,  Levi  S.  Chapman's 
grandfather,  who  was  born  at  Stonington, 
Connecticut,  March  17,  1786,  and  died  at 
Auburn,  New  York,  June  27,  1871,  and  is 
buried  at  Fayetteville,  New  York. 

Many  representatives  of  the  Chapman 
family  are  to  be  found  in  Connecticut  at 
76 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  present  day,  and  at  Stonington  we 
find  the  "Chapman  burying  ground"  with 
the  graves  of  the  earlier  members  of  the 
family  dating  back  almost  as  far  as  1600. 

The  early  education  of  Levi  S.  Chap- 
man was  acquired  in  the  Fayetteville 
Union  School,  from  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated as  valedictorian  in  the  class  of  1884, 
after  which  he  was  then  engaged  in  col- 
lege preparatory  work  for  one  year  in 
Whitestown  Seminary,  from  which  he 
also  was  graduated  in  1885.  Entering 
Syracuse  University  in  the  fall  of  1885, 
he  was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1889, 
with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  hav- 
ing been  one  of  the  commencement  day 
speakers.  He  then  commenced  the  study 
of  law  with  his  father  at  Fayetteville,  but 
in  January,  1891,  having  accepted  a  posi- 
tion as  clerk  in  the  Board  of  United  States 
General  Appraisers  in  New  York  City, 
he  continued  his  studies  with  the  law  firm 
of  Stanley,  Clark  &  Smith.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  at  Utica,  New  York,  in 
1891,  and  having  resigned  his  clerkship  in 
New  York  on  January  i,  1892,  he  returned 
to  Syracuse,  where  he  became  associated 
in  offices  with  Jam«s  E.  Newell,  with 
whom,  in  1893,  he  formed  a  partnership 
under  the  name  of  Newell  &  Chapman. 
Harry  E.  Newell,  a  brother  of  James  E. 
Newell,  was  admitted  to  partnership  in 
1899,  and  the  firm  has  since  continued 
under  the  name  of  Newell,  Chapman  & 
Newell,  with  whom  also  since  1901  Har- 
ley  J.  Crane  has  been  associated. 

For  several  years  James  E.  Newell  was 
corporation  counsel  of  Syracuse,  during 
which  time  the  firm  transacted  all  of  the 
legal  business  for  the  city.  Mr.  Chap- 
man's particular  field  has  been  corpora- 
tion work,  and  he  has  organized  and  pro- 
moted many  corporations.  Principal 
among  these  at  the  present  time  are  the 
City  Bank  of  Syracuse,  promoted  by  him 
in  1909,  and  now  having  assets  of  over 
N  Y— Vol  IV— 12  I 


$5,000,000,  of  which  he  is  a  director  and 
attorney ;  Thomas  Millen  Company,  man- 
ufacturers of  Portland  Cement  at  James- 
ville,  New  York,  which  he  reorganized  in 
191 3,  and  of  which  he  is  secretary  and 
treasurer;  Watson  Wagon  Company, 
manufacturers  of  dumping  wagons  and 
motor  tractors  at  Canastota,  New  York, 
of  which  he  is  vice-president ;  Sherwood 
Metal  Working  Company,  of  Detroit, 
Michigan,  and  Syracuse,  manufacturers 
of  metal-frame  window  screens,  etc.,  of 
which  he  is  vice-president ;  Syracuse  Fau- 
cet and  Valve  Company,  manufacturers 
of  faucets  and  valves,  of  which  he  is 
treasurer;  United  States  Steel  Furniture 
Company,  manufacturers  of  steel  office 
furniture,  of  which  he  is  secretary,  and 
Morningside  Cemetery  Association,  which 
dedicated  in  1899,  one  hundred  and  four- 
teen acres  of  land  in  Syracuse  for  ceme- 
tery purposes,  of  which  corporation  he  is 
treasurer.  In  the  year  1905,  Mr.  Chap- 
man represented  the  Third  Assembly  Dis- 
trict of  Onondaga  in  the  State  Legisla- 
ture. 

Since  coming  to  Syracuse  he  has  been 
a  member  of  the  Central  Baptist  Church, 
consolidated  in  1910  with  the  First  Bap- 
tist Church,  and  was  largely  instrumental 
in  bringing  about  this  consolidation, 
which  united  two  strong  down-town 
churches,  and  made  possible  the  building 
of  the  new  First  Baptist  Church,  during 
the  construction  of  which  he  was  chair- 
man of  the  building  committee.  This 
church  cost,  including  site,  over  $550,- 
000  and  is  unique,  in  that  it  operates  a 
hotel  and  restaurant  in  connection  with 
its  church  building.  Mr.  Chapman  has 
been  one  of  the  deacons  of  this  church 
for  over  twenty  years,  and  for  several 
years  has  been  the  teacher  of  the  First 
Baraca  Class,  an  organization  of  men  in 
the  Sunday  school,  having  a  membership 
at  present  of  about  three  hundred  and 


11 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


fifty,  with  an  average  Sunday  attendance 
of  about  two  hundred.  This  is  the  first 
class  organized  by  M.  A.  Hudson  in  the 
Baraca-Philathea  Union,  now  having  a 
membership  of  over  1,000,000  men  and 
300,000  women. 

Mr.  Chapman  has  also  been  interested 
for  many  years  in  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  work,  having  been  presi- 
dent of  the  Syracuse  Association  for  nine 
years  prior  to  1896,  when  the  new  build- 
ing on  Montgomery  street  was  completed. 
During  these  nine  years,  the  association 
secured  pledges  for  $55,000  to  wipe  out  an 
indebtedness  in  that  amount  on  its  old 
building  on  South  Warren  street,  and 
raised  more  than  $300,000  for  its  new 
building  on  Montgomery  street.  Mr. 
Chapman  secured  from  Benjamin  Tousey 
the  gift  of  the  land  on  which  this  new 
building  was  erected  and  an  additional 
gift  to  make  Mr.  Tousey's  subscription 
$114,000  which  was  conditioned  on  the 
balance  of  the  required  amount  being 
raised,  and  appointed  the  special  com- 
mittee consisting  of  Mr.  Frederick  R. 
Hazard,  Mr.  Lyman  C.  Smith  and  Mr. 
W.  L.  Smith,  who  with  these  called  to 
their  assistance  had  charge  of  the  con- 
struction of  the  building  and  of  securing 
the  other  subscriptions.  Since  1896  he 
has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  trus- 
tees. 

Mr.  Chapman  is  a  member  of  the  Uni- 
versity Club,  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  honor- 
ary fraternity,  the  Masonic  Club,  the 
Delta  Upsilon  Society,  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  which  corporation  he  has  been 
president  for  fifteen  years  or  more,  and 
a  member  of  the  various  local  bodies  of 
the  Masonic  fraternity,  including  the 
Shrine.  He  is  also  a  trustee  of  Roches- 
ter Theological  Seminary  and  a  trustee 
of  Syracuse  University. 

On  November  30,  1892,  Mr.  Chapman 
married  Lucia  Louise  Pattengill,  daugh- 


ter of  Rev.  Charles  N.  Pattengill,  retired, 
of  Whitesboro,  New  York,  who  was  for- 
merly pastor  of  the  Baptist  church  at 
Fayetteville  and  for  twenty-three  years 
he  has  resided  on  Westcott  street,  Syra- 
cuse, for  twenty  years  at  No.  321  West- 
cott street,  his  present' home.  They  have 
three  children :  Ella  Louise,  a  senior  in 
Vassar  College ;  Charles  Randall,  a  senior 
in  Mercersburg  Academy ;  and  Lucia 
Maria,  ten  years  old. 


NORTHRUP,  Ansel  Judd, 

liBiryer,  Jurist,  Author. 

Ansel  Judd  Northrup,  one  of  the  lead- 
ing citizens  of  Syracuse,  is  a  lifelong  resi- 
dent of  Central  New  York,  having  been 
born  in  Smithfield,  Madison  county,  June 
30,  1833.  His  father  was  a  pioneer  set- 
tler of  that  region,  and  his  ancestors  were 
among  the  sturdy  and  enterprising  na- 
tives of  old  England,  who  set  out  and  met 
hardships  and  difficulties  to  settle  New 
England.  The  name  is  derived  from  an 
old  Saxon  word,  "thrope"  (or  "thorp"),  a 
village,  and  appears  as  early  as  1294  in 
England  as  del  Northrope  (of  the  north 
village).  It  is  frequently  found  in  that 
form  in  the  records  of  York  county,  and 
under  various  spellings  in  other  sections 
of  England  and  in  Massachusetts.  It  has 
figured  in  the  various  Colonial  wars,  the 
War  of  the  Revolution,  and  the  Civil  War. 
Under  the  various  forms  it  appears  forty- 
nine  times  in  the  roll  of  Revolutionary 
soldiers  from  Massachusetts  alone.  It 
has  figured  in  the  learned  professions  at 
the  head  of  educational  institutions,  on 
the  bench,  and  in  high  ecclesiastical  posi- 
tions. Many  descendants  now  use  the 
form  Northrop. 

Joseph  Northrup,  the  immigrant  an- 
cestor of  the  family  in  America,  is 
supposed  to  have  come  from  Yorkshire, 
England,  and  was  presumably  a  member 


178 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  Eaton  and  Davenport's  company,  which 
left  England  on  the  "Hector  and  Martha," 
landing  in  Boston,  July  26,  1637.  He  was 
among  the  settlers  at  Milford,  Connecti- 
cut, where  he  joined  the  church  in  1642, 
and  was  admitted  as  a  citizen  of  the 
colony,  having  come  of  good  family  with 
good  estate.  He  died  in  1669,  at  Milford. 
Plis  wife  Mary  was  a  daughter  of  Francis 
Norton,  who  went  to  Milford  from  Weth- 
ersfield,  Connecticut.  Joseph  (2),  eldest 
son  of  Joseph  (i)  and  Mary  (Norton) 
Northrup,  was  born  July  17,  1649,'in  Mil- 
ford, where  he  married  Miriam  Blakeman, 
daughter  of  James  and  Miriam  (Wheeler) 
Blakeman,  granddaughter  of  Rev.  Aaron 
Blakeman,  born  1598,  in  Stratford,  Eng- 
land. Moses,  third  son  of  Joseph  (2)  and 
Miriam  (Blakeman)  Northrup,  baptized 
March  31,  1695,  in  Milford,  was  among 
the  purchasers  and  original  settlers  of 
Ridgefield,  Connecticut,  as  early  as  1716. 
In  1734  he  removed  to  Dutchess  county, 
New  York,  where  he  died  about  1747. 
He  married  Abigail  Cornwall,  and  they 
were  the  parents  of  Amos  Northrup,  born 
1730,  at  Ridgefield,  died  February  9,  1810, 
in  Tyringham,  Berkshire  county,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  he  settled  as  early  as 
1771.  He  was  ensign  in  the  T}ringham 
company  in  the  Revolutionary  army.  He 
first  enlisted  as  a  private  September  22, 
1777,  again  enlisted  October  18,  1779, 
serving  in  a  company  from  Claverack, 
Columbia  county,  New  York.  He  mar- 
ried a  widow,  Hannah,  born  Calkins, 
1737,  died  April  22,  1805.  Amos  (2),  their 
eldest  son,  was  born  April  19,  1768,  in 
Dutchess  county,  and  died  October  12, 
1835,  in  Peterboro,  Madison  county,  New 
York.  He  visited  that  section  in  1804, 
and  took  up  lands  in  the  "milestrip"  in 
the  town  of  Smithfield,  where  he  built  a 
log  house.  Thither  he  brought  his  fam- 
ily in  February,  1805.  He  married,  March 
10,  1796,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Tristram 


Stedman,  born  December  18,  1773,  died 
November  15,  1852,  and  both  are  buried 
at  Peterboro. 

Rensselaer  Northrup,  their  second  son, 
was  born  August  10,  1804,  in  Tyringham, 
and  was  six  months  of  age  when  the  fam- 
ily removed  to  Madison  county.  He  died 
August  8,  1874,  in  the  village  of  Canas- 
tota,  and  was  buried  in  Quality  Hill 
Cemetery,  on  the  seventieth  anniversary 
of  his  birth.  An  active,  upright  farmer, 
an  earnest  advocate  of  temperance,  and  a 
"Gerrit  Smith  Abolitionist,"  his  active 
life  was  passed  in  the  town  of  Smithfield. 
He  refused  to  accept  the  office  of  assessor 
after  his  election  because  he  was  expected 
to  assess  property  at  a  low  rate  after  tak- 
ing an  oath  to  assess  at  full  value.  His 
house  was  a  station  on  "the  underground 
railroad,"  where  he  often  sheltered  slaves 
on  their  way  to  Canada  and  freedom.  For 
many  years  he  was  a  member  and  ofiScer 
of  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  married, 
October  3,  1832,  at  Watervale,  Onondaga 
county,  New  York,  Clarissa  Judd,  born 
May  9,  1810,  died  August  17,  1862,  at 
Lenox,  Madison  county.  New  York.  She 
was  a  descendant  of  Thomas  Judd,  who 
came  from  England  in  1624,  and  settled  at 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  where  he  was 
admitted  a  freeman  May  25,  1636.  In 
that  year  he  removed  to  Hartford,  Con- 
necticut. He  was  among  the  pioneers  of 
Farmington,  Connecticut,  and  one  of  the 
first  proprietors,  a  charter  member  of  the 
Farmington  Church,  and  its  second  dea- 
con. His  descendant,  Ansel  Judd,  mar- 
ried Electa  Jones,  and  lived  in  the  town 
of  Pompey,  Onondaga  county. 

Ansel  Judd  Northrup,  son  of  Rensse- 
laer and  Clarissa  (Judd)  Northrup,  passed 
his  early  life  on  the  paternal  farm,  in 
whose  labors  he  participated  in  the  inter- 
vals of  attendance  at  school.  He  taught 
four  winter  terms  of  school,  prepared  for 
college  at  Peterboro  Academy  and  Ober- 
"9 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


lin  College,  Ohio,  and  was  graduated  from 
Hamilton  College  at  Clinton,  New  York, 
in  1858,  as  salutatorian  of  his  class  with 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  After  pur- 
suing the  study  of  law  at  the  Columbia 
Law  School  at  New  York,  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  Norwich,  New  York, 
May  12,  1859,  and  began  the  practice  of 
his  profession  at  Syracuse,  in  the  same 
year.  In  1861  he  received  the  degree  of 
Master  of  Arts  from  his  alma  mater,  and 
in  1895  that  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  He  was 
appointed  a  United  States  court  commis- 
sioner, March  22,  1870,  and  soon  after 
United  States  examiner  in  equity,  both  of 
which  positions  he  still  holds. 

He  was  elected  a  trustee  of  the  Syra- 
cuse Savings  Bank,  March  20,  1877,  and 
still  fills  that  position,  being  also  a  trus- 
tee of  Oakwood  Cemetery  at  Syracuse. 
He  was  one  of  the  founders  and  long  a 
director  of  the  University  Club  of  Syra- 
cuse ;  was  for  ten  years  president  of  the 
Onondaga  Historical  Society,  and  has 
long  been  an  elder  of  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Syracuse.  During  and 
after  the  Civil  War  he  was  vice-presi- 
dent and  later  president  of  the  Loyal 
League  (in  Syracuse)  and  served  as  lay 
commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Saratoga, 
in  1890,  at  Buffalo,  in  1904,  and  at  Atlan- 
tic City,  in  1910.  He  was  elected  in  No- 
vember, 1882,  as  county  judge  of  Onon- 
daga county,  and  reelected  in  1888,  serv- 
ing twelve  years.  In  January,  1895,  he 
resumed  the  practice  of  law  at  Syracuse 
in  association  with  his  son,  Elliott  Judd 
Northrup.  In  February  of  that  year  he 
was  appointed  by  Governor  Morton  one 
of  three  commissioners  of  statutory  re- 
vision of  the  State,  and  in  June  following 
one  of  three  commissioners  to  revise  the 
code  of  civil  procedure,  and  served  six 
years  in  each  of  these  positions.  Judge 
Northrup  is  much  interested  in  historical 


and  genealogical  research ;  is  a  member 
of  the  Genealogical  Society  of  Central 
New  York,  and  published  in  1908  the 
Northrup  Genealogy.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Alpha  Delta  Phi  and  the  Phi  Beta 
Kappa,  and  of  the  Citizens,  University 
and  Fortnightly  clubs.  Besides  the  work 
above  mentioned,  he  is  the  author  of  sev- 
eral books,  such  as  "Camps  and  Tramps 
in  the  Adirondacks  and  Grayling  Fishing 
in  Northern  Michigan"  (1880-1901)  ; 
"Sconset  Cottage  Life"  (1881-1901)  ; 
"Slavery  in  New  York"  (1900)  ;  "The 
Powers  and  Duties  of  Elders  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Church"  (1908),  also  numerous 
addresses.  As  secretary  he  edited  the 
"History  of  the  Class  of  1858,"  Hamilton 
College.  1898;  edited  the  history  of  the 
"Seventy-fifth  Anniversary  First  Presby- 
terian Church,"  Syracuse,  1899.  Politi- 
cally Judge  Northrup  is  affiliated  with 
the  Republican  party  and  advocates  its 
principles.  He  is  still  (1915)  active  in  his 
profession  of  the  law. 

He  married,  November  24,  1863,  Eliza 
Sophia,  eldest  daughter  of  Thomas  Brock- 
way  and  Ursula  Ann  (Elliott)  Fitch,  of 
Syracuse,  born  December  15,  1842,  and 
died  March  15,  1914.  Children:  i.  Ed- 
win Fitch,  graduate  of  Amherst  College 
and  Johns  Hopkins  University,  Doctor  of 
Philosophy,  formerly  a  manufacturer  of 
instruments  at  Philadelphia,  member  of 
the  Leeds  &  Northrup  Company,  and 
since  1910  a  professor  of  physics  in 
Princeton  University.  He  is  an  inventor, 
and  frequent  contributor  to  magazines  on 
scientific  and  engineering  subjects,  and 
has  written  many  scientific  addresses.  2. 
Elliott  Judd.  graduate  of  Amherst  Col- 
lege and  Cornell  University  Law  Depart- 
ment, professor  of  law  in  the  University 
of  Illinois  for  some  time,  and  since  1910 
in  Tulane  University,  New  Orleans, 
Louisiana.  3.  Theodore  Dwight.  died  in 
his  twelfth  year.  4.  Ursula,  married  Louis 


180 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Cleveland  Jones,  of  Solvay,  New  York, 
chief  chemist  of  the  Semet  Solvay  Process 
Company,  Syracuse,  and  residing  in  Syra- 
cuse. 5.  Edith,  graduated  from  Syracuse 
University,  1908,  with  the  degree  of  Bach- 
elor of  Philosophy,  and  a  teacher  of  Eng- 
lish in  the  Goodyear  Burlingame  Private 
School  in  Syracuse. 


MORRIS.  Robert  Clark, 

Lawyer,  L.axr  Instmctor. 

Robert  Clark  Morris  is  descended  from 
a  very  old  Connecticut  family,  which  was 
first  located  at  New  Haven,  and  has  in- 
herited those  sterling  qualities  which  dis- 
tinguished the  pioneers  of  that  State.  The 
first  in  this  country  was  Thomas  Morris, 
a  native  of  England,  who  was  one  of  the 
signers  of  the  Plantation  Covenant  at 
New  Haven,  in  1639.  His  eldest  son, 
Eleazer  Morris,  was  born  at  New  Haven, 
and  settled  in  the  adjoining  town  of  East 
Haven,  Connecticut,  where  he  resided 
with  his  wife  Anna.  Their  second  son, 
James  Morris,  was  born  about  1690,  in 
East  Haven,  and  married,  February  24, 
171 5,  Abigail  Ross.  Their  second  son, 
James  Morris,  born  1723,  in  East  Haven, 
settled  in  Litchfield,  Connecticut,  where 
he  was  a  landowner  at  Litchfield  South 
Farms,  now  the  town  of  Morris,  a  deacon 
of  the  church,  and  a  prominent  citizen. 
He  died  June  6,  1789,  in  Litchfield.  He 
married,  April  8,  1751,  Phebe,  widow  of 
Timothy  Barnes,  born  1712-13,  died  April 
15'  1793-  Both  are  buried  in  the  grave- 
yard at  Morris. 

Their  eldest  child  was  James  Morris, 
born  January  8,  1752,  was  graduated  from 
Yale  in  1775,  and  began  the  study  of  the- 
ology with  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  Bellamy.  In 
May,  1776,  while  teaching  at  Litchfield, 
he  entered  the  patriot  army  as  an  ensign 
in  Colonel  Fisher  Gay's  Connecticut  regi- 
ment. He  served  in  the  campaign  around 
New  York,  and  in  January,  1777,  was  ap- 


pointed first  lieutenant  in  Colonel  Philip 
B.  Bradley's  New  Connecticut  regiment. 
At  the  battle  of  Germantown,  October  4, 
1777,  he  was  captured,  and  spent  the  next 
eight  months  in  prison  at  Philadelphia. 
Thence  he  was  transferred  to  Brooklyn, 
and  was  discharged  January  3,  1781. 
While  in  captivity  he  was  promoted  to  a 
captaincy,  and  in  the  summer  of  1781  was 
detached  to  serve  in  Colonel  Scannell's 
Light  Infantry  Regiment,  which  he  ac- 
companied to  Yorktown.  On  his  dis- 
charge from  the  army,  in  January,  1783, 
he  settled  in  his  native  village,  where  he 
filled  numerous  important  offices.  Here 
he  established  an  academy  in  1790,  which 
instructed  in  all  nearly  fifteen  hundred 
pupils,  of  whom  more  than  sixty  were 
prepared  for  college.  At  nine  sessions  of 
the  General  Assembly,  between  1798  and 
1805,  he  represented  Litchfield.  The  town 
of  Morris,  formerly  a  part  of  Litchfield, 
was  named  in  his  honor,  and  he  was  dea- 
con of  the  church  there  from  1795  until 
his  death,  which  occurred  April  20,  1820, 
at  Goshen,  Connecticut,  while  on  a  trip 
from  Cornwall  to  his  home.  Portions  of 
his  narrative  of  his  life  and  public  serv- 
ices during  the  Revolution  have  been 
printed  in  "Yale  in  the  Revolution"  and 
"Memoirs  of  the  Long  Island  Historical 
Society."  He  married  (first)  Elizabeth, 
youngest  daughter  of  Robert  Hubbard, 
of  Middletown,  Connecticut,  and  (sec- 
ond) March  16,  1815,  Rhoda  Farnum. 

The  only  son  of  the  second  marriage, 
Dwight  Morris,  was  born  November  22, 
1817,  in  what  is  now  Morris,  and  gradu- 
ated with  honors  from  Union  College  in 
1838,  subsequently  receiving  the  degree 
of  Master  of  Arts  from  Yale.  In  1839  he 
was  admitted  to  the  Litchfield  bar,  be- 
came active  in  public  affairs,  represented 
his  town  in  the  General  Assembly  sev- 
eral sessions,  and  was  judge  of  probate 
from  1845  to  1852.  In  1862  he  recruited 
a  regiment,  and  went  to  the  front  as  colo- 


181 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


nel  of  the  Fourteenth  Connecticut  Volun- 
teers. Soon  after  he  was  given  command 
of  the  Second  Brigade,  Second  Corps,  and 
took  part  in  the  battle  of  Antietam.  His 
regiment  came  to  be  known  as  the  "Fight- 
ing Fourteenth,"  from  its  brilliant  service. 
Ill  health  compelled  him  to  resign  his 
commission,  and  he  was  honorably  dis- 
charged, with  the  rank  of  brigadier-gen- 
eral. He  was  nominated  by  President 
Lincoln  as  judge  of  the  Territory  of 
Idaho,  but  declined.  From  1865  to  1869 
he  served  as  consul-general  at  Havre, 
France,  and  in  1876  was  elected  Secretary 
of  State  of  Connecticut.  Through  his 
efforts  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  was 
reinstated  in  his  State,  July  4,  1893,  after 
having  been  dormant  eighty-nine  years, 
and  thenceforward,  until  his  death,  Sep- 
tember, 1894,  he  was  its  president.  He 
devoted  considerable  time  to  literature, 
and  contributed  many  articles  on  histori- 
cal subjects.  His  second  wife,  Grace  Jo- 
sephine Clark,  whom  he  married  in  1867, 
at  Paris,  France,  was  born  1844,  •"  Chi- 
cago, daughter  of  Lewis  W.  and  Emily 
(Henshaw)  Clark,  of  that  city,  died  1884. 
Robert  Clark  Morris,  son  of  the  last 
named,  was  born  November  19,  1869,  at 
Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  where  he  was  a 
student  of  the  public  schools,  after  which 
he  pursued  the  study  of  law  at  Yale  Law 
School,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws  in 
1890.  From  Yale  he  received  the  degree 
of  Master  of  Law  in  1892,  and  Doctor  of 
Civil  Law  in  1893.  He  was  secretary  of 
the  class  of  1890  at  Yale  Law  School.  In 
that  year  he  was  admitted  to  the  Connec- 
ticut bar,  and  in  1890-91  studied  conti- 
nental jurisprudence  in  Europe.  In  1894 
he  located  in  New  York  City,  where  he 
immediately  began  practice.  From  1895 
to  1904  he  lectured  on  French  law  at  Yale 
Law  School,  and  since  1904  has  been  lec- 
turing on  International  Arbitration  and 
Proceedure  in  that  institution.    He  is  the 


author  of  a  standard  work  entitled  "In 
ternational  Arbitration  and  Proceedure." 
He  is  at  present  senior  partner  of  the  law 
firm  of  Morris  &  Plante,  in  New  York 
City.  Mr.  Morris  has  taken  a  keen  in- 
terest in  political  movements,  and  from 
1901  to  1903  was  president  of  the  Repub- 
lican County  Committee  of  New  York, 
and  in  1909  was  president  of  the  Repub- 
lican Club  of  that  city.  He  was  counsel 
for  the  United  States  before  the  United 
States  and  Venezuelan  Commission  in 
1903,  and  occupies  a  leading  position  at 
the  metropolitan  bar.  The  work  of  his 
firm  is  general,  but  most  of  his  time  is 
devoted  to  reorganizations.  By  inherit- 
ance he  is  a  member  of  the  Order  of  the 
Cincinnati,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Mili- 
tary Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion  and  the 
Sons  of  the  Revolution.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  New  York  Bar  Associa- 
tion, the  International  Law  Association, 
the  American  Bar  Association,  New  York 
County  Lawyers'  Association,  the  Amer- 
ican Society  of  International  Law,  the 
Society  of  Medical  Jurisprudence,  the 
Japan  Society,  and  the  China  Society.  He 
is  identified  with  several  clubs,  including 
the  Union  League,  Yale,  Metropolitan, 
Tuxedo  of  New  York,  Lakewood  Coun- 
try, also  the  Graduates'  Club  of  New 
Haven.  He  resides  on  Fifth  avenue,  in 
New  York  City.  He  married,  June  24, 
1890,  Alice  A.  Parmelee,  of  New  Haven, 
daughter  of  Andrew  Yelverton  and  Sarah 
Elizabeth  (Farren)  Parmelee.  They  have 
travelled  extensively  throughout  the 
world,  and  Mrs.  Morris  is  the  author  of 
"Dragons  and  Cherry  Blossoms,"  a  work 
on  Japan. 


SMITH,  Jay  Hungerford, 

Manuf actnrer,  Man  of  Affairs. 

There  is  genuine  satisfaction  in  telling 
Mr.  Smith's  life  story,  for  it  is  a  record  of 
worthy    effort,   generously   recompensed. 


EXCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


There  are  men  who  build  well  upon  foun- 
dations laid  by  another  and  there  are  men 
who  conceive,  plan,  dig,  lay  the  founda- 
tion and  upon  it  build  to  completion.  To 
this  latter  class  Mr.  Smith  belongs.  A 
graduate  chemist,  he  might  easily  have 
followed  the  beaten  paths,  compounded 
drugs,  and  sold  soda  water  all  his  life, 
and  might  have  been  one  of  thousands 
performing  their  duty  well  along  similar 
lines.  But  his  nature  would  not  permit 
this  and  from  the  drug  store  at  Ausable 
Forks  he  launched  out  into  the  wide  field 
of  experiment  and  established  a  new  busi- 
ness, adding  his  own  to  the  names  of 
America's  creative  geniuses.  From  foun- 
dation to  spire  the  business  over  which 
he  presides  is  his  own,  the  child  of  his 
own  brain,  developed  through  his  own 
skill  and  conducted  by  his  own  master- 
ful mind.  "Founder"  and  "head"  of  a 
business  conducted  in  one  of  Rochester's 
finest  factories,  Mr.  Smith  can  with  deep- 
est satisfaction  contemplate  the  work  he 
has  accomplished  in  the  twenty-five  years 
since  he  first  located  in  Rochester  and 
began  as  the  head  of  the  Jay  Hungerford 
Smith  Company  the  manufacture  of 
"True  Fruit"  syrups. 

A  review  of  Mr.  Smith's  ancestry,  pa- 
ternal and  maternal,  is  most  interesting. 
He  descends  paternally  from  Silas  Smith, 
who  came  from  England  with  the  Plym- 
outh Company,  settling  at  Taunton,  Mas- 
sachusetts. The  line  of  descent  to  Jay 
Hungerford  Smith  is  through  Silas  (2) 
and  Hannah  (Gazine)  Smith;  their  son, 
Samuel,  and  Abigail  (Wright)  Smith ; 
their  son  Daniel,  and  Susan  (Holmes) 
Smith ;  their  son,  William  Priest,  and 
Sarah  Porter  (Hungerford)  Smith ;  their 
son.  Jay  Hungerford  Smith. 

Samuel  Smith,  of  the  third  generation, 
was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  and  the 
first  of  this  branch  to  locate  in  New  York 
State,  living  in  Spencertown,  Columbia 
county,  where  his  son,  Daniel,  was  born. 


Daniel  Smith  moved  to  Ellisburg,  Jefifer- 
son  county,  in  1802,  was  a  lieutenant  in 
the  War  of  1812,  fought  at  Sackett's  Har- 
bor, and  donated  the  use  of  his  home  for 
a  hospital  for  the  wounded  soldiers. 
Susan  (Holmes)  Smith,  his  wife,  bore  him 
sixteen  children.  Her  father,  Thomas 
Holmes,  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution 
from  Connecticut,  ranked  as  sergeant,  and 
was  a  Revolutionary  pensioner.  William 
Priest  Smith,  of  the  fifth  generation,  was 
born  in  New  York,  January  5,  1799,  was 
a  lumberman  and  landowner  of  St.  Law- 
rence county.  New  York,  justice  of  the 
peace,  associate  judge,  a  man  of  influence 
and  high  standing.  His  wife,  Sarah  Por- 
ter (Hungerford)  Smith,  whom  he  mar- 
ried, July  9,  1843,  traced  her  ancestry  to 
Sir  Thomas  Hungerford,  who  in  1369  pur- 
chased "Farley  Castle,"  in  Somersetshire, 
England,  an  estate  that  was  the  family 
seat  for  more  than  three  hundred  years. 
Sir  Thomas  was  steward  for  John  of 
Ghent,  Duke  of  Lancaster,  son  of  King 
Edward  HI.,  and  was  a  member  and 
speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons,  re- 
puted to  be  the  first  person  elected  to  that 
high  office.  The  present  crest  of  the 
Hungerford  family,  "A  garb  or,  a  wheat 
sheaf  between  two  sickles  erect,"  with  the 
motto  Et  Dieu  mo>t  apptcy  (God  is  my  sup- 
port), was  first  adopted  by  Sir  Walter, 
afterward  Lord  Hungerford,  son  of  Sir 
Thomas.  John  Hungerford,  great-grand- 
father of  Sarah  Porter  Hungerford,  a 
lineal  descendant  of  Sir  Thomas,  was  a 
colonial  soldier,  ranking  as  captain.  His 
son,  Amasa,  was  a  colonel  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary army;  his  son,  Amasa  (2),  was  a 
"minute  man"  of  the  War  of  1812,  a  ship 
builder  on  Lake  Ontario,  a  prosperous 
farmer  of  Jefferson  county.  New  York,  a 
man  widely  known.  His  daughter,  Sarah 
Porter  Hungerford,  married  William 
Priest  Smith,  whom  she  bore  eleven  chil- 
dren:  Lois  Elizabeth,  Amasa  Daniel, 
.Annie  Eliza.  Frances  Sarah,  George  Wil- 


183 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Ham,  Jay  Hungerford,  of  further  mention, 
Mary  Louise,  Jennie  V.,  Joseph  Brodie, 
Frank  Robbins,  and  May  Lillian. 

Jay  Hungerford  Smith  was  born  at 
Fine,  St.  Lawrence  county.  New  York, 
February  20,  1855,  third  son  and  sixth 
child  of  William  Priest  and  Sarah  Por- 
ter (Hungerford)  Smith.  He  prepared 
for  college  at  Hungerford  Collegiate  In- 
stitute and  entered  the  University  of 
Michigan,  whence  he  was  graduated 
Pharmaceutical  Chemist,  class  of  1877. 
Three  years  later  he  began  business  at 
Ausable  Forks,  New  York,  as  a  whole- 
sale and  retail  dealer  in  drugs.  He  de- 
veloped a  prosperous  business  along  con- 
ventional lines  and  there  was  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  he  was  not  permanently  set- 
tled in  business.  But  his  ideals  were 
higher  and  in  the  course  of  business  he 
saw  opportunity  open  a  new  avenue  of 
effort,  and  this  avenue  he  saw  would  lead 
to  great  result  could  he  but  tread  it.  At 
that  time  the  soda  fountain  business,  now 
of  such  immense  proportions,  was  but  a 
small  item  in  the  drug  trade  and  all  flavor- 
ing syrups  dispensed  were  either  artificial 
or  from  preserved  fruit.  Mr.  Smith  at- 
tacked the  problem  of  improving  the  qual- 
ity of  these  flavors,  striving  to  extract  and 
to  preserve  the  true  flavor  of  fresh  fruit. 
His  intimate  knowledge  of  chemistry  was 
called  upon  and  after  a  great  deal  of  ex- 
perimenting and  many  failures  he  finally 
perfected  a  cold  process  by  which  he  ob- 
tained the  desired  result.  He  added  to  his 
process,  matured  his  plans  of  manufac- 
ture, located  in  1890  in  Rochester,  New 
York,  and  began  carrying  them  into  effect. 
He  organized  the  J.  Hungerford  Smith 
Company,  erected  a  plant,  and  began  the 
manufacture  of  "True  Fruit"  syrups.  So 
well  had  he  planned  and  so  superior  was 
his  product  that  public  favor  was  quickly 
secured  and  to-day  two  hundred  thousand 
square  feet  of  factory  space  is  required  to 
meet    the    demands    for    "True    Fruit" 


syrups.  As  the  products,  so  are  the  sur- 
roundings attending  their  manufacture, 
for  "purity  and  cleanliness"  are  factory 
slogans  and  the  highest  in  both  has  been 
realized.  The  sanitary  precautions  are 
unsurpassed,  and  every  device  making  for 
purity,  cleanliness,  health,  efficiency  of 
operation,  and  perfection  in  product,  has 
been  installed.  "True  Fruit"  syrups  have 
an  immense  sale  in  the  United  States, 
and  a  large  export  trade,  double  that  of 
any  similar  product,  has  been  built  up. 
This  end,  attained  in  twenty-five  years, 
is  a  gratifying  one,  the  business  having 
been  built  from  nothing  but  an  idea  to  its 
present  prosperous  condition.  Mr.  Smith 
conceived  the  idea  of  "True  Fruit"  flav- 
ors, founded  the  business,  visioned  and 
jierfected  the  conditions  vmder  which  such 
flavors  should  be  produced  and  with  rare 
executive  ability  has  managed  the  busi- 
ness affairs  of  the  company  producing 
them.  So  the  titles  of  creator,  founder 
and  head  are  truly  his  as  applied  to  the 
product  and  business  of  J.  Hungerford 
Smith  &  Company.  He  is  a  director  of 
the  Alliance  Bank,  and  has  other  impor- 
tant business  interests  in  Rochester  and 
elsewhere. 

Mr.  Smith's  next  greatest  interest  is  in 
the  Masonic  order,  one  in  which  he  has 
attained  every  degree  in  both  York  and 
Scottish  rites  that  can  be  conferred  in 
this  country.  He  has  received  many 
honors  at  the  hands  of  his  brethren,  the 
thirty-third  degree  Scottish  Rite  being 
one  that  is  only  conferred  by  special 
favor  and  then  only  for  "distinguished 
service"  rendered  the  order.  He  was 
"made  a  Mason"  in  Richville  Lodge,  No. 
633,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  in  1880, 
and  after  coming  to  Rochester  affiliated 
by  "demit"  with  Frank  R.  Lawrence 
Lodge,  No.  797,  serving  as  worshipful 
master  in  1897  ^nd  1898.  He,  as  rapidly 
as  the  Masonic  law  permits,  took  the 
chapter,  council,  and  commandery  de- 
84 


A 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


grees  constituting  the  York  Rite,  and 
holds  membership  in  Hamilton  Chapter, 
No.  62,  Royal  Arch  Masons :  Doric  Coun- 
cil, No.  19,  Royal  and  Select  Masters, 
and  Monroe  Commandery,  No.  12, 
Knights  Templar.  By  virtue  of  being 
master  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
and  in  1898  was  appointed  grand  senior 
deacon.  As  chairman  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  committee  on  work  and  lectures  in 
1899  ^^  performed  valued  service  in  per- 
fecting ritualistic  work  and  for  several 
years  was  one  of  the  custodians  of  the 
work.  He  was  a  member  of  the  commis- 
sion of  appeals  of  the  Grand  Lodge  in 
1905,  1906,  and  1907,  and  since  1900  has 
been  representative  of  the  Grand  Lodge, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  Canada, 
near  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of 
New  York.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Ma- 
sonic Temple  Association,  and  ex-presi- 
dent of  the  Masonic  Club,  of  Rochester, 
ex-trustee  of  the  Hall  and  Asylum  Fund, 
and  a  present  member  of  the  standing 
committee. 

After  acquiring  the  degrees  of  York 
Rite  Masonry,  Mr.  Smith,  desiring 
"further  light,"  was  initiated  into  the 
Ancient  Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  is  a 
member  of  the  four  bodies  of  the  Rite, 
and  has  attained  the  much  hoped  for, 
seldom  conferred,  thirty-third  degree. 
He  is  a  member  of  Rochester  Consistory, 
which  conferred  all  degrees  including  the 
thirty-second.  Sovereign  Princes  of  the 
Royal  Secret,  and  on  September  15,  1896, 
received  the  crowning  thirty-third  degree 
through  the  favor  of  the  body  governing 
the  holders  of  that  degree,  the  highest 
honor  an  American  Mason  can  receive. 

The  ancient  landmarks  of  the  order 
are  sacred  to  Mr.  Smith  and  as  custodian 
of  the  work  he  has  sought  to  keep  closely 
to  them.  Where  methods  only  were  in- 
volved he  has  sanctioned  and  suggested 
ritualistic  innovation,  thereby  beautify- 
ing and  strengthening  the  work.  Through 


the  exercise  of  his  unbounded  dramatic 
ability  many  of  the  degrees,  particularly 
in  the  Scottish  Rite,  have  been  illumi- 
nated and  clothed  with  a  deeper  meaning. 
His  influence  has  been  exerted  for  the 
good  of  the  order,  his  service  has  been 
valued  by  his  brethren,  and  his  elevation 
to  the  thirty-third  degree  came  as  an 
acknowledgment  of  that  service,  for  the 
degree  cannot  be  applied  for,  as  other 
degrees  must  be,  but  comes  as  an  un- 
sought and  highly  valued  honor. 

A  public  honor  was  conferred  upon  Mr. 
Smith  when  he  was  but  twenty-eight 
years  of  age  in  recognition  of  his  stand- 
ing in  his  profession,  by  appointment  as 
one  of  the  five  members  of  the  original 
New  York  State  Board  of  Pharmacy,  a 
position  he  held  for  eight  years.  For 
many  years  he  has  been  a  trustee  of  the 
Rochester  Chamber  of  Commerce  and 
has  been  one  of  the  progressive  men  ever 
ready  to  aid  and  to  support  every  move- 
ment or  enterprise  to  further  the  public 
good.  He  is  an  official  member  of  the 
Cascade  Lakes  Club  in  the  Adirondack 
preserve,  his  city  club  the  Masonic. 
Social  by  nature  and  most  genial  in  dis- 
position, he  has  many  friends,  and  these 
friendships  are  mutually  highly  prized. 
He  is,  however,  preeminently  a  man  of 
affairs,  and  is  a  splendid  example  of  the 
alert,  progressive,  creative  American 
business  man,  a  type  of  the  men  who  have 
made  this  country  famous. 

Mr.  Smith  married,  May  17,  1882, 
Jean,  daughter  of  John  A.  Dawson,  of 
Ausable  Forks,  New  York.  Children: 
James  Hungerford,  Anna  Dawson,  Flor- 
ence, died  in  infancy ;  Jay  Elwood,  Lois, 
and  Helen  Hungerford. 


HALE,  George  David, 

Educator,  Man   of  Affairs. 

Professor  George  David  Hale  was  born 
in  Adams,  Jefiferson  county,  New  York, 
March  27,  1844.    His  parents  were  Abner 


185 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Cable  and  Sally  Ann  (Barton)  Hale.  The 
first  American  ancestor  in  the  paternal 
line  was  Thomas  Hale,  the  glover,  who 
came  from  England  in  1637  and  settled  at 
Newbury,  Massachusetts,  where  he  died 
December  21,  1682.  The  grandfather, 
David  Hale,  was  senior  member  of  the 
first  mercantile  firm  in  Adams,  New  York, 
and  was  also  captain  of  a  troop  of  cavalry 
in  the  War  of  1812.  From  a  very  early 
period  in  the  development  of  Jefiferson 
county  the  family  was  connected  with  its 
progress  and  upbuilding.  Abner  C.  Hale, 
the  father,  followed  the  occupation  of 
farming  at  Adams. 

Professor  George  D.  Hale  spent  his 
boyhood  days  under  the  parental  roof. 
In  1870  he  was  graduated  from  the  classi- 
cal course  of  the  University  of  Rochester, 
and  three  years  later  that  institution  con- 
ferred upon  him  the  degree  of  Alaster  of 
Arts.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Delta 
Kappa  Epsilon  and  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kap- 
pa, two  college  fraternities.  Professor 
Hale  is  known  personally  or  by  reputa- 
tion to  every  resident  of  the  city  and  also 
to  a  large  extent  throughout  this  and 
other  states  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  his 
students  have  gone  abroad  into  all  parts 
of  the  country,  bearing  in  their  lives  the 
impress  of  his  individuality.  The  Hale 
Classical  and  Scientific  School,  which  he 
conducted  in  Rochester  from  1871  to  1898, 
is  recognized  as  having  been  one  of  the 
most  excellent  institutions  of  learning  in 
the  State  and  among  its  graduates  are 
men  who  are  now  prominent  in  the  public 
and  business  life  of  Rochester.  Thor- 
oughness has  always  been  his  motto  and 
he  has  ever  held  high  the  standard  of  edu- 
cational proficiency.  Kant  has  said  :  "The 
object  of  education  is  to  train  each  in- 
dividual to  reach  the  highest  perfection 
possible  for  him,"  and  the  spirit  of  this 
statement  has  been  a  dominant  factor  in 
the  work  done  by  Professor  Hale  during 


these  years.  Moreover,  he  is  recognized 
in  educational  circles  as  an  authority  on 
mathematics  and  as  one  who  stands  as  a 
leader  in  his  profession  because  of  the 
high  ideals  which  he  has  ever  held  and 
the  unfaltering  effort  he  has  made  to 
reach  them.  He  is  identified  with  several 
of  the  leading  societies  for  the  advance- 
ment of  knowledge,  being  a  member  of 
the  National  Educational  Association  and 
the  American  Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  Science,  also  of  the  Na- 
tional Geographic  Society.  Of  local  so- 
cieties he  is  identified  with  the  Rochester 
Historical  Society,  the  Genesee  Valley 
Club,  the  Rochester  Country  Club,  the 
University  Club,  and  the  Rochester 
Chamber  of  Commerce.  His  political 
preference  has  always  been  for  the  Re- 
publican party,  and  while  he  has  been  a 
student  of  the  great  issues  and  questions 
bearing  upon  the  welfare  of  State  and 
Nation,  he  has  always  been  without  poli- 
tical ambition. 

On  December  29,  1875,  Professor  Hale 
was  married  in  Rochester  to  Mary  Eliza- 
beth Judson,  a  daughter  of  Junius  (q.  v.) 
and  Lavenda  (Bushnell)  Judson.  They 
have  two  daughters,  Edith  Hariette  and 
Elizabeth  Lavenda  Hale.  Mrs.  Hale  was 
possessed  of  rare  mental  endowment,  of 
mature  Christian  character,  and  withal  of 
a  most  charming  personality  which 
showed  itself  in  sweet  courtesy  towards 
all.  She  died  April  12,  1915,  sincerely 
mourned  by  all  who  knew  her. 

Professor  Hale  is  a  member  of  the 
First  Baptist  Church  of  Rochester,  in 
which  he  has  served  for  many  years  as  a 
trustee,  being  also  prominently  identified 
with  the  general  interests  of  the  Baptist 
denomination  in  this  city.  He  has  been 
a  generous  contributor  to  many  public 
and  charitable  works  and  his  influence  is 
always  on  the  side  of  that  which  pro- 
motes intellectual  development,  aesthetic 


I 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


culture  and  moral  progress.  He  has 
given  many  years  of  an  active  and  useful 
life  to  the  cause  of  education  and  has  at- 
tained wide  distinction  in  the  field  of 
labor  he  has  chosen.  He  has  been  for 
several  years  identified  with  the  business 
interests  of  the  several  Judson  companies 
of  this  city,  in  which  he  is  both  director 
and  stockholder. 


PRICE,  George  M., 

Snrgeon,   Professional   Instmctor. 

For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
George  M.  Price,  M.  D.,  F.  A.  C.  S.,  has 
practiced  his  healing  art  in  Syracuse,  win- 
ning honorable  standing  in  his  profession 
and  public  esteem  as  a  citizen.  In  fact, 
save  for  the  years  spent  in  American  and 
European  medical  schools,  his  entire  life 
has  been  spent  in  the  vicinity  of  Syra- 
cuse ;  his  birthplace,  Liverpool,  being 
not  far  away.  He  is  devoted  to  his  pro- 
fession and  confines  himself  closely  to  his 
special  work  as  surgeon,  having  few  out- 
side interests. 

George  M.  Price  was  born  at  Liverpool, 
Onondaga  county.  New  York,  March  3, 
1865.  After  a  course  of  public  school 
study  he  became  a  student  at  Cazenovia 
Seminary,  later  entering  Syracuse  High 
School,  there  completing  a  full  course  to 
graduation.  He  decided  upon  the  profes- 
sion of  medicine  as  his  life  work,  begin- 
ning study  in  the  medical  department  of 
the  University  of  Syracuse,  whence  he 
was  graduated  M.  D.,  class  of  1886.  Al- 
though officially  authorized  to  begin  prac- 
tice, he  was  not  satisfied  with  his  attain- 
ments and  for  the  next  two  years  pursued 
post-graduate  courses  in  the  hospitals  and 
schools  of  medicine  in  London,  England, 
and  Vienna,  Austria.  He  then  returned 
to  the  United  States  and  spent  some  time 
in  further  post-graduate  work  as  interne 
and  student  at  New  York  Hospital. 

After  those  years  of  thorough  prepara- 


tion, he  located  in  Syracuse  and  there  has 
since  continued,  an  honored  and  success- 
ful practitioner.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
New  York  State  Medical  Society,  Central 
New  York  Medical  Association,  the 
Onondaga  County  Medical  Society,  and 
the  Syracuse  Academy  of  Medicine.  He 
has  served  as  president  of  the  three  last 
named  societies.  He  is  surgeon  to  the 
Hospital  of  the  Good  Shepherd  and  the 
Syracuse  Free  Dispensary,  and  Professor 
of  Clinical  Surgery  in  the  College  of 
Medicine,  Syracuse  University.  In  1914 
he  received  the  degree  of  F.  A.  C.  S.  from 
the  American  College  of  Surgeons.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the 
Syracuse  Young  Men's  Christian  Associ- 
ation, of  the  Syracuse  University  Social 
Sentiment,  and  the  Billy  Sunday  Club,  and 
of  the  session  of  the  Park  Central  Presby- 
terian Church.  He  has  been  honored  by 
membership  in  the  following  organiza- 
tions: Alpha  Omega  Alpha  (the  *  B  K 
of  the  Medical  World),  Iota  Chapter, 
Alpha  Kappa  Kappa  ;  Salt  Springs  Lodge, 
No.  520,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons; 
Knight  Templar ;  thirty-second  degree 
Mason ;  University  Club,  Practitioners' 
Club,  Clinical  Club,  Automobile  Club. 

Dr.  Price  married,  January  19,  1888, 
Nettie  B.  Reese  and  has  five  children :  J- 
Reese,  Emily  H.,  Letitia  E.,  Willis  H., 
and  G.  Taylor,  2nd. 


SMITH.  Ray  Burdick,     ^ 
Lawyer,  Author  of  Salutary  Legislation. 

In  every  branch  of  activity  it  is  the  few 
and  not  the  many  who  rise  to  eminence, 
and  it  is  these  few  who  give  tone  and 
character  to  society,  and  shape  the  des- 
tinies of  the  communities  in  which  they 
reside.  More  men  rise  to  what  is  called 
eminence  at  the  bar  than  in  any  other 
profession.  The  majority  of  our  orators 
and  statesmen  come  from  the  forum,  as  it 
is  the  most  general  school  for  the  training 


187 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  genius  or  talent,  and  humanity  is  in- 
debted to  the  study  of  law  and  the  prac- 
tice of  our  courts  for  the  development  of 
some  of  the  greatest  minds  the  world  has 
ever  produced.  Certainly  no  state  has 
more  reason  to  feel  proud  of  her  bar  than 
New  York.  The  records  of  her  lawyers 
since  the  earliest  periods  of  her  history  are 
replete  with  the  works  of  men  who  were 
giants  in  intellect,  and  to-day  no  city  in 
the  east  presents  a  fairer  array  of  legal 
luminaries  than  Syracuse,  New  York. 
Prominent  among  those  who  have  earned 
enviable  reputations  for  themselves,  and 
whose  worth  the  people  of  the  city  have 
seen  fit  to  acknowledge  by  conferring  on 
them  positions  of  honor  and  trust,  is  Ray 
Burdick  Smith,  of  Syracuse. 

The  particular  Smith  family  from 
which  he  is  descended  originally  came 
to  this  country  from  Germany,  where  the 
name  was  spelled  Schmidt,  and  has  been 
changed  to  its  present  form  in  the  course 
of  years.  Henry  Smith  (Schmidt),  great- 
grandfather of  Ray  Burdick  Smith,  came 
to  America  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  settled  near  Hud- 
son in  Columbia  county,  New  York.  He 
moved  to  the  town  of  Cuyler,  Cortland 
county,  New  York,  at  the  time  of  the 
Holland  Purchase,  with  a  large  family  of 
children,  of  which  William  Henry  Smith 
was  one.  William  Henry  Smith  cleared 
and  worked  a  farm  in  the  town  of  Linck- 
lean,  Chenango  county,  and  a  tannery  in 
the  adjoining  town  of  Taylor  in  Cortland 
county.  He  raised  a  family  of  eleven 
children  of  whom  Willis  Smith,  father  of 
Ray  Burdick  Smith,  was  one. 

Willis  Smith  was  a  farmer  in  the  town 
of  Cuyler,  Cortland  county,  and  later  re- 
moved with  his  family  to  Lincklean,  Che- 
nango county.  He  married  Emily  Bur- 
dick, daughter  of  James  and  Martha 
(Maxon)  Burdick.  The  founders  of  the 
Burdick  and  Maxon  families  were  mem- 


bers of  the  Roger  Williams  colony,  and 
settled  in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Rhode 
Island.  They  have  remained  to  this  day 
"Separatists",  or  Seventh  Day  Baptists, 
and  Ray  Burdick  Smith  still  clings  to  this 
faith,  although  he  is  a  member  of  the 
First  (Dutch)  Reformed  Church  of  Syra- 
cuse. 

Ray  Burdick  Smith  was  born  in  Cuy- 
ler, Cortland  county,  New  York,  Decem- 
ber II,  1867,  and  was  a  young  child  when 
his  parents  removed  to  the  town  of  Linck- 
lean, Chenango  county,  in  the  same  State. 
There  he  received  his  earlier  education  in 
the  country  district  school,  later  becom- 
ing a  pupil  at  the  DeRuyter  Academy 
and  Cazenovia  Seminary,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1886,  and 
was  awarded  the  Wendell  Scholarship  for 
having  maintained  the  highest  standing 
in  the  class.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  he 
matriculated  at  Syracuse  University,  re- 
mained there  one  year,  then  entered  Yale 
University,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
with  distinction  in  the  class  of  1891,  with 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  and  mem- 
bership in  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society. 
He  achieved  prominence  in  Yale  both  as 
a  prize  speaker  and  writer.  He  was  a 
successful  competitor  for  the  John  A. 
Porter  Prize  Essay,  being  the  second  un- 
dergraduate to  win  it  after  its  foundation 
in  1870.  The  "Yale  Literary  Magazine" 
was  in  excellent  standing  during  the  time 
time  he  was  one  of  its  editors  and  its 
manager,  and  as  a  member  of  the  Psi 
Upsilon  and  Chi  Delta  Theta  fraternities 
he  was  held  in  high  esteem. 

Mr.  Smith  commenced  the  study  of  law 
in  the  latter  part  of  1891,  in  the  Law 
School  of  Cornell  University,  devoting 
himself  so  earnestly  to  this  that  he  prac- 
tically completed  a  two  years'  course  in 
one  year,  one  of  his  instructors  having 
been  Justice  Charles  E.  Hughes.  Taking 
up  his  residence  in  the  city  of  Syracuse, 


188 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


he  completed  his  law  studies  in  the  office 
of  Waters,  McLennan  &  Waters,  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1893,  and  at  once 
opened  offices  in  association  with  Thomas 
Woods  under  the  firm  name  of  Woods  & 
Smith,  which  was  later  changed  to 
Thomson,  Woods  &  Smith,  which  part- 
nership continued  until  191 1. 

In  1894,  when  the  Constitutional  Con- 
vention opened,  Mr.  Smith  was  appointed 
clerk  of  the  cities  committee  of  that  body, 
and  in  this  capacity  drafted  and  advo- 
cated the  constitutional  provision  which 
requires  every  bill  for  a  special  city  law 
passed  by  the  Legislature  to  be  sent  to 
the  mayor  of  the  city,  and  returned  to 
the  Legislature  or  Governor  within  fifteen 
days,  with  a  certification  as  to  whether 
or  not  the  city  has  accepted  it.  This  was 
one  of  the  most  important  publicity  pro- 
visions of  the  present  constitution,  giving 
to  cities  the  right  to  a  voice  in  measures 
in  which  they  are  directly  concerned.  In 
the  Legislatures  of  1894  and  1895,  Mr. 
Smith  was  clerk  of  the  committee  on 
general  laws  of  the  Senate.  He  was 
elected  supervisor  of  the  Fourteenth,  now 
the  Seventeenth,  ward  of  the  city  of 
Syracuse,  in  1895,  and  was  the  incumbent 
of  this  office  for  a  period  of  four  years. 
He  was  chairman  of  the  committee  which 
had  charge  of  the  construction  of  the  new 
Onondaga  County  Penitentiary,  a  struc- 
ture which  has  repeatedly  been  com- 
mended by  the  State  Prison  Commission, 
and  is  regarded  as  a  model  of  its  kind. 

Mr.  Smith  was  appointed  assistant 
clerk  of  the  Assembly  in  1898,  holding 
this  office  until  his  election  as  clerk  in 
1908.  During  his  service  as  assistant 
clerk,  he  annually  organized  the  clerical 
force  of  the  house,  and  managed  that 
work  with  consummate  ability  and  suc- 
cess. For  many  years  he  has  been  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  foremost  parliamen- 
tarians of  the  State,  and  he  so  shaped  the 


procedure  of  the  Assembly  as  to  expedite 
materially  the  work  it  is  called  upon  to 
perform.  He  drafted  an  amendment  ta 
the  legislative  law,  providing  for  a  system 
of  original  journals  and  documents  which 
have,  since  their  adoption,  enabled  the 
courts  to  save  many  thousands  of  dollars 
to  the  State.  During  the  sixteen  years 
he  spent  in  Albany,  he  drafted  practically 
every  piece  of  legislation  afifecting  his 
own  county  of  Onondaga,  and  succeeded 
in  getting  many  laws  passed  of  great 
benefit  to  this  section  and  to  the  State  at 
large.  He  was  counsel  for  the  commit- 
tees which  revised  the  charter  of  second 
class  cities  and  drew  a  proposed  charter 
for  the  city  of  New  York  and  his  knowl- 
edge of  constitutional  law  and  wide  ac- 
quaintance with  municipal  aft'airs  were 
invaluable  in  these  connections.  One  of 
the  legislative  achievements  of  which  Mr. 
Smith  may  well  be  proud  is  the  Syracuse 
lighting  law,  which  protects  the  rights 
of  the  consumer  of  gas  and  electricity 
more  effectively  than  any  measure  of  its 
kind,  and  which  was  passed  only  after 
a  hard  fight. 

In  1910,  when  a  Democratic  Assembly 
was  elected,  Mr.  Smith  retired  from 
active  political  life,  and  since  that  time 
has  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  the 
practice  of  his  profession,  except  that  he 
was  elected  and  served  as  a  member  of 
the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1915, 
and  was  a  prominent  figure  in  that  con- 
vention, notably  in  securing  the  adoption 
of  several  amendments  proposed  by  him 
and  in  opposing  other  amendments  in- 
cluding the  form  of  submission  which 
were  instrumental  in  the  rejection  of  the 
proposed  revision  of  the  constitution  by 
the  electors. 

During  the  recent  years  he  has  won  a 

number  of  cases  which  have  been  of  far 

reaching  importance.     In  one  of  them — 

Tomaney    against    the    Humphrey    Gas. 

89 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Pump  Company — the  Appellate  Division, 
Fourth  Department,  affirmed  a  judgment 
of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  given  Mr. 
Smith's  client  by  a  jury.  This  was  the 
largest  verdict  in  a  negligence  action  by 
the  Fourth  Department  up  to  the  present 
time  (1915).  In  the  fight  in  the  courts 
against  the  telephone  monoply  in  Syra- 
cuse, Mr.  Smith  has  been  a  prominent 
figure,  as  he  also  was  in  securing  legis- 
lation to  relieve  the  towns  of  the  burden 
of  paying  a  proportion  of  the  cost  of  the 
construction  of  county  highways. 

In  his  own  county  Mr.  Smith  has  been 
regarded  for  many  years  as  influential 
in  public  affairs.  He  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Republican  general  committee 
of  Onondaga  county  in  1895,  and  became 
the  vice-chairman  of  this  body  in  1896. 
He  was  elected  chairman  in  1907,  and 
acted  in  that  capacity  through  two  of  the 
hardest  municipal  campaigns  in  the 
experience  of  the  party,  that  of  1907,  and 
that  of  1909,  in  the  latter  of  which  Ed- 
ward Schoeneck  succeeded  in  a  four- 
cornered  fight  against  one  strong  Demo- 
crat and  two  Independent  Republican 
candidates. 

Mr.  Smith  is  a  member  of  the  Citizens' 
and  Masonic  clubs  of  Syracuse ;  the  Al- 
bany Club  of  Albany;  the  Republican 
Club  of  New  York  City;  he  is  a  thirty- 
second  degree  Mason,  and  a  member  of 
the  Ancient  Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine,  of  Utica ;  Syracuse  Lodge, 
No.  31,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks ;  Westminster  Lodge,  Independ- 
ent Order  of  Odd  Fellows ;  De  Kanissora 
Tribe,  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men ; 
Independent  Order  of  Foresters;  the 
Onondaga  County  Bar  Association,  and 
State  Bar  Association. 

Mr.  Smith  married,  in  1891,  Nellie 
King  Reilay,  of  Syracuse,  and  they  have 
one  child :  Willis  King,  born  September 
II,  1892. 


VANN,  Irving  Goodwin, 

Lawyer,  Jurist. 

If  '"biography  is  the  home  aspect  of 
history,"  it  is  entirely  within  the  province 
of  true  history  to  accumulate  and  per- 
petuate the  lives  and  characters,  the 
achievements  and  honors  of  the  illus- 
trious sons  of  the  nation,  and  when  the 
history  of  New  York  and  her  public  men 
shall  have  been  written  its  pages  will 
bear  few  more  illustrious  names  or  record 
few  more  distinguished  careers  than  that 
of  Judge  Irving  Goodwin  Vann,  of  Syra- 
cuse. Whatever  else  may  be  said  of  the 
legal  fraternity,  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
members  of  the  bar  have  been  more 
prominent  factors  in  public  affairs  than 
any  other  class  in  the  community.  This 
is  but  the  natural  result  of  causes  which 
are  manifest  and  require  no  explanation. 
The  ability  and  training  which  qualify 
one  to  practice  law  also  qualify  him  in 
many  respects  for  duties  which  lie  out- 
side the  strict  path  of  his  profession  and 
which  touch  the  general  interests  of  soci- 
ety. The  keen  discernment  and  the  habits 
of  logical  reasoning  and  arriving  at  accur- 
ate deductions  so  necessary  to  the  suc- 
cessful lawyer  enable  him  to  view  cor- 
rectly important  public  questions  and  to 
manage  intricate  business  affairs  suc- 
cessfully. Not  only  has  Judge  Vann  at- 
tained an  eminent  position  in  connection 
with  his  chosen  calling,  but  also  in  public 
office.  His  marked  intellectuality  and 
fitness  for  leadership  led  to  his  selection 
again  and  again  for  public  honors.  He  is 
a  man  remarkable  in  the  breadth  of  his 
wisdom,  in  his  indomitable  perseverance 
and  his  strong  individuality. 

On  both  sides  of  the  family  his  lineage 
is  an  ancient  one.  Samuel  Vann,  his 
great-grandfather,  was  born  in  New  Jer- 
sey, and  served  with  bravery  as  a  lieuten- 
ant in  the  War  of  the   Revolution ;  his 


190 


EiNXYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


son,  also  Samuel  Vann,  died  in  1878,  at 
the  age  of  one  hundred  and  six  years. 
Samuel  R.  Vann,  son  of  the  second 
Samuel  Vann,  was  a  native  of  New  Jer- 
sey, and  followed  agricultural  pursuits. 
The  greater  part  of  his  life  was  spent  in 
Ulysses,  New  York,  where  he  died  in 
1872.  He  married  Catherine  H.  Goodwin, 
a  daughter  of  Joseph  Goodwin,  who 
served  actively  in  the  War  of  1812;  a 
granddaughter  of  Richard  Goodwin,  who 
was  born  in  Pennsylvania,  and,  early  in 
the  nineteenth  century,  settled  at  Good- 
win's Point,  near  Taughannock  Falls,  on 
Cayuga  Lake ;  and  great-granddaughter 
of  Richard  Goodwin,  a  native  of  New 
England. 

Judge  Irving  Goodwin  Vann,  son  of 
Samuel  R.  and  Catherine  H.  (Goodwin) 
Vann,  was  born  in  Ulysses,  Tompkins 
county.  New  York,  January  3,  1842,  and 
his  early  years  were  spent  on  the  farm 
of  his  father  in  that  town.  He  was  pre- 
pared for  entrance  to  college  at  Tru- 
mansburg  and  Ithaca  academies,  matricu- 
lated at  Yale  College  in  September,  1859, 
entering  the  freshman  class,  and  was 
graduated  in  the  class  of  1863.  He  en- 
gaged in  the  profession  of  teaching  for 
a  time,  and  in  1864  was  principal  of  the 
Pleasant  Valley  High  School,  near 
Owensboro,  Kentucky,  from  which  posi- 
tion he  resigned  in  order  to  devote  him- 
self to  his  legal  studies.  He  commenced 
these  studies  in  the  office  of  Boardman 
(S;  Finch,  of  Ithaca,  continuing  them  at  the 
Albany  Law  School,  from  which  he  was 
graduated  early  in  1865.  Following  his 
graduation  he  served  as  a  clerk  in  the 
Treasury  Department  at  Washington, 
District  of  Columbia,  for  some  months, 
and  in  October,  1865,  took  up  his  resi- 
dence in  Syracuse,  New  York,  with 
which  city  his  career  was  identified  from 
that  time.  A  limited  period  of  time  was 
spent  as  clerk  in  the  office  of  Raynor  & 


Butler,  and  he  established  himself  in 
independent  practice  in  March,  1866.  The 
firms  with  which  he  was  successively 
identified  are :  Vann  &  Fiske,  Raynor  & 
Vann,  Fuller  &  Vann,  and  Vann,  Mc- 
Lennan &  Dillaye.  His  reputation  as  a 
lawyer  of  tact,  ability  and  undoubted 
learning  was  soon  established.  His  prac- 
tice was  mainly  confined  to  cases  in  the 
Appellate  Courts,  although  he  was  so 
frequently  called  upon  to  act  as  referee, 
that  he  was  at  last  obliged  to  refuse  work 
of  this  nature,  owing  to  the  mass  of 
other  legal  work  which  had  accumulated. 
The  interest  displayed  by  Judge  Vann 
in  the  public  affairs  of  the  community 
was  an  unselfish  and  impartial  one,  but 
it  was  soon  recognized  and  appreciated 
by  the  people  of  the  city  that  he  was  a 
man  to  whom  the  conduct  of  public 
affairs  could  be  safely  entrusted.  In 
February,  1879,  he  was  elected  mayor 
of  Syracuse  by  a  large  Republican  ma- 
jority, declining  renomination  at  the  end 
of  his  term  because  of  the  demands  of  his 
private  practice.  However,  the  citizens 
of  Syracuse  had  had  an  opportunity  to 
judge  of  his  worth  as  a  public  official, 
and  in  1881  he  was  elected  a  justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Fifth  Judicial 
District,  serving  from  January  i,  1882, 
to  January  i,  1889.  when  Governor  Hill 
appointed  him  a  judge  of  the  Court  of 
Appeals,  Second  Division,  as  which  he 
served  during  the  entire  existence  of  that 
tribunal,  until  October  i,  1892,  when  he 
resumed  the  duties  of  justice  of  the  Su- 
preme Court.  In  November,  1895,  he 
was  the  nominee  of  both  parties,  and 
was  reelected  a  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  assuming  his  duties  January  i, 
1896,  and  resigning  them  January  7,  1896, 
in  order  to  assume  the  duties  of  a  judge 
of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  to  which  Gov- 
ernor Morton  had  appointed  him  on 
January  6,  to  succeed  Judge  Rufus  W. 


191 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Peckham,  who  had  resigned  in  order  to 
take  up  his  work  as  a  judge  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States.  In 
November,  1896,  Judge  Vann  was  elected 
a  judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  by  the 
largest  majority  ever  received  at  a  State 
election  in  New  York,  his  term  to  cover 
from  January  i,  1897,  to  December  31, 
1910.  In  the  fall  of  1910  he  was  re- 
elected, having  been  nominated  by  both 
the  leading  political  parties,  for  the  full 
term  of  fourteen  years,  but  on  reaching 
the  age  of  seventy  he  retired  on  the  first 
of  January,  1913,  owing  to  the  age  limit 
of  the  constitution.  In  1882  Hamilton 
College  conferred  upon  him  the  honor- 
ary degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  and  the 
same  degree  was  conferred  by  Syracuse 
University  in  1897,  and  by  Yale  Univer- 
sity in  1898.  He  has  been  a  law  lecturer 
in  Cornell,  Syracuse  and  Albany  Law 
schools.  He  was  the  organizer  of  Wood- 
lawn  Cemetery,  and  has  served  continu- 
ously as  its  president.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders,  and  for  several  years  president, 
of  the  Century  Club,  and  was  president 
of  the  Onondaga  Red  Cross  Society  since 
its  organization.  For  many  years  he  has 
visited  the  Adirondacks,  where  he  owns  a 
handsome,  well  appointed  cottage,  which 
he  had  erected  on  Buck  Island,  in  Cran- 
berry Lake.  There  he  houses  his  splen- 
did collection  of  fire  arms  and  weapons 
of  varied  character,  many  of  them  of 
decided  historical  and  scientific  interest. 
Always  an  enthusiastic  hunter  and 
fisherman,  Judge  \'ann  in  earlier  years 
was  also  fond  of  camping.  In  his  beau- 
tiful city  home  are  collections  of  another 
sort,  notably  that  of  a  fine  and  extensive 
library,  in  which  may  be  found  many 
volumes  of  almost  priceless  worth.  Phil- 
anthropic projects  of  varied  character 
and  scope  have  always  received  a  more 
than  fair  share  of  his  time  and  attention, 
and  his  charities  are  wide  and  diversified. 


Judge  Vann  married,  October  11,  1870, 
Florence  Dillaye,  only  daughter  of  the 
late  Henry  A.  Dillaye,  of  Syracuse.  To 
this  union  there  have  been  born :  Flor- 
ence Dillaye,  July  31,  1871,  who  married 
Albert  P.  Fowler,  a  member  of  the  law 
firm  of  Fowler,  Vann  &  Paine ;  Irving 
Dillaye,  a  member  of  the  above  mentioned 
firm,  who  was  born  September  i",  1875. 


BRAYTON,  Warren  C, 

Financier,  Enterprising  Citizen. 

When,  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  the 
scope  of  a  business  grows  from  a  moder- 
ate beginning  to  a  large  amount  annually, 
it  argues  that  there  must  be  a  very  cap- 
able leading  spirit  in  control  of  its  affairs, 
and  it  is  of  such  a  man,  Warren  C.  Bray- 
ton,  of  Syracuse,  New  York,  that  this 
sketch  treats.  Faithfulness  to  duty  and 
strict  adherence  to  a  fixed  purpose  in  life 
will  do  more  to  advance  a  man's  interests 
than  wealth,  influence  or  advantageous 
circumstances.  The  successful  men  of 
the  day  are  those  who  have  planned  their 
own  advancement  and  have  accomplished 
it  in  spite  of  many  obstacles,  and  at  the 
same  time  with  a  certainty  that  may  only 
be  acquired  through  their  own  efforts. 
Of  this  class  of  men,  Mr.  Brayton  is  an 
excellent  representative. 

EH  C.  Brayton,  his  father,  was  born 
in  Washington  county,  New  Y'ork,  in 
1814,  and  died  in  Syracuse,  New  York, 
in  1895.  He  was  of  English  descent,  and 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  through- 
out the  active  years  of  his  life.  He  mar- 
ried Maria  Barrell,  also  a  native  of 
Washington  county.  New  York.  She 
died  in  Syracuse,  New  York,  in  1893. 
Their  two  children  were  Warren  C. 
Brayton  and  Pierce  B.  Brayton.  Pierce 
B.  Brayton  was  a  resident  of  Syracuse 
for  many  years  and  well  known.  Later 
on,  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Geneva, 
Nebraska.    He  passed  away  in  1907. 


192 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Warren  C.  Brayton  was  born  in  Hart- 
ford, Washington  county,  New  York, 
February  5,  1840,  and  there  acquired  his 
education  in  the  district  schools.  Brought 
up  on  the  farm,  he  assisted  his  father  in 
its  cultivation,  at  the  same  time  acquiring 
a  great  deal  of  experience  in  this  line 
which  was  to  be  of  assistance  to  him  later 
on.  However,  farm  labors  were  not  great- 
ly to  the  taste  of  Mr.  Brayton,  and  July 
9,  1857,  found  him  in  Syracuse,  whither 
he  had  come  in  order  to  find  more  con- 
genial employment.  He  opened  a  rail- 
road ticket  office  as  the  agent  of  the  Lake 
Shore  &  Michigan  Southern  Railroad 
Company,  and  several  other  lines,  and  in 
1865  was  joined  in  this  enterprise  by  his 
brother.  Their  unfailing  courtesy  and 
unflagging  interest  in  behalf  of  the  travel- 
ing public  brought  them  a  very  large 
business.  They  succeeded  particularly  in 
obtaining  a  large  share  of  the  western 
travel.  This  agency  was  conducted  suc- 
cessfully for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century.  When  the  New  York  Central, 
Lake  Shore  &  Michigan  Southern  de- 
creased the  number  of  emigrant  trains, 
as  travel  to  the  west  diminished,  the 
receipts  of  Messrs.  Brayton  Brothers 
suffered  in  proportion  and  Mr.  Warren 
C.  Brayton  accepted  the  position  of  dis- 
trict passenger  agent  of  the  Lake  Shore 
&  Michigan  Southern  railroad.  He  was 
also  affiliated  with  the  passenger  depart- 
ment of  the  West  Shore  road,  which  was 
then  completed  and  had  just  gone  into 
operation.  When  the  West  Shore  be- 
came a  part  of  the  New  York  Central 
system,  he  became  general  agent  for  the 
passenger  department  of  the  Delaware, 
Lackawanna  &  Western  railroad,  and 
was  instrumental  in  building  up  a  large 
passenger  business  for  this  railroad.  His 
previous  connections  with  other  lines 
made  him  one  of  the  best  known  men  in 
Central  New  York. 
N  Y-Voi  iv-1.1 


Mr.  Brayton  had  long  cherished  cer- 
tain theories  and  ideas  on  farming  gen- 
erally and  the  breeding  of  cattle  prin- 
cipally, and  in  the  meantime  acquired  a 
farm  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  in 
the  town  of  DeWitt.  In  1878  he  estab- 
lished this  property  as  an  experimental 
farm,  giving  it  close  attention  and  con- 
ducting it  on  a  rather  scientific  plan,  and 
he  achieved  a  success  well  known  to  his 
neighbors  in  that  vicinity  at  the  time. 
To  this  farm  came  the  first  students  in 
charge  of  Professor  I.  T.  Roberts  from 
the  nevvf  established  agricultural  depart- 
ment at  Cornell  University.  Mr.  Bray- 
ton's  methods  had  attracted  considerable 
attention ;  consequently,  there  was  a 
great  deal  of  interest  when  the  univer- 
sity recognized  this  experimental  farm. 
It  might  be  added  that  this  was  chiefly 
due  to  the  plans  made  by  Mr.  Brayton  to 
improve  the  milk  production  of  the 
native  cattle.  Mr.  Brayton  contended 
that  the  Holstein  cattle  were  the  best 
milch  cows.  This  was  not  admitted  at 
the  tim£  but  has  since  been  conceded. 
Mr.  Brayton  was  one  of  the  promoters 
of  the  Holstein-Friesian  Breeders  Asso- 
ciation. Mr.  Brayton  was  treasurer  of 
this  association  for  a  great  many  years 
and  is  still  a  member  and  takes  an  active 
interest  in  the  work.  About  this  time, 
the  farmers  had  a  great  deal  of  difficulty 
in  disposing  of  the  milk.  Mr.  Brayton, 
in  conjunction  with  others,  founded  the 
Onondaga  County  Milk  Association,  and 
which  was  to  be  a  great  force  in  the 
profitable  marketing  of  milk,  the  improv- 
ing of  the  quality  and  the  establishing  of 
standards. 

In  1878,  Mr.  Brayton,  acting  with 
Austin  B.  Avery,  Cyrus  D.  Avery,  John 
\\'ells  and  others,  promoted  the  Onon- 
daga County  Fair.  The  idea  was  devel- 
oped while  these  gentlemen  were  return- 
mg  from  the  Fulton  County  Fair.     They 

193 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


encountered  considerable  difficulty  at 
first,  especially  in  financing  the  project, 
and  at  one  time  it  appeared  as  if  the 
project  might  fall  through  because  of  the 
finances.  Then  Mr.  Brayton  became 
treasurer  and  was  actually  responsible  for 
the  financing  of  the  association  that  put 
the  idea  through.  The  first  fair  was  a 
splendid  success  in  spite  of  the  many  pre- 
dictions that  it  would  be  a  failure.  The 
success  of  the  Onondaga  County  Fair 
here  made  possible  the  bringing  to  Syra- 
cuse of  the  State  Fair  as  it  is  known  to- 
day. 

In  1902  Mr.  Brayton  was  offered  the 
position  of  general  manager  of  the  Kemp 
&  Burpee  Manufacturing  Company.  He 
accepted  it,  and  resigned  his  office  with 
the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Western 
railroad,  a  position  which  he  had  held 
for  a  long  time.  In  the  meanwhile  he 
had  retired  from  farming  after  achiev- 
ing a  splendid  success.  The  Kemp  & 
Burpee  Manufacturing  Company  was 
established  and  incorporated  in  1878  on  a 
small  scale  and  commenced  the  manu- 
facture of  a  fertilizer  spreader,  the  first 
implement  of  this  kind  ever  put  on  the 
market.  This  company  had  many  re- 
verses at  first  and  considerable  difficulty 
in  protecting  their  patents.  Shortly  after 
Mr.  Brayton  assumed  charge  of  this  com- 
pany's affairs,  they  began  to  prosper. 
He  guided  the  company  through  some 
particularly  trying  times  and  later  on 
through  a  very  successful  era.  In  the 
meanwhile  he  became  president  of  the 
company;  put  into  effect  his  systematic 
management  and  progressive  methods, 
and  so  increased  the  demand  for  the  out- 
put of  the  concern  that  the  means  of 
supplying  the  demand  were  taxed  to  the 
fullest  extent.  New  factory  buildings 
were  erected  and  also  a  large  office  build- 
ing. It  is  the  opinion  of  competent 
farmers  that  this  machine  is  one  of  the 


most  important  ever  invented  for  agri- 
cultural purposes.  It  affords  a  means  of 
rapidly  restoring  the  richness  to  soil 
which  has  become  impoverished  by  the 
constant  production  of  crops.  Thus, 
through  very  fine  ability,  Mr.  Brayton 
achieved  one  of  his  greatest  successes. 
Kemip  &  Burpee  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany, together  with  its  foundry  and  its 
Canadian  plant,  finally  became  part  of 
Deere  &  Company,  Moline,  Illinois. 

After  the  purchase  of  the  Kemp  & 
Burpee  Manufacturing  Company  and  its 
kindred  interests  by  the  "Deere"  syndi- 
cate, Mr.  Brayton  retired  from  active 
business,  giving  some  time,  however,  to 
other  corporations  on  whose  board  of 
directors  he  was  serving  and  devoted 
himself  to  the  Industrial  Building  which 
he  built  in  1889.  This  was  a  six-story 
building  of  improved  construction  and 
made  suitable  for  light  manufacturing. 
This  building  has  housed  a  great  many 
industries  in  their  infancy  and  at  the 
present  time  is  occupied  by  several  who 
require  all  of  the  facilities  of  a  large  plant 
but  do  not  require  as  much  room. 

In  1910  Mr.  Brayton  was  impressed 
with  the  need  in  Syracuse,  New  York,  for 
additional  banking  facilities.  He,  to- 
gether with  others,  organized  the  City 
Bank.  Mr.  Brayton  was  the  first  vice- 
president  and  at  the  present  time  he  is 
president  of  the  institution.  The  success 
of  this  bank  from  the  start  is  well  known. 
It  is  seldom  that  a  new  banking  institu- 
tion attains  so  much  success  in  such  a 
short  time.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at, 
however,  when  one  considers  that  a  group 
of  men  who  have  been  successful  in  their 
individual  lines  of  business  are  behind  an 
undertaking  of  this  kind.  The  City  Bank 
commenced  with  a  capital  of  $200,000, 
rapidly  accumulating  a  surplus,  and  later 
the  capital  stock  was  increased  to  half  a 
million.  This  amount,  together  with  the 
194 


aT-  <;7^^t.^^L^f^^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


surplus,  gives  Syracuse  a  bank  with 
assets  of  over  three-quarters  of  a  million 
dollars.  As  president  of  this  bank,  Mr. 
Brayton  has  given  a  great  deal  of  time  to 
the  working  out  of  the  success  of  its 
policies. 

In  politics,  Mr.  Brayton  has  been  a  life- 
long Republican,  a  force  in  the  party,  but 
he  has  never  held  public  office.  He  pre- 
fers the  quiet  methods  and  is  rarely  found 
in  the  activities  of  a  political  campaign 
although  his  advice  is  sought  and  his 
opinion  carries  a  great  deal  of  weight. 
His  religious  membership  is  with  the 
Alay  Memorial  Unitarian  Church,  in 
whose  interest  both  he  and  his  wife  have 
been  most  active  and  helpful  workers. 
Their  beautiful  home  is  at  No.  509  West 
Onondaga  street,  on  grounds  purchased 
by  Mr.  Brayton  in  1883. 

Mr.  Brayton  married,  February  15, 
1865,  Harriet  Elizabeth  Duncan,  who 
died  June  17,  1914,  after  forty-nine  years 
of  married  life.  Their  children  are : 
Alice  M.,  who  passed  away  in  1875  ;  Lieu- 
tenant Clarence  E.,  who  died  in  the  Span- 
ish-American War;  Mildred  E.,  married 
to  Floyd  R.  Todd,  of  Moline,  Illinois ; 
and  Helen  Josephine,  married  to  Harry 
F.  Butler,  of  Buffalo,  New  York,  now  a 
resident  of  Syracuse. 

Mr.  Brayton  is  filled  with  civic  pride 
for  Syracuse ;  has  worked  hard  for  its 
success  as  a  manufacturing  center  and  is 
keenly  interested  in  its  beauty  and  its 
efficient  city  government.  There  are  in 
Syracuse  to-day  few  men  better  known 
and  who  enjoy  a  greater  reputation  for 
judgment,  foresight  and  integrity  than 
Warren  C.  Brayton. 


FRENCH,  Edmund  Leavenworth, 

Chemist,  Mannfactnrer. 

From  various  strains  of  New  England 
ancestry,  Mr.  French  has  derived  the 
qualities  of    perseverance,   industry    and 


fine  discrimination  which  have  brought 
to  him  success  in  the  business  world. 
His  American  progenitor  was  Stephen 
French,  who  was  made  a  freeman,  May 
14,  1634,  in  Dorchester,  Massachusetts, 
was  representative  in  1638,  and  died  in 
July,  1679.  His  wife  Mary  died  April  6, 
1655.  He  had  a  second  wife  who  died 
in  1657.  His  son,  Stephen  French, 
resided  in  Weymouth,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  married,  January  19,  1660,  Han- 
nah Whitman,  born  August  24,  1641, 
daughter  of  Jonathan  Whitman.  Their 
second  son,  Samuel  French,  was  born 
May  5,  1668,  in  Weymouth,  and  settled 
in  Stratford,  now  Bridgeport,  Connec- 
ticut, about  1694,  becoming  prominent  as 
a  public  officer,  sergeant  in  the  Colonial 
militia,  received  in  the  church  in  March, 
1698,  and  died  in  1732.  He  married, 
about  1696,  Abigail,  daughter  of  Richard 
Hubbell,  who  came  from  Wales  and  re- 
sided in  New  Haven  and  Fairfield,  Con- 
necticut. They  were  the  parents  of 
Samuel  (2)  French,  born  about  1697, 
who  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Benja- 
min and  Rebecca  (Phippeny)  Sherman, 
born  February  24,  1697.  Their  son, 
Samuel  (3)  French,  born  about  1717, 
married,  June  2,  1736,  Elizabeth,  daugh- 
ter of  Nehemiah  Loring,  and  widow  of 
Samuel  Clark.  They  were  the  parents 
of  Samuel  (4)  French,  born  March  9, 
1739,  in  Stratford,  settled  in  Amenia, 
Dutchess  county,  New  York,  about  1773. 
With  his  son,  Samuel  French,  and  a  con- 
siderable colony  of  Stratford  people,  he 
was  instrumental  in  establishing  the 
colony  of  Manchester  in  Vermont.  They 
were  ardent  churchmen  and  officers  in 
the  Episcopal  church,  and  although  Ben- 
nington and  Manchester  furnished  many 
intensely  loyal  men  to  the  Revolution  the 
Frenches  undoubtedly  were  reluctant  to 
show  open  hostility  to  the  English  cause 
and  church,  as  none  of  the  line  appears  to 

195 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


have  served  with  the  Revolutionary  army. 
Joshua  French,  son  of  Samuel  (5)  French, 
left  Vermont  with  his  son,  Rev.  Mans- 
field French,  in  1836,  and  settled  near  Mt. 
Vernon,  Ohio.  Rev.  Mansfield  French 
was  appointed  hospital  chaplain  of  United 
States  Volunteers,  July  10,  1862  ;  accepted 
the  appointment,  July  29,  1862 ;  was  sta- 
tioned at  Beaufort,  North  Carolina,  New 
York  City,  and  Washington,  D.  C,  and 
was  honorably  discharged  on  August  4, 
1865.  The  records  of  the  adjutant-gen- 
eral's office  at  Washington  also  show  that 
he  was  again  mustered  into  the  United 
States  service,  October  28,  1865,  at  Wash- 
ington, as  chaplain  of  the  One  Hundred 
and  Thirty-sixth  Regiment,  United  States 
Colored  Infantry,  and  served  on  duty  in 
the  Bureau  of  Refugees,  Freedmen  and 
Abandoned  Lands  at  New  York  City, 
Charleston,  South  Carolina,  and  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  until  honorably  discharged 
as  chaplain,  January  i,  1868,  on  account 
of  his  services  being  no  longer  required. 
For  the  succeeding  two  months,  however, 
January  i  to  February  29,  1868,  he  served 
as  civilian  agent  of  the  Bureau  of 
Refugees,  Freedmen  and  Abandoned 
Lands  in  South  Carolina.  He  left  the 
Episcopal  church  for  the  more  liberal 
Methodist  church  and  became  a  circuit 
rider,  evangelist  and  educator,  prominent 
in  the  early  history  of  Ohio.  He  was 
interested  in  the  founding  of  Kenyon 
College,  Marietta  College  and  Wilber- 
force  College.  Later,  becoming  an 
ardent  Abolitionist,  he  wrote  and  spoke 
in  that  cause.  He  spent  considerable 
time  in  Washington  and  frequently 
talked  with  President  Lincoln,  endeavor- 
ing to  convince  him  that  he  as  President 
was  called  of  God  to  free  the  slaves.  On 
the  paternal  side  Mr.  French  is  descended 
from  Elijah  Rose,  a  soldier  of  the  Revo- 
lution and  member  of  Colonel  Moseley's 
regiment  from  Granville,  Massachusetts. 


On  the  maternal  side  Mr.  French  is  de- 
scended from  many  families  notable  in 
Colonial  history.  Among  these  is  the 
Brewster  family,  the  line  going  back  to 
Rev.  Nathaniel  Brewster,  a  graduate  in 
the  first  class  of  Harvard  College,  and, 
according  to  family  tradition,  a  grandson 
of  Elder  William  Brewster  of  the  "May- 
flower." Mr.  French's  mother  was  Eliza- 
beth Hull  Smith,  a  direct  descendant  of 
Captain  Isaac  Smith,  a  Revolutionary 
officer  of  Derby,  Connecticut,  whose  son, 
Isaac,  Jr.,  at  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  with 
his  mother,  Elizabeth  Hull  Smith,  rend- 
ered signal  service  in  saving  the  stores 
of  the  Continental  army  from  the  British. 
His  mother  was  also  directly  descended 
from  the  Revolutionary  officer,  Captain 
Joseph  Hull,  grandfather  of  Commodore 
Isaac  Hull  of  the  United  States  frigate 
"Constitution,"  and  father  of  General 
William  Hull  of  the  War  of  1812.  Mr. 
French  is  descended  from  Captain  Gideon 
Leavenworth  who,  with  his  four  sons, 
served  in  the  Revolution,  the  youngest 
son,  Edmund  Leavenworth,  great-great- 
grandfather of  Mr.  French,  and  for  whom 
he  is  named,  having  entered  the  service 
as  his  father's  camp  servant  at  the  age 
of  eleven  years.  Mr.  French  is  descended 
on  his  mother's  side  from  Colonel  Ebe- 
nezer  Johnson,  who  served  valiantly  in 
the  Indian  and  Colonial  wars  ;  from  Roger 
Ludlow,  a  Colonial  lieutenant-governor 
of  Connecticut ;  from  Stephen  Hopkins, 
a  "Mayflower"  pilgrim ;  from  John  Bron- 
son,  a  soldier  of  the  Pequot  Indian  War; 
from  Isaac  Johnson,  a  Revolutionary 
soldier  of  Derby,  Connecticut;  from  Ser- 
geant Edward  Riggs,  an  officer  in  the 
Pequot  War,  and  father  of  Captain 
Samuel  Riggs,  a  Colonial  officer;  from 
Abraham  Bassett,  a  Revolutionary  soldier 
from.  Derby,  Connecticut ;  from  Obadiah 
Wheeler,  a  lieutenant  in  the  Colonial 
forces  at  Milford,  Connecticut ;  from 
96 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Thomas  Clark,  mate  of  the  "Mayflower;" 
from  Ensign  Martin  Winchell,  of  Wind- 
sor, Connecticut,  a  Colonial  and  Revolu- 
tionary soldier;  and  from  Captain  Wil- 
liam French,  founder  of  a  separate  family 
of  that  name,  who  came  to  America  in 
the  ship  "Defence"  in  1635  and  settled  at 
Billerica,  Massachusetts. 

Edmund  Leavenworth  French  was 
born  October  12,  1870,  in  New  York  City, 
and  was  eight  years  of  age  when  he  re- 
moved to  Syracuse,  where  his  home  has 
been  down  to  the  present  time.  He  at- 
tended the  public  schools  of  that  city, 
graduating  from  the  high  school  in  1888, 
and  entered  Syracuse  University  with 
the  class  of  1892,  becoming  a  member  of 
the  Delta  Kappa  Epsilon  fraternity.  He 
spent  two  years,  1891  to  1893,  at  the 
Royal  Schools  of  Mines,  Freiberg,  Saxony, 
Germany,  making  a  special  study  of  the 
metallurgy  and  chemistry  of  iron  and 
steel.  On  his  return  to  Syracuse  he  took 
the  first  employment  ofifered,  which  was 
in  newspaper  work,  and  spent  four  years 
successively  as  a  proofreader  on  the  Syra- 
cuse "Journal,"  reporter  on  the  Syracuse 
"Post,"  and  telegraph  editor  and  assist- 
ant city  editor  of  the  Syracuse  "Stand- 
ard." He  was  also  Syracuse  correspond- 
ent for  the  New  York  "Sun,"  and  gave 
promise  of  a  brilliant  career  in  journal- 
ism. In  1897  an  opportunity  offered  to 
engaged  in  the  profession  for  which  he 
had  fitted  himself  in  study  abroad,  and 
he  became  chemist  for  the  Sanderson 
Brothers  Steel  Company  of  Syracuse, 
with  which  he  continued  for  several 
years.  In  1902  he  was  made  manager  of 
the  experimental  department  of  the 
Crucible  Steel  Company  of  America,  and 
three  years  later  became  sales  manager 
of  the  same  corporation,  in  its  Syracuse 
branch.  The  Sanderson  Brothers  Works 
had  become  a  part  of  the  Crucible  Steel 
Company   of  America,   and   in    1908  Mr. 


French  was  made  manager  of  this  estab- 
lishment, becoming  a  director  of  the 
Crucible  Steel  Company  of  America  in 
191 5.  Thus,  in  a  period  of  eighteen 
years,  he  rose  from  a  comparatively  sub- 
ordinate position  in  the  steel  manufac- 
ture to  one  of  considerable  prominence 
and  responsibility.  Fie  is  interested  in 
other  business  interests  in  Syracuse,  in- 
cluding the  Trust  &  Deposit  Company  of 
Onondaga,  of  which  he  is  a  director;  is 
president  of  the  Orange  Publishing  Com- 
pany and  a  director  of  the  Railway  Roller 
Bearing  Company  of  Syracuse.  In  1914, 
in  recognition  of  his  work  in  metallurgy, 
he  received  from  Syracuse  University  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Science.  For  two 
years,  1914  and  1915,  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Iron  and  Steel  Standards  committee  of 
the  Society  of  Automobile  Engineers,  and 
has  been  actively  identified  with  various 
important  advances  in  the  art  of  steel 
making,  especially  in  connection  with 
special  steels  for  automobile  purposes. 
Mr.  French  is  identified  with  numerous 
clubs  and  social  organizations,  including 
the  University  Club,  of  Syracuse ;  is  vice- 
president  of  the  Technology  Club  of  that 
city;  director  of  the  Onondaga  Country 
Club ;  trustee  of  Syracuse  University,  be- 
ing secretary  of  the  executive  committee 
of  the  board  ;  a  member  of  the  Iron  and 
Steel  Institute  of  Great  Britain,  and  hon- 
orary member  of  Phi  Beta  Kappa,  Syra- 
cuse. He  is  a  member  of  the  Sons  of  the 
American  Revolution ;  of  the  Citizens' 
Club  of  Syracuse ;  Central  City  Lodge, 
No.  305,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons; 
Chamber  of  Commerce ;  member  of  the 
official  board  of  the  First  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  of  that  city ;  Hunting 
and  Fishing  Club  of  the  Nine  Lakes 
(Northern  Quebec),  and  a  charter  mem- 
ber of  the  Billy  Sunday  Business  Men's 
Club  of  Syracuse.  His  greatest  pleasure 
and  recreation  are  found  in  fishing,  and 

97 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


every  summer  he  visits  Canada  to  indulge 
in  his  favorite  sport.  He  is  an  expert  fly 
fisherman,  and  does  not  indulge  in  any 
other  form  of  this  sport.  He  has  a  sum- 
mer residence  at  TuIIy  Lake  Park,  New 
York. 

He  married.  September  23,  1896, 
Frances  Cooper  Smith,  of  Oswego,  and 
they  have  children :  Grace  Mansfield, 
born  1897;  Helen  Cooper,  1899;  Frances 
Elizabeth,  igoo;  Sarah  Douglas,  1910; 
Edmund   Leavenworth,  Jr.,   1912. 


ESTABROOK,  Henry  Dodge, 

Lawyer. 

Henry  Dodge  Estabrook  brings  to  the 
practice  of  his  profession  a  judicial  mind, 
well  cultivated,  and  with  faculties  inher- 
ited from  worthy  ancestors,  whose  name 
he  has  honored.  The  name  of  Estabrook 
is  an  old  one  in  this  country,  coming 
from  Middlesex  county,  England,  to  New 
England,  in  1660.  Joseph  Estabrook,  the 
founder  of  the  family,  entered  Harvard 
College  immediately  after  his  arrival  in 
New  England,  and  graduated  in  1664. 
Soon  afterward  he  was  ordained  as  a 
colleague  of  Rev.  Edward  Bulkeley,  of 
Concord,  Massachusetts,  whom  he  suc- 
ceeded on  the  latter's  death,  in  1696.  He 
continued  pastor  until  his  death,  Septem- 
ber 16,  171 1.  Such  was  his  character  as 
a  plain,  remarkable  and  persuasive 
preacher,  and  a  kind  friend  of  his  flock, 
that  he  was  generally  known  as  "The 
Apostle."  He  refused  invitations  to  pre- 
side over  churches  in  Boston  and  else- 
where, his  only  outside  service  being 
that  of  chaplain  of  the  Massachusetts 
Legislature.  He  married,  May  20,  1668, 
at  Watertown,  Mary,  daughter  of  Cap- 
tain Hugh  Mason,  the  Indian  fighter,  and 
his  wife  Esther.  She  was  born  December 
18,  1640.  and  was  the  mother  of  six  chil- 
dren.    The  third  son,  Samuel  Estabrook, 


born  June  7,  1764,  in  Concord,  graduated 
from  Harvard  College  in  1696,  was  assist- 
ant to  his  father,  and  was  ordained  first 
pastor  of  the  church  at  Canterbury,  Con- 
necticut, June  13,  171 1,  and  there  served 
until  his  death,  June  26,  1727.  In  1718 
he  preached  the  election  sermon  before 
the  Massachusetts  Legislature.  He  mar- 
ried, March  3,  1713,  Rebecca  Hobart 
(same  family  as  Hubbard),  daughter  of 
Rev.  Nehemiah  and  Sarah  (Jackson) 
Hobart,  of  Newton,  Massachusetts, 
granddaughter  of  Rev.  Peter  Hobart,  of 
Hingham.  She  survived  him  six  months. 
Their  eldest  child,  Nehemiah  Estabrook, 
born  April  i,  171 5,  in  Canterbury,  owned 
a  farm  near  Mansfield  Center,  Connecti- 
cut, where  he  was  deacon  of  the  church 
and  prominent  in  civil  afifairs.  After  1770 
he  removed  to  Lebanon,  New  Hampshire. 
He  married  (second)  October  18,  1744, 
Abigail,  daughter  of  Deacon  Experience 
Porter.  She  died  at  Mansfield,  December 
7,  1770.  Their  second  son,  Experience 
Estabrook,  was  born  June  3,  1751,  in 
Mansfield,  graduated  from  Dartmouth 
College  in  1776,  and  received  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  For  several  years 
he  labored  as  a  Congregational  clergy- 
man in  Western  New  York,  and  was  sub- 
sequently successively  pastor  at  Thorn- 
ton, Francestown  and  Meriden,  New 
Hampshire,  and  died  at  Bath,  in  that 
State,  in  February,  1799.  He  married 
Jedidah  Willey,  of  a  New  Hampshire 
family.  Their  eldest  son,  Seth  Willey 
Estabrook,  born  1785,  was  a  farmer  and 
miller  in  Alden,  Erie  county,  New  York, 
where  he  died  in  1840.  He  married,  April 
19,  1812,  at  Lebanon,  New  Hampshire, 
Hannah,  daughter  of  Moses  and  Hannah 
(Alden)  Hebard,  a  descendant  of  John 
Alden  of  the  "Mayflower."  The  town  of 
Alden  in  New  York  was  named  for  Han- 
nah Alden.  The  eldest  son  of  Seth  W. 
Estabrook,    Experience,   was   born   April 


198 


EXCVCLOPEUIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


30,  1S13,  in  Lebanon,  read  law  in  Buffalo, 
New  York,  and  graduated  from  the  law 
school  of  Marshall  College  in  1839.  In 
1840  he  began  to  practice  law  in  Geneva, 
Wisconsin,  and  he  was  a  delegate  to  the 
Second  Constitutional  Convention  which 
framed  the  organic  law  under  which  that 
State  was  admitted  to  the  Union  in  1848. 
In  185 1  he  was  a  representative  in  the 
State  Legislature,  and  was  Attorney- 
General  of  the  State  in  1852.  Soon  after 
he  removed  to  the  territory  of  Nebraska, 
where  he  was  United  States  District 
Attorney  from  1854  to  1859,  and  was  a 
leading  lawyer  of  Omaha  until  his  death. 
He  married,  April  15,  1844,  in  the  town 
of  Walworth,  Walworth  county,  Wis- 
consin, Caroline  Augusta  Maxwell, 
daughter  of  Colonel  James  Maxwell,  born 
August  17,  1823,  in  Tioga,  Pennsylvania. 
Their  daughter,  Caroline  Augusta  Esta- 
brook,  became  the  wife  of  Robert  C. 
Clowry,  long  identified  with  the  Western 
Union  Telegraph  Company  in  Omaha, 
later  in  Chicago,  and  finally  president  of 
the  company,  with  headquarters  in  New 
York.  The  only  son  is  the  subject  of  the 
following  biography. 

Henry  Dodge  Estabrook  was  born 
October  23,  1854,  in  Alden,  New  York, 
and  was  an  infant  when  his  parents 
settled  in  Omaha,  Nebraska.  There  he 
was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  and 
graduated  from  the  law  department  of 
Washington  University  in  1875.  For 
twenty-one  years  thereafter  he  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  law  at  Omaha,  and  in 
1896  removed  to  Chicago,  where  he  con- 
tinued in  practice  until  1902,  as  a  member 
of  the  firm  of  Lowden,  Estabrook  &  Davis, 
and  then  located  in  New  York  City,  where 
after  serving  for  many  years  as  solicitor 
to  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Com- 
pany he  became  a  member  of  the  law 
firm   of    Noble,    Estabrook   &    McHarg. 


Mr.  Estabrook  is  a  member  of  the  New 
York  State  Bar  Association,  and  the 
American  Bar  Association,  and  is  iden- 
tified with  numerous  clubs,  including  the 
Union  League,  Lawyers,  Lotos,  Metro- 
politan, Republican,  Automobile  Club  of 
America,  Ardley  and  Sleepy  Hollow. 
His  affiliation  with  the  Union  League  and 
Republican  clubs  plainly  indicates  his 
political  association  with  the  Republican 
party.  His  home  is  in  Tarrytown,  New 
York. 

He  married,  October  23,  1880,  in 
Omaha,  Clara  Campbell,  and  they  have 
a  daughter,  Blanche  Deuel,  born  January 
I,  1 881,  in  Omaha,  now  the  wife  of  Karl 
G.  Roebling,  of  Trenton,  New  Jersey. 


RILL,  Willard  A., 

Lawyer,  Public  Official. 

A  resident  of  Syracuse,  New  York, 
from  his  sixth  year,  a  product  of  her 
public  schools,  a  graduate  from  the  law 
school  of  her  great  university,  prominent 
in  city  politics  and  in  fraternal  life,  Mr. 
Rill  has  for  his  adopted  city  all  the  love 
and  devotion  of  a  native  son,  for  his 
memory  recalls  no  other  home.  He  is  of 
French  and  German  lineage,  his  French 
ancestor  a  soldier  under  Napoleon  the 
Great,  going  down  in  defeat  with  his 
beloved  commander  at  Waterloo. 

Willard  A.  Rill  was  born  in  Cicero, 
New  York,  June  17,  1874,  son  of  Adrian 
L.  and  Christine  (Snavlin)  Rill,  the 
former  a  school  teacher,  residents  until 
1880  of  Oswego  county.  New  York.  In 
that  year  the  family  located  in  Syracuse, 
where  the  son  completed  a  course  in  the 
public  schools,  finishing  at  the  high 
school.  In  1896  he  entered  Columbia 
University,  graduating  with  the  class  of 
1898,  after  which  he  took  a  post-graduate 
course  at  Syracuse  University,  a  course 


199 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


l^ 


which  he  completed  in  1899,  graduating 
with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Law.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  Onondaga  county 
bar  in  October,  1899,  began  and  has  since 
continued  in  general  practice  in  Syra- 
cuse, his  law  business  extending  to  all 
State  and  Federal  courts  of  the  district. 
Mr.  Rill  is  a  Republican  in  politics  and 
has  ever  been  active  and  influential  in  the 
local  affairs  of  his  party.  In  1909  he  was 
elected  supervisor  from  the  Nineteenth 
Ward  of  the  city  of  Syracuse,  and  in  191 1 
was  elected  president  of  the  Common 
Council,  serving  two  terms,  then  refusing 
a  third  term.  He  has  always  given  public 
affairs  much  of  his  time  and  the  best  of 
his  ability.  Since  191 1  he  has  been  chair- 
man of  the  Republican  County  Commit- 
tee, but  has  steadfastly  refused  the  many 
offers  made  to  make  him  party  candidate 
for  different  offices.  He  prefers  to  serve 
his  party  and  city  in  private  capacity, 
taking  the  just  view  that  the  interested, 
thoughtful  private  citizen  is  of  greater 
value  to  the  State  than  the  office  seeker, 
ever  "with  an  ax  to  grind."  Mr.  Rill  is 
a  power  in  party  councils  and  as  chair- 
man of  the  county  committee  wields  wide 
influence,  influence  used  solely  to  further 
party  interests,  never  for  his  own  bene- 
fit. He  is  a  past  master  of  Central  City 
Lodge,  No.  305,  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons, holding  the  office  of  master  during 
the  year  1910,  and  by  virtue  of  his  office 
a  member  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  holding  in  that  body 
membership  on  the  committee  on  de- 
ceased brethren.  In  Scottish  Rite  Ma- 
sonry he  has  attained  the  thirty-second 
degree,  belonging  to  Syracuse  Con- 
sistory. 

In  1902  he  married  Lillian  G.  Draw- 
bridge, by  which  marriage  he  has  two 
children:  Elizabeth  C,  born  September 
2,  1905,  and  Willard  A.,  Jr.,  born  August 
17.  1910. 


WARD,  Brig.-Gen.  Thomas, 

Army  Officer,  Military  Inatmotor. 

After  more  than  forty  years  of  service 
in  the  United  States  army,  which  in- 
cluded the  latter  half  of  the  Civil  War, 
Brigadier-General  Thomas  Ward,  now  a 
resident  of  Rochester,  New  York,  can 
look  back  over  a  lifetime  of  service  to  his 
country  and  devotion  to  the  Stars  and 
Stripes.  He  was  born  at  West  Point, 
New  York,  March  18,  1839.  It  is  scarcely 
to  be  wondered  at  that  one,  reared  m 
such  an  atmosphere  and  environment  as 
that  of  West  Point,  and  who  reached  his 
young  manhood  in  such  stirring  times  as 
the  years  immediately  preceding  the 
Civil  War,  should  be  fired  by  a  patriotic 
zeal,  and  should  decide  upon  a  military 
career.  His  parents  were  Bryan  and 
Eliza  (Henry)  Ward.  Bryan  Ward  died 
in  1852,  at  the  age  of  fifty-two  years.  He 
had  been  registrar  of  West  Point  Mili- 
tary Academy  for  many  years,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  William,  who  held 
the  office  for  more  than  fifty  years.  Of 
his  children  we  have  on  record :  Lieu- 
tenant Matthew  Henry  Ward,  a  volun- 
teer in  the  Ninth  Michigan  Cavalry,  who 
was  promoted  at  the  close  of  the  war  to 
the  Second  Regular  Artillery,  and  died 
soon  after  the  close  of  the  war  from  a 
disease  contracted  while  in  service ; 
Philip  W.  Ward,  enlisted,  was  with 
Burnside's  Cavalry,  and  died  at  the  close 
of  the  war  from  exposure  and  disease 
contracted  on  the  field ;  Bryan  Ward,  Jr., 
nursed  his  brother,  Brigadier-General 
Thomas  W^ard,  through  an  attack  of 
typhoid  fever,  contracted  the  disease,  and 
died  at  the  early  age  of  sixteen  years. 

Brigadier-General  Thomas  Ward  re- 
ceived a  thorough  and  careful  prepara- 
tory education,  then  entered  the  United 
States  Military  Academy  at  West  Point, 
from   which   he   was  graduated   in    1863. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


He  was  commissioned  second  lieutenant 
of  the  First  Regiment  of  Artillery,  June 
II,  1863.  For  gallantry  displayed  at  Cold 
Harbor  he  was  brevetted  first  lieutenant, 
June  3,  1864;  July  18,  of  the  same  year, 
he  was  promoted  to  a  first  lieutenancy; 
March  13,  1865,  he  was  brevetted  captain 
for  gallant  and  meritorious  service  dur- 
ing the  war,  and  was  recommended,  April 
27,  1866,  by  General  James  H.  Wilson,  his 
commanding  general  in  the  field,  fcr  tht 
brevet  of  major,  "for  bravery  of  the 
highest  degree,  zeal  and  good  manage- 
ment, during  the  entire  service  with  me 
and  particularly  during  the  rapid  an  1 
exhausting  marches  and  fights  incidental 
to  operations  against  the  South  Side  and 
Danville  railroad,  known  as  'Wilson's 
Raid,'  June  21  to  July  i,  1864."  In  this 
connection  the  following  quotation  from 
the  official  records  will  be  of  interest: 
"Captain  Ward  was  recommended  for  an 
additional  brevet  by  his  commanding 
general,  for  bravery,  zeal  and  good  man- 
agement during  the  rapid  and  exhausting 
marches  and  fights  incidental  to  oper.- 
ations  against  the  South  Side  and  Dan- 
ville railroads,  Virginia ;"  but  on  account 
of  a  blunder  the  paper  was  filed  in  the 
War  Department  without  further  action 
at  the  time,  and  the  error  was  only  dis- 
covered by  accident  twenty-three  years 
later,  as  the  following  correspondence 
will  show.  General  Wilson  received  a 
letter  from  the  Adjutant-General's  Office, 
War  Department,  under  date  of  March 
23,  1889,  inviting  his  attention  to  the 
following  endorsement: 

Wilmington,  Delaware,  April  27,  1866. 
Respectfully  forwarded.  I  take  pleasure  in 
saying  that  the  conduct  of  Captain  Ward  during 
his  entire  service  with  me  and  particularly  during 
the  rapid  and  exhausting  marches  and  fights  in- 
cidental to  operations  against  the  South  Side  and 
Danville    railroads    was    in    the    highest    degree 


commendable  for  bravery,  zeal  and  good  manage- 
ment. To  my  personal  knowledge,  the  abandon- 
ment of  his  guns  was  entirely  unavoidable  and 
due  to  the  utter  exhaustion  of  his  horses  rather 
than  to  anything  else  whatever. 

I  take  pleasure  in  recommending  him  for  the 
brevet  of  captain. 

(Signed)         J.  H.  Wilson, 

Captain  Engineers  and 
Brevet  Brigadier-General,  U.  S.  A. 

Stockbridge,  Wilmington,  Delaware, 
March  24,  1889. 
My  Dear  Major:   It  gives  me  very  great  pleas- 
ure to  say  in   reply  to  your  letter  of  yesterday, 
that  I  of  course  intended  to  recommend  you  for 
the  brevet  of  Major  instead  of  Captain,  when  you 
actually  held  that  rank  in  the  line,  and  now   I 
hasten  to  enclose  a  letter  to  the  Adjutant  General 
correcting   as    far   as    possible    the   blunder   into 
which  I  fell  in  my  endorsement  of  April  27,  1866. 
Regretting  more  than  I  can  find  words  to  ex- 
press, that  I  should  have  made  such  a  palpable 
mistake,  and  that  it  was  not  discovered  and  cor- 
rected sooner,  I  am. 

Cordially  your  friend, 
(Signed)     James  H.  Wilson. 

Wilmington,  Del.,  March  24,  1889. 
To  the  Adjutant  General, 

War  Department,  Washington,  D.  C. : 
Sir:  Referring  to  a  certain  statement  made  by 
Major  (then  Captain)  Thomas  Ward  in  1866  in 
regard  to  his  military  history,  and  also  to  my  en- 
dorsement thereon,  dated  April  27,  1866,  in  which 
I  recommended  Captain  Ward  for  the  brevet  of 
Captain  in  the  United  States  Army,  when  he  held 
at  the  time  that  rank  in  the  Artillery,  I  beg  to  say 
that  my  intention  was  to  recommend  him  for  the 
brevet  of  Major  and  to  request  that  this  state- 
ment, in  justice  to  Major  Ward,  who  was  a  most 
gallant  and  meritorious  officer,  be  filed  with  the 
original  document  now  in  the  possession  of  your 
department. 

Deeply  regretting  that  the  obvious  error  has  re- 
mained so  long  uncorrected  and  trusting  that  my 
request  can  be  complied  with,  I  have  the  honor 
to  be. 

Very  respectfully, 
Your  obedient  servant, 
(Signed)        James  H.  Wilson, 
Late  Major  General  Volunteers  and 
Brevet  Major  General,  U.  S.  A. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


War  Department, 
Adjutant  General's  Office, 
April  13,  1889. 
The  foregoing  request  of  General  Wilson  has 
been  complied  with.     His  statement  is  to  be  filed 
with   the   original   letter   and   Major   Ward    fur- 
nished an  official  copy. 

(Signed)         R.  C.  Drum, 
Adjutant  General. 

After  the  Civil  War,  General  Ward,  as 
an  officer  of  the  regular  army,  was 
stationed  at  various  posts,  the  following 
instances  being  of  sufficient  interest  to 
note: 

General  Ward  was  in  command  of  the 
battery  encamped  in  Annunciation 
Square,  New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  from 
May  ID  to  20,  1873,  suppressing  political 
riots,  and  in  garrison  at  Jackson  Bar- 
racks, New  Orleans,  until  July  7,  1873. 
November  i,  1876,  he  was  commissioned 
captain.  He  commanded  Battery  D, 
First  Artillery,  during  the  strikes  and 
railroad  riots  from  August  i  to  27,  1877, 
at  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania,  and  at 
Reading,  Pennsylvania,  from  August  28 
to  October  24,  of  the  sam,e  year.  He  was 
promoted  to  major  and  assistant  adjutant- 
general,  June  28,  1884;  lieutenant-colonel 
and  assistant  adjutant-general,  August 
31,  1893;  colonel  and  assistant  adjutant- 
general,  September  11,  1897;  adjutant- 
general,  headquarters  of  the  army,  Au- 
gust 25,  1900;  brigadier-general,  United 
States  Army,  July  22,  1902 ;  and  in  June, 
1907,  he  was  appointed  president  of  the 
board  of  visitors  to  the  United  States 
Military  Academy  at  West  Point. 

In  1873-77  he  was  Professor  of  Military 
Science  in  Union  College,  Schenectady, 
New  York,  and  that  institution  conferred 
on  him  the  honorary  degree  of  Master  of 
Arts.  He  belongs  to  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa 
and  Sigma  Phi  Alpha  college  fraternities; 
member  of  the  Loyal  Legion  and  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic ;  Metro- 
politan Club,  at  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Fort- 


nightly Club  of  Oswego;  National  Geo- 
graphical Society;  Society  of  American 
Wars  ;  Genesee  Valley  Club  ;  and  affiliated 
with  the  Masonic  fraternity  at  Schenec- 
tady, while  he  was  at  Union  College. 
He  is  very  refined,  quiet  and  unassuming 
in  manner;  of  pleasing  personality,  and 
has  won  a  large  circle  of  loyal  friends. 
He  is  of  tall  and  commanding  presence, 
well  preserved,  and  has  never  used  liquor 
of  any  kind. 

General  Ward's  record  as  a  military 
man  reflects  credit  on  his  native  State. 
He  was  on  duty  at  Vancouver  Barracks, 
Washington,  as  adjutant-general  of  the 
Department  of  the  Columbia  from  1889 
to  1893,  which  included  Alaska.  During 
that  time  General  Ward  toured  Alaska 
to  Chilkat  and  took  with  him  his  two 
sons — -the  elder,  who  is  now  Major  Philip 
R.  Ward,  and  Thomas,  Jr.  Next  he  was 
stationed  as  adjutant-general  of  the 
Department  of  the  Columbia,  with  head- 
quarters at  Denver,  1893-96.  He  was  on 
General  Hancock's  stafif  as  captain,  at 
Governor's  Island,  when  Hancock  ran  for 
the  office  of  President  of  the  United 
States.  At  that  time  General  Ward  was 
inspector-general  of  the  Department  of 
the  East,  which  took  in  the  New  England 
coast  and  as  far  west  as  Sault  St.  Marie, 
and  as  far  south  as  Florida.  He  retired 
from  military  service  in  1902,  and  after  a 
short  residence  in  Oswego,  became  a 
resident  of  Rochester,  New  York,  where 
he  has  lived  ever  since. 

General  Ward  married,  April  20,  1870, 
in  Oswego,  New  York,  Katherine  L. 
Mott,  born  April  17,  1851.  died  November 
II,  1914.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
S.  Mott,  one  of  the  leading  politicians  of 
New  York  State  in  his  day,  the  right 
hand  man  of  Senator  Conklin,  and  presi- 
dent of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Oswego.  General  and  Mrs.  Ward  had 
children:     Major   Philip   R.,  was  gradu- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ated  from  West  Point,  and  is  now  in  the 
Coast  Artillery,  commanding  Fort 
Preble ;  Bessie  De\^"olfe,  married  Edwin 
Allen  Stebbins,  of  Rochester ;  Katherine 
Mott,  at  home ;  Thomas,  Jr.,  midshipman 
in  the  United  States  Navy,  of  whom 
further;  John  Mott,  now  with  Dr.  Fitch, 
engaged  in  Red  Cross  work  in  France  at 
the  hospital  at  Yvetot ;  two  sons  who 
died  in  childhood. 

Thomas  Ward,  Jr.,  was  a  worthy  scion 
of  his  family,  which  has  given  so  many 
brave  men  to  the  world.  Pie  was  a  hand- 
some young  man,  of  fine  military  bearing, 
and  would,  no  doubt,  have  added  still 
more  to  the  prestige  of  the  family  name 
had  his  career  not  been  cut  short  at  so 
early  an  age  while  in  the  brave  discharge 
of  his  duty.  Following  are  a  few  extracts 
and  copies  of  letters  telling  graphicall) 
the  story  of  his  tragic  death : 

From  the  "Saturday  Globe,"  Utica, 
New  York,  April  i6,  1904: 

The  worst  catastrophe  in  the  recent  history  of 
the  American  Navy  was  that  at  Pensacola,  Flor- 
ida, Wednesday,  when  five  charges  of  smokeless 
powder  exploded  and  killed  thirty-three  men,  of 
whom  five  were  officers,  besides  injuring  five 
others,  two  of  them  fatally.  A  miracle  alone  pre- 
vented this  accident  in  peaceful  waters  from 
paralleling  the  horror  of  war  in  Asiatic  seas  on 
the  same  day.  Within  a  few  feet  of  the  second 
explosion  was  a  magazine  containing  thousands 
of  pounds  of  high  explosives.  Had  this  been 
ignited,  the  ship  and  her  crew  of  six  hundred 
would  have  gone  to  the  bottom.  This  fortunate 
intervention  of  Providence  and  the  heroic  conduct 
of  her  commander.  Captain  William  S.  Cowles, 
are  the  two  bright  spots  in  the  black  record  of 
destruction,  though  the  noble  actions  of  some  of 
the  other  officers  should  not  be  overlooked.  The 
after  twelve-inch  guns  were  being  fired.  Numerous 
shots  had  been  fired  and  the  left  gun  was  being 
loaded,  one  section,  two  hundred  pounds  of 
powder,  having  been  rammed  home  and  the  sec- 
ond section  having  cleared  the  hoisting  car.  At 
this  instant  a  wind  from  off  shore  blew  a  portion 
of  the  flame  from  the  muzzle  back  into  the  breech 
where  the  charge  was  being  rammed  home.  This 
ignited  the  charge,   there   was   an   explosion   and 


some  of  the  burning  stuff  dropped  into  the  han- 
dling room  below,  whose  four  charges  were  ready 
to  be  hoisted.  These  exploded.  The  flames  were 
soon  leaping  from  every  portion  of  the  turret, 
and  the  fumes  from  the  powder  overcame  the 
men  who  sought  to  extinguish  them.  Meanwhile, 
terrible  scenes  were  witnessed  in  the  turret  and 
in  the  handling  room.  *  *  *  When  the  bodies 
were  finally  taken  from  the  turret  and  the  room 
below,  they  were  perfectly  nude,  every  strip  of 
clothing  having  been  burned  off.  They  were 
hardly  recognizable.  The  flesh  hung  from  their 
bodies  in  strips  and  would  drop  off  when  touched. 
The  twenty-five  men  of  the  turret  were  found 
lying  in  a  heap  just  under  the  exit.  Two  separate 
explosions  had  occurred,  which  accounts  for  the 
position  of  the  men.  The  first  explosion  in  the 
turret  did  not  cause  any  deaths,  and  every  man 
started  for  the  exit  to  get  fresh  air.  They  had 
just  reached  it  when  the  second  and  more  terrible 
explosion,  directly  beneath,  sent  the  flames  up 
through  the  exit  through  which  they  were  en- 
deavoring to  pass.  *  *  *  Thomas  Ward,  Jr., 
one  of  the  officers  killed  by  these  explosions,  was 
twenty-one  years  old,  and  was  appointed  to  the 
Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis,  from  Utica,  New 
York.  He  was  graduated  a  little  more  than  a 
year  ago,  and  when  the  Missouri  went  into  com- 
mission, was  placed  on  her  as  one  of  the  officers. 

Navy  Department, 
Bureau  of  Navigation, 
Washington,  April  14,  1904. 
General  Thomas  Ward,  U.  S.  Army, 
Oswego,  N.   Y. : 
The  President  directs  me  to  convey  to  you  his 
sympathy   in  your   bereavement   in   the   death   of 
your  son,  while  in  the  faithful  discharge  of  his 
duty. 

Permit  me  at  the  same  time  to  express  my  own 
sympathy  and  to  assure  you  that  you  have  that 
of  the  entire  Navy. 

(Signed)         William  H.  Moodv, 

Secretary. 

Navy  Department. 
Washington,  June  9,  1904. 
To  Brigadier  General  Thomas  Ward, 
United  States  Army: 
Sir :    The  Department  is  in  receipt  of  a  report 
from    the    commanding   officer    of    the    Missouri, 
referring  to   the   accident  in  the  after  turret  of 
the  vessel  on  .A.pril  13th  last,  in  which  it  is  stated 
that   J.   W.   McDade,   ordinary   seaman,   the   one 
living  witness  to  the  occurrence  said  in  conver- 
sation with  Midshipman  Ward's  messmates,  that 


203 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


when  the  explosion  took  place  he  remembers 
Midshipman  Ward  rushed  over  to  the  door  of 
the  twelfth  magazine  in  which  he  (McDade)  was 
at  the  time  and  gave  some  order  about  the  maga- 
zine, but  what  he  said  he  could  not  hear  and  con- 
sequently he  made  no  mention  of  it  before  the 
court. 

He  further  stated  that  at  the  instant  the  flame 
enveloped  all  and  that  young  Ward  fell  and  lost 
his  life  at  the  door  of  the  magazine  (see  note). 

Upon  further  questioning  by  the  commanding 
officer,  McDade  stated  that  while  he  remembered 
Midshipman  Ward  rushing  over  to  the  magazine 
door,  he  did  not  hear  what  he  said. 

The  letter  concludes : 

Believing  the  Department  should  know  every 
detail  officially  as  to  how  those  died  who  lost 
their  lives  at  their  posts  of  duty,  this  incident 
shows  that  Midshipman  Ward  was  himself  alive 
to  the  fact  of  the  very  great  danger,  rushed  at 
once,  closed  the  magazine  door  and  saved  the 
ship. 

I  communicate  this  to  you  with  sincere  sympa- 
thy, believing  that  it  will  help  to  relieve  your  sor- 
row; to  know  your  son's  unhesitating  faithful- 
ness to  his  duty  at  the  cost  of  his  life. 

A  copy  of  this  letter  will  be  placed  with  Mid- 
shipman Ward's  record  in  the  Navy  Department, 
and  another  copy  will  be  sent  to  the  Commander- 
in-Chief,  North  American  Fleet,  for  publication 
to  the  fleet,  and  to  be  read  on  the  quarter  deck  of 
the  United  States  Ship  Missouri  at  muster. 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain, 

Your  very  respectfully, 
(Signed)     Wiixiam  H.  Moodv, 
Secretary. 

In  igio  the  class  of  1903  placed  in  Ban- 
croft Hall,  Annapolis,  a  tablet  inscribed 
as  follows; 

IN  MEMORIAM 

To 

THOMAS  WARD 

and 

WM.  E.  T.  NEUMANN 

United  States  Navy 

Class  of  1903 

They  died  April  13,  1904,  as 

a  Result  of  an  Explosion 

in  the  after  turret  of 

the  U.  S.  S.  Missouri  during 

record  target  practice 


while  in  the  performance 

of  duty. 

ERECTED 

BY  THEIR  CLASSMATES. 


NOTE. — The  door  of  the  magazine  was  so  built 
as  to  open  outward  and  downward  to  the  floor, 
turning  upon  a  hinge  at  the  base.  Young  Ward 
undoubtedly  threw  the  door  up.  as  it  was 
reported  at  the  time  that  the  fingers  of  the  man 
saved  in  the  magazine  were  injured  as  the  door 
closed  upon   him. 


MERCER,  Alfred,  M.  D., 

Physician,  PMlanthropist. 

Alfred  Alercer,  M.  D.,  late  of  Syracuse, 
New  York,  a  son  of  William  Mercer,  who 
died  in  England  in  1851,  and  his  wife, 
Mary  (Dobell)  Mercer,  who  died  in  Eng- 
land in  1863,  was  born  in  High  H^.lden, 
Kent,  England,  November  14,  1820,  came 
to  America  with  his  parents  in  1832.  and 
died  in  his  ninety-fourth  year,  at  his  resi- 
dence, No.  324  Montgomery  street,  Syra- 
cuse, New  York,  August  5,  1914.  His 
parents  were  almost  sixty  years  of  age 
when  they  came  to  this  country,  were 
imbued  with  the  English  social  and  busi- 
ness habits,  and  the  change  to  America 
proved  too  great  for  their  comfort  or 
enjoyment.  They  therefore  returned  to 
England  the  following  spring,  but  believ- 
ing that  this  country  ofifered  better 
advantages  than  England  for  an  am- 
bitious young  man,  they  left  their 
youngest  son,  Alfred,  in  America  with  an 
elder  brother,  who  had  already  resided 
here  several  years. 

The  youth  spent  two  years  at  the 
Genesee  Wesleyan  Seminary,  studied 
medicine  in  the  office  of  Dr.  John  F. 
Whitbeck,  in  Lima,  Livingston  county, 
and  was  graduated  from  the  Geneva 
Medical  College  in  1845.  I"  1846  he 
visited  his  parents  in  England,  and 
devoted  a  few  months  to  the  study  of 
medicine  and  surgery  in  the  hospitals  of 
London  and  Paris.  Returning  to  Amer- 
ica in  1847,  he  opened  an  office  in  Mil- 
204 


^    ^VUA 


UAj 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


waukee,  Wisconsin,  but  in  1848  returned 
to  this  State  and  practiced  in  Livingston 
and  Monroe  counties  until  1853,  when  he 
settled  permanently  in  Syracuse,  where 
he  became  one  of  the  best  known  and 
most  trusted  physicians  and  surgeons  in 
the  Empire  State. 

It  was  one  of  Dr.   Mercer's  pleasures 
to  relate,   and    most   entertainingly,    his 


Dr.  Mercer  was  a  conscientious,  kind 
and  self-sacrificing  practitioner  and 
student,  cheerfully  doing  no  little  of  hi:3 
work  without  pecuniary  reward.  He  was 
beloved  by  a  host  of  patrons.  He  at- 
tended his  first  thousand  cases  of  labor 
without  losing  a  mother  or  child.  He 
performed  many  of  the  major  surgical 
operations    before    the    days    of    asepsis 


early  experiences.     He  traveled  by  boat      with   nearly,   if  not    quite,   as   successful 


on  the  Erie  canal  when  Syracuse  was 
only  a  salt  manufacturing  locality.  He 
spoke  of  the  hardships  which  physicians 
of  the  early  times  were  called  upon  to 
endure.  Dr.  Mercer  was  the  first  phy- 
sician in  Central  New  York,  in  about 
i860,  to  recognize  the  value  of,  and  to 
use,  the  microscope  as  an  aid  to  his  pro- 
fessional work.  From  1864  to  1866  he 
was  health  officer  of  Syracuse.  Upon  the 
removal  of  the  Geneva  j\Iedical  College 
to    Syracuse,    in    1872,    when    it    became 


results  as  are  attained  to-day.  He  wrote 
and  spoke  often  and  vigorously  and  con- 
vincingly on  questions  of  public  health. 
He  contributed  his  share  in  the  struggle 
which  resulted  in  bringing  to  Syracuse 
one  of  the  best  water  supplies  in  the 
world,  that  from  Skaneateles  Lake.  He 
responded  with  much  painstaking  to 
occasional  requests  to  present  addresses, 
historical  and  scientific,  at  anniversaries 
of  medical  societies  or  of  the  college. 
He     also     contributed     papers     to     the 


a  department  of  Syracuse  University,  he      periodical  literature  of  his  profession. 


was  made  a  member  of  the  faculty,  in 
which  he  long  occupied  the  chaiV  of 
Minor  and  Clinical  Surgery.  In  the 
faculty  he  strongly  advocated  higher 
standards  in  medical  education.  Sub- 
sequently he  was  for  many  years  Profes- 
sor of  State  Medicine  and  later  Emeritus 
Professor  of  State  Medicine,  of  which 
chair  he  was  the  incumbent  at  the  time 
of  his  death.  From  its  inception  for  many 
years  he  was  acting  surgeon,  and  later  up 
to  the  time  of  his  death  consulting  stir- 


When  he  had  rounded  out  his  nine- 
tieth year,  a  dinner  was  tendered  him  by 
the  medical  fraternity  and  citizens  of 
Syracuse,  at  which  they  vied  with  each 
other  to  do  honor  to  the  man  who  had 
done  so  much  for  humanity  and  for  the 
people  of  Syracuse  in  particular.  Letters 
and  messages  came  from  near  and  far  on 
this  occasion.  Appreciation  of  his  work 
was  thus  heartily  and  lovingly  shown. 
W'hen  Dr.  Mercer  died,  it  appeared  as  if 
a  personal  loss  had  come  to  many  a  resi- 


geon,  to  the  Hospital  of  the  House  of  the      dent  in  the  city.    The  expressions  of  grief 
Good  Shepherd.    He  was  president  of  the      were  sincere  and  heartfelt. 


Syracuse  Board  of  Health  from  1882  to 
1889  and  served  as  New  York  State  Com- 
missioner of  Health  from  1884  to  1890.  He 
was  a  member  of  both  the  American  and 
British  Medical  associations.  He  was  also 
a  member  of,  and  held  various  official  posi- 
tions, in  the  New  York  State  Medical  Soci- 
ety, the  Central  New  York  Medical  Asso- 
ciation, the  Onondaga  Medical  Society, 
and  the  Syracuse  Academy  of  Medicine. 


A  hint  as  to  the  breadth  of  Dr.  Mercer's 
thought  and  sympathies  in  politics  and 
religion  and  his  practical  kindness  of 
heart  may  be  gleaned  from  the  following 
provisions  found  in  his  will :  "To  keep 
green  in  memory  the  heroism  of  the  men 
who  rescued  Jerry,  men  who  could  not 
look  on  a  slave,  I  give  six  hundred  dol- 
lars to  the  Onondaga  Historical  Associ- 
ation to  be  known  as  the  Jerry  Rescue 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Fund,  the  interest  of  which  shall  be  used 
every  five  years  to  procure  some  person 
to  deliver  a  Jerry  Rescue  Oration  on 
October  i.  *  *  *  There  is  one  true 
charity,  providing  for  helpless  children." 
Following  this  is  a  bequest  of  a  house 
and  lot  to  the  Onondaga  Orphan's  Home. 
The  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  this  property 
became  a  nucleus  of  an  endowment  fund 
which  has  by  later  additions  from  others 
become  a  very  substantial  sum.  He  also 
left  an  envelope  addressed  to  his  son 
which  contained  shares  of  New  York 
Central  Railroad  Company  stock,  with 
instructions  for  their  division  among 
Catholic  orphans,  Jewish  orphans,  and 
the  aged  women  cared  for  by  the  Syra- 
cuse Home  Association.  Soon  after  the 
death  of  his  son  Fremont,  the  boy's 
money  in  the  Onondaga  County  Savings 
Bank  was  given  to  the  Onondaga 
Orphans'  Home  as  a  fund,  the  interest  of 
which  now  annually  buys  books  for  the 
children. 

r|r.  Mercer  married  (first)  in  1848, 
Delia,  eldest  daughter  of  Aaron  Lam- 
phier,  Esq.,  of  Lima,  New  York,  who  died 
February  14,  1887,  leaving  a  son,  Dr. 
A.  Clififord  Mercer,  mentioned  below, 
and  a  daughter,  Ina,  now  the  wife  of 
Professor  Lepine  H.  Rice,  of  Syractise. 
Dr.  Mercer  married  (second)  July  25, 
1888,  Mrs.  Esther  A.  (Morehouse)  Esty, 
of  Ithaca,  New  York.  Dr.  Mercer's 
other  children  were  Eliza,  who  died  in 
1855,  in  her  fifth  year;  Charles  Dcbell, 
who  died  in  1884,  in  his  twenty-sixth 
3'ear ;  Fremont,  who  died  in  1874,  in  his 
twelfth  year;  and  Mary,  who  died  in  1869, 
in  her  third  year. 

We  cannot  bring  this  short  review  of 
the  life  of  Dr.  Mercer  to  a  more  fitting 
conclusion  than  by  quoting  from  a 
memorial  tribute  by  Dr.  John  L.  HeiTron, 
which  appeared  in  the  "New  York  State 
Journal  of  Medicine,"  in  November,  1914: 


Dr.  Mercer,  of  all  men  I  ever  knew,  best  illus- 
trated the  virtues  of  the  middle  course  in  life  so 
exquisitely  voiced  by  Horace.  He  was  of  medium 
height  and  of  medium  weight.  He  had  strongly 
chiseled  features,  the  English  clear  complexion, 
kindly  blue  eyes,  lips  red  as  a  cherry,  and  ruddy 
brown  beard  and  hair,  luxuriant  and  but  slightly 
grey  at  the  time  of  his  death.  *  *  *  He  had 
an  inquiring  mind,  capable  of  accurate  if  not 
rapid  observations,  and  he  had  perfect  intellectual 
poise.  He  was  rarely  enthusiastic,  but  he  had  a 
deep  and  abiding  interest  in  every  subject  worthy 
a  man's  thought  and  action.  His  industry  was 
indefatigable  and  was  always  guided  by  sound 
judgment.  He  was  by  nature  temperate  in  all 
things,  and  was  never  tempted  to  excess  of  any 
kind,  excepting  perhaps  work  in  younger  and 
middle  life.  It  was  but  natural  that  such  a  man 
should  accumulate  a  treasure  house  of  knowledge 
and  should  mature  judgments  that  were  sound 
and  increasingly  convincing.  *  ♦  *  He  early 
learned  the  withering  effects  of  dogma,  and  was 
one  of  the  earnest  advocates  of  intellectual  and 
spiritual  liberty  of  thought.  *  *  *  Dr.  Mer- 
cer was  not  narrow.  The  interests  outside  of  his 
chosen  profession  were  many  and  various,  how 
various  only  those  most  intimate  with  him  can 
judge.  *  *  *  I  never  came  into  Dr.  Mercer's 
presence  in  his  office,  in  his  home,  in  the  college, 
or  in  medical  meetings,  but  what  I  was  conscious 
of  being  near  one  who  radiated  truth  and  justice 
and  fraternal  love.  *  *  *  Here  is  a  man 
whose  life  is  a  positive  inspiration  to  everyone  of 
us.  He  had  no  extraordinary  gifts  of  either 
body  or  of  mind,  but  he  had  perfect  self-control. 
He  ordered  his  daily  life  with  judgment,  not  with 
caprice.  He  weighed  the  value  of  things,  and  de- 
veloped the  keenest  perception  of  the  relative 
importance  of  even  the  minor  things  in  life.  He 
cultivated  methods,  and  might  have  been  one  who 
inspired  the  present  movement  for  efficiency.  He 
was  industrious,  and  did  not  allow  himself  to 
waste  a  moment.  He  cared  for  his  body  with  in- 
telligence, by  correct  habits  of  eating  and  by 
observing  a  due  proportion  between  work  and  re- 
laxation. He  looked  ahead  and  kept  his  knowl- 
edge up  to  the  minute. 


MERCER,  A.  Clifford,  M.  D.,  F.  R.  M.  S., 

Physician,    Scientist. 

A.  Clififord  Mercer,  M.  D.,  F.  R.  M.  S., 
son  of  the  preceding,  was  born  at  Syra- 
cuse,  New  York,  July  5,   1855.     He  at- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tended  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
city  from  i860  to  1875,  then  matriculated 
at  Syracuse  University  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1878  with 
the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine.  He 
was  a  post-graduate  student  at  St. 
Thomas'  Hospital,  London,  England,  in 
1878-79-80. 

He  was  instructor  in  pathology  in  the 
College  of  Medicine,  Syracuse  Univer- 
sity, from  1880  to  1886,  and  Professor  of 
Pathology  from  1S86  to  1893.  He  was  a 
student  and  held  clinical  appointments  in 
the  Great  Ormond  Street  Hospital  for 
Sick  Children,  London,  England,  in  1890 
and  1891,  was  Professor  of  Clinical 
Pediatrics  in  the  College  of  Medicine, 
Syracuse  University,  from  1893  to  1904, 
and  since  1904  has  been  Professor  of 
Pediatrics.  For  seventeen  years  he  was  a 
member  and  secretary  of  the  medical  and 
surgical  stalT  of  the  Hospital  of  the  House 
of  the  Good  Shepherd.  He  is  consulting 
physician  at  the  Children's  Clinic  of  the 
Syracuse  Free  Dispensary  and  to  the 
Babies'  Summer  Camp  of  the  Visiting 
Nurses'  Association,  and  physician  to  the 
Children's  Pavilion  of  the  Syracuse  Hos- 
pital for  Women  and  Children. 

He  was  for  years  treasurer  of  the  Col- 
lege of  Medicine  and  of  its  Alumni  Asso- 
ciation, and  of  the  Medical  Association  of 
Central  New  York.  He  has  served  as 
president  of  the  American  Microscopical 
Society,  the  Central  New  York  Micro- 
scopical Club,  the  Onondaga  Medical  So- 
ciety, the  Syracuse  Medical  Association, 
the  Syracuse  Academy  of  Medicine,  the 
Milk  Commission  of  the  Onondaga 
Medical  Society  (responsible,  under  New 
York  State  law,  for  the  maintenance  of 
national  standard  requirements  in  the 
production  and  transportation  of  certified 
milk)  and  the  board  of  managers  of  the 
Onondaga  Sanatorium  for  Tuberculosis. 
He  has  repeatedly  served  on  public  health 


committees  of  medical  societies  and  the 
Syracuse  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  is  a 
member  of  the  advisory  committee  of  the 
Syracuse  Bureau  of  Health.  He  was 
health  officer  of  Syracuse  for  three  years 
(1883-85).  The  selection  of  an  exception- 
ally beautiful  and  suitable  site  for  the 
Onondaga  Sanatorium  for  Tuberculosis, 
which  for  a  long  time  met  with  wide  and 
bitter  opposition,  was  finally  brought 
about  largely  by  the  incessant  work  of 
Dr.  Mercer  and  his  professional  co- 
workers. 

He  is  also  a  life  fellow  of  the  Royal 
Microscopical  Society,  London,  England, 
a  member  of  the  American  Association 
for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  the  Amer- 
ican Medical  Association,  Alpha  Omega 
Alpha  (honorary  medical  society).  Na- 
tional Association  for  the  Study  and  Pre- 
vention of  Tuberculosis,  National  Asso- 
ciation of  Medical  Milk  Commissions, 
New  York  State  Medical  Society,  Central 
New  York  Medical  Association,  Thurs- 
day Night  Club  (medical),  Onondaga 
Historical  Association,  Syracuse  Acad- 
emy of  Science,  University  Club  and 
Citizens'  Club.  He  is  an  honorary  mem- 
ber of  the  Syracuse  Botany  Club  and 
corresponding  member  of  the  Rochester 
(New  York)  Academy  of  Science. 

When  Dr.  Mercer  was  president  of  the 
.American  Microscopical  Society  a  sketch 
of  his  life  work  by  Professor  S.  H.  Gage, 
of  Cornell  University,  appeared  in  the 
"American  Monthly  Microscopical  Jour- 
nal," February,  1896,  from  which  the  fol- 
lowing are  extracts: 

*  *  ♦  Thus  surrounded  by  the  microscopical 
influences  of  his  father's  office,  enjoying  the  ac- 
quaintance of  the  famous  optician,  Charles  A. 
Spencer,  and  Spencer's  Syracuse  friend,  Willard 
Twitchell,  it  was  only  natural  that  very  early 
there  was  awakened  in  the  boy  the  keenest  in- 
terest in  the  microscope  and  its  revelations.  In 
the   Syracuse   high   school   in    1874   and   1875   an 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


added  interest  in  this  and  in  photography  de- 
veloped under  the  practical  teaching  of  Dr.  Wal- 
ter A.  Brownell.  From  this  period  may  be  dated 
Dr.  Mercer's  career  in  photo-micrography,  the 
first  apparatus  being  constructed  by  Charles  A. 
Spencer  after  Mercer's  drawings.  His  interest 
in  photo-micrography  has  never  flagged  and 
many  members  of  the  American  Microscopical 
Society  feel  under  deep  obligation  to  him  for  help 
and  suggestions.  He  has  not  only  used  this  beau- 
tiful art  for  scientific  purposes  but  has  made  ex- 
cellent use  of  it  in  demonstrating  the  truth  of  his 
conclusions  in  courts  of  justice. 

After  receiving  the  degree  of  M.  D.  from  Syra- 
cuse University  in  1878,  he  spent  about  two  and 
one-half  years  in  St.  Thomas  Hospital  and  Medi- 
cal School  in  London,  England,  where  he  was  a 
pupil  in  pathology  of  Dr.  W.  S.  Greenfield,  now 
professor  of  pathology  in  the  University  of 
Edinburgh.  After  becoming  assistant  to  Dr. 
Greenfield  in  the  Brown  Institution,  Dr.  Mercer 
cut  and  mounted  the  first  sections  of  tuberculous 
joints  studied  in  England  and  furnished  the  ma- 
terial described  by  Mr.  John  Croft  in  Vol.  x-xxii 
(1881)  of  the  transactions  of  the  Pathological 
Society  of  London. 

While  in  London  he  became  acquainted  with 
Dr.  Lionel  S.  Beale,  and  revised  for  him  "Part 
v.,  On  Taking  Photographs  of  Microscopic 
Objects"  of  his  well-known  book,  "How  to  Work 
With  the  Microscope."  On  Dr.  Beale's  nomina- 
tion he  was  made  a  fellow  of  the  Royal  Micro- 
scopical Society.  He  found  a  warm  personal 
friend  in  the  late  Dr.  John  Matthews,  editor  of 
the  second  edition  of  the  "Preparation  and 
Mounting  of  Microscopical  Objects,"  by  Thomas 
Davis,  and  always  recalls  with  gratitude  the 
demonstration  which  Mr.  John  E.  Ingpen  gave 
him  of  the  Abbe  diffraction  theory  of  microscopic 
vision.  This  was  before  the  theory  had  become 
generally  known  to  the  microscopical  world. 

During  this  period  and  a  subsequent  visit  to 
London  for  professional  study.  Dr.  Mercer  had 
the  good  fortune  to  be  brought  in  friendly  rela- 
tions with  Dr.  R.  L.  Maddox,  Mr.  E.  M.  Nelson 
and  Mr.  Andrew  Pringle,  England's  most  skill- 
ful photo-micrographers.  With  a  mind  prepared 
and  open  as  was  Dr.  Mercer's  the  association 
with  these  masters  of  the  photo-micrographic  art 
could  only  be  productive  of  good,  and  our  own 
country  has  been  the  gainer  thereby,  for  Dr. 
Mercer  is  most  generous  in  freely  giving.  To 
Dr.  Maddox,  the  discoverer  of  the  present  dry 
plate  process  in  photography,  he  is  indebted  for 
a  share  of  the  suggestive,  helpful  and  generous 
correspondence  with  which  that  Nestor  of  photo- 


micrography has,  for  many  years,  favored  his 
fellow  workers  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic — 
with  its  warmth  of  friendship  and  stimulus  to 
progressive  work. 

He  has  been  active  in  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession and  has  prepared  papers  which  find  an 
honored  place  in  the  medical  literature  of  the 
country.  He  has  served  in  various  positions  of 
honor  and  trust  in  medical  societies  thus  showing 
that  he  possesses  the  esteem  and  confidence  of 
his  professional  brethren.  While  he  fills  an 
honored  place  in  the  medical  profession  and  his 
main  energy  and  work  lie  in  that  direction  his 
interests  are  very  broad,  and  he  has  a  keen  appre- 
ciation of  the  ultimate  gain  to  medicine  of  the 
pursuit  of  pure  science,  although  the  connection 
may  seem  remote  to  those  who  cannot  see  the 
invisible  threads  that  bind  all  truth  into  a  har- 
monious whole.  He  has  also  a  keen  love  of  na- 
ture for  her  own  sake,  and  while  studying  for  his 
degree  in  medicine  took  up  the  miscroscopical 
study  of  the  mosses  as  a  part  of  the  work  of  the 
Syracuse  Botanical  Club,  and  later  was  elected 
an  honorary  member  of  that  club. 

********** 

He  became  a  member  of  the  American  Micro- 
scopical Society  under  its  earlier  name  (American 
Society  of  Microscopists)  in  1882.  He  has  attended 
the  majority  of  the  annual  meetings  since  then, 
often  as  the  writer  well  knows  at  considerable 
inconvenience.  He  has  furnished  articles  to  the 
"Journal  of  the  Royal  Microscopical  Society"  and 
to  photographic  journals,  and  in  nearly  every 
volume  of  the  proceedings  of  the  society  of  which 
he  is  now  president  may  be  found  one  or  more 
articles  from  his  pen.  The  article  in  the  proceed- 
ings for  1886  "Photo-micrograph  zersiis  Micro- 
photograph,"  furnished  the  information  on  which 
the  definitions  of  the  words  in  the  Century  Dic- 
tionary and  in  Dr.  G.  M.  Gould's  Illustrated  Dic- 
tionary of  Medicine  are  founded.  The  Syracuse 
solid  watch  glass  for  microscopical  purposes  de- 
signed by  him  finally  solved  the  problem  of  a 
watch  glass  for  the  microscopist  and  there  is 
hardly  a  histological  or  microscopical  laboratory 
in  the  country  that  does  not  count  these  watch 
glasses  as  an  indispensable  part  of  its  equipment. 

Dr.  Mercer  has  also  designed  several 
pieces  of  apparatus  which  have  been  used 
in  microscopical,  photographic  and  x-ray 
work.  He  has  also  devoted  considerable 
time  to  experimental  work  in  photo- 
micrography  and    roentgenology    and    is 


208 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  author  of  "An  Experimental  Study  of 
Aperture  as  a  Factor  in  Microscopic 
Vision,"  an  expansion  of  his  presidential 
address  before  the  American  Microscop- 
ical Society  in  1896.  In  recent  years  his 
chief  interest  has  been  in  pediatrics, 
diseases  of  infants  and  children,  to  which 
he  has  given  most  of  his  time  and  thought 
in  college,  hospital,  dispensary  and 
private  practice. 


SKINNER,  Charles  Rufus. 

Journalist,  Legislator,  Ednoator. 

Charles  Rufus  Skinner  was  born  at 
Union  Square,  Oswego  county,  New 
York,  August  4,  1844,  son  of  Avery  and 
Charlotte  Prior  (Stebbins)  Skinner,  and 
a  descendant  of  worthy  New  England 
ancestry.  Avery  Skinner  was  a  native  of 
New  Hampshire,  a  farmer  by  occupation, 
settled  in  Watertown,  New  York,  in  1816, 
from  whence  he  removed  to  Oswego 
county.  New  York,  in  1826.  He  was 
postmaster  at  Union  Square,  which  place 
he  settled  and  name,  for  fifty  years,  hav- 
ing been  appointed  by  John  Quincy 
Adams. 

Charles  Rufus  Skinner  was  brought  up 
on  his  father's  farm,  attended  the  district 
school  in  his  native  town  until  his  six- 
teenth year,  after  which  he  accepted  the 
position  of  teacher  in  a  neighboring 
school,  assisted  in  the  work  of  the  post 
office  at  Watertown,  New  York,  and  in 
various  other  ways  obtained  sufficient 
capital  to  enable  him  to  pursue  his  educa- 
tion further.  He  became  a  student  in  the 
Clinton  Liberal  Institute,  and  later  in  the 
Mexico  Academy,  New  York,  from  which 
he  was  graduated  in  1866,  the  valedictor- 
ian of  his  class,  and  during  the  following 
year  he  acted  as  teacher  in  the  same 
institution.  In  December,  1867,  he  went 
to  New  York  City  and  took  charge  of  the 
agency  of  the  Walter  A.  Wood  Mowing 
N  Y-Voi  iv-14  209 


and  Reaping  Machine  Company,  but  re- 
mained only  three  years,  his  father  being 
in  such  ill  health  that  he  was  obliged  to 
return  home  to  manage  the  farm.  In 
1870  he  became  a  resident  of  Watertown, 
New  York,  and  until  1874  was  part  owner, 
business  manager  and  city  editor  of  the 
W'atertown  "Daily  Times  and  Reformer." 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion of  Watertown  from,  1875  ^°  1884; 
member  of  the  New  York  Assembly  from 
1876  to  1881  from  Jefferson  county,  dur- 
ing which  time  he  served  as  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  public  printing  and 
railroads,  and  as  member  of  the  commit- 
tees on  cities,  insurance,  internal  affairs, 
etc.  In  1877  he  introduced  and  pushed  to 
its  passage  the  bill  prohibiting  frequent 
changes  in  text-books  in  schools,  and  in 
1879  introduced  a  bill  to  reduce  legislative 
expenses,  and  an  amendment  to  the  con- 
stitution to  bring  about  biennial  sessions 
of  the  Legislature.  This  resolution 
passed  one  Legislature,  but  in  the  follow- 
ing year  was  defeated  in  the  Senate. 
This  proposition  was  favored  by  Gov- 
ernor Cornell  in  his  message  of  1882,  and 
urged  by  Governor  Black  in  1898.  In 
1879-80  Mr.  Skinner  was  active  in  advo- 
cating the  anti-discrimination  freight  bill, 
and  the  measure  for  five-cent  fares  on  the 
New  York  elevated  railroads.  In  1878  he 
served  on  a  special  committee  of  the 
Assembly  to  consider  and  report  on  the 
State  normal  schools.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Forty-seventh  and  Forty-eighth 
Congresses,  1881-85,  representing  Jeffer- 
son, Lewis  and  Herkimer  counties,  where 
he  was  instrumental  in  securing  the  re- 
duction of  letter  postage  from  three 
to  two  cents,  was  the  author  of  the  bill 
providing  for  the  special  delivery  system 
and  the  passage  of  the  law  giving  letter 
carriers  a  vacation.  He  opposed  the 
Chinese  restrictive  act,  urging  in  a  power- 
ful   speech    that   the   United    States   was 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


bound  to  keep  the  terms  of  the  treaty- 
made  with  China;  made  speeches  in  favor 
of  prompt  action  to  suppress  polygamy, 
and  against  the  Morrison  tariff  bill  in 
1883,  and  was  active  in  all  debates  on 
post  office  questions.  In  1884  he  was 
appointed  on  the  board  of  visitors  at 
West  Point  with  General  Rosecrans, 
Colonel  Waring  and  others.  In  1885, 
after  his  term  in  Congress  expired,  he 
edited  the  Watertown  "Daily  Repub- 
lican" and  served  in  that  capacity  until 
January,  1886,  and  then  for  a  short  time 
was  city  editor  of  the  Watertown  "Daily 
Times."  He  was  Deputy  State  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Instruction  from  1886 
to  1892;  supervisor  of  teachers'  institutes 
and  training  classes  from  1892  to  1895; 
State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion from  April  7,  1895,  to  1904,  and  was 
elected  president  of  the  National  Educa- 
tion Association  at  its  meeting  in  Bufifalo 
in  1896.  Dr.  Skinner's  administration  as 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  re- 
vealed a  marked  enthusiasm  in  the  cause 
of  popular  education,  a  sincere  devotion 
to  its  interests  and  forceful  methods  of 
promoting  them.  He  was  zealous  in  up- 
holding the  integrity  of  his  department 
against  all  assaults  upon  it  and  consist- 
ently advocated  the  placing  of  all  tax- 
supported  schools  within  its  control.  A 
few  of  the  significant  events  of  his  tenure 
was  the  proposal  of  an  educational  quali- 
fication for  school  commissioners  (not 
perfected)  ;  the  fixing  of  the  statutory 
school  age  at  from  five  to  eighteen  years ; 
the  observance,  in  1895,  o^  ^he  centennial 
of  the  law  establishing  common  schools ; 
the  act  of  1895  requiring  the  display  of 
the  "Stars  and  Stripes"  upon  the  school- 
houses  of  the  State ;  the  commemoration 
of  the  one  hundredth  birthday.  May  14, 
1895,  of  the  great  educator,  Horace 
Mann  ;  the  judicial  decision  in  the  Water- 
vliet    case,    affirming    the    power    of    the 


State  to  compel  a  municipality,  or  school 
district,  to  provide  and  maintain  ade- 
quate educational  facilities,  and  forbid- 
ding teachers  to  wear  sectarian  dress  in 
schools ;  the  satisfactory  execution  of  the 
compulsory  education  law,  enacted  in 
1894;  and  the  enlargement  of  the  num- 
ber of  State  scholarships  in  Cornell  Uni- 
versity from  128  to  150,  to  conform 
to  the  apportionment  of  assembly  dis- 
tricts under  the  constitution  of  1894. 
While  State  Superintendent,  Dr.  Skin- 
ner made  educational  visits  and  ad- 
dresses in  every  county  of  the  State, 
and  in  many  neighboring  States.  He 
served  as  assistant  appraiser  of  the  port 
of  New  York  from  1906  to  191 1  ;  was 
librarian  of  the  New  York  Assembly, 
1914;  and  since  1915  has  been  legislative 
librarian  in  charge  of  a  library  formed  by 
the  consolidation  of  the  Senate  and  As- 
sembly libraries. 

Dr.  Skinner  is  a  life  member  of  the 
New  York  State  Press  Association,  and 
has  frequently  been  delegated  to  repre- 
sent it  in  the  meetings  of  the  National 
Editorial  Association.  He  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Fort  Orange  Club  of 
Albany,  the  Republican  Club  of  New 
York  City,  the  Union  League  of  Brooklyn 
and  the  Thousand  Island  Club  of  Alex- 
andria Bay.  He  was  a  trustee  of  St. 
Lawrence  University  and  of  the  Albany 
Home  School  for  the  Deaf.  He  received 
the  degrees  :  Master  of  Arts  from  Hamil- 
ton College,  1889;  Doctor  of  Laws  from 
Colgate  University,  1895 ;  Doctor  of 
Literature  from  Tufts  College,  1901.  He 
is  the  author  of:  "Commercial  Advan- 
tages of  Watertown,  New  York,"  1876; 
"New  York  Question  Book,"  1890; 
"Arbor  Day  Manual,"  1891  ;  "Manual  of 
Patriotism  for  the  Schools  of  New  York," 
1900;  and  "The  Bright  Side,"  1909. 

Dr.  Skinner  married,  October  16,  1873, 
at    Watertown,    New    York,     Elizabeth 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Baldwin,  daughter  of  David  W.  and 
Laura  (Merriman)  Baldwin,  of  Water- 
town.  Seven  children  have  been  added 
to  his  household,  four  sons  dnd  three 
daughters.  Three  sons  and  one  daughter 
are  living:  Harold  Baldwin  and  Charles 
Rufus,  Jr.,  are  connected  with  the  New 
York  Edison  Company  ;  Albert  Merriman 
is  an  architect  in  Watertown ;  Alice  died 
in  1882;  Bessie,  in  1889;  a  son  died  in 
infancy ;  Elizabeth  was  married  in  Sep- 
tember, 1915,  to  Lieutenant  Dana 
Palmer,  of  the  Third  United  States  In- 
fantrv. 


HILL,  David  Jayne, 

Educator,  Diplomat,  Historian. 

David  Jayne  Hill,  distinguished  as  edu- 
cator, accomplished  as  diplomat,  brilliant 
as  orator  and  illustrious  as  author,  was 
born  in  Plainfield,  New  Jersey,  June  10, 
1850,  son  of  the  Rev.  Daniel  T.  and  Lydia 
Ann  (Thompson)  Hill,  grandson  of  Isaac 
Hill,  whose  ancestors  came  from  England 
about    1640. 

David  Jayne  Hill  acquired  his  prelim- 
inary education  in  the  public  schools  of 
his  native  town,  and  this  knowledge  was 
supplemented  by  a  course  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Lewisburg,  Pennsylvania  (now 
Bucknell)  from  which  he  was  graduated 
in  1874,  with  the  degree  of  A.  B.,  receiv- 
ing the  degree  of  A.  M.  from  the  same 
institution  in  1877.  Succeeding  courses 
of  study  in  the  universities  of  Berlin  and 
Paris,  he  became  an  instructor  in  Ancient 
Languages  at  Bucknell  University ;  was 
Crozer  Professor  of  Rhetoric  there  from 
1877  until  1879;  and  president  of  the  uni- 
versity from  1879  until  1888,  attaining 
this  position  before  he  was  thirty  years 
of  age.  Therein,  he  was  eminently  suc- 
cessful in  increasing  the  resources,  at- 
tracting students,  advancing  the  prestige 
of  the  institution,  and  securing  for  him- 


self a  place  among  the  leading  educators 
of  the  land.  In  1888,  he  was  called  to  the 
presidency  and  the  Burbank  chair  of  In- 
tellectual and  Moral  Philosophy  in  the 
University  of  Rochester,  as  successor  to 
Dr.  Anderson. 

Dr.  Hill's  administration  of  this  office 
was  especially  able  and  noteworthy.  To 
wide  knowledge  and  a  signal  faculty  of 
imparting  it,  constraining  the  esteem  of 
students,  he  added  a  gracious  personality, 
winning  their  affection ;  and,  on  the  ad- 
ministrative side,  kept  the  affairs  of  the 
institution  in  excellent  order;  while  out- 
side of  his  official  duties,  he  gained  a 
splendid  reputation  as  a  public  speaker. 
A  master  of  his  themes  and  of  the  Eng- 
lish tongue,  his  addresses  were  compact, 
in  clear  and  telling  phrase,  chaste  and 
sparkling  in  wit.  A  reference  to  one  of 
these  is  pertinent  as  relative  to  his  future 
career.  In  the  presidential  campaign  of 
1892,  William  McKinley  spoke  at  a  Re- 
publican meeting  and  was  banqueted  at 
the  leading  social  club  in  Rochester,  the 
principal  speech  at  the  latter  gathering, 
aside  from  that  of  the  guest  of  honor, 
being  made  by  Dr.  Hill,  whose  thought- 
ful and  graceful  remarks  greatly  im- 
pressed the  coming  president  of  five  years 
later,  initiated  a  cordial  friendship  be- 
tween the  two,  and  was  not  without  bear- 
ing upon  the  invitation  to  the  university 
president  to  accept  the  second  place  in 
the  State  Department  when  McKinley 
had  the  opportunity  to  recognize  Hill's 
ability  as  a  publicist. 

Even  before  his  Rochester  residence, 
Dr.  Hill  had  established  a  national  repu- 
tation as  an  author.  He  published  his 
"Elements  of  Rhetoric"  in  1877,  the 
"Science  of  Rhetoric"  in  1886,  and  the 
"Elements  of  Psychology"  in  1886 — all 
extensively  adopted  as  text  books  in 
schools  and  colleges,  and,  by  the  way, 
quite     remunerative    to    the    author    in 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


royalties.  His  "Life  of  Washington 
Irving"  appeared  in  1877  and  that  of 
William  Cullen  Bryant  in  1878  —  con- 
densed, but  admirable  and  appreciative, 
biographies  of  each.  While  still  in 
Rochester,  he  published  "Social  Influence 
of  Christianity"  (1888),  "Principles  and 
Fallacies  of  Socialism"  (1888)  and 
"Genetic  Philosophy"  (1893),  In  1896,  he 
resigned  as  president  of  the  university,  in- 
tending to  pursue  historical  studies 
abroad.  His  departure  was  keenly  re- 
gretted, not  only  by  the  authorities  and 
students,  but  by  the  community  which 
he  had  served  in  all  good  works  as  a  citi- 
zen, and  especially  by  its  social  and 
lettered  classes  to  whom  he  had  become 
endeared.  Retaining  his  legal  residence 
in  Rochester,  he  spent  nearly  three  years 
mainly  in  Paris  and  Berlin  in  the  study 
of  philosophy  and  public  law,  laying  the 
foundation  for  the  elaborate  volumes  re- 
lating thereto,  which  he  published  sub- 
sequently. 

He  was  recalled  to  this  country,  Octo- 
ber I,  1898,  when  President  McKinley 
appointed  him  First  Assistant  Secretary 
of  State  to  succeed  John  B.  Moore,  and 
while  in  the  State  Department  he  also 
served  as  Professor  of  European  Diplo- 
macy in  the  School  of  Comparative  Juris- 
prudence and  Diplomacy  at  Washington, 
D.  C,  from  1899  until  1903.  He  was  then 
commissioned  as  Envoy  Extraordinary 
and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the 
United  States  to  Switzerland  from  1903 
to  1905 ;  to  the  Netherlands  from  1905 
until  1908;  Ambassador  Extraordinary 
and  Plenipotentiary  to  Germany  from 
1908  until  191 1.  He  became  a  member 
of  the  Permanent  Administrative  Council 
of  the  Hague  Tribunal,  and  delegate  to 
the  Second  Peace  Conference  at  the 
Hague,  1907.  Of  his  diplomatic  service  it 
is  needless  to  speak ;  it  was  enlightened 
in  full  degree,  and  faithful  to  the  coun- 
try's interests,  held  in  high  esteem  by  the 


representatives  of  all  nations  and  the 
courts  to  which  he  was  accredited,  and 
abounding  in  kindly  offices  to  his  fellow 
countrymen,  visiting  the  various  em- 
bassies. 

His  pen  still  busy,  he  gave  to  the  press 
"A  Primer  of  Finance ;"  "The  Concep- 
tion and  Realization  of  Neutrality" 
(1902)  ;  "Life  and  Work  of  Hugo  Gro- 
tius"  (1902)  ;  and  "The  Contemporary 
Development  of  Diplomacy"  (1904).  In 
1905  he  issued  the  first  volume  of  his 
great  work,  "A  History  of  Diplomacy  in 
the  International  Development  of  Eu- 
rope," entitling  it  "The  Struggle  for  Uni- 
versal Empire ;"  the  second  volume, 
"The  Establishment  of  Territorial  Sover- 
eignty," followed  in  1906;  and  the  third, 
"The  Diplomacy  of  the  Age  of  Absolut- 
ism," in  1914.  "World  Organization  as 
Affected  by  the  Nature  of  the  Modern 
State,"  (translated  into  German  and 
French)  appeared  in  191 1.  Since  his  re- 
turn to  America,  with  temporary  abode 
in  Washington  about  two  years,  Dr.  Hill 
has  written  many  articles  on  political  and 
governmental  topics  for  leading  maga- 
zines, and  has  frequently  been  heard  from 
the  platform  upon  the  same.  In  the  Re- 
publican primaries  of  the  State  in  1914, 
his  name  was  presented  for  United  States 
Senator,  and,  although  abroad  at  the 
time  and  without  organized  effort  in  his 
behalf,  he  received  a  flattering  vote  there- 
for, particularly  in  Western  New  York. 
He  has  recently  published  "The  People's 
Government"  (191 5),  and  "Americanism: 
What  It  Is"  (1916)  ;  and  is  preparing 
a  volume  on  "International  Readjust- 
ments." 

He  was  elected  a  fellow  of  the  Ameri- 
can Association  for  the  Advancement  of 
Science  in  1895  ;  he  is  a  member  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society,  Ameri- 
can Society  of  International  Law,  Ameri- 
can Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Sci- 
ence,   American    Historical    Association, 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  is  president  of  the  National  Associ- 
ation for  Constitutional  Government.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Sons  of  the  American 
Revolution,  and  vice  grand  commander 
of  the  Society  of  American  Wars.  He  is 
also  a  member  of  the  following  clubs: 
Authors,  Century  (New  York),  Metro- 
politan, Cosmos  (Washington)  and  "Pun- 
dit" and  Browning  (Rochester).  He  has 
been  honored  with  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Laws  by  Colgate  (1883),  University  of 
Pennsylvania  (1902)  and  Union  (1902), 
and  Docteur  es  Lettres,  University  of 
Switzerland  (1900).  He  married  Juliet 
Lewis  Packer,  of  Williamsport.  Pennsyl- 
vania, June  3,  1886. 


ROBERTS,  Ellis  H., 

Journalist,  Statesman,  Scholar. 

No  intelligent  account  of  the  settle- 
ment and  progress  of  Oneida  county  and 
Central  New  York  can  fail  to  note  the 
contributions  thereto  made  by  the  thrifty 
and  adventurous  Welshmen  who  were 
among  the  pioneers  of  the  region.  Their 
incoming  dates  from  1798,  when  a  com- 
pany of  about  a  dozen  of  the  race  took  up 
land  in  the  town  of  Steuben  from  Colonel 
Walker,  the  representative  of  Baron  von 
Steuben  of  Revolutionary  fame,  to  whom 
a  large  domain  had  been  bestowed  by  a 
grateful  people.  Others  followed  until 
the  towns  of  Steuben  and  Remsen  be- 
came practically  Welsh  communities,  and 
retain  that  character  to  a  considerable 
extent  to  this  day.  Welsh  settlements 
were  founded  in  Deerfield,  Rome,  Plain- 
field,  Nelson,  and  Waterville,  and  the 
Welsh  population  of  Utica  continued  to 
increase.  The  Welsh  strain  is  one  of  the 
strongest  in  the  population  of  that  city, 
foremost  in  its  business  and  professional 
life,  and  its  high  moral  tone  is  due,  in  large 
measure,  to  Welsh  inspirations. 

Ellis  Henry  Rogers,  long  a  molder  of 
the  thought  of  Central  New  York,  politi- 


cally and  socially,  is  of  this  sturdy  stock. 
His  ancestors  were  pioneers  of  progress 
in  the  old  country  and  uncompromising 
non-comformists — courageous  and  inde- 
pendent. Michael  Jones,  of  Bala,  of 
kindred  on  the  paternal  side,  had  prob- 
ably more  to  do  than  any  of  his  contem- 
poraries in  the  educational  and  political 
awakening  of  Wales  in  the  last  century. 
Roberts,  Tyddynddeen  and  Thomas,  of 
Bangor,  noted  clergymen,  were  of  the 
same  stock.  On  the  maternal  side,  Ellis 
descends  from  the  Williams,  who  re- 
sided on  the  shores  of  Bala  Lake,  as  ten- 
ants of  Sir  Watkin  Williams  Wynn.  A 
member  of  the  family  was  the  Rev.  John 
Williams,  a  pastor  at  Sheffield,  England, 
and  a  divine  of  national  reputation.  In 
the  British  parliament,  to-day,  are  a  num- 
ber of  Mr.  Roberts's  relations,  some  of 
whom  visited  him  in  Washington  when 
he  was  Treasurer  of  the  United  States. 
His  father,  Watkin,  came  to  this  country 
in  1816,  while  the  building  of  the  Erie 
canal  was  proceeding.  He  was  a  stone 
mason  and  worked  upon  this  mammoth 
enterprise.  His  mother,  Gwen  (Wil- 
liams) Roberts,  followed  her  husband, 
with  four  chldren,  two  years  later,  and 
the  family  settled  in  Utica,  where  Ellis 
Henry  was  born  September  30,  1827.  The 
father  died  in  1831  and  the  struggle  of 
the  widowed  mother  and  fatherless  chil- 
dren to  maintain  an  existence  in  a  strange 
land  was  a  severe  one,  but,  by  pluck  and 
grit,  they  all  attained  honorable  and  suc- 
cessful positions  in  life. 

Ellis  Henry's  preliminary  education 
was  pursued  in  the  elementary  schools 
and  the  Free  Academy  of  his  native  city; 
and  he  entered  Yale  College  in  the  fall  of 
1846,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the 
class  of  1850,  a  member  of  the  Alpha 
Delta  Phi  fraternity,  having  held  ex- 
cellent rank  as  a  scholar  throughout  the 
course,  receiving  prizes  for  English  com- 
position and  winning  the  Bristed  scholar- 
's 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ship  for  proficiency  in  the  classics  and 
mathematics.  He  was  advanced  to  the 
master's  degree  three  years  later;  and 
for  marked  erudition,  was  laureated  Doc- 
tor of  Laws  by  Hamilton  in  1869,  and  by 
his  alma  mater  in  1884.  He  was  principal 
of  the  Utica  Academy  and  also  teacher  of 
Latin  in  the  Utica  Female  Seminary, 
1850-51.  He  married,  June  29,  1851, 
Elizabeth  Morris,  of  the  same  goodly 
Welsh  lineage — a  helpful  consort  for  over 
fifty  years,  dying  in  July,  1903. 

His  college  training  inclined  him  to  jour- 
nalism and  he  accepted,  in  1851,  the  editor- 
ship of  the  Utica  "Morning  Herald,"  then 
at  the  outset  of  its  notable  and  cogent  ca- 
reer, which  he  retained  until  1893,  also 
securing  in  it  a  controlling  proprietary  in- 
terest. Dr.  Roberts  assumed  the  editorial 
chair  at  a  time  when  government  policies 
of  the  utmost  moment,includingvital  moral 
issues,  were  at  stake,  almost  coincidently 
with  the  birth  of  the  Republican  party,  of 
which  he  was  to  become  an  earnest  cham- 
pion. He  was  equipped  with  superior 
scholarship,  especially  well  versed  in  the 
history  of  the  Republic  and  with  the  polit- 
ical and  economical  problems  pressing 
for  solution.  As  a  writer,  he  soon  ob- 
tained wide  recognition  for  his  wealth  of 
knowledge,  the  precision  of  his  thought 
and  the  force  and  lucidity  of  its  expres- 
sion, and  above  all  for  the  sincerity  of  his 
convictions.  The  "Herald,"  under  the  di- 
rection of  Dr.  Roberts,  gained  an  exten- 
sive patronage  and  materially  inspired 
and  controlled  public  opinion,  not  alone 
in  Central  but  also  in  Northern  New 
York,  in  the  latter  section  especially  be- 
coming the  Republican  oracle  and  having 
well-nigh  a  monopoly  of  circulation, 
which  the  Syracuse  press,  quite  as  acces- 
sible to  it  as  the  "Herald,"  vainly  con- 
tested. It  is  to  be  added  that  the  "Her- 
ald" was  also  quite  as  distinguished  for 
enterprise  as  a  news  gatherer  as  for  au- 
thority in  its  editorial  columns,  rendering 


it  for  years  the  leading  journal  of  its 
locality  in  all  respects.  It  prominently 
supported  the  administration  of  Lincoln 
in  all  measures  for  subduing  the  rebellion 
against  the  Union,  and  Dr.  Roberts,  with 
loyalty  and  love  for  the  martyred  Presi- 
dent, as  a  delegate  to  the  Republican  Na- 
tional Convention  in  1864,  enthusiastical- 
ly favored  his  renomination ;  and  when 
the  lines  were  drawn  between  congres- 
sional and  executive  policies  of  recon- 
struction, he  was  found  arrayed  with  the 
congressional  leaders,  even  to  urging  the 
impeachment  of  President  Johnson. 

Dr.  Roberts  was  elected  to  the  As- 
sembly of  1867,  and  took  a  conspicuous 
and  persuasive  part  in  its  deliberations, 
especially  in  effecting  the  promotion  to 
the  United  States  Senate  of  his  then 
friend  and  neighbor,  Roscoe  Conkling, 
who  had  by  a  service  of  four  terms,  as  a 
representative  in  Congress,  established 
his  standing  as  an  ornate  and  virile  ora- 
tor; and,  as  State  Senator  Andrew  D. 
White  said,  on  seconding  Conkling's  re- 
nomination  in  the  Republican  legislative 
caucus.  New  York  needed  a  voice  in  the 
Federal  Senate.  The  voice,  indeed,  did 
much  for  Conkling,  but  it  were  to  ques- 
tion historical  verity  to  doubt  that  Ellis 
H.  Roberts  did  far  more  by  his  personal 
appeals  to  produce  the  desired  result  than 
Conkling's  most  eloquent  forensic  utter- 
ances. Roberts  was  indefatigable  in  his 
eflforts,  not  only  by  articles  in  the  "Her- 
ald," but  by  enlisting  nearly  the  entire 
press  of  the  interior  in  Conkling's  behalf, 
by  standing  for  the  Assembly,  at  Conk- 
ling's instance,  and  by  his  industrious  can- 
vass among  his  colleagues  in  that  body. 
The  estrangement  between  the  two  that 
occurred  subsequently  need  not  here  be 
detailed.  It  is  sufficient  to  say,  in  the  can- 
did review,  that  the  principal  fault  there- 
for is  not  to  be  imputed  to  Roberts.  In 
1868,  Roberts  again  appeared  as  a  dele- 
gate in  the  Republican  National  Conven- 


214 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tion  and  united  in  the  nomination  of  Gen- 
eral Grant  for  the  presidency. 

In  1870,  Roberts  was  elected  from  the 
Twenty-first  (Oneida)  District  a  Repre- 
sentative in  the  Forty-second  Congress ; 
and,  in  1872,  was  reelected  to  the  Forty- 
third.  He  spoke  in  the  House  as  occa- 
sion demanded,  always  with  full  informa- 
tion and  decided  effect,  in  clear,  vigorous 
English,  particularly  upon  economic  and 
financial  measures,  in  the  discussion  of 
which  he  had  already  shown  himself  an 
authority  in  his  editorials  and  other  writ- 
ings. 

Since  his  retirement  from  Congress, 
Dr.  Roberts  has  not  held  elective  office, 
but  has  forcibly  and  ably  vindicated 
Republican  principles  and  policies.  He 
favored,  with  some  hesitation,  the  re- 
election of  Grant  in  1872,  and  the  nomi- 
nation of  Hayes  in  1876,  but  strenuously 
combatted  a  third  term  for  Grant  in  1880, 
acting  with  that  element  of  his  party 
which  secured  the  nomination  of  Garfield 
and,  in  the  State,  opposing  the  return  of 
Conkling  and  Piatt  to  the  United  States 
Senate  after  their  resignation  therefrom. 
Dr.  Roberts  was  a  staunch  champion  of 
Blaine  in  the  presidential  canvass  of  1884 
and  cordially  supported  Harrison  in  that 
of  1888.  He  was  appointed  by  the  latter 
to  the  important  position  of  Assistant 
Treasurer  in  New  York,  of  the  United 
States,  and  served  throughout  Harrison's 
administration.  He  was  president  of  the 
Franklin  National  Bank  of  New  York 
City  from  1893  until  1897,  when  he  was 
designated  by  President  McKinley  as 
Treasurer  of  the  United  States,  continu- 
ing as  such  until  1905,  when  he  retired 
from  public  life  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
eight  years,  having  filled  with  eminent 
ability  the  various  offices  of  honor  and 
responsibility  that  had  been  reposed  in 
him.  Interested  in  the  cause  of  higher 
education,  he  wrote  much  on  the  subject. 


and  was  trustee  of  Hamilton  College  from 
1872  until  1900. 

Outside  of  his  journalistic  and  official 
duties,  Dr.  Roberts  has  been  a  prolific 
writer  upon  historical  and  financial 
themes,  and  also  has  deserved  promi- 
nence as  a  public  speaker.  He  has  de- 
livered courses  of  lectures  at  Cornell  Uni- 
versity and  Hamilton  College,  and  ad- 
dresses before  the  American  Bankers' 
and  several  State  banking  associations, 
and  the  American  Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  Science ;  and  has  been  in 
constant  request  as  a  political  orator  in 
the  successive  presidential  canvasses  with 
which  he  was  concerned,  on  notable  his- 
torical occasions,  and  as  an  "after  dinner" 
speaker.  He  is  the  author  of  "Govern- 
ment Reserve,  Especially  the  American 
System"  (1884),  an  enlightened  exposi- 
tion of  the  subject ;  and  of  "The  Planting 
and  Growth  of  the  Empire  State"  (1887). 
Although  an  abridgment  rather  than  an 
exhaustive  review,  and  necessarily  trust- 
ing considerably  to  secondary  rather  than 
original  sources,  this  latter  work  holds  a 
leading  place  among  histories  of  New 
York,  revealing  its  author  as  diligent  in 
research,  philosophical  in  treatment,  en- 
gaging in  style  and  impartial  in  tone.  Dr. 
Roberts  is  still  (July,  1916)  living  in 
Utica,  in  hale  old  age,  with  faculties  un- 
impaired and,  at  times,  contributing  valu- 
able articles  to  the  press. 


CHOATE,  Joseph  Hodges, 

Jurist,  Orator,  Diplomat. 

The  splendid  gifts  of  mind  and  person 
that  Joseph  Hodges  Choate  has  displayed 
conspicuously  in  his  long  career  at  the 
bar  and  in  high  official  place  are  meas- 
urably due  to  his  lineage.  He  comes  of 
sturdy,  intelligent  Puritan  stock,  char- 
acterized almost  uniformly  by  physical 
longevity    and    by    signal    concentration 


215 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  versatility  of  thought  with  its  effec- 
tive expression. 

The  founder  of  the  American  family 
was  John  Choate,  a  native  of  England, 
who  came  in  1643  to  Massachusetts  Bay 
while  Winthrop  was  still  Governor  of  the 
colony,  settled  at  Chebacco  (now  Essex) 
and  was  admitted  a  freeman  in  1667. 
From  him  and  his  wife,  Anne,  to  whom 
he  was  married  in  1660,  the  line  of  de- 
scent runs  through  their  son,  Thomas 
(1671-1745)  first  of  the  family  in  the  an- 
cestral estate — Hog  or  Choate  Island — 
and  representative  in  the  General  Court 
(1723-25)  and  his  wife,  Mary  (Varney) 
Choate ;  through  their  son,  Francis 
(1701-77),  farmer,  church  elder  and 
friend  of  George  Whitefield,  and  his  wife, 
Hannah  (Perkins)  Choate;  through  their 
son,  William  (1730-85),  who  was  a  sea 
captain,  and  his  wife,  Mary  (Giddings) 
Choate;  through  their  son,  George  (1762- 
1826)  representative  for  Ipswich,  1814- 
17,  and  Essex,  1819,  and  his  wife, 
Susanna,  daughter  of  Judge  Stephen 
Choate,  of  Ipswich ;  to  Dr.  George 
Choate,  the  father  of  Joseph  Hodges 
Choate.  In  collateral  branches  also  the 
family  has  been  worthy  and  often  dis- 
tinguished, Rufus  Choate,  a  cousin  of 
Dr.  George  Choate,  with  his  magnetic 
speech,  being  supremely  famous.  Dr. 
George  Choate  (1796- 1880)  was  a  native 
of  Essex,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College 
(1818),  a  prominent  and  skillful  phy- 
sician, and  a  representative  in  the  Gen- 
eral Court  for  several  years.  He  married 
Margaret  Manning,  a  daughter  of  Gama- 
liel Hodges,  descended  from  the  immi- 
grant of  1630  and  of  a  family  honorable 
in  Massachusetts  annals ;  and  to  them 
Joseph  Hodges  Choate  was  born  in 
Salem,  January  24,  1832.  In  the  mater- 
nal line  Mr.  Choate  traces  his  lineage  to 
Philip  English,  the  first  great  merchant 
of  Salem. 

His  preliminary  education  was  obtained 


in  the  public  schools  of  Salem.  He  was 
graduated  from  Harvard,  in  1852,  with 
Phi  Beta  Kappa  rank,  the  fourth  scholar 
of  the  class,  in  which  his  elder  brother, 
.William  Gardner  Choate,  since  a  United 
States  judge  of  the  Southern  District  of 
New  York  stood  first.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  Alpha  Delta  Phi  fraternity,  in 
whose  welfare  he  has  ever  retained  a 
lively  interest,  frequently  the  orator  at 
jts  reunions  and  presiding  at  its  banquets. 
He  was  graduated  Bachelor  of  Law  from 
the  Harvard  Law  School,  in  1854,  and 
after  an  additional  year  of  study  in  the 
office  of  Leverett  Saltonstall,  in  Boston, 
was  admitted  to  the  Massachusetts  bar 
in  1855.  In  the  same  year  he  moved  to 
New  York  City,  whch  has  since  been  his 
home,  was  licensed  in  this  State  and  be- 
gan the  practice  which  has  continued  un- 
interruptedly to  the  present  day.  He 
first  entered  the  office  of  Scudder  & 
Carter,  the  latter  an  accomplished  jurist 
for  half  a  century,  with  whom  he  re- 
mained a  very  short  time  when,  with  a 
commendatory  letter  from  Rufus  Choate 
to  William  M.  Evarts,  he  was  introduced 
to  the  office  of  Butler,  Evarts  &  South- 
mayd  of  which  Mr.  Evarts  was  the  head, 
in  which  he  remained  until  1858,  when  he 
formed  a  partnership  with  General  Wil- 
liam H.  L.  Barnes,  subsequently  a  bril- 
liant lawyer  in  San  Francisco,  which  was 
conducted  successfully  for  a  year,  under 
the  style  of  Choate  &  Barnes.  He  then 
returned  to  the  Evarts  office,  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  designated  as  Evarts, 
Southmayd  &  Choate.  This  association 
continued  until  1884,  when  it  was  re- 
solved into  that  of  Evarts,  Choate  & 
Beaman,  its  successor  now  known  as 
Evarts,  Choate  &  Sherman,  of  which  the 
sons  of  Mr.  Evarts  and  Mr.  Choate  are 
members. 

Steadily  rising  in  repute  and  augment- 
ing in  practice,  Mr.  Choate  became  the 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


recognized  "head  of  the  bar"  of  the  me- 
tropolis, which  is  the  head  of  the  bar  in 
the  country,  when  the  senior  member, 
that  illustrious  lawyer  and  prince  of  wits, 
gave  himself  wholly  to  the  public  service 
as  Secretary  of  State  and  Senator.  Mr. 
Choate  was  equally  prominent  in  trials 
at  nisi  prius  and  cases  in  banc.  His  deep 
analysis  of  human  nature,  his  discern- 
ment of  situations  and  skill  in  eliciting 
evidence  rendered  him  an  expert  in  the 
examination  of  witnesses,  while  his  spark- 
ling wit,  ready  repartee  and  cogent 
appeals  mastered  juries.  His  knowledge 
of  the  law,  his  familiarity  with  principles 
and  precedents,  the  precision  and  solidity 
of  his  address  and  the  urbanity  of  his 
acumen  were  also  singularly  persuasive 
with  the  bench ;  and  this  not  alone  in  the 
Appellate  Courts  of  the  State,  but  in  the 
highest  tribunal  of  the  land  before  which 
he  has  argued  many  celebrated  cases. 
Among  the  cases  in  different  jurisdictions 
that  he  has  managed  several  may  be  men- 
tioned without,  in  all  instances,  specify- 
ing issues,  to  wit :  Fuardent  vs.  di  Ces- 
nola,  in  which  he  defended  successfully 
the  genuineness  of  the  Cypriote  antiqui- 
ties in  the  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art ; 
Stewart  vs.  Huntington,  concerning  the 
contracts  and  operations  of  the  Central 
Pacific ;  Hunt  vs.  Stevens ;  Laidlaw  vs. 
Sage ;  the  Maynard  New  York  election 
frauds  of  1891-92;  the  validity  of  the 
Standard  Oil  and  American  Tobacco 
trusts ;  the  Cruger,  Vanderbilt,  Tilden, 
Stewart,  Hoyt,  Drake  and  Hopkins  will 
cases ;  and  various  others  in  the  Admir- 
alty courts. 

As  he  has  been  a  maker  of  the  organic 
law  of  the  commonwealth,  as  will  later 
be  seen,  he  has  also  been  the  constant 
interpreter  of  the  national  constitution 
as  witnessed  in  many  issues  before  the 
national  tribunal.  Among  these  are  the 
following:    The  case  of  the  Philadelphia 


Fire  Association  vs.  New  York,  touch- 
ing the  constitutionality  of  the  so-called 
reciprocal  and  retaliatory  taxation  laws 
against  foreign  corporations  enacted  by 
many  States;  the  Kansas  prohibition 
law ;  the  Chinese  exclusion  cases,  with 
the  pregnant  question  as  to  the  right  of 
the  government  to  exclude  or  deport  im- 
migrants of  that  race ;  the  California  irri- 
gation cases ;  the  constitutionality  of  the 
Acts  of  many  western  States ;  the  Massa- 
chusetts fisheries  cases;  the  constitu- 
tional right  of  a  State  to  protect  fisheries 
in  arms  of  the  sea  and  within  and  beyond 
the  three-mile  limit ;  the  income  tax  cases, 
which  involved  the  constitutionality  of 
[the  Income  Tax  Law  of  1894.  Besides 
these,  Mr.  Choate  has  argued  many  other 
important  cases  before  the  high  courts 
of  his  own  and  other  States.  With  John 
C.  Bullitt  and  Anson  Maltbie  he  achieved 
a  signal  triumph  in  1889  in  the  able  de- 
fense of  General  Fitz-John  Porter  before 
the  commission  appointed  by  President 
Hayes  to  inquire  into  the  justice  of  the 
sentence  which  in  1863  had  deprived  Gen- 
eral Porter  of  his  military  rank  for  alleged 
misconduct  in  battle,  and  for  the  reversal 
of  which  General  Porter  had  made  the 
most  strenuous  efforts  for  many  years. 
Mr.  Choate  not  only  fully  established 
Porter's  innocence,  but  also  procured  the 
restoration  of  his  rank.  The  lawyer's 
versatility  was  further  displayed  in  his 
presentation  of  the  case  for  the  defendant 
before  the  naval  court-martial  appointed 
to  try  Captain  McCalla  for  certain  alleged 
breaches  of  the  naval  regulations;  and  a 
still  further  illustration  of  that  quality 
of  his  mind  is  to  be  found  in  his  diplo- 
matic conduct  of  the  investigation  under- 
taken by  the  New  York  Yacht  Club  of 
the  Defender- Valkyrie  controversy,  upon 
charges  made  by  Lord  Dunraven  as  to 
the  conduct  of  the  international  race  be- 
tween those  yachts. 

Mr.   Choate  has  been   most  honorably 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


recognized  by  his  brethren  of  the  bar  in 
the  presidencies  of  the  Harvard  Law 
School  Association,  the  New  York  City, 
New  York  State  and  American  Bar  asso- 
ciations. He  has  been  made  Doctor  of 
Laws  by  many  leading  colleges  and  uni- 
versities both  in  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain,  to  wit:  Amherst  (1887), 
Harvard  (1888),  Yale  (1901),  Williams 
(1905),  Pennsylvania  (1908),  Union 
(1909),  McGill  (1913),  Cambridge  (1900), 
Edinburgh  (1900),  St.  Andrews  (1902), 
Glasgow  (1904),  and  Toronto  (1915),  and 
in  1902  Oxford  University  conferred  upon 
him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Civil  Law. 
He  was  elected,  April  10,  1905,  a  bencher 
of  the  Middle  Temple,  that  most  select 
and  honorable  legal  body,  a  distinction 
never  bestowed  upon  any  other  Ameri- 
ican.  He  is  also  a  foreign  honorary  fel- 
low of  the  Royal  Society  of  Literature,  a 
member  of  the  American  Philosophical 
Society,  a  trustee  of  the  Metropolitan 
Museum  of  Art  and  of  the  American  Mu- 
seum of  Natural  History  since  the  foun- 
dation of  each ;  vice-president  of  the 
American  Society  for  the  Judicial  Settle- 
ment of  International  Disputes ;  Am- 
bassador and  first  United  States  delegate 
to  the  International  Peace  Congress  at 
the  Hague  (1907);  trustee  of  the  Equita- 
ble Life  Assurance  Society ;  governor  of 
the  New  York  Hospital,  1877;  president 
of  the  New  York  State  Charities  Aid 
Association ;  member  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Colonial  Society ;  president  of  the 
New  England  Society  of  New  York 
(1867-71);  of  the  Harvard  Club  of  New 
York  (1874-78);  of  the  Union  League 
Club  of  New  York  (1873-77)  and  is  now 
president  of  the  Century  Association.  In 
addition  to  those  already  mentioned,  he 
is  also  a  member  of  the  following  clubs : 
University,  Alpha  Delta  Phi,  City,  Met- 
ropolitan, Riding,  New  York  Athletic, 
and  Down  Town. 

These  various  associations — legal,  let- 
tered, artistic,  social  and  humane — which 


have  honored  him  and  he  has  honored 
reveal  at  once  the  wide  range  of  his  activ- 
ities and  the  insistent  call  for  their  serv- 
ice. If  he  may  be  estimated  by  his  tri- 
umphs at  the  bar;  his  constant  thought 
and  kindly  consideration  for  its  younger 
members ;  his  identification  with  great 
enterprises;  his  courage  and  honesty  in 
municipal  afifairs ;  his  secret,  as  well  as 
open,  beneficences,  for  no  good  and  needy 
cause  ever  appealed  to  him  in  vain ;  his 
catholic  views  and  quick  sympathies, 
coupled  with  independence  in  thought 
and  action  ;  his  culture  in  arts  and  letters ; 
his  social  graces,  his  genial  bearing  and 
fascinating  address,  he  may  be  fairly  dis- 
tinguished as  the  first  citizen  of  the  me- 
tropolis as  well  as  the  leader  of  the  bar. 
Enchanting  as  a  guest  and  peerless  as 
the  host  at  the  banquet  board,  he  is, 
like  Macgregor,  the  head  of  the  table 
wherever  he  sits.  If  a  notable  from 
abroad  visits  our  shores,  he  is  chosen  to 
bid  him  welcome.  If  a  philanthropic, 
educational  or  clearly  political  movement 
is  to  be  advanced  he  is  summoned  for 
the  energizing  event.  If  an  historic  occa- 
sion is  to  be  observed  or  respect  paid  to 
the  memory  of  a  departed  worthy,  his  is 
the  informing  utterance  or  the  fitting 
tribute.  Among  his  most  notable  ora- 
torical efforts  may  be  mentioned  that  at 
the  Metropolitan  Fair  in  New  York  City, 
in  1864,  that  at  the  unveiling  of  the  Far- 
ragut  statue  in  New  York  (1881)  and  of 
Rufus  Choate  in  the  Boston  Court  House 
(1898),  a  labor  of  love,  as  he  has  often 
declared  that  he  owes  to  Rufus  Choate 
more  than  to  any  other  man  or  men,  to 
his  example  and  inspiration,  to  his  sym- 
pathy and  helping  hand,  whatever  suc- 
cess has  attended  his  own  professional 
efiforts ;  on  the  "Trial  by  Jury"  before  the 
American  Bar  Association  (1898)  ;  on 
Leverett  Saltonstall  (Boston,  1898) ;  on 
Richard  H.  Dana,  1915,  and  the  famous 
classic  on  Abraham  Lincoln. 

Politically  Dr.  Choate  has  always  been 


218 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


a  Republican,  the  attainment  of  his  ma- 
jority and  the  birth  of  the  party  being 
nearly  coeval.  A  champion  of  its  prin- 
ciples, he  has  taken  the  stump  in  its  be- 
half in  many  campaigns,  but  has  not 
hesitated  to  criticize  its  policies,  when 
they  seemed  to  him  unwise,  or  its  local 
leadership  when  it  failed  in  rectitude  of 
conduct.  In  other  words  he  is  an  inde- 
pendent Republican ;  uniformly  the  ad- 
vocate of  purity  in  government  and  the 
scourge  of  abuses  and  corruption  by 
whomsoever  perpetrated.  Thus  he  was 
prominent  in  the  committee  of  seventy 
which,  in  1871,  broke  up  the  Tweed  ring 
and  punished  its  chief  malefactors.  He  has 
steadily  refused  to  stand  for  office,  once 
only  consenting,  in  1897,  to  be  an  inde- 
pendent Republican  candidate  for  United 
States  senator,  but  was  defeated  by  what 
is  known  as  the  "organization."  He  has, 
however,  accepted  two  positions  of  ex- 
alted import,  among  many  tendered  him, 
the  one  as  a  reviser  of  the  organic  law  of 
the  commonwealth  and  the  other  as  the 
representative  of  the  Republic  in  the 
most  important  post  in  the  diplomatic 
service. 

The  fourth  constitutional  convention, 
duly  ordered  by  the  people,  a  large  major- 
ity of  the  delegates  being  Republicans, 
met  in  the  Assembly  Chamber  at  the 
Capitol  in  Albany,  May  8,  1894,  Dr. 
Choate,  who  had  been  a  member  of  the 
Constitutional  Commission  of  1890,  head- 
ing the  list  of  the  delegates  at  large.  It 
was  an  able  body  of  men,  many  of  them 
having  previously  received  honorable 
preferment,  and  was  well  equipped  by 
learning  and  experience  for  the  responsi- 
ble duty  it  was  to  fulfill.  By  practically 
uanimous  acclaim  Dr.  Choate  was  select- 
ed as  president.  Although  without  previ- 
ous legislative  experience,  he  at  once  re- 
vealed signal  ability  as  a  presiding  officer 
— firm,  dignified,  impartial,  resourceful— 


and  commanded  the  esteem  of  his  asso- 
ciates throughout,  at  times  taking  the 
floor  to  discuss  propositions  of  exigent 
concern.  He  enlightened  the  convention 
by  his  speech,  enlivened  it  by  his  wit,  and 
charmed  it  by  his  courtesy.  It  framed 
an  instrument  accordant  with  his  address 
on  assuming  the  chair,  in  which,  after 
prefacing  a  cordial  tribute  to  the  then 
existing  constitution,  he  said : 

We  are  not  commissioned,  as  I  understand  it, 
to  treat  it  (the  Constitution  of  '46)  with  any  rude 
or  sacrilegious  hands.  To  its  general  features, 
the  statutes,  the  judicial  decisions,  the  habits  of 
this  great  people  have  long  been  accustomed  and 
adapted,  and  it  seems  to  me,  we  should  be  false 
to  our  trust  if  we  entered  upon  any  attempt  to 
tear  asunder  this  structure  which,  for  so  many 
years,  has  satisfied,  in  the  main,  the  wants  of  the 
people  of  the  State  of  New  York.  And  yet,  he 
proceeded,  there  are  certain  great  questions  which 
we  are  here  to  consider,  which  stare  us  in  the  face 
at  the  very  outset  of  the  proceedings  and  will 
continue  to  employ  our  minds  until  the  day  of  our 
final   adjournment. 

Among  these,  he  specified  the  reappor- 
tionment of  the  legislative  districts,  the 
government  of  cities,  the  relief  of  the 
court  of  appeals,  the  suffrage,  education, 
and  the  regulation  of  legislative  and 
court  procedure.  His  ideas  concerning 
these  all  found  expression  in  the  Con- 
stitution, which  was  ratified  at  the  polls 
by  a  majority  of  nearly  100,000.* 

•A  striking  specimen  of  his  subtle  wit  is  stlU 
fresh  in  the  minds  of  surviving  members  of  the 
convention.  Toward  the  end  of  the  se^^sion.  with 
business  pressing,  the  president  was  desirous  of 
restricting  discussion  as  much  as  possible.  A 
resolution  being  before  the  convention,  the  pres- 
ident stated  that  it  was  not  likely  to  precipitate 
debate  and  directed  the  secretary  to  call  the  roll 
for  a  vote.  That  officer  had  not  called  more  than 
two  or  three  names  when  the  courteous  and  dis- 
tinguished leader  of  the  minority,  the  Hon.  John 
M.  Bowers,  arose  and  said:  "Mr.  President,  I 
would  like  to  say  something  on  the  question." 
The  president  either  unconsciously,  or  purposely, 
it  would  be  difficult  to  say,  paid  no  attention  and 
still  directed  the  secretary  to  proceed  with  the 
call;  whereupon  Mr.  Bowers,  with  considerable 
excitement  of  manner  and  waving  of  hands  ex- 
claimed, "No,  Mr.  President,  I  want  to  debate  the 
resolution:  we  all  want  to  debate  it."  "That  is 
preeisely  the  same  thing,"  the  president  quickly 
replied,  and  the  call  proceeded  amid  the  laughter 
of  the  convention,  in  which  Mr.  Bowers  himself 
cheerfully  joined. 


219 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


In  January,  1899,  President  McKinley 
nominated  and  the  Senate  promptly  con- 
firmed him  as  Envoy  Extraordinary  and 
Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  the  Court  of 
St.  James.  Retained  by  President  Roose- 
velt, his  embassy  included  six  years 
(1899-1905).  In  the  long  and  brilliant 
line  of  scholars,  orators  and  statesmen, 
who  have  honored  the  nation  in  this  lofty 
station,  none  has  been  more  acceptable 
to  his  own  country  or  persona  grata, 
more  pleasing  to  that  to  which  he  was 
accredited  than  Joseph  Hodges  Choate. 
In  the  amicable  relations  between  the 
two  peoples,  never  more  pronounced  than 
during  his  tenure,  there  were  some  deli- 
cate and  difficult  issues  to  determine  ;  in- 
cluding especially  the  Alaska  boundary, 
the  Panama  canal  question,  and  the  main- 
tenance of  the  Open  Door  in  China.  He 
performed  the  regular  duties  of  his  office 
with  dignity,  fidelity  and  dispatch,  the 
embassy  was  the  home  of  visiting  Amer- 
icans and  the  rights  and  needs  of  his 
countrymen  were  attended  to  scrupu- 
lously. Entertaining  elegantly,  but  not 
ostentatiously,  he  was  a  welcome  guest 
in  all  circles  of  rank  and  refinement,  but 
it  was  abroad,  as  at  home,  that  his  speech 
conquered.  Invitations  to  speak  were 
showered  upon  him  for  literary  and  civic 
occasions,  and  to  these  he  responded 
cheerfully  and  freely,  never  forgetting 
that  he  was  an  American,  but  never  offen- 
sively obtruding  his  nationality,  as  too 
many  of  our  diplomats  have  been  wont 
to  do.  The  esteem  in  which  he  was  held 
is  clearly  shown  in  the  university  degrees 
bestowed  upon  him  and  the  exclusive 
associations  to  which  he  was  invited. 
Both  on  the  social  and  official  sides  his 
mission  was  eminently  successful,  link- 
ing more  closely  the  ties  that  unite  the 
great  communities  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race. 

A  fitting  honor  paid  Mr.  Choate  was 
his  appointment  as  head  of  the  American 


delegates  selected  by  President  Roose- 
velt in  1907  to  represent  the  United 
States  at  the  second  Peace  Conference  to 
meet  at  the  Hague,  June  15,  1907.  The 
delegates  received  their  instructions  from 
Secretary  of  State  Elihu  Root  under  date 
of  May  31,  1907,  in  these  instructions  out- 
lining the  wishes  and  desires  of  this  gov- 
ernment. The  service  rendered  by  Mr. 
Choate  as  plenipotentiary  ambassador, 
representing  the  United  States,  was 
weighty  and  exceedingly  valuable ;  his 
addresses  and  arguments  on  compulsory 
arbitration,  on  an  International  Court  of 
Appeal,  and  on  the  Immunity  of  Private 
Property  at  Sea,  especially  being  worthy 
of  preservation  in  government  archives. 
Had  the  American  project  been  adopted 
the  history  of  the  European  conflict  now 
raging  would  perhaps  never  need  to  be 
written. 

Forty-six  States  were  invited  to  partici- 
pate in  the  labors  of  the  Hague  Confer- 
ence and  but  two  failed  to  send  repre- 
sentatives, Costa  Rica  and  Ethiopia.  In 
the  official  instructions  to  the  delegates 
the  United  States  government  said,  "You 
will  urge  upon  the  Peace  Conference  the 
formulation  of  international  rules  of  war 
at  sea,"  adding,  "No  rules  should  be 
adopted  for  the  purpose  of  mitigating  the 
evils  of  war  to  belligerents  which  will 
tend  strongly  to  destroy  the  rights  of 
neutrals,  and  no  rules  should  be  adopted 
regarding  the  rights  of  neutrals  which 
will  tend  strongly  to  bring  about  war." 
"Special  consideration  should  be  given 
an  agreement  upon  what  shall  be  deemed 
to  constitute  contraband  of  war."  On 
the  question  of  arbitration  the  United 
States  delegates  were  instructed  by  Sec- 
retary Root  to  secure  a  general  treaty 
along  the  lines  of  the  treaties  negotiated 
by  John  Hay  when  Secretary  of  State  and 
"to  secure  such  a  treaty  you  should  use 
your  best  and  most  earnest  efforts." 

The  program  for  the  work  of  the  con- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ference  was  so  elaborate  that  a  division 
of  the  conference  into  four  commissions 
was  advisable.  Mr.  Choate  was  desig- 
nated with  Horace  Porter  honorary  presi- 
dents of  the  second  and  third  commis- 
sions. Mr.  Choate,  on  June  28,  1907,  ad- 
dressed the  conference  on  the  American 
proposition,  "The  Immunity  from  Cap- 
ture of  Private  Unoffending  Property  of 
the  Enemy  upon  the  High  Seas." 

In  the  language  of  the  learned  reporter, 
M.  Henri  Fromageot,  Mr.  Choate's  argu- 
ment was  "sustained  with  an  eloquence 
and  a  dialectical  force  difficult  to  sur- 
pass." But  the  doctrine  proved  unaccept- 
able to  the  larger  maritime  nations.  On 
July  18  he  again  addressed  the  confer- 
ence on  the  American  proposition,  inter- 
national arbitration,  presenting  most  elo- 
quently and  powerfully  the  proposition 
for  a  general  agreement  of  arbitration 
among  the  nations.  After  ten  weeks  of 
discussion  in  the  committee  of  Examina- 
tion A,  the  Anglo-American  draft  of  a 
general  treaty  of  arbitration  was  pre- 
sented to  the  first  commission  and  was 
there  debated  with  great  warmth  of  feel- 
ing. On  October  5  Mr.  Choate  again 
argued  in  favor  of  International  Arbitra- 
tion and  the  adoption  of  the  Anglo- 
American  draft  of  a  general  treaty.  On 
October  10  he  argued  at  length  against 
the  Austro-Hungarian  resolution  which 
virtually  meant  postponement  of  the 
Anglo-American  proposition  of  compul- 
sory arbitration  which  had  secured  a  vote 
of  thirty-two  in  its  favor  to  nine  against ; 
the  opponents  of  the  measure  insisting 
upon  the  unanimity  rule  of  international 
assemblies,  and  the  opposition  of  Ger- 
many to  a  general  treaty  of  arbitration 
finally  proving  fatal  to  the  Anglo-Amer- 
ican project,  the  result  of  weeks  of  labor 
and  discussion.  Its  partisans,  however, 
secured  the  adoption  of  a  resolution  ad- 
mitting the  principle  of  compulsory  arbi- 


tration and  declaring  in  favor  of  so  set- 
tling "certain  disputes."  Mr.  Choate 
voted  against  the  resolution  which 
seemed  a  retreat  from  the  advanced  posi- 
tion the  commission  had  taken  in  its 
votes  and  on  October  11,  addressed  the 
commission  in  a  brief  statement  in  be- 
half of  the  American  delegation.  At  the 
closing  session  of  the  First  Commission, 
October  11,  1907,  Mr.  Choate  on  behalf 
of  the  American  delegation  delivered  an 
eloquent  tribute  to  M.  Bourgeois,  presi- 
dent of  the  First  Commission  to  which 
the  question  of  arbitration  had  been  as- 
signed. In  closing  he  said :  "During 
these  four  months,  Mr.  President,  we 
have  lived  happily  under  your  benign 
dominion,  we  have  worked  hard,  and  have 
earned  the  bread  of  the  conference  by 
the  sweat  of  our  brows,  and  there  have 
been  moments  of  trial  and  suffering,  but 
in  separating,  we  look  back  with  satisfac- 
tion upon  our  labors,  thanks  greatly  to 
your  beneficent  and  harmonizing  spirit." 

Other  addresses  made  by  Mr.  Choate  at 
the  conference  were  on  the  establishment 
of  an  International  Court  of  Justice  (July 
1 1 )  and  on  the  American  project  for  a 
Permanent  Court  of  Arbitral  Justice  (Au- 
gust i). 

Those  four  months  spent  in  delibera- 
tion with  chosen  minds  of  all  nations 
constitute  a  record  that  is  not  only  a 
source  of  satisfaction  to  Mr.  Choate  and 
the  entire  American  delegation,  but  one 
in  which  the  American  nation  takes  great 
pride. 

Dr.  Choate's  residence  for  nine  months 
in  the  year  is  at  No.  8  East  Sixty-third 
street.  New  York.  The  other  three 
months  he  sets  apart  for  comparative  re- 
laxation and  repose  at  Stockbridge  in 
the  Berkshire  hills,  where  he  dispenses 
a  gracious  hospitality.  He  married,  Oc- 
tober 16,  1861,  Caroline  Dutcher,  daugh- 
ter of  Frederick  A.   Sterling,  of   Cleve- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


land,  Ohio,  and  sister  of  President  Theo- 
dore Sterling,  late  president  of  Kenyon 
College.  Mrs.  Choate,  and  two  sons, 
George  and  Joseph  Hodges,  Jr.,  and  one 
daughter  are  living. 


HAVEMEYER,  John  Craig, 
Man  of  Affairs,  Philanthropist,  Author. 

This  tribute  of  respect  is  dedicated  to 
a  man  who  has  lived  long  and  has  lived 
well.  The  story  of  his  life  is  full  of  les- 
sons, full  of  interest,  full  of  inspiration. 
It  covers  a  period  when  a  great  number 
of  social,  civic  and  religious  reforms  were 
effected  with  which  he  was  identified. 
Now,  an  octogenarian,  Mr.  Havemeyer 
has  stood  through  this  long  number  of 
years  for  the  highest  ideals  of  citizenship, 
his  voice  has  always  been  raised  and  his 
influence  unswervingly  cast  on  the  side 
of  right  and  righteous  living,  whether  a 
business  man,  citizen,  philanthropist  or 
Christian,  he  has  consistently  sought  to 
embody  in  his  life  the  principle  of  Him 
who  said :  "I  came  not  to  be  ministered 
unto,  but  to  minister." 

The  Havemeyers  came  from  the  Ger- 
man middle  class,  removed  alike  from 
noble  and  serf,  which  preserved  through 
out  the  darkness  of  the  Middle  Ages  the 
learning,  energy  and  independence  of 
character  which  made  Northern  and  Cen- 
tral Germany  receptive  to  Luther  and  the 
Reformation.  Bueckeburg,  in  the  prin- 
cipality of  Schaumburg-Lippe,  was  the 
home  city  of  the  Havemeyers  and  there 
Hermann  Hoevemeyer  (as  sometimes 
spelled)  with  nineteen  others  formed  a 
Baker's  Guild  in  1644.  Dietrich  William 
Hoevemeyer,  born  1725,  was  a  master 
baker,  a  member  of  the  Common  Council 
of  the  City  of  Bueckeburg  and  served  in 
the  Seventy  Years'  War. 

The  first  of  the  family  to  come  to 
America  was  William  Havemeyer,  grand- 
father of  John   Craig  Havemeyer.     Or- 


phaned at  an  early  age,  he  had  gone  to 
England  at  fifteen,  and  in  London 
learned  sugar  refining,  eventually  becom- 
ing superintendent  of  a  refinery.  He 
came  to  New  York  under  contract  with 
Edmund  Seaman  &  Company  to  take 
charge  of  their  sugar  house  in  Pine  street, 
bringing  with  him  a  bill  of  exchange  for 
sixty  pounds  sterling,  dated  London, 
March  12,  1799,  drawn  on  James  J.  Roose- 
velt, merchant,  New  York.  He  com- 
pleted the  terms  of  his  contract  in  1807, 
then  at  once  began  business  for  himself, 
establishing  one  of  the  first  sugar  refin- 
eries in  New  York  City,  its  location  be- 
tween Hudson  and  Greenwich  streets,  on 
Vandam  street.  He  became  a  naturalized 
citizen  in  1807  and  at  his  death,  August 
13,  1851,  aged  eighty-one  years,  he  left 
a  comfortable  estate  to  his  four  children : 
Anna,  Amelia,  Albert  and  William  Fred- 
erick. 

William  Frederick  Havemeyer,  father 
of  John  Craig  Havemeyer,  was  born  at 
No.  31  Pine  street,  New  York  City,  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1804,  died  during  his  third  term 
as  mayor  of  New  York,  while  in  per- 
formance of  his  official  duties  at  the  City 
Hall,  November  30,  1874.  After  prepara- 
tion in  private  schools  he  entered  Colum- 
bia College,  whence  he  was  graduated, 
class  of  1823,  having  particularly  distin- 
guished himself  in  mathematics.  He  ob- 
tained a  thorough  business  training  as 
clerk  in  his  father's  sugar  refinery,  and 
in  1823  formed  a  partnership  with  his 
cousin,  Frederick  Christian  Havemeyer, 
under  the  firm  name  of  W.  F.  &  F.  C. 
Havemeyer,  sugar  refiners.  In  1842,  after 
fourteen  years  in  successful  business,  he 
sold  his  interests  in  the  firm  to  his 
brother,  Albert  Havemeyer,  and  retired 
with  a  competency  honorably  earned. 

His  prominent  connection  with  public 
affairs  began  in  1844  and  continued  until 
his  death  thirty  years  later.  He  was  a 
Democrat,  and  an  enthusiastic  supporter 


C4/6. 


^4-'^t_-C^2^_^/^  ^-^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  Andrew  Jackson  during  the  years  "Old 
Hickory"  was  so  potent  a  power  in  the 
land.  In  1844  he  was  chosen  to  repre- 
sent his  ward  in  the  Tammany  Hall  Con- 
vention. At  the  succeeding  State  Demo- 
cratic Convention  held  at  Syracuse,  Sep- 
tember 4,  1844,  he  was  nominated  presi- 
dential elector,  and  in  the  Electoral  Col- 
lege cast  the  vote  of  New  York  State  for 
James  K.  Polk,  of  Tennessee,  for  Presi- 
dent and  George  M.  Dallas,  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, for  Vice-President. 

He  became  a  member  of  the  general 
committee  of  Tammany  Hall  and  dis- 
played so  marked  a  business  ability  that 
he  was  chosen  chairman  of  the  finance 
committee.  He  became  very  influential 
in  the  party,  but  was  too  independent  in 
his  actions  to  please  the  politicians  who, 
to  forestall  his  appointment  by  President 
Polk  as  collector  of  the  port  of  New  York, 
offered  him  the  nomination  for  the  mayor- 
alty. This  was  in  the  day  when  national 
party  power  was  of  greater  importance  to 
Tammany  Hall  than  city  control ;  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  city  with  its  then  but 
four  hundred  thousand  population  being 
comparatively  simple.  The  Department 
of  Charities  and  Correction  was  governed 
by  a  single  officer ;  the  police  were  ap- 
pointed, controlled  and  dismissed  by  the 
mayor;  "Jobs"  were  unknown  and 
"rings"  had  not  yet  been  invented.  The 
office  of  mayor,  however,  was  something 
more  than  a  civic  honor. 

Mr.  Havemeyer  was  elected  mayor  by 
a  large  majority  in  April,  1845,  and  at 
once  directed  his  special  attention  to 
police  aiifairs,  the  Common  Council  pass- 
ing at  his  instance  an  ordinance  provid- 
ing for  a  municipal  police  force.  Under 
its  terms  he  nominated  George  W.  Mat- 
sell  for  Chief  of  Police  and  he  was  con- 
firmed, great  reforms  were  introduced  in 
city  government,  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant relating  to  immigration.  Upon  his 
advice  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  cre- 


ating the  board  of  "Commissioners  of 
Emigration,"  there  having  been  no  offi- 
cial supervision  of  immigration  by  State 
or  City  prior  to  that  board.  Mayor 
Havemeyer  was  appointed  the  first  presi- 
dent of  the  board  and  remained  its  head 
after  his  term  as  mayor  expired.  The 
Ward's  Island  institution  for  emigrants 
was  established  by  Mr.  Havemeyer  and 
his  associates.  At  the  expiration  of  his 
first  term  he  was  reelected,  untiring 
energy,  ability  and  devotion  characteriz- 
ing both  administrations.  He  declined  a 
third  term  and  for  several  years  retired 
from  active  participation  in  politics.  In 
1857,  when  the  metropolitan  police  com- 
missioner and  the  mayor,  Fernando  Wood, 
were  struggling  for  control  of  the  police 
force,  Mr.  Havemeyer  came  out  of  retire- 
ment and  aided  Chief  Matsell.  In  1859 
he  was  a  candidate  for  mayor  in  a  tri- 
angular contest  and  was  defeated. 

From  1851  until  1861  he  was  president 
of  the  Bank  of  North  America,  and  from 
1857  until  1861  he  was  president  of  the 
New  York  Savings  Bank,  taking  the  office 
at  a  time  of  great  peril  to  the  bank  and 
leaving  it  upon  a  secure  foundation.  For 
several  years  he  was  vice-president  of  the 
Long  Island  Railroad  Company  and  held 
similar  relation  to  the  Pennsylvania  Coal 
Company. 

During  the  Civil  War  he  was  an  un- 
wavering and  earnest  supporter  of  the 
government  at  Washington.  He  presided 
over  one  of  the  four  great  meetings  held 
simultaneously  in  Union  Square,  April 
21,  1 861,  to  give  expression  to  the  patri- 
otic sentiments  of  the  people  of  New 
York.  In  July,  1866,  he  was  selected  in 
conjunction  with  Thurlow  Weed  as  arbi- 
trator of  a  long  dispute  between  the 
Board  of  Public  Charities  and  the  Board 
of  Commissioners  of  Emigration  involv- 
ing an  amount  in  excess  of  $100,000.  Their 
report  was  satisfactory  to  both  parties 
and  the  controversy  ended.   Twelve  years 


223 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


were  passed  in  quiet  before  Mr.  Have- 
meyer  again  entered  the  public  arena,  to 
lead  the  fight  against  the  Tweed  Ring. 
Tammany  Hall,  under  the  control  of  Wil- 
liam M.  Tweed,  had  become  an  organiza- 
tion of  banditti,  with  the  city  treasury  and 
the  city's  credit  at  its  mercy.  Many  mil- 
lions of  dollars  were  stolen  and  divided 
between  Tweed  and  his  confederates, 
their  methods  of  plundering  so  ingenious 
and  so  well  marked  under  a  pretence  of 
legitimate  public  expenditures,  that  even 
eminent  financiers  were  deceived  as  to 
the  real  condition  of  affairs.  So  greatly 
were  they  deceived  that  they  signed  a 
certificate  exonerating  the  "Ring,"  while 
the  rank  and  file  of  Tammany  Hall  ac- 
claimed the  leaders,  who  scattered  with 
a  free  hand  a  share  of  the  stolen  funds 
among  their  followers. 

Mr.  Havemeyer,  however,  was  one  of 
the  men  who  were  not  deceived,  and  in 
the  spring  of  1870  united  with  other 
patriotic  citizens  in  organizing  the  New 
York  City  Council  of  Reform,  whose  ob- 
ject was  to  rescue  the  city  from  its  plun- 
derers and  bring  the  guilty  to  the  bar  of 
justice.  Mr.  Havemeyer  was  its  first 
president,  and  presided  at  the  first  great 
meeting  of  citizens  held  at  Cooper  Insti- 
tute, April  6,  1871,  and  the  still  more  im- 
portant meeting  held  at  the  same  place, 
September  4,  1871,  which  created  the 
Committee  of  Seventy,  of  which  Mr. 
Havemeyer  was  for  two  months  vice- 
president  and  afterwards  president. 

The  story  of  the  final  overthrow  of  the 
corrupt  "Ring"  is  a  familiar  one.  After 
Mr.  Havemeyer  and  Samuel  J.  Tilden 
gained  access  to  the  Broadway  Bank  in 
which  the  members  of  the  "Ring"  kept 
their  accounts  and  obtained  the  legal 
proof  of  the  enormous  thefts,  criminal 
prosecution  completely  broke  the  power 
of  the  "Ring"  whose  members  fled,  died, 
or  gave  themselves  up  to  the  law. 

The  mayoralty  campaign  of   1872  saw 


Tammany  Hall  with  a  very  respectable 
candidate,  the  Apollo  Hall  Democracy 
with  another,  but  neither  candidate  had 
the  endorsement  of  the  Committee  of 
Seventy  which  just  then  was  a  power  in 
politics.  The  Republican  party  saw  their 
opportunity  and  nominated  William  F. 
Havemeyer,  whose  record  as  a  war  Dem- 
ocrat was  satisfactory  to  the  Republicans 
and  whose  services  in  behalf  of  reform 
rendered  him  acceptable  to  the  Commit- 
tee of  Seventy.  He  was  elected  and  for 
a  third  time  occupied  the  highest  execu- 
tive office  of  the  city.  His  third  term  was 
a  stormy  one,  being  a  series  of  contests 
with  the  Board  of  Aldermen.  Party 
leaders  and  private  cliques  were  anxious 
to  dictate  or  control  appointments.  The 
discomfited  but  not  annihilated  followers 
of  Tweed  were  on  the  alert  to  discredit 
him.  An  indiscreet  word  or  act,  an  un- 
acceptable nomination,  anything  in  short 
which  either  was  or  could  be  construed 
into  a  mistake  was  certain  to  be  seized 
upon  by  vigilant  antagonists  and  by 
selfish  interests  to  which  he  refused  to 
be  subservient.  But  he  "fought  the  good 
fight,"  and  "kept  the  faith,"  breaking 
down  under  the  strain,  however,  and 
dying  at  his  desk  in  the  City  Hall. 

A  New  York  morning  journal  none  too 
friendly  to  him  said :  "He  was  a  Mayor 
whose  honesty  of  purpose  had  never  been 
impugned,"  and  that  the  real  fruit  of  the 
Reform  party  "is  to  be  seen  in  the  puri- 
fied Democratic  party  which  has  just 
now,  two  years  after  the  election  of  Mr. 
Havemeyer,  carried  New  York  by  a  ma- 
jority almost  unexampled." 

An  impartial  religious  journal  said: 
"He  had  been  called  in  a  trying  time  to 
fill  a  difficult  position.  More  was  ex- 
pected of  him  than  he  could  perhaps  ac- 
complish. Unfortunately  for  him  he  was 
controlled  by  a  partiality  for  old  friends 
with  which  the  city  had  neither  sympathy 
or    patience.      He    knew    the    men    with 


224 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


whom  he  had  associated  in  years  long 
gone  by  better  than  the  men  of  to-day, 
and  with  the  tenacity  of  a  strong  nature 
clung  to  them." 

Mayor  Havemeyer  was  for  years  a 
member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  Cen- 
tral Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  was 
deeply  interested  in  its  property,  gave 
liberally  to  its  current  expenses,  to  its 
benevolences  and  was  a  regular  attend- 
ant on  the  public  Sunday  services. 

Mayor  Havemeyer  married  Sarah 
Agnes  Craig,  of  Scotch  ancestry.  Her 
grandfather,  James  Craig,  came  from 
Paisley,  Scotland,  and  settled  at  Bloom- 
ing Grove,  Orange  county.  New  York, 
and  was  the  founder  of  the  manufactur- 
ing village  of  Craigville,  formerly  known 
as  Cromeline  on  Grey  Court  Creek,  a 
powder  mill  said  to  have  been  located 
there  during  the  Revolution.  In  1790 
James  Craig  erected  a  paper  mill,  the  first 
in  Orange  county.  His  wife  was  the 
daughter  of  Captain  Hector  McNeil,  who 
commanded  the  United  States  ship  "Bos- 
ton" in  1777  and  was  third  of  the  twenty- 
four  naval  captains  appointed  by  Con- 
gress, October  10,  1776. 

Their  son.  Hector  Craig,  was  born  in 
Scotland,  coming  to  this  country  with  his 
parents.  In  1816  he  was  one  of  the  in- 
corporators and  secretary  of  the  Bloom- 
ing Grove  and  New  Windsor  Turnpike 
and  in  1818  also  secretary  of  the  Orange 
County  Agricultural  Society.  In  1823- 
25  he  was  a  Congressman,  again  elected 
in  1829,  but  resigned  before  his  term  ex- 
pired to  accept  appointment  by  President 
Jackson  in  1830  to  the  post  of  collector 
of  the  port  of  New  York.  He  was  re- 
moved from  that  ofifice  by  President  Van 
Buren  for  political  reasons.  In  1832  he 
was  commissioner  of  insolvency  for  the 
Southern  District  of  New  York.  He  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  John  Chandler,  of 
Blooming  Grove,    a    large    land    owner. 


storekeeper  and  miller,  also  trading  with 
the  West  Indies,  a  man  of  importance  in 
Orange  county.  Their  daughter,  Sarah 
Agnes  Craig,  was  a  country  bred  girl,  a 
fine  horsewoman  in  her  younger  days. 
She  was  educated  in  the  famous  Emma 
Willard  School  at  Troy,  New  York.  Her 
marriage  to  William  F.  Havemeyer  was 
a  very  happy  one,  and  in  her  afifection, 
practical  intelligence  and  earnest  cooper- 
ation her  husband  found  much  of  inspi- 
ration that  led  him  onward  in  a  notable 
business  and  official  career.  Mrs.  Have- 
meyer was  the  mother  of  ten  children, 
her  heart  was  centered  in  her  home,  and 
her  husband  and  children  were  her  joy 
and  pride.  She  was  very  charitable,  had 
deep  religious  convictions,  was  earnest 
and  sincere,  her  example  and  teaching 
potent  in  moulding  the  lives  and  charac- 
ters of  her  children.  She  lived  to  the  age 
of  eighty-seven  and  between  her  and  her 
third  child,  John  C,  there  existed  the  most 
intimate  fellowship.  The  family  home 
was  located  in  what  is  now  a  far  down 
town  section  on  Vandam  street,  adjoin- 
ing the  sugar  house,  and  there  John  Craig 
Havemeyer  was  born. 

John  Craig  Havemeyer  was  born  May 
31,  1833,  son  of  William  Frederick  and 
Sarah  Agnes  (Craig)  Havemeyer.  Until 
his  eleventh  year  he  attended  various  pri- 
vate schools,  Miss  Durant's,  Greenwich 
and  Charlton  streets.  Miss  Houghton's, 
Vandam  near  Varick  street,  and  Mr.  Mar- 
tin's in  Dominick  street.  At  the  age  of 
eleven  he  was  sent  to  the  boarding  school 
of  Rev.  Robert  W.  Harris,  White  Plains, 
New  York.  From  a  diary  neatly  kept 
during  this  period  it  is  found  that  the 
studies  he  pursued  were  Latin,  Greek, 
mathematics,  French,  geography,  history 
and  spelling  and  that  the  religious  ele- 
ment was  prominent  in  the  training  he 
there  received.  He  remained  at  White 
Plains  about  two  years,  then  entered  the 


N  Y— Vol  IV_15 


225 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


grammar  school  of  Columbia  College, 
there  gaining  special  commendation  for 
excellence  in  English.  He  was  unusually 
facile  in  expressing  himself  in  good  Eng- 
lish while  quite  young  and  when  but 
fourteen  one  of  his  youthful  essays,  "The 
Seasons,"  was  admitted  into  the  public 
print.  During  portions  of  1848-49  he  was 
a  student  at  New  York  University,  but 
ill  health  and  particularly  poor  eyesight 
compelled  him  to  withdraw  from  college. 
He,  however,  continued  his  studies  in  pri- 
vate and  became  a  member  of  two  debat- 
ing societies,  the  Philosophian  Society,  of 
which  he  was  chosen  president  in  1850, 
and  the  Addisonian,  which  he  was  instru- 
mental in  organizing  in  January,  1851. 
The  debates  in  these  societies  in  which 
the  boy  took  active  part  were  of  great 
aid  to  him  in  cultivating  that  fluency, 
clarity  and  directness  of  expression  for 
which  he  has  always  been  noted.  The 
abandonment  of  his  college  course  was  a 
severe  blow  to  him  and  brought  him 
much  sadness  and  disappointment.  For 
a  time  he  did  nothing,  then  attempted  to 
secure  a  position  but  the  fact  that  his 
father  was  mayor  created  a  peculiar  diffi- 
culty. He  became  discouraged  and  re- 
solved to  "run  away,"  and  go  by  vessel 
to  California,  but  his  father  learned  of 
his  plans  and  busied  himself  in  the  boy's 
behalf,  finally  securing  him  a  position 
with  his  uncle  in  a  grocery  store  on  Ful- 
ton street,  where  he  received  fifty  dollars 
for  his  first  year's  work. 

The  following  pledge  solemnly  taken 
and  kept  with  an  extract  from  his  diary 
reveals  his  moral  and  religious  sentiment, 
deliberate  judgment  and  will  power, 
even  in  youth :  "I,  the  undersigned, 
do  hereby  solemnly  promise  and  declare 
that  I  will,  as  far  as  in  me  lies,  totally 
abstain  from  the  use  of  tobacco,  snuff  or 
segars,  and  in  addition  thereto  do  sol- 
emnly affirm  that  I  will  refrain  partaking 
in  large  or  small  quantities  of  intoxicat- 


ing liquors  of  any  kind  so  ever  from  date 
until  arrived  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  and 
if  then  this  course  be  found  beneficial 
whether  or  not  I  will  follow  this  rule  the 
rest  of  life,  remains  for  myself  to  de- 
termine." The  above  has  been  drawn  out 
and  is  now  signed  from  a  growing  incli- 
nation towards  indulging  in  them  ex- 
hibiting itself.  From  his  diary,  date  of 
November  14,  1850,  this  extract  is  taken : 

In  my  eighteenth  year,  of  moderate  size  and 
passable  looks,  engaged  in  the  grocery  business 
with  an  uncle,  I  sometimes  feel  a  contentment 
and  at  others  a  depression  of  spirits  which  alter- 
nately makes  me  satisfied  with  my  condition  and 
again  spreads  on  all  objects  around  a  gloom 
which  a  day  of  active  exercise  alone  can  dispel. 
But  my  trust  is  in  God.  He  will  answer  my 
prayers  and  give  me  the  equilibrium  of  disposi- 
tion, the  sobriety  of  thought  and  activity  of  mind 
and  body  which  I  have  long  and  earnestly  de- 
sired. I  wish  to  be  neither  too  grave  nor  gay, 
but  desire  to  unite  the  two  traits  in  such  a 
manner  as  will  render  me  a  happy  medium. 

Above  all  things  I  would  be  governed  in  my 
actions  and  thoughts  by  a  high  and  holy  principle 
which  will  lead  me  always  to  consider  the  right 
and  justice;  influence  me  to  act  kindly  and  gen- 
erously toward  all,  to  relieve  the  wants  of  the 
destitute,  encourage  the  disheartened  and  which 
will  impart  to  my  character  a  firmness  and  proper 
dignity  and  give  to  my  feelings  an  elevation 
which  shall  act  as  a  talisman  to  protect  me  from 
the  low  contaminations  surrounding  me,  by  which 
I  sometimes  fear  that  I  have  been  somewhat 
corrupted. 

From  June  12,  1852,  until  March  27, 
1853,  he  took  an  extended  tour  through 
Europe  and  the  countries  bordering  the 
Mediterranean,  a  journey  taken  at  his 
father's  instance  as  a  health  measure,  but 
for  the  young  man  it  became  a  period  of 
investigation  and  study,  not  mere  sight- 
seeing. At  Bueckeburg,  the  home  of  his 
German  ancestors,  he  visited  the  house  in 
which  his  grandfather  was  born.  His  let- 
ters from  European  cities  and  from  the 
Holy  Land  display  an  interest  in  every- 
thing he  saw,  and  a  close  observation 
that  enabled  him  to  write  most  interest- 


226 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ingly  and  intelligently  of  the  countries  he 
visited.  He  returned  to  New  York  from 
Havre  on  the  steamer  "Humbolt,"  arriv- 
ing home  in  April,   1853. 

With  his  return  from  Europe,  Mr. 
Havemeyer  began  his  business  life  in 
earnest.  He  became  clerk  in  the  Have- 
meyer &  Moller  Sugar  House  and  in  a 
few  months  wrote  to  his  sister:  "I  went 
into  the  sugar  house  as  clerk  towards 
the  last  of  December  and  have  now  (Jan- 
uary 30,  1853)  entire  charge  of  the  office." 
During  this  period  he  was  vice-president 
of  the  Everett  Club,  a  debating  society, 
and  was  active  in  the  support  of  religion 
and  the  church. 

On  the  last  day  of  the  year  1855  he 
signed  a  partnership  agreement  with 
Charles  E.  Bertrand,  then  beginning  his 
independent  career  as  a  sugar  refiner. 
The  firm  Havemeyer  &  Bertrand  was 
located  at  Williamsburg  at  what  is  now 
the  corner  of  South  Third  and  First 
streets,  Brooklyn.  Six  months  later  a 
cousin,  F.  C.  Havemeyer,  was  admitted 
to  the  firm.  The  difficulty  in  getting 
proper  machinery  from  Germany  caused 
delay  and  loss,  and  after  nine  months  of 
struggle  Mr.  Havemeyer  sold  his  inter- 
est to  Havemeyer  &  Moller. 

In  November,  1S56,  he  started  on  a 
journey  intending  to  travel  east  and  west 
until  he  found  a  business  opportunity  and 
wherever  he  found  a  business  opportun- 
ity there  to  settle,  but  after  visiting  Bos- 
ton and  Worcester  he  returned  to  New 
York,  there  deciding  to  remain.  In 
March,  1857,  he  entered  the  employ  of 
Havemeyer  &  Moller  and  during  the  fall 
•of  that  year  made  a  business  trip  to  De- 
troit and  other  places,  a  journey  he  re- 
cords in  his  diary  as  one  on  which  he 
"made  the  acquaintance  of  several  prin- 
cipal firms  in  the  grocery  business."  In 
January,  1859,  ^^  made  a  special  arrange- 
ment with  the  firm  of  William  Moller  & 
Company,     Steam     Sugar     Refiners,     as 


salesman  and  agent,  with  power  of  attor- 
ney, his  compensation  $3,000  a  year  and 
a  share  of  the  net  profits  of  the  business. 
His  responsibilities  were  very  great  and 
involved  business  trips  to  various  parts 
of  the  country.  The  entries  in  his  diary 
at  this  period,  although  meagre,  show 
him  to  have  been  in  improved  health  and 
spirits  and  very  active  in  his  business. 
Yet,  business  cares  did  not  prevent  his 
giving  time  to  the  church,  Sunday  school, 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  Bible 
Society  and  the  Everett  Club,  and 
wherever  he  happened  to  be  on  a  Sun- 
day he  always  attended  Divine  service. 

About  the  end  of  January,  i860,  Mr. 
Havemeyer  left  William  Moller  &  Com- 
pany, and  very  soon  afterward  started 
independently  as  a  commission  merchant 
with  offices  first  at  No.  107  Water  street, 
later  at  No.  175  Pearl  street,  also  becom- 
ing a  member  of  the  New  York  Produce 
Exchange.  It  was  at  that  time  that  Mr. 
Havemeyer,  prompted  by  devotion  to 
Christian  business  principle,  had  Scrip- 
tural quotations  printed  on  his  business 
letterheads.  His  father  objected  to  the 
practice  and  in  deference  to  him  the  prac- 
tice was  discontinued.  Mr.  Havemeyer 
admitted  his  brother  Henry  to  a  partner- 
ship in  1865  under  the  firm  name  of  John 
C.  Havemeyer  &  Brother.  Their  busi- 
ness was  largely  in  tobacco  and  rice,  later 
many  other  articles  were  handled  and 
journeys  east,  west  and  south  were 
necessary.  This  business  relation  existed 
until  July,  1869,  when  the  firm  of  Have- 
meyer &  Company,  composed  of  Albert 
and  Hector  C.  Havemeyer,  engaged  John 
C.  Havemeyer  to  conduct  the  mercantile 
part  of  their  sugar  refining  business  with 
power  of  attorney.  This  was  an  ex- 
tremely responsible  position,  involving 
extensive  purchases  and  sales  of  sugar; 
"and  any  other  articles  for  the  use  of  or 
being  the  product  of  one  refinery,  or 
otherwise  required  by  our  business,  to 
27 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


draw  or  endorse  checks  and  orders  for 
the  payment  of  money,  to  make  or  in- 
dorse any  promissory  notes  or  bills  of 
exchange,  to  borrow  money  and  generally 
to  negotiate  and  transact  in  the  name  and 
in  behalf  of  said  firm,  all  financial  and 
commercial  matters  properly  relating  to 
said  business  as  fully  and  effectually  as 
either  we  or  either  of  us  as  copartners 
in  said  firm  could  do  if  present."  Under 
so  wide  a  contract  Mr.  Havemeyer 
worked  for  nine  months  when  Have- 
meyer &  Company  sold  out  to  Have- 
meyer &  Elder,  January  7,  1870.  From 
that  time  until  1880  Mr.  Havemeyer  was 
a  member  of  the  firm  of  Havemeyer 
Brothers  &  Company,  Sugar  Refiners, 
No.  89  Wall  street.  He  sold  his  one- 
sixth  interest  in  the  firm  in  September, 
1880,  to  John  E.  Searles,  Jr.,  of  No.  100 
Wall  street,  retiring  from  that  time  on 
from  all  connection  with  the  sugar  busi- 
ness ;  often  during  later  years  it  has  been 
erroneously  stated  that  he  was  a  member 
of  the  "Sugar  Trust."  Many  times  he 
has  been  falsely  attacked  in  that  connec- 
tion and  to  disprove  the  charge  he  has  in 
several  instances  publicly  set  forth  his 
relations,  terminating  in  1880,  to  the  busi- 
ness of  sugar  refining. 

From  1880  until  his  retirement.  Mr. 
Havemeyer  confined  his  business  opera- 
tions to  real  estate  dealing  in  the  States 
of  Colorado,  Kansas,  Nebraska,  New 
York,  and  the  region  now  the  State  of 
Oklahoma.  During  the  seventies  he  was 
president  of  the  Central  Railroad  of  Long 
Island,  associated  as  a  bondholder  with 
the  Darien  Short  Line  Railroad  in  1893, 
in  1890  prominently  connected  with  the 
reorganization  of  the  Toledo,  St.  Louis 
&  Kansas  City  Railroad  Company,  and 
for  some  time  was  a  trustee  of  the  Con- 
tinental Trust  Company  of  New  York. 

During  the  years  1876  to  1881  Mr. 
Havemeyer,  as  the  executor  of  the  will  of 
his  father,  found  himself  with  his  brother 


Henry  the  defendants  in  a  suit  brought 
by  the  administrators  of  the  estate  of  his 
uncle,  Albert  Havemeyer,  involving  the 
charge  of  a  breach  of  contract  in  the  sale 
of  a  large  amount  of  stock  of  the  Long 
Island  Railroad  Company.  Two  juries 
decided  against  the  defendants  but  on 
appeal  the  verdict  was  reversed,  Judge 
William  H.  Taft,  afterward  President, 
was  one  of  the  judges  who  decided  the 
case  in  John  C.  and  Henry  Havemeyer's 
favor. 

In  the  home  of  his  distinguished  father 
and  in  subsequent  social  and  business  re- 
lations, Mr.  Havemeyer  frequently  met 
men  of  great  reputation  and  influence. 
One  of  these  was  Samuel  J.  Tilden,  the 
great  lawyer  and  Democratic  idol,  who 
used  often  to  visit  Mayor  Havemeyer  at 
his  home,  Mr.  Tilden,  a  bachelor,  then 
living  on  Union  Square  near  Fourteenth 
street.  He  left  a  lasting  impression  on 
Mr.  Havemeyer  on  account  of  his  irregu- 
lar habits  of  life.  He  went  to  bed  very 
late  and  got  up  very  late,  not  before  ten 
in  the  morning.  He  had  false  teeth  and 
when  agitated  moved  them  about  in  his 
mouth  and  as  his  agitation  increased 
would  take  them  out  and  place  them  on 
the  table.  He  drew  up  Mr.  Havemeyer's 
partnership  papers  and  warned  him  that 
it  was  important  to  look  into  all  the  de- 
tails of  a  partner's  character,  very  much 
the  same  as  when  one  got  married.  In 
the  early  eighties  Mr.  Havemeyer  was 
connected  in  business  with  John  Wana- 
maker,  the  great  merchant  and  states- 
man, and  has  some  interesting  letters  ex- 
changed with  that  great  man,  with  Judge 
Taft,  and  many  other  men  of  an  earlier 
day.  Colonei  Robert  G.  Ingersoll,  the 
noted  agnostic,  was  also  brought  in  busi- 
ness touch  with  him,  and  an  interesting 
correspondence  between  the  two  men  is 
preserved,  all  the  more  interesting  on  ac- 
count of  the  abysmal  difference  between 
them  in  relation  to  Christian  belief. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


For  forty  years  after  his  marriage  in 
1872  Mr.  Havemeyer  made  Yonkers  his 
home  and  took  a  deep  interest  in  promot- 
ing its  prosperity.  He  advocated  public 
parks,  headed  the  agitation  which  result- 
ed in  old  historic  Manor  Hall  being  saved 
and  transferred  to  the  State  of  New  York, 
and  at  the  dedication  of  "Hollywood  Inn," 
a  non-sectarian  club  house  for  young 
men,  represented  St.  John's  Chapter  of 
the  Brotherhood  of  St.  Andrew  in  a 
speech  full  of  deep  feeling.  He  was  and 
is  opposed  to  war  on  Christian  grounds, 
depreciates  the  patriotism  that  is  found- 
ed on  military  or  naval  prowess,  believes 
that  humanity  and  religion  are  above 
patriotism  and  the  law  of  universal  love 
before  that  of  allegiance  to  one's  country, 
and  that  as  long  as  mankind  shall  con- 
tinue to  bestow  more  liberal  applause  on 
their  destroyers  than  on  their  benefactors 
the  thirst  for  military  glory  will  ever  be 
the  vice  of  the  most  exalted  characters. 
He  has  maintained  his  positions  in  the 
religious  and  secular  press,  beginning  at 
the  age  of  seventeen  with  an  article  in  the 
New  York  "Evening  Post,"  of  which  Wil- 
liam Cullen  Bryant  was  the  editor,  down 
to  the  present,  taking  issue  with  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt's  article  in  the  "Outlook" 
in  1909  on  "Great  Armaments  and  Peace," 
answering  it  in  the  "Christian  Advocate" 
of  New  York.  He  was  a  Democrat  by 
inheritance,  but  never  has  been  narrowly 
partisan.  He  warmly  supported  Grover 
Cleveland  for  President,  and  in  1908  sup- 
ported Bryan,  but  with  little  enthusiasm, 
believing  on  the  whole  he  represented 
better  principles  than  his  opponent.  He 
bitterly  opposed  the  use  of  the  pulpit  as 
a  political  rostrum.  In  1903,  when  capi- 
tal and  labor  were  in  bitter  controversy, 
Mr.  Havemeyer  endeavored  to  bring 
about  a  better  mutual  understanding  by 
public  discussion  and  at  his  own  expense 
obtained  Music  Hall,  Yonkers,  in  which 
to  hold  the  meeting,  his   position   being 


wholly  impartial,  only  seeking  to  estab- 
lish the  fact  that  both  capital  and  labor 
were  under  obligations  to  higher  de- 
mands of  humanity  and  religion. 

Mr.  Havemeyer  was  reared  in  the  at- 
mosphere of  a  religious  home,  and  at 
about  the  age  of  sixteen  made  an  open 
profession  of  religion  and  joined  the 
Methodist  church.  From  this  early  age 
he  associated  himself  actively  with  all 
departments  of  his  church,  believing  them 
all  essential  to  the  development  of  the 
best  type  of  Christian  character.  In  1862 
he  aided  in  founding  the  Christian 
Brotherhood  of  Central  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  New  York,  of  which  Rev. 
Alfred  Cookman  of  sainted  memory  was 
pastor,  and  became  its  first  president. 
After  settling  in  Yonkers  he  joined  the 
First  Methodist  Church  and  has  never 
removed  his  membership.  He  was  treas- 
urer of  the  building  committee  in  charge 
of  the  erection  of  the  present  beautiful 
church  edifice  and  he  has  been  a  devoted 
and  influential  layman  of  the  church  he 
loves  for  over  sixty  years.  For  a  number 
of  years  he  was  closely  associated  with 
the  work  of  the  Evangelical  Alliance  and 
a  member  of  the  executive  committee. 
In  the  work  of  the  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association,  he  has  taken  a  lively 
interest  since  youth,  his  membership  dat- 
ing back  to  1855  when  the  association 
occupied  rooms  in  Clinton  Hall,  Astor 
Place.  It  was  largely  through  his  aid 
that  the  Yonkers  branch  was  established. 
Fie  was  its  first  president,  personally 
raised  the  first  year's  salary  of  the  gen- 
eral secretary,  was  for  years  president 
of  the  board  of  trustees,  was  a  recognized 
association  speaker  and  addressed  more 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  audi- 
ences than  any  man  in  Yonkers,  com- 
pleted the  fund  to  pay  ofif  its  mortgage 
indebtedness,  and  as  the  secretary  writes: 
"There  hangs  in  my  office,  just  over  my 
desk,  a  fine  portrait  of  the  kindly  earnest, 
229 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


generous  face  of  my  friend,  John  C. 
Havemeyer,  with  the  inscription  on  the 
frame,  'John  C.  Havemeyer,  First  Presi- 
dent of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation  1881'." 

For  many  years  he  was  a  local  preacher 
of  his  church  and  occupied  many  pulpits 
other  than  those  of  his  own  denomina- 
tion. The  Bible  is  his  great  and  final 
authority ;  what  can  be  proved  by  it  is 
binding  beyond  dispute.  He  believes 
thoroughly  in  personal  Christian  work,  in 
strict  Sabbath  observance.  He  has  writ- 
ten many  monographs,  among  others  "A 
Study  of  Labor  Unions,"  "Patriotism," 
"Shall  We  Prepare  for  War  in  Time  of 
Peace,"  "The  Needs  of  the  Church  from 
a  Layman's  Standpoint,"  "What  is  Love 
of  Country,"  "Great  Armaments  and 
Peace,"  "Fundamental  Facts  About  Re- 
ligion," and  "Foundation  Truth."  His 
newspaper  articles  are  legion  and  there 
has  been  no  great  moral,  religious  or 
ethical  question  of  his  time  that  he  has 
not  publicly  discussed,  and  has  never 
sought  an  obscure  person  to  discuss  it 
with. 

Personal  philanthropy  cannot  be  fairly 
dealt  with  in  a  biography  for  the  essence 
of  true  benevolence  is  secrecy.  But  phi- 
lanthropy is  an  indication  of  character 
and  the  method  and  spirit  in  which  it  ex- 
presses itself  deserve  careful  considera- 
tion. Mr.  Havemeyer  was  born  with  an 
inherited  disposition  to  help  those  in  need 
and  was  trained  to  do  good  from  earliest 
days  by  precept  and  home  example.  He 
believes  in  simple  living  and  regards 
wealth  as  a  stewardship  for  which  an  ac- 
count must  finally  be  rendered.  He  gives 
systematically  and  as  far  as  possible  finds 
out  all  he  can  concerning  the  person  or 
cause  he  is  assisting.  He  holds  decided 
opinions  upon  philanthropy,  as  he  does 
upon  every  question  he  deems  of  impor- 
tance,  and   is   not   easily   driven   from   a 


position  in  which  he  has  intrenched  him- 
self particularly  if  it  be  a  Bible  truth.  He 
is  conscientious  to  the  last  degree,  emi- 
nently fair  in  argument  and  most  cour- 
teous. A  strong  character  and  one  the 
world  should  know  better. 

Mr.  Havemeyer  married  in  Athens, 
Greece,  December  5,  1872,  Alice  Alide 
Francis,  daughter  of  John  Morgan  and 
Harriet  E.  (Tucker)  Francis.  Her  father 
was  for  three  years  United  States  minis- 
ter to  Greece,  later  United  States  am- 
bassador to  Austria-Hungary,  and  owner 
as  well  as  editor  of  the  Troy  (New  York) 
"Times."  Mr.  Havemeyer  met  his  future 
bride  in  1871  in  Brussels,  where  she  was 
sojourning  with  her  parents.  Later  they 
became  engaged  and  in  November,  1872, 
sailed  from  New  York  to  Greece  to  claim 
his  bride.  A  number  of  distinguished 
guests  were  present  at  the  marriage, 
among  them  several  missionaries.  They 
made  Yonkers  their  permanent  home. 


CLARKE,  R.  Floyd, 

Attoraey-at-Law,  Author. 

Mr.  Clarke  is  descended  on  the  father's 
side  from  one  of  the  oldest  Rhode  Island 
families,  with  straight  descent  from  the 
English  family  of  Clarkes,  originally 
located  at  Westhorpe,  Suffolk  county, 
England,  whose  pedigree  can  be  traced 
back  with  the  aid  of  Parish  Registers  and 
an  ancient  Bible  to  John  Clarke,  of  Wes- 
thorpe, Suffolk  county,  England,  who  died 
there  in  1559.  (See  "The  Clarke  Families 
of  Rhode  Island,"  by  George  Austin  Mor- 
rison, Jr.,  page  13). 

The  grandson  of  this  John  Clarke  was 
also  of  Westhorpe,  and  had  among  his 
seven  children  four  males  known  as  the 
"Immigrants,"  namely,  second  son  Ca- 
rewe,  third  son  Thomas,  fifth  son  John, 
seventh  son  Joseph,  who  emigrated  to 
America  about  1637. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Of  these  four  immigrants,  John  Clarke, 
born  October  8,  1609,  died  April  20,  1676, 
was  the  most  prominent.  (See  sketch  of 
him  in  4  "Appleton's  American  Cyclo- 
paedia," 640,  and  "Story  of  Dr.  John 
Clarke,  Founder  of  Rhode  Island,'  by 
Thomas  W.  Bicknell.)  He  devoted  him- 
self to  study,  and  at  twenty-eight  years  of 
age  we  find  him  holding  two  professions 
— that  of  a  physician  and  also  that  of  an 
ordained  minister  of  the  Baptist  faith. 
He  appears  in  the  Catalogue  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Leyden,  Holland,  1575-1875,  as 
one  of  the  students  there  on  July  17,  1635 
("Story  of  Dr.  John  Clarke,"  jM/>ra,  p.  74)  ; 
and  during  his  life  he  practiced  both  pro- 
fessions in  New  England,  and  also  prac- 
ticed as  a  physician  in  London  for  twelve 
years  while  he  was  engaged  in  obtaining 
the  charter  for  Rhode  Island  hereinafter 
mentioned. 

He  emigrated  to  Boston  in  November, 
1637.  Owing  to  his  views  on  religious 
toleration,  he  came  in  conflict  with  the 
Puritan  element,  and  was  practically 
banished,  and  proceeded  with  others  to 
form  a  settlement  on  the  Island  of  Aquid- 
neck,  Rhode  Island.  Later,  in  165 1,  hav- 
ing held  religious  services  at  Lynn,  he 
and  two  companions  were  sentenced  to 
pay  fines,  or  else  to  be  whipped,  and  to 
remain  in  prison  until  paid,  for  their  meet- 
ing at  William  Witter's  about  July  21st, 
and  then  and  at  other  times  preaching 
and  blaspheming,  etc.  On  August  31, 
165 1,  from  his  prison  he  wrote  to  the 
Honored  Court  assembled  at  Boston,  ac- 
cepting the  profifer  publicly  made  the  day 
before  of  a  dispute  with  the  ministers, 
and  therefore  "do  desire  you  would  ap- 
point the  time  when,  and  the  person  with 
whom"  the  points  might  be  disputed  pub- 
licly. This  challenge  to  a  debate  was  not 
accepted,  and  his  fine  and  Air.  Crandall's 
were  paid  by  friends  without  their  con- 
sent, they  thus  escaping  corporal  punish- 


ment. His  fellow  prisoner,  Holmes,  was 
publicly  flogged.  ("Story  of  Dr.  John 
Clarke,"  supra,  p.  85.) 

Later,  Dr.  Clarke  and  Roger  Williams 
proceeded  to  England — Clarke  represent- 
ing the  Newport  and  Aquidneck  colonies, 
and  Williams  the  Providence  colony. 
Williams  returned,  but  Clarke  remained 
in  England  for  twelve  years,  watching 
over  and  advancing  the  aiifairs  of  the 
Colony,  and  finally  obtained  from  the 
Government  of  Charles  II.  a  Royal  Char- 
ter for  Rhode  Island  in  the  year  1663. 
This  charter  contains  the  first  guarantee 
of  civil  and  religious  freedom  in  America. 
In  fact  it  is  the  first  charter  of  religious 
toleration  ever  granted.  This  charter 
provided  :  "that  no  person  within  the  said 
colony  at  any  time  hereafter  shall  be  in 
anywise  molested,  punished,  disquieted  or 
called  in  question  for  any  differences  of 
opinion  in  matters  of  religion,  which  do  not 
actually  disturb  the  civil  peace."  ("Story 
of  Dr.  John  Clarke,"  supra,  p.  193.) 
The  provisions  in  this  charter,  embody- 
ing freedom  of  religious  thought  and  wor- 
ship with  a  temperate  and  just  civil  gov- 
ernment as  opposed  to  the  narrow  and 
dogmatic  attitude  of  the  other  New  Eng- 
land colonies  at  this  time  upon  these 
questions  was  chiefly  the  idea  and  con- 
ception of  John  Clarke.  ("Story  of  Dr. 
John  Clarke,"  supra.) 

Dr.  Clarke  maintained  himself  in  Eng- 
land by  using  his  own  funds,  and  we  find 
later  that  the  town  of  Providence  and 
other  towns  voted  him  a  partial  compen- 
sation for  his  outlays.  On  returning  to 
the  Colonies,  he  settled  at  Newport,  and 
later  died  there,  without  issue,  after  hold- 
ing various  religious  and  public  offices. 
("Story  of  Dr.  John  Clarke,  supra.) 

While  John  Clarke  left  no  issue,  his 
three  brothers  left  issue,  resulting  in  one 
of  the  three  branches  of  the  Clarke  family 
in  the  United  States. 


23^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Joseph  Clarke,  of  Westhorpe,  Suffolk 
county,  England,  and  later  of  Newport 
and  Westerly,  brother  of  John  Clarke, 
is  the  ancestor  of  R.  Floyd  Clarke,  of  this 
review.  Joseph  Clarke  was  admitted  an 
inhabitant  of  the  Island  of  Aquidneck  at 
Newport  in  1638.  He  was  president  at 
the  General  Court  of  Election  in  1640, 
and  became  a  freeman  on  March  17,  1641. 
He  was  made  one  of  the  original  mem- 
bers of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  New- 
port in  1644.  and  a  member  of  the  General 
Court  of  Trials  in  1648  ;  he  became  a  free- 
man of  the  Colony  and  acted  as  a  com- 
missioner in  1655-57-58-59  and  was  as- 
sistant in  1658-63-64-65-78-80-90.  His 
name  appears  in  the  charter  granted  to 
Rhode  Island  by  Charles  II.,  July  8,  1663. 
He  became  a  freeman  at  Westerly  in 
1668,  and  acted  as  deputy  to  the  General 
Assembly  in  1668-69-70-71-72-90.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Court  of  Justices  of  the 
Peace  in  1677.  He  returned  to  Newport 
in  the  later  years  of  his  life.  ("Clarke 
Families  of  Rhode  Island,"  Morrison,  p. 
23.) 

The  descendants  of  Joseph  Clarke,  the 
immigrant  above  referred  to,  continued 
living  in  Newport  and  Westerly  and  occu- 
pying various  religious  and  political  posi- 
tions from  time  to  time  until  the  eighth 
generation  was  represented  by  Thomas 
Clarke,  of  Westerly,  and  later  of  North 
Stonington,  Connecticut,  born  June  10, 
1749,  died  May  28,  1832,  married,  June  10, 
1770,  Olive  Marsh,  of  Hartford,  Vermont, 
among  whose  eleven  children  was  a  son, 
Samuel,  born  June  23,  1790  (ibid.  p.  69). 

This  Samuel  Clarke  was  the  grand- 
father of  R.  Floyd  Clarke.  The  story  as 
told  in  the  family  is  that  Samuel  Clarke 
was  of  a  studious  turn  of  mind,  and  pre- 
ferred books  to  ploughing,  much  to  the 
chagrin  of  his  father,  Thomas  Clarke; 
that  on  one  occasion  when  the  boy  was 
about  fifteen  vears  old,  his  father  caught 


him  reading  Euclid  in  the  shade  of  a  tree 
while  the  horses  and  plough  stood  idle 
in  the  furrow.  Result — serious  parental 
chastisement,  and  that  night  the  young- 
ster ran  away  to  sea.  Beginning  as  a 
cabin  boy  in  the  New  England  West 
Indies  trade,  he  soon  became  a  super- 
cargo, waxed  well  in  this  world's  goods — 
married  Eliza  Burnell,  daughter  of  an 
English  sea  captain  at  Nassau,  in  the  Ba- 
hamas, and  taking  her  to  the  United 
States  established  himself  as  a  factor,  etc., 
in  marine  stores,  etc.,  at  St.  Marys, 
Georgia,  on  the  river  St.  Marys,  a  tribu- 
tary of  the  river  St.  Johns.  Later  he  was 
practically  ruined  by  the  burning  of  his 
warehouse  and  stock,  etc.,  by  a  predatory 
expedition  of  the  British  up  the  St.  Marys 
river  in  the  War  of  1812.  Making  a  new 
start  at  the  same  place,  he  again  im- 
proved in  this  world's  goods  when  the 
Seminole  War  came  along,  and  with  it 
the  destruction  of  his  warehouse  and 
goods  and  family  residence  by  flames,  he 
and  his  family  barely  escaping  with  their 
lives.  Again  a  new  start  in  life,  with  a 
wife  and  large  family  on  his  hands,  in 
Savannah  and  St.  Marys,  and  again  a 
successful  issue  and  the  death  of  the  old 
gentleman  at  his  place  of  residence, 
"Glenwood,"  St.  Marys,  Georgia,  Octo- 
ber 26,  1858,  where  he  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  entertain  his  friends  in  the  style 
of  the  old  Southern  hospitality  of  "before 
the  war."  He  left  his  second  wife  sur- 
viving; he  had  no  issue  by  her,  but  had 
issue  by  his  first  wife  of  some  fifteen  chil- 
dren. Lemuel  Clarence  Clarke,  the  sixth 
son  and  tenth  child  of  this  couple,  was  the 
father  of  R.  Floyd  Clarke. 

On  his  father's  side  Mr.  Clarke  has  a 
small  mixture  of  Spanish  blood.  His 
great-grandmother,  Elizabeth  Sanchez,  of 
the  Venanchio  Sanchez  family  of  St.  Au- 
gustine, Florida,  married  Captain  Bur- 
nell, an  English  sea  captain,  the  father  of 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


his  grandmother,  who  became  the  wife  of 
the  Samuel  Clarke,  above  mentioned. 

On  his  mother's  side  Mr.  Clarke  is  of 
mixed  English  and  Scotch  blood  —  his 
grandmother,  Sarah  Caroline  Heriot,  be- 
ing of  the  Heriots  hailing  from  George- 
town, South  Carolina,  and  prior  to  that 
from  Haddington,  in  Scotland.  Of  this 
family  was  that  George  Heriot  who 
founded  a  hospital  in  Edinburgh,  and  a 
sketch  of  whose  life  may  be  found  in 
the  13  Encyclopaedia  Brittanica  (nth 
Ed.)  p.  363.  His  grandfather  on  the 
mother's  side,  Thomas  Boston  Clarkson, 
was  a  resident  of  Charleston,  and  later  of 
Columbia,  South  Carolina,  and  was  a 
wealthy  cotton  planter  owning  four  plan- 
tations and  many  slaves.  He  was  de- 
scended from  the  Clarksons  of  England, 
and  through  the  female  line  from  the 
Scotch  divine,  Thomas  Boston,  Calvin- 
istic  Theologian,  1676-1732,  author  of 
"The  Crook  and  The  Lot,"  and  other 
theological  works, — a  sketch  of  whose  life 
may  be  found  in  2  Appleton's  American 
Encyclopaedia,  p.  139,  and  4  Encyclopae- 
dia Brittanica   (nth  Ed.)  p.  289. 

Mr.  Clarke's  father,  Lemuel  Clarence 
Clarke,  born  at  St.  Marys,  Georgia,  Au- 
gust 4,  1831,  later  removed  to  Columbia, 
South  Carolina,  and  there  married  Caro- 
line Beaumont  Clarkson,  of  Columbia, 
South  Carolina,  December  17,  1859.  He 
was  a  merchant  in  Columbia,  South  Caro- 
lina, before  and  during  the  war,  and  then 
removed  with  his  family  to  New  Orleans 
and  later  to  New  York,  and  died  in  New 
York,  April  30,  1893.  Mr.  Clarke's 
mother,  Caroline  Beaumont  (Clarkson) 
Clarke,  of  Columbia,  South  Carolina, 
born  October  10,  1834,  died  at  New  York 
City,  October  26,  1912,  she  being  the  first 
daughter  and  fourth  child  of  Thomas 
Clarkson  and  Sarah  Caroline  Heriot,  men- 
tioned above.  This  couple  had  seven  chil- 
dren, all  save  one  dying  in  infancy.  Their 
third  child  and  second  son,  R.  Floyd,  born 


after  his  twin  brother,  October  14,  1859, 
is  the  sole  survivor  of  the  whole  family. 

This  family  of  Clarksons  had  come  over 
to  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  in  185 1  they  were 
represented  by  three  brothers  named 
Thomas  Boston  Clarkson,  William  Clark- 
son and  John  Clarkson,  and  by  the  child 
of  a  deceased  sister,  W.  C.  Johnson. 
Thomas  Boston  Clarkson  and  William 
Clarkson  had  married,  and  had  large 
families,  but  the  third,  John,  was  a 
wealthy  bachelor. 

As  an  indication  that  all  Southerners  of 
this  period  did  not  believe  in  slavery,  the 
following  episode  may  be  of  interest:  In 
December,  1841,  the  Legislature  of  South 
Carolina  passed  an  act  to  prevent  the 
emancipation  of  slaves.  John  Clarkson 
died  in  1849,  leaving  a  will  in  which,  with 
the  exception  a  few  legacies,  he  be- 
queathed all  of  his  property,  on  certain 
conditions  made  with  him,  to  his  brother, 
William  Clarkson,  and  appointed  the 
latter  executor.  The  executor  having 
qualified,  the  infant  son  of  the  deceased 
sister  brought  a  suit  to  be  found  as  "W. 
C.  Johnson,  by  next  friend,  vs.  William 
Clarkson  and  Thomas  Boston  Clarkson, 
Charleston,  January,  1851,  24  South  Caro- 
lina Equity  Reports,  305,"  in  which  he 
declared  that  the  object  of  the  will,  and 
the  conditions  under  which  it  had  been 
given,  had  been  to  free  the  slaves  of  the 
testator,  and  asked  for  a  decree  to  set 
aside  the  will.  John  Clarkson's  property 
consisted  of  a  plantation,  a  large  number 
of  negroes,  together  with  stocks  and 
other  personal  estate. 

The  answer  of  the  defendants  admitted 
that  the  property  was  left  to  them,  and 
accepted  by  them  upon  the  conditions  ex- 
pressed by  the  testator  in  certain  papers 
accompanying  the  will  unless  prevented 
by  the  court,  and  upon  condition  that 
thev  were  to  practice  no  evasion  of  the 
law,  but  to  make  application  to  the  Legis- 


233 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


lature  of  the  State,  which  body  alone 
could  emancipate  slaves,  to  emancipate 
all  the  slaves  belonging  to  the  testator  at 
death,  or  to  give  the  defendants  a  license 
to  send  them  out  of  the  State;  and  if  the 
said  negroes  be  emancipated  by  the  Leg- 
islature, or  defendants  permitted  to  send 
them  out  of  the  State,  then  to  sell  the 
plantation  and  out  of  the  property  and 
proceeds  pay  certain  legacies,  and  the 
balance  to  divide  among  the  negroes.  If 
the  foregoing  could  not  be  done,  then  to 
sell  and  divide  according  to  other  direc- 
tions given.  The  court  held  that  no  bene- 
ficial interest  was  given  by  the  will  to 
William  Clarkson  and  the  conditions  im- 
posed by  the  testator  being  void  under 
the  law  of  South  Carolina,  the  estate  went 
to  the  next  of  kin.  Among  the  memo- 
randa left  by  John  Clarkson  with  his  will 
were  the  following: 

Husbands  and  wives  must  on  no  account  be 
separated. 

Nov.  25.  1842.  John  Clarkson. 

I    do   not   wish    my   negroes    forced    to   go    to 
Africa,  if  they  do  not  wish  it. 
Aug.  13,  1849.  John  Clarkson. 

R.  Floyd  Clarke,  son  of  Lemuel  Clar- 
ence and  Caroline  Beaumont  (Clarkson) 
Clarke,  was  born  October  14,  1859,  in 
Columbia,  South  Carolina.  He  was  in 
that  town  at  the  time  it  was  burned  dur- 
ing Sherman's  march  in  1865 ;  was  later, 
at  the  age  of  seven,  in  the  yellow  fever 
epidemic  of  1867  in  New  Orleans,  recov- 
ering from  an  attack  of  the  same,  including 
the  black  vomit,  from  which  stage  of  the 
disease  a  very  small  percentage  ever  sur- 
vive. Afterwards,  the  family  being  im- 
poverished by  the  war,  Mr.  Clarke  was 
brought  as  a  child  to  New  York  about 
1870,  where  he  was  educated  in  Public 
School  No.  35 — the  old  13th  Street  School 
near  Sixth  Avenue,  and  in  the  College  of 
the  City  of  New  York,  then  at  23rd  Street 


Stand,  Lexington  Avenue.  He  graduated 
from  the  College  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  A.  B.  in  1880,  and  in  1899  received 
from  that  institution  the  degree  of  A.  M. 
Taking  up  the  study  of  law  at  Columbia 
College  Law  School,  he  was  graduated 
LL.  B.  cum  laude  in  1882,  taking  the  first 
prize  in  Municipal  Law.  Shortly  after- 
wards he  was  admitted  to  the  New  York 
bar,  obtaining,  with  others,  honorable 
mention  as  the  result  of  the  examination, 
and  has  since  practiced  law  in  New  York 
City,  first  as  managing  clerk  in  the  office 
of  Olcott  &  Mestre,  1882-83;  then  as  a 
member  of  the  firm,  1883-84;  then  as  a 
member  of  the  firm  of  Clarke  &  Culver, 
1895-1903;  and  from  that  time  under  his 
own  name.  He  has  been  counsel  for  large 
interests  and  corporations ;  and  has  been 
identified  with  important  litigations  and 
international  cases,  notably  in  the  follow- 
ing litigations :  The  George  Kemp  will 
case ;  the  Edward  Kemp  will  case ;  the 
Dunlap  Estate  litigation ;  the  Consoli- 
dated Lake  Superior  Corporation  litiga- 
tion ;  the  James  R.  Keiser  trade  name  lit- 
igation over  "Keiser  Cravats"  and  others. 
He  has  been  counsel  in  the  following 
international  cases,  notably  in  connection 
with  the  claims  of  private  claimants 
under  the  Mexican  title  in  the  interna- 
tional arbitration  case  of  Mexico  z's. 
United  States  in  the  El  Chamizal  District, 
El  Paso.  Texas,  decision  for  part  of  the 
land  in  favor  of  Mexico,  June  15,  191 1, 
decision  protested  by  the  United  States 
and  matter  standing  in  statu  quo ;  the 
claim  of  the  United  States  &  Venezuela 
Company,  known  as  "the  Crichfield  As- 
phalt Concession"  against  Venezuela, 
which,  by  protocol  of  February  13,  1909, 
was  sent  to  the  Hague  Tribunal,  but  was 
afterwards  settled  out  of  court  for  $475,- 
000;  the  claim  of  the  McGivney  &  Roke- 
by  Construction  Company  against  Cuba 
which  resulted  in  obtaining  enforcement 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


through  diplomatic  intervention  by  the 
United  States  under  the  Piatt  Amend- 
ment of  their  contract  to  sewer  and  pave 
the  City  of  Havana,  work  on  which  is 
going  on  and  has  now  been  practically 
completed ;  counsel  for  Porter  Charlton 
(the  Lake  Como  murder  case)  in  habca'S 
corpus  proceedings  to  prevent  his  depor- 
tation to  Italy  on  the  ground  that  Italy 
having  admittedly  broken  the  Treaty  of 
Extradition,  it  could  not  be  heard  to  en- 
force it.  This  issue  was  taken  through 
the  Secretary  of  State's  office  and  all  the 
courts  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States  without  success ;  but  on 
the  subsequent  trial  of  the  case  in  Italy, 
the  delays  of  the  litigation  in  America 
counting  on  the  sentence,  Charlton  was 
sentenced  to  only  twenty-eight  days  of 
imprisonment  and  is  now  a  free  man ; 
counsel  also  in  important  contraband 
cases  arising  as  to  steamers  and  cargoes 
in  the  recent  world  war ;  and  others. 

He  is  the  author  of  "The  Science  of  Law 
and  Law  Making"  Macmillan  &  Com- 
pany, 1898)  and  articles  including  "A 
Permanent  Tribunal  of  International  Law 
— Its  Necessity  and  Value,"  i  American 
Journal  of  International  Law,  April,  1907, 
p.  342;  "Castro,  The  Ungrateful,"  North 
American  Review,  April,  1908;  "An  Epi- 
sode on  the  Law  of  Trusts,"  Columbia 
Law  Review,  May,  1905 ;  "Intervention 
for  Breach  of  Contract  or  Tort  Com- 
mitted by  a  Sovereignty,"  Proceedings  of 
American  Society  of  International  Law, 
4th  Annual  Meeting,  1910,  pp.  149-191. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  New  York  State 
Bar  Association,  the  Association  of  the 
Bar  of  the  City  of  New  York,  the  New 
York  County  Lawyers'  Association, 
American  Society  of  International  Law, 
Delta  Kappa  Epsilon  Fraternity,  Phi 
Beta  Kappa  Society.  He  is  a  life  member 
of  the  New  York  Southern  Society.  His 
recreations  are  :  Yachting,  motoring  and 
chess.    He  owns  the  sloop  yachts  "Atala" 


and  "Golliwog,"  and  has  a  country  place 
at  Stony  Creek,  Connecticut,  opposite  the 
Thimble  Islands.  Clubs:  Life  member 
of  the  University  Club  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  New  York  Yacht  Club,  Larchmont 
Yacht  Club  and  Atlantic  Yacht  Club. 
Member  of  Colonial  Order  of  the  Acorn 
and  Manhattan  Chess  Club. 

Mr.  Clarke's  book,  "The  Science  of 
Law  and  Law  Making,"  being  a  treatise 
on  the  vexed  question  of  the  propriety  of 
codifying  the  whole  of  the  Civil  Law,  and 
taking  strong  ground  against  its  entire 
codification,  has  been  much  discussed  and 
has  received  many  reviews  both  in  the 
United  States  and  England.  As  might 
be  expected  from  the  nature  of  its  subject 
matter,  these  have  been  partly  compli- 
mentary and  partly  the  reverse.  As  a 
sample  of  the  diversity  of  the  human 
mind,  the  following  extracts  from  some 
of  these  reviews  may  be  of  interest: 

From  "The  Harvard  Law  Review,"  May,  1898, 
vol.  xii,  p.  68:  Mr.  Clarke's  book  should  be  wel- 
comed as  affording  to  the  general  reader  an 
introduction  to  the  study  of  law  suggestive  of  the 
beauty  and  interest  of  its  problems,  and  as  giving 
for  the  first  time  a  comprehensive  discussion  of 
the  problem  of  codification     *     *     *. 

In  advocating  the  cause  of  the  case  law  system, 
the  real  substance  of  the  book,  the  writer  has 
accomplished  his  purpose  well.  The  division  of 
the  chapters  into  so  many  headings  adds  little  to 
the  clearness  or  literary  merit  of  the  work,  but 
the  argument  is,  on  the  whole,  coherent  and  con- 
vincing. 

From  "The  Green  Bag,"  May,  1898,  vol.  x.  No. 
5,  p.  228:  This  work  is  intended  especially  for 
the  layman,  but  the  legal  profession  will  also  find 
it  both  readable  and  instructive.  Mr.  Clarke 
gives  his  readers  a  clear  and  true  conception  of 
the  system  of  law  under  which  they  live,  explain- 
ing in  popular  terms  the  general  outlines  of  legal 
systems  and  making  the  subject  perfectly  intelli- 
gible to  the  ordinary  mind.  He  then  proceeds  to 
discuss  the  question  of  codification,  and  his  con- 
clusions seem  to  us  to  be  sound  and  to  be  sus- 
tained by  facts.  We  commend  the  book  as  one 
which   may  be   read   with  profit  by   all   thinking 


235 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


From  "The  Albany  Law  Journal,"  Saturday, 
April  2,  1898,  vol.  57,  No.  14,  P-  223:  *  *  * 
Within  the  475  pages  of  this  work  the  author  has 
condensed  in  an  admirable  manner  all  the  leading 
arguments  for  and  against  codification,  in  ad- 
dition to  which  he  has  given  a  large  amount  of 
elementary  matter,  valuable  not  only  to  the  stu- 
dent, but  as  well  to  the  professional  reader,  in 
refreshing  his  recollection  and  aiding  to  a  clearer 
conception  of  the  generalizations  involved  in  the 
arguments  advanced.  His  style  of  writing,  it  may 
be  added,  is  charmingly  clear,  as  well  as  remark- 
ably vigorous.  *  *  *  it  will  probably  be  con- 
ceded that  it  would  be  difficult  to  put  the  argu- 
ment against  codification  more  strongly  and  forci- 
bly in  so  many  words.  Mr.  Clarke  has  certainly 
made  a  valuable  contribution  to  the  solution  of  a 
very  important  and  exceedingly  complex  problem. 

From  "The  Yale  Law  Journal"  (New  Haven), 
May,  1898,  vol.  vii,  No.  8,  p.  374:  *  *  *  Mr. 
Clarke  takes  strong  ground  against  codification. 
The  arguments  for  and  against  are  reviewed  and 
the  question  made  distinct  and  clear.  This 
method  of  illustrating  the  working  of  the  systems 
of  Case  and  Code  Law,  by  applying  their  methods 
to  the  solution  of  the  question  of  a  contract  in 
restraint  of  trade,  is  ingenious  and  convincing. 

From  "The  New  York  Law  Journal,"  Friday, 
May  13,  1898,  vol.  19,  No.  36,  p.  522 :  *  *  * 
This  work  will  certainly  accomplish  one  of  its 
principal  purposes  in  imparting  to  intelligent  lay 
readers  the  science  of  jurisprudence  and  the  pro- 
cess of  the  building  of  the  common  law.  *  *  * 
It  is  therefore  a  distinct  advantage  to  general 
culture  to  have  a  work,  such  as  Mr.  Clarke's, 
from  which  the  ordinary  reader  may  learn  the 
rudiments  of  our  legal  system. 

This  author  furthermore  presents  the  argu- 
ment against  codification  very  forcibly  and  com- 
pletely and  with  much  originality  of  suggestion 
and  ingenuity  of   illustration. 

From  "The  New  York  Evening  Post,"  Saturday, 
August  20,  1898,  vol.  97>  P-  15:  *  *  *  Where 
we  find  ourselves  at  one  with  the  author  is  in 
believing  that  some  subjects  lend  themselves 
better  to  statutory,  others  to  common  law  regu- 
lation. 

From  "The  American  Law  Register,"  May, 
1898,  vols.  46  O.  S.,  37  N.  S.,  No.  5,  P-  335 :  The 
importance  of  the  question  considered  by  the 
author,  and  the  growing  interest  in  it,  insure 
something    more    than    passing   attention    to    the 


book  under  review.  *  *  *  The  method  of 
adducing  concrete  examples  of  case,  statute  and 
code  law  is  very  effective,  often  rendering  argu- 
ment on  a  given  point  almost  unnecessary.  *  *  * 
To  the  lawyer,  the  book  will  commend  itself 
as  one  in  which  a  vital  problem  is  impartially 
treated.  None  of  the  advantages  of  codification 
are  underestimated,  nor  are  its  disadvantages 
slighted.  The  conclusions  reached  by  the  author 
are  evidently  the  result  of  careful  thought  and, 
insofar  as  a  cursory  examination  can  show,  valid. 

From  "The  Banking  Law  Journal,"  May,  1898, 
vol.  15,  No.  5,  p.  261 :  *  *  *  To  all  intelli- 
gent laymen,  as  well  as  to  all  lawyers  desirous  of 
brushing  up  on  the  fundamentals,  we  would  com- 
mend Mr.  Clarke's  work,  which  is  written  in  a 
style  that  will  find  favor  with  the  popular  reader, 
and  which  admirably  fills  the  want  we  have  out- 
lined. No  one  who  reads  this  work  will  say  that 
the  law  is  dry;  on  the  contrary,  it  will  be  found 
to  have  a  peculiar  fascination  for  the  general 
reader.     *    *     * 

The  work  gives  the  most  complete  and  best 
presentation  of  the  whole  subject  of  codification 
— the  arguments  and  reasons  pro  and  con — ^yet 
written ;  and  while,  as  such,  it  will  command  the 
attention  of  the  foremost  legal  minds  on  both 
sides  of  the  Atlantic,  it  is  none  the  less  a  work 
which  will  be  found  intelligible  and  highly  in- 
structive to,  and  entirely  within  the  comprehen- 
sion of,  the  general  reader. 

From  "The  New  Jersey  Law  Journal,"  vol.  21, 
No.  s,  p.  159,  May,  1898:  A  general  introduction 
to  the  study  of  the  law  is  followed  by  concrete 
examples  showing  its  expression  and  application 
in  a  suit  at  law  and  in  reported  cases,  digests, 
text-books  and  in  statutes,  and  from  these  ex- 
amples it  is  shown  how  different  are  the  methods 
and  results  when  the  law  is  found  in  reported 
cases  and  when  it  is  expressed  in  statutes  or 
codes;  and  then  there  is  a  statement  of  the  exist- 
ing provinces  of  case  and  statute  law  and  a  dis- 
cussion of  the  question  whether  the  province  of 
the  latter  should  be  extended  and  a  clear  ex- 
position of  the  essential  differences  between  the 
two  and  an  earnest  argument  against  the  effort  to 
crystallize  the  whole  law  in  a  definite  code  *  *  * 
it  has  the  merit  of  bringing  the  question  by 
means  of  examples  within  the  comprehension  of 
any  intelligent  man  not  familiar  with  the  law. 

From    "The   Western   Reserve    Law   Journal," 
vol.  iv.  No.  3,  p.  81,  April,  1898:     *     *    *     Here 
is  a  work,   written   with   scholarly  accuracy  and 
-.6 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


clearness,  so  simple  as  to  render  a  dictionary  un- 
necessary, and  yet  so  complete  and  profound  as 
to  invade  the  depth  of  a  science  on  which  many 
of  our  law  givers  are  painfully  ignorant.  *  *  r 
To  those  who,  with  a  mental  aggressiveness, 
are  continually  alive  to  the  absorption  of  useful 
and  valuable,  even  necessary  knowledge,  we 
gladly  commend  this  work  as  a  new  contribution 
to  the  field  of  scientific  legal  thought. 

From  "The  New  York  Daily  Tribune,"  Tues- 
day, July  2b,  liiyS:  Mr.  Clarke  has  seized  the  idea 
of  evolution  in  law  with  a  grasp  not  easily  loosed. 
*  *  *  The  evolutionary  process  had  been  a 
natural  one,  and  both  Professor  Jenks  and  Mr. 
Clarke,  however  much  they  might  differ  about 
other  things,  evidently  hold  that  it  continued  to 
be  natural.  Mr.  Clarke  goes  on  to  say  that  the 
process  in  the  mind  of  successive  generations  of 
judges  was  inductive,  not  deductive.  The  prin- 
ciple was  sought  in  the  actual  concrete  case,  not 
inferred  from  some  universal  premise  and  applied 
to  the  case.  Professor  Jenks  says  the  same  thing 
by  contrast,  when  he  describes  the  method  of 
interpreting  the  Roman  Law  as  scholastic.  Mr. 
Clarke's  argument  is  that  after  all  these  ages  of 
legal  development  on  lines  that  are  now  found  to 
be  just  the  natural  lines  of  investigation,  and 
above  all  of  scientific  investigation,  it  is  absurd 
for  men  to  go  back  to  the  scholastic  method  of 
a  tixed  code. 

From  "The  American  Law  Review,"  vol.  xxxii. 
No.  4,  p.  637,  July-August,  1898:  The  briefest 
description  of  this  work  would  be  to  say  that 
it  somewhat  resembles,  in  outline  and  substance, 
the  celebrated  work  of  Judge  Dillon  on  English 
and  American  jurisprudence  and  laws.  It  carries 
us  into  new  lines  of  thought  and  widens  out  many 
fresh  fields  of  discussion.  It  will  repay  reading 
by  everyone  who  has  time  to  think  upon  the  foun- 
dations of  the  jurisprudence  of  his  country. 

From  "The  Nation"  (New  York),  vol.  Ixvii, 
No.  1729,  p.  137,  August  18,  1898;  *  *  * 
Where  we  find  ourselves  at  one  with  the  author 
is  in  believing  that  some  subjects  lend  themselves 
better  to  statutory,  others  to  common  law  regula- 
tion. 

From  "The  Law  Quarterly  Review,"  vol.  xiv, 
No.  55,  July,  i8g8:  This  book  professes  to  be  an 
introduction  to  law  for  the  use  of  laymen,  but  it 
is  really  nothing  but  an  elaborate  argument 
against  codification,  in  which  the  general  reasons 


pro  and  contra  are  set  forth  with  sufficient  fair- 
ness and,  we  venture  to  think,  more  tlian  sufficient 
fulness. 

From  "The  Athenaeum,"  No.  3695,  August  20, 
1898:  "The  Science  of  Law  and  Law  Making," 
by  Mr.  R.  Floyd  Clarke  (.Macmillan  &  Co.J, 
which  purports  to  be  an  important  philosophic, 
or  at  least  scientific,  inquiry  of  more  than  usual 
interest,  because  seldom  undertaken,  proves  on 
perusal  to  be  an  unscholarly  discussion  of  the 
comparative  advantages  of  statutes  or  decisions 
as  methods  of  legal  expression.     *     *     + 

Admitting  all  he  has  to  say  as  to  the  practical 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  statutory  form,  we 
still  think  that  it  is  the  right  form  to  aim  at,  and 
Mr.  Clarke's  arguments  to  the  contrary  are  far 
from  being  irresistible.  We  have  not  the  space  to 
go  into  the  merits  of  the  question,  nor  can  it 
be  urged  that  Mr.  Clarke's  treatment  of  it  tempts 
his  critics  to  do  so.  Law  books  are  seldom  happy 
in  style,  and  in  this  respect  his  work  can  success- 
fully claim  to  be  a  law  book. 

From  "The  St.  James'  Gazette,"  vol.  xxxvii. 
No.  5076,  September  21,  1898:  The  latest  discus- 
sion of  the  whole  subject  of  codification  is  to 
be  foimd  in  a  bulky  volume,  the  "Science  of  Law 
and  Law  Making,"  by  Mr.  R.  F.  Clarke,  of  the 
New  York  Bar.  Mr.  Clarke,  who  is  a  convinced 
opponent  of  codification,  has  spoiled  his  case  by 
going  too  far  and  endeavoring  to  establish  a 
fanciful  theory  as  to  the  respective  provinces  of 
case  and  statute  law.  According  to  him,  legal 
rules  of  conduct  involving  an  ethical  element 
should  be  left  to  be  fixed  by  the  common  law  in 
decided  case;  while  rules  about  conduct  ethically 
indifferent  but  requiring  regulation  for  general 
convenience,  say  the  rule  of  the  road,  should 
alone  be  left  to  the  Legislature.     *     *     * 

On  the  general  subject  Mr.  Clarke  has  much  to 
say  that  is  sound  and  ingenious;  but  the  book  is 
illarranged  and  intolerably  diffuse. 

From  "The  Irish  Law  Times  and  Solicitors' 
Journal,"  vol.  xxxii.  No.  1641,  Saturday,  July  9, 
1898:  *  *  *  The  fifth  chapter,  treating  of 
English  law  as  it  is,  is  very  interesting  and  novel 
in  its  methods,  contrasting  concrete  examples  of 
Statutes,  of  Reported  Cases,  of  Text  Books,  of 
Digests.  That  dealing  with  English  law  as  it 
would  be  if  codified  is  also  noteworthy.  As 
regards  Case  Law  the  author  asks  if  there  is  no 
relief  from  the  ever  increasing  mass  of  Case 
Law,    with   its   bulk,   contradictions,    and    uncer- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tainties.  And  certainly  any  one  who  has  glanced 
through  the  American  Digests  will  appreciate  the 
query.  He  answers  that  a  perfect  system  of  law 
is  unattainable  and  that  both  Statute  and  Case 
Law  must  continue  to  flourish  side  by  side.  Codi- 
fication of  the  Case  Law  of  England  is,  he  says, 
the  mirage  of  enthusiastic  speculation,  and  would 
be  the  forging  of  fetters  on  the  Science  of  law, 
precluding  its  true  development.  To  all  interested 
in  this  Science  the  present  work  will  prove  the 
most  interesting  holiday  reading. 

From  "The  London  Times,"  No.  35.559.  Mon- 
day, July  4,  iSgS :  Mr.  Floyd  Clarke  has  written 
a  clever  book  though  he  does  refer  to  Sir  "Thom- 
as Moore"  as  Lord  Chancellor,  and  though  he 
maintains  a  thesis  which  is  hopelessly  wrong. 
"The  Science  of  Law  and  Law  Making"  (Mac- 
millan)  is  another  name  for  "No  Codification." 
*  *  *  Perhaps  the  cleverest,  and  we  are 
tempted  to  add,  not  the  least  absurd,  chapter  in 
the  book  is  that  in  which  Mr.  Clarke  seeks  to 
show  that  there  is  scientific  warrant  for  the  dis- 
tinction between  statute  and  case  law;  that  their 
provinces  are  properly  different;  and  that  while 
statute  law  deals  with  morally  indifferent  con- 
duct, case  law  relates  to  ethical  conduct.  There 
are  many  things  in  the  volume  much  more  valu- 
able than  these  whimsical  distinctions — or  the 
contention  that  "the  necessity  for  codification 
arises  from  the  clash  of  wills."  The  author 
throws  out  several  hints  and  suggestions  well 
worthy  of  the  consideration  of  law  makers,  and 
shows  that  much  remains  to  be  done  to  perfect 
the  mechanics  of  legislation. 

From  "The  Manchester  Guardian,"  Tuesday, 
August  23,  1898,  No.  16.235 :  *  *  *  The  book 
is  indeed  the  most  formidable  attack  on  codifica- 
tion which  has  appeared  for  a  long  time — well 
planned,  clearly  written,  ably  and  ingeniously 
argued. 

From  "The  Canada  Law  Journal,"  vol.  xxxiv. 
No.  17,  October  15,  1898:  *  *  *  As  the  au- 
thor states,  it  is  a  curious  fact  that  no  work 
exists  in  which  the  general  outlines  of  legal 
systems  are  explained  in  popular  terms,  so  as  to 
be  intelligible  to  the  ordinary  man  not  versed  in 
technicalities.  The  book  is,  firstly,  an  introduc- 
tion to  the  study  of  law  and  secondly,  gives  the 
ground  work  on  which  to  build  up  an  argument 
on  codification.  It  should,  therefore,  be  helpful 
to  those  students  of  the  law  who  desire  to  be 
lawyers  and  not  merely  practitioners.     It  exhibits 


much  thought  and  research,  and  is  written  in  an 
interesting  style  and  clear  in  expression.  There 
is  entirely  too  little  thought  and  time  given  to 
the  study  of  foundational  truths,  such  as  are 
presented  in  this  book,  and  the  sooner  the  student 
is  compelled  to  know  more  of  the  science  of  law 
and  law  making,  the  better  for  the  profession. 

From  "The  Evening  Sun"  (New  York),  Satur- 
day, June  3,  1899:  The  layman  is  accustomed  to 
associate  dullness  with  treatises  on  the  law.  But 
how  foolish  this  notion  is  he  would  speedily 
admit  were  he  to  glance  into  "The  Science  of 
Law  and  Law  Making"  (Macmillan),  by  Mr.  R. 
Floyd  Clarke  of  the  New  York  Bar.  It  is  a 
philosophical  and  scholarly  statement  of  first 
principles  and  their  application.  The  great  sub- 
ject is  handled  with  such  grasp  and  skill  as  to 
make  the  questions  dealt  with  interesting  to  the 
least  sympathetic.  The  volume,  which  only  runs 
to  450  pages,  is  one  which  no  lawyer's  library 
should  be  without.  As  for  the  student  and  the 
legislator,  they  will  find  it  the  best  possible  in- 
troduction to  what  has  been  until  recent  years 
a  puzzling  and  bewildering  wilderness.  Mr. 
Clarke  speaks  with  authority,  but  in  no  case  have 
we  come  upon  a  quotation  in  his  book  which 
could  be  described  as  having  been  used  for  the 
purpose  of  ostentation.     *     *     * 

Were  it  only  to  be  regarded  as  a  book  of 
reference,  this  treatise  would  be  very  valuable. 
Mr.  Clarke  has  the  trick  of  clever  definition  and 
apt  illustration. 

From  "The  Speaker"  (London),  vol.  xviii.  No. 
466,  p.  675.  December  3,  1898:  This  is  a  very  able, 
if  somewhat  diffusive,  argument  against  the  codi- 
fication of  English  case  law,  but  we  cannot  ex- 
actly understand  how  it  came  to  be  labelled  "The 
Science  of  Law."     *     *     * 

Mr.  Clarke's  book,  though  the  unscientific 
lawyer  may  perhaps  think  it  too  conclusive  to 
have  needed  writing,  may  with  great  confidence 
be  recommended  to  all  professors  and  laymen 
who  take  an  interest  in  legal  reform.  It  comes 
with   added  authority   from  across  the  Atlantic. 

Munroe  Smith  in  "The  Political  Science  Quar- 
terly," vol.  xiv.  No.   2,  p.  347.  June,   1899,  says : 

*  *  *  He  therefore  begins  at  the  beginning 
and  writes  "an  introduction  to  law"  which  pre- 
pares the  way  for  an  exhaustive  analysis  of  the 
difference  between  statutory  and  judicial  law. 
This  part  of  the  work  is  well  done,  and  the  book 
can  be  cordially  commended  to  every  layman  who 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


desires  a  more  definite  conception  of  the  ways  ia 
which  law  comes  into  existence.  The  method  of 
concrete  illustration  is  perhaps  pushed  to  an  ex- 
treme; the  layman  may  be  induced  to  read  a  case 
or  two,  and  even  a  statute  or  two,  but  he  is 
hardly  likely  to  peruse  with  care  extracts  from  a 
digest  or  the  table  of  contents  of  a  code. 

As  regards  the  treatment  of  the  special  question 
of  codification,  the  book  has  great  merits.  The 
author  really  makes  it  possible  for  a  layman  to 
see,  as  few  lawyers  really  see,  what  is  meant  by 
the  "flexibility"  of  case  law.  When  he  says  (p. 
255)  that  "the  case  law  deals  with  the  actual 
phenomena,  while  the  code  law  deals  with  human 
abstractions  from  the  phenomena  as  the  counters 
for  its  reasoning,"  he  has  really  gone  to  the 
bottom  of  the  question. 

From  "Law  Notes,"  Northport,  New  York, 
January,  1900:  *  *  »  We  do  not  know 
whether  the  author  has  had  previous  experience 
in  literary  work,  but  his  book  shows  no  signs  of 
the  prentice  hand.  One  may  open  it  at  any  page, 
and  reading  a  sentence,  his  attention  and  interest 
are  fixed  at  once.     *    *    * 

In  the  short  space  of  this  notice  we  can  give  no 
adequate  idea  of  the  charm  of  this  book  for  a 
thinking  reader.  Any  one  who  has  read  Buckle 
with  delight  cannot  fail  to  be  delighted  with  Mr. 
Clarke's  essay.  In  its  lucid  and  vigorous  style  it 
resembles  the  work  of  the  distinguished  philo- 
sopher-historian. But  a  more  striking  resem- 
blance is  found  in  the  fact  that  our  author,  like 
Buckle,  ramsacks  the  whole  realm  of  human 
knowledge  in  ardent  search  for  analogies  that 
will  support  his  argument.  And  he  finds  them 
too. 

Hon.  John  J.  Dillon  writes  of  the  book :  *  *  * 
I  have  delayed  writing  you  until  I  could  find  the 
time  to  read  the  volume,  which  I  have  now  done 
with  both  pleasure  and  instruction.  Its  pages  are 
replete  with  proofs  of  your  wide  reading  and 
research,  and  of  your  own  studies  and  reflection, 
and  the  results  are  embodied  in  this  delightful 
volume.  With  here  and  there  a  slight  reserva- 
tion, I  am  able  to  agree  with  you  concerning  the 
important  subjects  which  you  discuss. 

Hon.  William  L.  Penfield,  Solicitor  of  the 
State  Department,  Washington,  1904,  etc.,  writes: 
*  *  *  It  is  a  solid  contribution  to  the  science 
of  jurisprudence;  its  style  is  lucid  and  engaging, 
and  I  find  it  very  readable  and  instructive. 


ELY,  Albert  Heman, 

Physician,  Surgeon. 

Dr.  Albert  Heman  Ely,  one  of  the  most 
prominent  physicians  of  New  York  City, 
was  born  November  22,  i860,  in  Elyria, 
Ohio.  His  ancestor,  Nathaniel  Ely,  was 
born  in  England,  doubtless  at  Tenterden, 
County  Kent,  in  1606,  and  received  a 
common  school  education,  as  evidenced 
by  the  records  left  behind  him.  He  came 
to  America,  it  is  thought,  in  1634,  in  the 
bark  "Elizabeth,"  from  Ipswich,  England, 
with  his  wife  Martha,  and  a  son  and  a 
daughter.  His  name  is  not  on  the  pas- 
senger list,  but  that  of  his  friend,  Robert 
Day,  appears,  and  as  they  settled  on  ad- 
joining lots  in  Newtown,  Massachusetts 
Bay,  now  the  city  of  Cambridge,  May  6, 
1635,  it  is  reasonable  to  believe  that  they 
came  together.  In  1639  he  was  one  of 
the  constables  of  Hartford,  and  in  1643- 
49  one  of  the  selectmen.  The  name  of 
Nathaniel  Ely  is  on  the  monument  to  the 
memory  of  the  first  settlers  of  Hartford. 
He  died  December  26,  1675,  and  his  wife, 
Martha,  October  23,  1688.  Samuel  Ely, 
son  of  Nathaniel  and  Martha  Ely,  was 
born  probably  at  Hartford,  or  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts,  and  died  March  19,  1692. 
He  removed  to  Springfield  with  his  par- 
ents and  married  there,  October  28,  1659, 
Mary,  youngest  child  of  Robert  Day. 
Their  sixteen  children  were  all  bom  in 
Springfield.  Deacon  John  Ely,  son  of 
Samuel  and  Mary  (Day)  Ely,  was  born 
January  28,  1678,  at  Springfield,  and  died 
at  West  Springfield,  January  15,  1758. 
He  married  Mercy  Bliss,  and  their  son, 
Ensign  John  (2)  Ely,  was  born  Decem- 
ber 3,  1707,  at  West  Springfield,  and  died 
there  May  22,  1754.  He  married,  Novem- 
ber 15,  1733,  Eunice  Colton,  born  at 
Longmeadow,  February  22,  1705,  died 
March  29,  1778.  Justin  Ely,  son  of  En- 
sign John   (2)  and  Eunice   (Colton)  Ely, 

239 


EiNCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


was  born  August  lo,  1739,  at  West 
Springfield,  and  died  there  June  26,  1817. 
He  graduated  from  Harvard  College, 
1759,  and  became  a  successful  merchant 
in  his  native  town,  where  he  conducted  a 
larger  business  than  any  other  merchant. 
During  the  Revolution  he  was  active  in 
aiding  the  country,  especially  in  collect- 
ing men  who  were  drafted  into  the  serv- 
ice and  in  providing  for  them  afterwards. 
He  married,  November  9,  1762,  Ruth, 
daughter  of  Captain  Joel  and  Ruth  (Dart) 
White,  of  Bolton,  Connecticut,  and  had 
four  children. 

Heman  Ely,  youngest  child  of  Justin 
and  Ruth  (White)  Ely,  was  born  April 
24,  1775,  in  West  Springfield,  and  died 
February  2,  1852,  in  Elyria,  Ohio.  Early 
in  the  nineteenth  century  he  became  in- 
terested in  the  purchase  of  lands  in  Cen- 
tral and  Western  New  York,  and  under 
his  direction  large  tracts  there  were  sur- 
veyed and  sold  to  settlers.  At  about  the 
same  time  he  entered  into  partnership 
with  his  brother  Theodore  in  New  York 
City,  and  was  for  ten  years  engaged  with 
him  in  commerce  in  Europe  and  the  East 
Indies.  During  this  time  he  visited  Eng- 
land, Holland,  France  and  Spain,  largely 
in  the  interests  of  his  business.  In  France 
he  lived  long  enough  to  acquire  the  lan- 
guage, and  was  in  Paris  from  July,  1809, 
to  April,  1810,  where  he  was  witness  of 
many  social  and  political  events  of  his- 
torical interest.  He  saw  in  August,  1809, 
the  grand  fete  of  Napoleon  and  the  Em- 
press Josephine,  and  in  the  evening  at- 
tended a  ball  at  the  Hotel  de  Villa,  where 
a  cotillion  was  danced  by  a  set  of  kings 
and  queens.  The  following  April,  the 
Empress  Josephine  having  in  the  mean- 
time been  divorced  and  dethroned,  he 
witnessed  the  formal  entrance  into  Paris 
of  Napoleon  and  Marie  Louise  of  Aus- 
tria, and  the  religious  ceremony  of  mar- 
riage at  the  chapel  of  the  Tuilleries.  At 
that  time  all  Europe  was  under  arms  and 


passage  from  one  country  to  another  was 
attended  with  the  greatest  difficulty  and 
danger.  Air.  Ely  and  a  friend,  Charles 
R.  Codman,  of  Boston,  in  1809  embarked 
for  Holland  from  England  in  a  Dutch 
fishing  boat,  were  fired  upon  by  gen- 
darmes as  they  tried  to  land,  and  only 
after  a  long  journey  on  foot  reached  Rot- 
terdam and  finally  Paris.  In  1810  he  re- 
turned to  America  and  the  following  year 
visited  Ohio,  and  returned  to  New  Eng- 
land by  way  of  Niagara  Falls,  the  St. 
Lawrence,  and  Montreal.  In  i8i6'  he 
again  visited  Ohio,  and  in  February,  1817, 
accompanied  by  a  large  company  of 
skilled  workmen  and  laborers,  he  left  the 
east  for  his  future  home.  The  new  settle- 
ment was  named  by  Mr  .Ely,  Elyria,  and 
owed  its  prosperity  to  his  life-long  efforts. 
Mr.  Ely  was  a  Federalist  in  politics,  of 
the  school  of  George  Cabot,  Harrison 
Gray  Otis  and  Thomas  Handyside  Per- 
kins. He  married  at  West  Springfield, 
October  9,  1818,  Celia  Belden,  daughter 
of  Colonel  Ezekiel  Porter  and  Mary  (Par- 
sons) Belden. 

Heman  (2)  Ely,  son  of  Heman  (i)  and 
Celia  (Belden)  Ely,  was  born  October  30, 
1820,  at  Elyria.  His  mother  died  in  1827, 
and  he  was  brought  up  by  Rev.  Emerson 
Davis,  D.  D.,  and  his  wife,  of  Westfield, 
Massachusetts.  Later  he  attended  the 
high  school  at  Elyria  and  Mr.  Simeon 
Hart's  school  in  Farmington,  Connecti- 
cut. He  then  returned  to  Elyria  and  en- 
tered his  father's  office,  where  he  received 
a  business  training  particularly  in  the 
care  of  real  estate.  He  soon  assumed  the 
entire  business.  He  assisted  in  the  or- 
ganization of  the  first  bank  in  Elyria,  was 
chosen  a  director  in  1847  and  from  that 
time  has  been  connected  with  it  as  direc- 
tor, vice-president  and  president.  It  be- 
came in  1S83  the  National  Bank  of  Elyria. 
In  1852,  with  Judge  Ebenezer  Lane  and 
others,  he  secured  the  building  of  that 
section    of    the    present    Lake    Shore    & 


^^^^..4^^.^^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Michigan  Southern  Railway,  then  known 
as  the  Junction  Railroad,  from  Cleveland 
to  Toledo.  From  1870  to  1873  he  was  a 
member  of  the  State  Legislature,  and  in- 
terested himself  especially  in  the  forma- 
tion of  the  state  insurance  department. 
He  was  a  member  of  King  Solomon's 
Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and 
was  worshipful  master  from  1852  to  1871 ; 
of  the  Grand  Commandery  of  Knights 
Templar  of  Ohio,  grand  commander  from 
1864  to  1871 ;  of  the  Supreme  Council  of  the 
Ancient  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  of  Free 
Masonry  for  the  Northern  Jurisdiction  of 
the  United  States,  and  treasurer  for  some 
years.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Con- 
gregational church  in  Elyria,  and  for 
many  years  one  of  its  officers.  For  ten 
years  he  served  as  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday  school.  He  has  spent  some  time  in 
compiling  the  records  of  the  Ely  family. 
He  married  (first)  in  Elyria,  September 
I,  1841,  Mary,  daughter  of  Rev.  John  and 
Abigail  (Harris)  Montieth,  born  in  Clin- 
ton, Oneida  county,  New  York,  Novem- 
ber 12,  1824,  died  in  Elyria,  March  i,  1849. 
He  married  (second)  in  Hartford,  May 
27,  1850,  Mary  Frances,  daughter  of  Hon. 
Thomas  and  Sarah  (Coit)  Day,  born  in 
Hartford,  May  7,  1826. 

Dr.  Albert  Heman  Ely,  son  of  Heman 
(2)  and  Mary  Frances  (Day)  Ely,  pre- 
pared for  college  at  Phillips  Academy, 
Andover,  Massachusetts,  and  entered 
Yale  University,  where  he  was  graduated 
in  the  class  of  1885  with  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Arts.  He  entered  upon  the 
study  of  his  profession  at  the  College  of 
Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  Columbia 
University,  and  was  graduated  there  with 
the  degree  of  M.  D.  in  1888.  He  received 
his  hospital  experience  as  interne  at  St. 
Luke's  Hospital  in  New  York  City.  For 
about  two  years  he  traveled  and  studied 
abroad,  attending  lectures  and  acquiring 
hospital  experience  at  Vienna.  Since  his 
return  to  this  country  he   has  been   en- 

N  Y— Vol  IV— 16  2 


gaged  in  general  practice  in  New  York 
City.  He  is  a  member  of  the  County  and 
State  Medical  societies,  the  American 
Medical  Association,  and  is  a  Republican 
in  politics.  He  belongs  to  the  New  Eng- 
land Society  of  New  York,  the  Univer- 
sity, Yale  and  Southampton  clubs,  and  is 
a  communicant  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal church.  He  married,  at  Rochester, 
New  York,  October  7,  1891,  Maude  Loui.se 
Merchant,  born  at  Rutland,  Illinois, 
daughter  of  George  Eugene  and  Frances 
(Sherburne)  Merchant.  Children:  Regi- 
nald Merchant,  born  August  10,  1892, 
died  August  21,  1892;  Albert  Heman, 
March  21,  1894;  Gerald  Day,  October  7, 
1896,  died  December  29,  1900;  Francis 
Sherburne,  November  7,  1902.  Albert 
H.  Ely,  Jr.,  graduated  at  Yale,  1915,  pre- 
pared at  Hill  School  and  for  a  year  before 
he  entered  college  traveled  with  the  Por- 
ter E.  Sargent  School  of  Travel,  going 
through  all  Europe,  the  Eastern  Medit- 
teranean,  Greece  and  the  Dalmatia  Coast. 
During  the  summer  of  1914  he  made  a 
complete  trip  around  South  America 
through  the  Straits  of  Magellan  and  Pana- 
ma Canal.  At  present  he  is  studying  in 
Columbia  Law  School. 


MILLER,  Charles  Ransom, 

Journalist. 

Charles  Ransom  Miller,  editor  of  the 
"New  York  Times,"  one  of  the  leading 
newspapers  of  the  country,  is  a  descend- 
ant of  an  old  English  family.  His  an- 
cestor. Thomas  Miller,  yeoman,  of  Bis- 
hops Stortford  (called  usually  Stortford), 
England,  had  by  his  wife  Bridget,  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  Jernegan,  seven  children. 
John  Miller,  of  Stortford,  son  of  Thomas 
and  Bridget  (Jernegan)  Miller,  was  a 
butcher,  as  shown  by  his  will  dated 
March  26,  1601,  proved  November  9,  1602. 
He  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Rich- 
ard Jardfeilde,  of  Stortford,  and  sister  of 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


John  and  George  Jardfeilde.  Their  son, 
John  (2)  Miller,  married,  and  had  three 
children,  according  to  parish  records 
which  run  back  to  1561.  Thomas  Miller, 
son  of  John  (2)  Miller,  was  born  at  Bis- 
hops Stortford,  about  1610,  came  to  Mas- 
sachusetts with  his  brother  John  in  1635, 
but  did  not  settle  in  Dorchester,  as  the 
list  of  inhabitants  of  that  town  in  Janu- 
ary, 1636,  contains  only  John  and  Alex- 
ander. The  first  notice  we  have  of  Thom- 
as Miller  is  that  he  was  enrolled  as  a  free- 
man at  Boston,  May  22,  1639,  residence 
Rowley.  His  first  wife,  Isabel,  died  in 
1660,  leaving  one  child,  and  he  married 
(second)  at  Middletown.  June  6,  1666, 
Sarah,  daughter  of  Samuel  Nettleton,  of 
Milford,  settled  there  in  1639.  Benjamin 
Miller,  son  of  Thomas  and  Sarah  (Nettle- 
ton)  Miller  (senior  so-called  in  Middle- 
town  records),  was  born  July  30,  1672, 
died  September  12,  1737;  he  married, 
1701,  Mary  Basset,  born  1674,  died  De- 
cember 5,  1709.  Their  son,  Benjamin  (2) 
Miller,  was  born  1702,  and  removed  to 
New  Hampshire  in  1738,  as  in  the  latter 
year  and  in  1753  we  find  him  at  Newing- 
ton,  and  as  late  as  June  5,  1783.  He  mar- 
ried, about  1730,  Hannah,  surname  un- 
known. Benjamin  (3)  Miller,  son  of  Ben- 
jamin (2)  and  Hannah  Miller,  was  born 
between  1731  and  1735.  He  was  in  New- 
ington,  New  Hampshire,  prior  to  1775, 
when  he  removed  to  Brookfield,  Massa- 
chusetts, but  returned  to  New  Hampshire 
about  1778-80,  settling  at  Lyme,  where  he 
probably  died.  He  married,  in  1773, 
Esther,  daughter  of  Elijah  Clapp,  and 
had  four  children.  Elijah  Miller,  son  of 
Benjamin  (3)  and  Esther  (Clapp)  Miller, 
was  born  at  Newington,  in  1774,  as  his 
recorded  age  at  death  in  New  Hampshire 
State  Official  Register  was  sixty-three. 
He  was  baptized  June  23,  1776,  died  Janu- 
ary 10,  1837.  He  was  in  the  town  of 
Lyme,  New  Hampshire,  from  1780  to 
1798,  when  he  removed  to  Hanover,  and 


married  there  Eunice,  daughter  of  David 
and  Susanna  (Durkee)  Tenney;  she  was 
born  in  Hanover,  December  21,  1783,  died 
February  21,  1870.  Mr.  Miller  also  held 
several  local  offices  in  Hanover  town  and 
Grafton  county,  and  was  state  senator, 
June  2^,  1829,  to  June  2,  1830,  and  from 
that  date  to  June  i,  1831  ;  and  was  a 
member  of  the  governor's  council  1834- 
35-36,  and  died,  according  to  New  Hamp- 
shire Official  Register  of  1851,  January 
10,  1837,  aged  sixty-three.  He  was  a  man 
of  ability  and  distinction.  In  politics  he 
was  a  Democrat,  in  religion  a  Unitarian. 
By  occupation  he  was  a  farmer.  Elijah 
Tenney  Miller,  son  of  Elijah  and  Eunice 
(Tenney)  Miller,  was  born  August  15, 
181 5,  at  Hanover,  New  Hampshire,  and 
died  May  30,  1892.  He  married  Chastina 
C.  Hoyt,  born  about  1826,  daughter  of 
Benjamin  and  Abigail  (Strong)  Hoyt. 
They  had  three  children:  Fayette  M., 
born  July  25,  1844;  Susan  A.,  March  22, 
1847,  married  David  C.  Tenney,  of  Han- 
over, and  died  1873;  and  Charles  Ran- 
som, of  whom  further. 

Charles  Ransom  Miller,  son  of  Elijah 
Tenney  and  Chastina  C.  (Hoyt)  Miller, 
was  born  January  17,  1849,  at  Hanover. 
He  attended  the  public  schools  of  Han- 
over, the  Kimball  Union  Academy  at 
Meriden,  New  Hampshire,  and  the  Green 
Mountain  Institute  at  South  Woodstock, 
Vermont,  where  he  completed  his  prepa- 
ration for  college.  He  entered  Dart- 
mouth College  and  was  graduated  in  the 
class  of  1872  with  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Arts.  In  1905  he  was  honored  by  his 
alma  mater  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Laws.  Columbia  University  conferred 
upon  him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Letters 
in  1915,  and  that  year  also  he  was  elected 
to  membership  in  the  National  Institute 
of  Arts  and  Letters.  From  the  time  of 
his  graduation  from  college  until  1875  ^^ 
was  on  the  editorial  staff  of  the  "Republi- 
can," at  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  and 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


rose  to  the  position  of  city  editor  of  that 
newspaper.  In  July,  1875,  he  became  a 
member  of  the  staff  of  the  "New  York 
Times,"  and  since  then  has  been  con- 
nected with  that  newspaper.  He  was 
foreign  editor  for  a  time,  then  editorial 
writer  from  1 881  to  1883,  and  since  April, 
1883,  has  been  editor-in-chief.  He  is  also 
vice-president  and  a  stockholder  of  the 
New  York  Times  Company.  During  the 
period  of  Mr.  Miller's  editorship  "The 
Times"  has  become  one  of  the  foremost 
newspapers  of  the  country.  In  the  opin- 
ion of  many  of  the  best  judges  it  is  the 
best  newspaper  in  New  York  City,  and  the 
success  of  the  newspaper  under  the  policy 
of  "All  the  news  that's  lit  to  print"  has 
been  a  wholesome  example  and  inspiration 
to  editors  and  publishers  of  newspapers 
throughout  the  whole  country.  In  poli- 
tics Mr.  Miller  is  an  Independent,  and  in 
religion  non-sectarian.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Century  Club,  the  Metropolitan 
Club,  the  Piping  Rock  Club,  the  Garden 
City  Golf  Club,  the  Blooming  Grove 
Hunting  and  Fishing  Club  of  Pike 
County,  Pennsylvania.  He  married, 
October  10,  1876,  Frances  Ann  Daniels, 
born  April  8,  1851,  died  December  8,  1906, 
daughter  of  William  H.  and  Frances  Cot- 
ton Daniels,  who  was  a  descendant  of 
Rev.  John  Cotton,  the  Puritan  divine. 
Children:  Madge  Daniels,  born  October 
28,  1877;  Hoyt  Miller,  March  18,  1S83,  in 
New  York  City.  Mr.  Miller  resides  at 
21  East  Ninth  street.  New  York  City,  in 
summer  at  Great  Neck,  Long  Island,  and 
his  business  address  is  the  Times  office, 
New  York  Citv. 


' "      ^^ 

HUNGER,  George  Grover, 

LaTpyer. 

While  several  generations  of  Mr. 
Munger's  immediate  ancestors  have  lived 
in  New  York  State,  the  family  is  origin- 
ally   from     Connecticut,    descendants    of 


Nicholas  Munger  who  settled  in  Guil- 
ford, Connecticut,  not  later  than  1661  and 
resided  on  the  north  side  of  the  Neck 
river,  where  he  died  October  16,  1668. 
He  married,  June  2,  1659,  Sarah  Hull, 
who  survived  him  and  became  the  wife 
of  Dennis  Crampton.  James  Munger,  a 
descendant  of  Nicholas  and  Sarah 
Munger,  moved  to  Central  New  York. 
His  son,  James  (2)  Munger,  married 
Jane  B.  Thompson,  and  they  were  the 
parents  of  an  only  son.  Rev.  Reuben  De- 
Witt  Munger,  D.  D.,  and  the  grand- 
parents of  George  Grover  Munger,  of 
Syracuse.  James  (2)  Munger  died  in 
Ithaca,  New  York,  in  1848. 

Rev.  Reuben  DeWitt  Munger  was 
born  at  Ithaca,  New  York,  August  26, 
1837,  died  at  Syracuse,  New  York,  March 
II,  1909.  His  early  years  were  spent  in 
Ithaca,  the  family  home  until  the  death 
of  James  (2)  Munger  in  1848.  After 
being  left  a  widow,  Mrs.  James  Munger 
removed  with  her  only  son  to  Watkins, 
New  York,  where  his  education,  begun  in 
Ithaca  public  schools,  was  continued  in 
the  schools  of  Watkins.  After  complet- 
ing the  courses  there  he  prepared  at 
Genesee  Wesleyan  Seminary,  a  noted 
school  located  at  Lima,  New  York,  then 
entered  Genesee  College,  whence  he  was 
graduated  at  the  head  of  his  class,  1861, 
and  awarded  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Arts.  Later  he  was  awarded  Master  of 
.Vrts,  a  degree  he  also  received  from 
Syracuse  University  in  1873.  His  college 
fraternity  was  Phi  Beta  Kappa. 

His  high  order  of  scholarship  attracted 
attention  and  after  graduation  he  was 
offered  college  professorships,  but  all 
such  offers  were  declined,  his  ambition 
being  fixed  upon  the  holy  calling  of 
ministry.  He  passed  through  the  varied 
degrees  of  service  until  finally  ordained 
a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  and  a  member  of  the  East  Gene- 
see Annual  Conference.    That  conference 


243 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


was  then  very  large  and  through  changes 
in  conference  boundaries  he  was  at  times 
a  member  of  the  Western  New  York  Con- 
ference, the  Genesee  Conference  and  the 
Central  New  York  Conference.  His  first 
appointment  was  at  Big  Flats,  New 
York,  in  1861,  and  from  that  year  until 
1893,  when  he  was  chosen  presiding  elder, 
he  was  continuously  in  the  active 
ministry.  In  1862  he  was  pastor  at 
Havana;  at  South  Sodus  in  1863-64; 
Painted  Post  in  1865  ;  Dansville  in  1866- 
67;  Addison  in  1868;  East  Bloomfield  in 
1869-71;  Rochester  in  1872-74;  Bath  in 
1877;  Palmyra  in  1878-80;  Auburn  in 
1881-82;  Ithaca,  his  birthplace,  1883-85; 
Waterloo  in  1886-90;  Geneva  in  1891-92. 
In  all  the  charges  he  filled  he  labored 
most  acceptably  and  as  he  grew  in  years 
and  experience  he  broadened  intellec- 
tually and  was  regarded  as  one  of  the 
strong  men  of  his  conference. 

In  1893  he  was  elected  presiding  elder 
of  the  Auburn  district,  a  responsible 
position,  now  known  in  the  church  as 
district  superintendent.  During  his  term 
of  office,  five  years,  he  resided  in  Auburn, 
from  there  keeping  in  close  touch  with 
the  churches  of  his  district.  In  1896  he 
received  from  Syracuse  University  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity,  an  honor 
conferred  in  recognition  of  his  learning, 
piety  and  eminence  as  a  theologian.  At 
the  annual  conference  of  1898  he  was 
transferred  as  presiding  elder  to  the 
Elmira  district,  serving  that  district  until 
1904.  The  conference  of  1904  elected  Dr. 
Hunger  secretary  of  the  sustenation  fund 
of  the  conference,  an  office  he  held  until 
death  with  headquarters  at  Syracuse. 
During  the  five  years  he  served  as  secre- 
tary of  the  fund  he  put  forth  every  efifort 
and  did  arouse  the  church  to  the  neces- 
sity of  more  adequately  providing  for  the 
support  of  its  superannuated  ministers 
and  the  campaign  he  inaugurated  resulted 


in  a  fund  which  has  reached  very  large 
figures,  available  for  the  support  of  the 
aged  clergymen  of  the  conference.  Dr. 
Munger  was  accorded  the  honor  of  elec- 
tion as  delegate  to  the  quadrennial  gen- 
eral conference  of  his  church  in  1896  and 
reserve  delegate  to  that  of  1904.  From 
1873  until  1880  he  was  a  trustee  of  Gene- 
see Wesleyan  Seminary  and  of  Syracuse 
University  from  1895  until  his  death. 

He  was  a  member  of  Dansville  Lodge, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  Ithaca  Chap- 
ter, Royal  Arch  Masons ;  St.  Augustine 
Commandery,  Knights  Templar,  of 
Ithaca.  He  was  a  member  of  the  New 
York  State  Historical  Society,  taking  a 
deep  interest  in  the  various  bodies  to 
which  he  belonged.  Seventy-two  years 
was  the  span  of  life  allotted  the  devoted, 
eloquent  divine,  years  of  greatest  useful- 
ness in  the  ministry  and  ended  while  still 
"in  the  harness"  as  he  would  have  wished. 
He  was  actively  interested  in  those  ques- 
tions tending  to  the  moral  uplift  of  the 
communities  in  which  he  lived  and  could 
always  be  counted  upon  for  active  sup- 
port. The  cause  of  temperance  was  very 
dear  to  him,  and  outside  of  his  strictly 
ministerial  work  none  other  was  so  clear. 
He  was  a  loyal  supporter  of  Francis 
Murphy,  that  gifted  Irishman  whose 
crusade  against  rum  so  stirred  the  nation, 
and  during  that  and  other  campaigns  for 
temperance  he  lectured  in  nearly  all  of 
the  Eastern  and  Aliddle  States.  He  was 
greatly  in  demand  for  such  service  and 
proved  a  powerful  advocate  for  the 
cause. 

Dr.  Munger  married,  in  1863,  Estelle 
Hinman,  daughter  of  Dr.  George  T.  and 
Irene  (Benson)  Hinman,  of  Havana,  New 
York,  a  descendant  of  Sergeant  Edward 
Hinman,  an  officer  of  the  Royal  Life 
Guards  of  Charter  I.  Sergeant  Hinm.ai> 
came  to  America  in  1650  and  is  the  ances- 
tor  of  all   of  the   name   in   this   country 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


claiming  early  Colonial  descent.  He  was 
a  large  land  owner  at  Stratford,  Con- 
necticut, and  the  first  title  holder  to  the 
old  tide  mill  which  stood  between  Strat- 
ford and  what  is  now  Bridgeport.  The 
Hinman  ancestry  also  includes  Governor 
John  Webster,  of  Connecticut,  and 
Deputy-Governor  Samuel  Symonds,  of 
Massachusetts.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Munger 
were  the  parents  of  George  Grover 
Munger,  of  further  mention,  and  James 
DeWitt  Munger,  of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota. 
George  Grover  Munger  was  born  Janu- 
ary 29,  1865,  at  South  Sodus,  Wayne 
county.  New  York,  his  father  then  being 
pastor  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
at  that  place.  His  early  education  was 
obtained  in  the  schools  of  the  dififerent 
charges  his  itinerant  father  filled,  but  he 
was  reared  under  the  best  home  influences 
and  the  instruction  of  his  scholarly 
father  and  accomplished  mother  counted 
more  in  those  formative  days  than  school 
instruction.  At  Auburn  and  at  Ithaca  he 
had  the  benefit  of  the  high  school  courses 
and  was  fully  prepared  for  college  admis- 
sion. He  then  entered  Cornell  Univer- 
sity, specialized  in  history  and  political 
economy  and  was  graduated  Bachelor  of 
Arts,  class  of  '88.  Choosing  the  profes- 
sion of  law  he  studied  under  the  precep- 
torship  of  F.  L.  Manning,  of  Waterloo, 
New  York,  and  in  1890  was  admitted  to 
the  bar.  He  chose  Syracuse  as  a  location, 
was  a  partner  with  H.  H.  Bacon  for  one 
year,  but  since  1892  has  practiced  alone. 
While  his  practice  is  general  in  character 
he  specializes  in  the  law  of  real  estate 
and  of  corporations,  transacting  a  large 
business  in  the  State  and  Federal  courts 
of  the  district.  In  1904  he  was  appointed 
receiver  for  the  Royal  Templars  of 
Temperance,  and  has  been  called  to  fill 
other  positions  of  trust  and  respon- 
sibility. He  is  devoted  to  his  profession, 
but  has  outside  business  interests  and  is 


highly  regarded  as  both  a  professional 
and  business  man.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
various  bar  associations,  and  is  interested 
in  those  movements  intended  to  make 
communities  better  places  in  which  to 
live.  His  church  affiliation  is  with  thr 
denomination  whose  ministry  his  honored 
father  graced,  and  he  serves  Centenary 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Syracuse 
as  trustee.  He  is  one  of  the  stewards  of 
the  Central  New  York  Conference,  a 
member  of  the  Permanent  Fund  Commis- 
sion and  holds  other  positions  of  the  con- 
ference open  to  a  layman.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  Central  City  Lodge,  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons ;  Central  City  Chapter, 
Royal  Arch  Masons ;  Central  City  Com- 
mandery.  Knights  Templar;  the  Citizens' 
and  University  clubs ;  the  New  York 
State  Historical  Society  and  American 
Historical  Association.  In  political  faith 
he  is  a  Republican,  but  serves  as  a  private 
in  the  ranks,  seeking  no  political  office  for 
himself. 

Mr.  Munger  married,  September  26, 
1894,  Ada  M.  Bishop,  of  St.  Paul,  Minne- 
sota. Their  only  son,  George  DeWitt 
Munger,  is  a  student  at  Syracuse  Univer- 
sity, class  of  1919. 


NOLTE,  Adolph,  Jr., 

Manufacturer,   Inventor. 

Nolte,  a  name  well  known  among  Ger- 
many's higher  classes,  has  been  worthily 
borne  in  Rochester  by  two  generations  of 
the  family,  Adolph  Nolte,  senior  and 
junior,  the  former  an  adopted,  the  latter 
a  native  son.  The  father  was  a  noted 
editor  of  a  newspaper,  the  son  has  won 
distinction  in  the  mechanical  world  by 
his  inventive  genius  and  skill.  His  inven- 
tions cover  a  wide  field,  but  his  greatest 
fame  has  been  won  in  connection  with  the 
Hydro-Press  Company,  of  which  he  was 
president.     The    most   important    of   his 


245 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


inventions  is  difficult  to  determine,  for  his 
machine  for  grinding  the  edges  of  lenses 
so  that  the  milky  surface  is  obtained,  a 
result  that  eliminates  the  shadows  and 
reflections  of  a  bright  surfaced  edge,  is 
used  to-day  all  over  the  world  by  manu- 
facturers of  optical  and  camera  lenses. 
To  him  is  also  credited  the  first  positive 
washing  machine,  Mr.  Nolte  perfecting 
that  invention  at  the  age  of  eighteen 
years  while  an  employee  of  the  Sprague 
Laundry  Company.  His  hydraulic  press, 
capable  of  removing  the  two  wheels  from 
the  axle  of  a  locomotive  instantaneously, 
was  the  first  machine  of  its  kind  ever 
built,  and  giant  presses  of  fifteen  thou- 
sand tons  strength  are  the  fruit  of  his 
mechanical  genius  and  skill.  Since  1908 
his  talents  have  been  devoted  to  the  serv- 
ice of  the  Eastman  Kodak  Company  in 
experimental  work  and  machine  improve- 
ment. These  are  his  greatest  successes 
only.  He  is  the  inventor  of  many  original 
machines,  has  taken  out  many  patents, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  International 
Congress  of  Inventors.  Originality, 
enterprise,  determination  and  industry 
have  marked  his  business  life,  while  cour- 
tesy and  kindliness  show  in  his  inter- 
course with  his  fellow-men.  He  is 
highly  esteemed  and  holds  a  place  in 
public  regard  fairly  won  and  worthily 
filled. 

Adolph  Nolte,  St.,  scion  of  an  aristo- 
cratic German  house,  was  educated  in  a 
manner  befitting  his  station.  He  was  one 
of  those  bold  spirits  who,  inspired  by  a 
hatred  of  oppression  and  a  love  of  liberty, 
joined  in  the  "Students'  Rebellion"  in 
1841,  and  as  a  consequence  was  forced  tf 
flee  his  native  land.  He  tarried  in  France. 
joined  the  French  army,  fought  in  Africa 
with  the  French  legions,  and  for  gallantry 
was  raised  to  the  rank  of  an  officer.  He 
later  came  to  the  United  States,  locating 
in  Rochester,  where  within  a  year  of  his 


arrival  he  was  editor  of  the  "Rochester 
Beobachter,"  a  paper  that  he  founded  and 
printed  in  the  German  language.  Its 
name  was  later  changed  to  the  "Rochester 
Abendpost,"  and  for  many  years  he  con- 
tinued its  editor  and  publisher.  When 
war  broke  out  between  the  States  he 
recruited  Company  C,  Thirteenth  Regi- 
ment New  York  Volunteer  Infantry,  and 
upon  receiving  a  captain's  commission  he 
led  them  to  the  front.  The  military 
spirit  was  in  his  blood  and  he  fought  as 
bravely  for  the  Union  as  he  had  upon 
Algerian  battlefields  under  the  French 
flag,  and  was  as  ardent  an  apostle  of 
liberty  for  the  slave  as  when,  a  student  in 
his  native  land,  he  raised  the  standard  of 
revolt  against  tyranny.  His  influence 
among  those  of  German  birth  in  Roches- 
ter was  very  great,  and  being  thoroughly 
imbued  with  American  ideals  he  sought 
to  inspire  his  countrymen  with  the  same 
love  and  loyalty  for  their  adopted  coun- 
try and  its  institutions.  He  was  one  of 
the  organizers  of  the  Turn  Verein,  was  a 
trustee  of  the  Soldiers'  Home,  and  a  man 
held  in  highest  respect  in  his  adopted 
city  by  all  classes.  He  married  Margaret, 
daughter  of  John  Sattler,  a  contractor  of 
masonry  and  builder  of  the  piers  for  the 
first  iron  bridge  erected  in  Rochester. 
Adolph  Nolte,  Sr.,  died  in  1893,  mourned 
by  a  wide  circle  of  loyal,  loving  friends. 
His  wife  died  in  1885,  aged  forty-eight 
years. 

Adolph  Nolte,  Jr.,  son  of  Adolph  and 
Margaret  (Sattler)  Nolte,  was  born  in 
Rochester,  New  York,  July  11,  1866,  and 
has  ever  been  a  resident  of  his  native 
city.  He  attended  public  schools  until 
sixteen  years  of  age,  then  became  a 
machinist's  apprentice.  He  converted  his 
nights  and  days  of  vacation  into  hours  of 
study,  machine  designing,  mechanical 
drawings,  mathematics,  and  technical 
branches  of  his  trade  being  his  favorite 


246 


^SA- 


i^AvA^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


branches.  He  adopted  the  foreign  method 
of  working  in  diilferent  shops,  thus  be- 
coming familiar  with  all  kinds  of  ma- 
chines, how  they  were  built  and  how  they 
were  operated  under  varied  conditions. 
This,  with  his  constant  study,  marked 
natural  inventive  genius  and  constructive 
ability,  laid  the  foundation  for  his  future 
success  as  inventor  and  designer  of  ma- 
chinery and  executive  and  for  his  high 
position  in  the  mechanical  world.  In  1902 
he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Schaffer 
Manufacturing  Company,  beginning  as  a 
machinist,  that  firm  then  employing  but 
four  m,en  in  the  machine  shop  and  doing 
a  limited  business.  He  soon  advanced  to 
the  position  of  foreman,  and  within  a  year 
and  one-half  after  his  entrance  was  made 
superintendent  of  the  plant,  in  charge  of 
a  force  of  forty-two  machinists.  In  1906 
John  O.  Brewster,  president  of  the  com- 
pany, died,  and  Mr.  Nolte,  having  become 
a  large  stockholder,  organized  the  Hydro- 
Press  Company  with  a  capitalization  of 
$75,000,  and  bought  out  the  Schafifer 
Manufacturing  Company,  becoming  vice- 
president  and  manager  of  the  new  com- 
pany. In  1908  he  was  elected  president, 
but  shortly  afterward  disposed  of  his 
interests  in  the  company  and  accepted  a 
position  with  the  Eastman  Kodak  Com- 
pany which  was  more  in  accord  with  his 
tastes,  experimental  work,  designing  of 
new  machinery,  and  improvements  on 
that  in  use.  The  work  Mr.  Nolte  did  with 
the  Schafifer  and  Hydro-Press  companies 
resulted  in  a  vast  advance  in  the  construc- 
tion of  hydraulic  presses.  The  power  of 
the  hydraulic  press  was  vastly  increased 
and  the  scope  of  its  usefulness  broadened. 
He  built  presses  capable  of  exerting  a 
pressure  of  fifteen  thousand  tons,  and  as 
heretofore  noted  designed  a  press  for  the 
removing  of  the  two  locomotive  driving 
wheels  from  their  axle  instantaneously, 
the  first  of  its  kind  ever  built.    Numerous 


patents  exist  as  the  product  of  his  brain, 
many  of  them  exceedingly  valuable  and 
covering  a  wide  field.  His  invention  to 
eliminate  the  shadows  and  reflections  that 
a  bright  surfaced  edge  throws  into  a  lens 
is  exceedingly  valuable,  and  his  machine 
for  grinding  the  edges  to  produce  a  milky 
surface  was  a  result  that  lens  makers  had 
sought  for  vainly  for  thirty  years.  The 
introduction  of  his  successful  machine 
was  hailed  with  delight  by  lens  makers 
all  over  the  world  and  found  a  ready  sale. 
So,  too,  his  machine  for  burnishing  post 
cards  was  a  great  advance,  raising  both 
the  quality  and  the  quantity  of  the  work 
produced. 

Mr.  Nolte  is  a  member  of  the  Inter- 
national Congress  of  Inventors,  the 
Rochester  Turn  Verein,  and  the  Knights 
of  Malta.  In  politics  he  is  a  Republican, 
but  takes  little  active  part  in  public  affairs. 
He  is  one  of  the  world's  valued  workers 
and  the  results  of  his  labors  have  added 
to  the  sum  of  human  achievement. 
Hardly  yet  in  the  full  prime  of  his  powers, 
there  are  many  years  of  useful  effort  be- 
fore him,  and  even  greater  results  are  to 
be  expected  from  his  labors. 

Mr.  Nolte  married,  April  27.  1887,  Eliza, 
daughter  of  Adam  Klein,  of  Rochester. 
Children:  Elmer,  Adele,  Gladys,  wife  of 
Frank  Stolte  ;  Mildred,  and  Lucille. 


PELLETREAU,  William  S., 

Genealogist,  Antiquarian. 

The  ancestors  of  this  family  were 
Huguenots  who  fled  from  France  on  the 
revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes.  The 
first  in  America  were  Jean  Pelletreau  and 
his  wife  Magdalena ;  their  sons,  Jean  and 
Elie  (John  and  Elias)  had  for  an  ancestor 
a  physician  to  Admiral  Coligny.  The  full 
family  line  appears  at  length  in  "History 
of  Long  Island,"  by  Peter  Ross,  LL.  D., 
Lewis  Publishing  Company,  1903. 


247 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


From  such  ancestry  is  descended  Wil- 
liam S.  Pelletreau,  son  of  William  S.  and 
Elizabeth  (Welles)  Pelletreau.  He  was 
born  in  Southampton,  Long  Island,  July 
19,  1840.  His  early  education  was 
obtained  in  the  village  school  and  at 
Southampton  Academy.  He  was  addicted 
to  books  from  his  early  youth,  and  dis- 
played more  than  ordinary  proficiency  in 
language.  In  1861  he  was  elected  town 
clerk  of  Southampton.  The  ancient 
records  (the  oldest  in  the  State,  dating 
back  to  1639),  were  in  a  chaotic  condition, 
and  all  but  entirely  illegible.  He  accom- 
plished the  almost  hopeless  task  of  col- 
lecting and  arranging  them  in  chron- 
ological order  and  transcribing  them,  and 
thus  the  oldest  records  of  the  oldest  town 
were  rescued  from  oblivion.  In  1873  by 
vote  of  the  town  meeting,  Mr.  Pelletreau 
was  authorized  to  print  them,  and  when 
completed,  the  first  work  of  the  kind  ever 
printed  on  Long  Island,  the  work 
attracted  most  favorable  attention.  It 
was  favorably  reviewed  in  historical 
magazines  and  newspapers,  and  in  recog- 
nition of  his  labors  Mr.  Pelletreau  re- 
ceived from  the  University  of  the  City  of 
New  York  the  honorary  degree  of  Master 
of  Arts.  A  second  and  a  third  volume 
soon  followed.  Since  then,  Mr.  Pelle- 
treau's  entire  life  has  been  devoted  to 
historical  research.  Among  his  many 
works  are  narrative  histories  of  Greene 
county  and  Rockland  county.  New  York ; 
the  genealogical  portion  of  the  "History 
of  Westchester  County,"  "History  of 
Putnam  County,  New  York  ;"  "Records  of 
Smithtown,  Long  Island ;"  "Early  New 
York  Houses;"  "Early  Long  Island 
Wills,"  and  "History  of  Long  Island." 
Probably  his  most  important  works  are 
four  volumes  of  "Abstracts  of  New  York 
Wills,"  prepared  as  part  of  the  "Collec- 
tions of  the  New  York  Historical  So- 
ciety," and  which  contain  very  carefully 


prepared  abstracts  of  all  the  wills  and 
documents  contained  in  the  first  eighteen 
books  of  wills  in  the  New  York  surro- 
gate's office,  and  are  a  mine  of  historical 
and  genealogical  information.  Mr.  Pelle- 
treau is  a  life  member  of  the  New  York 
Historical  Society,  and  is  connected  with 
the  Huguenot  Society  of  America. 


BUCKLEY,  William  Arthur, 

Contracting  Bnilder. 

It  is  a  well-attested  maxim  that  the 
greatness  of  a  State  lies  not  in  its  ma- 
chinery of  government,  nor  even  in  its 
institutions,  but  in  the  sterling  qualities 
of  its  individual  citizens,  in  their  capacity 
for  high  and  unselfish  efYort  and  their 
devotion  to  the  public  good.  Mr.  Buckley 
is  one  who  has  through  many  years  been 
an  important  factor  in  conserving  the 
public  interests. 

W'illiam  Arthur  Buckley  was  born  in 
Rochester,  Monroe  county.  New  York, 
October  19,  1866,  son  of  Thomas  E.  and 
Mary  E.  (Dalton)  Buckley,  the  former 
named  a  prominent  and  successful  mer- 
chant of  Rochester,  actively  engaged  in 
the  picture  business.  St.  Patrick's 
Parochial  School  afforded  William  A. 
Buckley  the  means  of  obtaining  a  prac- 
tical education,  which  qualified  him  for  an 
active  business  career,  which  has  been 
devoted  to  the  general  building  line,  he 
being  a  contractor  of  note  and  promi- 
nence, many  of  the  buildings  in  his  native 
city  and  vicinity  standing  as  monuments 
of  his  skill  and  ability  in  the  line  chosen 
by  him  as  his  lifework.  He  is  a  self- 
made  man,  possessed  of  more  than  ordi- 
nary business  acumen  and  is  now  in  pos- 
session of  a  handsome  competence, 
which  has  been  acquired  entirely  through 
his  own  well-directed  efforts.  The  qual- 
ities which  have  insured  his  success  are 
those  easily  cultivated,  and  his  example 


248 


mk^.^.£..^. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


should  serve  to  encourage  and  inspire 
others  to  whom  fate  has  not  given  wealth 
in  the  beginning  of  a  business  career. 
In  politics  he  has  always  been  a  stalwart 
Democrat,  the  principles  of  which  party 
he  believes  stands  for  the  best  govern- 
ment of  the  people.  He  served  as  alder 
man  during  the  years  1908-09,  represent- 
ing the  Fifteenth  Ward,  as  a  member  of 
the  New  York  State  Democratic  Com- 
mittee for  1912-13-14,  and  on  March  2, 
1914,  was  appointed  postmaster  of 
Rochester,  the  duties  of  which  important 
office  he  is  performing  in  an  entirely 
creditable  manner.  His  religious  affili- 
ation is  with  Holy  Apostles  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church,  and  he  is  also  actively  con- 
nected with  the  following  organizations: 
Knights  of  Columbus,  Ancient  Order  of 
Hibernians,  Catholic  Mutual  Benefit  As- 
sociation, St.  Joseph's  Catholic  Young 
Men's  Club,  Improved  Order  of  Red 
Men,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks,  and  Woodmen  of  the  World.  Mr. 
Buckley  is  unmarried. 


SCHMEER,  Henry, 

Frominent    Mannfactarer. 

Henry  Schmeer,  whose  business  as  a 
paper  box  manufacturer  exceeds  that  of 
any  similar  enterprise  in  Syracuse,  was 
born  in  that  city  on  Christmas  Day,  1845, 
his  parents  being  Philip  and  Sophia 
(Thousand)  Schmeer,  both  natives  of 
Germany,  the  father  crossing  the  Atlantic 
and  becoming  a  resident  of  Syracuse  in 
1835,  and  was  one  of  the  pioneer  salt 
manufacturers  there.  He  died  in  1875, 
having  for  about  three  years  survived  his 
wife,  who  passed  away  in  1872.  They 
were  the  parents  of  thirteen  children  but 
only  two  are  now  living,  Henry  and 
Jacob. 

Henry  Schmeer  attended  the  public 
schools    of    Syracuse    to    his    thirteenth 


year,  after  which  it  became  necessary  for 
him  to  start  out  in  life  on  his  own  account 
and  he  learned  the  trade  of  manufactur- 
ing candy  with  a  Mr.  Holliday,  in  whose 
employ  he  continued  for  three  years.  On 
the  expiration  of  that  period  he  took  up 
the  business  of  manufacturing  paper 
boxes  at  a  time  when  all  work  was  done 
by  hand.  He  was  in  the  employ  of  the 
Trowbridge  Box  Company,  managing 
same,  and  thoroughly  acquainted  him- 
self with  all  branches  of  the  business. 
Because  of  some  differences  with  the 
Trowbridge  Company,  he  left  their  em- 
ployment and  after  the  war  he  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  paper  boxes  on  his 
own  account,  starting  in  a  very  small  way 
with  a  capital  of  only  five  dollars.  He 
admitted  Mr.  Philip  Listman  to  a  part- 
nership in  the  year  1867  and  they  began 
the  manufacture  of  paper  boxes  in  the 
old  Wieting  Block,  where  they  remained 
for  two  years,  when  they  removed  to 
South  Clinton  street,  near  Walton  street. 
For  some  time  they  continued  together, 
but  in  1883  Mr.  Schmeer  sold  out  his 
interest  in  the  business  to  Mr.  Listman 
and  established  a  plant  of  his  own  on 
West  Water  street,  making  the  same  line 
of  goods  there  until  1889,  when  he  re- 
moved to  No.  108  Noxen  street,  where  he 
occupied  three  floors  of  that  building  and 
where  he  did  an  extensive  business  until 
1894.  Business  grew  so  rapidly  that  he 
was  forced  to  look  for  larger  quarters,  so 
he  purchased  the  lot  at  No.  202-204  Noxen 
street,  just  one  block  from  his  old  place. 
This  lot  extended  through  to  Marnell 
avenue.  He  built  a  four-story  brick 
building  in  the  rear  of  this  lot  and  began 
an  extensive  business,  employing  about 
sixty  hands  at  that  time.  The  firm  name 
was  the  Henry  Schmeer  Manufacturing 
Company.  In  the  year  1907  he  was  forced 
to  add  another  story,  making  it  five 
stories  high.    The  business  kept  on  grow- 


249 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ing  until  1913,  when  he  was  compelled  to 
build  again.  This  time  instead  of  adding 
more  stories  to  the  same  building,  he 
extended  three  stories  to  Noxen  street, 
connecting  with  the  old  building.  This 
new  edition  is  constructed  of  concrete  and 
brick  reinforced  with  steel,  equipped 
throughout  with  the  Grinell  Automatic 
Sprinkler  System,  making  it  as  fire-proof 
as  possible.  The  building  is  ideal  for 
manufacturing  purposes,  getting  light  and 
air  from  three  sides,  and  has  access  from 
two  streets.  It  is  one  of  the  best  manu- 
facturing plants  in  the  city;  has  a  floor 
space  of  about  thirty-five  thousand  square 
feet  and  gives  employment  to  over  one 
hundred  hands.  In  the  year  1910  the 
business  was  incorporated  under  the  laws 
of  the  State  of  New  York  and  from  that 
time  has  been  going  under  the  name  of 
Schmeer's  Paper  Box  Company,  Incor- 
porated. The  business  is  owned  entirely 
by  Mr.  Henry  Schmeer  and  children,  all 
of  whom  have  stock  in  same.  The  officers 
are :  President,  Mr.  Henry  Schmeer ;  vice- 
president,  Mr.  George  J.  Schmeer;  gen- 
eral manager,  Mr.  Henry  P.  Schmeer ; 
secretary,  Mr.  William  N.  Schmeer ; 
treasurer,  Mr.  Charles  F.  Schmeer.  His 
political  allegiance  is  given  to  the  Repub- 
lican party,  but  he  is  not  a  politician  in 
the  sense  of  office  seeking.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  First  English  Lutheran  Church, 
with  which  he  has  been  active  for  over  a 
quarter  of  a  century.  He  is  also  identified 
with  the  Citizens'  Club,  Angler's  Club, 
South  Bay  Club  House,  De  Forrest  Ang- 
ling Association  and  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce. 

In  1873  ^Ir.  Schmeer  was  united  in 
marriage  to  Julia  Meyers,  of  Syracuse, 
and  they  had  seven  children,  two  daugh- 
ters, Julia  and  Stella,  and  five  sons, 
George  J.,  Henry  P.,  William  N.,  Robert, 
and  Charles  F.  Robert  died  in  the  year 
1880  at  the  age  of  eight  months,  his  was 


the  first  grave  in  Woodlawn  Cemetery. 
Julia  died  in  1887  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
years  and  six  months.  William  N.  was 
married  to  Theresa  Vischer  in  1907  and 
they  have  one  daughter,  Stella  Florence 
Schmeer,  age  eight  years.  Henry  P. 
Schmeer  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Bertha  Herbrich  in  1903,  no  children,  his 
wife  died  in  1914.  George  J.  Schmeer  was 
married  to  Caroline  Hack  in  1898  and 
they  had  one  son,  born  1915,  who  died  in 
infancy.  Miss  Stella  Schmeer  was  mar- 
ried, in  1914,  to  Mr.  Stanley  Kingsbury. 
Character  and  ability  will  come  to  the 
front  anywhere,  a  truth  which  is  manifest 
in  the  life  of  Mr.  Schmeer,  starting  out 
for  himself  at  the  early  age  of  thirteen 
years  he  has  gradually  advanced  until 
to-day  he  occupies  an  enviable  position  in 
industrial  circles. 


WINKWORTH,  Edwin  David, 

Enterprising   Citizen, 

While  the  great  Solvay  Process  Com- 
pany is  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  com- 
mercial world  in  the  magnitude  of  its 
business,  its  proudest  achievement  is  the 
perfection  of  its  organization  and  the 
opportunity  it  offers  for  men  to  develop 
the  peculiar  talent  they  may  possess. 
When  but  a  lad  of  sixteen  years  fresh 
from  high  school,  Mr.  Winkworth  entered 
the  employ  of  that  company  and  for 
twenty-three  years  he  has  known  no 
other.  He  is  a  son  of  John  W.  and  Anna 
S.  Winkworth,  his  father  a  veteran  of  the 
Civil  War,  his  service  performed  with  the 
Ninth  Regiment  New  York  Heavy  Artil- 
lery. 

Edwin  D.  Winkworth  was  born  at 
Geddes,  Onondaga  county.  New  York, 
January  I,  1877,  «^rid  was  educated  in 
grammar  and  high  schools.  In  1893  he 
entered  the  employ  of  the  Solvay  Process 
Company  and  with  that  company  and  the 


250 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Semet  Solvay  Company  has  passed  the 
years  which  have  since  intervened.  Dur- 
ing those  years  he  has  served  in  various 
capacities,  now  being  assistant  secretary 
of  the  company  and  manager  of  the  sales 
department.  Busy  as  his  life  has  been 
Mr.  Winkworth  has  been  active  in  com- 
munity affairs  and  in  social  life.  He  is 
president  of  the  West  End  Citizens'  Im- 
provement Association,  president  of  the 
West  End  Citizens'  Club,  member  of  the 
Citizens'  and  Rotary  clubs  of  Syracuse, 
Central  City  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons;  Syracuse  Lodge,  No.  31,  Be- 
nevolent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks ; 
and  of  West  Genesee  Avenue  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  In  political  faith  he 
is  a  Republican. 

Mr.  Winkworth  married  in  Syracuse, 
August  30,  1905,  Prudence  Mary  Brind- 
ley,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Prudence 
Brindley.  They  are  the  parents  of  three 
children:  Laura,  born  July  28,  1906;  Ed- 
ward, March  18,  1908;  Eleanor,  January 
29,  igi2. 


MELDRAM,  John  Charles, 

Attorney-at-Iia'w. 

A  practitioner  at  the  Onondaga  county 
bar  since  his  graduation  from  law  school 
in  1878  Mr.  Meldram  has  won  honorable 
standing  at  that  bar,  and  to  his  profes- 
sional work  has  given  his  entire  time  and 
energy.  He  is  a  son  of  John  James  Mel- 
dram, and  a  grandson  of  James  Meldram, 
who  came  in  1820  from  Leeds,  England, 
to  the  United  States,  and  died  in  Syra- 
cuse, New  York,  in  1890.  aged  eighty- 
nine  years,  having  conducted  a  meat  busi- 
ness for  fifty  years,  his  shop  being  on 
Warren  street  where  the  Snow  building 
now  stands.  John  James  Meldram,  who 
died  in  Syracuse,  April  28,  1893,  was  for 
manv  years  engaged  in  the  public  service 
as  deputy  sheriflf;  United  States  deputy 
marshal ;  under  sheriff,  sheriff  and  court 


crier.  He  married  Sarah  Lavina  Willard, 
who  died  in  February,  1899,  daughter  of 
William  W.  Willard,  who'  died  in  1876, 
senior  member  of  the  jewelry  firm  of  Wil- 
lard &  Hawley,  of  Syracuse. 

John  Charles  Meldram,  son  of  John 
James  and  Sarah  Lavina  (Willard)  Mel- 
dram, was  born  in  Syracuse,  New  York, 
July  20,  1856.  After  completing  the  pub- 
lic school  courses  in  grammar  and  high 
schools  of  Syracuse,  he  began  the  study 
of  law,  taking  the  full  course  at  Albany 
Law  School  from  whence  he  was  gradu- 
ated LL.  B.  class  of  1878.  He  was  at 
once  admitted  to  the  Onondaga  bar  and 
began  practice  in  Syracuse  practically 
alone  until  1884.  He  then  formed  a  law 
partnership  with  the  late  William  James, 
that  association  continuing  until  1889.  He 
continued  alone  until  about  1907,  when 
the  present  partnership  with  Frank  R. 
Lennox  was  entered  into.  The  firm  prac- 
tices as  Meldram  &  Lennox,  with  offices 
923-931  University  Building,  Syracuse. 
Their  practice  is  an  extensive  one,  con- 
ducted in  all  State  and  Federal  courts. 
Mr.  Meldram  is  a  member  of  the  Knights 
of  Pythias,  the  Citizens'  Club,  The  An- 
glers' Club  of  Onondaga,  the  Anglers'  As- 
sociation of  Onondaga,  and  the  Onondaga 
County  Bar  Association. 

He  married  in  Syracuse,  in  July,  1881, 
Nellie  E.,  daughter  of  Griffith  Nelson  and 
Emily  A.  (Costello)  Griffith.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Meldram  have  four  children :  Frank 
John,  born  November  10,  1882;  Leo 
Grififith,  April  29,  1888;  Marjorie,  De- 
cember 16,  1889;  Emily  Lavina,  March 
10,  1893. 


EDWARDS,  Oliver  Murray, 

Mannfacturer,   Inventor. 

The  Edwards  family,  represented  in  the 
present  generation  by  Oliver  "M.  Edwards, 
inventor  and  manufacturer,  of  Syracuse, 
claims  as  its  ancestor  Talmage  Edwards, 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


who,  accompanied  by  his  brother,  Daniel 
Edwards,  came  to  this  country  from  the 
border  of  Wales  and  England  before  the 
Revolutionary  War,  locating,  probably, 
in  the  State  of  Connecticut,  from  whence 
Talmage  Edwards  removed  to  New  York 
State  and  later  to  Johnstown,  where  he 
established  the  heavy  glove  business 
which  later  grew  to  be  the  local  industry 
and  remains  so  to  this  day.  The  tradition 
is  that  Daniel  Edwards  died  during  the 
period  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  the  fact 
remaining  that  he  was  not  heard  from 
afterward.  The  following  was  copied 
from  the  Johnstown  "Republican,"  issue 
of  October  19,  1895  : 

The  manufacture  of  gloves  in  this  vicinity 
(Johnstown,  New  York)  dates  back  many  years 
and  to-day  there  are  thousands  of  people  em- 
ployed in  this  industry  in  Johnstown.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  no  less  than  30,000  are  employed  in 
this  business  in  the  Cayadutta  valley.  Tal- 
mage Edwards,  a  downcast  Yankee,  had  learned 
the  art  of  dressing  deer  skins  and  of  making 
moccasins,  mittens  and  leather  breeches.  He 
began  in  a  small  way  in  a  little  house  erected 
by  him  at  the  corner  of  William  and  Mont- 
gomery streets  in  Johnstown,  on  the  site  of  the 
present  residence  of  Everett  M.  Kennedy.  In 
the  course  of  time  others  became  interested  in 
the  dressing  of  leather  and  its  manufacture,  and 
the  business  has  increased  until  now  there  are 
250  concerns  in  Fulton  county  making  gloves. 
The  sales  of  the  product  of  the  glove  industry 
in  Fulton  county  aggregate  nearly  $10,000,000 
annually. 

John  Edwards,  the  first  of  the  line  here- 
in recorded  of  whom  we  have  authentic 
record,  was  born  in  1781,  and  when  two 
years  of  age  accompanied  his  parents  to 
Johnstown,  New  York,  removing  thence 
from  Dutchess  county.  New  York.  He 
served  as  jailor  of  Fulton  county  from 
1806  to  1812,  and  was  elected  to  Congress 
in  1836.  He  married  and  among  his  chil- 
dren was  Daniel,  of  whom  further. 

Daniel  Edwards,  son  of  John  Edwards, 
was  born  in  1804.  in  Johnstown,  New 
York,  and  later  became  a  very  prominent 
citizen  of  that  place.     He  married  Sally 


Maria  Wells,  daughter  of  Eleazer  Wells, 
of  Johnstown,  who  owned  and  occupied 
the  Sir  William  Johnson  estate  at  Johns- 
town, which  has  recently  been  sold  to  the 
State  of  New  York.  Among  the  children 
of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edwards  was  Eleazer 
Wells,  of  whom  further. 

Eleazer  Wells  Edwards,  son  of  Daniel 
and  Sally  Maria  (Wells)  Edwards,  was 
born  in  Johnstown,  New  York,  April  17, 
1838,  died  in  Syracuse,  New  York,  where 
he  had  resided  for  many  years,  November 
25,  191 1.  His  father  was  for  many  years 
a  merchant  in  Johnstown,  and  on  his  re- 
tirement from  business  in  1863,  the  son 
succeeded  the  father,  continuing  the  busi- 
ness which  had  been  founded  in  1832.  In 
1889  Eleazer  W.  Edwards  removed  to 
Syracuse,  accompanied  by  his  son,  Oliver 
M.  Edwards,  who  had  recently  been  taken 
into  partnership  in  the  Johnstown  store. 
Another  son  of  Eleazer  W.  Edwards, 
Daniel  M.  Edwards,  who  had  been  oper- 
ating a  store  at  Gloversville,  had  pre- 
ceded them  to  Syracuse  and  there  pur- 
chased the  old  Milton  S.  Price  store.  The 
Syracuse  firm  was  established  under  the 
style  of  E.  W.  Edwards  &  Sons,  compris- 
ing Eleazer  W.  Edwards  and  his  two 
sons,  O.  M.  and  D.  M.  Edwards.  Eleazer 
W.  Edwards  was  an  elder  of  the  South 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Syracuse.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Citizens'  Club ;  St. 
Patrick's  Lodge,  No.  4,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  of  Johnstown  ;  the  Masonic  Vet- 
erans' Association  of  Syracuse,  and  was 
one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Auburn  Theo- 
logical Seminary.  His  business,  church, 
and  personal  relations  gathered  around 
him  a  large  circle  of  friends,  and  he  was 
considered  a  type  of  Christian  manhood, 
belonging  to  the  old  school  in  which 
honesty,  integrity  and  character  were 
considered  paramount  essentials  in  busi- 
ness life.  Mr.  Edwards  was  deeply  inter- 
ested in  his  business,  and  his  inherent 
honesty  and  sincerity  built  up  an  exten- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


sive  business,  growing  out  of  the  general 
confidence  felt  in  him  by  the  public.  He 
was  deeply  attached  to  his  family  and  of 
domestic  tendencies.  He  endeared  him- 
self to  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him, 
had  a  host  of  friends  and  was  not  known 
to  have  a  single  enemy.  His  deeply  re- 
ligious nature  led  him  to  take  an  unusual 
interest  in  church  work,  and  he  was 
among  the  most  valuable  citizens  of  the 
city.  He  did  not  seek  a  part  in  the  public 
life  in  ofificial  capacity,  but  his  share  in 
the  development  of  all  which  made  for 
progress  and  civilization  was  very  large. 
To  an  unusual  degree  charitable,  his 
heart  and  purse  were  ever  open  to  the  call 
of  genuine  distress. 

Mr.  Edwards  married,  October  ii,  1859, 
at  Ephrata,  New  York,  Amy  Murray, 
born  September  17,  1835,  in  that  town, 
and  died  in  Syracuse,  December  29,  1914. 
They  were  the  parents  of  two  children : 
Oliver  Murray,  of  whom  further ;  Daniel 
M.,  an  extensive  dry  goods  merchant  of 
Syracuse  and  Rochester,  New  York. 

Oliver  Murray  Edwards,  son  of  Eleazer 
Wells  and  Amy  (Murray)  Edwards,  was 
born  at  Ephrata.  New  York,  October  20, 
1862.  He  received  his  education  at  the 
academy  of  Johnstown,  Fort  Edward  In- 
stitute, and  Boys'  Academy  of  Albany,  all 
of  New  York.  His  early  life  was  passed 
am.id  agreeable  and  inspiring  surroundings, 
and  he  was  taught  those  principles  which 
establish  men  in  the  hearts  of  their  fel- 
lows. He  had  a  mechanical  genius,  and, 
resigning  from  the  dry  goods  firm  of  E. 
W.  Edwards  &  Sons,  turned  his  atten- 
tion to  the  development  of  devices  for  the 
improvement  of  articles  already  on  the 
market  and  also  made  many  new  inven- 
tions which  have  entered  largely  into 
use.  Among  his  most  important  produc- 
tions may  be  mentioned  the  Edwards 
Window  Fixtures  and  Extension  Plat- 
form Trap  Doors  for  railroad  cars,  now 


in  universal  use  on  both  steam  and  elec- 
tric cars  throughout  the  world.  He 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  these  and 
other  products  of  his  invention,  and  in 
producing  the  well  known  Omeco  line  of 
padlocks  and  steel  office  furniture  and 
bank  and  battleship  furniture.  He  is 
president  of  the  O.  M.  Edwards  Company, 
Incorporated,  which  is  now  conducting  a 
very  extensive  business.  He  is  affiliated 
with  the  Masonic  order,  in  which  he  has 
attained  the  thirty-second  degree,  and  is 
associated  with  Central  City  Command- 
ery.  No.  25,  Knights  Templar,  of  Syra- 
cuse, New  York,  and  Ziyara  Temple, 
Ancient  Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine,  of  Utica,  New  York.  He 
is  connected  with  many  clubs  of  busi- 
ness and  social  character,  including  the 
Citizens,  Century,  City,  Masonic  Temple, 
Technology,  Onondaga  Golf  and  Coun- 
try, Sedgwick  Farm,  and  Automobile 
Club,  of  Syracuse ;  the  South  Bay,  Stony 
Island,  Fulton  Chain  Yacht,  New  York 
Railroad,  Central  Railroad  and  Trans- 
portation clubs.  His  home  in  Syracuse 
is  located  on  James  street,  and  he  also 
has  a  camp  in  the  Adirondacks.  called 
"Paom.nyc"  at  Eagle  Bay  on  Fourth 
Lake  of  Fulton  Chain. 

Mr.  Edwards  married,  in  Johnstown, 
February  3,  1886,  Josephine  Adele  Riton, 
and  they  have  six  children:  Joseph  Jean, 
born  January  8.  1887;  Eleazer  Wells, 
born  July  11.  1889,  died  September  13, 
1915 ;  Amy  Murray,  born  August  27, 
1891 ;  Harold,  born  September  28,  1893 ; 


Oliver,  born   December  29, 
Louise,  born  December  8,  iJ 


NICHOLS,  Erwin  George, 

Attorney-at-Iiair. 

"The   name    Nichols    (an   abt 
of     Nicholas)     is     of     purely 
origin,    having    been    invented 


Helen 


reviation 

patrician 

by    the 


253 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Alexandro-Egyptian  dynasty  as  a  Cog- 
nomen for  princes,"  (Patronymica  Brit- 
tanica).  By  degrees  the  brevet  acquired 
the  permanence  of  a  surname,  eventuat- 
ing in  the  historic  Nicholas  family  of 
Europe  which  has  given  the  church  two 
Popes,  besides  a  long  line  of  nobility. 
The  branch  of  this  celebrated  and  ancient 
family  from  which  Erwin  George 
Nichols,  of  Syracuse,  descends  settled 
near  Berne,  in  Switzerland,  from  whence 
they  came  to  the  United  States.  His 
great-grandfather,  John  Nichols,  fought 
with  the  Swiss  Highlanders  in  the  Na- 
poleonic wars  and  in  each  generation  the 
family  in  all  its  branches  have  displayed 
high  qualities  of  leadership  in  whatever 
station  placed.  Livingston  county.  New 
York,  was  the  early  seat  of  this  branch  of 
the  family. 

Erwin  George  Nichols  is  a  son  of  John 
E.  and  Sarah  E.  Nichols,  now  living 
retired  at  Avon,  New  York,  grandson  of 
Smith  Nichols,  and  great-grandson  of 
John  Nichols,  the  Swiss  soldier.  Erwin 
G.  Nichols  was  born  at  Avon,  Livingston 
county.  New  York,  September  8,  1856. 
He  passed  through  the  various  public 
school  grades  and  was  graduated  from 
Avon  High  School,  class  of  "04."  He 
then  entered  Syracuse  University,  Col- 
lege of  Liberal  Arts,  whence  he  was 
graduated  Bachelor  of  Philosophy,  class 
of  "08,"  and  from  the  University  Law 
School,  Bachelor  of  Laws,  class  of  "10." 
He  was  at  once  admitted  to  the  Onondaga 
county  bar  and  has  been  in  continuous 
practice  of  his  profession  since  that  year 
as  a  member  of  the  well  known  and 
highly  regarded  law  firm  of  Wiles,  Neily 
&  Nichols,  with  offices  at  No.  540-46 
Gurney  Building,  Syracuse. 

Mr.  Nichols  is  a  Republican  in  politics ; 
member  of  Park  Central  Presbyterian 
Church,  Syracuse  ;  Phi  Delta  Phi  frater- 
nity;  the  various  bar  associations  of  the 


city ;  Central  City  Lodge,  No.  305,  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons,  and  all  bodies  of 
thf?  Ancient  Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  hold- 
ing all  degrees  up  to  and  including  the 
thirty-second  of  Lodge  of  Perfection, 
Chapter  of  Rose  Croix,  Council  Princes  of 
Jerusalem  and  Consistory.  His  clubs  are 
the  Citizens',  City,  University,  Bellevue 
Country,  all  of  Syracuse.  Although  in 
practice  but  a  few  years,  Mr.  Nichols  has 
demonstrated  his  fitness  for  the  profes- 
sion he  chose  and  has  gained  a  large 
degree  of  public  favor. 


MOREY,  John  Everts, 

Journalist. 

Journalism  in  Rochester  and  the  name 
Morey  have  been  synonymous  terms  for 
well  on  to  three-quarters  of  a  century, 
John  Everts  Morey,  father  and  son,  rep- 
resenting two  generations  of  the  family 
owning  and  publishing  the  Rochester 
"Daily  Advertiser,"  consolidated  with  the 
Rochester  "Union"  in  1856,  the  "Union 
and  Advertiser,"  the  Rochester  "Herald," 
and  the  "Evening  Times." 

John  Everts  Morey,  Sr.,  was  born  in 
Onondaga  county.  New  York,  in  1821, 
died  in  Rochester,  New  York,  September 
II,  1890.  He  was  thrown  on  his  own 
resources  at  the  age  of  eleven  years, 
learned  the  trade  of  printer,  came  to 
Rochester  and  became  one  of  the  promi- 
nent figures  in  Western  New  York  jour- 
nalism. He  became  owner  of  the  Roches- 
ter "Daily  Advertiser"  and  was  its  pub- 
lisher until  1856  when  a  consolidation 
was  effected  with  the  Rochester  "Union." 
The  new  paper  the  "Union  and  Adver- 
tiser" was  successfully  conducted  under 
the  business  management  of  John  E. 
Morey  until  1885,  when  he  sold  his  inter- 
e.sl'-;  and  retired,  being  sixty-four  years  of 
:;ge.  He  died  in  Rochester  five  years 
later.     He    married    Ann   Maria    Smith. 


254 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


born  at  New  London,  Connecticut,  in 
•822. 

From  1874  until  the  retirement  of  Mr. 
Morey,  Sr.,  in  1885,  father  and  son  were 
contemporaries  in  the  journalistic  field, 
and  both  interested  in  the  ownership  as 
well  as  in  the  management  of  the  "Union 
and  Advertiser."  When  the  senior  with- 
drew the  junior  Morey  continued  as  a 
large  owner  in  the  Rochester  "Herald" 
until  1895,  and  since  1901  he  has  been 
principal  owner  of  the  "Evening  Times," 
president  of  the  Evening  Times  Company 
and  general  manager.  There  is  no  posi- 
tion in  a  newspaper  office  he  has  not 
filled  from  press  boy  to  editor  and  man- 
ager. Journalism  has  been  his  life  work 
and  he  has  never  been  led  astray  by  the 
allurements  of  political  office,  holding  to 
the  chief  tenet  of  the  school  of  journalism 
in  which  he  was  trained  that  independ- 
ence was  an  editor's  chief  duty  to  his 
readers  and  must  be  preserved  from  such 
obligations  as  the  acceptance  of  office 
imposed.  Independence  and  progressive- 
ness  have  marked  his  course  and  he  is 
one  of  the  best  exponents  of  modern 
journalism.  The  "Evening  Times"  is  one 
of  the  leading  journals  of  Western  New 
York  and  in  every  page  breathes  the  high 
purpose  of  its  leading  spirit,  John  E. 
Alorey,  Jr. 

John  Everts  Morey,  Jr.,  was  born  in 
Rochester,  New  York,  November  22, 
1856.  He  has  spent  his  life  in  his  na(ive 
city  and  since  his  eighteenth  year  has 
been  connected  with  newspaper  work. 
After  courses  in  Rochester  private 
schools  he  entered  DeGrafifs  Military 
Academy,  completing  a  four-year  course 
in  1874.  He  was  naturally  attracted  to 
the  business  in  which  his  honored  father 
was  so  conspicuous,  and  at  the  age  of 
eighteen  he  entered  the  office  of  the 
"Union  and  Advertiser,"  beginning  at  the 


bottom  of  the  ladder.  Three  years  later, 
in  1877,  so  rapidly  had  he  advanced, 
he  was  admitted  to  a  part  ownership.  He 
took  an  active  part  in  the  development 
of  the  paper  during  the  next  eight  years, 
but  in  1885  both  Mr.  Morey  senior  and 
junior  sold  their  interests  in  the  "Union 
and  Advertiser,"  the  elder  man  retiring 
from  active  business.  John  E.  Morey, 
Jr.,  at  once  purchased  a  large  interest  in 
the  Rochester  "Herald,"  became  its  busi- 
ness manager  and  for  ten  years  con- 
tinued in  that  capacity.  In  1895  the 
"Herald"  was  sold  to  a  Democratic  syndi- 
cate, Mr.  Morey  retiring  from  the  paper 
with  the  sale  of  his  stock.  He  was  not 
concerted  as  owner  with  any  of  the  city 
journals  for  the  next  five  years,  but  in 
1901  again  entered  the  field  of  journalism 
as  purchaser  of  the  "Evening  Times," 
which  has  since  attained  high  rank  under 
his  able  management.  He  is  president 
and  general  manager  of  the  Evening 
Times  Company,  and  gives  to  the  paper 
and  its  interests  his  entire  time  and 
energy.  He  is  one  of  the  best  known 
figures  in  Western  New  York  journalism, 
and  is  highly  esteemed  both  within  and 
without  his  own  particular  field  of 
activity.  He  is  a  member  of  Frank  R. 
Lawrence  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  the  Genesee  Valley  Club,  the 
Rochester  Athletic  Club  and  several 
purely  professional  associations. 

Mr.  Morey  married,  February  8,  1877, 
Alice  R.  Gage,  daughter  of  George  W. 
Gage,  of  Fredonia,  New  York.  Their 
only  son,  Frank  G.  Morey,  died  in  early 
childhood.  The  family  home  is  at  Avon, 
New  York,  a  beautiful  stone  mansion  of 
the  style  of  eighty  years  ago,  built  on  a 
well  situated  tract,  five  hundred  and 
eighty  feet  front,  a  bower  of  horticultural 
beauty  in  which  the  soul  of  its  owner 
delights. 


255 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


WOODBURN,  Hiram  H. 


Enterprising  Citizen,  Public  Official. 

Hiram  H.  Woodburn,  of  Binghamton, 
New  York,  is  one  of  those  men  who  have 
had  success  attend  the  efforts  which  they 
have  strenuously  made,  and  which  have 
enabled  them  to  rise  from  a  comparatively 
humble  place  to  a  position  of  prominence 
in  the  community,  commanding  the 
respect  and  esteem  of  all  who  knew  them. 
His  keen  discernment  and  marked  enter- 
prise have  long  been  recognized  as 
salient  characteristics  in  his  career,  and 
yet  his  life  has  never  been  narrowed  by 
concentration  of  his  energies  on  one 
point.  On  the  contrary  he  is  known  as  a 
broad-minded,  public-spirited  man,  who 
has  kept  in  touch  with  those  concerns  of 
vital  interest  to  his  city  and  State,  labor- 
ing entirely  for  public  progress  in  many 
ways  and  especially  for  the  moral  devel- 
opment of  the  community.  He  stands 
to-day  a  strong  man — strong  in  his  honor, 
strong  in  his  good  name,  and  strong  in 
what  he  has  accomplished,  not  only  in  the 
life  of  individual  gain  but  for  the  benefit 
of  his  fellow-men,  in  whom  his  interest 
is  deep  and  sincere.  He  is  a  representa- 
tive of  an  ancient  fam,ily. 

Woodburn  is  an  ancient  surname  of 
England  and  Scotland,  derived  from  the 
name  of  a  locality.  During  the  persecu- 
tions of  the  Scotch  Presbyterians  by  the 
English  in  1685,  John  Furgushall  and 
George  Woodburn  were  shot  to  death  by 
Nisbet  and  his  party.  On  their  grave- 
stone in  Finnick,  Scotland,  is  written : 
"When  bloody  prelates,  once  this  nation's 
pest,  contrived  that  curs'd  self-contradic- 
tory test,  these  men  for  Christ  did  suffer 
martyrdom.  And  here  their  blood  lies 
waiting  till  he  comes."  A  branch  of  the 
Woodburn  family  went  from  Scotland  to 
Ulster,  North  of  Ireland.  The  New  Eng- 
land Woodburns  are  probably  all  de- 
scended from  John  Woodburn,  who  was 


born  in  Scotland  or  Ireland  about  1700, 
and  came  with  the  Scotch-Irish  to  Lon- 
donderry, New  Hampshire,  a  few  years 
after  the  settlement  of  1718.  With  him 
came  a  brother  David.  Another  immi- 
grant came  with  the  Scotch-Irish  to  Penn- 
sylvania. They  were  from  the  same 
section  as  the  New  Hampshire  Wood- 
burns.  As  neither  branch  had  lived  long 
in  Ireland,  and  as  there  were  very  few 
of  them  judging  from  the  records,  it  is 
fair  to  suppose  that  the  New  Hampshire 
and  Pennsylvania  settlers  were  closely 
related,  possibly  brothers.  The  family 
scattered  throughout  the  State.  In  1790, 
according  to  the  first  Federal  census, 
there  were  seven  heads  of  families  named 
Woodburn. 

George  Woodburn,  great-grandfather 
of  Hiram  H.  Woodburn,  was  born  Sep- 
tember 13,  1722.  He  married  Mary  Cul- 
bert,  born  September  13,  1736.  They 
were  the  parents  of  Naphtali,  of  whom 
further. 

Naphtali  Woodburn,  grandfather  of 
Hiram  H.  Woodburn,  was  born  Decem- 
ber 30,  1768.  He  married  and  was  the 
father  of  Naphtali,  of  whom  further. 

Naphtali  Woodburn,  father  of  Hiram 
H.  Woodburn,  was  a  native  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  died  in  1871.  He  was  a 
farmer,  and  was  one  of  the  first  to  enter 
the  Union  army  at  the  time  of  the  out- 
break of  the  Civil  War.  He  was  in  active 
service  until  the  battle  of  Petersburg, 
when  he  was  severely  wounded  and  in- 
capacitated for  further  active  duty.  In 
1871  he  removed  with  his  family  to  Tioga 
county.  New  York,  where  his  death 
occurred.  He  married  Elizabeth  Havens, 
also  born  in  Pennsylvania,  and  they  had 
children :  Clarence,  although  only  a 
young  lad  when  the  Civil  War  broke  out, 
enlisted,  was  wounded  at  Gettysburg,  and 
is  now  deceased ;  Olive,  married,  and 
lives  at  LaGrange,  Illinois;  Hiram  H., 
whose  name  heads  this  sketch. 


/yCr^^^^^.y^'  yy^^Ti^^^^^^u/t^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Hiram  H.  Woodburn  was  born  in 
Rome,  Bradford  county,  Pennsylvania, 
November  12,  1866.  He  was  but  five 
years  of  age  when  he  was  brought  to 
New  York  by  his  parents,  and  his  early 
years  were  spent  in  Tioga  county,  where 
he  acquired  his  education  in  the  public 
schools.  In  18S2  he  came  to  Bingham- 
ton,  New  York,  being  in  the  employ  of 
the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  &  Western 
Railroad  Company,  starting  as  a  water 
boy.  He  soon  proved  his  ability,  and  at 
the  end  of  two  years  entered  the  service 
of  the  Delaware  &  Hudson  Railroad 
Company,  where  he  was  a  brakeman  on  a 
passenger  train.  From  this  position  h' 
was  placed  in  that  of  conductor  on  pas- 
senger trains,  an  almost  unheard  of  pro- 
motion, as  the  conductors  of  passenger 
trains  have  always  been  drawn  from  the 
ranks  of  the  freight  car  conductors.  He 
was  one  of  the  youngest  men  ever  en- 
trusted by  the  company  with  the  respon- 
sible duties  of  a  passenger  conductor. 
He  was  in  the  employ  of  the  Delaware 
&  Hudson  Company  for  a  period  of 
twenty-five  years,  lacking  one  month,  his 
run  being  between  Binghamton  and 
Albany. 

In  June,  1908,  Mr.  Woodburn,  in  asso- 
ciation with  J.  W.  Ballard  and  Joseph 
Bromley,  organized  the  Atlas  Coal  & 
Supply  Company,  dealers  in  coal  and 
building  materials.  Their  plant,  located 
at  the  corner  of  Court  and  Alice  streets, 
covers  an  acre  of  ground,  and  is  fully 
equipped  in  the  most  modern  manner. 
The  original  officers  of  the  company 
were  :  Mr.  Ballard,  president ;  Mr.  Wood- 
burn,  vice-president ;  Mr.  Bromley,  treas- 
urer. At  the  expiration  of  two  years  Mr. 
Ballard  withdrew  from  the  concern  and 
Mr.  Woodburn  became  president  and 
manager.  The  capital  stock  is  $25,000,  it 
has  been  a  success  from  its  inception,  and 
they  now  transact  a  business  of  upwards 
of  $120,000. 

N  Y-Vol  lV-17  257 


But  it  was  not  to  business  aflfairs  alone 
that  Mr.  Woodburn  devoted  his  energies. 
Very  early  in  life  he  took  a  decided  inter- 
est in  political  matters,  and  this  interest 
increased  and  became  intensified  with  the 
passing  years.  His  first  political  office 
was  as  district  committeeman  in  the 
Seventh  Ward,  and  in  1898  he  was  elected 
a  m,ember  of  the  Common  Council  from 
the  same  ward,  and  served  in  this  office 
for  eight  successive  years.  For  a  number 
of  years  he  was  chairman  of  the  finance 
committee  of  this  honorable  body.  In 
1906  he  was  honored  by  election  as  mayor 
of  the  city  of  Binghamton,  served  two 
years,  and  as  soon  as  he  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  this  office,  the  city  felt  the 
benefit  of  his  executive  ability  and  bril- 
liant ideas.  His  first  step  was,  figura- 
tively, to  clean  house  for  the  city.  Under 
his  management  the  disorderly  element 
in  the  city  was  practically  eliminated,  in 
all  directions.  He  established  a  sinking 
fund  by  levying  a  tax  on  the  proceeds  of 
the  water  plant,  a  municipal  afifair ;  he 
met  with  bitter  opposition,  but  he  had  the 
courage  of  his  convictions,  knew  what 
was  best  for  the  city  and  its  residents, 
and  at  the  present  time  is  accorded  the 
highest  praise  for  his  determined  con- 
duct in  this  matter.  He  was  dubbed  the 
"Railroad  Mayor,"  and  a  feeling  as  to 
his  incapacity  appeared  to  prevail  in 
many  circles,  but  he  amply  demonstrated 
that  his  knowledge  was  not  of  railroad 
matters  alone.  His  political  affiliation 
has  always  been  with  the  Republican 
party,  and  he  is  in  frequent  demand  as  a 
delegate  to  State  conventions.  He  is  a 
born  fighter,  and  generally  wins  his 
battles.  In  August,  191 5,  he  was  ap- 
pointed a  member  of  the  Child's  Welfare 
League,  and  was  elected  its  first  chair- 
man at  the  meeting  held  September  3, 
191 5.  He  was  strongly  urged  to  accept 
the  nomination  for  mayor  of  the  city  in 
the     fall     of     1915,     but     he     resolutely 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


declined  the  honor,  believing  that  he  is 
best  serving  the  city  by  devoting  himself 
to  the  conduct  of  his  business  affairs. 
His  religious  connection  is  with  the  Cen- 
tenary Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
Binghamton,  in  which  he  holds  office  as 
president  of  the  board  of  trustees.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Improved  Order  of  Red 
Men,  the  Royal  Arcanum,  and  other 
fraternal  bodies  of  lesser  importance. 

Mr.  Woodburn  married,  September  28, 
1887,  Delia  Rice  Pratt,  of  Binghamton. 
One  child  blessed  this  union:  Eva,  who 
is  now  the  wife  of  Francis  V.  Leary, 
an  attorney-at-law  of  Binghamton,  and 
they  have  one  child — Francis  Woodburn 
Leary. 


CHAPIN,  Charles  Terry, 

Active  in   Commnnity   Affairs. 

Few  men  in  Rochester  have  a  wider 
acquaintance  or  are  more  popular  in  their 
circle  of  acquaintances  than  Charles 
Terry  Chapin,  president  of  the  Chapin- 
Owen  Company,  and  president  of  the 
Rochester  Base  Ball  Club.  As  a  huciness 
man  of  initiative  and  action,  he  has  proved 
a  worthy  successor  of  his  honored  father, 
Charles  Hall  Chapin,  one  of  the  eminent 
business  men  of  his  day,  while  his  inter- 
est in  the  manly  sports  and  recreations 
has  resulted  in  the  advancement  of  the 
organizations  particularly  charged  with 
their  maintenance  as  a  means  of  public 
enjoyment.  By  heredity  Mr.  Chapin  is 
entitled  to  rank  with  the  worthiest  of  the 
land,  his  American  ancestor.  Deacon 
Samuel  Chapin,  coming  with  the  Puri- 
tans of  1635,  the  history  of  New  England 
being  enriched  through  his  deeds  and 
those  of  his  descendants  in  founding 
colony  and  commonwealth.  Through 
maternal  line,  the  Chapin  descent  is 
traced  to  Timothy  Dwight,  LL.  D.,  an 
early  president  of  Yale  College. 


Of  the  sixth  American  generation  of 
the  family  founded  by  Deacon  Thomas 
Chapin  was  Judge  Moses  Chapin,  who 
located  in  Rochester,  New  York,  became 
the  third  judge  of  Monroe  county,  serv- 
ing from  1826  to  1831,  following  Elisha 
B.  Strong,  1821-23,  and  Ashley  Sampson, 
1823-26.  He  was  admitted  a  member  of 
the  Rochester  bar  about  1821  and  was 
one  of  the  eminent  men  of  his  day. 

His  son,  Charles  Hall  Chapin,  was 
born  in  Rochester,  New  York,  January  6, 
1830,  and  died  in  his  native  city,  March 
16,  1882,  after  a  life  of  great  activity  and 
usefulness.  Early  in  his  business  career 
he  became  business  manager  of  the  Kidd 
Iron  Works  of  Rochester,  which  for 
several  years  were  operated  under  the 
firm  name  of  Chapin  &  Terry.  In  1877 
he  organized  the  Rochester  Car  Wheel 
Works  on  the  business  established  by 
William  Kidd,  and  was  its  directing  head 
until  his  death.  That  enterprise,  estab- 
lished by  Charles  Hall  Chapin,  was  a  very 
successful  one  under  the  founder's  guid- 
ance and  under  his  son,  Charles  T.  Chapin, 
became  one  of  the  most  important  indus- 
trial concerns  of  Rochester.  Charles  Hall 
Chapin  was  also  vice-president  of  the 
Charlotte  Iron  Works  and  a  trustee  of  the 
Roberts  Iron  Works,  Kingston,  Canada. 
He  was  equally  prominent  in  financial 
circles,  being  one  of  the  organizers  and 
bulwarks  of  the  private  banking  house  of 
Kidd  &  Chapin,  founded  in  1871.  The 
house  continued  as  private  bankers  until 
1875,  then  was  merged  with  the  Bank  of 
Rochester,  Mr.  Chapin  becoming  presi- 
dent of  the  consolidation  and  continuing 
its  executive  head  until  his  death.  He 
was  a  man  of  sound  judgment  and  great 
business  ability,  full  of  ready  resource 
and  quick  powers  of  decision.  He  led 
the  enterprises  with  which  he  was  con- 
nected to  a  condition  of  solid  prosperity 
and  will  long  be  remembered  as  one  of 


258 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  strong  men  of  his  day  and  an  im- 
portant factor  in  Rochester's  upbuilding 
as  a  commercial  city. 

He  married,  in  1854,  Elizabeth,  daugh- 
ter of  William  Kidd,  also  one  of  Roches- 
ter's early  men  of  afifairs.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Charles  Hall  Chapin  were  the  parents  of 
William  Kidd ;  Charles  Terry,  of  further 
mention ;  Mary  Ward,  married  William 
E.  Marcus;  Edward  Hall;  Eleanor  B., 
who  died  in  1881. 

Charles  Terry  Chapin  was  born  in 
Rochester,  New  York,  February  24,  1861. 
After  courses  of  study  in  private  schools 
he  entered  Rochester  High  School,  there 
continuing  until  1877.  He  was  sixteen 
years  of  age  when  he  first  entered  the 
employ  of  the  old  Bank  of  Rochester,  of 
which  his  father  was  president,  an  insti- 
tution which  later  flourished  as  the  Ger- 
man-American Bank  and  is  now  the  Lin- 
coln National  Bank.  Mr.  Chapin  was  a 
bookkeeper  in  the  old  bank  until  1880, 
and  after  arriving  at  man's  estate  and 
gaining  valuable  business  experience  he 
was  elected  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
Rochester  Car  Wheel  Works,  founded  by 
his  eminent  father.  Later  he  was  elected 
president  of  the  corporation  and  so  con- 
tinued its  executive  head  until  1905  when 
it  became  an  integral  part  of  the  National 
Car  Wheel  Company.  His  active  of^cial 
connection  with  the  works  then  ceased, 
tut  he  continues  to  act  as  special  repre- 
sentative of  the  National  Car  Wheel 
Company  in  matters  of  unusual  import- 
ance. He  is  president  of  the  Chapin- 
Owen  Company,  Incorporated,  the  Auto- 
ist's  and  Sportsman's  Shop,  dealing  in 
everything  for  the  autoist  or  the  sports- 
man, both  at  wholesale  and  retail.  No. 
380  Main  Street  East. 

Ever  a  devotee  of  out-of-doors  sports 
Tie  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  Flower  City 
Driving  Club  and  for  five  years  was  its 
president.      He    loves    a    good    horse,    is 


especially  fond  of  the  light  harness  strain 
and  owned  some  of  the  finest  and  fastest, 
his  horse  "Connor"  having  a  track  record 
of  2.03  1-4  and  his  Dariel  2.00  1-4  had  the 
distinction  of  being  the  fastest  pacing 
mare  in  the  world.  Base  ball  is  also  one 
of  Mr.  Chapin's  fads  in  sport  and  as 
owner  and  president  of  the  Rochester 
Base  Ball  Club  he  brought  three  pennants 
to  Rochester  and  gives  to  the  patrons  of 
the  game  an  opportunity  to  enjoy  their 
favorite  game  under  most  favorable  con- 
ditions. 

Mr.  Chapin  has  borne  his  full  share  of 
civic  responsibility,  serving  as  police 
commissioner  for  five  years,  1896-1901, 
and  as  park  commissioner  from  Novem- 
ber 6,  1902,  to  191 5.  He  was  an  active 
member  of  the  old  volunteer  fire  depart- 
ment, serving  as  secretary  of  Alert  Hose 
Company  from  the  time  he  joined  in  1881 
until  elected  president  of  the  company 
in  1883,  filling  the  latter  ofifice  four  years. 
He  is  now  a  member  of  the  Exempt  Fire- 
men's Association.  He  was  for  one  year 
vice-president  of  the  Rochester  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  later  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee on  manufactures  and  promotion  of 
trade.  He  has  borne  an  important  part 
in  the  efl^orts  of  the  chamber  to  promote 
Rochester's  commercial  welfare  and  as  an 
individual  lends  his  aid  to  every  worthy 
enterprise.  He  is  a  life  member  of  the 
Rochester  Athletic  Club,  belongs  to  the 
Rochester  Whist  Club,  Rochester  Club, 
Ad  Club,  Rotary  Club,  and  is  affiliated 
as  life  member  with  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks.  His  all  round 
activity  in  business,  civic  afifairs  and 
sports  has  brought  him  an  exceedingly 
wide  circle  of  acquaintances  and  from 
whatever  angle  viewed  Mr.  Chapin  is 
recognized  as  one  of  the  strong  and  valu- 
able men  of  his  city. 

He  married,  September  5,  1882,  Emily, 
daughter   of   Colonel    William    Emerson. 


259 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Mrs.  Chapin  died  May  24,  1885,  leaving  a 
son,  Charles  Hall  Chapin  (2).  He  is  a 
graduate  of  Yale  University,  class  of  1907, 
now  treasurer  of  Chapin-Owen  Company 
(Incorporated).  He  has  inherited  his 
father's  love  for  out-of-door  sports  and 
at  Yale  in  his  freshman  year  was  catcher 
of  the  inter-collegiate  champion  baseball 
team,  and  in  1906  was  manager  of  the 
Yale  champion  basket  ball  team.  He  and 
his  father  are  particularly  congenial  in 
their  athletic  tastes  and  are  associated  in 
the  different  Chapin  enterprises. 


MOSHER,  Howard  Townsend,  ^ 
Educator,  Lawyer,  Lecturer. 

The  earliest  traditions  of  the  Mosher 
family  locate  them  in  Alsace,  France, 
about  the  year  1580.  Their  home  was  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  province,  near 
Strassburg.  The  name  is  compounded  of 
two  German  words  Mos  and  Herr,  which 
when  combined  means  Mosslord  or 
"Lord  of  the  Moss."  This  may  be  taken 
to  imply  that  the  founder  of  the  family 
name  was  a  man  of  prominence,  and  had 
his  residence  on  a  mossy  mound  or  hill. 
After  Alsace  was  annexed  to  France, 
both  the  German  and  French  languages 
were  in  use.  The  French  spelled  the 
name  Mosier  or  Motier.  In  England  the 
German  method  of  spelling  the  name 
prevailed,  Mosher.  In  religion  the  family 
were  Protestants,  and  with  many  others 
fled  to  England  to  escape  persecution. 
It  is  supposed  they  went  to  England 
under  the  leadership  of  Hugh  Mosher 
prior  to  the  year  1600.  They  located  in 
Manchester,  Chester  and  London.  The 
Manchester  records  show  that  five 
Mosher  brothers  were  engaged  in  busi- 
ness in  that  city  in  1616,  partners  and  silk 
weavers.  They  were :  William,  John, 
Thomas,  Stephen  and  George.  The 
American  ancestor.  Ensign  Hugh  Mosher, 
was  a  son  of  Stephen  Mosher. 


Ensign  Hugh  Mosher,  son  of  Stephen 
Mosher,  of  Manchester,  England,  sailed 
for  America  and  reached  Boston  in  1636. 
Another  Hugh  Mosher,  son  of  Thomas 
Mosher,  settled  in  Maine.  A  third  Hugh 
Mosher,  son  of  John  Mosher,  was  promi- 
nent in  the  East  India  Company,  died 
wealthy,  without  issue.  It  was  his  for- 
tune that  the  Moshers  of  the  United 
States  tried  unsuccessfully  to  obtain  in 
recent  years.  Hugh  Mosher,  son  of 
Stephen  Mosher,  first  settled  in  Salem, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  became  a  friend 
of  Roger  Williams,  pastor  of  the  Salem 
church,  and  was  in  full  sympathy  with 
his  religious  views.  When  Williams  was 
banished  from  Massachusetts,  in  October, 
1636,  Mosher  went  with  him  to  Rhode 
Island,  and  shared  his  hardships  and 
sufferings.  When  Williams  was  in  a 
position  to  do  so  he  repaid  the  devotion 
of  his  friend  with  the  permanent  title  to 
a  fifth  part  of  the  township  of  Westerly, 
Rhode  Island,  August  4,  1676.  In  i66g 
Hugh  Mosher  was  appointed  ensign  of  a 
military  com.pany  by  the  General  Court, 
and  took  part  in  King  Philip's  War,  dur- 
ing which  war  two  of  his  sons  were 
killed.  In  1674  he  was  ordained  pastor 
of  the  Baptist  church  in  Dartmouth, 
Massachusetts,  but  was  always  called  by 
his  military  title.  Ensign  Hugh  Mosher. 
He  died  in  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  1694. 
He  married  Lydia  Maxon. 

Descendants  of  Ensign  Hugh  Mosher 
settled  in  New  York  State  and  are  found 
from  Troy  to  Buffalo,  men  of  prominence 
in  every  field  of  life's  activity  they  have 
entered.  Howard  Townsend  Mosher,  of 
Rochester,  is  a  son  of  Jacob  Simmons 
Mosher,  M.  D.,  an  eminent  physician  and 
surgeon  of  Albany,  New  York,  and  dis- 
tinguished in  the  medical  service  of  his 
State.  Dr.  Mosher  was  deputy  health 
officer  of  the  port  of  New  York,  1870-76, 
was  surgeon  during  the   Civil  War  and 


260 


■ff^^ypUf^oCu^  \yL^Ui^^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


surgeon-general  upon  the  staff  of  Gov- 
ernor Hoffman  of  New  York  State.  He 
married  Emma  Starr  Montgomery,  of 
distinguished  ancestry. 

Howard  Townsend  Mosher,  son  of  Dr. 
Jacob  S.  and  Emma  S.  (Montgomery) 
Mosher  and  brother  of  Dr.  Jesse  Mont- 
gomery Mosher,  of  Albany,  New  York, 
was  born  at  Albany,  July  6,  1868.  His 
education,  begun  at  Albany  Boys  Acad- 
emy, was  continued  at  Union  College, 
Schenectady,  New  York,  whence  he  was 
graduated  Bachelor  of  Arts,  class  of 
1890.  He  then  went  abroad  and  pursued 
courses  of  study  in  Paris  during  the 
years  1890-92.  On  his  return  to  the 
United  States  he  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  faculty  of  Union  College,  instructor 
in  French  in  the  modern  language  depart- 
ment five  years,  1892-97.  He  then  pre- 
pared for  the  practice  of  law,  was  admit- 
ted to  the  Monroe  county  bar,  in  1901, 
and  has  been  continuously  in  practice  in 
Rochester  until  the  present  year  (1916). 
From  1910  until  1914  he  was  lecturer  on 
citizenship  in  the  University  of  Roches- 
ter, and  has  attained  high  reputation  as 
educator,  lawyer  and  lecturer.  Mr. 
Mosher  is  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  in  Western  New  York,  and 
has  for  many  years  taken  an  active  part 
in  public  affairs.  He  was  the  candidate 
of  his  party  for  State  Senator  in  1902, 
for  surrogate  of  Monroe  county  in  1906; 
chairman  of  the  Democratic  County  Com- 
mittee of  Monroe  county,  1908-10;  candi- 
date for  mayor  of  Rochester  in  191 1  and 
in  1915  ;  and  a  member  of  the  New  York 
State  Prison  Reform  Commission,  1913- 
15;  and  a  member  of  the  State  Work- 
man's Compensation  Commission,  1914- 
15.  He  is  a  member  of  Psi  Upsilon  fra- 
ternity, Rochester  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, Rochester  Athletic  Club,  Univer- 
sity Club  of  Rochester,  and  of  the  Prot- 
estant Episcopal  church. 


Mr.  Mosher  married,  in  Rochester, 
July  6,  1893,  Mary  Josephine,  daughter  of 
William  R.  and  Josephine  (Coburn) 
Seward,  of  a  distinguished  New  York 
family. 

K- 

LEONARD,  George  Bement, 

Financier,  Man  of  Enterprise. 

While  yet  in  his  teens  Mr.  Leonard 
began  his  long  and  valuable  life  as  a 
banker,  commencing  as  clerk.  At  the  age 
of  twenty-five  he  was  cashier,  and  after 
thirty  years  of  service  in  that  position  he 
resigned  and  became  president  of  the 
Salt  Springs  National  Bank  of  Syracuse. 
He  won  for  himself  an  honorable  name 
and  high  reputation  as  an  able  financier 
and  upon  his  record  as  a  banker  his  fame 
might  securely  rest.  But  that  was  only 
one  of  his  lines  of  business  activity  and 
in  a  call  of  the  roll  of  Syracuse  enter- 
prises it  will  be  found  that  in  many  of 
them  he  was  one  of  the  organizers,  one 
of  the  incorporators  and  one  of  the 
officials.  His  dominating  qualities  and 
the  foundation  stones  of  his  success  were 
energy,  force  and  discernment;  his  busi- 
ness instinct  was  keen,  his  judgment 
sound  and  men  were  willing  to  follow 
where  he  led.  He  was  progressive  and 
far-seeing,  yet  possessed  a  caution  that 
protected  him  against  visionary  under- 
takings. He  was  strong  and  self-reliant, 
strict  integrity  marking  his  course 
through  life,  a  man  who  could  be  relied 
upon  in  any  relation  and  every  emer- 
gency. 

George  B.  Leonard  was  a  descendant 
of  James  Leonard,  who  was  of  Lynn  in 

1651,  and  of  Taunton,  Massachusetts,  in 

1652,  and  with  his  brother  Henry  estab- 
lished the  first  forge  in  the  Plymouth 
colony.  For  a  long  time  the  Leonard 
forge  was  the  principal  one  in  this  coun- 
try,    and     through     several     generations 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Leonards  were  celebrated  iron  masters. 
The  brothers,  James  and  Henry  Leonard, 
were  sons  of  Thomas  Leonard,  who  re- 
mained in  England.  Descendants  became 
prominent  in  Colonial  days  as  business 
men  and  public  officials,  Revolutionary 
records  also  bearing  the  name  frequently. 
John  Cam.pfield,  whose  daughter,  Susan, 
married  James  Leonard,  the  grandfather 
of  George  B.  Leonard,  was  the  aide-de- 
camp to  General  Lafayette,  and  in  1825 
was  warmly  greeted  by  Lafayette  in 
Morristown,  New  Jersey,  at  the  time  of 
his  last  visit  to  America. 

George  Bement  Leonard  was  born  in 
Syracuse,  New  York,  June  25,  1838,  died 
June  7,  1914,  son  of  John  Alexander 
Leonard,  born  July  7,  1806,  died  March 
23,  1873,  and  his  wife,  Louisa  Sloan, 
daughter  of  Kellogg  Bement  and  Mary 
Ann  (Gaylord)  Sloan.  He  was  educated 
in  the  public  schools  of  Syracuse,  and 
began  his  business  career  as  clerk  in  a 
Jocal  mercantile  house.  While  yet  a 
minor  he  became  a  clerk  in  the  Crouse 
Bank,  and  was  yet  in  his  teens  when  he 
transferred  his  services'  to  the  Bank  of 
Salina.  Upon  the  organization  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Syracuse  in  1863, 
Mr.  Leonard  was  appointed  its  first 
cashier  and  for  thirty-four  years  filled  that 
responsible  position  most  efficiently  and 
most  honorably.  In  1897  he  resigned  the 
post  he  had  filled  for  so  many  years, 
having  been  called  to  the  presidency  of 
the  Salt  Springs  National  Bank,  a 
merited  recognition  of  his  high  standing 
in  the  world  of  finance.  During  the  years 
that  had  elapsed  since  taking  the  cashier's 
desk  in  the  First  National  he  had  become 
interested  in  many  local  and  industrial 
enterprises.  He  was  identified  with  th  ■ 
building  of  the  East  Side  railway  con- 
necting Syracuse  with  East  Syracuse, 
that  road  later  being  merged  with  the 
Syracuse  Rapid  Transit  system.    He  was 


one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  Kemp  & 
Burpee  Manufacturing  Company  and 
served  as  its  treasurer  until  the  purchase 
of  the  company  by  the  John  Deere  Plow 
Company  of  Moline,  Illinois.  He  was 
one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  Syracuse 
Tube  Company,  and  at  the  time  that 
company  was  absorbed  by  the  National 
Tube  Company  he  was  its  largest 
individual  stockholder.  He  was  a  direc- 
tor of  the  Great  Lakes  Steamship  Com- 
pany and  in  his  honor  the  company 
named  one  of  its  largest  freight  carriers 
the  "George  B.  Leonard."  He  had  other 
important  business  interests,  the  fore- 
going being  those  only  with  which  he 
held  prominent  official  relation. 

In  early  life  he  became  an  active  mem- 
ber of  Plymouth  Congregational  Church 
of  Syracuse,  but  in  later  life  he  became 
a  devout  attendant  and  generous  sup- 
porter of  the  First  Reformed  Church  of 
the  same  city.  He  was  a  charter  member 
of  the  Citizens'  Club,  retaining  his  mem- 
bership until  his  death,  and  was  a  member 
of  the  Fortnightly  Club  for  many  years. 
He  was  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  in 
1873-74-75  served  as  school  commis- 
sioner. During  the  Civil  War  Mr. 
Leonard  was  an  enlisted  member  of  the 
New  York  State  militia. 

George  B.  Leonard  married,  at  Cuba, 
Allegany  county.  New  York,  October  24, 
1866,  Elizabeth  DeWitt  Dimock,  of 
Cuba,  daughter  of  Thomas  Dimock,  born 
in  New  London,  Connecticut,  who  died 
during  the  early  childhood  of  his  daugh- 
ter, and  Elizabeth  (Mandeville)  Dimock, 
his  wife,  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Garret 
Mandeville,  who  was  the  first  settled 
pastor  in  Ithaca,  New  York,  in  1801. 
Children  of  George  B.  and  Elizabeth  D. 
Leonard  :  Anna  Elizabeth  ;  Mary  Louise, 
died  at  Syracuse,  July  15,  1899;  Margaret 
DeWitt ;  Thomas  Dimock,  now  a  real 
estate  dealer  of  New  York  City;  George 


262 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Alexander,  member  of  the  Hill-Leonard 
Engineering  &  Construction  Company, 
now  engaged  in  building  the  new  Welland 
Canal.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  D.  Leonard  sur- 
vives her  husband  and  continues  her 
residence  in  Syracuse. 


BECHTOLD,  Charles  B., 

Lawyer,   Public   Official. 

A  member  of  the  Rochester  bar  since 
1902  Mr.  Bechtold  has  won  high  standing, 
and  as  a  member  of  the  law  firm  of  Mc- 
Inerney  &  Bechtold,  No.  1003  Insurance 
Building,  transacts  an  important  busi- 
ness in  all  State  and  Federal  courts  of  the 
district.  He  has  been  equally  prominent 
in  public  affairs  and  as  deputy  and  assist- 
ant district  attorney  rendered  efficient 
service.  His  social,  genial  nature  rendera 
him  very  popular  in  the  many  clubs  and 
secret  orders  of  which  he  is  a  member, 
his  professional  ability  and  pleasing  per- 
sonality forming  a  rare  combination 
which  attracts  and  holds  the  regard  of 
men  of  worth.  He  is  a  son  of  Henry  and 
Caroline  Bechtold,  his  father  for  many 
years  a  business  man  of  Rochester. 

Charles  B.  Bechtold  was  born  in 
Rochester,  New  York,  June  6,  1874.  He 
obtained  a  good  preparatory  education  in 
the  public  schools,  the  old  Free  Academy 
and  under  a  private  tutor.  He  also  is  a 
graduate  of  the  Mechanics'  Institute,  and 
in  earlier  life  learned  and  followed  the 
trades  of  machinist  and  draughtsman. 
For  several  years  he  was  in  the  employ 
of  the  Buffalo,  Rochester  &  Pittsburgh 
railroad  in  that  capacity  and  was  rated 
a  most  satisfactory  workman.  But  he 
had  an  ambition  for  the  law  and  resign- 
ing his  railroad  position  he  began  the 
study  of  law  under  the  direction  of 
Werner  &  Harris,  eminent  members  of 
the  Rochester  bar.     After  passing  satis- 


factorily all  the  tests  imposed  upon  a 
young  lawyer  he  was  admitted  to  the 
Monroe  county  bar  on  July  11,  1902,  hav- 
ing also  during  his  law  studies  served  as 
deputy  clerk  of  the  police  court. 

He  at  once  began  practice  in  Rochester 
forming  a  partnership  with  John  J.  Mc- 
Inerney  under  the  firm  name  Mclnerney 
&  Bechtold.  During  his  early  practice  he 
was  also  clerk  of  the  police  court,  and  on 
May  I,  1904,  accepted  appointment  to  the 
position  of  deputy  assistant  district  attor- 
ney for  the  county  of  Monroe,  this  neces- 
sitating his  retirement  from  the  law  firm 
of  Mclnerney  &  Bechtold.  He  served  as 
deputy  assistant  until  January  i,  1906, 
then  was  appointed  assistant  district 
attorney,  an  office  he  held  until  1910. 
During  those  years  he  conducted  a  line 
of  law  work  in  connection  with  his  old 
preceptors,  Werner  &  Harris,  but  upon 
his  retirement  from  the  district  attorney's 
office  he  again  renewed  the  partnership 
with  his  former  partner  and  has  since 
practiced  as  the  junior  of  the  firm  of  Mc- 
lnerney &  Bechtold.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Rochester  Bar  Association  and  held 
in  high  esteem  by  his  brethren  of  the 
bench  and  bar.  In  early  life  he  affiliated 
with  the  Republican  party  and  has  ever 
been  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  principles 
of  that  party  as  well  as  a  valuable  worker 
for  party  success.  For  several  years  he 
represented  the  Twentieth  Ward  of 
Rochester  on  the  Republican  General 
Committee,  and  has  been  a  frequent  dele- 
gate to  State  and  district  conventions  and 
is  a  member  of  several  political  societies. 
He  is  a  good  campaigner,  an  eloquent 
speaker  whether  pleading  the  cause  of 
client  or  candidate,  and  has  the  happy 
faculty  of  delivering  telling  blows  in  a 
most  agreeable  and  happy  manner.  His 
friends  are  legion  and  he  is  a  strong 
advocate  for  any  cause  he  espouses.    He 


263 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


is  a  member  of  all  of  the  various  Masonic 
bodies  of  Rochester,  the  Ancient  Order 
of  Foresters  and  Sons  of  Veterans;  his 
clubs  the  Masonic,  the  Rochester  Whist, 
Oak  Hill,  Yacht  and  Athletic. 


HYDE,  Salem,     ^ 

Enterprising   Citizen. 

Salem  Hyde,  whose  business  history 
has  been  marked  by  steady  progress,  is 
junior  partner  of  the  firm  of  Neal  & 
Hyde,  wholesale  dry  goods  merchants  of 
Syracuse.  He  pays  the  strictest  atten- 
tion to  his  business,  allowing  no  outside 
interest  to  enter  as  a  variable  force  and 
his  singleness  of  purpose  guided  by  sound 
judgment  have  placed  him  in  the  enviable 
position  which  he  to-day  occupies  in 
commercial  circles.  A  native  of  Victory, 
Cayuga  county,  New  York,  he  was  born 
June  22,  1846,  of  the  marriage  of  Elisha 
H.  and  Mary  Ellen  (Botsford)  Hyde. 
The  family  comes  of  English  origin  but 
was  founded  in  America  in  early  Colonial 
days,  the  great-grandfather  living  in  Ox- 
ford, Connecticut.  From  that  place  John 
Salem  Hyde,  the  grandfather,  removed  to 
Scipio,  New  York,  and  subsequently  to 
Victory,  Cayuga  county,  in  the  early  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  His  business 
interests  were  varied,  as  he  was  a  phy- 
sician, manufacturer  and  farmer.  His  son, 
Elisha  H.  Hyde,  was  born  at  Victory, 
and  also  followed  the  occupation  of 
farming.  He  removed  from  Cayuga 
county  to  Oswego  county,  near  Fulton, 
and  from  thence  twenty  years  later  to  the 
town  of  Onondaga  Valley,  where  he  lived 
for  twenty  years  and  died  at  the  home 
of  a  daughter  living  in  Rochester,  at  the 
age  of  nearly  eighty-nine  years,  his  birth 
having  occurred  in  1820.  His  wife  be- 
longed to  an  old  Vermont  family  and  her 
grandfather  was  one  of  the  patriots  of  the 
Revolutionary  War,  enlisting  at  Benning- 


ton, Vermont,  and  participating  in  that 
battle  where  the  Green  Mountain  boys 
under  Colonel  Ethan  Allen  won  undying 
fame.  The  maternal  grandfather  of  Mrs. 
Hyde  was  a  Mr.  Peck,  also  a  resident  of 
Vermont  and  a  participant  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary War  with  the  Colonial  army. 

Salem  Hyde  pursued  his  education  in 
the  district  schools  of  Victory,  New 
York,  and  in  the  Red  Creek  Academy. 
He  entered  business  life  as  a  clerk  in  a 
country  store  at  Wolcott,  Wayne  county, 
where  he  remained  for  a  year.  He  after- 
ward spent  two  years  in  Red  Creek,  and 
in  the  spring  of  1864  came  to  Syracuse 
where  he  began  clerking  for  Price  & 
Wheeler  on  the  site  of  the  present 
Edwards  house.  There  he  continued  for 
two  years,  or  until  1866,  when  he  entered 
the  employ  of  McCarthy  &  Sedgwick, 
wholesale  dry  goods  merchants,  while 
later  he  was  with  Neal,  Baum  &  Com- 
pany, wholesale  dealers,  as  salesman.  He 
afterward  engaged  with  Charles  Chad- 
wick  &  Company  as  manager  of  one  of 
their  departments,  and  after  the  death  of 
their  senior  partner  this  firm  consolidated 
with  that  of  Neal  &  Baum  under  the  name 
of  Sperry,  Neal  &  Hyde  in  1879.  Mr. 
Hyde  was  enabled  to  become  a  member 
of  the  firm  as  a  result  of  his  many  years 
experience.  At  Mr.  Sperry's  death  in 
1891  the  firm  became  Neal  &  Hyde.  The 
concern  has  grown  very  rapidly  during 
this  time,  enjoying  a  steady,  healthful 
development  and  their  trade  covers  Penn- 
sylvania, Massachusetts,  Connecticut  and 
Vermont,  together  with  the  immediate 
surrounding  territory.  They  employ  a 
large  force  in  the  house  and  a  large  corps 
of  salesmen  on  the  road,  doing  a  strictly 
jobbing  business.  This  has  become  one 
of  the  leading  wholesale  houses  of 
Central  New  York  and  its  success  is 
attributable  in  no  small  measure  to  the 
labors,   enterprise    and   careful    manage- 


264 


uA/z^ry.     I.     '^v^//-//^y 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ment  of  Mr.  Hyde.  He  is  also  a  trustee 
of  the  Onondaga  County  Savings  Bank, 
and  widely  recognized  as  a  prominent 
factor  in  the  commercial  life  of  Syra- 
cuse. 

Mr.  Hyde  is  a  member  of  the  Citizens' 
Club,  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the 
Lotos  Club  of  New  York  City,  and  has 
been  a  co-worker  with  many  leading 
citizens  in  movements  toward  the  up- 
building of  a  Greater  Syracuse.  In 
politics  he  is  a  Republican  with  a  citizen's 
interest  in  the  adoption  of  the  prin- 
ciples which  he  believes  best  conserve 
good  government.  He  was  the  first  com- 
missioner of  jurors  in  Syracuse  and  filled 
that  office  for  six  years.  He  is  serving 
his  third  five-year  term  as  a  trustee  of  the 
Syracuse  Public  Library  and  has  been 
for  many  years  vice-president  of  the 
Historical  Society,  also  of  the  Syracuse 
Museum  of  Fine  Arts,  of  which  he  is  a 
charter  member.  He  belongs  to  the  May 
Memorial  (Unitarian)  Church,  and  is 
greatly  interested  in  charities,  to  which 
he  has  been  a  liberal  contributor.  Mr. 
Hyde  during  his  lifetime  has  been  a  man 
of  literary  tastes  and  has  accumulated 
one  of  the  finest  private  libraries  in  the 
city,  containing  many  rare  volumes  and 
being  especially  strong  in  early  nineteenth 
century  English  literature  and  in  books 
pertaining  to  the  history  and  literature  of 
Greece.  A  unique  feature  of  this  library 
is  the  collection  of  Emersoniana,  number- 
ing nearly  five  hundred  bound  volumes 
in  several  languages,  which  together  with 
many  pamphlets,  autograph  letters  and 
other  items  of  interest  probably  forms  as 
complete  a  collection  of  works  relating  to 
Emerson  and  his  writings  as  may  be 
found  anywhere.  His  life  has  been  char- 
acterized by  a  resolute  purpose  and  early 
in  his  career  he  became  imbued  with  a 
laudable  ambition  to  master  each  task 
that   was   assigned   him   and    progressed 


until  he  is  to-day  with  Mr.  Neal  equal 
owner  of  a  business  which  pays  tribute 
to  his  industry  and  his  ability,  and  stands 
as  a  monument  to  his  enterprise  and  cap- 
able management. 

Mr.  Hyde  married  Anne  P.  Cheney, 
a  daughter  of  Timothy  C.  Cheney,  an 
early  settler  of  Onondaga  county,  and  a 
prominent  contractor,  who  built  the  old 
Wieting  block,  the  courthouse  and  other 
notable  structures  of  the  city.  The  chil- 
dren of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hyde  are  as  follows: 
Henry  N.,  born  in  1873,  rector  of  St. 
Philip's  Church,  Joplin,  Missouri ;  Mary 
Frances,  born  in  1875,  now  the  wife  of 
Charles  W.  Andrews;  Charles  Salem, 
born  in  1877,  employed  in  the  store  with 
his  father;  Dana  Cheney,  born  in  1879, 
also  associated  in  business  with  his 
father  ;  Florence  M.,  born  in  1882  ;  Nelson 
C,  born  in  1888,  secretary  to  Congress- 
man Magee,  and  Washington  correspond- 
ent of  several  newspapers ;  and  Dorothy 
A.,  born  in  1891. 


CURTICE,  Edgar  N., 

Head  of  Important  Industry. 

The  financial  and  commercial  history 
of  New  York  State  would  be  incomplete 
and  unsatisfactory  without  a  personal  and 
somewhat  extended  mention  of  those 
whose  lives  are  interwoven  closely  with 
its  industrial  and  financial  development. 
When  a  man  or  select  number  of  men 
have  set  in  motion  the  machinery  of  busi- 
ness which  materializes  into  a  thousand 
forms  of  practical  utility,  or  where  they 
have  carved  out  a  fortune  or  a  name  from 
the  common  possibilities  open  for  com- 
petition to  all,  there  is  a  public  desire, 
which  should  be  gratified,  to  see  the  men 
so  nearly  as  a  portrait  and  a  word  artist 
can  paint  them  and  examine  the  elements 
of  mind  and  the  circumstances  by  which 
such  results  have  been  achieved. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


The  subject  of  this  review  finds  an 
appropriate  place  in  the  history  of  those 
men  of  business  and  enterprise  in  the 
State  of  New  York  whose  force  of  char- 
acter, whose  sterling  integrity,  whose 
fortitude  amid  discouragements,  whose 
good  sense  in  the  management  of  com- 
plicated affairs  and  marked  success  in 
establishing  large  industries  and  bringing 
to  completion  great  commercial  under- 
takings, have  contributed  in  an  eminent 
degree  to  the  development  of  the  re- 
sources of  this  noble  Commonwealth. 
The  great  army  of  employes  and  the 
magnitude  of  the  business  which  he 
controls  both  attest  the  marked  ability 
of  Edgar  N.  Curtice,  whose  name  is 
known  in  trade  circles  wherever  civiliza- 
tion has  left  its  stamp. 

He  was  born  in  Webster,  Monroe 
county.  New  York,  on  December  9,  1844, 
a  son  of  Mark  Curtice  and  a  descendant  of 
one  of  the  oldest  Colonial  families.  His 
ancestry  is  traced  back  to  Henry  Curtice, 
who  was  one  of  the  original  grantees  of 
the  town  of  Sudbury,  Massachusetts,  in 
1638.  His  son.  Lieutenant  Ephraim  Cur- 
tice, born  March  31,  1642,  was  a  noted 
frontiersman  and  famous  Indian  scout. 
Ephraim  Curtice,  son  of  Lieutenant  Cur- 
tice, was  born  in  Topsfield,  Massachu- 
setts, in  1662,  and  became  the  father  of 
Ebenezer  Curtice,  born  in  Boxford,  Mas- 
sachusetts, August  21,  1707.  The  latter's 
son,  Jacob  Curtice,  was  born  March  21, 
1730,  in  Topsfield,  Massachusetts.  He 
wedded  Mary  Stiles,  a  native  of  Boxford, 
Massachusetts,  and  from  Boxford  re- 
moved to  Amherst,  New  Hampshire.  He 
and  five  of  his  sons  valiantly  fought  for 
American  independence  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  Jacob  Curtice  enlisting  at 
Amherst  in  1775  and  serving  until  the 
close  of  hostilities.  Jacob  and  Mary  Cur- 
tice had  nine  children,  of  whom  Ebenezer, 
the   fifth,    was    born   in   Amherst,    New 


Hampshire,  June  9,  1760.  He  married 
Sarah  Parker,  and  removed  to  Western 
New  York.  He  was  among  the  earliest 
settlers  of  this  part  of  the  State,  locating 
at  Bloomfield,  New  York,  in  1789.  In 
1792  he  removed  to  Webster,  then  a  part 
of  Ontario  county,  where  his  remaining 
days  were  passed.  He  died  August  22, 
1832,  and  was  buried  in  Lakeside  Ceme- 
tery in  Webster.  His  wife  died  August 
16,  1847,  in  her  eighty-third  year. 

Mark  Curtice,  the  father  of  Edgar  N. 
Curtice,  was  the  youngest  of  the  eleven 
children  of  Ebenezer  and  Sarah  (Parker) 
Curtice.  He  was  born  in  Windsor,  New 
York,  October  17,  1808,  and  died  in 
Webster,  Monroe  county.  New  York, 
November  9,  1880.  Mark  Curtice's  wife, 
Elmina  (Goodnow)  Curtice,  daughter  of 
Simeon  and  Sarah  (Grififen)  Goodnow, 
was  the  first  white  child  born  in  what  is 
now  the  town  of  Webster.  She  was  born 
July  3,  1812,  and  died  March  26,  1888. 
Simeon  Goodnow  came  to  Monroe  county 
from  New  Hampshire  in  1810.  He  was 
born  in  the  old  Granite  State  in  1787,  died 
November  20,  1826,  and  was  buried  in 
Lakeside  Cemetery  at  Webster.  He  was 
a  son  of  Calvin  Goodnow,  who  was  born 
February  15,  1752,  in  Westboro,  Massa- 
chusetts. Calvin  Goodnow  served  in  the 
Revolutionary  War  from  Rindge,  New 
Hampshire,  and  also  from  Amherst,  New 
Hampshire.  The  Goodnow  family  in 
America  is  descended  from  Edmund 
Goodnow,  who  came  to  America  on  the 
ship  "Confidence"  in  1638.  In  the  family 
of  Mark  and  Elmina  (Goodnow)  Curtice 
were  five  children:  i.  Delia,  who  was 
born  in  1833,  became  prominent  in  educa- 
tional circles,  acting  for  more  than 
twenty-five  years  as  principal  of  different 
public  schools  in  Rochester,  most  of  this 
time  being  at  the  head  of  No.  20.  She 
was  a  woman  of  superior  mind,  highly 
respected  and  loved  by  all.     Her  death 


266 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OE  BIOGRAPHY 


occurred  in  1903.  2.  Albin  B.,  born  in 
1838,  died  in  December,  1886.  3.  Simeon 
G.,  born  August  13,  1839,  died  February 
7,  1905,  after  long  connection  with  the 
extensive  business  now  conducted  under 
the  name  of  Curtice  Brothers  Company. 
4.  Edgar  N.,  of  whom  further.  5.  Belle 
Sophia,  the  wife  of  the  late  A.  B.  Wol- 
cott ;  is  now  a  resident  of  Rochester. 

Edgar  N.  Curtice  was  educated  in  the 
common  and  advanced  schools  of  Web- 
ster and  in  what  was  known  as  Satter- 
lee's  Institute  in  Rochester,  completing 
his  course  when  about  twenty-one  years 
of  age.  He  then  joined  his  brother, 
Simeon  G.  Curtice,  who  about  three  years 
before  had  embarked  in  the  grocery  busi- 
ness on  a  small  scale  in  what  is  known 
as  the  Flatiron  building  at  Main,  North 
and  Eranklin  streets,  Rochester.  This 
was  in  1865  and  there  they  continued 
until  1868.  They  removed  in  that  year 
to  the  building  at  the  corner  of  Water 
and  Mortimer  streets,  and  commenced  the 
canning  and  preserving  business  which 
has  grown  steadily  to  the  present  exten- 
sive enterprise.  The  business  continued 
in  this  location  until  1872,  when  the  de- 
mand for  increased  space  compelled  the 
Curtice  Brothers  to  build  at  No.  200 
North  Water  street,  the  new  structure 
being  used  for  canning  and  preserving  on 
a  larger  scale.  In  1880  they  bought  the 
Innd  and  erected  the  buildings  now  occu- 
pied by  the  company,  which  from  time  to 
time  have  been  enlarged  in  order  to  meet 
the  growth  of  the  trade.  In  1887  the 
business  was  incorporated  under  the 
name  of  Curtice  Brothers  Company,  with 
a  capitalization  of  $200,000.  Simeon  G. 
Curtice  was  the  president ;  Edgar  N.  Cur- 
tice, the  vice-president  and  treasurer  ;  and 
Robert  A.  Badger,  the  secretary  of  the 
new  corporation.  In  1901  the  business 
was  reincorporated  under  the  same  name 
and  the  same  officers  and  with  a  capital- 


ization of  $1,500,000,  showing  thus  a  more 
than  seven-fold  increase  in  the  fourteen 
years.  On  the  death  of  Simeon  G.  Cur- 
tice in  1905,  Edgar  N.  Curtice  was  made 
president  and  treasurer;  Henry  B.  Mc- 
Kay, vice-president ;  and  Robert  A. 
Badger,  secretary. 

The  Curtice  Brothers  Company  is  one 
of  the  largest  producers  of  high  grade 
food  products  in  the  world  and  con- 
tributes much  to  the  fame  of  the  Flower 
City  as  a  commercial  center.  Its  products 
are  found  in  the  markets  all  around  the 
globe,  being  recognized  as  goods  of  the 
highest  quality  and  the  company  has 
difficulty  in  meeting  the  increasing  de- 
mand made  upon  it.  Each  year  has 
shown  the  necessity  of  increased  acreage 
to  supply  the  fruits  and  vegetables 
needed  for  the  business  until  now  the 
company  contracts  for  the  yield  of  over 
eight  thousand  acres  in  farm  and  market 
garden  products  from  some  of  the  most 
famous  and  fertile  lands  in  the  world — 
notably  the  valley  of  the  Genesee.  The 
company  owns  and  operates  four  plants, 
the  parent  plant  in  Rochester,  one  in 
Vernon,  Oneida  county.  New  York,  for 
vegetables,  one  in  Woodstown,  New  Jer- 
sey, for  tomatoes,  and  one  in  Bergen, 
Genesee  county.  New  York.  The  Roches- 
ter factory  not  only  carries  on  all  sorts  of 
canning  and  preserving,  but  also  manu- 
factures the  cans  for  use  in  all  its  fac- 
tories. At  Rochester  also  are  the  admin- 
istrative offices.  It  is  essentially  a  Roches- 
ter concern.  This  immense  enterprise 
pays  out  annuaUy  very  large  sums  of 
money  to  its  employes  and  to  the 
farmers  who  grow  the  fruits  and  vege- 
tables used  in  the  business.  It  markets 
its  products  all  over  the  world,  as  has 
been  said,  and  the  profits  of  this  enor- 
mous business  come  back  into  Rochester 
to  increase  the  wealth  of  its  citizens  and 
the  resources  of  the  banks.     Each  of  the 


267 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


company's  plants  is  equipped  with  the 
latest  and  most  perfect  mechanical  appli- 
ances, securing  the  highest  degree  of 
cleanliness  and  most  sanitary  conditions. 
Over  twenty-five  hundred  employes  are 
at  work  in  the  factories  in  the  busy 
season,  and  a  still  larger  number  are  en- 
gaged on  the  farms  in  producing  the  fruits 
and  vegetables  needed  for  the  business. 
The  world-wide  fame  of  the  "Blue 
Label"  ketchup,  chili  sauce,  soups,  per- 
serves,  jams,  jellies,  m.eat  delicacies,  etc., 
is  simply  a  recognition  of  the  efficient 
methods,  the  constant  watchfulness,  and 
the  wise  management  of  the  vast  enter- 
prise of  which  Mr.  Curtice  is  the  head, 
and  of  which  he  and  his  brother  have 
been  the  creators. 

Edgar  N.  Curtice  was  married  in  1876 
to  Lucy  E.  Gardner.  Their  only  son, 
Edgar  N.  Curtice,  Jr.,  born  in  1878,  died 
in  1905,  in  which  year  the  death  of  Mrs. 
Curtice  also  occurred.  Louie  Belle,  a 
daughter,  is  the  wife  of  Frederick  Edwin 
Bickford.  Agnes  Eloise,  another  daugh- 
ter, is  the  wife  of  Dr.  Volney  A.  Hoard. 

Mr.  Curtice  is  a  member  of  various 
clubs  and  social  organizations,  among 
them  the  Genesee  Valley  Club,  the 
Rochester  Yacht  Club,  Rochester  His- 
torical Society,  the  Country  Club  of 
Rochester,  the  Oak  Hill  Country  Club 
and  the  Sons  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution. Deeply  interested  in  the  welfare 
and  commercial  development  of  Roches- 
ter, he  has  been  a  member  of  the  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce  since  its  organization, 
and  he  is  also  a  director  of  the  National 
Bank  of  Rochester  and  of  the  Fidelity 
Trust  Company.  His  political  allegiance 
is  given  to  the  Republican  party.  Such, 
in  brief,  is  the  life  history  of  Edgar  N. 
Curtice,  a  man  remarkable  in  the  breadth 
of  his  wisdom,  his  indefatigable  energy 
and  his  fertility  of  resource.  One  of  the 
prominent  characteristics  of  his  success- 


ful business  career  is  that  his  vision  has 
never  been  bounded  by  the  exigencies  of 
the  moment,  but  has  covered  as  well  the 
possibilities  and  opportunities  of  the 
future.  This  has  led  him  into  extensive 
undertakings,  bringing  him,  into  marked 
prominence  in  industrial  and  commercial 
circles.  A  man  of  unswerving  integrity 
and  honor,  one  who  has  a  perfect  appre- 
ciation of  the  higher  ethics  of  life,  he  has 
gained  and  retained  the  confidence  and 
respect  of  his  fellow  men  and  is  distinc- 
tively one  of  the  leading  citizens,  not 
only  of  Rochester  but  of  the  Empire 
State,  with  whose  interests  he  has  been 
identified  throughout  his  entire  career. 


WIDENER,  Howard  H., 

Lawyer,  Public  Ofacial. 

A  man  of  wide  general  information, 
broad  reading  and  deep  thinking,  well 
educated  and  well  bred,  Mr.  Widener  even 
without  the  prestige  which  he  deserves 
from  his  high  position  at  the  Rochester 
bar  would  be  a  man  singled  out  from 
among  his  fellows  as  one  far  above  the 
ordinary.  As  a  lawyer  he  is  a  clear 
thinker,  a  logical  reasoner,  well  versed  in 
the  branches  of  the  law,  to  which  he  has 
devoted  himself.  As  assistant  and  as 
district  attorney  of  Monroe  county  he 
was  necessarily  obliged  to  specialize  in 
criminal  law  and  some  most  notable  vic- 
tories are  to  his  credit.  His  practice  ex- 
tends to  all  State  and  Federal  courts  of 
the  district,  and  he  acts  as  legal  repre- 
sentative for  some  of  the  most  prominent 
men  and  concerns  of  the  city,  his  sage 
counsel  based  upon  comprehensive  under- 
standing of  the  law  proving  a  valuable 
asset  to  his  large  clientele.  He  is  noted 
for  his  industry,  his  thorough  knowledge 
of  the  law,  his  concise  and  searching 
mind,  his  systematic  habits,  his  resource- 
fulness, his  personal  honesty,  and  his 
!68 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


lofty  professional  ideals.  It  is  the  special 
function  of  the  lawyer  to  actively  partici- 
pate in  the  affairs  of  his  community.  He 
is  the  spokesman  for  its  patriotic  observ- 
ances, for  the  reform  of  its  abuses,  and 
for  the  enlargement  of  its  functions.  He 
is  the  motive  power  of  its  educational, 
moral  and  charitable  work.  All  these  re- 
quirements of  Mr.  Widener  fulfills,  and  no 
man  is  more  genuinely  useful  and  helpful 
than  he.  Admitted  to  the  Monroe  county 
bar  in  1885,  he  has  in  the  years  inter- 
vening made  continuous  progress  in  his 
profession  and  has  long  occupied  a  posi- 
tion of  distinction  among  the  leading 
lawyers  of  that  bar.  His  reputation  as  a 
lawyer  has  been  won  through  earnest, 
honest  labor,  and  his  standing  at  the  bar 
is  a  merited  tribute  to  his  ability. 

Mr.  Widener  springs  from  one  of  the 
historic  families  of  New  Jersey,  his  great- 
grandfathe'f ,  Henry  Widener,  serving  with 
the  "Minute-Men"  of  Sussex  county  in 
the  Revolutionary  War.  The  family  is 
of  German  origin,  the  American  ancestors 
settling  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania  about 
1735.  A  lineal  descendant  was  Peter  A. 
B.  Widener,  the  great  financier  and  capi- 
talist, whose  son  and  grandson  were  lost 
at  the  sinking  of  the  great  steamship 
"Titanic."  The  wonderful  contributions 
of  that  branch  of  the  family  to  the  art 
galleries  and  philanthropies  of  Philadel- 
phia are  the  glory  of  that  city,  and  at 
Harvard  University  a  memorial  building 
stands  as  a  monument  to  the  brave  young 
man  whose  soul  went  out  over  the  frozen 
sea  when  the  "Titanic"  plunged  beneath 
the  wave.  Other  noted  descendants  are 
General  Josiah  Gorgas  and  his  son.  Colo- 
nel William  Gorgas,  both  of  the  United 
States  army,  the  latter  of  Panama  Canal 
fame.  Professor  R.  F.  Widener,  of  Chi- 
cago, is  also  a  descendant  of  the  German 
ancestor. 

Henry  (2)  Widener,  son  of  the  Revolu- 


tionary patriot,  Henry  (i)  Widener,  of 
Sussex  county.  New  Jersey,  settled  in 
Chili,  Monroe  county,  New  York,  in  early 
pioneer  days,  and  at  one  time  was  the 
owner  of  six  hundred  acres  of  cultivated 
land.  He  was  a  soldier  of  the  War  of 
1812,  serving  with  the  defenders  of  the 
Niagara  frontier.  He  married  Prudence 
Kimball,  of  Riga,  New  York,  who  bore 
him  ten  children.  He  died  at  Chili,  Janu- 
ary 21,  1837,  his  wife.  Prudence,  died  Jan- 
uary 7,  1845. 

Kinney  A.  Widener,  son  of  Henry  (2) 
and  Prudence  (Kimball)  W'idener,  was 
born  at  Chili,  New  York,  April  22,  1822. 
He  was  a  man  of  education,  taught  school 
for  fourteen  years,  but  was  a  farmer  the 
greater  part  of  his  life.  He  was  closely 
identified  with  public  affairs,  held  many 
town  offices,  including  town  superintend- 
ent and  school  commissioner.  He  mar- 
ried, March  11,  1848,  Mary  R.,  daughter 
of  Samuel  and  Eliza  (Reed)  Phillips,  of 
Chili.  She  was  the  mother  of  three  chil- 
dren: Howard  H.;  Chandler  Reed,  born 
March  25,  1862,  died  January  11,  1865; 
and  Blanche  Eliza. 

Howard  H.  Widener,  eldest  son  of  Kin- 
ney A.  and  Mary  R.  (Phillips)  Widener, 
was  born  at  Chili,  Monroe  county,  New 
York,  May  6,  i860.  He  obtained  an 
academic  education  and  was  graduated 
from  Chili  Seminary,  class  of  1879,  and 
for  four  years  taught  school.  But  his 
ambition  was  for  the  profession  of  law, 
and  after  a  thorough  course  of  prepara- 
tory study  he  was  admitted  to  the  Monroe 
county  bar  at  the  June  term,  1885.  He  at 
once  began  practice  in  Rochester,  and  has 
been  continuously  in  practice  until  the 
present  time  (1916).  He  soon  gained  a 
foothold  in  his  profession,  and  has  gone 
forward  as  the  years  have  progressed 
to  a  position  of  professional  importance 
most  gratifying  to  himself  and  his  many 
friends.    He  possesses  that  rarest  of  gifts. 


269 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRArHY 


the  faculty  for  honest  work,  a  faculty 
which  has  won  him  professional  fame  and, 
combined  with  business  ability  and  sa- 
gacity and  personal  qualities  of  the  highest 
order,  has  won  him  public  confidence  and 
esteem  and  the  affection  of  a  host  of 
friends. 

A  Republican  in  politics,  Mr.  Widener 
was  appointed  assistant  district  attorney 
of  Monroe,  and  in  that  office  tried  some 
very  important  criminal  cases,  and  won 
notable  victories.  In  1907  he  was  the 
candidate  of  his  party  for  district  attor- 
ney, and  won  the  verdict  of  the  polls. 
He  not  only  upheld  the  high  reputa- 
tion he  had  gained  as  assistant,  but 
won  additional  fame  and  the  highest 
encomiums  of  the  bench  and  bar.  He 
prepared  his  cases  with  the  greatest 
care,  and  in  his  presentation  is  clear, 
logical  and  forceful.  He  is  a  fair  oppo- 
nent, a  close  observer  of  the  ethics  of  the 
profession,  courteous  to  court,  and  most 
solicitous  for  a  client's  interests.  He  is 
fond  of  historical  and  genealogical  study, 
and  in  his  hours  "oiif  duty"  has  compiled 
a  history  of  the  Widener  family,  a  work  of 
great  labor,  and  very  valuable.  He  is  a 
thirty-second  degree  Mason  of  Rochester 
Consistory,  and  a  Noble  of  Damascus 
Temple,  his  lodge,  Younondio,  No.  163, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  local  and  State  bar  asso- 
ciations, and  much  interested  in  their 
proceedings. 

Mr.  Widener  married,  February  22, 1886, 
Anna  L.,  daughter  of  Lyman  and  Mary 
J.  (Hamlin)  Brooks.  The  family  home 
is  in  Chili,  where  the  family  has  been 
resident  for  considerably  more  than  a 
century.  His  professional  offices  are  in 
the  Powers  Building,  Rochester. 


RICKER,  Marcena  (Sherman),  M.  D., 

Successful    Female    Physician. 

In  1888  Dr.  Marcena  (Sherman)  Ricker 
located  in  Rochester,  New  York,  for  the 


practice  of  her  profession,  her  advent 
causing  much  more  comment  then  than 
can  be  now  understood  when  the  woman 
doctor  is  no  longer  a  novelty  but  a  fixed 
star  in  the  medical  firmament.  She  came 
thoroughly  prepared  by  college  training 
and  hospital  experience,  but  in  the  years 
which  have  since  intervened  she  has  pur- 
sued post-graduate  courses  in  New  York 
City  institutions  and  in  her  specialties, 
diseases  of  women  and  children,  has  won 
the  highest  professional  reputation.  She 
is  a  member  of  the  County,  State  and 
National  Medical  societies.  She  has  de- 
voted a  great  deal  of  time  to  church,  char- 
ity and  philanthropy.  As  an  able  repre- 
sentative of  the  professional  women  of 
her  city,  she  has  been  of  great  aid  to  every 
other  woman  who  was  ambitious  to  enter 
a  profession,  and  through  the  influence  of 
her  own  successful  career  and  noble  life 
she  has  aided  in  breaking  down  the  wall 
of  prejudice  and  opposition  until  now 
woman  can  apply  for  admission  to  nearly 
every  institution  of  learning  with  the  cer- 
tainty that  her  sex  alone  will  not  be  a  bar. 
Argument  was  good  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago,  but  it  needed  the  object  teaching  of 
lives  like  Dr.  Ricker's  to  make  the  argu- 
ment effective,  as  the  men  controlling  col- 
leges of  law  and  medicine  are  perhaps 
bound  by  tradition  more  firmly  than  any 
other  class  and  yield  only  when  their  de- 
fense is  utterly  demolished  by  facts  and 
Dr.  Ricker  aided  by  furnishing  a  fact  in 
her  own  life. 

Marcena  (Sherman)  Ricker  was  born  in 
Castile,  Wyoming  county,  New  York, 
daughter  of  Benjamin  H.  and  Eliza 
(Llewellyn)  Sherman.  Benjamin  H. 
Sherman  was  born  in  Rhode  Island,  a 
distant  relative  to  General  William  T. 
and  Senator  John  Sherman,  of  Ohio,  and 
died  in  1887,  aged  sixty-nine.  His  wife, 
born  in  Bristol,  Orleans  county.  New 
York,  was  of  Welsh  descent.  They  were 
the  parents  of  two  sons  and  four  daugh- 
270 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ters.  Marcena  Sherman  was  educated  in 
Castile  schools,  Gainesville  Seminary,  and 
Albany  Normal  College,  qualifying  as  a 
teacher.  After  graduation  from  Normal 
she  taught  for  three  years,  then  began  the 
carrying  out  of  a  long  formed  ambition, 
the  study  of  medicine.  She  obtained  her 
degree  of  M.  D.  from  the  Cleveland 
Homeopathic  College,  class  of  1888,  and 
shortly  afterward  located  in  Rochester 
where  she  has  since  been  in  continuous 
practice,  specializing  in  diseases  of  women 
and  children.  She  was  remarkably  suc- 
cessful in  her  earlier  efforts  to  establish 
a  practice,  and  it  was  not  long  before  her 
office  was  being  sought  for  by  a  most 
desirable  class  of  patrons.  Her  experi- 
ence and  post-graduate  courses  taken  in 
New  York  later  gave  her  greater  confi- 
dence in  her  own  powers  and  she  is  now 
the  strong,  self-reliant  physician,  skillful 
in  both  diagnosis  and  treatment,  her  skill 
being  accompanied  to  the  sick  room  by 
that  sympathy  and  womanly  tenderness 
which  brings  healing  in  itself.  A  student 
and  thinker,  she  is  recognized  as  a  learned 
and  able  member  of  the  medical  profes- 
sion and  the  contributions  from  her  pen 
to  the  medical  journals  have  been  fre- 
quent and  well  received. 

Dr.  Ricker  is  a  member  of  the  Monroe 
County  Medical  Association,  Western 
New  York  Medical  Society,  the  American 
Institute  of  Homeopathy,  member  of  the 
staf?  of  the  Homeopathic  Hospital  of 
Rochester,  president  of  the  board  of  man- 
agers of  the  Baptist  Home  of  Monroe 
County,  visiting  physician  at  the  Door  of 
Hope,  member  of  Lake  Avenue  Baptist 
Church.  The  Baptist  Home  of  Monroe 
County  was  established  largely  through 
her  persistent  eiifort  extending  over  a 
period  of  ten  years,  ere  "hope  ended  in 
fruition." 

Miss  Sherman  married,  June,  1898, 
Wentworth  G.  Ricker,  born  in  the  State 


of  Maine,  and  for  several  years  president 
of  the  Ricker  Manufacturing  Company, 
overhead  trackings  and  machine  work, 
No.  239  North  Water  street,  Rochester. 
Mr.  Ricker  is  one  of  Rochester's  able,  en- 
ergetic and  successful  business  men,  his 
line  of  manufacture  being  an  important 
one.  He  is  a  member  of  Lake  Avenue 
Baptist  Church.  In  political  faith  he  is  a 
Republican. 


FARMER,  William  Sidney, 

IitLvryer,  Jurist. 

As  judge  of  the  Municipal  Court  of 
Syracuse,  William  Sidney  Farmer  is  con- 
tinuing a  career  in  which  he  has  served 
his  native  State  with  conspicuous  fidelity, 
and  with  the  dignity,  zeal  and  courage 
which  have  characterized  his  entire  work 
from  the  time  of  his  admission  to  the  bar. 
Not  only  is  his  mental  attitude  one  of 
sinxplicity  and  impartiality,  but  his  actual 
contact  with  everyone  is  based  on  that  be- 
lief in  human  brotherhood,  so  frequently 
met  with,  and  which  makes  him  an  ideal 
magistrate.  Rich  and  poor  alike  are  dealt 
with  by  him  on  a  plane  of  simple  equality, 
and  with  a  dignity  and  courtesy  that  are 
only  the  outward  aspect  of  great  firmness, 
courage  and  a  far  reaching  progressive- 
ness.  The  Farmer  family  has  been  resi- 
dent in  the  State  of  New  York  for  a  num- 
ber of  generations,  Jonathan  Farmer  hav- 
ing been  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  of  St. 
Lawrence  county,  when  he  took  up  his 
residence  in  the  town  of  Fowler. 

Seymour  M.  Farmer,  son  of  Jonathan 
Farmer,  was  born  in  Fowler,  and  subse- 
quently removed  to  Hailesboro.  For  a 
number  of  years  he  was  engaged  in  busi- 
ness as  a  merchant,  and  for  a  long  time 
held  the  ofifice  of  justice  of  the  peace.  He 
was  a  major  of  the  State  militia.  He  mar- 
ried Alethea  M.  Rich,  who  died  in  1913, 
and  who  was  a  member  of  a  pioneer  fam- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ily  of  Northern  New  York.  Children : 
William  Sidney,  whose  name  heads  this 
sketch ;  Frances  A.,  of  Syracuse ;  Anna 
E.,  who  married  Hon.  Vasco  P.  Abbott,  of 
Gouverneur;  Martha  A.,  married  Charles 
W.  Carpenter,  of  Syracuse ;  Lieutenant 
Harry  H.,  a  prominent  attorney  of  Syra- 
cuse, now  associated  with  his  brother. 
Judge  Farmer. 

Judge  William  Sidney  Farmer,  son  of 
Seymour  M.  and  Alethea  M.  (Rich) 
Farmer,  was  born  in  Hailesboro,  St.  Law- 
rence county,  New  York,  July  i8,  1861. 
He  received  his  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  Hailesboro,  and  the  Gouv- 
erneur Wesleyan  Seminary,  at  Gouver- 
neur, New  York,  and  from  early  years 
showed  decided  ability  as  a  speaker.  Hav- 
ing decided  to  adopt  the  law  as  a  profes- 
sion, he  commenced  his  studies  with  the 
Hon.  Vasco  P.  Abbott,  at  that  time  sur- 
rogate of  St.  Lawrence  county,  and  at 
the  same  time  became  clerk  of  the  surro- 
gate's court.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  at  Saratoga,  New  York,  in  1882,  and 
established  himself  in  the  practice  of  his 
profession  in  Gouverneur,  but  remained 
there  but  a  short  time.  Going  to  Kimball, 
South  Dakota,  at  that  time  a  pioneer  set- 
tlement, he  was  successfully  engaged  in 
practice  there  for  a  period  of  two  years, 
during  which  time  he  served  as  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  Farmers'  and  Traders'  Bank 
of  Kimball.  In  1891  he  returned  to  the 
State  of  New  York,  where  he  established 
himself  in  the  practice  of  his  profession 
in  Syracuse,  and  is  still  busy  with  a  large 
clientele.  There  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  Emmons  H.  Sanford,  under  the  style 
of  Sanford  &  Farmer.  Subsequently  he 
associated  himself  in  a  partnership  with 
his  brother.  Lieutenant  Harry  H.  Farmer, 
which  firm  is  still  known  as  W.  S.  &  H. 
H.  Farm,er. 

In  May,  1914,  during  the  absence  of 
Judge  Shove,  William  S.  Farmer  was  ap- 


pointed acting  judge  of  the  Court  of 
Special  Sessions,  by  Mayor  Will,  and  on 
January  9,  1915,  he  was  appointed  judge 
of  the  Municipal  Court  by  the  same 
mayor,  to  fill  the  vacancy  made  by  the 
resignation  of  Judge  Cady.  Judge  Farmer 
is  interested  in  many  of  the  social,  frater- 
nal and  benevolent  associations  of  Syra- 
cuse, and  has  attained  the  thirty-second 
degree  in  Free  Masonry.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Masonic  Club  of  the  City  of  New 
York;  of  Central  City  Lodge,  No.  305, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  Syracuse ; 
honorary  member  of  Syracuse  Lodge,  No. 
501,  and  of  Gouverneur  Lodge,  No.  217, 
at  Gouverneur,  New  York.  Masonically 
he  has  been  master  of  his  lodge,  district 
deputy  grand  master  of  the  Twenty- 
seventh  Masonic  District  for  three  years, 
one  of  the  commissioners  and  chief  com- 
missioner of  the  Commission  of  Appeals, 
and  is  now  senior  grand  warden  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons in  the  State  of  New  York.  He  is  a 
member  of  Americus  Lodge,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows;  of  the  Syracuse 
Lodge,  Knights  of  Pythias;  of  the  Syra- 
cuse Chamber  of  Commerce ;  Masonic 
Temple  Club  ;  City  Club  ;  Citizens'  Club  ; 
Republican  Escort ;  and  Mystique  Krewe 
of  Ka-noo-na,  a  civic  corporation  of  Syra- 
cuse, of  which  he  was  president  three 
years. 

Judge  Farmer  married,  in  1889,  Ruth 
Selleck,  daughter  of  William  H.  Selleck, 
of  Syracuse,  and  they  have  one  daughter : 
Helen  Alethea,  born  August  30,  1905. 
The  beautiful  home  of  the  family  is  at  No. 
15 18  East  Genesee  street. 


BELLOWS,  Anna  May  (Marshall), 
'Well-Known  Elocntioniat. 

Large  as  is  the  influence  in  a  commun- 
ity of  those  more  subtle  forms  of  force, 
such  as  exert  themselves  in  the  expression 


272 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  aesthetic  feeling,  as  in  the  case  in  in- 
stance, it  is  very  difficult  to  state  in  accu- 
rate terms  or  even  to  compare  with  other 
influences  of  another  character.  We  can 
gauge,  at  least  roughly,  the  benefactions 
of  those  whose  gifts  to  their  fellows  are 
material  in  character,  we  can  apply  to 
them  certain  standards  of  value,  even  if 
it  be  so  gross  a  one  as  that  of  money 
value,  and  thus  gain  some  general  idea 
of  their  comparative  worth  to  us,  but  how 
shall  we  deal  with  the  spiritual  gifts  of 
the  artist?  What  standard  of  value  shall 
we  gauge  and  measure  them  by?  So  illu- 
sive and  intangible  are  they  that  the  man 
who  does  not  feel  them,  the  materialist, 
will  deny  their  existence  altogether,  and 
even  those  who  are  most  sure  of  their 
great  value,  who  are  most  sensitive  to 
their  appeal,  can  find  no  adequate  terms 
in  which  to  speak  of  them.  Nevertheless 
the  great  mass  of  people  with  sure  in- 
stinct are  thoroughly  convinced  of  their 
worth  as  evidenced  by  the  way  in  which 
they  seek  every  opportunity  to  have  the 
feelings  which  respond  to  artistic  stimuli 
awakened  and  applaud  those  who  are  suc- 
cessful in  awakening  them.  We  must 
always,  therefore,  turn  with  gratitude  to 
the  work  of  such  women  as  Mrs.  Anna 
(Marshall)  Bellows,  of  Gloversville,  New 
York,  who  has  given  her  life  to  the  de- 
velopment of  her  remarkable  artistic  tal- 
ents, consecrating  her  best  efforts  to  pro- 
viding this  most  wholesome  of  pleasures, 
the  aesthetic  pleasure,  for  her  fellows. 

Anna  (Marshall)  Bellows  is  a  daughter 
of  Levi  T.  and  Mary  Ann  (Smith)  Mar- 
shall, of  Gloversville,  New  York,  and  a 
member  of  a  very  old  New  England  fam- 
ily, the  Marshalls  having  lived  there  from 
some  time  previous  to  the  year  1634,  on 
the  31st  of  August  of  which  year  Thomas 
Marshall  was  admitted  to  the  church  in 
Boston  as  we  learn  from  a  record  in  which 
he  is  described  as  a  "widower."     Tradi- 


tion, indeed,  makes  the  tamily  a  very  old 
one  in  England  and  has  it  that  the  line  of 
descent  runs  back  to  one  of  the  warriors 
who  accompanied  William  the  Conqueror 
into  England  at  the  time  of  his  conquest 
of  that  country.  However  this  may  be, 
the  line  is  a  perfectly  distinct  one  in  this 
country  from  the  early  colonial  figure 
down  to  the  present  representatives  of  the 
nam.e  in  New  York  State.  The  Thomas 
Marshall  already  spoken  of  brought  to 
the  country  with  him  when  he  sailed  from 
England  his  four  children,  Thomas  and 
Samuel,  Sarah  and  Frances,  and  it  was 
from  the  second  of  these  sons  that  the 
branch  of  the  family  with  which  this 
sketch  is  concerned  was  derived.  Thomas 
Marshall  occupied  a  position  of  promi- 
nence in  the  Boston  colony  and  held  sev- 
eral offices,  such  as  selectman  and  deputy, 
was  deacon  in  the  church  and  generally 
highly  respected  among  his  fellow  colo- 
nists. The  high  standard  set  by  him  has 
been  consistently  maintained  by  his  de- 
scendants and  the  family  has  numbered 
many  distinguished  men  among  those 
who  have  borne  its  name. 

In  the  seventh  generation  of  descent 
from  Thomas  Marshall  was  Levi  T.  Mar- 
shall, the  father  of  Mrs.  Bellows.  In  his 
father's  time  the  family  had  removed  from 
Connecticut,  where  it  had  made  its  home 
for  a  number  of  generations,  to  New  York 
State,  and  taken  up  its  abode  in  Oneida 
county,  and  it  was  there  in  the  little  vil- 
lage of  Vernon  that  Levi  T.  Marshall  was 
born.  He  was  one  of  the  splendid  type 
of  farmers  with  which  the  North  Atlantic 
States  abounded  in  the  past  generation, 
enlightened  and  of  strong  personality, 
who  made  of  the  primitive  occupation  that 
they  followed  something  that  any  man 
might  be  proud  to  call  his  own.  Un- 
usually well  educated  and  possessed  of  a 
forceful  character  and  powerful  m.ind,  Mr. 
Marshall  was  one  who  might  have  shone 


N  Y-Vol  IV-18 


273 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


brilliantly  in  professional  life  and  his 
tastes  led  him  somewhat  in  that  direction. 
He  was,  however,  one  of  those  philoso- 
phers who  make  the  best  out  of  the  condi- 
tions of  life  in  which  they  find  themselves 
and,  finding  that  circumstances  were  such 
as  to  make  it  necessary  for  him  to  farm, 
he  farmed  with  all  his  might  and  made  a 
great  success  of  his  operations.  A  man 
of  his  character  would  be  prominent  in 
any  community  and  he  was  eminently  so 
among  the  rural  population  of  Oneida 
county.  He  was  one  of  the  leading  mem- 
bers in  both  the  Oneida  and  the  New 
York  State  Agricultural  societies,  held 
high  official  positions  in  both  and  was  one 
of  the  most  conspicuous  figures  in  the 
work  of  advancing  the  agricultural  inter- 
ests of  that  part  of  the  country.  His 
farm  was  one  of  the  model  places  of  the 
district,  a  sort  of  show  place,  where  vis- 
itors to  the  town  were  taken  to  admire 
its  beauties,  and  here  he  devoted  himself 
to  his  specialty,  the  cultivation  of  fruit. 
In  the  year  1869  he  removed  to  Glovers- 
ville,  New  York,  and  there  made  his  home 
until  his  death  in  1910.  Upon  his  com- 
ing to  Gloversville  he  purchased  forty 
acres  of  land  in  the  vicinity  and  added  it 
to  the  village  with  the  idea  of  improving 
its  appearance  and  adding  to  its  general 
attractiveness.  He  then  organized  the 
Rural  Art  Association,  consisting  of  the 
most  public-spirited  men  of  the  commun- 
ity, and  at  once  began  the  active  cam- 
paign for  the  beautifying  of  the  village. 
He  was  himself  chosen  president  of  the 
association  and  it  has  been  largely  due 
to  his  unremitting  efforts  that  the  great 
improvement  in  Gloversville's  appearance 
has  taken  place.  It  was  a  work  entirely 
in  line  with  Mr.  Marshall's  tastes  and  in- 
clinations and  one  which  his  unusual 
taste  and  intelligence  fitted  him  to  per- 
form m.ost  fully  and  adequately.  Cer- 
tainly the  present  city  of  Gloversville  is 


much  in  debt  to  his  memory.  His  public 
life  was  a  very  conspicuous  and  praise- 
worthy one  and  he  became  a  very  promi- 
nent figure  in  the  militia  organization  of 
his  State,  being  commissioned  brigadier- 
general  by  Governor  William  H.  Seward 
in  1839.  He  was  elected  justice  of  the 
peace  in  1835  and  held  that  office  until 
1869,  when  he  removed  to  Gloversville, 
and  in  1861  was  elected  to  the  Legislature 
of  New  York  State.  General  Marshall 
was  married,  in  1832,  to  Mary  Ann  Smith, 
a  daughter  of  John  Smith,  of  Vernon,  and 
to  them  were  born  three  children  :  Charla- 
magne;  Joseph  Addison,  who  married, 
January  26,  1876,  Irene  Wing  Lasher; 
Anna  May,  of  whom  further. 

Anna  May  (Marshall)  Bellows  was 
born  at  Vernon,  Oneida  county.  New 
York,  and  passed  the  early  years  of  her 
life  on  the  beautiful  farm  owned  by  her 
father.  In  the  midst  of  this  healthful  en- 
vironment, engaged  in  the  wholesome 
occupations  and  pastimes  of  the  country 
child,  she  grew  up  into  young  girlhood. 
She  very  early  showed  that  she  inherited 
her  father's  taste  for  art  and  the  beauti- 
ful, also  his  discrimination,  and  she  inter- 
ested herself  particularly  in  literature  and 
the  art  of  elocution.  She  was  a  girl 
thirteen  years  of  age  when  her  father  re- 
moved to  Gloversville,  Fulton  county, 
New  York,  and  from  that  time  to  the 
present  that  city  has  been  her  home.  She 
was  educated  at  the  public  schools  of 
Gloversville  while  a  young  girl.  This 
completed  her  preparatory  studies  and 
she  then  attended  Wells  College.  Dur- 
ing this  period  she  showed  herself  an  un- 
usually alert  and  intelligent  student  and 
drew  the  favorable  attention  of  her  mas- 
ters and  instructors  upon  her  because  of 
the  high  standing  she  maintained  in  her 
classes.  She  completed  her  course  in 
1876  and  then  turned  her  attention  to  the 
art  she  loved  with  the  intention  of  mak- 


274 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ing  it  her  work  for  life  if  it  should  be  pos- 
sible. What  might  have  been  a  difificult 
task  for  most  of  us,  with  her  talents  was 
quite  possible  and  she  soon  became 
known  as  a  successful  public  reader.  In 
the  year  1883  she  was  married  to  Edwin 
P.  Bellows,  of  Gloversville.  Mrs.  Bel- 
lows took  up  the  work  of  elocutionist  pro- 
fessionally ;  she  was  previously  enrolled 
as  a  member  of  the  Star  Lyceum,  Bureau, 
with  office  in  the  Tribune  Building  in 
New  York  City.  She  has  read  and  re- 
cited at  many  public  entertainments  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Gloversville  and  else- 
where. 

Large  as  is  her  influence  in  her  profes- 
sion, it  is  not  by  any  means  the  only  chan- 
nel in  which  it  is  exerted  for  the  good  of 
the  community.  On  the  contrary,  she  is 
active  in  a  large  number  of  the  impor- 
tant movements  undertaken  in  the  city 
for  the  general  good  and  especially  those 
identified  with  her  own  sex.  She  is  a 
member  of  many  of  the  most  prominent 
organizations  among  women  in  the  State 
and  in  all  takes  a  leading  part.  From  the 
year  1886  she  has  been  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  Young  Wom.en's  Chris- 
tian Association  of  Gloversville  and  has 
during  all  that  period  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  its  board  of  directors  and  off  and 
on  as  its  president  also.  She  is  a  member 
of  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Humane  So- 
ciety and  a  director  of  its  Gloversville 
branch,  and  is  intensely  interested  in  all 
philanthropic  and  humane  work,  espe- 
cially that  connected  with  children  and 
animals.  She  is  also  a  member  of  the 
General  Richard  Montgomery  Chapter  of 
the  National  Society  of  the  Daughters  of 
the  American  Revolution,  and  has  served 
as  its  regent  since  the  year  1906.  Besides 
these  organizations  she  also  belongs  to 
the  Monday  Afternoon  Study  Class,  the 
Washington  Headquarters  Association  of 
New  York  City  and  the  Cayadutta  Chap- 


ter of  the  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star.  Tak- 
ing part  in  as  many  of  the  activities  of 
the  community  as  she  does,  Mrs.  Bellows 
is  of  course  a  very  well  known  figure  in 
community  life.  She  is  carrying  on  the 
work  and  influence  begun  by  her  father 
towards  a  better  appreciation  and  under- 
standing of  the  beautiful,  although  her 
own  course  lies  in  diiiferent  paths  and  is 
efifective  through  other  means.  She  is 
highly  successful  in  her  profession,  and 
although  it  is  necessarily  difficult  to  pick 
out  the  elements  and  contributory  factors 
in  a  thing  so  complex  as  success,  the  sub- 
ject is  so  fascinating  a  one  that  a  glance 
at  it  in  the  case  of  Mrs.  Bellows  is  per- 
haps justifiable. 

There  is  no  formula  for  success,  one 
accomplishing  the  ends  by  means  that 
seem  the  diametrical  opposite  of  those 
employed  by  others.  One's  strength 
seems  to  lie  in  self-advertisement,  to  make 
progress  one  must  call  attention  to  him- 
self or  herself  and  claim  the  admiration 
and  wonder  of  those  he  or  she  uses  as 
instruments,  while  with  another  silence 
appears  as  necessary  as  did  noise  to  the 
first.  There  are.  of  course,  a  thousand 
variations  to  each  of  these  general  classes 
and  we  distinguish  easily  between  those 
who  need  silence  or  obscurity  for  their 
deeds,  and  those  who  prefer  them 
merely  as  part  of  modest  and  retiring 
natures.  Perhaps  we  can  say  that  it  is  to 
this  last  class  that  the  subject  of  this 
brief  article  belongs — a  woman  who  does 
not  strive  or  proclaim  her  own  merits,  so 
convinced  is  she  that  "good  wine  needs 
no  bush,"  that  she  concerns  herself  wholly 
with  the  performance  in  the  very  fullest 
sense  of  all  her  engagements.  The  result 
fully  justifies  her  in  her  policy;  her  suc- 
cess is  great  and  no  wide  system  of  ad- 
vertising could  have  resulted  in  a  more  en- 
viable reputation  or  an  achievement  more 
substantial.     Whatever  may   be  thought 


275 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  the  method  from  the  standpoint  of 
business  there  is  one  thing  certain,  how- 
ever, and  that  is  that  in  a  broader  aspect 
the  knowledge  of  such  a  life  must  in  the 
final  analysis  depend  upon  the  efforts  of 
others  for  its  preservation.  The  more  re- 
tiring and  self-effacing  a  person  is,  the 
more  important  is  it  that  an  account  of 
his  or  her  career  should  be  put  in  some 
permanent  form  so  that  it  may  not  cease 
to  serve  as  an  example  to  others.  Nay, 
there  is  an  added  reason  why  such  a  one 
should  have  his  record  preserved,  for 
modesty  is  an  added  virtue  and  one  which 
perhaps  above  all  others,  we  need  to  have 
presented  to  us  for  imitation,  and  which 
by  a  strange  paradox  most  readily  hides 
even  itself.  This  is  the  raison  d'etre  for  a 
record  such  as  this,  that  it  shall  assist  in 
preserving  the  knowledge  of  a  career  that 
may  serve  us  all  as  a  rriodel  to  be  copied. 


OTIS,  Lyman  M., 

City  Official,  Honored  Citizen. 

Exceptionally  well  preserved  in  this, 
his  eighty-fourth  year,  serving  his  city  as 
he  has  always  served  it,  with  fidelity  and 
zeal,  the  tall,  spare,  yet  supple  and  re- 
sponsive form  of  Lyman  M.  Otis,  treas- 
urer of  the  city  of  Rochester,  is  a  daily 
sight  at  his  desk  in  the  City  Hall  during 
business  hours.  Physically,  no  man  of 
his  years  can  surpass  him,  while  in  mental 
vigor,  breadth  of  vision,  and  loyalty  to 
the  interests  of  the  city  he  loves,  he  is 
more  the  man  of  fifty  than  of  eighty-four. 
His  has  been  a  wonderful  life,  not  more 
for  its  success  than  for  the  spirit  that  in- 
spires his  public  service.  Since  1857 
when,  as  a  citizen  of  the  town  of  Henri- 
etta, Monroe  county,  he  first  accepted 
public  office,  he  has  rendered  official  serv- 
ice almost  continuously,  not  from  the  nar- 
row standpoint  of  self-interest,  but  from 
a   patriotic   desire   to   be   identified   with 


public  affairs  and  to  aid  the  cause  of 
clean,  honest,  municipal  government. 
Prior  to  1899,  when  he  retired  from  active 
business  life,  this  public  service  was  given 
at  the  expense  of  personal  interest  and 
convenience,  and  certainly  the  twelve 
years  during  which  he  has  been  treasurer 
of  Rochester  might  have  been  justly  de- 
voted to  personal  comfort,  not  civic  duty. 
But  he  laid  aside  his  rightful  privileges 
in  his  desire  to  be  useful,  and  these  twelve 
years  have  been  years  of  active  service 
and  vigilant  supervision  of  the  financial 
interests  of  his  city,  his  keen  foresight, 
business  sagacity,  inborn  financial  abil- 
ity, and  sound  moral  principles  all  being 
laid  upon  the  altar  of  duty.  And  there  is 
a  lesson  to  be  learned  from  the  example  of 
Mr.  Otis  that  other  men  in  control  of 
industrial  and  commercial  enterprises 
should  take  to  themselves — that  cities  and 
States  need  the  wisdom  and  business  abil- 
ity of  such  men,  and  that  not  until  the 
light  that  has  illumined  the  life  of  Mr. 
Otis  penetrates  the  cloud  of  selfishness  in 
which  so  many  able  men  are  enveloped 
will  the  cause  of  good  government  ad- 
vance. That  the  public  appreciates  the 
more  than  half  a  century  of  official  serv- 
ice of  Mr.  Otis  is  best  shown  by  the  fact 
that  he  found  it  necessary  to  announce 
publicly  that  at  the  expiration  of  his 
term,  December  31,  1915,  he  would  re- 
tire permanently  from  official  life  in  order 
to  prevent  another  reelection.  But  when 
he  shifts  the  responsibilities  of  his  office 
to  younger  shoulders  he  can  do  so  with 
the  full  knowledge  that  his  duty  has  been 
performed  and  that  he  carries  into  private 
life  the  unbounded  respect  and  confidence 
of  an  entire  city. 

Mr.  Otis  springs  from  an  honored  New 
England  ancestry,  tracing  to  John  Otis, 
who  came  from  Hingham,  England,  to 
Hingham,  Massachusetts,  in  June,  1635. 
His  grandson.  Judge  John  Otis,  born  in 


276 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OE  BIOGRAPHY 


Hingham  in  1657,  moved  to  Barnstable, 
where  he  died  after  a  life  of  long  and  use- 
ful public  service,  November  30,  1727.  He 
was  for  eighteen  years  colonel  of  militia, 
for  twenty  years  representative  to  the 
General  Court,  for  twenty-one  years  a 
member  of  the  Governor's  Council,  and 
for  twenty-one  years  Chief  Justice  of 
Common  Pleas  and  Probate  Court. 

David  G.  Otis,  a  grandson  of  Judge 
John  Otis,  came  from  Connecticut  to 
Perry,  Wyoming  county,  New  York,  at 
an  early  day  and  was  one  of  the  pioneer 
school  teachers  of  that  section.  He  taught 
for  many  years  in  Warsaw,  Wyoming 
county,  moving  in  1838  to  Henrietta, 
Monroe  county,  where  he  also  taught  and 
resided  until  his  death  in  1837.  He  was 
for  many  years  identified  with  military 
affairs  in  the  State,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death  held  the  rank  of  brigadier-general 
of  militia.  He  served  as  school  commis- 
sioner and  was  actively  interested  in  edu- 
cational matters  as  teacher  and  layman 
throughout  all  his  life,  although  farming 
was  his  principal  occupation.  He  mar- 
ried Maria  Morris,  born  in  Warsaw,  New 
York. 

Lyman  M.  Otis,  son  of  David  G.  and 
Maria  (Morris)  Otis,  was  born  in  Henri- 
etta, Monroe  county,  New  York,  Novem- 
ber 12,  1831,  and  at  the  age  of  six  years 
was  deprived  of  a  father's  care.  He  was 
educated  in  public  schools,  Monroe  Acad- 
emy, and  Genesee  Wesleyan  Seminary, 
the  last  named  institution  located  at  Lima, 
New  York.  During  his  youth  and  early 
manhood  he  taught  school  during  the 
winter  months,  engaging  in  farming  dur- 
ing the  summer  seasons.  In  1855  he  made 
his  entrance  into  the  business  world  as  a 
partner  of  D.  W.  Chase,  embarking  in 
the  nursery  business  under  the  firm  name 
Chase  &  Otis.  This  was  in  the  early 
period  of  the  now  great  nursery  business 
of  Monroe  county,  and  in  order  to  make 


income  and  disbursements  balance  the 
firm  dealt  in  produce,  live  stock  and  wool. 
In  1867  the  firm  sold  its  business  in  Hen- 
rietta and  moved  to  Rochester,  where  the 
lumber  business  of  J.  H.  Robinson  &  Son 
was  purchased.  They  conducted  a  very 
successful  business  until  1888,  when  Mr. 
Chase  died,  Mr.  Otis  continuing  the  busi- 
ness under  the  firm  name  of  L.  M.  Otis  & 
Company.  Eor  eleven  years  he  managed 
an  ever-increasing  business  most  success- 
fully, then  in  1899  sold  to  the  W.  B.  Morse 
Lumber  Company  and  retired  from  pri- 
vate business  life.  He  was  for  many  years 
a  member  and  treasurer  of  the  Monroe 
County  Agricultural  Society  and  one  of 
the  organizers  of  the  Monroe  County 
Building  and  Loan  Association.  He  was 
connected  with  that  association  during  the 
fifteen  years  required  to  mature  its  issue 
of  shares,  every  shareholder  receiving 
from  six  to  ten  per  cent,  on  his  invest- 
ment. As  a  business  man  Mr.  Otis  was 
progressive  and  successful,  displaying  the 
qualities  that  ever  make  for  advancement 
and  winning  high  reputation  as  a  finan- 
cier and  executive  manager. 

During  his  earlier  years  Mr.  Otis  was 
a  Democrat,  but  like  so  many  others 
broke  with  his  party  when  slavery  be- 
came the  issue  and  afiiliated  with  the 
newly  formed  Republican  party,  to  which 
he  has  ever  since  been  attached.  He  was 
elected  town  clerk  of  Henrietta  in  1857, 
served  nine  years  as  justice  of  the  peace, 
and  after  his  removal  to  Rochester  in  1888 
at  once  began  taking  active  part  in  public 
affairs.  In  1889  he  was  elected  supervisor 
from  the  Fourth  Ward,  serving  continu- 
ously for  six  terms,  during  the  last  two 
being  chairman  of  the  board.  He  also 
served  two  terms  as  alderman  from  the 
Eourth  Ward,  from  1894  to  1898  was  in- 
spector of  Monroe  county  prison,  in  1894 
was  chosen  chairman  of  the  com,mittee 
having  in  charge  the  erection  of  the  new 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


county  court  house,  serving  until  its  com- 
pletion in  1S96,  and  was  elected  sewer 
commissioner  in  1895.  From  1900  until 
1904  he  was  city  assessor  of  taxes,  and 
on  January  i,  1904,  entered  upon  his 
duties  as  treasurer  of  the  city  of  Roches- 
ter, an  office  he  held  continuously,  his 
last  term  expiring  December  31,  1915, 
when  he  announced  that  he  would  re- 
tire from  public  life.  He  will  be  missed, 
this  kindly  old  gentleman  whose  sense 
of  humor  never  fails,  whose  tall  form 
and  keen  blue  eye  have  welcomed  callers 
at  the  treasurer's  office  for  the  past 
twelve  years.  The  treasurer's  office  of  a 
large  city  like  Rochester  is  not  a  sinecure, 
the  single  item  of  disbursements  alone  re- 
quiring Mr.  Otis  to  sign  seventy  thou- 
sands checks  each  year.  But  from  the 
age  of  seventy-two  to  that  of  eighty-four 
years  he  has  carried  the  weight  of  re- 
sponsibility the  office  entails  with  the 
ease  of  a  man  thirty  years  his  junior. 

Mr.  Otis  married,  in  1864,  Amanda  M., 
daughter  of  Ambrose  Cornwell,  of  Henri- 
etta, New  York.  Mrs.  Otis  died  in  1909. 
They  were  the  parents  of  one  child,  Mary 
S.,  widow  of  Fred  W.  Baker,  of  Roches- 
ter. 


GREENE,  Myron  W.,    " 
Banker. 

Myron  W.  Greene,  who  conducts  a  pri- 
vate banking  and  investment  business  in 
Rochester  and  acts  as  executor,  adminis- 
trator and  trustee  of  estates  and  trust 
funds,  has  gained  distinction  in  financial 
circles,  and  is  a  representative  of  one  of 
the  oldest  and  most  prominent  American 
families.  He  is  the  author  of  a  family 
genealogy  from  1639  to  1891,  which  was 
published  in  1891  by  the  Narragansett 
Historical  Register.  His  grandfather, 
Nathan  Greene,  married  Maria  Greene,  a 
descendant  of  John  Greene,  of  Warwick, 


Rhode  Island,  to  which  line  belongs  Gen- 
eral Nathaniel  Greene,  hero  of  the  War 
of  the  Revolution  and  contemporary  with 
General  George  Washington. 

John  Greene,  of  Quidnessett,  Rhode 
Island,  was  fifteenth  in  descent  from  Lord 
Alexander  de  Greene  de  Boketon,  who 
received  his  titles  and  estates  A.  D.  1202, 
head  and  founder  of  the  "Greene  line;" 
ninth  in  descent  from  Sir  Henry  Greene, 
Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England,  who  died 
in  1370;  and  on  the  "Capeteian  line"  was 
twenty-fifth  in  descent  from  Robert  the 
Strong,  made  Duke  de  France  in  A.  D. 
861 ;  twenty-second  from  King  Hugo 
Capet ;  and  nineteenth  from  Hugh  de 
Vermandois,  the  great  crusader.  In  the 
Revolutionary  War  Samuel  Greene,  of 
Rhode  Island,  sent  eight  sons  into  the 
war,  a  record  no  one  else  ever  equalled, 
and  Joseph  Greene,  of  New  York,  volun- 
teer, twelve  years  old,  was  the  youngest 
soldier  of  the  same  war.  The  Greene 
family,  so  closely  identified  with  the  early 
history  of  Rhode  Island,  have  enjoyed 
more  State  and  civic  honors  than  any 
other  family  within  her  borders,  there 
being  more  Greenes  in  the  State  than  any 
other  name  whatever  and  extending  over 
a  period  of  nearly  three  hundred  years  of 
American  history  not  one  has  been  found 
to  have  ever  been  convicted  of  crime  and 
not  one  who  was  a  drunkard.  The  Greene 
coat-of-arms,  with  the  motto.  Nee  Timeo, 
Nee  Sperno,  consists  of  three  bucks  trip- 
pant  on  an  azure  field,  as  it  was  borne  by 
the  founder  of  the  line.  The  crescent,  a 
mark  of  cadency,  denoting  the  line  of  a 
second  son,  is  used  by  all  the  Warwick 
and  Quidnessett  Greenes. 

Ira  W.  Greene,  father  of  Myron  W. 
Greene,  was  a  native  of  Monroe  county. 
New  York,  born  at  Greene's  Corners,  now 
Mann's  Corners,  in  the  township  of  Rush, 
on  May  2,  1832.  He  was  a  man  of  dis- 
tinguished presence  and  commanding  in- 


278 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


fluence  in  politics,  although  never  aspir- 
ing to  or  accepting  office.  For  twenty- 
five  years  he  was  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday  school  and  president  of  the  board 
of  trustees  of  the  Rush  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  his  father,  Nathan  Greene, 
having  settled  on  a  farm  in  this  county 
in  1804.  For  many  years  Ira  W.  Greene 
carried  on  business  as  a  farm,er  and  dealer 
in  live  stock,  coal  and  produce,  and  was 
in  the  Eagel  Bank  of  Rochester,  New 
York,  from  1851  to  1853,  which  later 
merged  into  the  Traders'  National  Bank. 
He  was  also  propagator  and  grower  of 
choice  field  seeds  and  figured  for  many 
years  as  a  respected  and  worthy  resident 
of  this  county,  being  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  which  occurred  on  June  22,  1905, 
one  of  the  oldest  native  sons  of  the  coun- 
ty. On  the  distaff  side  Myron  W.  Greene 
is  also  a  descendant  from  an  old  pioneer 
family  of  Western  New  York.  His 
mother,  who  bore  the  maiden  name  of 
Hester  Ann  Ruliffson,  was  born  in  Henri- 
etta, Monroe  county,  daughter  of  Isaac 
RulifJson.  She  died  in  April  of  1866. 
The  father  was  twice  married  and  by  his 
first  wife  had  three  children,  two  sons  and 
one  daughter,  and  by  his  second  wife  he 
had  two  sons  and  one  daughter. 

Myron  W.  Greene  was  born  in  district 
No.  6,  in  the  township  of  Rush,  Monroe 
county,  New  York,  November  26,  1864. 
Provided  with  good  educational  privi- 
leges he  was  graduated  from  the  Genesee 
Wesleyan  Seminary  at  Lima,  New  York, 
in  the  class  of  1887  and  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Genesee  Lyceum  Society.  He 
became  an  active  member  and  is  now 
president  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  this 
society.  He  is  treasurer  of  the  Alumni 
Gymnasium  Association  of  the  Genesee 
Wesleyan  Seminary  and  further  retains 
his  interest  in  the  seminary  by  maintain- 
ing a  scholarship  prize  and  prize  for  pub- 
lic speaking  to  members  of  the  Lyceum 


Society.  As  a  student  in  the  Syracuse 
University,  which  he  entered  in  1887,  he 
pursued  a  scientific  course  and  was  can- 
didate for  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Science  in  the  class  of  1891.  In  1888  he 
entered  Williams  College,  Massachusetts, 
in  the  class  of  1890.  His  broad  intellec- 
tual culture  well  qualified  him  for  an  im- 
portant position  in  the  business  world, 
and  following  the  completion  of  his  edu- 
cation he  entered  the  Bank  of  Honeoye 
Falls,  Monroe  county.  New  York,  where 
he  remained  until  1892,  when  he  became 
connected  with  the  Rochester  Trust  & 
Safe  Deposit  Company,  with  which  he 
remained  until  1899,  when  he  established 
a  business  on  his  own  account  for  the 
conduct  of  a  private  banking  and  invest- 
ment business.  He  deals  in  government 
and  municipal  bonds,  and  has  gained  for 
himself  a  reputation  as  a  financier  of  keen 
discernment  and  sound  judgment. 

Mr.  Greene  is  a  member  of  the  Invest- 
ment Bankers'  Association  of  America, 
the  Zeta  Psi  (College)  Fraternity  of 
North  America,  of  which  he  was  grand 
officer  in  1909-1910.  During  his  term  of 
office  he  visited  practically  every  college 
of  importance  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada,  delivering  numerous  public  ad- 
dresses, and  presiding  at  the  International 
Convention  held  in  San  Francisco  in 
1910.  He  has  been  president  of  the  Zeta 
Psi  Alumni  Association  of  Rochester, 
New  York,  since  the  date  of  its  organiza- 
tion in  1905 ;  vice-president  of  Williams 
College  Alumni  Association  of  Rochester, 
New  York,  1913-14-15  ;  vice-president  of 
Greene  Family  Association,  1913-14-15; 
president  of  RuliflFson-Wells  Family  As- 
sociation, 1914-15.  He  also  belongs  to 
the  Frank  R.  Lawrence  Lodge,  No.  797, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  Hamil- 
ton Chapter,  No.  62,  Royal  Arch  Masons. 
He  is  a  worthy  representative  of  an  hon- 
ored family,  patriotic  in  his  devotion  to 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


American  interests,  and  loyal  in  his  sup- 
port of  those  measures  and  movements 
which  he  deems  beneficial  to  the  city, 
government  or  nation. 

On  April  27,  1900,  Mr.  Greene  was  mar- 
ried to  Nancy  Laura  Lancaster,  of  Lead- 
ville,  Colorado.  She  was  born  in  Lara- 
mie, Wyoming,  February  22,  1877,  daugh- 
ter of  George  W.  Lancaster.  Unto  this 
marriage  have  been  born  the  following 
named:  Lancaster  Myron,  born  Febru- 
ary 21,  1901 ;  Norvin  Rulilifson,  born  Sep- 
tember 13. 1902 ;  Zeta  Priscilla,  born  March 
2,  1904;  Nathan  Ira,  born  March  6,  1906; 
and  Myron  Wesley  (2nd),  born  Novem- 
ber I,  1911. 


BELDEN,  Alvin  Jackson, 

Man  of  Large  Affairs. 

The  true  measure  of  Alvin  Jackson 
Belden,  of  Syracuse,  New  York,  is  clearly 
indicated  by  the  designations  he  succes- 
sively earned  as  he  passed  along  the  road 
of  commercial  elifort  —  executive,  iron- 
master, railroad  and  canal  builder,  con- 
structor of  public  works,  financier,  capi- 
talist—  ever  and  always  a  man  of  big 
aflfairs.  Greatness  cannot  emanate  from 
pettiness,  neither  can  broad  comprehen- 
sion meet  narrow  perspective.  The  life 
of  Alvin  Jackson  Belden  has  been  occu- 
pied with  accomplishments  of  magnitude, 
in  the  main  the  outcome  of  his  own  in- 
dividual ability  and  application,  but  to 
some  extent,  perhaps,  due  to  heredity. 

The  ancestral  records  of  the  Belden 
family  cover  many  distinguished  lives, 
Alvin  Jackson  Belden  being  in  direct 
lineal  descent  from  Sir  Francis  Baildon, 
who  was  knighted  at  the  coronation  of  James 
I.,  and  whose  son,  Richard  Belden,  in 
1638  emigrated  from  England,  landing  in 
due  course  on  American  soil,  and  settling 
in  Wethersfield,  Connecticut.  Tracing 
still  farther  back,  it  appears  that  Belden 


is  a  place  name,  and  the  family  of  ancient 
English  origin.  Bayldon,  or  Baildon 
Common,  is  a  chapelry  in  the  West 
Riding  of  Yorkshire ;  Baildon  was  in  the 
Angle  kingdom  of  Diera,  A.  D.  550, 
whence  came  the  immortal  youths  seen 
by  Gregory  at  Rome,  and  it  has  been  the 
seat  of  the  Baildon-Bayldon-Baylden-Bel- 
ding-Belden  family  since  the  time  of  King 
John.  Baildon  Hall  is  still  in  a  good  state 
of  preservation.  The  hall  was  built 
sometime  during  the  fifteenth  century, 
and  alterations  were  effected  in  1660  by 
Francis  Baildon,  cousin  of  Richard  Bel- 
den. 

The  patronymic  has  during  the  cen- 
turies been  variously  written,  Baildon, 
Bayldon,  Bayldonn,  Baylden,  Belding, 
and  Belden  being  some  of  the  variations. 
Richard  Belden,  the  progenitor  of  the 
family  in  America,  signed  his  name  to  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  the  crown,  March 
26,  1613,  Richard  Bayldonn — carrying  the 
extra  "n,"  though  on  his  arrival  in  Ameri- 
ca his  name  was  written  into  records,  pre- 
sumably at  his  direction,  as  Richard  Bayl- 
den. He  died  at  Wethersfield,  Connecti- 
cut, in  1655,  and  among  the  eft'ects  men- 
tioned in  his  will  was  rapier,  or  gentle- 
man's sword,  a  weapon  for  which  he 
could  have  found  small  use  in  Wethers- 
field, and  was  doubtless  a  relic  of  his 
early  days,  indicating  his  aristocratic  line- 
age. 

In  the  annals  of  the  Belden  family  of 
the  many  generations  between  that  of 
Richard  Belden,  of  Wethersfield,  and  the 
present  are  contained  many  records  of 
honorable  connection  with,  and  partici- 
pation in,  national,  civic  and  commercial 
afifairs;  many  Beldens  were  soldiers,  one 
of  particular  historic  interest  to  the  family 
having  been  Elisha  Belden  who  served 
the  State  and  Nation  during  three  wars, 
including  the  Revolutionary  War  of  1775  ; 
another,    Elisha,    son    of    the    aforemen- 


280 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tioned  namesake,  was  a  noted  builder  of 
sailing  vessels  for  foreign  trade  in  the 
early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century ; 
other  members  of  the  family  have  been 
of  Judiciary,  the  Legislature,  House  of 
Congress,  et  cetera.  An  uncle  of  Mr. 
Alvin  Jackson  Belden  was  the  Hon. 
James  Jerome  Belden,  whose  successful 
execution  of  many  mammoth  public 
works  within  the  State  of  New  York  and 
other  parts  of  the  country  brought  him 
conspicuously  before  the  "public  eye"  of 
the  Nation.  He  was  twice  honored  by 
election  to  the  mayoral  chair  of  the  city 
of  Syracuse,  and  for  three  terms  sat  in 
the  Legislative  House  of  the  Nation. 

Enough  has  been  written  in  the  fore- 
going to  indicate  the  possibility  that  his 
heredity  had  some  bearing  on  the  capac- 
ity of  Alvin  Jackson  Belden  to  handle 
affairs  of  magnitude  and  moment ;  and 
certainly  an  example  was  prominently 
before  him  during  the  greater  part  of  his 
life — in  the  achievements  of  his  father, 
Augustus  Cadill  Belden,  a  business  man 
of  considerable  note;  but  chief  credit  for 
the  present  standing  of  Alvin  Jackson 
Belden  in  financial  and  industrial  circles 
is  due  to  Alvin  Jackson  Belden,  who  from 
his  very  initiation  into  commercial  affairs 
indicated  the  quality  within  him. 

Born  in  Pompey,  Onondaga  county, 
New  York,  October  lo,  1848,  son  of  Au- 
gustus Cadill  and  Rozelia  (Jackson)  Bel- 
den, Alvin  Jackson  Belden  commenced 
his  education  in  the  schools  of  Geddes, 
later  proceeding  to  the  Walnut  Hill 
Academy  at  Geneva,  New  York,  from 
which  academic  institution  he  graduated 
in  1866.  Electing  to  follow  a  business  life 
rather  than  a  professional  career,  influ- 
enced in  his  decision  maybe  by  the  char- 
acteristic which  later  became  so  strongly 
evident  in  him.  i.  e.,  his  broadness  of 
view  on  all  questions,  he  applied  himself 
with  energy  to  his  initial  industrial  oc- 
cupation which  had  connection  with  the 


iron  business  of  the  Onondaga  Iron  Com- 
pany, manufacturers  of  pig  iron.  His  ex- 
ecutive ability  quickly  advanced  him  to 
posts  of  much  responsibility,  and  he  re- 
mained secretary  and  treasurer  of  the 
Onondaga  Iron  Company  for  many  years, 
in  fact  until  1881,  when  he  resigned  to 
undertake  the  organization  of  the  Phoenix 
Foundry  &  Machine  Company,  of  which 
corporation  Mr.  Belden  assumed  direc- 
tion in  his  capacity  as  secretary-treasurer. 
About  ten  years  later  he  decided  to  in- 
terest himself  actively  in  the  business  of 
railroad  and  public  works  contracting, 
and  this  sphere  of  activity  being  abso- 
lutely in  harmony  with  his  disposition, 
his  success  was  rapid  and  considerable. 
In  a  short  space  of  time  he  was  part 
owner  of  three  huge  contracting  com- 
panies whose  operations  had  assumed 
immense  proportions,  successfully  and 
simultaneously  undertaking  contracts  for 
important  national,  state  and  other  pub- 
lic works  of  great  magnitude  in  various 
parts  of  the  United  States.  One  of  the 
companies  executed  three  large  contracts 
for  sewer  building  in  Boston,  and  also 
carried  out  the  Erie  Canal  contract,  a 
project  the  cost  of  completing  which 
totalled  to  nine  million  dollars.  Mr.  Bel- 
den was  also  one  of  the  principals  of  the 
Rapid  Transit  Company,  of  Syracuse,  this 
company  doing  considerable  business 
within  the  State  of  New  York.  Through- 
out his  active  business  life,  Mr.  Belden 
has  demonstrated  his  capacity  for  great 
things.  One  biographer  wrote  of  him : 
"As  an  organizer  and  promoter,  he  occu- 
pied a  position  of  distinction  in  business 
circles,  and  in  all  his  ventures  met  with 
success  which  results  from  capable  man- 
agement, keen  foresight,  and  sound  judg- 
ment." And  the  best  evidence  of  his 
ability  lies  in  the  position  he  to-day  holds 
among  the  leading  "men  of  affairs"  of  the 
Empire  State. 

Mr.   Belden  is  a  member  of  the   First 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Presbyterian  Church  of  Syracuse,  and 
liberal  in  his  support  thereof;  in  fact  is 
the  donor  of  many  more  contributions  to 
religious  and  charitable  institutions  than 
appear  on  the  public  records,  a  large  pro- 
portion of  his  benefactions  remaining  un- 
announced in  accordance  with  his  wish. 
He  holds  membership  in  the  Citizen's 
Club,  the  Century  Club,  the  Onondaga 
Club,  and  the  Country  Club,  all  of  Syra- 
cuse. He  also  belongs  to  the  Transporta- 
tion Club  of  New  York,  and  to  the  New 
York  City  Branch  of  the  Automobile 
Club  of  America.  His  political  allegiance 
is  given  to  the  Republican  party. 

On  September  lo,  1862,  Mr.  Beldenwas 
married  to  Augusta,  daughter  of  Isaac  R. 
and  Susan  (Case)  Pharis,  of  Syracuse. 

Now,  having  retired  from  active  par- 
ticipation in  matters  of  business,  outside 
those  bearing  direct  relation  to  his  con- 
siderable vested  interests,  Mr.  Belden  is 
able  to,  and  does,  give  much  time  to  the 
enjoyment  of  a  pleasure  in  which  he 
could  not  indulge  during  the  busy  periods 
of  his  life — he  is  an  enthusiastic  sports- 
man and  is  often  seen  in  the  north  woods 
of  the  Adirondacks. 


DENISON.  Howard  P.,  M.  A.,  LL.  D., 

IjavryeT,  Professional  Instmctor. 

No  class  of  citizens  should  be  so  well 
prepared  for  public  life  as  the  lawyers, 
their  training  for  the  bar  fitting  them  for 
framing  or  executing  the  laws,  and  in 
these  lie  the  principles  of  government. 
The  work  of  the  legal  profession  is  to 
formulate,  to  harmonize,  to  regulate,  to 
adjust,  to  administer  those  rules  and  prin- 
ciples that  underlie  and  permeate  all 
government  and  society  and  control  the 
varied  relations  of  man.  As  thus  viewed 
there  attaches  to  the  legal  profession  a 
nobleness  that  cannot  but  be  reflected  in 
the  life  of  the  true  lawyer  who,  conscious 


of  the  greatness  of  his  profession  and 
honest  in  the  pursuit  of  his  purpose,  em- 
braces the  richness  of  learning,  the  pro- 
foundness of  wisdom,  the  firmness  of  in- 
tegrity and  the  purity  of  morals,  together 
with  the  graces  of  modesty,  courtesy  and 
the  general  amenities  of  life. 

Howard  P.  Denison,  of  Syracuse,  New 
York,  whose  reputation  as  a  patent  lawyer 
is  world  wide,  is  certainly  a  type  of  this 
class  of  lawyers,  and  as  such  he  stands 
among  the  most  eminent  members  of  his 
profession.  In  every  department  of  the 
law  he  is  well  versed,  having  a  very  ac- 
curate and  comprehensive  knowledge  of 
the  principles  of  jurisprudence,  but  he  has 
made  a  specialty  of  patent  law,  and  in 
this  line  has  won  a  most  desirable  and  en- 
viable position.  Cases  of  great  importance 
have  been  entrusted  to  his  care  and  he 
has  shown  that  he  is  fully  conpetent  to 
handle  the  intricate  problems  of  jurispru- 
dence involved  in  their  solution.  His 
keenly  analytical  mind  enables  him  to 
apply  to  the  point  in  litigation  the  prin- 
ciples of  jurisprudence  bearing  most 
closely  upon  it,  citing  authority  and  pre- 
cedents until  the  strength  of  his  case  is 
clearly  seen.  He  is  a  scion  of  several  old 
families.  His  paternal  grandmother  was 
a  member  of  the  Klock  family  of  Holland 
descent,  the  original  representative  of  the 
name  in  America  building  the  Klock  fort 
at  St.  Johnsville,  New  York,  in  1750.  In 
the  maternal  line  he  is  descended  from 
the  Bensons,  who  sailed  from  England  in 
1692  and  became  residents  of  Newport, 
Rhode  Island,  Where  the  family  and  its 
descendants  resided  for  several  genera- 
tions. His  great-great-grandfather,  Wil- 
liam Benson,  was  a  Baptist  clergyman, 
holding  many  important  pulpits  in  New 
England  ;  he  died  in  1818  and  is  buried  at 
Pomfret,  Connecticut.  His  great-uncle, 
John  Benson,  a  pronounced  abolitionist 
and  intimately  associated  with  his  cousin, 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


William  Lloyd  Garrison,  and  Wendell 
Phillips,  was  the  first  manufacturer  of 
silk  at  Paterson,  New  Jersey,  establish- 
ing that  industry  in  the  year  1844.  Mr. 
Denison  resided  with  Mr.  Benson  in 
1868. 

Howard  P.  Denison,  son  of  Le  Roy  W. 
Denison,  was  born  in  Parish,  Oswego 
county.  New  York,  May  28,  1859.  His 
childhood  and  earlier  youthful  years  were 
spent  in  Euclid,  New  York,  where  he 
acquired  his  elementary  education.  He 
continued  his  studies  at  Cazenovia  Acad- 
emy, which  he  entered  in  1876,  remained 
there  two  years,  then  entered  Greenwich 
Academy,  at  East  Greenwich,  Rhode 
Island,  and  there  prepared  for  college 
during  the  next  two  years.  After  his 
graduation  from  Greenwich  Academy  in 
1880,  he  was  for  a  period  of  two  years 
engaged  in  filling  the  position  of  principal 
of  a  grammar  school  at  Portland,  Con- 
necticut, and,  having  matriculated  at 
Wesleyan  University  in  1881,  with  the 
class  of  1885,  he  there  completed  his 
classical  education.  Following  this  he 
traveled  abroad  for  a  time,  taking  up  his 
residence  in  Syracuse,  New  York,  upon 
his  return,  and  has  been  closely  identified 
with  the  interests  of  that  city  since  that 
time.  After  a  thorough  and  comprehen- 
sive preparation,  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  at  Syracuse  in  1887.  His  studies  in 
this  direction  were  partly  pursued  in  the 
office  of  the  Hon.  Charles  H.  Duell.  later 
Commissioner  of  Patents,  and  judge  of 
United  States  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals 
for  the  District  of  Columbia,  with  whom 
he  formed  a  connection  in  1886  as  manag- 
ing clerk.  A  partnership  was  entered 
into  with  the  late  Cornelius  W.  Smith  in 
1888,  this  association  being  continued  with 
the  greatest  harmony  and  success  until 
the  death  of  Mr.  Smith  in  1899,  since 
which  time  Mr.  Denison  has  practiced 
alone.      Patent   law   is   one   of   the    most 


difficult  branches  of  the  legal  profession, 
requiring  a  most  extended  general  knowl- 
edge along  all  lines  of  enterprise  and 
progress  in  the  business  and  scientific 
lines.  No  man  was  better  qualified  for 
the  conduct  of  this  important  branch  of 
litigation  than  Mr.  Denison.  The  number 
of  patents  he  has  taken  out  runs  into 
the  thousands,  these  including  some  of  the 
largest  patent  and  trade-mark  cases  ever 
brought  before  the  United  States  courts. 
At  Detroit  he  argued  the  famous  Harrow 
cases  before  the  United  States  courts  for 
the  defendants,  the  Eureka  Mower  Com- 
pany, in  an  action  brought  by  the  Na- 
tional Harrow  Trust.  The  case  involved 
the  question  of  infringement  in  over 
seventy  cases  brought  upon  the  same 
patent  in  New  York,  West  Virginia  and 
Michigan.  So  thoroughly  was  the  court 
convinced  at  the  close  of  his  argument 
that  there  was  no  infringement  that  the 
cases  were  all  decided  for  the  defendants 
and  the  bill-of-complaint  dismissed. 

The  press  at  that  time  said:  "It  is 
quite  unusual  for  a  court  to  dismiss  a  bill 
in  a  patent  case  at  the  close  of  the  argu- 
ment. It  is  only  done  in  rare  cases  where 
the  court  is  convinced  that  it  is  absolutely 
right  in  the  decision."  Perhaps  no  better 
indication  of  the  ability  and  well  de- 
veloped talents  of  Mr.  Denison  can  be 
given  than  by  quoting  from  one  of  the 
Supreme  Court  justices  of  the  state,  who, 
in  writing  to  President  Roosevelt  recom- 
mending the  appointment  of  Mr.  Denison 
for  the  position  of  judge  of  the  United 
States  District  Court,  said :  "He  posseses 
splendid  abilities,  great  legal  learning, 
especially  in  the  law  patents,  and  in 
patent  litigation  ;  he  is  a  man  of  integrity, 
is  the  soul  of  honor,  is  an  ardent  and  in- 
fluential Republican,  is  always  loyal  to 
his  friends,  possesses  a  judicial  tempera- 
ment and  is  a  man  of  untiring  industry 
and  energy.     I  believe  that  he  is  in  every 


283 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


essential  remarkably  qualified  for  the  dis-      of  his  professional  work  precluding  this, 


charge  of  the  duties  of  that  office."  The 
"Mercantile  and  Financial  Times,"  in  com- 
menting upon  his  candidacy  said:  "Mr. 
Denison  has  successfully  practiced  this 
branch  of  his  profession  for  fifteen  years 
and  is  the  lecturer  on  patent  law  in  the 
Law  College  of  the  Syracuse  University. 
Of  this  qualification,  therefore,  for  the 
position  with  which  his  name  is  men- 
tioned there  can  be  no  question,  and  in 
the  event  of  his  appointment  he  would 
acquit  himself  in  a  manner  to  justify  his 
high  reputation  for  ability  and  the  confi- 
dence reposed  in  him.  In  view  of  these 
facts  and  others  which  we  could  mention 
were  it  necessary  to  know  we  are  but 
echoing  popular  sentiment  when  we  say 
it  is  sincerely  hoped  Mr.  Denison  will 
receive  the  appointment." 

As  a  lecturer  on  Patent  Law  in  the 
Law  College  of  Syracuse  University,  Mr. 
Denison  has  earned  well  merited  com- 
mendation for  many  years,  and  he  is  the 
founder  of  and  maintains  the  Denison 
Declamation  prizes  in  that  institution. 
The  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  was  con- 
ferred in  1905  upon  him  by  Wesleyan 
University,  of  Middletown,  Connecticut, 
and  also  by  Iowa  Wesleyan  University, 
at  Mount  Pleasant,  Iowa,  in  1900,  and 
Syracuse  University  conferred  upon  him 
in  1915  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  This  latter 
degree  affords  him  great  gratification  for 
the  reason  that  it  was  conferred  by  the 
university  of  his  home  city,  under  whose 
shadows  he  has  lived  for  twenty-five 
years. 

Mr.  Denison  has  a  beautiful  country 
estate  at  Skaneateles,  New  York,  where 
he  spends  with  his  family  a  large  portion 
of  each  year.  He  is  a  member  of  the  "Tri- 
lon  Fish  and  Game  Club"  of  Canada.  He 
was  elected  a  trustee  of  Cazenovia  Semi- 
nary in  October,  1900.  His  fraternal  affili- 
ation is  not  an  extensive  one,  the  demands 


and  is  limited  to  membership  in  the  Alpha 
Delta  Phi  college  fraternity.  His  pro- 
fessional membership  is  with  the  Ameri- 
can Bar  Association  and  the  New  York 
State  Bar  Association. 

Mr.  Denison  married,  October  14,  1886, 
Bessie  E.  Hildreth,  of  Herkimer,  New 
York,  a  daughter  of  the  late  Henan  J. 
Hildreth,  and  a  descendant  of  one  of  the 
oldest  families  of  Herkimer  county. 
Three  children  have  blessed  this  union, 
one  daughter,  Marian  H.,  and  two  sons, 
H.  Hildreth  and  Winthrop  W.  The  daugh- 
ter (recently  deceased)  became  the  wife  of 
Eugene  A.  Thompson,  who  is  associated 
with  Mr.  Denison  in  his  law  practice.  He 
has  two  granddaughters :  Mary  Jane 
Thompson  and  Marian  Denison  Thomp- 
san.  The  son,  H.  Hildreth,  died  in  1908. 
Winthrop  Will  is  a  student  at  Lawrence- 
ville  School,  New  Jersey. 


HOBART,  Henry  Lee, 

Merchant  and  Charcbman. 

For  thirty-four  years  Mr.  Hobart  was 
successfully  engaged  in  business  in  New 
York  City,  as  head  of  Henry  L.  Hobart 
&  Company,  but  on  January  i,  1914,  he 
retired  from  active  business  pursuits  and 
has  since  devoted  himself  to  those  insti- 
tutions of  philanthropy  and  the  church 
with  which  he  had  long  taken  more  than 
a  passive  interest.  Those  thirty-four 
years  do  not  cover  entirely  the  period  of 
his  business  activity,  since  prior  to  1880 
he  had  Iseen  variously  connected  with  the 
business  world.  He  is  a  son  of  James 
Thomas  and  Anne  (Newell)  Hobart,  who 
were  prominent  in  the  State  of  Massa- 
chusetts, where  they  resided.  They  trace 
their  line  of  descent  from  Edmund  Ho- 
bart. who  settled  in  Hingham,  Massa- 
chusetts, in  1633.  Another  descendant  of 
this   ancestor  was   John    Henry   Hobart, 


284 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


rector  of  Trinity  Church  and  bishop  of 
New  York. 

Henry  Lee  Hobart  was  born  in  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio,  July  26,  1845,  and  is  now 
(1916)  approaching  the  seventy-first  anni- 
versary of  his  birth.  His  early  youth  was 
spent  in  this  city,  but  in  1857  he  came  to 
New  York  City  and  there  completed  his 
studies  at  the  "Free  Academy,"  now 
known  as  the  College  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  a  member  of  the  class  of  1866,  but 
not  a  graduate.  Upon  leaving  college  he 
engaged  in  business,  and  became  one  of 
the  solid,  conservative  merchants  of  New 
York  City.  In  1880  he  founded  the  firm 
of  Henry  L.  Hobart  &  Company,  dealers 
in  sugar,  molasses  and  rice,  and  until  his 
retirement,  January  i,  1914,  was  the  hon- 
ored head  of  that  well  known  house.  Al- 
though yielding  to  no  citizen  in  loyalty 
or  interest,  Mr.  Hobart  has  taken  no 
part  in  public  afifairs  beyond  the  per- 
formance of  the  duties  devolving  upon  all 
alike,  never  accepting  nor  desiring  public 
office.  His  chief  interest  has  been  in 
Trinity  Church  and  her  activities  and  in 
the  various  philanthropies  particularly 
appealing  to  his  generous,  sympathetic 
nature,  and  in  these  he  bears  a  promi- 
nent part. 

He  became  a  member  of  Trinity  parish 
in  1895  and  has  since  been  one  of  her 
faithful,  useful  sons.  He  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  The  Trinity  Church  Association, 
and  the  Diocesan  Missionary  Committee ; 
a  vice-president  of  the  New  York  Bible 
and  Common  Prayer  Book  Society;  trus- 
tee of  the  Seaman's  Church  Institute,  of 
the  Sheltering  Arms,  and  of  the  New 
York  Training  School  for  Deaconesses ; 
secretary  of  the  Cathedral  League,  and  a 
vestryman  of  St.  Luke's  Church  at  East- 
hampton.  Long  Island,  his  summer  home. 
He  holds  membership  in  The  Pilgrims', 
the  Union  League,  Church  and  Independ- 
ent clubs  of  New   York,   the   Maidstone 


Club  of  Easthampton,  the  Down  Town 
Association,  and  the  New  York  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce.  These  affiliations  show 
Mr.  Hobart  to  be  a  man  of  broad-minded 
nature,  diligent  in  his  business  prusuits, 
strong  in  his  church  activity,  and  enjoy- 
ing social  fellowship  through  his  club 
memberships.  Mr.  Hobart  has  his  sum- 
mer home  at  Easthampton,  Long  Island, 
known  as  "Sommarina,"  where  he  spends 
seven  months  of  the  year. 

Mr.  Hobart  married  in  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  November  15,  1888,  Marie 
Elizabeth  JefTerys,  a  sketch  of  whom  fol- 
lows, born  in  Liege,  Belgium,  February 
16,  i860,  a  daughter  of  Charles  Peter 
Beauchamp  and  Elizabeth  (Miller)  Jef- 
ferys.  Mrs.  Hobart  is  the  author  of  The 
St.  Agnes  Mystery  Plays.  Children: 
Alargaret  Jefiferys,  a  sketch  of  whom  fol- 
lows ;  Rosamond,  born  August  9,  1892, 
died  July  16,  1908;  Charles  Jefferys,  born 
December  30,  1894,  died  June  14,  1910; 
Elizabeth  Miller,  born  August  10,  1896, 
died  October  17,  1896. 


HOBART,  Marie  Elizabeth  (JefTerys), 
Authoress. 

Of  social  prominence  in  New  York,  the 
city  which  claims  her  as  a  resident,  and 
equally  so  in  Philadelphia,  the  city  of  her 
kith  and  kin,  Mrs.  Hobart  has  through 
her  published  volumes  won  further  dis- 
tinction as  an  authoress.  She  is  a  daugh- 
ter of  Charles  Peter  Beauchamp  Jefiferys, 
a  civil  engineer  of  Philadelphia,  and  his 
wife,  Elizabeth  (Miller)  Jefiferys. 

Marie  Elizabeth  Jefiferys  was  born  in 
Liege.  Belgium,  February  i6,  i860,  her 
American  parents  returning  to  the  United 
States  with  their  infant  daughter  the  fol- 
lowing June.  Her  maidenhood  was 
passed  in  Philadelphia,  her  education 
carefully  guided  by  private  tutors  in  her 
own  home.     Her  tastes,  strongly  literary. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRArHY 


were  given  full  rein,  her  environment, 
family  tradition  and  station  favoring  a 
literary  career  did  she  choose  to  pursue  it. 
Although  she  wrote  and  published  sev- 
eral years  before,  it  was  not  until  1904 
that  her  first  published  volume,  "Lady 
Catechism  and  the  Child,"  appeared,  fol- 
lowed in  1905  by  "The  Little  Pilgrims  of 
the  Book  Beloved."  She  published  the 
"Vision  of  St.  Agnes  Eve,"  in  1906; 
"Athanasius"  in  1909  ;  "The  Sunset  Hour" 
in  191 1  ;  and  "The  Great  Trail"  in  1913. 
The  critics  have  dealt  most  kindly  with 
these  books  and  assigned  Mrs.  Hobart's 
writings  an  honored  place  in  the  litera- 
ture of  her  country.  She  is  a  member  of 
Trinity  Parish,  New  York  City.  She  was 
married  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania,  November  15,  1888, 
to  Henry  Lee  Hobart,  of  previous  men- 
tion. 


HOB  ART,  Margaret  JefFerys, 

Anthoresa. 

The  eldest  daughter  of  Henry  Lee  and 
Marie  Elizabeth  (Jefiferys)  Hobart,  whose 
useful  lives  have  ever  been  her  inspira- 
tion and  her  guide,  Miss  Hobart  in  her 
own  right  has  won  an  assured  position  in 
church  and  literary  circles. 

She  was  born  in  New  York  City,  De- 
cember I,  1889.  After  preparation  at  the 
Brearley  School,  New  York  City,  and 
graduation  in  1907,  she  entered  Bryn 
Mawr  College,  Pennsylvania,  whence  she 
was  graduated  with  the  Bachelor  of  Arts 
degree,  class  of  191 1.  From  the  year  of 
her  graduation  until  the  present  (1916), 
Miss  Hobart  has  been  assistant  to  the 
educational  secretary.  Church  Missions 
House,  New  York,  and  during  1912-14 
was  librarian  of  the  Church  Missions 
House.  She  is  a  member  of  Trinity  Par- 
ish, The  Bryn  Mawr  Club  of  New  York 
City,  and  various  church  and  social  or- 
ganizations. 

Miss   Hobart  published  in   1912   (with 


Arthur  R.  Gray)  "Japan  Advancing — 
Whither?"  and  the  same  year  under  her 
own  name,  "Institutions  Connected  with 
the  Japan  Mission  of  the  American 
Church  ;"  "Voices  from  Everywhere"  was 
published  in  1914;  "Then  and  Now"  the 
same  year. 


ABBOTT,  John  Beach, 

Lianyer,  Editor. 

Of  distinguished  American  ancestry 
and  son  of  a  cultured,  scholarly  father, 
John  B.  Abbott,  after  exhaustive  prepara- 
tion in  private  school,  academy  and  uni- 
versity embraced  his  honored  father's 
profession  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1880.  Since  that  time  he  has  con- 
tinuously practiced  at  the  New  York  bar, 
a  member  of  both  the  Livingston  and 
Monroe  county  bars,  his  residence  at 
Geneseo,  his  offices  No.  814  Powers 
building,  Rochester.  Eminent  as  a  lawyer 
he  has  won  further  distinction  as  a  jour- 
nalist and  for  thirty  years  has  been  the 
spokesman  of  the  Democracy  of  Living- 
ston county,  as  editor  of  the  "Living- 
ston Democrat."  Public  honors  have 
been  bestowed  upon  him  including  the 
offices  of  judge  and  surrogate  of  Living- 
ston county,  and  postmaster  of  Geneseo. 
He  is  a  son  of  Adoniram  J.  and  Mary 
(Beach)  Abbott,  his  father  born  in  1819, 
died  at  Geneseo,  New  York,  in  1898,  a 
leading  lawyer  of  the  Livingston  county 
bar  for  half  a  century,  1848-1898. 

John  Beach  Abbott  was  born  at  Dans- 
ville,  Livingston  county.  New  York,  De- 
cember 31,  1854.  He  was  educated  in 
public  school,  Geneseo  Union  Free 
School,  Geneseo  Academy,  Le  Roy  Aca- 
demic Institute,  Geneseo  State  Normal 
School  and  the  University  of  Rochester. 
After  completing  his  university  course 
he  studied  law,  being  admitted  to  the 
New  York  State  bar  in  1880,  coming  to 
the  Monroe  bar  in  1901.  Six  years  after 
his   admission   he  became   editor  of  the 


286 


EXXYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


"Livingston  Democrat,"  published  at 
Geneseo,  New  York,  and  from  that  date 
(1886)  has  continued  its  editorial  head, 
also  maintaining  Geneseo  as  his  legal 
residence.  He  is  a  learned  and  able 
lawyer,  has  an  extensive  practice  at  both 
bars  and  is  highly  regarded  as  a  man  of 
honor  as  well  as  of  professional  strength. 
He  served  as  county  judge  and  surrogate 
of  Livingston  county  from  August  27 
to  December  31,  1914,  having  been  ap- 
pointed by  Governor  Martin  H.  McGlynn, 
county  judge  and  surrogate  of  the  county 
to  fill  a  vacancy.  Since  1903  he  has  been 
president  of  the  Livingston  County  Bar 
Association ;  is  a  member  of  the  Roches- 
ter Bar  and  New  York  State  Bar  asso- 
ciations. 

A  Democrat  in  politics  he  has  made 
the  "Livingston  Democrat"  a  powerful 
party  organ  and  is  recognized  as  a  party 
leader.  He  has  represented  his  district 
in  many  conventions  and  is  one  of  that 
inner  circle  which  dominates  district  and 
State  conventions,  and  has  made  the 
Democracy  of  Western  New  York  a 
power  which  the  Eastern  State  leaders 
must  reckon  with.  He  was  postmaster 
of  Geneseo,  1888-1890,  but  with  that 
exception  he  has  held  only  the  offices 
named,  those  being  of  a  purely  legal 
nature.  He  is  a  strong  and  effective 
orator  before  court,  jury  or  audience  and 
has  made  frequent  platform  appearances. 
As  an  editorial  writer  he  has  gained  State 
fame  and  is  a  powerful  advocate  for  any 
cause  he  espouses.  His  clubs  are  the 
Geneseo  and  Rifle  of  Geneseo,  his  college 
fraternity,  Alpha  Delta  Phi.  In  religious 
faith  he  is  a  Presbyterian. 

Mr.  Abbott  married,  August  29,  1878, 
at  LeRoy,  New  York,  Louise  M.,  daugh- 
ter of  Aloysius  and  Catherine  Schmit, 
her  father  a  lawyer  of  Barmen,  Rhenish 
Prussia,  Germany.  The  family  home  is 
at  Geneseo,  New  York. 


JOHNSON,  Frank  Verner, 
Lawyer. 

Frank  Verner  Johnson,  a  successful 
attorney  of  New  York  City,  was  born  at 
Bradford,  Vermont,  March  12,  1863.  His 
ancestor,  William  Johnson,  was  born  in 
Kent,  England,  according  to  tradition, 
and  was  an  early  settler  of  Charlestown, 
Massachusetts.  He  was  a  planter,  was 
admitted  a  freeman,  March  4,  1635,  and 
was  with  his  wife  Elizabeth  received  into 
the  Charlestown  church,  February  13, 
1635.  He  made  a  deposition,  now  on  file, 
December  29,  1657,  stating  his  age  as 
fifty-four  years,  from  which  we  learn  that 
he  was  born  in  1603.  In  early  family 
records  it  is  stated  that  "he  was  a  Puritan 
of  good  parts  and  education,  and  brought 
with  him  from  England  a  wife  and  child 
and  means."  He  died  December  9,  1677, 
his  widow  in  1685,  leaving  six  sons  and  a 
daughter. 

Joseph  Johnson,  son  of  William  and 
Elizabeth  Johnson,  was  born  in  Charles- 
town, and  baptized  there  by  Rev.  Thomas 
James,  February  12,  1637.  He  was  one 
of  the  founders  and  proprietors  of  Haver- 
hill, Massachusetts,  whither  he  and  his 
brother  John  removed  from  Charlestown. 
He  held  various  town  offices.  He  mar- 
ried (first)  Mary  Soatlie,  and  (second) 
in  1666,  Hannah,  daughter  of  Ensign 
Thomas  Tenney,  of  Rowley,  England. 

Thomas  Johnson,  son  of  Joseph  and 
Hannah  (Tenney)  Johnson,  was  born 
December  11,  1670,  in  Haverhill,  and  died 
February  18,  1742.  He  was  a  town 
officer,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Haver- 
hill North  Parish  Church,  of  which  he 
was  elected  deacon,  March  23,  1732,  and 
of  which  his  own  family  at  its  foundation 
constituted  a  fifth  of  the  membership.  He 
married.  May  i,  1700,  Elizabeth,  eldest 
daughter  of  Cornelius  and  Martha 
(Clough)   Page,  granddaughter  of  John 


287 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Clough,  of  Salisbury,  Massachusetts,  who 
came  from  London  in  1635  in  the  ship 
"Elizabeth."    She  died  June  12,  1752. 

Hon.  John  Johnson,  son  of  Deacon 
Thomas  and  Elizabeth  (Page)  Johnson, 
was  born  at  Haverhill,  North  Parish,  No- 
vember 15,  171 1,  and  was  one  of  the 
founders  and  earliest  settlers  of  Hamp- 
stead.  New  Hampshire,  formerly  a  part 
of  Haverhill.  He  procured  the  charter 
for  the  town  and  was  paid  his  expense 
by  vote  of  the  town.  May  30,  1750.  Gov- 
ernor Benning  Wentworth,  the  royal  gov- 
ernor, appointed  him  a  magistrate,  and  he 
was  one  of  the  justices  of  the  Court  of 
General  Sessions  at  Portsmouth  for  the 
Province  of  New  Hampshire.  He  died 
April  I,  1762,  leaving  five  surviving  sons, 
all  of  whom  adhered  to  the  cause  of  the 
patriots  during  the  Revolution.  He 
married  (first)  Sarah  Haynes,  and 
(second)  Sarah  Morse.  Haynes  John- 
son, son  of  Hon.  John  and  Sarah 
(Haynes)  Johnson,  was  born  at  Hamp- 
stead.  New  Hampshire,  August  28,  1749. 
At  an  early  age  he  went  from  Hampstead 
with  his  elder  brother  Thomas  as  one  of 
the  first  settlers  in  that  part  of  the  Con- 
necticut Valley  known  then  as  the  "Coos" 
or  "Cohass"  country,  which  included  the 
Ox-bow  and  other  rich  meadows  in  the 
present  town  of  Haverhill,  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  Newbury  and  Bradford,  Ver- 
mont. The  town  of  Mooretown,  subse- 
quently Bradford,  received  its  charter  in 
1770,  and  at  an  annual  town  meeting. 
May  I,  1775,  it  was  voted  to  raise  a  stock 
of  ammunition  and  Haynes  Johnson  and 
Benjamin  Jenkins  were  made  "a  commit- 
tee to  look  out  and  procure  a  stock  of 
powder,  lead  and  flints."  While  actively 
engaged  in  his  duties  on  this  committee 
he  was  taken  ill  and  died  at  Concord, 
New  Hampshire,  September  2,  1775.  He 
married  Elizabeth  Elliot,  and  had  three 
children. 

Captain    Haynes    (2)    Johnson,   son   of 


Haynes  (i)  and  Elizabeth  (Elliot)  John- 
son, was  born  August  13,  1775,  in  New- 
bury, Vermont,  and  died  November  i, 
1863.  He  settled  on  a  large  farm  on  the 
Connecticut  river,  in  the  town  of  Brad- 
ford, Vermont,  was  for  a  long  time  cap- 
tain of  the  Bradford  militia  company,  and 
was  all  his  life  prominent  in  town  and 
military  affairs.  He  and  his  wife  were 
members  of  the  Congregational  church  of 
Bradford.  He  married,  April  8,  1802, 
Jane,  daughter  of  Captain  Ezekiel 
Sawyer,  who  served  as  an  officer  in  the 
Revolutionary  army. 

Thomas  Johnson,  son  of  Captain 
Haynes  (2)  and  Jane  (Sawyer)  John- 
son, was  born  December  13,  1816,  at 
Bradford,  and  died  March  6,  1894.  He 
attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
town,  and  when  a  young  man  left  home 
to  work  in  Boston  and  Charlestown,  Mas- 
sachusetts. In  1856  he  purchased  and 
settled  on  the  large  river  farm  in  Brad- 
ford, adjoining  the  place  on  which  he 
was  born,  and  there  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  life.  The  local  newspaper,  at  the 
time  of  his  death,  said:  "Mr.  Johnson 
was  an  upright  man  in  all  his  dealings, 
and  was  one  of  the  most  respected  and 
substantial  citizens  of  Bradford.  He  was 
one  of  the  best  representatives  of  the  old 
class  of  citizens  who  made  Vermont  what 
it  is."  He  married,  February  12,  1862, 
Harriet  E.,  daughter  of  Christopher  and 
Emily  (Walker)  Avery,  of  Corinth,  Ver- 
mont, a  descendant  of  Captain  James  and 
Joanna  (Greenslade)  Avery,  who  were 
among  the  first  settlers  of  New  London, 
Connecticut.  Her  maternal  grandfather 
was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Revolution.  Chil- 
dren :  Frank  Verner,  mentioned  below ; 
Charles  Forster,  born  August  6,  1865 ; 
Herbert  Thomas,  January  27,  1872. 

Frank  Verner  Johnson  attended  the 
public  schools  af  his  native  town  and  the 
Bradford  Academy,  Vermont,  graduating 
in   the  class  of   1882.     He  then    entered 


EXCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Dartmouth  College  and  was  graduated  in 
the  class  of  1886  with  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Arts.  In  1S89  he  entered  the 
Law  School  of  Columbia  College  in  New 
York  City,  and  was  admitted  to  the  New 
York  bar  in  May,  1891.  For  many  years 
during  the  earlier  period  of  his  profes- 
sional career  he  was  the  New  York  attor- 
ney of  the  Travelers'  Insurance  Com- 
pany of  Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  de- 
voted a  large  part  of  his  time  to  the 
defense  of  negligence  actions  on  behalf 
of  policyholders  in  that  company.  He 
entered  upon  the  general  practice  of  law 
in  New  York,  and  has  been  especially 
successful  in  the  field  of  trial  attorney. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  New  York  Bar 
Association,  the  Association  of  the  Bar 
of  the  City  of  New  York,  the  New  York 
County  Lawyers'  Association,  the  Man- 
hattan Club  of  New  York,  the  Dartmouth 
College  Club  of  New  York,  the  Founders' 
and  Patriots'  Society,  and  of  several  col- 
lege fraternities.  He  is  a  communicant 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church.  He 
married,  April  19,  1893,  Evelyn  Webber, 
born  August  29,  1866,  daughter  of  Chris- 
topher and  Julia  (Cooper)  Webber,  of 
Rochester,  Vermont,  granddaughter  of 
Christopher  Webber,  Sr.,  a  lawyer  of 
Vermont.  Children,  born  in  New  York 
City:  Evelyn,  April  29,  1894;  Frances 
Virginia,  July  3,  1895,  died  in  August, 
1896. 


STRONG,  Augustus  H./ 

Scholar,    Author,    Theologian. 

Augustus  Hopkins  Strong,  scholar, 
author,  theologian,  son  of  Alvah  and 
Catherine  (Hopkins)  Strong,  was  born  in 
Rochester,  August  3,  1836.  He  is  of  pure 
Puritan  lineage,  his  ancestor.  Elder  John 
Strong,  of  the  Congregational  order,  hav- 
ing settled  in  Plymouth  in  1639  where  he 
passed   a   godly    life.     He   had    eighteen 

N  Y-Vol  IV-19  2i 


children  ;  his  eldest  son  had  fifteen.  In 
the  maternal  line,  descent  is  claimed  from 
Stephen  Hopkins,  who  came  over  in  the 
"Mayflower"  (q.  v.  sketch  of  Samuel  M. 
Hopkins).  Alvah  Strong,  the  father  of 
Augustus  H.  Strong,  was  born  July  18, 
1809,  and  died  April  20,  1885.  He  came 
to  Rochester  in  1821  ;  learned  the  printer's 
trade;  worked  in  the  Albany  "Evening 
Journal;"  became  proprietor  (chief)  of 
the  Rochester  "Democrat";  retired  from 
business  in  1859;  was  deacon  in  the  Bap- 
tist church  for  thirty  years ;  was  a 
founder  and  the  first  treasurer  of  the 
Rochester  Theological  Seminary.  He  was 
a  genial,  friendly,  quiet  man,  with  great 
interest  in  the  cause  of  education  and  in 
the  prosperity  of  his  church,  liberal  to  a 
fault  and  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him. 

Augustus  H.  Strong  received  his  pre- 
liminary education  in  the  schools  of  his 
native  city,  and  took  a  full  classical 
course  in  Yale  College,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  1857  with  high  standing 
as  a  scholar,  receiving  many  prizes  in 
English  composition,  and  the  gold  De- 
Forest  Medal  for  public  speaking.  Two 
years  later  he  was  graduated  from  the 
Rochester  Theological  Seminary,  of 
which  he  was  to  be  long  the  honored 
head.  He  spent  the  latter  portion  of  1859 
and  all  of  i860  in  pleasurable  and  improv- 
ing travel  in  Europe,  and  upon  his  return 
in  1861  he  was  ordained  to  the  Baptist 
ministry  with  his  first  pastorate  that  of 
the  First  Baptist  Church  in  Haverhill, 
Massachusetts,  from  1861  until  1865. 
Thence  he  was  called  to  the  First  Church 
of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  where  he  remained 
until  1872.  In  both  these  charges  he  was 
notably  distinguished  for  the  zeal  and 
fidelity  with  which  he  discharged  his 
pastoral  duties  and  for  the  clearness, 
strength  and  spirituality  of  his  pulpit 
utterances  as  well  as  for  the  vital  Chris- 
tianity that  informed  them,  the  sincerity, 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


skill  and  valor  with  which  he  expounded 
its  doctrines,  and  this  without  bigotry 
or  the  mere  delight  of  belligerency.  He 
was  the  honorable  and  enlightened  inter- 
preter of  his  creed,  and  while  still  a 
young  man  he  was  eminent  as  a  theo- 
logian. 

Thus  equipped  as  a  scholar  and  theo- 
logian he  accepted,  in  1872,  the  call  to  the 
presidency  and  the  Chair  of  Systematic 
Theology  in  the  newly  established 
Rochester  Theological  Seminary  and 
dedicated  himself  to  the  work  of  training 
young  men  for  the  gospel  ministry,  in  an 
institution  in  which  he  was  already  deeply 
interested  and  which  his  father  had  been 
largely  instrumental  in  establishing. 
Therein  he  served  continuously  for  forty 
years,  becoming  president  emeritus  in 
1912;  increasing  its  endowments  from 
less  than  $200,000  to  more  than  $2,000,- 
000;  securing  faculties,  numbers  of  the 
members  of  which  are  famous  in  their 
departments ;  enlarging  the  body  of 
students  and,  more  than  all,  impressing 
his  personality  and  teachings  upon  the 
licentiates,  many  of  whom  have  made 
their  mark  as  preachers  of  the  world,  so 
that  through  his  various  activities  in  its 
behalf  the  institution  ranks  among  the 
first  of  the  seminaries  of  the  great  Baptist 
denomination.  Meanwhile  he  has  been 
in  constant  request  and  has  generously 
responded  to  the  demands  made  upon  him 
for  sermons  on  ceremonial  occasions,  for 
missionary  objects,  and  for  many  secular 
addresses,  also  thereby  attaining  ex- 
tended repute  for  his  oratorical  gifts.  He 
has  been  distinctively  honored  by  high 
and  responsible  positions  in  the  church. 
Among  other  trusts  he  has  held  the  presi- 
dency of  the  American  Baptist  Mission- 
ary Union,  1892-95,  and  that  of  the  Gen- 
eral Convention  of  Baptists  of  North 
America,  1905-10.  Honorary  degrees 
from  leading  universities  have  been  freely 
conferred  upon  him — Doctor  of  Divinity 


by  Brown,  1870;  Yale,  1890;  Princeton, 
1896;  Doctor  of  Laws  by  Bucknell,  1891 ; 
and  Alfred,  1894;  and  Doctor  of  Litera- 
ture by  Rochester,  1912. 

Dr.  Strong  has  been  a  voluminous 
author.  His  principal  theological  work  is 
"Systematic  Theology"  published  in  1886, 
with  six  editions  ensuing  until  1903  and 
revised  and  enlarged  in  three  volumes  in 
1908.  It  is  a  standard  theological  work 
highly  regarded  and  adopted  as  a  text- 
book in  the  seminaries.  Its  principal 
propositions  are:  (i)  Conscience  in  man 
as  reflecting  the  holiness  of  God;  (2) 
Christ  as  God  manifested  in  bearing 
human  sin  and  redeeming  from  it;  (3) 
The  unity,  sufficiency  and  authority  of 
Scripture.  "Philosophy  and  Religion" 
appeared  in  1888;  "Christ  in  Creation  and 
Ethical  Monism"  in  1899.  "The  Great 
Poets  and  Their  Theology,"  a  splendid 
work  considered  from  both  the  philo- 
sophic and  the  literary  point  of  view,  was 
issued  in  1907.  The  "great  poets"  dis- 
cussed are  Homer,  Virgil,  Dante,  Shake- 
speare, Milton,  Goethe,  Wordsworth, 
Browning  and  Tennyson.  A  supplemen- 
tary work,  "American  Poets  and  Their 
Theology,"  treating  of  Bryant,  Emerson, 
Whittier,  Longfellow,  Poe,  Lowell, 
Holmes,  Lanier  and  Whitman — is  in 
press  as  this  is  written  (July,  1916). 
Other  printed  volumes  of  Dr.  Strong  are 
"Union  with  Christ,"  "Miscellanies,  His- 
torical and  Theological,"  "One  Hundred 
Chapel  Talks  to  Theological  Students" 
and  "Lectures  on  the  Books  of  the  New 
Testament." 

Dr.  Strong  is  prominent  in  scholarly 
activities,  member  of  the  Alpha  Chi 
(ministerial),  "Pundit"  (literary)  and  the 
Browning  (literary)  clubs,  to  each  of 
which  he  has  contributed  valuable  papers. 
He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Yale  Chapter 
of  Psi  Upsilon. 

Dr.  Strong  married  (first)  Harriet 
Louise  Savage,  of  Rochester,  November 


290 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


6,  1861.  She  died  July  8,  1914.  Of  this 
union  there  are  six  children,  viz:  i. 
Charles  Augustus,  born  November  28, 
1862 ;  psychologist ;  who  married  Bessie, 
daughter  of  John  D.  Rockefeller,  March 
22,  1889;  she  died  November  14,  1906.  2. 
Mary  Belle,  born  August  29,  1864;  mar- 
ried Dr.  Robert  G.  Cook,  June  2,  1892.  3. 
John  Henry,  born  December  7,  1866; 
pastor  of  the  Eutaw  Place  Baptist 
Church,  Baltimore,  Maryland ;  who  mar- 
ried Eliza  Livingston  McCreery,  June  20, 
1894.  4.  Kate  Louise,  born  February  10, 
1870;  who  married  Rev.  Charles  G. 
Sewell,  January  16,  1900.  5.  Cora  Har- 
riet, born  February  10,  1870,  unmarried. 
6.  Laura  Rockefeller,  born  June  19,  1884; 
who  married  Edmund  H.  Lewis,  June  i, 
1910.  Dr.  Strong  married  (second)  Mrs. 
Marguerite  G.  Jones,  of  Rochester,  Janu- 
ary I,  1915. 


WARFIELD,  Frederic  Parkman, 
Attorney-at-Lair. 

Frederic  Parkman  Warfield  is  a  native 
of  this  State,  where  his  grandfather  was 
a  pioneer  settler,  a  scion  of  a  very  old 
Maryland  family.  Richard  Warfield,  un- 
doubtedly of  English  parentage,  settled 
near  Annapolis,  Maryland,  in  1662.  His 
home  was  west  of  Crownsville,  Anne 
Arundel  county,  and  his  estate  bordered 
on  Round  Bay  of  Severn.  It  is  apparent 
that  he  was  a  man  of  means,  as  his  rent 
roll  shows  the  possession  of  various 
estates,  known  as  "Warfield,"  "Warfield's 
Right,"  "Hope,"  "Increase,"  "Warfield 
Plains,"  "Warfield  Forest,"  "Warfield 
Addition,"  "Brandy,"  and  "Warfield 
Range."  Some  of  these  came  through  the 
inheritance  of  his  wife.  In  1670  he  mar- 
ried Elinor,  daughter  of  Captain  John 
Browne,  of  London,  who  operated  mer- 
chant vessels  between  London  and  An- 
napolis. The  estates  known  as  "Hope" 
and  "Increase"  were  purchased  by  him  in 


1673  and  came  into  possession  of  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  Warfield.  Richard  War- 
field  was  a  member  of  the  vestry  of  St. 
Ann's  Church,  was  also  a  military  officer, 
and  died  in  1703-04.  His  third  son,  Alex- 
ander Warfield,  was  a  surveyor,  and 
received  lands  by  inheritance  from  his 
father,  one  mile  south  of  the  present 
Millersville.  This-  is  the  only  portion  of 
the  original  estate  now  held  by  descend- 
ants. Alexander  Warfield  was  on  a  com- 
mittee for  extending  Annapolis,  and  in 
1720  surveyed  a  tract  of  thirteen  hundred 
acres,  known  as  "Venison  Park,"  which 
he  divided  between  his  sons  Alexander 
and  Absolute.  He  was  also  the  owner 
of  "Benjamin's  Discovery,"  "Warfield's 
Addition,"  and  "Brandy."  He  married 
Sarah,  daughter  of  Francis  and  Elizabeth 
Pierpont,  who  had  an  estate  on  the 
Severn  river.  Their  youngest  son,  Rich- 
ard (2)  Warfield,  inherited  "Brandy" 
from  his  father  on  which  he  resided.  He, 
married  Sarah,  daughter  of  John  and 
Agnes  (Rogers)  Gaither,  and  they  had 
sons  Lancelot  and  Richard.  Richard  (3) 
Warfield,  son  of  Richard  (2)  and  Sarah 
(Gaither)  Warfield,  resided  at  "Brandy," 
which  he  inherited  jointly  with  his 
brother,  and  later  sold  to  the  brother  his 
share,  and  removed  to  Frederick  county, 
Maryland.  He  married  (first)  Nancy, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Gassoway,  and 
(second)  Anna  Delashmutt,  daughter  of 
Elias  and  Betsey  (Nelson)  Delashmutt, 
the  latter  a  daughter  of  John  Nelson,  of 
Frederick  county.  The  only  son  of  the 
second  marriage  was  Lindsey  Delash- 
mutt Warfield,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the 
War  of  1812,  serving  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  and  participating  in  the  battle  of 
Lundy's  Lane.  He  was  so  pleased  with 
interior  New  York  that  he  settled  there 
after  the  close  of  the  war,  locating  at 
Rushville,  Yates  county,  near  the  beau- 
tiful Canandaigua  Lake.  He  married 
Elizabeth  L'Amoreaux,  and  two  of  their 


291 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


sons  were  Union  soldiers  in  the  Civil 
War,  made  prisoners,  and  confined  in 
Libby  and  Andersonville  prisons.  One 
of  these,  Charles  H.,  was  among  the  first 
to  enlist  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and 
became  a  first  lieutenant  in  a  New  York 
infantry  regiment.  Another,  Myron 
Franklin,  was  born  in  1840  at  Rushville, 
and  lived  at  Prattsburg,  Steuben  county, 
New  York.  He  married,  October  25, 
1866,  Frances  Helena  Parkman  Green, 
daughter  of  Robert  and  Sophia  (Park- 
man)  Green,  granddaughter  of  Captain 
Henry  Green,  a  pioneer  of  Rushville,  born 
1762,  in  Killingly,  Connecticut,  and  de- 
scended from  Thomas  Green,  who  was 
among  the  first  settlers  of  Maiden,  Mas- 
sachusetts. They  had  children  :  Charles 
Henry,  born  1867;  Carrie  Isabelle,  Anna 
Delashmutt,  Richard  Nelson,  Frederic 
Parkman,  Augustus  Bennett,  born  July 
24,  1878;  the  last  named  a  captain  in  the 
United  States  regular  army. 

Frederic  Parkman  Warfield,  second 
son  of  Myron  Franklin  and  Frances 
Helena  Parkman  (Green)  Warfield,  was 
born  January  24,  1876,  in  Prattsburg, 
where  he  attended  the  public  schools,  and 
was  afterward,  for  five  years,  a  student  at 
Canandaigua  Academy.  Entering  Hamil- 
ton College  in  1892,  he  graduated  with 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  four  years 
later.  He  at  once  entered  the  Columbia 
Law  School  at  Washington,  D.  C.  (now 
Washington  University),  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  1899,  and  in  the  same 
year  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  the 
District  of  Columbia.  During  the  three 
years  that  he  was  a  law  student  he  was 
an  examiner  in  the  United  States  Patent 
Office  at  Washington.  In  1901  he  was 
admitted  to  the  New  York  bar,  and  since 
that  time  has  been  engaged  in  the  general 
practice  of  his  profession  in  New  York 
City,  making  a  specialty  of  patent  trade 
marks  and  corporation  law.  On  coming 
to  New  York  he  became  a  member  of  the 


firm  of  Duell,  Megrath  &  Warfield,  which 
firm  continued  four  years,  when  its  head, 
Charles  H.  Duell,  was  appointed  a  judge 
on  the  bench  of  the  District  of  Columbia, 
and  retired  from  the  firm.  This  then 
continued  as  Warfield  &  Duell,  including 
Mr.  Holland  S.  Duell.  When  Judge 
Duell  retired  from  the  bench  in  1907  he 
again  became  a  partner  of  the  firm,  which 
is  now  known  as  Duell,  Warfield  &  Duell. 
Mr.  Warfield  has  been  engaged  in  many 
important  law  cases  involving  large  finan- 
cial considerations,  notable  among  which 
was  "Bethlehem  Steel  Company  J'J.  Niles- 
Bement-Pond  Company,"  in  the  Circuit 
Court  of  Appeals.  In  acknowledgment 
of  his  efficient  services  in  this  case,  his 
English  clients,  namely,  the  English  As- 
sociation of  Steel  Makers,  presented  him 
with  a  beautiful  silver  cup,  bearing  the 
following  inscription : 

Presented  to 

Mr.  Frederic  P.  Warfield 

by  the 

English  High  Speed  Steel  Makers 

In  Grateful  Appreciation  of  his  Brilliant  advocacy 

in  the  case  of 
Bethlehem  Steel  Company  vs.  Niles-Bement-Pond 

Company 
The  successful  result  of  which  secured  the  con- 
tinued entry  of  their 
steel  into  the  markets  of  the 
United  States  of  America. 
March,   1910. 
"Try  it  and  See." 

With  his  firm,  Mr.  Warfield  has  figured 
in  many  very  celebrated  cases,  involving 
electrical  and  optical  arts.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  New  York  County 
Lawyers'  Association,  the  New  York 
State  Bar  Association,  the  American  Bar 
Association,  and  the  Association  for  the 
Advancement  of  Science.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Signa  Phi  fraternity,  the 
Phi  Beta  Kappa  Alumni  of  New  York 
City,  and  the  Colonial  Order  of  the 
Acorn,  whose  festal  occasions  have  been 
some  times  enlivened  by  his  services  as 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


toastmaster.  Mr.  Warfield  is  associated 
with  various  clubs,  including  Union 
League,  Apawamis  Country,  University, 
Down  Town,  St.  Nicholas,  Ardsley  Coun- 
try, and  the  Fort  Schuyler  Club  of  Utica, 
New  York.  He  emulates  the  military 
example  of  his  forbears  as  a  member  of 
Squadron  A,  a  cavalry  division  of  the 
National  Guard  State  of  New  York. 


WERNER,  Christopher  C, 
Lawyer. 

The  legal  career  which  Mr.  Werner 
has  pursued  with  distinguished  success 
began  in  1885  when  he  began  practice 
with  his  brother,  the  eminent  jurist,  Wil- 
liam E.  Werner,  and  afterward  with 
George  H.  Harris  as  Werner  &  Harris 
has  continued.  This  record  shows  con- 
tinuous practice  during  a  period  of 
thirty-one  years  and  no  lawyer  has  higher 
reputation.  He  is  greatly  admired  by 
the  judges  of  the  courts  before  whom  he 
practices  for  his  uniform  courtesy,  high 
professional  standards  and  his  evident 
desire  to  aid  the  court  in  the  administra- 
tion of  justice.  To  his  clients  he  gives 
devoted  service,  drawing  from  his  deep 
learning  and  rich  experience  in  their 
behalf.  He  is  a  man  of  inbred  courtesy 
and  gentlemanly  in  his  treatment  of 
friend  or  opponent,  his  genial  nature 
winning  him  many  friends  whom  his 
manly  qualities  ever  retain. 

He  is  a  son  of  William  and  Agnes 
(Koch)  Werner,  of  German  birth,  but 
married  in  the  United  States,  estabHsh- 
ing  their  home  in  Buffalo,  New  York. 
Four  children  were  born  to  William  and 
Agnes  Werner:  Judge  William  E. 
Werner,  the  eminent  jurist  whose  recent 
death  shocked  the  State  and  whose 
career  forms  an  interesting  and  valuable 
feature  of  this  work ;  Louise,  who  mar- 
ried John  Steinmiller,  of  Buffalo;  Lena, 
married  Carl  Betz,  whom  she  survived; 


and  Christopher  C,  to  whom  this  sketch 
is  dedicated. 

Christopher  C.  Werner  was  born  in 
Buffalo,  New  York,  November  27,  1859. 
After  extended  courses  in  public  and 
private  schools  in  Buffalo,  he  was 
variously  employed  until  reaching  his 
majority  when  he  began  the  study  of  law 
with  his  brother,  Judge  William  E. 
Werner,  of  Rochester.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  Erie  county  bar  in  Buffalo  and  on 
January  7,  1885,  began  practice  with  his 
brother  under  the  firm  name  of  Werner 
&  Werner.  That  association  continued 
for  ten  years  until  January  i,  1895,  when 
the  senior  partner  was  elevated  to  the 
Supreme  Bench.  Christopher  C.  Werner 
then  admitted  to  partnership  George  H. 
Harris,  a  young  man  who  had  studied 
under  Werner  &  Werner.  The  new  firm, 
Werner  &  Harris,  enjoyed  a  large  prac- 
tice from  the  beginning  and  as  the  years 
have  progressed  have  added  to  their  early 
prestige.  No  law  firm  at  the  Monroe 
county  bar  is  held  in  higher  esteem  and 
none  bear  their  honors  more  worthily. 
Mr.  Werner  is  a  member  of  the  Roches- 
ter Bar  Association,  is  a  member  of  lodge, 
chapter,  council  and  commandery  of  the 
Masonic  order.  His  club  is  the  Rochester 
and  in  all  these  bodies  he  is  highly 
esteemed,  his  friendly,  genial  nature  ex- 
panding under  the  social  influence  of 
friends  and  brethren.  In  political  faith  he 
is  a  Republican. 

Mr.  Werner  married,  November  16, 
1887,  Anna  Van  Marter,  of  Lyons,  New 
York.  They  are  the  parents  of  two 
daughters :    Jean  A.  and  Catherine. 


OVIATT,  Percival  DeWitt,   ^' 

Attorney-at-Law. 

As  an  active  member  of  the  New  York 
bar  practicing  in  Rochester  since  1901, 
Mr.  Oviatt  has  won  the  commendation 
of  his  associates  and  the  confidence  of  the 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


public  he  serves.  His  fifteen  years  of 
practice  have  brought  him  an  unusual 
meed  of  success  and  as  experience  has 
been  added  to  learning  and  ability,  he  has 
advanced  in  strength  as  an  advocate  and 
counselor,  his  docket  showing  that  in 
hard  fought  contests  of  legal  importance 
he  has  well  deserved  the  confidence 
reposed  in  him.  He  is  a  son  of  Wilson 
D.  (2)  Oviatt,  born  in  Rochester,  and  a 
grandson  of  Wilson  D.  (i)  Oviatt,  an 
early  settler  of  Rochester  who  owned  and 
operated  a  flour  mill  and  manufactured 
barrels  in  which  to  pack  the  product  of 
his  own  and  other  mills.  This  founder  of 
the  family  in  Rochester  was  a  champion 
of  law,  order  and  progress  in  the  rapidly 
growing  community  and  among  other 
service  he  rendered  was  assuming  control 
of  the  police  force  as  its  chief.  His  enter- 
prise as  a  business  man  was  a  contribut- 
ing factor  to  the  development  of  the  city, 
while  his  efiforts  in  behalf  of  public 
safety  gave  assurance  to  new  comers  that 
Rochester  was  to  be  the  abode  of  law  and 
security.  Wilson  D.  (2)  Oviatt  was  for  a 
number  of  years  connected  with  the 
James  Vick  Seed  House  of  Rochester, 
later  establishing  in  business  for  himself 
as  a  florist.  He  married  Caroline  Hankey, 
of  Canadian  birth. 

Percival  DeWitt  Oviatt,  son  of  Wilson 
D.  (2)  and  Caroline  (Hankey)  Oviatt, 
was  born  in  Rochester,  New  York,  April 
30,  1876.  He  obtained  his  preparatory 
and  classical  education  in  the  city  public 
schools,  Rochester  Free  Academy  and  the 
University  of  Rochester,  receiving  his 
Bachelor  of  Arts  at  graduation  from  the 
last  named  institution  with  the  class  of 
"98."  He  prepared  for  the  practice  of  his 
profession  at  Columbia  Law  School,  New 
York  City,  and  in  1900  was  graduated 
Bachelor  of  Laws  and  admitted  to  the 
Monroe  county  bar.  He  at  once  began 
practice  at  Rochester  and  is  there  well 


established,  serving  a  large  clientele  in 
all  courts  of  the  district.  He  formed  a 
partnership  with  S.  Wile  under  the  firm 
name  of  Wile  &  Oviatt,  A.  L.  Oilman  is 
also  now  a  member  of  the  firm,  their 
offices  are  at  No.  1232  Granite  Building. 
Mr.  Oviatt  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
order,  the  Knights  of  Pythias,  the  Roches- 
ter Bar  Association,  New  York  State  Bar 
Association,  the  American  Bar  Associa- 
tion, the  Rochester  Club  and  the  fra- 
ternity Delta  Psi. 

Mr.  Oviatt  married,  June  i,  1904,  Helen 
Louise  Moody,  of  Rochester,  and  they 
have  a  daughter,  Helen  Jean  Oviatt. 


FOLLMER,  Charles  Jennen, 

Manufacturer. 

After  the  Civil  War  closed  in  1865 
Charles  J.  Follmer,  then  in  his  sixteenth 
year,  but  a  veteran  Union  soldier,  was 
appointed  to  a  cadetship  at  West  Point 
in  recognition  of  his  services  as  drummer 
boy  and  orderly  to  General  Edwin  R. 
Biles  of  the  Ninety-ninth  Pennsylvania 
Volunteers.  But  the  lad  had  perhaps 
seen  enough  of  war,  or  there  may  have 
been  other  reasons  for  declining  the  ap- 
pointment. Had  he  not  done  so  the  com- 
mercial world  would  have  been  the  loser 
as  Mr.  Follmer  is  now  a  member  of  Foll- 
mer, Clogg  &  Company,  who  own  and 
operate  at  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  the 
largest  umbrella  manufacturing  plant  in 
the  whole  world. 

So  whatever  the  influence  that  presided 
at  fate's  keyboard  the  day  he  chose  the 
arts  of  peace  rather  than  the  more 
spectacular  soldier's  career,  no  mistake 
was  made,  but  as  Mr.  Follmer  reviews  his 
career  from  the  heights  of  success,  the 
thought  must  often  come,  "What  and 
where  would  I  be  had  I  chosen  the  other 
path  on  that  fateful  August  day,  sleeping 
in  a  soldier's  grave  or  high  on  the  Roll 


C^^^^L-A^^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  Fame  among  America's  military 
heroes?"  He  is  a  son  of  Mark  and  Louise 
(Jennen)  Follmer,  his  father  a  miller. 

Charles  Jennen  Follmer  was  born  in 
New  York  City,  January  lo,  1850,  and 
until  his  fifteenth  year  attended  the  public 
schools  of  the  city.  He  then  enlisted  as  a 
drummer  boy  and  also  served  as  orderly 
to  General  Edwin  R.  Biles  of  the  Ninety- 
ninth  Regiment  of  Pennsylvania  Volun- 
teer Infantry.  He  was  wounded  and 
captured  by  the  Confederates  at  the  battle 
of  Hatcher's  Run  in  Virginia,  but  two 
days  later  was  recaptured  by  Union 
forces.  He  served  with  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac  until  the  war  closed,  then  was 
honorably  discharged  and  appointed  to  a 
cadetship  at  the  United  States  Military 
Academy,  West  Point. 

Declining  the  honor  he  entered  the 
employ  of  William  A.  Drown  &  Com- 
pany, umbrella  manufacturers,  in  August, 
1865,  and  until  1887  was  connected  with 
that  firm,  rising  from  lowly  position 
through  increasingly  responsible  posi- 
tions until  in  1879  he  was  admitted  junior 
partner.  His  twenty-two  years  of  ex- 
perience in  different  departments  thor- 
oughly qualified  him  for  the  next  import- 
ant step  in  his  remarkable  career — the 
founding  of  the  firm  of  Follmer,  Clogg  & 
Company  in  1887.  As  head  of  that  firm 
he  has  won  his  way  to  the  highest  pin- 
nacle of  business  success  as  a  manufac- 
turer, and  at  Lancaster  the  silk  mills, 
where  their  own  silk  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  umbrellas  is  made  and  thrown, 
the  silk  mill  at  Columbia,  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  the  vast  factories  at  Lancaster 
where  frames  and  handles  are  made  and 
the  umbrellas  finished  and  shipped  to 
all  parts  of  the  world,  constitute  the 
largest  umbrella  manufacturing  plant  not 
only  in  the  United  States,  but  in  the 
entire  world.  This  is  Mr.  Follmer's 
record  of  half  a  century  in  his  principal 
activity  only.     He  is  vice-president  and 


director  of  the  Colonial  Insurance  Com- 
pany, chairman  of  the  advisory  committee 
of  the  Great  Western  and  New  York  and 
Boston  Lloyds  and  National  Under- 
writers. He  is  a  power  in  the  business 
world  and  one  of  the  strong  men  of  New 
York,  able,  progressive,  and  public- 
spirited. 

Mr.  Follmer  is  president  of  the  Ninety- 
ninth  Regiment  of  Pennsylvania  Veteran 
Association,  member  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Society,  Merchants'  Association  of  New 
York,  Metropolitan  Museum,  Fifth  Ave- 
nue Association,  Museum  of  Natural  His- 
tor)'.  Philharmonic  Society,  and  in 
religious  affiliation  a  member  of  Ply- 
mouth Congregation.  His  clubs  are  the 
Aero,  -Automobile  of  America,  Areola 
Country,  Deal  Golf  and  Country,  New 
York  Yacht,  Merchants'  and  Press. 
These  clubs  are  the  best  index  to  his  pre- 
ferred recreations  and  he  is  a  well-known 
figure  in  all. 

He  married  in  New  York  City,  in  1872, 
Theresa  Florence,  daughter  of  Michael 
and  Ellen  (Green)  McCormack.  They 
have  three  children  :  Willis  Mark ;  Adele 
Regina,  married  Joseph  A.  Kelley,  of 
Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania ;  Beatrice,  mar- 
ried A.  A.  Higgins.  The  family  summer 
residence  is  at  Ocean  avenue.  Deal,  New 
Jersey,  the  city  residence  No.  312  River- 
side drive. 


LAUTERBACH,  Edward, 
Lawyer. 

From  progressive  and  enterprising  an- 
cestors Mr.  Lauterbach  has  derived  a 
love  of  liberty  and  a  far  reaching  interest 
in  the  welfare  of  mankind.  For  more 
than  four  centuries  his  family  flourished 
in  the  hill  country  of  Bavaria,  their  seat 
being  in  the  town  of  Burgkundstadt,  near 
the  historic  city  of  Nuremberg,  the 
acknowledged  center  for  many  years  of 
the  liberal  party  of  Germany.    The  family 


29s 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


was  especially  active  in  the  professions 
and  in  mercantile  life.  One  of  the  most 
prominent  of  these  was  Aaron  Wolfgang 
Lauterbach,  born  1752,  died  1826,  a 
graduate  of  the  University  of  Prague, 
noted  for  his  erudition  and  also  for  a 
peculiar  fund  of  wit  and  humor.  Of  his 
six  children,  the  youngest,  Solon  Lauter- 
bach, was  born  in  1806.  Under  the 
political  tyranny  which  oppressed  Ger- 
many at  that  time,  he  grew  restless,  and 
eight  years  before  the  revolution  of  1848 
he  left  his  ancestral  home  to  find  asylum 
in  free  America.  After  twenty  years' 
residence  in  New  York  City,  he  died  here 
in  i860.  His  wife,  Mina  (Rosenbaum) 
Lauterbach,  came  of  a  family  noted  for 
intellectual  gifts,  which  she  inherited  in 
remarkable  degree.  She  possessed  a 
strong  memory,  was  noted  as  a  Shake- 
spearian scholar,  and  was  able  to  quote 
literally  multitudes  of  poetical  gems  from 
various  authors.  She  survived  her  hus- 
band some  thirty  years,  dying  in  1890, 
and  left  three  children. 

Edward  Lauterbach  was  born  August 
12,  1844,  in  New  York  City.  He  received 
his  education  in  the  public  schools  and 
the  College  of  the  City  of  New  York, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  Bachelor 
of  Arts,  with  honors,  in  1864.  For  several 
years  he  was  vice-president  of  the  alumni 
of  this  college,  was  a  member  of  one  of 
its  Greek  letter  fraternities,  and  always 
took  an  active  interest  in  its  welfare.  He 
subsequently  received  from  his  alma  mater 
the  degrees  of  Master  of  Arts  and 
Bachelor  of  Laws,  and  received  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  Manhat- 
tan College.  Adopting  the  law  as  his 
lifework,  he  began  his  studies  in  the 
offices  of  Townsend,  Dyett  &  Morrison, 
and  with  Mr.  Morrison  founded  the  firm 
of  Morrison,  Lauterbach  &  Spingarn. 
After  the  termination  of  this  partnership 
through  the  death  of  Mr.  Spingarn,  a  new 
firm    was    formed,    known    as    Hoadly, 


Lauterbach  &  Johnson.  In  addition  to 
his  large  general  practice,  Mr.  Lauter- 
bach is  prominent  as  a  railroad  organizer, 
and  was  instrumental  in  bringing  about 
the  consolidation  of  the  Union  and  Brook- 
lyn Elevated  roads,  the  creation  of  the 
Consolidated  Telegraph  &  Electrical 
Subway,  and  has  been  concerned  in  the 
reorganization  of  many  railroads.  While 
not  an  active  politician,  Mr.  Lauterbach 
is  deeply  interested  in  public  progress, 
and  was  several  years  chairman  of  the 
Republican  County  Committee  of  New 
York,  and  of  the  advisory  committee  of 
the  Republican  State  Committee.  He 
was  delegate-at-large  from  New  York  to 
the  Republican  National  Convention  of 
1S96,  a  member  of  its  committee  on  reso- 
lutions, and  of  the  sub-committee  of  nine 
which  drafted  the  Republican  platform  of 
that  year.  He  was  one  of  the  three 
delegates-at-large  from  the  city  of  New 
York  to  the  Constitutional  Convention 
of  1894,  and  chairman  of  its  committee  on 
public  charities.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  University  of 
the  State  of  New  York,  and  has  been 
chairman  of  the  City  College  Board  of 
Trustees.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Hebrew 
Orphan  Asylum  and  other  charities. 
While  he  has  been  professionally  and  per- 
sonally associated  with  the  largest  finan- 
cial and  commercial  enterprises  of  the 
country,  and  with  the  leaders  of  con- 
temporary business  and  finance  in  New 
York,  Mr.  Lauterbach  finds  time  for 
relaxation,  and  is  especially  devoted  to 
music  and  the  drama.  At  one  time  he 
was  vice-president  of  the  Maurice  Grau 
Opera  Company.  He  is  never  too  busy 
to  give  some  attention  to  questions  con- 
cerning the  general  welfare  and  progress 
of  his  native  country. 

He  married,  January  12,  1870,  Amanda 
Friedman,  daughter  of  Arnold  Friedman, 
a  retired  merchant  of  this  city,  and  de- 
scendant of   a   family   which   occupied   a 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


position  of  prominence  in  the  same  sec- 
tion of  Bavaria  from  which  came  Mr. 
Lauterbach's  ancestors.  For  generations 
they  were  wealthy  and  respected  mer- 
chants, and  Mrs.  Lauterbach's  great- 
great-grandfather,  Aaron  Friedman,  born 
1740,  died  1824,  was  owner  of  the 
baronial  castle  of  Kunds,  at  Burgkund- 
stadt,  from  which  fortress  the  village 
took  its  name.  Samuel  Friedman,  grand- 
son of  Aaron  Friedman,  born  1796,  died 
1880,  married  Sarah  Gries,  born  1800,  died 
1872.  Both  were  noted  for  their  philan- 
thropy and  benevolence,  having  endowed 
the  school  of  the  district  in  which  they 
lived,  and  at  her  death  Mrs.  Friedman 
bequeathed  all  her  personal  fortune  to 
the  poor  of  her  city.  Arnold  Friedman 
married  Wilhelmina  Straubel,  daughter 
of  Frederick  Straubel,  of  Green  Bay,  Wis- 
consin, whose  wife  belonged  to  a  titled 
Saxon  family.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lauterbach 
have  four  children:  i.  Alfred,  born  May 
20,  1871,  since  deceased;  graduated  at 
Columbia,  Bachelor  of  Arts,  1890,  and  at 
the  New  York  Law  School,  Bachelor  of 
Laws,  1892;  was  assistant  district  attor- 
ney of  the  county  of  New  York,  1896  to 
1899.  2.  Edith  McDevitt.  3.  Florence 
Hirschfield,  graduate  of  the  Law  School 
of  the  University  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  1897.    4.  Alice,  born  1886. 


L'AMOREAUX,  Jesse  Seymour, 

Attorney,    Jurist. 

Jesse  Seymour  L'Amoreaux  is  de- 
scended from  Huguenot  ancestors,  who 
came  to  Americ-a  after  1700  and  settled 
in  Dutchess  county,  New  York.  His 
father,  Jesse  L'Amoreaux,  was  born  1790, 
in  Peekskill,  and  lived  in  the  town  of 
Wilton,  Saratoga  county.  New  York, 
where  he  was  a  farmer.  He  died  in  1879. 
His  wife.  Charity  (Esmond)  L'Amo- 
reaux, born  1796,  in  Pittstown,  New 
York,  died  1895. 

Jesse  Seymour  L'Amoreaux  was  born 


December  11,  1837,  in  Wilton,  where  he 
grew  to  manhood.  He  pursued  the  full 
course  at  Fort  Edward  Collegiate  Insti- 
tute, and  after  graduation  taught  school, 
first  in  his  native  town,  and  later  in 
Schuylerville,  New  York.  While  residing 
in  the  latter  place,  in  1856,  he  began  the 
study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Lewis  & 
Wells,  and  located,  December  i,  1858,  at 
Ballston  Spa,  where  he  began  practice  in 
the  following  year  with  C.  C.  Hill,  under 
the  firm  name  of  Hill  &  L'Amoreaux. 
This  continued  until  February,  1861, 
when  he  joined  the  Hon.  George  Chap- 
man in  practice,  and  this  association  con- 
tinued a  little  over  two  years.  After 
some  years  of  independent  practice,  he 
formed  an  association  with  A.  C.  Dake. 
This  firm  was  later  joined  by  Seth 
Whalen,  and  the  firm  became  L'Amo- 
reaux, Dake  &  Whalan.  This  was  dis- 
solved by  mutual  agreement  in  1885.  In 
1882,  Mr.  L'Amoreaux  was  candidate  on 
the  Republican  ticket  for  the  office  of 
county  judge  of  Saratoga  county,  and  his 
popularity  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that 
no  candidate  was  opposed  to  him  by  any 
party.  He  was  unanimously  elected,  and 
after  six  years  of  service  on  the  bench  re- 
sumed his  practice,  becoming  the  counsel 
for  various  large  corporations,  whose 
business  took  him  into  other  States,  as 
far  west  as  the  Mississippi  Valley.  In 
1887,  Judge  L'Amoreaux  was  a  candidate 
before  his  party  convention  for  the  office 
of  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and 
missed  the  nomination  by  the  bare 
margin  of  one  vote.  At  the  State  Con- 
vention later  the  same  year  he  was  a 
nominee  of  his  party  for  State  Comp- 
troller, but  the  entire  ticket  was  that  year 
defeated.  Upon  the  organization  of  the 
First  National  Bank  at  Ballston  Spa,  in 
1865,  Mr.  L'Amoreaux  became  its  attor- 
ney, and  shortly  after  a  director.  He  was 
elected  vice-president  of  the  bank,  and 
later  served  several  years  as  its  presi- 
dent.    He  is  a  trustee  and  elder  of  the 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Presbyterian  church  of  Ballston  Spa,  and 
director  and  trustee  in  various  religious 
and  educational  societies.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber and  moderator  of  the  judiciary  com- 
mission of  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  church,  and  also  a  member 
of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Church 
Erection  Fund  of  that  body.  He  is  a 
member  of  Franklin  Lodge,  No.  90,  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons,  of  Ballston,  a  past 
high  priest  of  Warren  Chapter,  Royal 
Arch  Masons,  and  a  member  of  Wash- 
ington Commandery,  Knights  Templar, 
of  Saratoga,  New  York.  Early  in  life  he 
was  a  supporter  of  the  Democratic  party, 
but  left  it  in  i860,  and  has  since  been  one 
of  the  most  steadfast  and  faithful  sup- 
porters of  the  Republican  party.  In  1887 
Judge  L'Amoreaux  began  practice  in  the 
city  of  New  York,  and  is  now  a  member 
of  the  law  firm  of  Graham  &  L'Amoreaux, 
with  offices  at  No.  42  Broadway.  This 
firm  makes  a  specialty  of  corporation  law, 
and  acts  as  counsel  for  large  and  import- 
ant interests.  Judge  L'Amoreaux's  long 
and  successful  career  has  been  based 
upon  the  solid  foundation  of  thorough 
preparation,  judicial  ability  and  indus- 
trious application  to  the  interests  of  his 
clients.  He  is  widely  known  throughout 
the  Empire  State,  and  enjoys  the  friend- 
ship of  multitudes  of  people  in  and  out 
of  the  legal  profession.  He  is  the  author 
of  an  article  on  the  history  of  Saratoga 
county.  New  York,  and  of  various  articles 
relating  to  legal  and  financial  subjects. 
His  connection  with  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Ballston  has  been  of  notable 
value  to  that  institution.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Saratoga  County  Bar  Association, 
New  York  County  Lawyers  Association, 
State  Bar  Association  of  New  York,  and 
American  Bar  Association.  He  married, 
at  Ballston  Spa,  June  8,  1865,  Ellen  S. 
Holbrook,  of  Northbridge,  Worcester 
county,  Massachusetts,  who  died  in  1914. 


CUNNINGHAM,  Benjamin  B., 

Corporation  Counsel. 

In  elevating  Mr.  Cunningham  to  the 
office  of  corporation  counsel  of  the  city  of 
Rochester,  the  law  department  of  the  city 
retains  the  services  of  a  man  trained  in 
the  work  of  the  city  attorney's  office  dur- 
ing a  continuous  period  of  eighteen  years, 
and  in  the  most  practical  way  recognizes 
the  value  of  that  service  to  the  city. 
Admitted  to  the  bar  in  1895,  Mr.  Cunning- 
ham became  an  assistant  to  the  corpor- 
ation counsel  three  years  later,  beginning 
his  service  under  Corporation  Counsel 
John  F.  Kinney,  then  head  of  the  depart- 
ment of  law,  whose  opponent  he  later 
became  in  the  famous  "Damaged  Goods" 
controversy.  He  was  retained  as  assist- 
ant under  Corporation  Counsel  Porter 
M.  French,  and  his  successor,  William 
W.  Webb,  succeeding  the  latter  as  chief 
of  the  law  department  of  the  city  upon 
the  elevation  of  Mr.  Webb  to  the  office 
of  judge  of  the  Court  of  Claims  of  the 
State  of  New  York. 

In  conferring  the  office  upon  Mr.  Cun- 
ningham, Mayor  Edgerton  eulogized  his 
service  in  the  subordinate  positions  he 
had  filled  in  the  city  law  department,  and 
in  so  doing  rendered  honor  where  honor 
was  due.  He  is  a  native  son  of  Roches- 
,ter,  educated  in  the  city  schools,  there 
acquired  his  professional  education,  and 
at  the  Monroe  county  bar  began  his  legal 
career,  and  in  the  service  of  the  city's 
law  department  has  won  his  fame  as  a 
careful,  conscientious  official  and  able 
lawyer.  He  is  a  man  of  ambitious  nature, 
performing  each  duty  with  such  zeal  and 
earnestness  that  the  logic  of  events  points 
him  out  for  greater  responsibilities. 

Benjamin  B.  Cunningham  was  born  in 
Rochester,  New  York,  April  i,  1874,  son 
of  Michael  and  Mary  (Hanly)  Cunning- 
ham,  his   parents    then   residing   in    the 


298 


Ovru^A^c 


^^^(XXSy(AA/V\ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Twelfth  Ward.  He  was  educated  in 
public  and  high  schools  of  Rochester. 
Deciding  upon  the  profession  of  law,  he 
pursued  an  extended  course  of  study 
under  the  direction  of  William  Butler 
Crittenden  and  in  1895,  being  just  of  legal 
age,  was  admitted  to  the  Monroe  county 
bar.  He  began  and  continued  private 
practice  in  Rochester  for  three  years, 
quickly  taking  leading  position  among 
the  young  men  of  the  profession,  and 
demonstrated  the  quality  which  led  Cor- 
poration Counsel  John  F.  Kinney  to 
select  him  as  a  member  of  his  staff.  On 
June  I,  1898,  he  was  appointed  assistant 
to  the  corporation  counsel  and  for 
(eighteen  years  has  continued  in  constant 
service,  advancing  from  the  lowest  assist- 
ant to  chief  of  the  legal  forces  of  his 
native  city.  The  fact  that  it  is  his  native 
city  is  most  gratifying  to  the  recipient  of 
the  honor,  for  those  by  whom  the  appoint- 
ment was  conferred  have  known  him 
from  boyhood,  have  watched  his  course 
at  the  bar  and  in  subordinate  position, 
their  act  testifying  that  the  young  man 
has  been  tried  and  found  not  wanting 
either  in  ability  or  integrity.  He  was 
appointed  corporation  counsel  by  Mayor 
Hiram  B.  Edgerton,  March  15,  1916.  He 
^s  a  member  of  the  New  York  State  Bar 
Association  and  the  Rochester  Bar  As- 
sociation and  stands  high  in  the  regard 
of  his  professional  brethren.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Genesee  Valley  Club  and 
Knights  of  Columbus. 

Mr.  Cunningham  married,  in  191 1, 
Elonore  MacKearnin,  of  Buffalo.  Two 
children  :    Benjamin  B.,  Jr.,  and  Elonore  J. 


THACHER,  Thomas, 

Attorney. 

Thomas  Thacher,  a  prominent  prac- 
ticing attorney  of  New  York  City,  is  a 
native  of  New  Haven,  Connecticut,  a 
scion    of   one   of    the    most    ancient    and 


conspicuous  of  New  England  families. 
His  ancestor.  Rev.  Peter  Thacher,  was  a 
distinguished  minister,  a  man  of  great 
talents,  of  liberal  and  independent  mind, 
residing  at  Sarum,  England.  He  was 
appointed  minister  of  St.  Edmunds,  in 
the  city  of  New  Sarum,  Wiltshire,  in 
1622.  Because  of  his  dissension  from  the 
usages  of  the  Established  English  church, 
he  was  much  harassed  by  the  spiritual 
courts,  and  decided  to  emigrate  to  New 
England,  where  he  might  enjoy  greater 
religious  freedom.  The  death  of  his  wife 
about  this  time  altered  his  determination, 
and  he  did  not  remove.  He  was  born  in 
1588,  and  died  February  11,  1640.  A 
letter  written  by  him  to  the  bishop  of  the 
diocese  has  been  preserved.  In  this  he 
begged  that  he  might  be  excused  from 
reading  certain  directions  of  the  vicar- 
general,  which  he  said  were  against  his 
conscience.  He  further  stated  :  "I  never 
neglected  the  order  aforesaid  out  of  con- 
tempt of  ecclesiastical  discipline  and 
jurisdiction,  as  has  been  affirmed. "  On 
his  tombstone  is  engraved  the  following 
epitaph :  "Here  lyeth  the  bodye  of  Mr. 
Peter  Thacher,  who  was  a  laborious 
minister  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  in 
ye  parish  of  St.  Edmund  for  ye  space  of 
XIX  yeares.  He  departed  this  lyfe  the 
Lord's  Day  at  three  of  the  clock  ye  XI 
of  February,  1640.  Let  no  man  move  his 
bones."  His  eldest  son,  Rev.  Thomas 
Thacher,  born  May  i,  1620,  received  a 
grammar  school  education,  and  it  was  the 
intention  of  his  father  to  send  him  to 
Oxford  or  Cambridge,  but  the  son  was 
disgusted  with  the  prevailing  ecclesias- 
tical tyranny,  and  decided  to  remove  to 
America.  To  this  his  parents  consented, 
and  when  fifteen  years  old  he  embarked 
in  company  with  his  uncle,  Anthony 
Thacher,  and  arrived  in  New  England, 
June  4,  1635.  He  lived  in  the  family  of 
President  Chauncey,  who  was  afterward 
president  of  Harvard  College,  and  under 


299 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  tuition  of  that  eminent  scholar  pre- 
pared for  the  ministry.  He  was  ordained, 
January  2,  1645,  as  pastor  of  the  church 
at  Weymouth,  Massachusetts,  where  he 
continued  a  most  faithful  and  affectionate 
minister  several  years.  We  are  told  that 
he  possessed  a  peculiar  spirit  of  prayer, 
and  was  remarkable  for  the  copious, 
fluent  and  fervid  manner  of  performing 
the  sacred  service.  Having  acquired  a 
knowledge  of  medicine  he  was  physician 
as  well  as  pastor  to  his  flock.  He  removed 
to  Boston,  and  there  became  eminent  as 
a  physician.  When  the  Third  or  "Old 
South"  Church  was  founded  in  Boston  he 
was  chosen  pastor,  installed  February  16, 
1670,  and  continued  in  charge  of  that 
church  until  his  death,  October  15,  1678. 
While  attending  a  patient  he  became 
infected  with  fever,  which  caused  his 
death.  He  has  been  credited  as  the  best 
Arabic  scholar  in  the  country,  and  accord- 
ing to  Cotton  Mather  was  a  great 
logician,  well  versed  in  mechanics,  both  in 
theory  and  practice.  In  1677  he  pub- 
lished the  first  medical  work  in  America, 
"Brief  Guide  in  the  Small  Pox  and 
Measles."  He  was  remarkable  as  a 
scribe  and  wrote  in  many  languages,  with 
singular  exactness,  much  of  his  work 
being  still  in  existence,  including  Syriac 
and  other  oriental  characters.  His  first 
wife,  Eliza,  youngest  daughter  of  Rev. 
Ralph  Partridge,  first  minister  of  Dux- 
bury,  Massachusetts,  died  June  2,  1664. 
Their  second  son.  Rev.  Ralph  Thacher, 
was  constable  at  Duxbury  in  1673  ^"d 
clerk  of  the  town  for  several  years  fol- 
lowing 1686.  Subsequently  he  settled  in 
Chilmark,  Martha's  Vineyard,  where  he 
engaged  in  the  work  of  the  ministry  for 
many  years.  He  married,  January  1, 
1670,  Ruth,  daughter  of  George  Part- 
ridge, of  Duxbury,  where  he  made  his 
home  several  years.  His  youngest  son. 
Rev.  Peter  Thacher,  was  born  August  17, 
1686,  in  Chilmark,  and  settled  at  Lebanon, 


Connecticut,  where  he  died  in  February, 
1766.  He  married,  in  1713,  Abigail 
Hibbard,  of  Windham,  who  died  in  Leba- 
non, July  9,  1778,  aged  eighty  years.  She 
was  but  fifteen  years  of  age  at  the  time 
of  the  marriage,  and  is  described  as  a 
woman  of  remarkable  beauty,  as  was  also 
her  mother,  Abigail  (Linden)  Hibbard,  of 
Rhode  Island.  Her  second  son  was  John 
Thacher,  born  February  22,  1739,  in 
Lebanon,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution  in 
1775,  in  Captain  John  Durkee's  company. 
About  1787  he  moved  to  Lempster,  New 
Hampshire,  where  he  died  October  7, 
1805.  He  married  Abigail  Swift,  of  Leba- 
non, and  they  were  the  parents  of  Peter 
Thacher,  who  was  their  second  son.  He 
settled  in  Hartford,  Connecticut,  and  had 
sons:  Thomas  Anthony;  Rev.  George, 
president  of  Iowa  University ;  Sheldon 
P.,  who  resided  in  Hartford. 

Professor  Thomas  Anthony  Thacher, 
eldest  son  of  Peter  Thacher,  of  Hartford, 
was  born  there  January  11,  1815,  and 
graduated  at  Yale  College  at  the  age  of 
twenty  years.  From  1842  until  his  death, 
in  1886,  he  was  Professor  of  Latin  in  that 
institution.  He  married  Elizabeth  Day, 
born  December  24,  1820,  in  New  Haven, 
daughter  of  Jeremiah  Day,  who  was 
president  of  Yale  College  from  1817  to 
1846. 

Thomas  Thacher,  son  of  Professor 
Thomas  Anthony  and  Elizabeth  (Day) 
Thacher,  was  born  May  3,  1850,  in  New 
Haven,  Connecticut,  where  he  grew  to 
manhood  and  received  his  education.  In 
boyhood  he  was  a  student  at  the  Webster 
public  school  in  New  Haven,  and  the 
Hopkins  grammar  school,  and  entered 
Yale  College  in  1867,  graduating  with  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  in  1871.  For 
a  year  following  this  he  was  a  teacher 
in  the  Hopkins  grammar  school  and  sub- 
sequently pursued  graduate  courses  for 
a  year.  From  1873  to  1875  ^^  was  a 
student    at  the    Columbia    Law    School, 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


under  Professor  Dwight,  and  in  May  of 
the  latter  year  was  admitted  to  the  bar. 
From  Yale  he  received  the  degree  of 
Master  of  Arts  in  1874,  and  Doctor  of 
Laws  in  1903.  From  Columbia  Law 
School  he  received  the  degree  of  Bachelor 
of  Laws,  and  during  the  summer  follow- 
ing he  aided  Hon.  Ashbel  Green  in  pre- 
paring for  publication  Green's  "Brice's 
Ultra  Vires,"  a  work  on  corporation  law. 
In  the  fall  of  1875  young  Thacher  became 
a  clerk  in  the  law  office  of  Alexander  & 
Green,  and  in  June,  1876,  was  made 
attorney  of  the  Equitable  Trust  Company, 
which  conducted  an  extensive  business  in 
real  estate,  loans  in  Western  States,  with 
principal  office  in  New  York  City.  At 
the  same  time  he  engaged  in  general  law 
practice,  and  has  been  successively  a 
member  of  the  law  firms  of  Simpson, 
Thacher  &  Barnum ;  Reed,  Simpson, 
Thacher  &  Barnum ;  Simpson,  Thacher, 
Barnum  &  Bartlett.  The  present  style  of 
the  firm  is  Simpson,  Thacher  &  Bartlett, 
and  makes  a  specialty  of  matters  relating 
to  corporations.  For  many  years  Mr. 
Thacher  has  been  a  lecturer  on  corpor- 
ation law  in  the  Yale  Law  School.  For 
some  years  he  was  secretary  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  executive  committee  of  Yale 
Alumni  Association  of  New  York  City, 
and  from  1895  to  1897  was  its  president. 
When  the  Yale  Club  of  New  York  City 
was  organized,  in  1897,  he  became  its 
president,  and  continued  in  that  position 
until  1902.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the 
board  of  directors  of  the  Alumni  Univer- 
sity Fund  Association  since  its  organiza- 
tion, and  from  the  outset  represented  the 
Yale  Club  of  New  York  City  on  the 
Alumni  Advisory  Council,  organized  by 
the  Yale  Corporation.  At  the  Yale  Bi- 
centennial Celebration,  in  1901,  he  de- 
livered an  address,  "Yale  in  Relation  to 
the  Law,"  and  two  years  later  received 
from  the  corporation  the  honorary  degree 
of  Doctor    of  Laws.     Mr.    Thacher    has 


been  an  occasional  contributor  to  legal 
publications.  From  1907  to  1909  he  was 
vice-president  of  the  Association  of  the 
Bar  of  the  City  of  New  York.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Law  Institute,  New  York 
State  Bar  Association,  American  Bar  As- 
sociation, and  several  clubs,  including  the 
University,  Century,  Yale,  Midday  clubs. 
He  was  vice-president  of  the  University 
Club  in  the  City  of  New  York,  1910-1913, 
and  president  from  1913  to  the  present 
time.  At  this  writing  (191 5)  he  is  presi- 
dent of  the  University  Club  of  New  York. 
Politically  he  is  accustomed  to  sustain 
Republican  principles  and  policies.  In 
religion  he  is  liberal,  and  is  not  asso- 
ciated with  any  organization. 

Mr.  Thacher  married,  December  i, 
1880,  Sarah  McCulloh  Green,  born  April, 
1859,  in  New  York  City,  daughter  of 
Ashbel  and  Louise  B.  (Walker)  Green. 
[Their  home  is  in  Tenafly,  New  Jersey, 
and  they  have  children :  Thomas  D., 
Louise  Green,  Sarah  and  Elizabeth.  In 
his  career,  Mr.  Thacher  has  fully  justified 
the  promise  of  his  worthy  ancestors,  and 
to-day  occupies  an  enjoyable  position  in 
literary,  legal  and  social  circles  of  New 
York. 


KINNEY,  John  F., 

liawyer,   Jurist. 

Admitted  to  the  Monroe  county  bar  in 
1881,  Mr.  Kinney  nine  years  later  was 
elected  special  county  judge,  winning  not 
only  the  office  by  a  respectable  majority, 
but  also  the  distinction  of  being  the  first 
Democrat  elected  to  a  county  office  in 
Monroe  county  in  eight  years,  1882-1890. 
From  his  admission  to  the  bar  until  the 
present  time  he  has  been  continuously 
engaged  in  private  law  practice  in 
Rochester,  save  during  the  four  years 
spent  upon  the  county  bench.  He  has 
won  high  reputation  as  a  lawyer  of 
sterling  worth,  has  ever  taken  a  promi- 


301 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


;nent  part  in  public  affairs,  and  is  one  of 
the  strong  men  of  the  Democratic  party, 
potent  in  council,  a  trusted  leader  and 
popular  campaign  orator.  He  is  a  son 
of  William  D.  and  Julia  (Howe)  Kinney, 
his  parents  coming  from  the  Emerald  Isle 
in  childhood,  meeting  in  Monroe  county, 
New  York,  where  their  marriage  was 
solemnized.  William  D.  Kinney  was  a 
merchant  at  Spencerport  for  several 
years,  and  prominent  in  community 
affairs.  He  was  clerk  of  the  village, 
weigh  master  on  the  Erie  canal  at  Roches- 
ter in  1878  and  1879.  He  was  an  ardent 
Democrat  and  an  untiring,  capable 
worker  for  party  success. 

John  F.  Kinney  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Ogden,  Monroe  county.  New  York, 
June  20,  i860,  and  since  1881  has  been  a 
resident  of  Rochester.  After  completing 
the  courses  of  the  Union  School  at  Spen- 
cerport, he  attended  St.  Joseph's  College 
at  Buffalo,  New  York,  there  completing 
his  classical  study.  Choosing  law  as  his 
profession,  he  entered  Albany  Law 
School,  Albany,  New  York,  whence  he 
was  graduated  Bachelor  of  Laws,  class  of 
1881.  In  June  of  the  same  year  he  was 
admitted  to  the  Monroe  county  bar,  and 
so  continues,  having  practiced  in  Roches- 
ter for  thirty-five  years.  He  won  his 
position  at  the  bar  through  merit,  and 
so  highly  was  he  recommended  to  Gov- 
ernor David  B.  Hill  that  the  Governor  on 
January  i,  1890,  appointed  him  to  fill  a 
vacancy  on  the  county  bench  as  special 
judge.  He  received  the  nomination  of 
his  party  as  the  regular  candidate  for  that 
office,  and  in  November,  1890,  was  chosen 
special  county  judge  for  a  term  of  three 
years.  He  was  elected  to  the  office  by  a 
majority  of  about  eight  hundred  votes 
over  his  Republican  opponent,  and  that 
in  face  of  the  fact  that  Monroe  county 
had  not  chosen  a  Democrat  for  a  county 
office  in  eight  years.  He  served  his  term 
with   credit   and   acceptability,   then   re- 


turned to  private  practice,  his  service  on 
the  bench  leaving  him  the  better  equipped 
for  practice  through  viewing  cases  purely 
from  their  legal  aspect,  uninfluenced  by 
the  natural  bias  of  a  retained  counsel.  In 
1898  he  was  appointed  by  the  Common 
Council  corporation  counsel  for  the  city 
of  Rochester,  and  served  in  that  position 
until  January  i,  1904,  since  which  date 
his  practice  has  been  in  private  capacity. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Rochester  Bar 
Association,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the 
incorporators,  November  28,  1892;  also 
belongs  to  the  State  Bar  Association,  and 
to  organizations  social  and  fraternal.  A 
Democrat  in  politics,  bred  in  the  faith 
and  instructed  in  party  management  by 
his  honored  father,  Mr.  Kinney  in  addi- 
tion to  the  offices  mentioned  of  a  legal 
nature  has  been  of  value  to  his  party  as 
a  manager  and  leader  of  campaigns  and  as 
a  trusted  adviser.  In  1904  he  was  chair- 
man of  the  executive  committee  of  the 
county  central  committee,  and  in  many 
ways  has  aided  the  party  cause. 

Mr.  Kinney  married,  October  23,  1883, 
Elizabeth  J.  Hanlon,  of  Albany,  New 
York.  They  are  the  parents  of:  Wil- 
liam E.,  graduate  of  the  University  of 
Rochester,  class  of  1907,  now  a  member 
of  the  constructing  firm  of  William  E. 
Kinney  &  Company ;  Helen  R. ;  John  J., 
an  inspector ;  Dorothy  E.,  an  instructor. 
The  family  home  is  No.  64  Lorimer 
street ;  Mr.  Kinney's  law  office  No.  406 
Livingston  Building. 


PIERCE,  Charles  L.,  ^ 

Liatryer. 

A  graduate  Bachelor  of  Arts,  Univer- 
sity of  Rochester,  class  of  1902,  and  a 
year  later  admitted  to  the  Monroe  county 
bar,  Mr.  Pierce  has  in  the  thirteen  years 
that  have  now  intervened  pursued  the 
practice  of  law  in  the  city  of  Rochester. 
Most  of  those  years  he  served  the  city  in 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


official  legal  capacity,  special  counsel,  tax 
assistant  and  deputy  corporation  counsel. 
He  is  a  native  son  of  New  York,  his 
father,  John  Davis  Pierce,  a  farmer  of 
Oneida  county,  a  man  of  local  promi- 
nence, filling  several  ofifices  including 
that  of  justice  of  the  peace. 

Charles  L.  Pierce  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Bridgewater,  Oneida  county,  New 
York,  April  22,  1877.  He  spent  his  youth 
at  the  home  farm.  He  completed  the 
public  school  courses  of  the  district,  pre- 
pared for  college  at  Marion  Collegiate 
Institute,  completing  the  prescribed 
course  and  graduating  with  the  class  of 
1898.  He  entered  the  University  of 
Rochester  with  the  freshman  class  in  that 
year,  taking  a  classical  course,  and  in 
1902  received  his  degree  Bachelor  of  Arts. 
During  his  university  course  he  read  law 
and  after  graduation  spent  a  year  in 
special  study  in  the  law  offices  of  Suther- 
land &  Otis,  Rochester,  New  York.  On 
July  9,  1903,  he  was  duly  admitted  to 
practice  at  the  New  York  bar,  but  until 
January  i,  1904,  he  remained  with 
Sutherland  &  Otis  as  managing  clerk. 
He  then  opened  private  offices  and  has 
practiced  independently  until  February  i, 
1907,  when  he  became  a  member  of  the 
law  firm  of  Carnahan,  Adams,  Jameson 
&  Pierce,  with  offices  in  the  Wilder 
Building.  During  the  years  1904  and 
1905  he  was  special  counsel  in  the  office 
of  the  corporation  counsel,  and  in  1916 
was  appointed  to  the  office  he  now  holds, 
deputy  corporation  counsel,  his  long  con- 
nection with  the  city  law  department  in 
the  tax  bureau  calling  for  extended 
knowledge  of  the  law  governing  the 
assessment  and  collection  of  taxes.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Rochester,  New  York 
State  and  American  Bar  associations, 
highly  regarded  by  all  who  have  come 
within  his  sphere  of  influence.  A  man  of 
genial,  social  nature,  he  has  many  friends 
and  in  fraternity  and  in  lodge  is  a  popular 


member.  He  was  formerly  secretary- 
treasurer  of  the  Rochester  Chapter,  Delta 
Upsilon  Club,  and  a  member  of  that 
fraternity.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Uni- 
versity Club,  Rochester  Athletic  Club, 
Rochester  Tennis  Club,  also  of  the  Ma- 
sonic order,  belonging  to  Genesee  Falls 
Lodge,  and  Hamilton  Chapter,  Royal 
Arch  Masons. 

Mr.  Pierce  married,  August  30,  1904, 
Grace,  daughter  of  Oliver  S.  Adams, 
editor  of  the  Rochester  "Democrat  and 
Chronicle." 


BERNHARD,  John  A.. 

Liawyer. 

Admitted  to  the  Monroe  county  bar  in 
1882  Mr.  Bernhard,  during  the  thirty-five 
years  which  have  since  intervened,  has 
made  continuous  progress  in  his  profes- 
sion and  has  long  occupied  a  position  of 
distinction  in  the  ranks  of  the  legal  fra- 
ternity of  his  native  city,  Rochester.  The 
reputation  he  has  won  is  a  tribute  to  his 
learning  and  ability,  but  had  he  not  pos- 
sessed the  qualities  of  perseverance  and 
industry  to  make  them  operative,  they 
would  have  availed  him  little.  His  is  a 
practical  example  of  the  value  of  labor 
in  the  development  of  all  that  is  best  in 
man's  intellectual  strength  and  to  the  per- 
sistent care  he  gives  to  the  preparation  of 
his  cases  Mr.  Bernhard  owes  his  success 
as  much  as  to  the  learning  and  ability 
which  inspires  the  strong,  logical  man- 
ner in  which  he  presents  them  to  court 
and  jury. 

He  is  a  son  of  Adam  and  Phillipine 
(Young)  Bernhard,  born  in  Germany, 
who  came  to  Rochester  in  1848.  Adam 
Bernhard  was  a  man  of  wonderful  physi- 
cal power  and  business  ability,  who  for 
sixty  years  was  a  merchant  of  Rochester. 
He  continued  in  business  until  past  eighty 
and  did  not  surrender  the  burden  of  man- 
agement until  his  last  illness.    His  mantle 


303 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  energy  and  determination  fell  upon  his 
son  and  in  him  the  resolute  spirit  of  the 
father  survives. 

John  A.  Bernhard  was  born  in  Roches- 
ter, New  York,  August  5,  1859,  and  his 
years,  fifty-eight,  have  been  spent  in  his 
native  city.  After  graduation  from 
Rochester  Free  Academy  in  1879,  he  be- 
gan the  study  of  law,  and  in  1882  was 
admitted  to  the  bar.  He  at  once  began 
practice  in  Rochester,  having  a  partner 
for  the  first  half  year,  and  since  the  dis- 
solution of  that  partnership,  practicing 
alone.  His  practice,  general  in  character, 
is  conducted  in  all  State  and  Federal 
courts  of  the  district,  his  offices  at  No. 
236  Powers  Building.  He  has  a  large 
and  well  established  practice,  both  as  an 
adviser  and  an  advocate.  He  is  a  man 
of  quick  invention,  but  does  not  depend 
upon  the  inspiration  of  the  moment,  never 
appearing  in  court  without  the  most  care- 
ful preparation  and  no  matter  upon  which 
feature  of  the  case  develops  the  higher 
importance  he  is  fortified  against  surprise 
and  is  equally  ready  to  attack.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Rochester  bar,  highly  es- 
teemed by  his  professional  brethren  as 
a  man  learned  in  the  law,  skillful  in  its 
application,  and  strictly  ethical  in  his 
methods  of  practice. 

He  has  since  academy  days  been  closely 
allied  with  fraternity  and  secret  orders, 
and  is  one  of  the  old  volunteer  firemen 
of  the  city,  now  a  member  of  the  Veteran 
Exempt  Firemen's  Association.  He  was 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  Pi  Phi  frater- 
nity of  the  Free  Academy  in  1878,  and 
has  been  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order 
since  1889,  belonging  to  Germania  Lodge, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons.  In  Scottish 
Rite  Masonry  he  has  attained  the  thirty- 
two  degrees  of  Rochester  Consistory,  and 
is  a  noble  of  Damascus  Temple,  Nobles 
of  the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Independent  Order  of  For- 
esters and  of  the  Knights  of  the  Macca- 


bees. He  is  a  man  of  genial,  social 
nature,  winning  many  friends  and  ever 
retaining  them.  In  political  faith  he  is  a 
Republican. 

Mr.  Bernhard  married.  May  14,  1884, 
Minnie  E.  Hertel,  of  Rochester.  They 
have  two  sons,  Robert  A.,  now  city  super- 
intendent of  play  grounds  and  recreation, 
and  Frank  E.  The  family  home  is  at  No. 
1387  Dewey  avenue. 


SWEET,  John  Edson, 

Scientist,   Inventor. 

Whether  the  elements  of  success  in 
life  are  innate  attributes  of  the  individual, 
or  whether  they  are  quickened  by  a 
process  of  circumstantial  development,  it 
is  impossible  to  clearly  determine.  Yet 
the  study  of  a  successful  life  is  none  the 
less  profitable  by  reason  of  the  existence 
of  this  uncertainty,  and  in  the  majority 
of  cases  it  is  found  that  exceptional  abil- 
ity was  the  real  secret  of  the  preeminence 
which  many  envied.  The  career  of  John 
Edson  Sweet  furnishes  an  example  of 
what  may  be  accomplished  with  but  few 
of  the  advantages  of  favoring  circum- 
stances, when  one  is  endowed  with  ambi- 
tion, ability  and  untiring  energy.  The 
Sweet  family  has  been  resident  in  Amer- 
ica since  the  early  Colonial  days,  the 
direct  American  ancestors  being  John 
and  Mary  Sweet,  who  settled  at  Salem, 
Massachusetts,  in  1631.  Many  of  the 
family  have  won  fame  as  inventors. 

Horace  Sweet,  father  of  Professor  John 
Edson  Sweet,  was  a  son  of  Timothy  and 
Eunice  (Woodworth)  Sweet,  was  born 
April  I,  1796,  and  died  at  Pompey,  New 
York,  August  4,  1858.  He  was  a  prosper- 
ous farmer  in  Onondaga  county,  of  pro- 
gressive ideas,  and  assisted  materially  in 
the  development  of  the  section.  He  mar- 
ried, November  20,  1817,  Candace  Avery, 
daughter  of  Punderson  Avery,  and  had 
children:    Clarence  H.,  Helen  L.,  Anson 


Johyyi     0,  cfvu-c^. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Avery,  Homer  D.  L.,  Wheaton  B.,  Wil- 
liam A.,  John  Edson  and  Ann  E. 

Professor  John  Edson  Sweet  was  born 
in  Pompey,  Onondaga  county,  New 
York,  October  21,  1832.  Until  the  age  of 
fifteen  years  he  attended  the  public 
schools,  where  his  mechanical  ability  was 
noted  at  an  early  day.  He  readily  found 
means  to  help  himself  over  any  mechani- 
cal difficulty  which  any  situation  pre- 
sented, as  an  instance  of  which  may  be 
given  the  fact  of  his  construction  of  a 
small  violin,  and  learning  to  play  a  num- 
ber of  old-time  melodies  upon  it,  in  the 
course  of  a  few  weeks.  In  1850  he  was 
apprenticed  to  John  Pinkerton,  a  car- 
penter and  joiner,  and  the  money  he 
earned  was  carefully  put  aside  to  pay  for 
needful  tools,  among  these  being  the  sec- 
ond set  of  socket  firmer  chisels  ever 
made,  one  of  these  still  being  in  his  pos- 
session. Having  obtained  a  subordinate 
position  in  the  office  of  Elijah  T.  Hayden, 
one  of  the  ablest  architects  of  Syracuse, 
he  obtained  an  excellent  knowledge  of 
this  line  of  business  as  it  was  carried  on 
at  that  time,  and  for  a  period  of  ten  years 
was  chiefly  employed  in  making  construc- 
tion drawings  for  buildings.  He  then  be- 
came office  boy  for  C.  O.  Holyoke,  a  dis- 
ciple of  Ruskin,  and  under  this  preceptor- 
ship  he  studied  for  one  winter,  during 
which  he  profited  in  large  measure.  Be- 
coming convinced  that  success  lay  for  him 
in  mechanical  fields,  Mr.  Sweet  pursued 
his  studies  and  work  in  that  direction,  and 
received  the  first  premium  in  a  national 
competition  held  by  "The  Rural  New 
Yorker,"  after  which  he  wrote  many 
articles  on  architectural  matters,  and  was 
recognized  as  an  authority. 

At  the  time  of  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil 
War,  Mr.  Sweet  was  engaged  in  his  pro- 
fessional duties  at  Selma,  Alabama,  and 
he  soon  returned  to  Onondaga  county. 
New  York.     He  became  a  pattern  maker 

N  Y-Vol  IV-20  •?( 


and  draughtsman  in  the  railroad  shops  in 
Syracuse,  and  in  the  summer  1862  vis- 
ited the  London  Exhibition,  where  he 
continued  his  studies  and  investigations. 
During  the  latter  part  of  the  year  he  was 
a  draughtsman  in  the  international 
patent  office  of  Hazeltine,  Lake  &  Com- 
pany. Subsequently  he  again  went 
abroad  as  draughtsman  for  the  Patent 
Nut  &  Bolt  Company,  of  Birmingham, 
England,  in  order  to  superintend  the  con- 
struction of  machines  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  nails,  Mr.  Sweet  being  the  pat- 
entee of  this  machine,  which  was  financed 
by  the  Birmingham  company.  While 
abroad  he  contributed  articles  of  a  tech- 
nical nature  to  "Engineering,"  a  journal 
published  in  London.  Upon  his  return 
to  Syracuse  in  1864,  Mr.  Sweet  became 
associated  with  Sweet,  Barnes  &  Com- 
pany, designing  many  machines,  tools 
and  appliances,  and  introduced  some  of 
the  features  which  still  mark  his  designs. 
He  invented  a  machine  which  paved  the 
way  for  the  introduction  of  the  linotype 
machines  now  so  commonly  used.  This 
machine,  which  was  exhibited  at  the 
Paris  Exposition  of  1867,  was  later  pre- 
sented to  Cornell  University.  He  spent 
some  months  in  Paris,  and  upon  his  re- 
turn to  Syracuse  he  was  again  actively 
connected  with  Sweet,  Barnes  &  Com- 
pany, and  from  1871  to  1873  was  mainly 
engaged  in  bridge  building  for  Howard 
Soule,  of  Syracuse.  His  mind,  however, 
was  constantly  busied  with  inventive 
plans  of  various  kinds,  and  in  the  fall  and 
winter  of  1872  he  made  the  plans  and 
patterns,  and  completed  the  greater  part 
of  the  work  on  the  first  Straight-Line 
steam  engine.  His  contributions  to  the 
English  paper,  "Engineering,"  were  also 
continued,  and  were  published  under  the 
title  of  "Mechanical  Refinements." 

Professor  Sweet  was  one  of  the  fore- 
most pioneers  in  college  work  in  mechani- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


cal  lines,  and  for  the  six  years  commenc- 
ing in  1873,  was  connected  with  Cornell 
University.  The  manufacture  and  intro- 
duction of  the  Whitworth  surface  plates 
and  straight-edges  were  largely  due  to 
the  Cornell  shop  under  his  management, 
and  the  first  standard  measuring  machine 
made  in  this  country  was  made  and  is 
now  stored  in  the  Cornell  shop.  In  speak- 
ing of  this  John  Richards  testified  that 
,its  method  of  correcting  the  error  of  the 
screw  is  the  only  one  known  that  is  com- 
mercially practicable.  The  equally  im- 
portant problem  of  neutralizing  the  effect 
of  wear  was  solved  in  an  equally  success- 
ful way,  but  has  not  come  so  uniformly 
into  use.  Professor  Sweet  was  the  pio- 
neer in  promoting  this  measuring  ma- 
chine, which  he  hoped  to  make  the  foun- 
dation of  a  system  of  standard  gauges, 
and  it  was  not  until  some  years  later 
that  his  example  in  this  was  followed. 
The  first  Gramme  dynamo  produced  in 
this  country  was  also  built  in  the  Cornell 
shop,  and  the  second  straight-line  engine. 
These,  with  other  products  of  the  shop, 
were  exhibited  at  the  Centennial  Expo- 
sition. This  straight-line  engine,  now  so 
well  known  throughout  the  world,  em- 
bodied what  was  then  the  novel  combina- 
tion— a  balanced  valve,  a  shifting  eccen- 
tric and  a  shaft  governor.  This  has  be- 
come the  accepted  type  of  high-speed 
engine,  and  the  Centennial  engine  may 
well  be  considered  the  first  of  the  kind. 
Professor  Sweet  accomplished  all  this 
with  the  aid  of  his  students,  no  other 
labor  being  employed  in  the  shop.  He 
worked  under  disadvantages,  for  up  to 
that  time  it  was  largely  believed  that  edu- 
cation was  a  matter  of  mental  training 
and  discipline  and  he  received  compara- 
tively little  encouragement  for  the  prac- 
tical work  he  was  doing  along  mechanical 
lines.  However,  the  value  of  his  service 
has  stood  the  test  of  time,  and  methods 
which  he  employed  for  construction  are 


710W  in  general  use  in  all  such  institu- 
tions. John  Richards,  in  speaking  of  his 
work  in  connection  with  Cornell,  said  in 
a  lecture  before  the  students  of  Leland 
Stanford  University  that  "Professor 
Sweet  is  one  of  the  most  successful 
teachers  of  constructive  engineering  that 
this  or  any  other  country  can  boast." 

Not  receiving  the  encouragement  he 
desired  at  Cornell  University,  however, 
Professor  Sweet  resigned  and  returned  to 
Syracuse,  where  he  continued  his  experi- 
mentation with  the  original  Straight-Line 
Engine  and,  obtaining  what  appeared  the 
maximum  of  simplicity  and  perfection  of 
action  in  the  governor,  he  commenced 
the  building  of  the  engine,  becoming 
president  and  general  manager  of  the 
Straight-Line  Engine  Company,  which 
was  organized  for  manufacturing  pur- 
poses. The  business  was  established  on 
a  small  scale,  but  the  value  of  the  engine 
has  been  demonstrated  and  recognized  so 
universally  that  its  growth  necessitated 
the  construction  of  new  works,  which 
were  erected  according  to  plans  made  by 
Professor  Sweet  in  1890.  Many  new 
methods  have  been  introduced  since  the 
company  was  organized,  and  these,  to- 
gether with  the  style  of  manufacture  and 
other  improvements,  have  been  exten- 
sively adopted  by  other  engine  builders. 
The  direct  result  of  the  superior  skill  and 
ability  of  Professor  Sweet  is  seen  in  an 
improved  system  of  steam  distribution, 
the  value  of  which  is  universally  acknowl- 
edged. A  number  of  new  machines  have 
been  constructed  after  his  designs,  includ- 
ing a  traversing  machine  which  has  be- 
come standard.  He  has  also  invented 
numberless  devices  for  furthering  the 
construction  of  the  engine  and  insuring 
more  perfect  results.  Mr.  Sweet  is  con- 
sidered an  authority  in  all  matters  of  this 
kind,  and  inventors  in  Syracuse  and  else- 
where have  frequently  sought  his  coun- 
sel, which  is  freely  and  generously  given. 


306 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


He  never  makes  a  secret  of  the  operations 
of  his  factory,  but  freely  invites  all,  and 
has  inscribed  over  the  entrance  "Visitors 
Always  Welcome."  He  has  believed  in  in- 
creasing his  store  of  knowledge  by  study- 
ing the  works  and  results  accomplished 
by  others,  and  his  chief  desire  in  life  is 
not  the  accumulation  of  wealth,  but  to 
let  others  benefit  by  the  results  he  has 
achieved. 

Professor  Sweet  was  one  of  the  found- 
ers of  the  American  Society  of  Mechani- 
cal Engineers,  the  Engine  Builders'  As- 
sociation of  the  United  States,  the  Tech- 
nology Club,  and  the  Metal  Trades  and 
Founders'  Association  of  Syracuse.  The 
American  Society  of  Mechanical  Engi- 
neers has  a  membership  of  more  than 
three  thousand  of  the  leading  mechanical 
engineers  of  the  country.  Mr.  Sweet  was 
its  third  president  and  is  now  one  of  the 
sixteen  honorary  members,  only  seven 
being  from  this  country,  and  among 
these  are  Carnegie,  Edison  and  Westing- 
house.  He  was  the  first  president  of  the 
Engine  Builders'  Association  and  the 
Technology  Club ;  is  a  life  member  of  the 
Onondaga  Historical  Association ;  was 
one  of  the  judges  of  the  Chicago  World's 
Fair,  and  has  been  employed  by  the  gov- 
ernment as  an  expert.  In  1913  Syracuse 
University  conferred  upon  Professor 
Sweet  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Engineer- 
ing,, an  honor  held  by  only  eight  people 
in  the  United  States.  In  December, 
1914,  he  was  given  the  John  Fritz  Medal 
for  scientific  and  engineering  achieve- 
ments. Eight  of  these  medals  have  been 
awarded,  and  among  the  recipients  were 
John  Fritz,  Lord  Kelvin,  Edison,  West- 
inghouse  and  Bell. 

Professor  Sweet  married  (first)  in  No- 
vember, 1870,  Caroline  V.  Hawthorne, 
Avho  died  May  12,  1887.  He  married 
(second)  in  1889,  Irene  A.  Clark,  who 
died  August  24,  1914. 


BENTLEY,  Sardius  Delancey, 
Attorney-at-Law. 

Although  brought  up  on  a  Chautauqua 
county  farm  amid  most  pleasant  sur- 
roundings, Mr.  Bentley's  ambition  from 
youth  was  for  the  profession  of  law,  an 
ambition  he  achieved  at  the  age  of 
twenty-nine  years,  when  in  1872  he  began 
the  study  of  law  in  Rochester.  Admitted 
in  1875,  he  at  once  began  practice  at 
'Rochester  and  from  that  time  his  career 
has  been  one  of  signal  success.  His 
career  at  the  bar  has  been  one  of  honor, 
while  his  social,  frank,  genial  nature  has 
won  him  a  large  circle  of  friends  other 
than  those  attracted  by  his  legal  attain- 
ment. He  has  devoted  himself  closely  to 
his  profession  and  has  won  a  place  in  the 
foremost  ranks.  This  has  been  done  by 
careful,  conscientious  work  in  the  pre- 
paration of  cases,  a  logical,  strong  and 
dignified  presentation  and  his  constant 
endeavor  to  leave  no  loophole  in  his  de- 
fense. A  client  who  entrusts  his  case  to 
Mr.  Bentley  is  assured  that  no  effort  will 
be  withheld  to  bring  his  case  to  success- 
ful issue,  and  although  the  most  intricate 
cases  have  been  committed  to  him,  he 
has  met  all  demands  and  been  success- 
ful in  a  large  majority  of  his  cases.  He 
is  a  son  of  Alexander  and  Lavantia  Mary 
(Norton)  Bentley,  his  father  a  farmer  of 
the  towns  of  Busti  and  Ellicott,  New 
York.     The  father  died  in  1895. 

Sardius  D.  Bentley  was  born  at  the 
homestead  in  Busti,  there  passed  his 
youth  and  his  early  manhood  save  the 
years  spent  in  institute  and  university. 
From  the  district  public  school  he  passed 
in  succession  to  Jamestown  Academy, 
Randolph  Academy,  now  Chamberlain 
Institute,  and  the  University  of  Roches- 
ter. He  completed  classical  study  at  the 
university  and  received  his  Bachelor's 
degree,  class  of   1870.     He  then  taught 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


school  for  two  years,  finally  reaching  the 
road  leading  to  the  goal  of  his  ambition 
in  1872. 

In  that  year  he  began  the  study  of  law 
in  Rochester,  and  at  the  October  term  of 
court  in  1875,  after  passing  the  required 
examinations,  he  was  admitted  to  the 
Monroe  county  bar.  Forty-one  years 
have  since  intervened  and  to-day  he  is 
the  seasoned  veteran  who  has  won  his 
laurels  in  many  a  legal  conflict.  Not 
always  has  he  been  returned  the  victor, 
but  whether  successful  or  not  every  bat- 
tle has  been  fought  with  all  the  force  of 
his  learning,  skill  and  courage,  and  he 
numbers  his  warmest  friends  among 
those  with  whom  he  has  most  strongly 
contended  in  legal  encounters.  During 
his  earlier  years  of  practice  he  was  asso- 
ciated with  William  F.  Cogswell  as  part- 
ner, later  and  until  1893  as  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Cogswell,  Bentley  &  Cogswell. 
Since  1893  he  has  practiced  alone,  his 
office  at  No.  60  Trust  Building.  His 
practice  extends  to  all  State  and  Federal 
courts  of  the  district,  and  since  Decem- 
ber, 1885,  he  has  been  authorized  to  prac- 
tice in  the  United  States  Supreme  Court. 
He  does  not  confine  himself  to  any  spe- 
cial line,  but  with  a  broad  and  compre- 
hensive knowledge  of  the  law  conducts  a 
general  practice.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Rochester  Bar  Association  and  the  New 
York  State  Bar  Association,  highly  re- 
garded by  his  brethren  of  these  bodies. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  order 
and  of  the  college  fraternities,  Psi  Up- 
silon  and  Phi  Beta  Kappa. 


HARGATHER,  Rev.  Mathias  J., 

Clergyman. 

In  1878  Father  Hargatherwas  ordained 
to  the  priesthood  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  his  course  of  training  for  holy 
orders  having  been  long  and  all  embrac- 


ing. He  was  then  a  young  man  of 
twenty-three  years.  In  1903,  on  the  cele- 
bration of  his  Silver  Jubilee,  as  a  gift 
from  the  congregation  of  St.  Michael's 
Church,  Rochester,  of  which  he  had  then 
been  pastor  seven  years,  a  chime  of  thir- 
teen bells  was  installed  in  the  tower  of 
St.  Michael's,  along  with  a  beautiful 
tower  clock  and  in  the  church  a  new 
pipe  organ  was  placed.  Thirteen  years 
have  since  elapsed  and  the  bells  toll  out 
their  message  of  invitation,  the  clock 
marks  the  hours  as  they  pass,  and  the 
organ  in  solemn  measure  accompanies 
the  sacred  offices  which  Father  Har- 
gather  yet  performs  as  pastor,  after  a 
continuous  service  of  twenty  years.  They 
have  been  years  of  intellectual  growth 
and  religious  fervor  for  the  devoted  priest 
and  of  quickened  spiritual  life  and  ma- 
terial prosperity  for  the  parish. 

Father  Hargather  is  the  second  perma- 
nent pastor  of  St.  Michael's,  and  it  was 
his  third  charge.  He  had  eight  years  pre- 
vious experience  in  charge  of  the  churches 
at  Greece  and  Coldwater,  and  there  dis- 
played the  sterling,  priestly  qualities  and 
the  business  ability  which  led  to  his  ap- 
pointment as  pastor  of  St.  Michael's  to 
succeed  Rev.  Fridolin  Pascalar,  the  first 
permanent  pastor,  whose  ill  health  caused 
him  to  retire.  He  had  also  organized  and 
placed  upon  a  sound  basis  a  new  parish, 
St.  Francis  Xavier,  and  there  ministered 
eight  years.  For  twenty  years  he  has 
guided  the  destinies  of  St.  Michael's,  and 
under  his  care  every  department  of  church 
and  parish  work  has  prospered.  Success- 
ful in  carrying  through,  every  plan  and 
improvement  undertaken,  one  in  particu- 
lar stands  as  a  worthy  monument  to  his 
zeal,  St.  Michael's  school,  one  of  the 
largest  and  most  modernly  equipped 
buildings  in  the  city.  He  is  universally 
respected  regardless  of  nationality  or 
creed,  while  his  own  people  are  devotedly 


308 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


attached  to  him.  He  is  a  native  son  of 
Rochester,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  special 
pleasure  to  him  that  it  is  his  lot  to  min- 
ister among  those  who  have  been  his 
friends  from  youth. 

Mathias  J.  Hargather  was  born  in 
Rochester,  New  York,  in  1855,  and  ob- 
tained his  early  education  in  the  parochial 
school  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul.  He  next 
attended  the  Academy  of  the  Christian 
Brothers,  and  after  graduation  began  his 
studies  in  divinity  as  from  boyhood  he 
had  been  destined  for  the  priesthood.  His 
early  theological  studies  were  pursued  at 
St.  Francis  de  Sales  College,  Milwaukee, 
and  continued  as  St.  Joseph's  Provincial 
Seminary,  Troy.  New  York.  After  com- 
pleting his  studies  he  returned  to  Roches- 
ter, and  as  a  deacon  accompanied  Rt. 
Rev.  B.  J.  McQuaid  on  his  first  canonical 
visitation  of  his  diocese.  During  this 
period  he  taught  plain  chant  Latin  and 
German  at  St.  Andrew's  Seminary.  He 
was  ordained  a  priest  on  St.  Michael's 
Day,  September  29,  1878,  and  performed 
his  first  office  as  assistant  priest  at  St. 
Patrick's  Cathedral,  and  as  chaplain  to 
St.  Mary's  Hospital  and  St.  Mary's  Or- 
phan Boys'  Asylum,  also  attending  a  mis- 
sion at  Naples,  Ontario  county.  New 
York.  Early  in  the  year  1880  he  was 
placed  over  the  churches  at  Greece  and 
Coldwater.  Monroe  county.  New  York, 
and  there  remained  eight  years.  He  there 
performed  a  vast  amount  of  labor  and  was 
particularly  efficient  in  the  upbuilding  of 
good  parochial  schools,  teaching  for  two 
years  in  the  little  school  at  Greece. 

In  1888  a  new  German  parish  was  pro- 
jected in  the  northeastern  part  of 
Rochester,  the  choice  of  the  Rt.  Rev. 
Bishop  for  organizer  falling  to  Father 
Hargather.  He  was  sent  out  to  what 
was  then  known  as  the  Wakelee  Farm 
and  during  the  next  eight  years  organized 
St.  Francis  Xavier's  parish,  built  a  church. 


school  and  hall  and  performed  the  service 
which  marks  St.  Francis  Xavier's  parish 
as  a  monument  to  his  zeal,  energy  and 
devotion.  In  April,  1896,  he  succeeded 
Rev.  Fridolin  Pascalar  as  pastor  of  St. 
Alichael's,  in  Rochester,  a  parish  which  he 
has  since  continuously  served  with  abund- 
ant results.  One  of  the  interesting  events 
in  his  history  as  a  priest  was  the  cele- 
bration of  his  Silver  Jubilee,  St.  Michael's 
and  his  brethren  of  the  clergy  uniting  in 
making  it  an  occasion  of  great  pleasure 
to  Father  Hargather,  and  of  permanent 
benefit  to  the  church.  The  celebration 
terminated  on  the  evening  of  September 
29.  1903,  where  in  beautiful  St.  Michael's 
Church  Bishop  McQuaid  preached  an  elo- 
quent sermon,  and  Father  Hargather  cele- 
brated solemn  high  mass,  attended  by  one 
hundred  priests  of  the  diocese  and  a  large 
congregation  drawn  from  all  parts  of  the 
city.  Soon  the  Silver  Jubilee  of  his  pas- 
torate of  St.  Michael's  will  be  further 
cause  for  the  rejoicing  of  his  parish  and 
great  as  will  be  the  splendor  and  joy  of 
that  occasion  it  will  but  faintly  reflect  the 
love,  reverence  and  admiration  the  parish 
has  for  the  good  priest  who  has  so  faith- 
fully served  them. 


TAYLOR,  Zachary  P., " 

Lawyer,    Educator,    Publisher. 

A  man  of  broad  culture  Mr.  Taylor's 
capacity  has  been  fully  tested  in  many 
fields,  and  in  his  long  and  active  life  has 
won  success  because  he  merited  it,  not 
through  fortuitous  circumstance.  By  na- 
ture he  is  genial  and  social,  never  too  en- 
grossed in  his  own  work  not  to  be  inter- 
ested in  the  affairs  and  welfare  of  others. 
Those  who  know  him  prize  his  friendship 
and  appreciate  his  sound  judgment.  He 
has  held  to  high  ideals  in  his  profession, 
working  ever  along  lines  of  progress, 
recognizing  the  fact  that  advancement  in 


309 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


any  field  depends  upon  the  ability  to  do 
things  well  and  as  the  years  have  pro- 
gressed he  has  won  substantial  success. 
As  an  author  and  publisher  he  has  en- 
riched the  literature  of  his  profession  with 
many  volumes  of  citations  and  reports, 
while  as  a  lawyer  he  commands  the  re- 
spect and  esteem  of  not  only  his  own  bar 
but  of  the  thousands  who  know  him 
through  his  law  publications.  As  an  edu- 
cator he  held  high  rank,  was  principal  of 
the  West  and  Central  High  Schools  of 
Cleveland,  from  1876  to  1883,  and  as  prin- 
cipal of  the  Rochester  Free  Academy  he 
won  reputation  as  one  of  the  leading  men 
of  that  profession  in  his  native  State. 
Since  18S6,  when  he  resigned  that  prin- 
cipalship,  he  has  devoted  himself  wholly 
to  the  law  as  practitioner,  author  and 
publisher.  Now  in  the  evening  of  life 
he  is  actively  "in  the  harness"  and 
bears  his  years  most  wonderfully.  Length 
of  years  is  his  heritage,  however,  both 
his  father  and  mother  being  in  the 
eighties  and  his  grandmother  in  her 
ninties  ere  they  laid  down  the  burdens 
and  joys  of  life.  They  were  thrifty,  sub- 
stantial farming  people,  the  family  home 
being  at  Clarendon,  Oneida  county. 
New  York,  about  two  and  a  half  miles 
from  Holley. 

Zachary  P.  Taylor  was  born  at  Rome, 
Oneida  county.  New  York,  February  28, 
1846.  At  the  age  of  four  years  he  was 
taken  by  his  parents  to  their  new  home, 
a  farm  at  Clarendon.  There  he  attended 
the  public  schools  and  was  his  father's 
assistant  until  attaining  the  age  of  sixteen 
years.  He  then  renounced  farm  life  and 
in  pursuance  of  plans  for  an  education  en- 
tered Brockport  Collegiate  Institute,  later 
known  as  Brockport  State  Normal  School, 
then  under  the  principalship  of  Malcolm 
J.  McVicar.  The  young  man  applied  him- 
self diligently  to  completing  two  years' 
work  in  Latin  in  one  year  in  addition  to 


his  regular  course  in  Greek  and  other 
studies.  After  leaving  the  institute  he 
taught  four  months  at  Sweden  Center, 
near  Brockport,  then  for  three  months 
served  as  teacher  in  the  high  school  at 
Fort  Wayne,  Indiana. 

In  the  fall  of  1865  he  entered  the  Uni- 
versity of  Rochester  and  during  two  years 
of  his  university  course  taught  Latin  and 
Greek  in  the  Rochester  Collegiate  Insti- 
tute. He  was  graduated  from  the  uni- 
versity with  the  degree  of  A.  B.,  class  of 
1869,  and  three  years  later  received  from 
his  alma  mater  the  degree  of  A.  M.  After 
graduation  he  spent  two  and  a  half  years 
as  vice-principal  of  the  Central  High 
School,  Bufifalo.  New  York,  teaching  the 
classics  in  addition  to  his  duties  as  vice- 
principal.  The  following  one  and  a  half 
years  were  spent  at  Central  High  School, 
Cleveland,  Ohio,  in  a  similar  position, 
resigning  to  complete  his  law  studies 
begun  in  Buffalo  under  the  direction  of 
Wadsworth  White,  of  the  Erie  county 
bar.  He  took  a  course  at  the  law  school 
after  resigning  his  position  in  Cleveland, 
and  after  passing  the  required  examina- 
tion was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1872. 

Mr.  Taylor  did  not  begin  practice  in  his 
native  State  but  at  the  Indiana  bar,  locat- 
ing at  Fort  Wayne  where  he  was  associ- 
ated with  Judge  Joseph  Breckenridge. 
counsel  for  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company  in  Indiana.  He  remained  in 
Fort  Wayne  two  years,  engaged  in  suc- 
cessful practice,  but  his  health  failing  he 
returned  to  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  accepted 
the  ofifer  of  his  old  position  in  the  Cleve- 
land High  School.  Until  1883  he  was 
connected  with  the  Cleveland  schools,  be- 
coming well-known  and  highly  regarded 
as  one  of  the  ablest  educators  of  the 
State.  While  on  a  visit  to  Rochester, 
New  York,  in  July.  1883,  he  yielded  to 
the  importunities  of  the  trustees  of  the 
Rochester  Free  Academy  to  accept  the 


/O^-^^^-rT^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


position  of  principal  of  that  institution 
and  from  the  fall  term  of  1883  until  the 
close  of  the  school  year  in  1886  he  ably 
filled  that  position.  In  1886  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  Monroe  county  bar  and  has 
steadily  pursued  his  profession  until  the 
present  time  (1916)  practicing  in  all  State 
and  Federal  courts  of  the  district.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  local  and  state  bar  asso- 
ciations, very  popular  with  his  brethren 
and  highly  esteemed  by  all. 

In  1890  Mr.  Taylor  published  "Cita- 
tions of  Hun"  in  fifty-three  volumes  of 
the  Supreme  Court  Reports;  in  1900 
"Citations  of  the  New  York  Miscellane- 
ous Reports";  in  1901  "Citations  of  the 
New  York  Court  of  Appeals  Reports" ; 
in  1902  the  New  York  "Appellate  Di- 
vision Report" ;  in  1904  "Analyzed  Cita- 
tions of  New  York  Supplementary  Re- 
ports" ;  in  1906  a  new  series  of  "Analyzed 
Citations  of  the  New  York  Court  of 
Appeals,"  also  Supreme  Court  and  mis- 
cellaneous reports.  Subsequently,  Mr. 
Taylor,  at  the  request  of  New  York 
lawyers,  published  a  general  supplement 
to  the  above  mentioned,  covering  the 
Common  Law,  Chancery,  Surrogate,  etc. 
Reports,  as  well  as  the  Civil,  Criminal 
and  Penal  Codes,  and  the  Consolidated 
Laws.  Some  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  the 
labor  performed  by  Mr.  Taylor  as  author 
and  publisher  of  these  works  may  be 
gained  from  the  fact  that  they  contain 
over  eight  hundred  and  ten  thousand  cita- 
tions. 

Mr.  Taylor  married,  December  29,  1875, 
Effie,  daughter  of  Hiram  Davis,  of 
Rochester.  They  are  the  parents  of  four 
children :  Mortimer,  died  in  1892 ;  Her- 
bert R.,  married  Laura  Farwell,  of  Holley, 
New  York,  in  August,  1912;  Helen  D. ; 
Marion,  married  Herbert  H.  Bohachek, 
in  November,  191 5.  Mr.  Taylor  is  a 
member  of  the  Alpha  Delta  Phi  and  the 
Phi   Beta  Kappa  fraternities,  a  member 


of  Valley  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons, a  Progressive  Republican  in  poli- 
tics, and  in  religious  faith  a  Methodist, 
member  of  Asbury  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 


CONWAY,  Thomas  Franklin, 

Lawyer,  Liieutenant-GoTernor. 

Thomas  Franklin  Conway  is  a  native 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  born  May  4, 
1862,  at  Chesterfield,  Essex  county,  a  son 
of  John  and  Mary  (Collins)  Conway. 
His  parents  were  natives  of  Ireland,  came 
to  America  when  young,  and  settled  in 
the  northern  part  of  New  York,  where 
the  father  was  a  successful  farmer. 
Thomas  F.  Conway  was  reared  upon  the 
paternal  farm,  and  in  youth  attended  the 
common  school  adjacent.  Subsequently 
he  was  a  student  at  Keeseville  Academy, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1878, 
and  thereafter,  for  some  time,  engaged  in 
teaching.  While  thus  occupied  he  de- 
voted his  vacations  and  spare  time  to  the 
study  of  law,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1885.  Immediately  thereafter  he 
established  himself  in  practice  at  Keese- 
ville, and  in  1890  removed  to  Plattsburgh, 
New  York,  where,  within  a  few  years,  he 
became  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Weeds, 
Smith  &  Conway,  which  was  formed  to 
take  over  the  business  of  the  noted  firm 
of  Palmer,  Weed,  Kellogg  &  Smith, 
which  had  been  dissolved  upon  the  eleva- 
tion of  Mr.  Kellogg  to  the  Supreme  Court 
Bench.  The  firm  therefore  was  launched 
under  the  most  favorable  auspices,  with 
an  established  prestige,  and  its  business 
grew  very  rapidly,  no  small  portion  of  its 
advancement  being  due  to  the  initiative 
ability  of  the  junior  partner.  As  much  of 
its  business  came  before  the  courts  of 
New  York  City,  in  1899,  the  firm  of 
Smith,  Conway  &  Weed  was  formed  to 
conduct   business    in    that   city,   and   the 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


style  of  the  Plattsburgh  firm  was  changed 
to  Weeds,  Conway  &  Cotter.  Later  the 
New  York  firm  became  Conway  &  Weed, 
with  offices  in  Nassau  street.  Mr.  Weed 
retired  from  the  firm  in  1912  and  Mr. 
Conway  continued  practice  at  the  same 
address  and  also  his  interest  in  the  Platts- 
burgh firm.  Mr.  Conway  has  been  very 
active  before  both  State  and  Federal 
courts,  having  been  leading  counsel  in 
many  large  cases.  He  was  especially 
prominent  in  the  litigation  growing  out 
of  the  New  York  Subway,  and  was  most 
successful  in  handling  cases  which  in- 
volved great  sums  of  money. 

At  an  early  period  in  his  life,  Mr.  Con- 
way began  to  take  an  interest  in  political 
movements,  and  cast  his  fortunes  with  the 
Democratic  party,  in  whose  principles  he 
sincerely  believes.  For  many  years  he 
has  been  a  leading  speaker  in  national  and 
State  campaigns,  and  was  a  delegate  to 
the  National  Democratic  Convention  held 
in  Chicago,  in  1896,  and  that  at  Kansas 
City,  in  1900.  In  1898  he  accepted  the 
nomination  of  his  party  for  attorney-gen- 
eral of  New  York  State,  and  again,  in 
1900,  consented  to  be  its  candidate  for 
the  same  office.  In  1908  his  friends  in 
Northern  New  York  urged  very  strongly 
his  nomination  as  the  party  candidate  for 
governor,  and  two  years  later,  though  not 
a  candidate,  the  State  Convention  placed 
him  in  nomination  for  the  office  of  lieu- 
tenant-governor, to  which  he  was  tri- 
umphantly elected  in  November,  follow- 
ing. He  declined  to  be  a  candidate  for  re- 
nomination  to  the  office  of  lieutenant- 
governor  owing  to  the  demands  of  his 
large  law  practice  and  his  many  impor- 
tant business  interests.  On  every  occa- 
sion when  he  was  a  candidate,  the  people 
of  his  home  locality  rallied  earnestly 
and  cordially  to  his  support,  a  very  high 
compliment  to  his  ability  and  standing, 
and  his  strength  was  shown  by  his  in- 
creased vote  over  his  fellow  candidates. 


He  has  never  abandoned  the  interests  of 
the  section  in  which  he  was  born  and 
reared,  and  has  done  much  in  a  private 
way  in  aiding  worthy  young  men  who 
sought  to  become  established  in  the  prac- 
tice of  law.  This  has  assured  to  him  the 
loyalty  and  friendship  of  his  home  section 
of  the  State,  especially,  and  he  has  con- 
tinued to  enjoy  the  esteem  and  confidence 
of  his  contemporaries  in  all  quarters.  He 
continues  to  retain  an  interest  in  farming, 
and  is  himself  a  practical  agriculturist, 
giving  attention  to  his  landed  estate  in 
Northern  New  York.  While  Mr.  Conway 
has  been  showered  with  honors  by  his 
political  party,  he  has  never  been  a  seeker 
after  office.  Because  of  his  faith  in  the 
underlying  principles  of  his  party,  he  has 
ever  been  ready  to  give  his  efiforts  in  its 
support.  When  he  was  first  a  candidate 
for  attorney-general,  he  ran  many  thou- 
sand votes  ahead  of  his  ticket,  and  on 
every  occasion  his  showing  at  the  polls 
has  proved  the  advantage  which  the  ticket 
enjoyed  through  bearing  his  name.  He 
continues  to  make  his  home  in  Northern 
New  York,  and  to  give  unsparingly  of  his 
advice  and  services  in  every  movement 
calculated  to  promote  its  highest  welfare. 
He  is  unmarried. 


TAYLOR,  Irwin, 

Lanryer,   Librarian. 

Since  graduation  from  the  Ohio  College 
of  Law  in  1868,  Mr.  Taylor  has  been  at 
different  periods  an  active  member  of  the 
bar  of  the  States  of  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Kan- 
sas, Illinois  and  New  York.  For  the  past 
quarter  of  a  century  he  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Monroe  county  bar,  and  since 
1900  has  been  librarian  for  the  appellate 
division  of  the  fourth  department,  that 
library  consisting  of  about  35,000  vol- 
umes, being  one  of  the  best  law  book  col- 
lections in  the  State.  Actual  court  room 
practice  has  not  appealed  to  Mr.  Taylor 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


as  has  the  literary  side  of  his  profession, 
although  prior  to  his  locating  in  Topeka, 
Kansas,  in  1880,  he  conducted  general 
practice  in  Paris  and  Covington,  Ken- 
tucky. He  is  a  well-known  author  of  law 
books  and  is  a  law  editorial  writer,  while 
as  a  law  librarian  and  authority  he  has  no 
superiors  in  the  State. 

Irwin  Taylor  was  born  in  Maysville. 
Kentucky,  was  educated  in  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  completing  his  law  courses  and  re- 
ceiving his  degree  from  Ohio  College  of 
Law  in  1868.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
Ohio  bar  the  same  year,  also  to  the  Ken- 
tucky bar,  practicing  in  both  Cincinnati, 
Ohio,  and  Covington,  Kentucky,  for  a 
time,  but  later  located  in  Paris,  Ken- 
tucky, where  he  remained  until  1880.  In 
that  year  he  went  West,  locating  at 
Topeka,  Kansas,  where  he  became  assis- 
tant attorney-general.  While  in  Topeka 
he  published  a  number  of  law  books,  in- 
cluding the  Statutes  of  Kansas,  and  be- 
came well  known  in  legal  circles.  He 
later  came  East,  locating  in  Chicago, 
where  until  1892  he  was  engaged  in  edi- 
torial law  work.  He  came  to  Rochester 
in  1892,  and  soon  afterward  was  ap- 
pointed assistant  librarian  of  the  law 
library,  serving  as  assistant  until  1900, 
when  he  was  appointed  to  his  present 
position,  librarian  for  the  law  library  of 
the  appellate  division  of  the  fourth  de- 
partment, located  in  the  Court  House  at 
Rochester. 

Mr.  Taylor  is  well  qualified  for  the 
position  he  fills,  his  intellectual  attain- 
ments and  his  legal  learning  and  experi- 
ence, his  intimate  knowledge  of  law 
books,  statutes  and  reports  combining  to 
render  him  eminently  fit  to  advise  and 
direct  patrons  of  the  library.  His  private 
library  is  a  large  and  complete  one,  rich 
in  legal  lore  of  every  State.  A  ripe 
scholar  and  strong  intellectually,  he  is  as 
much  at  home  in  the  wide  field  of  litera- 
ture as  in  the  realm  of  law,  and  is  a  most 


discriminating  reader.  Honorable  and 
high  minded,  he  occupies  an  enviable 
position  among  his  brethren  of  the  pro- 
fession, they  according  him  their  highest 
esteem  and  respect.  The  strength  of  his 
private  life  and  character  adds  dignity  as 
well  as  usefulness  to  the  position  which 
he  holds,  and  all  feel  that  he  is  a  man  in 
whom  perfect  confidence  may  be  placed. 

Air.  Taylor  is  a  veteran  of  the  Civil 
War,  his  service  having  been  mostly  as 
an  enlisted  member  of  the  Independent 
Irregular  Cavalry  under  the  immediate 
command  of  Captain  S.  W.  Bard,  of  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio.  For  a  time  he  was  on 
scout  and  picket  duty  under  General  Lew 
Wallace,  but  his  service  was  mostly  in 
Kentucky  during  the  raids  made  by  the 
Confederate  troops  under  Generals  Kir- 
by.  Smith  and  Morgan.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  New  York  Library  Association  and 
of  several  professional  and  social  organi- 
zations. 

Mr.  Taylor  married,  in  1872,  Lizzie 
Hall,  of  Paris,  Kentucky,  who  died  in 
1906,  leaving  three  sons  and  three  daugh- 
ters:  Huston  Taylor,  of  Detroit,  Michi- 
gan ;  J.  Irwin  Taylor,  located  in  New 
York  City ;  J.  Hall  Taylor,  inventor  and 
manager  of  the  American  Spiral  Pipe 
Company,  of  Chicago;  Mary  B.,  residing 
with  her  father;  Mrs.  Elizabeth  C.  Mul- 
liner,  of  Fairport,  New  York;  and  Mrs. 
Lucy  Sanders,  of  Thomasville,  Georgia. 


FOOLE,  Harry  Otis,''^ 

Iiaivyer. 

A  practitioner  at  the  Monroe  county 
bar  for  the  past  twenty-two  years.  Mr. 
Poole  has  well  accounted  for  those  years 
as  his  present  rank  at  that  bar  amply 
testifies.  His  practice,  general  in  char- 
acter, is  conducted  in  all  State  and  Fed- 
eral Courts  of  the  district,  his  records  of 
legal  victories  won  being  very  large,  in- 
cluding some  of  the  celebrated  cases  tried 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  the  courts  of  Western  New  York.  He 
is  learned  in  the  law,  skillful  in  its  appli- 
cation, a  cool,  wary  opponent  in  the  court 
room,  yet  eminently  fair  in  his  methods, 
courteous  to  the  court,  but  a  powerful 
advocate  for  the  cause  he  represents.  The 
rank  he  holds  at  the  bar  has  been  fairly 
won  and  he  holds  the  true  regard  of  the 
members  of  the  bench  whose  dignity  and 
authority  he  respects  and  of  the  bar 
whose  rights  and  privileges  he  never  in- 
fringes, even  in  the  heat  of  controversy 
and  strife  for  legal  advantage.  The  rules 
of  the  profession  are  strictly  observed  by 
Mr.  Poole  under  all  circumstances  and  no 
taint  of  unprofessional  conduct  mars  his 
brilliant  record.  He  is  a  "native  son"  of 
Rochester,  his  father  and  mother  also  be- 
ing born  there,  but  his  grandfather,  how- 
ever, Joseph  H.  Poole,  came  from  Eng- 
land about  the  year  1845,  settling  in  the 
town  of  Gates,  Monroe  county.  New 
York,  there  operating  a  grist  mill  for 
several  years.    He  died  in  1891. 

His  son,  Charles  A.  Poole,  born  in 
Rochester,  died  in  Detroit,  Michigan, 
September  30,  1907.  Charles  A.  Poole 
married  Amorette  Otis,  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam and  Mary  A.  C.  (Late)  Otis,  the 
former  a  native  son  of  the  State  of  Maine, 
the  latter  a  native  of  the  State  of  Marj'- 
land.  William  Otis  came  to  Rochester 
from  Frederick  City,  Maryland,  where 
their  daughter  and  their  illustrious  son. 
General  Elwell  Stephen  Otis,  were  born, 
the  latter  a  veteran  of  two  wars  and  an 
officer  of  the  United  States  regular  army, 
brevetted  major-general  for  "military 
skill  and  most  distinguished  service  in  the 
Philippine  Islands." 

Harry  Otis  Poole,  son  of  Charles  A. 
and  Amorette  (Otis)  Poole,  was  born  in 
Rochester,  New  York,  October  3,  1871, 
and  since  February,  1896.  has  been  a 
member  of  the  Monroe  county  bar,  prac- 
ticing in  Rochester  He  obtained  his 
early  and  preparatory  educational  train- 
ing in   private   New   York   City  schools, 


later  entering  Princeton  University, 
whence  he  was  graduated  A.  B.,  class  of 
"93."  The  three  years  succeeding  his 
graduation  were  spent  in  legal  study  in 
Rochester,  and  in  February,  1896,  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar.  He  began  practice 
in  Rochester  at  once  forming  a  partner- 
ship with  Selden  S.  Brown,  later  and  now 
(1916)  surrogate  of  Monroe  county.  This 
partnership,  conducted  under  the  firm 
name  of  Brown  &  Poole,  continued  for 
ten  years,  terminating  January,  1906. 
From  that  date  Mr.  Poole  has  practiced 
alone,  his  offices  339  Powers  Building. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  professional  law 
associations  of  the  City,  County  and  State 
and  of  the  Rochester  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, contributing  to  all  that  concerns 
the  work  of  those  organizations  as  his 
own  time  will  allow.  His  club  is  the 
Genesee  Valley.  In  political  faith  a  Re- 
publican, he  is  interested  in  party  suc- 
cess, but  has  studiously  refrained  from 
taking  such  active  part  in  public  affairs 
as  to  interfere  with  his  usefulness  to  his 
clients.  He  does  not,  however,  lack  in 
public  spirit,  being  fully  alive  to  his 
duties  and  responsibilities  as  a  citizen. 
He  is  a  member  of  Frank  A.  Lawrence 
Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  has 
attained  the  thirty-second  degree,  An- 
cient Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  and  is  a 
Noble  of  the  Mystic  Shrine  belonging  to 
Damascus  Temple. 

Mr.  Poole  married,  September  22,  1903, 
Nanette  R.,  daughter  of  Francis  Delano, 
of  Niagara  Falls,  New  York.  They  are 
the  parents  of  Elizabeth  Delano  Poole, 
born  June  22,  1905,  and  Arthur  Otis 
Poole,  born  June  28,  1912.  The  family 
home  is  No.  60  Westminster  road. 


FISHER,  Edwin  Augustus,     ^ 

Consnlting  Eng^ineer. 

For  nearly  half  a  century  Mr.  Fisher 
has  been  engaged  in  engineering  profes- 
sionally, and  since   1882  he  has  been  a 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


resident  of  the  cit}^  of  Rochester,  New 
York,  having  previously  been  a  resident 
of  his  native  State,  Massachusetts.  His 
work  has  been  of  varied  character,  but 
railroad  and  municipal  water  works,  plan- 
ning building  and  operating,  have  been  his 
special  lines.  As  consulting  engineer  for 
the  city  of  Rochester,  and  corporations  of 
note,  he  is  now  realizing  the  benefit  of 
his  many  years  of  arduous  labor  and  in 
the  quieter  field  of  consultation  the  even- 
ing of  life  is  being  most  profitably  spent. 
There  are  few  men  whose  experience  as 
engineers  covers  a  longer  period  than  his 
own,  and  none  have  won  more  honorable 
standing  in  the  profession.  He  has  made 
it  his  life  work  and  the  time  of  entrance 
to  the  profession  as  a  student  has  allowed 
no  other  interest  to  intervene.  He  is 
widely  known  to  the  profession  all  over 
the  United  States,  and  as  director  of  the 
American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  and 
president  of  the  American  Society  of 
Municipal  Improvements  has  come  in 
personal  contact  with  many  of  the  leading 
men  and  specialists  in  those  lines.  His 
is  a  genial,  warm-hearted,  sympathetic 
nature,  and  the  number  of  his  friends  is 
legion. 

Edwin  Augustus  Fisher  was  born  at 
Royalston,  Worcester  county,  Massachu- 
setts, July  17,  1847.  He  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  and  completed  a  full 
course  in  the  English  branches  with  grad- 
uation from  the  State  Normal  School  at 
Westfield,  Massachusetts.  He  then  began 
the  study  of  civil  engineering,  and  in 
school  and  field  work  thoroughly  pre- 
pared for  the  practice  of  engineering  as  a 
profession.  From.  1870  until  1882  his  time 
was  fully  employed  as  an  engineer  in 
charge  of  railroad  waterworks  and  bridge 
planning  and  construction  in  New  Eng- 
land. In  1882  he  located  in  Rochester, 
New  York,  as  first  assistant  engineer  on 
the   construction   of  the   Genesee   Valley 


Consolidated  Railroad,  and  from  that  year 
Rochester  has  been  his  home  and  the  seat 
of  his  activity,  although  his  engagements 
at  times  took  him  to  other  localities  for 
extended  periods. 

After  the  completion  of  his  first  New 
York  undertaking,  he  was  retained  by  the 
Western,  New  York  &  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road as  division  engineer,  continuing  in 
the  capacity  until  1889,  when  he  was 
appointed  superintendent  of  the  Pitts- 
burgh division  of  the  road.  This  called 
for  his  almost  constant  presence  in  Oil 
City,  Pennsylvania,  and  when  in  1893 
there  was  an  opportunity  to  return  to 
Rochester  he  embraced  it. 

From  1893  until  1896  he  was  chief 
assistant  engineer  of  the  city  in  charge  of 
the  construction  of  the  works  giving 
Rochester  an  additional  water  supply,  and 
in  1896  was  appointed  city  engineer. 
From  January  i,  1900,  he  was  in  full 
charge  of  all  city  engineering,  including 
the  water  works,  and  also  was  ex-officio, 
a  member  of  the  City  Board  of  Estimate 
and  Apportionment,  the  Board  of  Con- 
tract and  Supply,  the  Examining  Board 
of  Plumbers,  and  secretary  of  the  Market 
Commission.  He  continued  as  city  engi- 
neer with  these  added  responsibilities  un- 
til 1914  when  he  was  appointed  consult- 
ing engineer  to  the  city.  He  then  also 
opened  private  offices  at  300  Power's 
Building,  and  as  private  consulting  engi- 
neer meets  the  demands  for  his  profes- 
sional services.  His  work  in  connection 
with  Rochester's  engineering  problems 
has  been  very  valuable  and  has  been 
highly  commended  by  those  who  pos- 
sessed full  knowledge  of  the  importance 
of  the  work  he  performed. 

He  is  a  member  of  and  a  past  director 
of  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engi- 
neers, member  of  the  American  Water- 
works Association,  the  New  England 
Waterworks   Association,   the    Rochester 


315 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Engineering-  Society  and  the  American 
Society  of  Municipal  Improvements  of 
which  he  is  an  ex-president.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Masonic  order,  belonging  to 
Frank  R.  Lawrence  Lodge,  Cyrene  Com- 
mandery,  Knights  Templar,  and  Damas- 
cus Temple,  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine. 
Mr.  Fisher  married,  February  17,  1875, 
Ellen  F.  Breckenridge,  of  Ware,  Massa- 
chusetts, who  died  in  1913.  They  are  the 
parents  of  Lewis  J. ;  Julia  K.,  wife  of  Rev. 
Arthur  Clements,  deceased;  Florence  M., 
wife  of  Robert  A.  Copeland ;  Edwin  H.; 
William  B.;  and  Fanny  B..  residing  with 
her  parents  at  the  family  home,  No.  30 
Albemarle  street,  Rochester. 


HYDE,  Edwin  Francis, 

Banker,    Lawyer,    Mnsical    Critic. 

Edwin  Francis  Hyde,  a  banker  of  New 
York  City,  well  known  in  the  legal  pro- 
fession in  this  city,  also  in  musical  circles, 
and  perhaps  the  best  known  American 
in  the  musical  circles  of  Europe,  in  which 
art  he  has  ever  taken  a  profound  inter- 
est, winning  a  high  place  in  the  esteem 
of  musicians  and  music  lovers,  is  a  de- 
scendant of  an  old  New  England  family, 
which  has  ever  been  distinguished  for 
talent  and  high  moral  principle,  charac- 
teristics which  distinguish  the  present- 
day  members. 

The  Hydes  were  a  noted  family  in  Eng- 
land. Sir  Nicholas  Hyde  was  chief  jus- 
tice of  the  King's  Bench,  and  Edward 
Hyde,  Earl  of  Clarendon,  was  lord  chan- 
cellor at  the  restoration,  and  was  grand- 
father to  two  queens  in  the  English  suc- 
cession, Mary,  the  second,  and  Anne.  The 
Hyde  descendants  in  America  were 
strong  in  great  men,  among  whom  were : 
Hon.  Matthew  Griswold,  chief  justice 
and  governor  of  Connecticut ;  Hon.  John 
M.  Niles,  United  States  senator  and  post- 
master-general in  Van  Buren's  adminis- 
tration;  the  Rev.  Edward  Duran  Griffin, 


president  of  Williams  College ;  the  Hon. 
William  Woodbridge,  United  States  Sen- 
ator and  governor  of  Michigan. 

The  American  ancestor,  William  Hyde, 
came  from  England  about  1633,  and  after 
a  short  sojourn  at  Newton,  Massachu- 
setts, went  with  Rev.  Thomas  Hooker  to 
Connecticut,  in  1636,  and  settled  at  Say- 
brook,  whence  he  removed,  in  1660,  to 
Norwich,  where  he  was  one  of  the  origi- 
nal proprietors,  frequently  held  office, 
and  died  January  6,  1681.  His  son,  Sam- 
uel Hyde,  born  about  1637,  settled  as  a 
farmer  in  Norwich  West  Farms,  where 
he  was  a  prominent  citizen.  He  married, 
in  June,  1659,  Jane  Lee,  of  East  Say- 
brook,  daughter  of  Thomas  Lee.  Sam- 
uel Hyde  died  in  1677.  Their  second 
son,  John  Hyde,  born  December,  1667, 
was  a  farmer  in  Norwich  on  land  which 
was  still  held  by  his  descendants  as  late 
as  1859,  and  died  June  26,  1727.  He  mar- 
ried, March  3,  1698,  Experience,  born  De- 
cember, 1674,  in  Norwich,  daughter  of 
Caleb  and  Margaret  (Post)  Abel.  Their 
third  son,  Captain  James  Hyde,  born 
February  28,  1707,  died  April  24,  1793, 
was  a  shipmaster.  He  married,  Decem- 
ber 26,  1743,  Sarah  Marshall,  born  April 
12,  1720,  in  Norwich,  daughter  of  Abiel 
and  Abiah  (Hough)  Marshall,  died  No- 
vember 3,  1773.  Their  second  son.  Cap- 
tain James  Hyde,  was  born  July  17,  1752, 
in  Norwich,  where  he  made  his  home, 
and  died  April  9,  1809.  He  was  an  officer 
in  the  Revolutionary  army,  a  local  Metho- 
dist preacher,  and  a  most  useful  citizen. 
He  married,  April  5,  1774,  Martha  Nevins, 
born  1756,  died  1823.  Their  eldest  child, 
Erastus  Hyde,  born  February  7,  1775, 
died  October  13,  1849,  in  Brooklyn,  New 
York.  He  removed,  about  1800,  to  Mid- 
dlebury,  Vermont,  later  removed  to 
Mystic,  Groton,  Bozrah,  Connecticut,  and 
finally  to  New  York  City.  He  married, 
February  26,  1797,  Fanny  Bell,  born  1775, 
died  March  10,  1842,  in  New  York,  daugh- 


316 


<£^ 


rrc^^^^^       J-hycLs^ 


y^. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ter  of  Captain  Joseph  and  Mary  Bell,  of 
Stonington,  Connecticut.  Their  fifth  son, 
Edwin  Hyde,  born  February  19,  1812,  in 
Groton,  Connecticut,  died  in  New  York 
City,  in  1896.  He  resided  in  New  York 
City,  where  he  was  a  tea  merchant.  He 
married,  February  24,  1833,  Elizabeth 
Alvina  Mead,  born  in  Belleville,  New  Jer- 
sey, daughter  of  Ralph  Mead,  later  of 
New  York,  and  his  wife,  Sarah  (Holmes) 
Mead.  The  Mead  family  descends  from 
William  Mead,  a  pioneer  of  Wethersfield, 
later  Stamford,  Connecticut. 

E.  Francis  Hyde,  son  of  Edwin  and 
Elizabeth  Alvina  (Mead)  Hyde,  was  born 
in  New  York  City,  June  23,  1842.  He  re- 
ceived his  early  education  in  the  schools 
of  that  city  and  Middletown,  Connecticut. 
He  graduated  from  the  New  York  Free 
Academy  (now  the  College  of  the  City  of 
New  York)  in  1861,  and  two  years  later 
received  from  Columbia  Law  School  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Laws.  In  1862, 
during  the  progress  of  the  Civil  War,  he 
enlisted  his  services  in  defence  of  the  gov- 
ernment, and  served  in  the  United  States 
army  in  the  State  of  Virginia.  In  the 
following  year,  1863,  he  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  law  and  continued  until  1886, 
a  period  of  almost  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
his  practice  being  largely  in  connection 
with  wills  and  estates,  and  his  varied  and 
extensive  knowledge  in  that  line  proved 
a  valuable  asset  to  him  in  his  capacity  of 
vice-president  of  the  Central  Trust  Com- 
pany of  New  York,  to  which  office  he 
was  elected  in  1886,  this  company  having 
always  taken  a  leading  position  as  a  trus- 
tee of  railroad  and  other  corporations  and 
also  of  personal  trusts.  In  political  affairs 
Mr.  Hyde  has  been  accustomed  to  act 
with  the  Republicans.  He  is  an  elder  of 
the  Presbyterian  church  ;  a  trustee  of  the 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Home  Missions; 
a  member  of  the  New  York  Sabbath 
Committee ;  a  manager  of  the  American 
Bible  Society,  and  trustee  and  treasurer 


of  Princeton  Theological  Seminary  since 
1898.  His  interest  in  the  finer  arts  and 
in  the  general  welfare  work  of  the  com- 
munity is  well  known,  and  he  is  esteemed 
and  regarded  as  one  of  the  promoters  of 
human  progress.  He  is  a  patron  of  or- 
chestral music,  and  holds  membership  in 
the  various  organizations  devoted  to  the 
promotion  of  musical  study  and  composi- 
tion. From  1888  to  1901  he  was  presi- 
dent of  the  Philharmonic  Society  of  New 
York,  and  he  is  a  fellow  of  the  Philhar- 
monic Society  of  London,  England.  In 
1903  he  organized  a  plan  by  which  the 
famous  conductors,  Wassily  Safonoff, 
Felix  Weingartner,  Max  Fiedler,  Edward 
Colonne,  Willem  Margelberg,  Sir  Henry 
J.  Wood,  Fritz  Steinbach  and  others  were 
induced  to  come  to  the  United  States  for 
the  first  time  as  conductors  and  direct  at 
the  concerts  of  the  Philharmonic  Society 
of  New  York,  thus  insuring  to  the  pa- 
trons of  that  society  a  rare  musical  treat. 
Mr.  Hyde  is  also  a  member  of  the  Asso- 
ciation of  the  Bar  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  the  New  England  Society  in  New 
York,  the  Society  of  Colonial  Wars,  Sons 
of  the  Revolution,  Metropolitan  Museum 
of  Art,  and  he  holds  membership  in  nu- 
merous clubs,  including  the  Century, 
Union  League,  Metropolitan,  University, 
Riding,  City  and  Downtown. 

Mr.  Hyde  married,  November  18,  1868, 
Marie  E.  Brown,  daughter  of  Albert  N. 
Brown,  a  well  known  merchant  of  New 
York  City. 


BALDWIN,  Evelyn,  M.  D., 

Practitioner. 

In  no  age  has  the  world  been  so  largely 
indebted  to  woman  as  at  the  present. 
Thoroughly  aroused  to  the  needs  which 
have  been  brought  about  through  modern 
conditions  and  recognizing  the  value  of 
organized  effort,  women  of  to-day  are 
doing  a   splendid   and   effective   work   in 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  professions,  charitable  and  philan- 
thropic work.  Considered  the  weaker  sex 
for  centuries,  she  has  proven  herself  the 
peer  of  the  strongest,  and  during  this 
awful  period  of  devastating  war  is  prov- 
ing on  the  battle  field,  in  hospital,  in  fac- 
torj',  mill,  workshop,  and  field,  that  even 
in  muscular  force  she  is  not  unequal  to 
the  severest  tests.  Dr.  Baldwin,  who 
since  1892  has  practiced  medicine  in 
Rochester,  is  not  only  a  physician  of  the 
highest  professional  class,  but  is  pos- 
sessed of  the  womanly  graces  of  mind 
and  character  which  in  combination  with 
her  medical  skill  completes  the  woman 
whose  aims  are  unselfish,  whose  deeds 
are  prompted  by  the  higher  motive  of 
sincere  interest  in  and  love  for  humanity. 
She  maintains  a  beautiful  home  at  No.  4 
West  avenue,  Rochester,  also  the  abode 
of  her  widowed  mother,  and  there  a 
charming  hospitality  is  dispensed  to  their 
many  friends.  There  Dr.  Baldwin  also 
has  her  professional  home  and  offices 
from  which  she  dispenses  the  healing  aid 
she  is  so  well  qualified  to  bestow.  Her 
influence  is  exerted  in  behalf  of  suffering 
humanity  and  her  worthy  life  has  gone 
far  to  break  down  that  unmanly  preju- 
dice, now  happily  a  thing  of  the  past, 
against  the  admission  of  women  to  the 
learned  professions. 

She  is  a  native  daughter  of  New  York. 
born  at  Wellsville,  Allegany  county,  Sep- 
tember 29,  i860;  her  parents,  William  and 
Minerva  I.  (Hamilton)  Baldwin.  Wil- 
liam Baldwin  spent  his  early  life  in 
Seneca  county,  New  York,  was  an  active 
business  man  during  his  mature  years,  a 
merchant  and  private  banker  of  Hornells- 
ville  and  Wellsville.  The  last  year  of  his 
life  was  spent  with  his  daughter,  Dr. 
Baldwin,  in  Rochester,  where  he  died  in 
1895,  still  (1916)  survived  by  his  widow. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Baldwin  were  the  parents 
of  two  children,  Herbert  E.,  a  druggist 
of  Rochester,  and  Evelyn,  whose  career 


furnishes  the  inspiration  for  this  tribute 
of  appreciation. 

Evelyn  Baldwin  completed  her  pre- 
paratory education  at  Rochester  High 
School,  later  entering  Vassar  College, 
pursuing  a  full  course  at  that  famous  in- 
stitution to  graduation,  receiving  her  de- 
gree with  the  class  of  "83."  Amid  the 
inspiring  surroundings  of  college  life,  the 
ambition  was  formed  to  become  a  physi- 
cian and  the  high  ideals  which  were  then 
l)orn  have  been  faithfully  followed.  She 
prepared  at  the  Woman's  Medical  Col- 
lege, New  York  City,  now  a  department 
of  Cornell  University,  and  in  1S92  re- 
ceived from  that  institution  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine.  In  July  following 
her  graduation  she  located  in  Rochester, 
practicing  for  the  first  six  months  in  asso- 
ciation with  Dr.  Frances  F.  Hamilton, 
her  aunt.  She  then  opened  private  offices 
and  has  since  practiced  alone.  Her  suc- 
cess has  been  marked  and  during  her 
practice  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century 
she  had  developed  a  skill  in  diagnosis  and 
treatment  which  has  brought  her  profes- 
sional honor  and  public  esteem.  As  an 
obstetrician  she  has  won  her  greatest 
reputation  and  to  the  complex  problems 
of  that  branch  of  the  medical  profession 
her  special  efforts  have  been  directed. 
Her  practice  is  large,  but  she  meets  the 
demands  made  upon  her  for  professional 
service  most  conscientiously,  holding 
sacred  the  physician's  obligation  to 
answer  the  calls  for  assistance  no  matter 
at  what  personal  cost.  Her  life  has  been 
both  a  blessing  and  an  inspiration,  and 
her  honorable,  upright,  ethical  profes- 
sional career  has  won  her  the  highest  re- 
gard of  the  medical  fraternity. 

Dr.  Baldwin  is  a  member  and  an  ex- 
president  of  the  Blackwell  Medical  Soci- 
ety of  Rochester,  organized  in  1887,  mem- 
bership limited  to  women ;  the  Medical 
Society  of  the  County  of  Monroe,  organ- 
ized in    1820,  open  to  all  regular  physi- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


cians ;  the  Rochester  Academy  of  Medi- 
cine, also  open  to  all  physicians,  and  of 
the  Woman's  New  York  State  Medical 
Society.  She  keeps  in  closest  touch  with 
modern  medical  thought  and  discovery 
through  the  medium  of  these  societies, 
and  the  medical  journals,  also  by  research 
and  investigation,  evolving  theories  of 
her  own,  which  practice  has  proven  cor- 
rect. For  several  years  she  was  con- 
nected with  the  City  Hospital  and  in  her 
practice  performs  a  vast  amount  of  work 
without  expectation  of  fee  or  reward. 


BROWNING,  Clarence  J..  | 
Attorney-at-Law. 

From  early  days  in  Monroe  county, 
New  York,  the  name  of  Browning  has 
been  a  familiar  one,  Dr.  John  Browning 
locating  in  the  town  of  Mendon  in  1816, 
coming  from  Massachusetts,  where  the 
family  ranked  with  the  ancient  and 
honorable.  Clarence  J.  Browning,  a  twen- 
tieth century  representative,  has  since 
1882  been  a  member  of  the  Monroe 
county  bar,  practicing  in  Rochester, 
where  he  is  ranked  among  the  able  mem- 
bers of  a  bar  noted  for  its  men  of  strength 
and  eminence. 

For  half  a  century,  1816-66,  John 
Browning  practiced  his  healing  art  in  the 
town  of  Mendon,  passing  to  his  reward  at 
the  age  of  eighty-two  years.  He  was  a 
typical  doctor  of  the  old  school,  giving 
his  life  for  others,  riding  and  driving  the 
lonely  trails  and  roads  in  all  kinds  of 
weather,  practicing  medicine,  surgery, 
dentistry,  dispensing  healing  and  hope, 
the  friend  of  all  and  the  Nestor  of  his 
community. 

Alfred  P.  Browning,  son  of  Dr.  John 
Browning,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Men- 
don in  1821,  there  passed  his  life  and  died 
December  5,  1906.  He  pursued  the  quiet, 
peaceful  life  of  a  farmer,  was  one  of  the 
substantial   men   of  his   town,   and   was 

3 


highly  esteemed  as  a  man  of  integrity  and 
character.  He  married  Delia  Stearns, 
whose  forbears  came  to  Monroe  county 
in  1816.  She  died  in  1891,  the  mother  of 
two  children,  Clara  M.,  wife  of  William 
F.  Woolston,  of  Pittsford,  Monroe  county, 
New  York,  and  Clarence  J.,  of  Rochester. 
Clarence  J.  Browning  was  born  at  the 
homestead  in  the  town  of  Mendon,  Mon- 
roe county.  New  York,  March  27,  1856. 
After  exhausting  the  advantages  of  the 
public  schools  of  his  district,  he  entered 
Lima  Seminary,  there  pursuing  advanced 
studies  until  graduation  with  the  class  of 
1877.  He  later  began  the  study  of  law 
under  the  preceptorship  of  John  Van 
Voorhis,  the  eminent  lawyer  of  Roches- 
ter, and  continued  his  study  until  suc- 
cessfully passing  the  examining  board  in 
1882,  when  he  gained  admission  to  the 
Monroe  county  bar.  He  continued  in  the 
Van  Voorhis  law  offices  after  his  admis- 
sion and  was  associated  with  that  firm 
until  1888,  then  began  the  private  prac- 
tice of  his  profession.  The  years  have 
brought  their  reward,  many  important 
cases  have  been  entrusted  to  his  care  and 
brought  to  successful  issue,  and  the  hopes 
of  the  young  lawyer  have  ended  in 
fruition.  Since  1899  he  has  practiced 
alone,  the  details  of  a  large  practice  hold- 
ing his  undivided  attention.  He  is  mas- 
ter of  the  art  of  presentation  and  his 
briefs  are  models  of  clearness  and  dic- 
tion. His  knowledge  of  the  law  is  deep 
and  comprehensive,  his  speech  eloquent 
and  pleasing.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Rochester  Bar  and  other  legal  societies 
of  the  district,  and  in  all  State  and  Fed- 
eral courts  his  appearance  is  frequent. 
In  political  faith  he  is  a  Republican,  but 
the  law  is  to  him  a  jealous  mistress  and 
he  owns  allegiance  to  no  other. 

Mr.  Browning  married,  March  6,  1883, 
Harriet  S.  Hastings,  of  Lima,  New  York, 
daughter   of   George   Hastings,   of   Men- 
don, New  York. 
[9 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


TOOKE,  Charles  Wesley, 

Lawyer,  Author. 

Charles  Wesley  Tooke,  junior  partner 
of  the  law  firm  of  Northup,  Tooke,  Lynch 
&  Carlson,  of  Syracuse,  was  born  in  the 
town  of  Onondaga,  November  21,  1870. 
The  family  is  of  Scotch-Irish  origin,  and 
was  founded  in  America  by  the  great- 
grandfather of  Mr.  Tooke,  who  came  to 
the  New  World  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  year  1798  and  settled  in  the  town  of 
Eaton,  Madison  county,  New  York,  on 
what  is  still  known  at  the  Tooke  home- 
stead. Wesley  Fletcher  Tooke,  father  of 
Charles  W.  Tooke,  was  a  minister  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  who  served 
as  pastor  in  the  Oneida  conference  and 
later  labored  earnestly  in  connection  with 
the  churches  in  Northern  New  York.  He 
died  in  the  year  1907.  His  wife,  Adelia 
Elizabeth  (Ney)  Tooke,  was  a  daughter 
of  Charles  Ney,  of  Vernon,  Oneida  coun- 
ty. New  York,  and  a  representative  of 
an  old  New  England  family  of  French 
lineage.  Most  of  this  family  removed 
from  Connecticut  to  New  York  and  the 
mother  is  now  living  with  Mr.  Tooke  in 
Syracuse. 

While  spending  his  boyhood  in  the 
home  of  his  parents,  Charles  Wesley 
Tooke  acquired  a  common  school  educa- 
tion and  later  pursued  a  preparatory 
course  in  Franklin  Academy  at  Malone, 
New  York.  In  1887  he  matriculated  in 
Syracuse  University  and  was  graduated 
with  the  Bachelor  of  Arts  degree  in  1891, 
receiving  the  key  for  the  scholarship  Phi 
Beta  Kappa.  He  also  became  a  member 
of  the  Psi  Upsilon.  Following  his  gradu- 
ation Mr.  Tooke  engaged  in  teaching  for 
one  year  as  principal  of  the  schools  of 
Westernville,  New  York,  and  the  follow- 
ing year  accepted  the  professorship  of 
mathematics  in  Genesee  Wesleyan  Acad- 
emy at  Lima,  New  York,  where  he  re- 
mained for  a  year.     The  following  year 


was  devoted  to  post-graduate  work  in 
Cornell  University,  and  in  1894-95  he  was 
a  fellow  in  administrative  law  at  Colum- 
bia University  in  New  York  City.  From 
1895  until  1902  he  was  connected  with 
the  University  of  Illinois  at  Urbana,  first 
as  Professor  of  Political  Science  and 
afterward  as  Professor  of  Law.  The 
Master  of  Arts  degree  was  conferred 
upon  him  at  Syracuse  University  in  1893, 
and  the  Bachelor  of  Laws  by  the  Univer- 
sity of  Illinois  in  1898. 

In  1902  Mr.  Tooke  entered  upon  the 
active  practice  of  his  profession  in  Syra- 
cuse and  associated  with  Judge  Northrup 
in  general  practice  with  a  large  and  dis- 
tinctively representative  clientage.  The 
present  firm,  with  the  addition  of  Francis 
J.  Lynch  and  Alexander  S.  Carlson,  is 
known  as  Northup,  Tooke,  Lynch  & 
Carlson.  Mr.  Tooke  is  regarded  as  a 
capable  educator  in  legal  lines  and  is  the 
author  of  numerous  brochures,  including 
"Translations  of  the  Constitution  of 
Chile,"  "Uniformity  in  Municipal  Fi- 
nance" and  "Constitutional  Limitations 
of  Municipal  Indebtedness."  Aside  from 
his  professional  interests,  Mr.  Tooke  is 
connected  with  the  Oswego  Falls  Pulp 
and  Paper  Company  of  Fulton,  New 
York,  as  treasurer  and  director,  and  also 
with  the  Skaneateles  Paper  Company  as 
(secretary,  and  is  a  director  in  several 
other  large  corporations.  He  is  a  trustee 
of  Syracuse  University  and  of  the  First 
Methodist  Church  of  Syracuse.  He  be- 
longs to  the  Masonic  fraternity,  to  the 
Citizens'  Club  and  to  the  University 
Club,  and  is  also  a  member  of  the  Amer- 
ican Economic  Association,  the  American 
Statistical  Association  and  the  Ameri- 
can Society  of  International  Law.  The 
development  of  his  native  talents  through 
wide  study  and  close  application  have 
gained  him  distinction  as  a  sound  and 
able  representative  of  the  bar. 


320 


I 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Mr.  Tooke  was  married  in  1902  to 
Sarah  L.  Weeks,  a  daughter  of  the  late 
Forest  G.  Weeks,  of  Skaneateles,  New 
York.  Mrs.  Tooke  died  in  1914.  He  has 
one  son,  Charles,  born  May  29,  1906. 


WHITE,  Andrew  D., 

Edncator,  Historian,  Diplomat. 

Andrew  Dickson  White  was  born  in 
Homer,  Cortland  county,  November  7, 
1832;  elder  of  two  sons  of  Horace  and 
Clara  (Dickson)  White;  grandson  of  Asa 
and  Clara  (Keep)  White  and  of  Andrew 
and  Ruth  (Hall)  Dickson.  Always  of 
studious  disposition,  he  attended  the  ele- 
mentary department  of  the  famous  Cort- 
land Academy  at  Homer,  of  which  his 
maternal  grandfather  was  one  of  the 
founders.  In  1839  his  parents  removed  to 
Syracuse,  where  his  father  became  its 
foremost  banker,  railway  promoter  and 
capitalist — a  man  of  extraordinary  execu- 
tive ability,  who  died  in  i860.  There 
Andrew  continued  his  preliminary  educa- 
tion in  the  Syracuse  Academy  and  select 
schools,  entering  Hobart  College  in  the  fall 
of  1849,  wherein  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Sigma  Phi  fraternity,  (before  which  he  de- 
livered the  address  at  its  summer  conven- 
tion at  University  of  Vermont  in  i860)  ;  but 
transferred  to  Yale,  where  he  was  affiliated 
with  the  Psi  Upsilon  (junior  society)  and 
"322"  or  Skull  and  Bones  (senior),  being 
graduated  in  1853,  especially  distinguished 
in  history  and  belles  lettres,  being  an  editor 
of  the  "Yale  Literary  Magazine"  and  tak- 
ing the  first  Clark  prize  for  English  dis- 
putation and  the  De  Forest  gold  medal, 
for  the  best  English  composition  united 
with  the  best  declamation,  esteemed  the 
most  shining  award  the  college  can 
bestow,  his  subject  being  the  "Diplomatic 
History  of  Modern  Times,"  possibly  in- 
dicative of  the  conspicuous  figure  therein 
that  he  was  later  to  assume ;  and  all  these 


in  the  "star  class"  of  the  institution,  con- 
sidering the  large  proportion  of  its  mem- 
bers who  became  eminent  in  public  life. 

Dr.  White  pursued  post-graduate  studies 
at  the  Sorbonne,  the  College  de  France 
and  the  University  of  Berlin  (1853-54) 
and  was  attache  of  the  United  States 
Legation  at  the  Russian  court  (1854-55). 
Returning  to  America  he  prosecuted  ad- 
vanced courses  at  Yale,  from  which  he 
received  his  Master's  degree  in  1856  and 
membership  in  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  soci- 
ety, (whose  orator  he  was  at  Vermont 
University  in  i860,  at  Yale  in  1862,  at 
Brown  in  1876,  and  at  Dartmouth  in 
1906),  and  an  invitation  to  an  art  profes- 
sorship in  his  Alma  Mater;  but,  declin- 
ing this,  he  accepted  a  call  to  the  chair 
of  History  and  English  Literature  in  the 
University  of  Michigan  in  1857,  which 
he  occupied  until  1863,  inspiring  enthu- 
siasm by  his  magnetic  drawing,  and  a 
cordial  affection  for  himself  among  his 
classes,  and  aiding  in  the  advancement 
of  the  University,  as  well  as  fortify- 
ing his  faith  in  the  "New  Education," 
of  which  Michigan  was,  even  then,  a 
shining  ensample,  at  the  instance  of  Chan- 
cellor Tappan,  and  which  Professor  White 
was  to  vindicate  splendidly  at  Cornell. 
He  was  lecturer  on  history  at  Michigan, 
and  also  at  the  universities  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, Leland  Stanford,  Jr.,  and  Tulane 
(1863-67). 

In  1859,  he  married  Mary  A.,  daughter 
of  Peter  Outwater,  lawyer  and  banker, 
one  of  the  fairest  maidens  of  Syracuse,  a 
gracious  help-meet  to  her  husband  in  the 
lettered,  political  and  courtly  circles  in 
which  he  moved  "from  high  to  higher, 
a  cultured  gentlewoman  and  charming 
hostess.  She  died  at  Ithaca  in  1887. 
Early  in  1863  Dr.  White  resigned  his 
chair  in  Michigan  University,  regained 
his  legal  residence  in  Syracuse  and  made 
an  extended  tour  in  Europe,  publishing, 


N  Y— Vol  IV— 21 


321 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


while  in  England,  a  timely  and  patriotic 
pamphlet  entitled,  "A  Word  from  the 
Northwest — A  Letter  to  William  Howard 
Russell,"  the  renowned  war  correspondent, 
who  in  his  "Diary,"  with  marked  sympa- 
thy for  the  cause  of  the  Confederacy,  had 
made  gross  misrepresentations  of  the 
intelligence  and  lettered  foundations  of 
the  North,  as  contrasted  with  those  of 
the  South.  The  "Northwest,"  a  crushing 
refutation  of  the  ill-informed  and  ill- 
disposed  correspondent,  was  extensively 
circulated,  did  much  to  remove  false  im- 
pressions and  brought  its  author  into 
national  and  even  international  repute. 
He  had  even  before  this  made  his  mark 
in  the  magazines,  having  contributed 
to  the  "Atlantic  Monthly"  in  1862,  "The 
Statesmanship  of  Richelieu,"  and  "Jef- 
ferson  and   Slavery." 

In  the  fall  of  1863,  he  was  elected,  as 
a  Republican,  from  the  twenty-second 
(Onondaga)  district  to  the  State  Senate 
and  was  reelected  in  1865.  In  that  body, 
he  took  a  leading  place,  addressing  it, 
from  time  to  time,  on  various  matters  of 
import,  being  especially  able  and  service- 
able as  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Education.  Contracting  a  warm  friend- 
ship with  Ezra  Cornell,  a  fellow  senator, 
and  sympathizing  deeply  with  him  in  his 
purpose  to  establish  an  institution  of 
higher  learning  in  Central  New  York, 
Senator  White  was  notably  persuasive  in 
securing  legislation  proper  and  competent 
to  that  end.  The  story  goes  that  White 
endeavored,  in  the  first  instance,  to  have 
the  intended  university  erected  in  Syra- 
cuse and  pledged,  in  that  event,  half  his 
very  considerable  fortune  to  its  endow- 
ment, in  addition  to  the  princely  benefi- 
cences of  Cornell,  if  the  latter  would  con- 
sent to  change  the  plan  from  that  pro- 
posed, viz.,  to  locate  it  in  Ithaca,  his 
home  town,  saying  that  he  (White) 
would    increase    Cornell's    gifts    by    the 


amount  indicated,  but  it  was  located  as 
originally  designed  by  Cornell.  But,  so 
impressed  was  Cornell  by  White's  admin- 
istrative, as  well  as  scholarly,  capacity, 
that  he  was  tendered  the  presidency  of 
the  University ;  and  thus  Andrew  D. 
White  became,  in  1866,  its  organizer  and 
head,  while  Ezra  Cornell  remained  its 
founder  and  chief  benefactor. 

Dr.  White  was  president  of  Cornell 
University  from  1866  until  1885,  contin- 
uing, after  his  resignation,  a  trustee  and 
as  such  engaged  actively  in  its  adminis- 
tration. His  presidency  is  celebrated  in 
the  annals  of  American  education,  involv- 
ing, as  it  did  so  much  of  creative  ken,  as 
well  as  scholarly  equipment  and  execu- 
tive capacity.  Within  a  decade  of  its 
establishment,  Cornell  ranked  among  the 
foremost  universities  in  the  land — with  its 
commanding  site,  its  foundation  in  the 
voluntary  system,  its  scope  absolutely  un- 
denominational, its  free  scholarships,  its 
distinguished  faculties  and  non-resident 
lectureships,  the  broadened  courses  of 
"the  New  Education,"  the  endowed  col- 
leges and  noble  buildings,  the  laboratories 
and  the  workshops  and  the  library  rich 
in  assemblage  and  richer  in  promise.  And 
of  all  this,  the  president,  with  due  recog- 
nition of  the  great  educators  and  liberal- 
handed  donors,  besides  the  founder,  with 
whom  he  conferred,  must  be  esteemed  the 
chief  architect.  His  personal  gifts  to  the 
institution,  during  his  tenure,  totalled 
$300,000;  and,  coincident  with  his  retire- 
ment, he  founded  the  School  of  History 
and  Political  Science  that  bears  his  name, 
presenting  it  also  with  his  own  historical 
library  of  over  30,000  volumes  and  10,000 
pamphlets  and  manuscripts. 

Throughout,  he  held  courses  at  Cornell 
and  his  literary  output  in  addresses,  peri- 
odicals and  pamphlets,  upon  various 
themes  was  of  as  high  quality,  as  it  was 
copious.    A  partial  list  of  these  herewith 


322 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


follows :  Address  on  "Agricultural  Edu- 
cation," New  York  State  Agricultural 
Society  (1869);  "Outlines  of  a  Course  of 
Lectures  on  History,"  Cornell  University 
(1870) ;  "Manual  Labor  and  School  Work 
Combined"  (1870)  ;  "Scientific  and  Indus- 
trial Education  in  the  United  States" 
11874);  "The  Relations  of  the  National 
and  State  Governments  to  Advanced  Edu- 
cation" (1874) ;  "Paper  Money  Inflation  in 
France,  How  it  Came,  What  it  Brought 
and  How  it  Ended"  (1876) — a  timely  and 
enlightening  pamphlet,  of  nation-wide  cir- 
culation, mightily  persuasive  in  subduing 
"the  Greenback  craze" — reprinted  in  1896 ; 
"The  Battlefields  of  Science"  (1876).  ap- 
pearing first  serially  in  the  "Science 
Monthly,"  revised,  enlarged  and  entitled 
"History  of  the  Warfare  of  Science  with 
Theology  in  Chrisendom"  (1895-97),  and 
translated  into  French,  Italian,  Portugese 
and  German,  his  most  philosophical  and 
elaborate  work,  a  marvel  of  research : 
"Education  in  Political  Science"  (1879)  ; 
Memorial  Address  on  James  Abram  Gar- 
field (Ithaca,  1881);  "On  the  Plan  of 
Western  Reserve  University"  and  on 
"The  Education  of  Freedmen" — two  ad- 
dresses at  Cleveland  (1882);  "The  New 
Germany"  (1882),  reprinted  in  German; 
"The  Message  of  the  Nineteenth  Cen- 
tury to  the  Twentieth,"  address  before 
the  Class  of  '53  (Yale,  1883)  ;  on  "Studies 
in  General  History  and  the  History  of 
Civilization"  (American  Historical  Asso- 
ciation Papers.  1884) ;  Memorial  Address 
on  Edward  Lasker  (1884);  "What  Pro- 
fession Shall  I  Choose"  (1884)  ;  "Benjamin 
Silliman,"  oration  at  the  unveiling  of  his 
statue  (1885). 

Since  his  resignation  as  President  of 
Cornell,  Dr.  White  has  contributed  many 
articles  to  magazines,  delivered  many 
addresses  and  published  two  works,  at 
least,  of  enduring  value.  These  latter  are 
the  "Autobiography  of  Andrew  Dickson 


White"  (1905)  and  "The  Warfare  of  Hu- 
manity with  Unreason,"  including  essays 
on  Sarpi,  Grotius,  Thomasius,  Turgot  and 
Caxour  (Scientific  Monthly  1903-07),  re- 
vised and  published  with  additional  chap- 
ters on  Stein  and  Bismarck,  as  "Seven 
Great  Statesmen  in  the  Warfare  of  Hu- 
manity with  Unreason"  (1911).  The  auto- 
biography is  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of 
a  most  difficult  species  of  composition  in 
which  many  have  failed,  from  either  ina- 
bility or  unwillingness  to  express  prop- 
erly the.  giiotbi  scciuihon.  Dr.  White's 
narrative  is  fascinating,  as  well  as  illumi- 
nating, from  start  to  finish,  frankly,  yet 
modestly,  revealing  his  own  aspirations 
and  achievements  and  vivid  in  its  delinea- 
tion of  the  notable  persons  of  two  conti- 
nents with  whom  it  has  been  his  privilege 
to  associate.  Reviews  of  it  has  been  uni- 
formly applausive  and  it  has  wide  circula- 
tion. The  "Warfare  of  Humanity  and 
Unreason"  is  a  ripe  and  intensive  study 
of  the  character  and  service  rendered  the 
State  and  humanity  by  certain  illustrious 
European  statesmen  and  publicists,  each 
happily  selected  from  among  the  repre- 
sentative men  of  four  centuries ;  and, 
although  necessarily  condensed,  is  among 
the  most  authoritative  historical  publica- 
tions of  the  day  in  accurate  statement, 
sound  estimate  and  sinewy  rhetoric.  His 
standing  as  a  scholar  is  attested  by  the 
many  honorary  degrees  bestowed  upon 
him  by  leading  universities  of  America 
and  Great  Britain,  viz. :  Doctor  of  Laws, 
Michigan  (1867),  Cornell  (1886),  Yale 
(1887),  St.  Andrews  (1902),  Johns  Hop- 
kins (1902),  Dartmouth  (1906),  Hobart 
( 191 1 )  and  trustee  thereof  (1866-77)  '•  Doc- 
tor of  Letters,  Columbia  (1887)  ;  Doctor 
of  Philosophy,  Jena,  Germany  (1889)  ;  and 
D.  C.  L.,  Oxford  (1902).  Dr.  White  has 
been  and  still  is  interested  actively  in  the 
affairs  of  many  learned  and  philanthropic 
bodies.     He  has,  for  many  years,  been  a 


323 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Regent  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution;  is 
a  trustee  of  the  Carnegie  Institute  for 
Research,  and  of  the  Carnegie  Peace 
Endowment;  he  was  the  first  president 
and  has  always  been  prominent  in  the 
councils  of  the  American  Historical  Asso- 
ciation, has  been  president  of  the  Amer- 
ican Social  Science  Association,  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  American  Academy  of  Arts 
and  Letters  and  of  the  American  Philo- 
sophical Association  and  an  Elector  in  the 
Hall  of  Fame.  He  is  an  officer  of  the 
Legion  of  Honor  of  France,  and  holder 
of  the  royal  gold  medal  of  Prussia  for 
Arts  and  Sciences. 

Coincidentl}'  with  his  educational  serv- 
ice, Andrew  D.  White  has  had  a  highly 
honorable  political  career,  which  must  be 
sketched  briefly.  Known  in  his  college 
days  as  an  Abolitionist  and  crossing 
swords  with  the  Southern  students,  of 
whom  there  was  a  considerable  number 
at  Yale,  he  identified  himself  with  the 
Republican  party  at  its  birth,  and  has 
ever  been  an  earnest  and  consistent  cham- 
pion of  its  principles.  His  senatorial 
tenure  has  been  noticed  previously.  He 
was  a  delegate  to  the  Republican  National 
Convention  of  1864,  advocating  the  re- 
nomination  of  Lincoln;  of  1872,  favoring 
the  renomination  of  Grant;  and  of  1884, 
desiring  the  nomination  of  Edmunds,  but 
faithfully  supporting  Blaine  in  the  can- 
vass. He  was  chairman  of  the  Republi- 
can State  Convention  at  Syracuse  in  1871 
and  a  presidential  elector  in  1872 ;  a  com- 
missioner to  Santo  Domingo  in  1871,  ap- 
proving President  Grant's  scheme  for  its 
annexation  to  the  United  States ;  member 
of  the  jury  of  public  instruction  at  the 
Centennial  Exposition  of  1876  at  Philadel- 
phia and  honorary  commissioner  at  the 
Paris  Exposition  of  1878.  He  was  Envoy 
Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipoten- 
tiary to  Germany,  1879-81,  succeeding 
Bayard  Taylor,  taking  his  place  in  that 


distinguished  group  of  American  authors, 
embracing  Irving,  Bancroft,  Motley,  Low- 
ell, Taylor  and  Bigelow,  in  whose  diplo- 
matic appointments  various  Presidents 
have  shown  their  courtesy  to  letters. 
President  Harrison  commissioned  him  as 
minister  plenipotentiary  to  Russia  in 
1892,  which  he  resigned  1894;  and  Presi- 
dent McKinley  in  1897  made  him  ambas- 
sador to  Germany,  regarded  as  the  second 
most  honorable  distinction  in  the  diplo- 
matic service,  in  the  gift  of  the  govern- 
ment. Therein  he  remained  for  the  ensu- 
ing six  years,  rendering  valuable  service, 
especially  in  arranging  satisfactorily  the 
commercial  relations  of  the  two  govern- 
ments, with  the  friendliest  association 
with  the  embassies  of  other  nations,  with 
statesmen  and  savants  and  with  signal 
imperial  recognition.  Devoted  to  the 
cause  of  international  amity  he  was  presi- 
dent of  the  American  delegation  to  the 
first  peace  congress  at  the  Hague  in  1879 
and  has,  since  his  retirement  from  official 
life,  through  his  membership  in  the  Car- 
negie Endowment,  the  Mohonk  Lake 
Conference,  and  in  addresses  and  articles. 
continued  this  work,  sadly  disappointed 
at  its  interruption  by  the  horrors  of  war 
on  European  soil. 

In  1890,  Dr.  White  married  Helen 
daughter  of  Dr.  Edward  Hicks  Magill, 
president  of  Swarthmore  College.  Penn- 
sylvania, herself  well  known  as  an  accom- 
plished classical  scholar  and  educator, 
having  taken  degrees  at  Swarthmore  Col- 
lege (A.  B.  1873)  and  at  the  Boston  Uni- 
versity (Ph.  D.  1877),  and  completed  her 
preparation  for  the  profession  of  teaching 
by  taking  the  full  course  in  classical 
honors  of  Cambridge  University,  Eng- 
land (classical  tripos  1881).  She  was  en- 
gaged in  teaching  for  some  years  before 
her  marriage,  having  organized  the  How- 
ard Seminary  at  West  Bridgewater,  Mas- 
sachusetts,  in    1883,   at   which    time    she 

324 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


held  the  position  of  secretary  of  the  New 
England  Association  of  Colleges  and  Pre- 
paratory Schools.  Of  late  years  she  has 
been  active  as  a  member  of  the  commit- 
tee on  educational  legislation  of  the 
Western  New  York  Branch  of  the  Asso- 
ciation of  Collegiate  Alumnae,  especially 
on  behalf  of  a  betterment  of  the  condition 
of  the  New  York  State  Normal  Schools. 
In  her  congenial  companionship  he  is  liv- 
ing in  the  presidential  mansion  on  the 
Cornell  campus,  which  he  has  given  to 
the  University,  reserving  a  life  tenancy 
for  himself,  among  his  books  and  lettered 
associations,  varied  by  travel  at  home 
and  abroad,  still  engaged  in  literary  work 
and  has  received  and  accepted  from  Pres- 
ident Wilson  an  appointment  as  the 
American  Commissioner,  in  the  Treaty 
of    Peace    with    China. 

Dr.  White  has  two  surviving  children 
and  three  grandchildren  ;  Mrs.  Ervin  S. 
Ferry  (Ruth  Mary  White),  wife  of  the 
head  of  the  department  of  Physics  of 
Purdue  University,  Indiana,  has  one  sur- 
viving daughter,  Grace  Helen  Ferry.  Two 
sons.  Andrew  White  Newberry  and  Ar- 
thur Cleaveland  Newberry,  survivors  of 
Dr.  White's  oldest  daughter  (Clara  White 
Newberry),  are  graduates  of  Cornell  Uni- 
versity and  the  former  also  of  the  Colum- 
bia School  of  Mines.  Mr.  White's  young- 
est daughter,  Karin,  born  in  Helsingfors, 
Finland,  1893,  during  his  mission  to  Rus- 
sia, was  graduated  at  Vassar  College  (A. 
B.  1915). 


PATTERSON,  Benjamin, 

Attomey-at-LaTT. 

Among  the  notable  lawyers  of  New 
York  is  Benjamin  Patterson,  born  in  Al- 
bany, December  23,  1859,  the  son  of  Al- 
fred and  Barbara  (Sheeline)  Patterson. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1880,  re- 
moved to  New  York  City,  where  he  has 
practiced     with     increasing    success    for 


thirty-five  years.  Mr.  Patterson  has  been 
retained  in  many  intricate  and  important 
cases  wherein  he  was  confronted  by  the 
leaders  of  the  bar  both  in  the  Federal  and 
the  State  courts.  He  is  as  well  known 
to  members  of  the  legal  profession 
throughout  the  country  as  he  is  to  the 
New  York  bar.  He  has  been  counsel  in 
many  leading  cases.  State  and  Federal, 
such  as  Colon  vs.  Lisk ;  People  vs.  Sher- 
lock ;  Peterson  z^s.  Delaware,  Lacka- 
wanna &  Western  Railroad,  and  many 
others  familiar  to  the  profession.  Mr. 
Patterson  is  a  member  of  the  Society  of 
International  Law ;  American,  State  and 
County  Bar  associations,  and  the  New 
York  Press  Club.  He  has  written  largely 
on  questions  of  legal  interest  that  lie  out- 
side the  pale  of  conventionality. 


FOWLER. 


Purdy  A.,  l^ 
Manufacturer. 


On  December  i,  1885,  a  new  firm  was 
born  in  the  city  of  Rochester,  New  York, 
the  Langslow-Fowler  Company,  that 
now.  thirty-one  years  later,  is  one  of  the 
solid,  substantial  manufacturing  houses 
of  the  city.  To  that  house  came  Purdy 
A.  Fowler  as  junior  partner,  a  young  man 
of  thirty-four,  a  practical  mechanic  and 
experienced  furniture  salesman,  having 
covered  the  United  States  from  the  At- 
lantic to  the  Pacific  as  representative  of  a 
Boston  furniture  manufactory.  With 
such  equipment  he  was  a  valuable  addi- 
tion and  in  all  the  great  developments  of 
the  company  he  has  been  a  potent  factor. 
As  furniture  manufacturers  the  Langs- 
low-Fowler Company  rank  high  with  the 
trade  for  perfection  of  goods  made  in 
their  plant  and  for  their  upright  man- 
agement of  the  office  departments. 

Mr.  Fowler  comes  from  distinguished 
Westchester  county.  New  York,  families, 
the  Fowlers  and  Drakes  figuring  largely 
in    Colonial    and    Revolutionary    history. 


325 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


The  maternal  ancestor,  John  Drake, 
came  from  England  to  Windsor,  Connec- 
ticut, in  1630.  A  descendant,  Elizabeth 
Drake,  married  John  Fowler  and  left 
issue,  including  a  son,  Hiram  Fowler. 
Elizabeth  (Drake)  Fowler  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  Dr.  Nathaniel  and  Jane  Ann 
(Drake)  Drake,  the  latter  a  daughter  of 
Jeremiah  Drake,  a  Revolutionary  soldier, 
and  his  wife,  Frances  (Purdy)  Drake. 
Dr.  Nathaniel  Drake  was  a  son  of  Lieu- 
tenant Gilbert  Drake,  a  Revolutionary 
officer,  a  member  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention  of  1777  and  a  judge  in  1778. 
He  married  Ruth  Tompkins  and  among 
their  children  was  Dr.  Nathaniel  Drake, 
father  of  Elizabeth  Drake,  wife  of  John 
Fowler,  the  latter  the  parents  of  Hiram 
Fowler  and  grandparents  of  Purdy  A. 
Fowler,  of  Rochester,  now  vice-president 
of  the  Langslow-Fowler  Company,  manu- 
facturers of  furniture.  Hiram  Fowler 
was  a  farmer  of  Westchester  county.  New 
York,  his  estate  situated  at  Yorktown. 
He  married  Mary  Goetschius,  born  in 
Rockland  county.   New  York. 

Their  son,  Purdy  A.  Fowler,  was  born 
at  the  home  farm  at  Yorktown,  West- 
chester county.  New  York,  December  27, 
1851,  but  at  the  age  of  four  years  his 
parents  moved  to  Peekskill,  New  York. 
He  attended  Peekskill  public  schools 
until  1866,  then  for  two  years  was  clerk 
in  the  village  store.  That  life  did  not 
appeal  to  him,  and  from  the  age  of  seven- 
teen to  twenty-two  he  worked  at  the  car- 
penter's trade  as  apprentice  and  journey- 
man. His  ambition  was  not  yet  satisfied 
and  in  1873  he  made  a  radical  change, 
going  to  Boston  and  then,  after  becoming 
familiar  with  furniture  manufacture,  lay- 
ing aside  his  tools  and  becoming  a  travel- 
ing salesman.  During  the  next  decade  he 
sold  furniture  all  over  the  United  States, 
becoming  thoroughly  familiar  with  the 
business  and  well  acquainted  with  the  re- 
tail dealers  of  the  many  cities  he  visited 


in  his  semi-annual  trips  from  Boston  to 
San  Francisco.  In  1885  he  united  with 
H.  A.  and  S.  C.  Langslow  in  forming  the 
Langslow-Fowler  Company  and  on  De- 
cember I  of  that  year  they  began  busi- 
ness in  Rochester  as  furniture  manufac- 
turers. The  Langslows,  father  and  son. 
were  experienced  in  both  the  manufac- 
ture and  sale  of  furniture,  both  having 
been  members  of  the  I.  H.  Dewey  Furni- 
ture Company,  Henry  A.  Langslow,  the 
father,  as  vice-president,  the  son,  Strat- 
ton  C.  Langslow,  as  traveling  salesman. 
Neither  of  the  partners  had  anything  to 
learn  about  the  furniture  business  as  then 
conducted  and  as  the  years  have  pro- 
gressed they  have  kept  in  closest  touch 
with  modern  styles  and  methods,  but  as 
leaders  not  followers.  In  course  of  time 
the  honored  head,  Henry  A.  Langslow, 
was  gathered  to  his  fathers,  the  younger 
partners  reorganizing  as  a  corporation 
with  Stratton  C.  Langslow  as  president, 
Purdy  A.  Fowler  as  vice-president.  The 
Langslow-Fowler  Company  conduct  a 
very  large  business,  the  product  of  their 
Rochester  plant  going  to  all  parts  of  the 
country. 

Mr.  Fowler  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
order,  belonging  to  Genesee  Falls  Lodge, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  Hamilton 
Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons ;  and  Mon- 
roe Commandery,  Knights  Templar.  He 
is  also  affiliated  with  that  social  adjunct 
of  Masonry,  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine, 
and  with  the  Veiled  Prophets.  He  is 
fond  of  the  social  pleasures  of  life  and  is 
associated  with  his  fellows  in  the  Roches- 
ter Algonquin  and  Commercial  clubs, 
having  served  the  last  named  as  presi- 
dent. In  political  faith  he  is  a  Repub- 
lican, interested  in  public  afifairs,  but 
never  has  sought  or  desired  public  office. 
He  ranks  high  as  a  business  man  and 
holds  the  esteem  of  all  who  know  him  as 
either  a  business  man  or  citizen. 

Mr.  Fowler  married,  March  7,  1875,  at 


ENXYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Cold  Spring,  Putnam  county,  New  York, 
Sarah  Schults.  They  are  the  parents  of 
two  daughters,  Mayme,  now  Mrs.  Arthur 
J.  Fisher,  of  Rochester,  and  Carrie 
Fowler;  a  son,  Purdy  H.  Fowler,  married 
Grace  Goodrich  and  resides  in  Rochester ; 
Edna,  died  aged  seven  years ;  Lily,  died 
aged  three  years.  The  family  home  is  at 
No.  843  Harvard  street. 


y 

WESTERVELT,  Zenas  Freeman, ' 
Founder    and    Head    of    the    Western    Ne-w 
York    School   for   Deaf   Mntes. 

Although  born  in  the  State  of  Ohio, 
Mr.  Westervelt  is  of  ancient  New  York 
family,  the  Westervelts  early  settling  in 
the  valley  of  the  Hudson.  His  father, 
William  B.  Westervelt,  was  also  born  in 
Ohio,  but  his  grandfather,  William  Wes- 
tervelt, was  of  Poughkeepsie,  New  York, 
as  was  his  wife,  Sarah  (Bishop)  Wester- 
velt. They  later  moved  to  Westerville, 
Ohio,  where  their  son,  William  Bishop 
Westervelt,  was  born  June  10,  1821,  and 
died  February  3,  1850.  He  married, 
March  14,  1844,  Martha  Freeman,  born  in 
Rushford,  Allegany  county,  New  York, 
October  4,  1819,  died  at  Rochester,  New 
York,  February  27,  1896,  daughter  of  Eli- 
jah Woodruff  Freeman,  of  New  Jersey 
family.  Elijah  W.  Freeman  was  born  in 
Newark,  New  Jersey,  November  9,  1791, 
but  spent  his  life  from  the  age  of  six 
years  until  he  was  forty  in  New  York, 
devoting  his  time  to  preaching  the  Gospel 
as  an  ordained  minister  from  his  thirtieth 
year.  The  latter  years  of  his  life  were 
spent  as  a  minister  in  Granville,  Ohio, 
where  with  his  brother-in-law,  Jonathan 
Going,  he  was  prominent  in  establishing 
the  Baptist  College  located  there.  There 
he  is  buried.  He  married  at  Canan- 
daigua.  New  York,  November  7,  i8i6, 
Sarah   Going. 

After  the  death  of  her  husband,  Mrs. 
Martha  (Freeman)  Westervelt  supported 


herself  and  her  only  living  son,  Zenas  F. 
Westervelt,  by  teaching  in  the  Columbus 
schools.  Later  she  was  appointed  matron 
of  the  Ohio  State  School  for  the  Deaf, 
located  at  Columbus,  and  there  continued 
for  seventeen  years.  She  was  a  woman 
of  high  courage,  ability  and  wisdom, 
guiding  her  son's  early  life  with  loving 
patience,  tenderness  and  firmness.  She 
was  the  guiding  force  of  his  life  for 
twenty  years  ere  she  joined  her  husband 
and  two  infant  sons  in  the  spirit  land, 
but  her  influence  has  never  died,  and  the 
life  of  the  son  is  to-day  being  devoted  to 
the  same  class  of  God's  unfortunates  to 
which  she  devoted  seventeen  years  of  her 
life,  the  care  of  an  institution  for  the  deaf 
and  the  dumb. 

Zenas  Freeman  Westervelt  was  born 
in  Columbus,  Ohio,  March  15,  1849,  son 
of  William  Bishop  and  Martha  (Free- 
man) Westervelt.  His  father  died  eleven 
months  later,  and  until  1868  mother  and 
son  lived  together  at  the  State  School  of 
the  Deaf  in  Columbus.  Zenas  F.  Wester- 
velt began  his  education  in  the  primary 
department  of  the  public  schools,  and 
continued  until  all  grades  had  been  passed 
and  a  diploma  received  with  the  graduat- 
ing high  school,  class  of  1868.  His  first 
business  experience  was  as  clerk  for  one 
of  the  contractors  engaged  in  construct- 
ing the  Hocking  Valley  railroad,  a  posi- 
tion he  held  until  the  completion  of  the 
road.  After  a  term  as  agent  for  the 
White  Line  Fast  Freight,  and  as  clerk 
in  the  office  of  the  American  Express 
Company,  at  Columbus,  he  taught  school 
for  a  year  at  Galena,  Ohio,  then  spent  a 
year  as  clerk  in  a  Topeka,  Kansas,  bank, 
there  remaining  until  August  29,  1871. 

All  this  had  been  preparation  for  the 
real  business  of  life,  and  in  no  way  rep- 
resented his  true  aim  and  ambition.  For 
seventeen  years  of  his  early  life  he  had 
been  familiar  with  the  methods  of  in- 
structing the  deaf  in  fact  and  lived  in  the 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


institution  in  Columbus,  of  which  Mrs. 
Westervelt  was  matron,  and  had,  as  he 
grew  older,  made  a  close  study  of  the 
methods  employed.  The  education  of  the 
deaf  was  destined  to  be  his  life  work,  and 
in  the  fall  of  1871  he  made  his  first  en- 
trance into  the  profession  he  adorns.  His 
first  position  was  as  a  teacher  in  the 
Maryland  State  School  for  Deaf  Mutes 
at  Frederick,  an  institution  then  under 
the  management  of  Charles  W.  Ely,  prin- 
cipal. After  two  years  as  teacher  under 
Principal  Ely  he  taught  for  three  years 
in  the  Fanwood  Institute  for  the  Deaf, 
Washington  Heights,  New  York  City, 
there  remaining  until  1876,  when  he  came 
to  Rochester  as  superintendent  of  the 
Western  New  York  Institute  for  Deaf 
Mutes,  a  newly  formed  institution,  made 
possible  by  the  action  of  Rochester  citi- 
zens, cooperating  with  Mr.  Westervelt 
and  his  wife,  who  had  formerly  taught 
the  daughter  of  one  of  Rochester's  promi- 
nent families. 

The  institution  is  incorporated  and  was 
organized  at  a  public  meeting  called  by 
the  mayor  of  Rochester,  February  3, 
1876,  and  while  it  is  under  the  control  of 
the  State  board  of  education  and  the  su- 
pervision of  the  State  board  of  charities, 
the  school  is  a  private  one  and  owes  its 
life  and  importance  to  its  first  and  only 
superintendent  and  founder,  Zenas  F. 
Westervelt,  and  his  wife.  The  school 
was  started  after  its  need  had  been  dem- 
onstrated by  means  of  a  list  of  the  deaf 
mutes  in  Western  New  York  not  in  any 
school  prepared  by  Mr.  Westervelt,  and 
its  support  was  guaranteed  by  wealthy 
Rochester  philanthropists.  It  was  a  suc- 
cess from  the  beginning,  and  in  its  sec- 
ond year  moved  to  a  larger  building,  the 
former  Children's  Home.  Twenty-three 
pupils  answered  roll  call  on  the  first  day 
the  school  was  opened,  the  youngest  five, 
the  eldest  twenty-three  years  of  age.    On 


the  last  day  of  the  first  school  year 
eighty-seven  answered.  During  the 
forty  years  the  institution  has  been  in 
existence  each  year  has  shown  progress, 
not  only  in  the  number  of  students  in  at- 
tendance but  in  efficiency  and  in  results 
attained.  The  school  is  now  housed  in 
its  own  commodious  buildings,  each  thor- 
oughly equipped  for  its  special  needs,  the 
number  of  students  enrolled  being  all  that 
can  be  accommodated.  The  system  of  in- 
struction employed  is  the  manual  oral 
method,  Mr.  Westervelt's  contention  be- 
ing that  no  such  thing  as  a  deaf  mute 
mind  exists  from  natural  causes,  and  that 
there  is  no  real  need  for  a  deaf  mute  lan- 
guage. There  is  no  language  of  gesture 
used  in  the  school,  instruction  being 
through  speech  and  manual  spelling.  The 
school  is  a  splendid  example  of  the  value 
of  this  modern  method  of  teaching  deaf 
mutes,  and  demonstrates  the  wisdom  and 
the  practicability  of  Mr.  Westervelt's 
theories.  Students  are  given  the  benefit 
of  carefully  prepared  courses,  finishing 
with  graduation  and  a  diploma.  Since 
1878  manual  training  has  been  an  impor- 
tant feature,  and  in  1886  a  cooking  class 
was  added. 

Mr.  Westervelt  married,  October  14, 
1875,  Mary  Nodine,  born  in  New  York 
City  in  1847,  died  in  Rochester,  January 
6,  1893,  daughter  of  Robert  Crawford  and 
Clarissa  (Hart)  Nodine,  of  New  York 
City,  who  were  married  in  1839.  Robert 
Crawford  Nodine,  a  prosperous  commis- 
sion merchant  of  New  York  City,  was  the 
father  of  two  sons,  the  eldest,  Crawford 
Nodine,  a  Union  soldier,  giving  his  life 
to  his  country  at  the  battle  of  Cedar  Moun- 
tain. Mrs.  Westervelt's  father  died  the 
year  of  her  birth,  her  mother  later  mov- 
ing to  Kingston,  New  York,  where  she 
conducted  a  young  ladies'  seminary.  In 
i860  the  family  moved  to  Charleston. 
West  Virginia,  but  was  obliged  to  return 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


to  the  North,  one  of  the  sons,  however, 
entering  the  Union  army.  Mrs.  Nodine  in 
1861  became  matron  of  Packer's  Institute 
in  Brooklyn,  New  York,  her  daughter, 
Mary  Hart  Nodine,  graduating  from  the 
institute,  class  of  1865.  Later  she  taught 
music  in  Middletown,  Ohio,  later  accom- 
plishing a  four  years'  course  at  Western 
Reserve  College,  although  on  account  of 
her  sex  she  could  not  regularly  matricu- 
late. In  1872  she  became  a  teacher  in  the 
School  for  the  Deaf  at  Frederick,  Mary- 
land, and  there  met  her  future  husband. 
She  became  deeply  interested  in  the  in- 
struction of  the  deaf,  and  developed  rare 
skill  in  awakening  the  intelligent  coopera- 
tion of  her  pupils.  The  new  ideas  then 
taking  form  seemed  to  her  full  of  promise, 
and  she  became  very  successful  in  teach- 
ing the  deaf  lip  reading.  In  1874  she  left 
the  school  to  become  private  teacher  to 
Miss  Perkins,  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Gilman  H.  Perkins,  of  Rochester,  and  to 
her  success  with  their  daughter  the  inter- 
est of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Perkins  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Western  New  York  Insti- 
tution for  the  Deaf  was  due.  In  1875  she 
was  married,  and  in  1876  the  institution 
was  opened  for  students.  From  that  time 
until  her  death  in  1893  she  fully  shared 
with  her  husband  the  cares  of  the  large 
and  growing  school,  meeting  the  exacting 
demands  of  her  position  as  instructor  and 
her  social  and  domestic  duties  with  a  rare 
charm  and  skill  that  endeared  her  to  offi- 
cers, teachers  and  pupils.  "Hers  was  a 
most  symmetrical  character  in  which 
strength  and  sweetness  were  blended.  Her 
intellectual  gifts  were  united  with  deep 
religious  experience  and  skill  in  practical 
affairs.  Self-forgetful  and  of  heroic  cour- 
age, her  heart  was  open  to  the  sorrow  and 
suffering  of  others,  and  her  sympathy  was 
tender  and  true." 

Mr.  Westervelt  married,  June  i,   1898, 
Adelia    Clara    Fav,    born    in    Columbus, 


Ohio,  daughter  of  Gilbert  Otis  and  Adelia 
(Allen)  Fay,  who  in  1880  moved  to  Hart- 
ford, Connecticut.  Mrs.  Westervelt  is 
deeply  interested  in  her  husband's  work, 
her  culture,  refinement  and  interest  are  a 
great  aid  in  maintaining  the  school  upon 
the  high  plane  it  has  attained. 

This  brief  record  of  the  life  of  one  of 
the  great  benefactors  of  his  race  but  little 
more  than  outlines  the  wonderful  work 
Mr.  Westervelt  has  done  and  is  doing.  His 
broad  humanitarian  principles  are  mani- 
fest in  his  work,  but  type  nor  words  can 
express  the  depth  of  his  spirit  of  helpful- 
ness, benevolence  and  sympathy.  That 
he  is  continually  studying  newer  and  bet- 
ter methods  and  forming  new  plans  to 
bring  to  the  deaf  mute  more  of  the  joy  of 
life  and  greater  opportunity  for  higher 
intellectual  development  need  not  be  said. 
His  life  for  the  past  forty-five  years  has 
been  with  that  single  aim  in  view,  and  he 
would  not  be  in  harmony  with  the  spirit 
of  these  years  did  he  not  continue  to  strive 
to  be  more  helpful  and  more  useful.  He 
would  not  falter  if  he  could,  and  he  could 
not  if  he  would.  The  New  York  Institu- 
tion for  the  Deaf  is  the  embodiment  of  the 
spirit  of  the  two  noble  women — mother 
and  wife — now  in  the  land  that  knows  no 
sorrow,  who  fostered,  encouraged  and 
aided  the  founder  in  his  glorious  work  for 
many  years,  and  who  now  in  the  evening 
of  life  is  as  loyally  and  effectively  aided 
by  her  who  for  nearly  twenty  years  has 
taken  their  place.  The  worth  of  such 
lives  cannot  be  estimated,  only  the  rec- 
ords kept  by  Divine  hands  will  ever  reveal 
their  true  value  to  humanity's  cause. 


DICKINSON,  Pomeroy  P., 
Ijawyer. 

Over  a  century  ago  Pomeroy  M.  Dick- 
inson left  his  home  in  Amherst,  Massa- 
chusetts,   and    drove    westward,    finally 


329 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


settling  on  a  tract  of  wild  land  in  what 
is  now  known  as  the  town  of  Irondequoit, 
Monroe  county,  New  York.  There  his 
grandson,  Pomeroy  P.  Dickinson,  of 
Rochester,  was  born  and  there  members 
of  the  Dickinson  family  yet  own  the  land 
settled  upon  by  the  founder  of  the  family 
in  1805.  Pomeroy  P.  Dickinson,  son  of 
Pomeroy  M.  Dickinson,  fell  a  victim  to 
the  malarial  conditions  which  then  ex- 
isted in  the  district  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  son,  Alfred  L.  Dickinson,  and 
his  brothers,  Levi  A.  and  Charles,  the 
former  named  having  been  a  farmer  of 
Irondequoit  until  his  death  in  1894.  He 
was  one  of  the  substantial  men  of  his 
neighborhood,  pursuing  the  even  tenor  of 
his  way  throughout  a  useful  life,  aiding 
in  all  the  movements  of  church  and  town 
which  marked  his  period  of  life.  Of 
strong  Christian  character,  he  was  highly 
esteemed  by  his  community  and  left  to 
his  children  the  record  of  a  life  well 
spent.  He  married  Martha  Anderson, 
who  died  in  1904,  aged  eighty-three  years, 
daughter  of  Hixon  Anderson,  a  soldier  of 
the  Revolution. 

Pomeroy  P.  Dickinson,  .':on  of  Alfred 
L.  and  Martha  (Anderson)  Dickinson, 
was  born  at  the  homestead  farm,  town  of 
Irondequoit,  Monroe  county.  New  York, 
September  20.  1852.  and  is  now  and  since 
1875,  has  been  a  resident  of  the  city  of 
Rochester.  His  early  life  was  spent  at  the 
home  farm,  his  preliminary  educational 
training  being  obtained  in  the  district 
public  school.  He  was  later  a  student  at 
De  Graff  Military  School,  and  made  thor- 
ough preparation  for  admission  to  Yale. 
His  plans  were  altered  and  he  entered  Co- 
lumbia College,  completing  a  course  in  the 
law  department,  whence  he  was  gradu- 
ated, class  of  1875.  After  obtaining  his 
degree  from  Columbia,  Mr.  Dickinson 
located  in  Rochester,  was  admitted  to  the 
Monroe  county  bar,  and  at  once  began  his 
professional  career.  Forty-one  j^ears  have 


since  elapsed,  years  which  have  brought 
him  honorable  success  as  a  lawyer  and 
prominence  as  a  citizen.  For  several  of 
his  earlier  years  at  the  bar  he  was  in 
partnership  with  George  A.  Benton,  later 
a  justice  of  the  New  York  Supreme 
Court,  but  since  the  dissolution  of  that 
association  he  has  practiced  alone.  He 
was  in  course  of  time  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  all  State  and  Federal  courts  of  the 
district  and  in  all  is  of  record  in  connec- 
tion with  most  important  causes  He  is 
regarded  as  one  of  the  strong  men  of  the 
Rochester  bar,  and  holds  the  unqualified 
respect  of  the  judges  before  whom  he  ap- 
pears and  of  the  members  of  the  bar  to 
which  he  belongs.  He  is  the  trusted  ad- 
viser and  legal  representative  of  a  great 
number  of  individuals  and  business  con- 
cerns, and  has  fairly  won  the  confidence 
they  repose  in  his  ability  to  conserve  their 
interests.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Roches- 
ter and  other  bar  associations,  and  to 
their  proceedings  contributes  by  voice 
and  pen. 

In  politics  he  is  a  Republican,  and  he 
has  well  served  his  city  in  various  ways. 
During  the  ten  years  prior  to  the  passage 
of  the  Raines  Law  regulating  the  sale  of 
liquor  in  the  State  of  New  York,  Mr. 
Dickinson  was  a  member  of  the  board  of 
excise  commissioners  of  the  city  of 
Rochester,  and  as  president  of  that  board 
exercised  a  healthy  influence  over  that 
department  of  the  city  government.  He 
brought  to  his  position  both  zeal  and 
knowledge  of  the  subjects  upon  which  he 
was  to  legislate,  and  while  himself  con- 
forming to  the  laws  governing  the  excise 
department  also  enforced  the  observance 
of  those  laws  upon  the  applicants  for  and 
holders  of  licenses. 

To  classical  education  and  professional 
learning,  he  has  added  the  broadening 
culture  of  travel  and  association  with 
prominent  men  both  at  home  and 
abroad.      He   has    toured    Europe    exten- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


sively  and  has  contributed  many  articles 
to  the  press,  descriptive  of  his  travels  and 
impressions  of  foreign  lands.  A  grace- 
ful, entertaining  writer,  he  is  no  less  flu- 
ent a  speaker  and  charms  with  eloquent 
speech.  He  is  a  strong  advocate  for  the 
cause  in  which  he  enlists,  but  the  duties 
of  a  learned  profession  have  not  quenched 
the  social  instinct  and  he  is  one  of  the 
prominent,  popular  members  of  fraternal 
and  social  bodies.  He  is  strongly  at- 
tached to  the  Masonic  order,  belonging 
to  the  various  Rochester  bodies  of  that 
order,  and  among  his  brethren  his  intel- 
lectual gifts  and  finely  balanced  mind  are 
as  highly  appreciated  as  by  his  brethren 
of  the  bench  and  bar.  He  was  the  or- 
ganizer of  the  Lincoln  Club  of  Rochester, 
a  club  which  attained  a  large  member- 
ship and  wrought  great  good. 

Mr.  Dickinson  married,  in  1882,  Emma 
Marsh,  who  bore  him  two  daughters: 
Pomona  and  Esther,  deceased. 


KNAPP,  Homer, 

Contractor  and   Builder. 

For  over  a  quarter  of  a  century  Homer 
Knapp  has  been  a  resident,  a  valued  citi- 
zen, a  leading  contractor  and  builder  and 
business  man  of  Rochester,  New  York. 
He  came  to  the  city  well  equipped  to 
enter  the  building  field,  possessing  expert 
mechanical  ability,  experience  as  a  con- 
tractor, and  a  mind  well  stored  with 
technical  information.  He  began  in  a 
quiet  way  but  his  good  work  and  fair 
dealing  soon  brought  him  into  promi- 
nence. With  reputation  established,  op- 
portunities for  bigger  things  were  oftered 
and  to-day  many  are  the  important  build- 
ings of  a  public  nature  and  costly  private 
residences  that  stand  as  monuments  to 
his  constructive  genius.  His  life  has  been 
a  strict  interpretation  of  the  Golden  Rule, 
and  no  man  has  more  fully  won  the 
esteem  and  confidence  of  his  fellow  men 
than  has  Homer  Knapp. 


He  is  a  native  son  of  New  York  State, 
although  his  parents  were  born  in  widely- 
separated  states,  his  father,  George  W. 
Knapp,  in  Delaware,  his  mother,  Caroline 
(Haskell)  Knapp,  in  New  Hampshire, 
daughter  of  one  of  the  oldest  New  Eng- 
land families.  They  married  and  settled 
in  Steuben  county,  New  York,  where 
Homer  Knapp  was  born,  March  29,  1858. 
He  attended  public  schools  until  complet- 
ing their  full  course,  then  entered  the 
Free  Academy  at  Corning,  New  York, 
whence  he  was  graduated  in  1876  He 
served  an  apprenticeship  at  the  carpen- 
ter's trade  and  then  added  to  his  builder's 
knowledge  mastery  of  the  mason's  trade, 
serving  a  full  apprenticeship  in  both  call- 
ings. During  these  years  spent  in  acquir- 
ing practical  knowledge  and  experience, 
he  added  to  his  mental  equippment  by 
courses  of  study  pursued  at  schools  and 
in  private.  With  muscle  and  brain  thus 
developed,  he  sought  to  put  them  to  the 
best  use  and  after  a  term  as  journeyman 
began  business  for  himself  as  contractor 
and  builder.  He  located  at  Corning,  New 
York,  and  met  with  the  success  his  abili- 
ity  demanded.  In  1888  he  sought  a  wider 
field  of  action  and  located  in  Rochester, 
which  city  has  since  been  the  scene  of 
his  highly  successful  operations.  Among 
the  public  buildings  he  has  contracted  for 
and  erected  in  Rochester  the  more  impor- 
tant are  the  Masonic  Temple,  the  Seneca 
Hotel,  the  Strong  Building,  the  Brick 
Presbyterian  Church,  the  Brick  Church 
Institute,  German  United  Trinity  Church, 
East  Side  Presbyterian  Church,  Public 
Schools  Nos.  18.  28,  and  36,  Irondequoit 
School,  Oak  Hill  Country  Club  House, 
and  the  American  Fruit  Product  Com- 
pany's plant.  In  the  residence  section  he 
has  erected  many  of  the  handsome  houses 
that  are  the  pride  of  Rochester,  including 
the  Curtis.  Cory,  Eastwood.  Bissell.  Ad- 
kin,  and  Collins  mansions,  and  many 
others  equally  noteworthy.     He  was  one 


331 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  the  organizers  of  the  Composite  Brick 
Company,  of  Brighton,  manufacturers  of 
brick,  cement  and  concrete  blocks,  was 
elected  its  first  president,  and  still  is  the 
executive  head  of  the  company.  He  aided 
in  organizing  the  Elmendorf  Realty  Com- 
pany, of  which  he  is  vice-president,  and  is 
vice-president  of  the  Genesee  Valley 
Realty  Company.  While  his  business  in- 
terests have  brought  him  a  degree  of 
prominence,  his  disposition  prefers  the 
quiet  walks  of  life,  home  and  friends  con- 
stituting his  greatest  enjoyments. 

A  Republican  in  politics,  Mr.  Knapp 
has  ever  taken  active  interest  in  public 
affairs,  but  has  never  sought  nor  accepted 
public  office.  He  lends  the  weight  of  his 
influence  to  any  movement  that  promises 
the  advancement  of  the  public  good  and 
in  all  things  meets  the  requirements  of 
good  citizenship.  He  is  a  Mason  of  high 
degree,  belonging  to  Genesee  Falls  Lodge, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  Ionic  Chap- 
ter, Royal  Arch  Masons;  Cyrene  Com- 
mandery,  Knights  Templar;  and  Damas- 
cus Temple,  Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine. 
In  Scottish  Rite  Masonry  he  has  attained 
the  thirty-second  degree,  Rochester  Con- 
sistory. He  is  also  a  member  of  Key- 
stone Lodge,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows,  and  of  Flower  City  Lodge, 
Knights  of  Pythias.  For  two  years  he 
was  president  of  the  Rochester  Carpen- 
ters' Association. 

Mr.  Knapp  married,  in  1894,  Mary  E., 
daughter  of  Joseph  Graham,  of  Corning, 
New  York.  Their  children  are :  Emma  J. 
and  Mildred  H. 


HAMILTON,  R.  Andrew, 
Retired   Business   Man,   Public   Offlolal. 

Leadership  in  more  than  one  line  is  sel- 
dom vouchsafed  to  an  individual,  but  R. 
Andrew  Hamilton,  who  to  a  considerable 
extent   has   retired   from   active  business 


life,  yet  gives  personal  supervision  to  his 
invested  interests,  which  are  extensive 
and  valuable,  has  aided  largely  in  mold- 
ing public  thought  and  opinion  in  busi- 
ness, political  and  social  circles.  En- 
dowed by  nature  with  strong  mentality, 
he  has  carefully  prepared  for  every  duty 
devolving  upon  him,  and  with  a  sense  of 
conscientious  obligation  he  has  met  every 
requirement  and  responsibility. 

R.  Andrew  Hamilton  was  born  in 
Rochester,  New  York,  February  11,  1873, 
son  of  the  Rev.  Gavin  L.  Hamilton,  a 
native  of  Scotland,  born  in  183 1,  came  to 
the  United  States  in  1840,  died  in  191 1. 
In  early  manhood  Rev.  Gavin  L.  Hamil- 
ton married  Catherine  Semple,  a  native 
of  Scotland,  came  to  the  United  States  in 
1840,  a  sister  of  A.  M.  Semple,  who  for 
many  years  was  a  leading  grocer  of 
Rochester,  so  continuing  in  business  up 
to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  1886.  Mrs.  Hamilton  died  in  1891.  In 
addition  to  R.  Andrew  Hamilton  there  is 
a  daughter  of  the  family  living  at  the 
present  time,  Mrs.  R.  C.  Watson,  who  re- 
sides at  No.  252  Alexander  street,  Roches- 
ter. 

In  early  boyhood  R.  Andrew  Hamilton 
became  a  student  in  the  public  schools  of 
his  native  city,  passed  through  consecu- 
tive grades,  and  his  more  advanced  edu- 
cation was  acquired  in  the  University  of 
Rochester,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
in  the  class  of  1895.  The  following  year 
he  began  his  business  career  as  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  Semple  Retail  Grocery 
Store,  located  on  Main  street,  East,  which 
he  continued  to  conduct  with  a  large  de- 
gree of  success  until  the  year  1906  when 
he  leased  the  store.  After  the  death  of 
his  uncle,  A.  M.  Semple,  and  prior  to  his 
taking  charge  of  the  business,  the  store 
was  conducted  by  W.  E.  Woodbury. 
Since  his  retirement  from  mercantile  pur- 
suits, Mr.  Hamilton  has  been  devoting  his 


332 


/c^  /^*^c.^:k^^l^c^j^^i^^i*..^.£^^'i^:^^ . 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


time  and  attention  to  the  supervision  of 
his  real  estate  and  other  interests,  in  the 
management  of  which  he  displays  ex- 
cellent business  ability,  keen  foresight 
and  strong  determination,  characteristics 
which  make  for  success  in  any  field  of  en- 
deavor. In  the  spring  of  1907  he  was 
elected  a  director  of  the  Rochester  Trust 
and  Safe  Deposit  Company,  in  which  ca- 
pacity his  value  as  a  man  of  worth  and  in- 
telligence has  often  been  proven  and  his 
judgment  often  tested.  He  has  also  taken 
an  active  interest  in  political  affairs,  and 
is  thoroughly  alive  to  all  that  pertains  to 


him  very  popular,  so  that  his  circle  of 
friends  is  very  extensive. 

Mr.  Hamilton  married,  October  23, 
1901,  Mae  Ward,  a  daughter  of  Joseph 
Ward,  of  Rochester,  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  three  children,  namely:  Ward 
Lindsay,  Robert  Andrew,  Jr.,  and  Charles 
Watson. 

Such  is  the  brief  career  of  one  who  has 
achieved  not  only  honorable  success  and 
high  standing  among  men,  but  whose  en- 
tire life  has  been  irreproachably  correct, 
so  that  his  character  is  above  suspicion. 
His  life  record  demonstrates  the  fact  that 


or  environments,  but  upon  the  man,  and 
the  prosperous  citizen  is  he  who  is  able 
to  recognize  and  improve  his  opportuni- 
ties. 


good  citizenship,  affiliating  himself  with  success  depends  not  upon  circumstances 
whatever  has  a  tendency  to  permanently 
benefit  his  locality.  He  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  Common  Council  in  1909, 
representing  the  Twelfth  Ward,  and  as  a 
reward  for  faithful  service  was  reelected 
in  191 1  and  1913,  and  during  his  entire 
tenure  of  ofifice  promoted  the  interests  of 
his  constituents  in  every  way  possible. 
He  resigned  from  this  ofifice  in  order  to 
accept  the  office  of  commissioner  of  pub- 
lic safety  of  Rochester,  being  chosen  from 
many  applicants  as  the  man  best  quali- 
fied for  this  responsible  position,  which 
fact  is  ample  evidence  of  his  popularity 
and  efficiency.  Mr.  Hamilton  is  an  inter- 
ested and  active  member  of  the  Central 
Church  of  Rochester,  has  served  on  the 
board  of  trustees  since  1897  and  has  been 
secretary  of  the  board  since  1899.  In 
Masonry  he  has  taken  both  the  Scottish 
and  York  Rite  degrees,  being  a  member 
of  Rochester  Consistory,  Monroe  Com- 
mandery  and  the  Mystic  Shrine,  and  is  in 
hearty  sympathy  with  the  teachings  and 
tenets  of  the  craft,  in  his  life  exemplifying 
its  beneficent  principles.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Rochester  Whist  Club,  the  Uni- 
versity Club  and  the  Rochester  Automo- 
bile Club,  being  highly  esteemed  in  all 
organizations.  He  is  courteous,  genial 
and  obliging,  and  these  qualities  render 


GOFF,  Frank  M., 

Lawyer. 

The  ancestry  of  Frank  M.  Goff,  of  the 
Rochester  bar,  carries  far  into  the  past 
and  to  the  mountains  of  Wales  from 
whence  came  Robert  Goiif  to  Rehoboth, 
Massachusetts,  where  according  to  the 
records  of  that  town  he  married  Hannah 
Horton,  May  8,  1733. 

(II)  Their  son,  Comfort  Goft,  born  in 
Rehoboth,  September  25,  1734,  died  in  the 
town  of  Rush,  Monroe  county,  New  York, 
in  1819.  He  married,  January  20,  1757, 
Susannah,  daughter  of  Seth  and  Bethia 
(Lee)  Garnzey,  and  the  same  year  moved 
to  Colchester,  Connecticut,  where  he 
owned  and  cultivated  a  farm  on  the  Cole- 
brook  road  which  he  conveyed  to  Na- 
thaniel Russell  in  1784.  In  later  years  he 
joined  his  sons  in  Rush.  Monroe  county. 
These  sons  were :  Charles,  Comfort, 
Enoch,  Garnzey,  Squire,  of  further  men- 
tion, and  Samuel  D. 

(HI)  Squire  Goff  (known  as  Elder 
Goff)  was  born  about  1762,  died  in  Can- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ida 


1825.     In  1803  James  Wadsworth,      gan  in  1834.     He  came  to  Rush  with  his 


as  agent  for  Jeremiah  Wadsworth,  who 
was  the  owner  of  five  thousand  acres  in 
the  town  of  Rush,  Monroe  county,  New 
York,  prosecuted  a  system  for  exchang- 
ing these  wild  lands  for  farms,  "when 
their  occupants  would  become  settlers." 
While  on  such  a  mission  to  Connecticut 
he  met  Elder  Squire  Goff,  then  the  pas- 
tor of  a  small  church  at  Hartford,  and 
unfolded  to  him  his  plan  to  induce  emi- 
gration to  Monroe  county.  He  offered 
Elder  Goff  such  attractive  inducements 
that  he  made  the  journey  to  Rush  to  "spy 
out  the  land."  He  was  so  pleased  with 
the  lands  that  he  purchased  one  hundred 
and  thirty  acres  for  himself  at  four  dollars 
and  thirty  cents  per  acre  and  returned  to 
Connecticut  to  form  a  colony.  In  the 
■•spring  of  1804  he  returned  to  Rush  with 
his  five  brothers  and  their  father,  also 
with  ten  other  families,  all  settling  in  the 
locality  known  as  "Goflftown."  Here  was 
founded  the  original  GoiT  family  in  Mon- 
roe county  and  here  was  built  the  first 
Baptist  church  with  a  settled  pastor  in 
what  we  now  know  as  Monroe  county. 
Elder  Squire  Goflf  preached  at  the  dif- 
ferent houses  in  the  settlement  until  1806, 
when  Mr.  Wadsworth  donated  four  acres 
of  land  in  the  town  called  "The  Square" 
and  on  it  was  erected  a  frame  building, 
the  lumber  being  obtained  from  "Nor- 
ton's Mills,"  now  Honeoye  Falls.  That 
building  served  as  a  house  of  worship  and 
school  house  until  1830,  Elder  Squire 
GofT  ministering  as  pastor  until  1816, 
when  he  moved  to  Lewistown,  Connecti- 
cut. He  married  (first)  Experience 
Brainerd,  (second)  Eunice  (Brainerd) 
Rowley,  his  first  wife's  sister  and  widow 
of  Samuel  Rowley.  He  was  the  father  of 
fourteen  children,  of  whom  the  second 
was  Roswell. 

(IV)   Roswell  Goff  was  born  in  1786  in 
Connecticut,  died  in  the  State  of  Michi- 


father,  grandfather,  uncles,  cousins  and 
neighbors  in  1804  and  resided  at  Goff- 
town  until  his  removal  to  Michigan.  He 
married  (first)  Fanny  Davis,  (second) 
Betsey,  daughter  of  Elias  Thompson, 
(third)  Eunice  Billings.  He  was  the 
father  of  four  children  by  his  first  wife, 
two  by  his  second  and  seven  by  his  third. 

(V)  Henry  Haight  Goflf,  eldest  son  of 
Roswell  Goff  by  his  second  wife,  Betsey 
(Thompson)  Goff,  was  born  at  Henrietta, 
Monroe  county.  New  York,  in  1821,  died 
at  Spencerport,  New  York,  August  9, 
1896.  He  was  a  school  teacher  in  early 
life,  one  of  the  very  first  teachers  at  the 
Western  House  of  Refuge,  now  known  as 
the  New  York  State  Industrial  School. 
Later  he  became  a  landowning  farmer  and 
a  dealer  in  farm  produce,  so  continuing 
until  his  death  in  August,  1904,  a  man 
honored  and  esteemed  by  all.  He  mar- 
ried, March  17,  1850,  Sarah  E.  Wright, 
of  equally  early  Monroe  county  family,  a 
descendant  of  the  New  England  family 
which  produced  many  noted  men  includ- 
ing the  Revolutionary  patriot.  Colonel 
Ethan  Allen,  whose  capture  of  the  fort- 
ress at  Ticonderoga,  New  York,  and  his 
other  brave  deeds  at  the  head  of  the 
Green  Mountain  Boys  immortalized  his 
name.  Mrs.  Sarah  E.  Goff  died  in  1898, 
leaving  two  sons.  Frank  M.  and  Ben- 
ton H. 

(VI)  Frank  M.  Goff,  son  of  Henry  H. 
and  Sarah  E.  (Wright)  Goflf,  was  born  at 
Spencerport.  Monroe  county.  New  York, 
December  22,  1851,  and  until  recent  years 
retained  his  residence  in  the  village  of  his 
birth.  His  youth  was  spent  at  the  home 
farm,  in  attendance  at  the  public  schools 
and  in  more  advanced  study  at  the  Brock- 
port  State  Normal  School.  After  gradu- 
ation from  Normal  in  1870  he  spent  two 
years  at  the  University  of  Rochester; 
took  a  course  in  Bryant  &  Stratton's  Busi- 


334 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ness  College,  and  in  1873  began  the  study 
of  law.  Three  years  later,  in  1876,  he  was 
admitted  to  the  Monroe  county  bar,  and 
from  that  year  has  been  constantly  in 
practice  in  Rochester,  his  offices  838  Pow- 
ers building.  There  is  deep  satisfaction 
for  Mr.  Goff  in  a  retrospective  view  of 
those  twenty  years  and  in  comparing  his 
few  professional  engagements  of  the 
early  days  with  the  full  docket  of  to-day, 
and  in  realizing  that  it  has  been  his  own 
strength  as  a  lawyer  and  his  devotion  to 
the  best  tenets  of  his  profession  that  has 
brought  the  change.  The  law  is  right- 
fully termed  one  of  the  learned  profes- 
sions, but  more  than  learning  is  required 
to  produce  the  successful  lawyer  or  jurist, 
character  and  temperament  must  go  hand 
in  hand  with  learning,  and  a  confidence 
established  for  integrity  and  courtesy  be- 
fore intellectual  attainment  is  given  op- 
portunity. These  qualities  brought  Mr. 
GofT  his  early  clients  and  so  well  did  he 
prove  his  learning  and  skill  in  those  early 
years  that  success  came  to  him  abun- 
dantly. He  is  a  worker,  a  deep  student 
of  all  that  concerns  a  case,  is  thorough  in 
his  preparation,  ready  with  law  and  prece- 
dent, a  logical  reasoner  and  a  strong  ad- 
vocate. Of  genial,  friendly  manner,  cour- 
teous to  both  court  and  opponent,  he  holds 
the  attention  of  a  jury  and  with  eloquent, 
graceful  speech  presents  to  them  his  side 
of  the  contention.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
bar  association,  practices  in  all  State  and 
Federal  courts  of  the  district,  serving  a 
large  and  influential  clientele  with  zealous 
devotion. 

He  is  of  eminently  social  nature  and 
he  mingles  with  his  many  friends  in  social 
and  fraternal  association.  He  belongs  to 
the  different  Masonic  bodies  of  Rochester, 
and  in  Scottish  Rite  Masonry  has  gained 
the  thirty-second  degree.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Masonic  Club,  the  Rochester 
Whist  Club,  the  Rochester  Historical  So- 


ciety, and  the  Society  of  the  Genesee,  his 
standing  in  the  various  organizations  that 
of  an  interested  member  who  may  be 
called  upon  for  any  service  to  advance 
their  interest  and  add  to  their  usefulness, 
either  as  social  centers,  or  educational 
agencies.  He  is  public-spirited  and  loyal 
to  community  interests,  but  strictly  as  a 
citizen,  public  office  having  no  part  in  his 
plans. 

^Ir.  Goff  married,  September  18,  1877, 
Clara  B.  Brown,  of  Spencerport.  They 
have  two  children,  Louise  Loomis  A.  and 
William  F.  The  family  home  at  Spencer- 
port has  been  recently  changed  to  No. 
191  Seneca  Parkway,  Rochester. 


TOTTEN,  John  Reynolds, 

Retired   Military   Officer,  Author. 

Captain  John  R.  Totten  inherits  the 
true  American  patriotic  spirit  from  vari- 
ous ancestors.  His  father,  General  James 
Totten,  was  born  September  11,  1818,  at 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  died  October  i, 
1871,  at  Sedalia,  Missouri.  He  graduated 
from  the  West  Point  Military  Academy 
in  1841  and  served  at  various  posts  in  the 
United  States  in  both  the  Mexican  and 
Civil  wars ;  and  was  lieutenant-colonel 
and  inspector-general  of  the  United  States 
army.  He  married,  December  5,  1843,  ^t 
New  London,  Connecticut.  Julia  Hub- 
bell  Thacher,  born  March  6,  1823,  at  New- 
London,  died  there  January  31,  1906. 
She  was  descended  from  the  Rev.  Peter 
Thacher,  born  about  1549,  at  Queen 
Camel,  County  Somerset,  England,  died 
there  in  1624.  He  was  vicar  of  the 
Church  of  England  from  1574  to  1624, 
and  was  the  father  of  Hon.  Antony 
Thacher,  born  1588-89,  in  Queen  Camel, 
died  in  1667,  at  Yarmouth,  Massachusetts. 
He  resided  for  some  time  at  Salisbury, 
England,  came  to  Boston  on  the  ship 
"James,"  arriving  June  4,   1635,  lived  at 


335 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Marblehead,  later  at  Yarmouth,  Massa- 
chusetts, was  deputy  to  the  general  court 
of  Plymouth,  and  a  member  of  the  colo- 
nial council  of  war.  His  first  wife,  Mary, 
died  in  1634,  at  Salisbury,  and  he  mar- 
ried (second)  in  February,  1735,  Elizabeth 
Jones.  They  were  the  parents  of  Colo- 
nel John  Thacher,  born  March  17,  1639, 
at  Marblehead,  Massachusetts,  died  May 
8,  1713,  at  Yarmouth.  He  was  deputy 
and  assistant  in  the  General  Court  of  the 
Plymouth  Colony,  assistant  in  the  com- 
monwealth of  Massachusetts,  justice  of 
the  peace,  and  colonel  in  the  military 
service.  He  married,  November  6,  1661, 
in  Marshfield,  Massachusetts.  Rebecca 
Winslow,  born  there  July  15,  1643,  died 
July  15,  1683,  at  Yarmouth.  Their  son. 
Deacon  Josiah  Thacher,  was  born  April 
26,  1668,  at  Yarmouth,  died  there  May  12, 
1702.  He  was  long  deacon  of  the  church 
there,  and  was  married  there,  February 
25,  1691,  to  Mary  Hedge,  born  there  in 
March,  1671.  Captain  Josiah  Thacher, 
their  youngest  son,  was  born  July  7, 
1701,  at  Yarmouth,  followed  the  sea,  be- 
coming captain  of  a  vessel,  and  settled  at 
Norwalk,  Connecticut,  where  he  became  a 
large  landowner,  and  died  August  22, 
1780.  He  married  (second)  in  1635,  at 
Boston,  Mary  (Greenleaf)  Blinn,  widow 
of  James  Blinn,  born  1706,  at  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts,  died  in  April,  1774,  at 
Norwalk.  They  were  the  parents  of  Cap- 
tain John  Thacher,  born  July  25,  1742,  at 
Norwalk,  lived  in  that  town,  in  New  Mil- 
ford  and  settled  at  Stratford,  Connecticut. 
He  commanded  a  company  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  was  wounded  and  taken 
prisoner  at  Valcour's  Island,  October  11, 
1776,  paroled  and  exchanged  and  con- 
tinued in  the  service.  He  married  (sec- 
ond) in  1777-78,  at  Stratford,  Mehitable 
(Ufford)  Thompson,  widow  of  Lieuten- 
ant William  Thompson,  born  March  16, 
1745,  at  Stratford,  died  September  6,  1807, 


in  Litchfield,  Connecticut.  He  died  at 
Stratford,  January  16,  1805.  Their  sec- 
ond son,  Anthony  Thacher,  was  born  Jan- 
uary 7,  1782,  at  Stratford,  and  lived  at 
New  London,  Connecticut,  where  he  was 
cashier  of  the  New  London  Bank,  and 
died  December  26,  1844.  He  married, 
February  24,  1806,  at  New  London,  Lu- 
cretia  Christophers  Mumford,  born  Au- 
gust 10,  1785,  at  Salem,  Connecticut,  died 
April  6,  1871,  in  New  London.  Their  fifth 
daughter,  Julia  Hubbell  Thacher,  was 
born  March  6,  1823,  in  New  London,  and 
became  the  wife  of  General  James  Tot- 
ten,  as  above  related.  Their  youngest 
child  is  the  subject  of  this  biography. 

John  Reynolds  Totten  was  born  No- 
vember 4,  1856,  at  Barrancas  Barracks, 
Pensacola,  Florida,  where  his  father  was 
then  stationed.  He  received  a  liberal  edu- 
cation, being  a  student  at  the  Episcopal 
Academy  of  Cheshire,  Connecticut,  and 
was  graduated  from  the  United  States 
Military  Academy  at  West  Point,  New 
York,  in  the  class  of  1878.  He  graduated 
from  the  United  States  Artillery  School 
at  Fortress  Monroe,  Virginia,  in  1882, 
and  was  assigned  to  service  in  the  First 
United  States  Infantry  as  second  lieuten- 
ant. He  was  successively  second  lieuten- 
ant and  first  lieutenant  in  the  Fourth 
United  States  Artillery,  served  with  the 
army  of  the  United  States  from  June  14  to 
August  28,  1878,  at  West  Point,  as  in- 
structor of  tactics.  From  June,  1878  to 
1879,  h^  '^^'ss  stationed  at  Fort  Hale,  Da- 
kota, and  for  about  a  year  at  Alcatraz 
Island,  in  San  Francisco  Harbor.  From 
May  I,  1880  to  1882  he  was  at  Fortress 
Monroe,  Virginia,  and  at  Fort  Preble, 
Maine,  from  May  i,  1882  to  1884.  He 
then  became  instructor  in  French  and 
English  at  the  West  Point  Military  Acad- 
emy, and  assistant  professor  of  Spanish 
from  1884  to  1889.  On  October  i  of  the 
latter    year    he    was    stationed    at    Fort 


336 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OE  BIOGRAPHY 


Adams,  Rhode  Island,  and  was  attached 
to  a  light  battery.  He  resigned  from  the 
army  October  i,  1S90,  to  take  effect  April 
I,  1891.  Since  that  time  he  has  resided  in 
New  York  City,  and  has  given  much  at- 
tention to  literary  work,  especially  in  his- 
torical and  genealogical  matters.  Pie  has 
long  been  an  officer  of  the  New  York 
Genealogical  and  Biographical  Society  as 
trustee  and  chairman  of  its  executive  com- 
mittee, and  during  much  of  the  time  as 
honorary  librarian.  Among  his  most 
notable  works  is  the  "Thacher-Thatcher 
Genealogy,"  which  is  still  running  in  the 
"New  York  Genealogical  and  Biographi- 
cal Record."  He  is  also  the  author  of 
many  general  essays.  He  is  a  communi- 
cant of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  church, 
and  adheres  to  the  principles  expounded 
by  the  Republican  party  in  political  mat- 
ters. He  is  affiliated  with  numerous 
patriotic  societies,  including  the  New 
York  Society  of  Mayflower  Descendants, 
Sons  of  the  Revolution,  Society  of  the 
Colonial  Wars,  New  York  Historic- 
Genealogical  Society,  New  London  Coun- 
ty Historical  Association,  United  States 
Military  Academy,  Alumni  Association, 
and  of  clubs,  including  the  Army  and 
Navy  and  New  York  Athletic.  lie  was 
married,  at  Garrison-on-Hudson,  New 
York,  September  5,  1889,  to  Elma  Smythe 
(Preston)  Van  Voorhis,  widow  of  Arthur 
Van  Voorhis. 


ALEXANDER,  De  Alva  S., 

liSL^rjer,   Legislator,  Author. 

De  Alva  Stanwood  Alexander,  of  hon- 
orable esteem  in  the  field  of  politics  and, 
of  even  higher  distinction  in  that  of 
letters,  was  born  in  Richmond,  Maine, 
July  17,  1845,  the  son  of  Stanwood  and 
Priscilla  (Brown)  Alexander.  On  the 
paternal  side,  he  is  the  eighth  in  descent 
from  Philip  Stanwood,  who  came  from 
England  to  Gloucester,  Massachusetts,  in 

N  Y-4-2I  33 


1652  and,  in  the  seventh  from  David 
Alexander  who,  migrating  from  Ulster, 
Ireland,  settled  at  Harpswell,  Maine,  in 
1719.  He  is  eighth,  in  the  maternal  line, 
from  George  and  Mary  (Murdock) 
Brown,  who  came  from  England  to 
Plymouth,  Massachusetts,  in  1635. 

Alexander's  elementary  education  was 
obtained  in  the  common  schools  of  his 
native  town.  His  father  dying,  he  re- 
moved, when  thirteen  years  old,  to  Ohio, 
with  his  mother ;  and,  in  1862,  with  his 
heart  in  the  Union  cause,  he  enlisted  in 
the  One  Hundred  and  Twenty-eighth 
Regiment  (infantry)  Ohio  Volunteers, 
serving  until  the  close  of  the  war.  Thert- 
after,  he  returned  to  his  native  State  and 
entered  Bowdoin  College,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  1870,  a  member  of  the 
Delta  Kappa  Epsilon  fraternity,  with  a 
fine  record  as  a  scholar,  especially  in  the 
English  branches.  He  is  a  loyal  son  of 
Bowdoin  and,  honoring  it,  has  by  it  been 
honored,  receiving  the  Master's  degree  in 
1873  and  that  of  Doctor  of  Laws  in  1907 
and  has  for  years  been  one  of  its  board 
of  overseers.  Soon  succeeding  gradu- 
ation, Alexander  again  went  a  westering, 
seeking  an  opportunity  for  the  employ- 
ment of  his  maturing  powers  and  after 
teaching  in  Fort  Wayne,  Indiana,  for  a 
time,  found  it  in  journalism,  in  that  city 
in  1871,  as  one  of  the  proprietors  and 
editors  of  the  "Daily  Gazette,"  already  a 
leading  Republican  journal  of  the  State. 
He  at  once  made  a  mark  by  his  thought- 
ful editorials,  both  of  a  political  and 
literary  cast,  materially  enhancing  the 
prestige  of  the  paper  and  attracting  to 
himself  the  confidence  and  friendship  of 
many  of  the  leading  politicians  and  pro- 
fessional men  of  the  State,  especially  of 
Senator  Oliver  P.  Morton,  the  famous 
war  governor.  In  1874,  he  disposed  of 
his  interest  in  the  Fort  Wayne  "Gazette" 
and  took  service  as  staff  correspondent 
with  the  Cincinnati  "Gazette,"  with  resi- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


dence  at  Indianapolis.  Meanwhile  he 
acted  as  secretary  of  the  Republican  State 
Committee  and  studied  law,  being  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1877. 

Thus,  dropping  his  pen  as  a  journalist, 
which  he  did  not  resume  for  nearly  thirty 
years,  and  then  as  an  author,  he  engaged 
actively  and  successfully  in  the  practice 
of  his  profession  for  the  ensuing  four 
years,  at  Indianapolis,  still  inaintaining  a 
lively  interest  in  politics.  In  1881,  upon 
the  recommendation  of  Senator  lienja- 
min  Harrison,  always  .Alexander's  friend, 
he  was  appointed,  by  President  Garfield, 
an  auditor  in  the  treasury  department, 
serving  under  Secretaries  Windom,  Fol- 
ger,  McCulloch  and  Manning;  his  re- 
tention by  the  last  named  being  unusual 
and  distinctly  complimentary,  as  tendered 
by  a  political  opponent  and,  as  is  under- 
stood, at  the  suggestion  of  President 
Cleveland.  This  is  emphatic  testimony  to 
the  intelligence  and  fidelity  with  which 
Alexander  had  discharged  his  highly  re- 
sponsible trust.  While  residing  at  the 
national  capital  he  was  elected  com- 
mander of  the  Department  of  the  Poto- 
mac, Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  At 
the  expiration  of  his  term  as  auditor,  he 
removed  to  Buffalo,  thus  becoming  a  citi- 
zen of  New  York,  and  formed  a  law  part- 
nership with  the  Hon.  James  A.  Roberts, 
his  college  class  and  fraternity  mate,  sub- 
sequently comptroller  of  the  State.  In 
June,  1889,  Alexander  was  appointed 
United  States  district  attorney  for  the 
Northern  District  of  New  York,  by  Presi- 
dent Harrison,  embracing  what  are  now 
the  northern  and  western  districts.  This 
appointment  was  objected  to  in  certain 
quarters  because,  as  alleged,  his  brief 
residence  in  the  district  did  not  entitle 
him  to  such  marked  political  recognition 
and  that  it  must,  therefore,  be  regarded 
as  a  purely  personal  appointment  on  the 
part  of  the  President  who  was  firm  in 
asserting  his  prerogative,  for  he  knew  his 


man  and  that  his  official  conduct  would 
vindicate  his  preferment;  as  it  certainly 
did.  The  arduous  labors  of  the  office,  in- 
volving an  exact  knowledge  of  the  law 
and  integrity  and  courage  in  enforcing  its 
sanctions,  were  duly  fulfilled,  demon- 
strating his  legal  ability  and  also  induc- 
ing a  full  measure  of  public  esteem.  He 
held  the  place  until  December,  1893. 

Devoting  the  next  three  years  to  the 
private  practice  of  his  profession  he  con 
stantly  increased  in  political  strength  and 
popular  favor  and  was  in  1896  elected 
a  representative  in  Congress  from  the 
Buffalo  district,  remaining  as  such  for 
fourteen  years  consecutively  —  among 
the  longest  tenures  accorded  to  a  New 
York  member.  In  Congress  throughout 
he  assumed  a  commanding  stand,  especi- 
ally active  and  influential  on  the  judici- 
ary committee.  He  aided  in  drafting  the 
important  bills  reported  by  the  commit- 
tee, for  twelve  years,  and  usually  sup- 
ported them  in  the  house  by  speeches, 
long  or  short,  as  occasion  demanded.  He 
was  chairman  of  rivers  and  harbors,  and 
as  such  bore  the  burden  of  the  work  in 
committee  and  upon  the  floor.  It  is  sig- 
nificant that  he  never  lost  a  bill  that  he 
reported  from  either  committee.  Witii 
a  positive  "genius  for  friendship,"  his 
bearing  —  frank,  cordial,  cheery  —  won 
the  regard  of  all  and  the  affection  of 
many  of  his  colleagues ;  as  his  helpful 
offices  rendered  him  extremely  popular 
with  his  constituency.  Political  life,  on 
its  higher  plane,  always  seemed  to  him 
a  worthy  ambition,  and  his  time  and 
thought,  outside  of  his  profession,  have 
been  subject  to  the  demand  of  his  party 
on  the  stump  and  in  the  work  of  organi- 
zation ;  but  while  a  partisan,  he  has  not 
believed  in  party  success  at  the  cost  of 
principle;  and  has  uniformly  identified 
h.imself  with  clean  politics. 

The  rare  opportunities  for  knowing 
public  men.  presented  to  him  soon  after 


33S 


L^(^<^     (p     UV^cAj 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Smith  of  the  S3Tacuse  "Journal,"  Warren 
of  the  Buffalo  "Commercial,"  and  Mat- 
thews of  the  Buffalo  "Express."  Of  Fitch 
it  has  been  said  by  a  discriminating 
writer,  Alexander,  that  he  was  an  edi- 
torial advocate  and  disputant  who  had  to 
be  reckoned  with.  In  Alexander's  recent 
history  of  New  York,  dealing  with  the 
period  immediately  following  the  Civil 
War,  there  are  various  references  to  the 
editorial  work  and  political  influence  of 
Fitch,  and,  as  said  by  the  writer  quoted, 
in  vigor  and  grace  of  editorial  expression 
he  was  at  least  the  equal  of  any  of  his  up- 
State  contemporaries ;  but  he  had  the  ad- 
vantage of  most  of  them  in  his  bountiful 
store  of  historical  learning — the  one  un- 
matched fountain  of  enlightened  and  con- 
vincing editorial  discourse. 

Charles  Elliott  Fitch  was  born  in  Syra- 
cuse, New  York,  December  3,  1835,  son  of 
Thomas  Brockway  and  Ursula  (Elliott) 
Fitch  ;  his  father  was  for  nearly  fifty  years 
a  prominent  merchant  and  banker  of 
Syracuse ;  his  mother  was  a  daughter  of 
Daniel  Elliott,  architect  and  builder,  who 
settled  in  Syracuse  in  1827.  Fitch  is 
eighth  in  descent  from  Rev.  James  Fitch, 
a  Congregational  clergyman,  well  known 
for  his  missionary  labors  in  conjunction 
with  John  Eliot,  the  Apostle  among  the 
Indians,  who  having  preached  in  Say- 
brook,  Connecticut,  removed  with  nearly 
all  his  congregation  to  Norwich,  Connecti- 
cut, and  is  regarded  as  the  chief  founder 
of  that  place.  Fitch  is  of  pure  Puritan 
ancestry  throughout,  being  descended  in 
direct  lines  from  Governor  William  Brad- 
ford and  Elder  William  Brewster,  of  the 
"Mayflower." 

Fitch  attended  select  schools  in  Syra- 
cuse, except  for  one  year  at  a  boarding 
school  in  Stamford,  Connecticut.  Among 
his  Syracuse  teachers  were  Miss  Buttrick 
(afterward  wife  of  Hon.  William  A.  Sack- 
ett),  Samuel  S.  Stebbins,  Joseph  A.  Allen 


and  James  W.  Hoyt.  Among  his  fellow 
students  were  Andrew  D.  White,  Oren 
Root,  Joseph  May,  Rossiter  W.  Raymond 
and  William  O.  Stoddard.  He  was  espe- 
cially prepared  for  college  at  Alger  In- 
stitute, Cornwall,  Connecticut,  Rev.  Ed- 
ward Watson  Andrews,  principal.  In 
1 85 1  he  entered  Williams  College,  and 
had  among  his  college  classmates  United 
States  Senators  John  James  Ingalls  and 
Phineas  W.  Hitchcock;  Henry  W.  Sey- 
mour, member  of  Congress  from  Michi- 
gan ;  State  Senator  Abraham  Lansing,  of 
New  York ;  William  R.  Dimmock.  pro- 
fessor of  Greek,  Williams  College,  and 
principal  of  Adams  Academy,  Quincy, 
Massachusetts ;  Cyrus  M.  Dodd,  pro- 
fessor of  mathematics,  Williams  College  ; 
W.  S.  B.  Hopkins,  a  leading  lawyer  of 
Massachusetts ;  Edward  P.  Ingersoll,  a 
leading  divine  of  the  Reformed  church  ; 
James  Orton,  naturalist,  traveler  and 
author;  and  William  P.  Prentice,  a  promi- 
nent lawyer  and  linguist  of  New  York 
City.  President  James  A.  Garfield,  with 
whom  he  became  intimate,  was  in  the 
class  below  him.  With  his  class,  one  of 
the  most  notable  at  Williams  College, 
under  the  presidency  of  Mark  Hopkins, 
Fitch  graduated  in  1855  with  honor ;  sub- 
ject of  his  commencement  oration,  "Berk- 
shire." He  was  a  member  of  the  Sigma 
Phi  fraternity ;  and  throughout  his  course 
was  prominent  in  the  Philotechnian  Soci- 
ety, secretary  and  vice-president. 

In  1855-56  he  studied  law  in  the  office 
of  Hon.  Israel  S.  Spencer,  in  Syracuse, 
and  in  the  latter  year  entered  the  Albany 
Law  School  (now  the  law  department  of 
LInion  University),  from  which  he  was 
graduated  Bachelor  of  Laws,  his  gradu- 
ating thesis  being  "Theory  of  Interest." 
Admitted  to  the  bar  in  February,  1857, 
he  entered  upon  practice  in  Syracuse, 
which  continued  until  1864,  with  the  fol- 
lowing partners  :   Henry  S.  Fuller,  Henry 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


A.  Barnum  and  A.  Judd  Northrup ;  Fitch 
&  Barnum  were  city  attorneys  in  i860, 
Amos  Westcott  being  mayor.  During 
this  period  Fitch  was  president  of  the 
Calliopean  Society,  the  leading  literary 
society  of  Syracuse  (1856-57)  ;  president 
of  the  Junior  Fremont  and  Dayton  Club, 
a  political  association  of  young  men  not 
yet  voters  (1856)  ;  director  of  Franklin 
Institute  (1858-61),  and  corresponding 
secretary  in  1859;  director  and  corre- 
sponding secretary  of  the  Onondaga 
County  Historical  Society  (1859-60).  In 
1861  he  was  a  member  of  the  Onondaga 
County  Board  of  Supervisors  from  the 
Seventh  Ward  of  Syracuse ;  of  this  board 
he  was  in  1916  the  sole  survivor.  In  1864 
Fitch  was  appointed  clerk  of  the  Provost 
Court,  Department  of  North  Carolina,  at 
New  Bern,  under  Colonel  Edwin  S.  Jen- 
ney,  Provost  Judge  (also  of  Syracuse), 
and  served  in  that  capacity  in  1864-65, 
and  in  the  latter  year  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession  there.  The  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  State  had  not  yet 
been  reestablished,  but  he  had  much  re- 
munerative practice  in  justices'  courts, 
civil  and  criminal,  and  in  military  com- 
missions and  courts-martial,  some  of  his 
cases  being  notable. 

He  returned  to  Syracuse  in  December, 
1865.  He  had  a  liking  for  his  profession, 
but  journalism  now  opened  to  him  a  field 
which  was  most  congenial.  From  1857 
to  this  time,  he  had  been  a  frequent  con- 
tributor to  Syracuse  journals,  and  his 
writings  had  been  received  with  favor. 
He  now  (in  May,  1866)  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  of  Summers  &  Company 
(Moses  Summers,  William  Summers, 
Henry  A.  Barnum  and  Charles  E.  Fitch), 
publishers  of  the  Syracuse  "Standard," 
and  of  which  he  was  made  editor-in- 
chief,  and  continued  as  such  until  1873, 
when  he  relinquished  it  to  become  editor- 
in-chief  and  a  stockholder  and  trustee  in 


the  Rochester  "Democrat  and  Chronicle," 
so  continuing  until  1890,  when  impaired 
health  and  public  duties  called  him  from 
his  editorial  chair.  Firmly  adhering  to 
Republican  principles,  in  1872  he  favored 
the  liberal  element  of  the  party,  and  he 
vigorously  fought  the  Grant  third  term 
project,  in  line  with  the  "Half  Breeds." 
He  gave  his  paper  a  literary  as  well  as  a 
political  tone,  and  his  polished  style  and 
critical  analysis  of  character  gave  a 
special  weight  and  attractiveness  to  his 
biographical  articles  and  all  pertaining 
to  the  personality  of  the  prominent  men 
of  his  day  then  before  the  public. 

In  1876  Fitch  was  a  delegate  to  the 
Republican  National  Convention  in  Cin- 
cinnati, and  in  1888  was  chairman  of  the 
State  Convention  in  Buffalo.  In  1880  he 
was  supervisor  of  the  United  States  Cen- 
sus for  the  western  district  of  the  State. 
From  1890  to  1894  he  was  Collector  of 
Revenue  for  Western  New  York,  under 
appointment  by  President  Harrison,  and 
made  a  phenomenal  record,  collecting  for 
the  government  the  sum  of  nine  million 
dollars,  and,  in  his  final  settlement,  with- 
out a  penny  at  fault  in  his  accounts.  In 
1894  he  was  secretary  of  the  New  York 
State  Constitutional  Convention.  During 
all  the  years  from  1864  to  1892  he  was 
frequently  on  the  stum.p  in  behalf  of  the 
Republican  party  in  its  most  important 
campaigns ;  and  he  was  a  delegate  from 
Onondaga  or  Monroe  counties  to  many 
Republican  State  Conventions,  usually 
serving  upon  the  committee  on  resolu- 
tions. 

Fitch  has  been  especially  distinguished 
in  the  fields  of  literature  and  education. 
In  1877  he  was  elected  by  the  Legislature 
a  Regent  of  the  University  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  and  as  such  served  with 
conspicuous  ability  for  the  unusual  period 
of  twenty-seven  years  from  1877  to  1904. 
From  1893  to  1896  he  was  university  ex- 


341 


:ncyclopedia  of  biography 


tension  lecturer,  delivering  ten  lectures 
on  "Civil  and  Religious  Liberty"  in  a 
score  of  cities  and  towns  in  New  York, 
New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania;  from  1895 
to  1904  was  lecturer  before  Teachers'  In- 
stitutes under  appointment  by  the  Hon. 
Charles  R.  Skinner,  superintendent  of 
public  instruction,  and  speaking  in  nearly 
every  county  in  New  York,  mainly  on 
historical  subjects;  and  from  1904  to  1906 
was  chief  of  the  important  School  Li- 
braries Division  of  the  New  York  Educa- 
tion Department.  During  all  these  years 
he  also  delivered  many  orations  and  ad- 
dresses, all  distinguished  by  lofty  literary 
and  oratorical  ability.  These  include,  in 
part: 

Annual  address  as  president  of  the  Calliopean 
Society,  Syracuse,  1856  and  1857 ;  address  in  com- 
memoration of  the  laying  of  the  first  Atlantic 
cable,  Syracuse,  1858;  "The  National  Problem," 
at  Delphi,  July  4,  1S61  ;  "Union  and  Liberty,"  at 
New  Bern,  N.  C,  July  4,  i86s ;  "The  Press  of 
Onondaga  County,"  at  Syracuse,  and  repeated  in 
various  villages  in  Onondaga  county,  1868;  "The 
Risks  of  Thinking,"  before  the  Sigma  Phi  So- 
ciety at  the  University  of  Michigan,  1870;  "The 
Limitations  of  Democracy,"  at  Marathon,  N.  Y., 
July  4,  1871;  "Union  and  Unity,"  at  Cortland, 
N.  Y.,  1872;  "American  Chivalry,"  at  Syracuse, 
Memorial  Day,  1874;  "Church  and  State,"  at 
annual  meeting  of  school  commissioners  and  su- 
perintendents. State  of  New  York,  Rochester, 
187s;  "Education  and  the  State,"  before  the  New 
York  State  Teachers'  Association,  Watkins,  N.  Y., 
1876;  "National  and  Individual  Independence,"  at 
Skaneateles,  N.  Y.,  July  4,  1876;  "Chivalry  and 
Duty,"  at  Albion,  N.  Y.,  Memorial  Day,  1877; 
"The  Perils  of  Journalism,"  before  New  York 
Press  Association,  Syracuse,  1878;  "The  Mean- 
ing of  the  Flowers,"  Geneva,  N.  Y.,  Memorial 
Day,  1879;  "Migration  and  Development,"  before 
Wyoming  Pioneer  .'\ssociation,  Silver  Lake,  N.  Y., 
1880;  "Mental  Limitations,"  at  Commencement, 
Ingham  University,  1880;  address  and  author  of 
resolutions  at  citizens'  meeting  at  Rochester,  on 
death  of  President  Garfield,  1881  ;  the  sketch  of 
Garfield,  printed  in  "International  Magazine"  by 
request;  "The  American  College,"  1884,  at  semi- 
centennial of  Sigma  Phi  chapter  at  Williams  Col- 
lege, and  repeated  substantially  at  the  centennial 


of  the  University  of  the  State  of  New  York,  in 
the  Senate  Chamber,  Albany;  Historical  address 
at  semi-centennial  of  the  City  of  Rochester,  1884; 
Five  lectures  on  "Journalism."  before  students  of 
Cornell  University,  1885;  "A  Layman's  View  of 
the  Medical  Profession,"  before  graduating  class 
of  Medical  College,  Syracuse  University,  June  11, 
1885;  "Journalism  as  a  Profession,"  Rutgers  Col- 
lege commencement.  June,  1886,  and  repeated  at 
Haverford  College,  March,  1890;  "The  Christian 
School,"  at  Keble  School  commencement,  June, 
1889;  "The  Value  of  Exact  Knowledge,"  Foun- 
ders' Day,  Lehigh  University,  1891 ;  Memorial 
address  on  George  William  Curtis,  before  the 
Regents  of  the  University  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  Senate  Chamber,  Albany,  1892;  "Higher 
Education  and  the  State,"  University  Convoca- 
tion, Albany,  July,  1893;  Historical  address  at 
Centennial  of  Onondaga  County,  Syracuse,  1894; 
Historical  address  at  semi-centennial  of  City 
of  Syracuse,  1897;  "Patriotism  in  Education," 
before  State  Teachers'  Association,  Rochester, 
i8g8;  Historical  address  at  semi-centennial  of 
Genesee  county,  Batavia,  1902;  "Regents'  Ex- 
aminations," at  L'niversity  Convocation.  Albany, 
1902;  Memorial  address  on  Carroll  E.  Smith, 
before  Onondaga  County  Historical  Association, 
Syracuse,  1903;  "Susan  B.  Anthony  and  Hu- 
man Liberty,"  before  Syracuse  Political  Equality 
Club,  April  20,  1906;  also  many  unpublished 
lyceum  lectures  and  papers  read  before  the  Fort- 
nightly and  Browning  clubs  of  Rochester,  and 
elsewhere,  and  which  were  all  burned  in  the 
Albany  Capitol  fire  in  February,  191 1 — a  most 
serious  loss  to  the  memorabilia  of  the  State. 
These  included  "Gerrit  Smith,"  "Thomas  Chat- 
terton,"  "The  Law  of  Libel,"  "John  Milton  as  a 
Politician,"  "Robert  Burns,"  "Arnold  of  Brescia," 
"Henry  Clay  in  1850,"  "The  Intercontinental  Rail- 
way," "The  Puritan  and  the  Dutchman,"  "Prussia 
and  Stein,"  "A  Forgotten  Author — Fitz  Hugh 
Ludlow,"  "Drawn  Toward  the  Orient, — Lafcadio 
Hearn,"  and  a  lecture  on  Abraham  Lincoln,  which 
he  delivered  a  hundred  times. 

Mr.  Fitch  has  been  a  contributor  at 
various  times  to  "Harper's  Weekly,"  the 
New  York  "Tribune,"  the  New  York 
"Times,"  the  Troy  "Times,"  and  the  Syra- 
cuse "Herald,"  and  was  associate  editor 
of  the  Rochester  "Post-Express"  (1896- 
98).  He  is  author  of  the  article  on  "The 
Press,"  in  Peck's  "History  of  Rochester;" 


342 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


"The  Public  School  History  of  Common 
School  Education  in  New  York  from  1813 
to  1904,"  published  by  the  Department 
of  Public  Instruction,  1904;  "Secretary's 
Report  at  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the 
Class  of  1855,"  1905  ;  "History  of  Brown- 
ing Club,  Rochester,"  1910;  Mr.  Fitch  also 
edited  "Political  New  York  from  Cleve- 
land to  Hughes,"  (1913)  ;  and  was  super- 
vising editor  and  writer  of  many  brilliant 
biographical  sketches  of  the  "Alemorial 
Cyclopedia  of  New  York."  He  received 
the  honorary  degree  of  Master  of  Arts 
from  Syracuse  University,  1875 ;  was  a 
trustee  of  the  Mechanics'  Savings  Bank  of 
Rochester,  1878-99;  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  Fortnightly  Literary  Club  of  Roches- 
ter, 18S2,  resigning  therefrom  in  1898; 
elected  member  of  Williams  Chapter,  Phi 
Beta  Kappa,  1S83;  president  of  Roches- 
ter Historical  Society,  1892-93  ;  one  of  the 
founders  of  Sigma  Phi  chapter  at  Lehigh 
University,  1887,  and  at  Cornell  Univer- 
sity. 1890;  received  honorary  degree  of  L. 
H.  D.  from  Hamilton  College,  1S95  ■  has 
been  member  of  the  Society  of  Mayflower 
Descendants,  American  Geographical  So- 
ciety, American  Historical  Society,  Syra- 
cuse Club  (predecessor  of  the  Century), 
the  Rochester  and  Rochester  Whist  clubs, 
president  of  the  \^'illiams  College  Asso- 
ciation of  Western  New  York,  and  of  the 
Sigma  Phi  Association  of  Central  and 
Western  New  York. 

Dr.  Fitch  married,  July  21,  1870,  Louise 
Lawrence,  daughter  of  Thomas  A.  Smith 
(sometime  editor  of  the  Syracuse  "Stand- 
ard") and  Charlotte  Elizabeth  (Lawrence) 
Smith,  and  own  cousin  of  the  Hon.  Car- 
roll E.  Smith.  His  children  are :  Law- 
rence Bradford  (B.  A.,  Williams,  1892).  a 
civil  engineer  of  Rochester  ;  and  Elizabeth 
Le  Baron,  wife  of  Rev.  Wallace  Hubbard 
Watts,  chaplain.  United  States  army. 
Fexwick  Y.  Hedley, 
Managing  Editor. 


FASSETT,  Jacob  Sloat, 

Lawyer,  Z^egislator,  Capitalist. 

Jacob  Sloat  Fassett  was  born  in  El- 
mira,  New  York,  November  13,  1853,  son 
of  Newton  Pomeroy  and  Martha  Ellen 
(Sloatj  Fassett,  grandson  of  Jacob  Sloat, 
of  Sloatsburg,  the  builder  of  the  first  cot- 
ton-twine factory  in  the  United  States, 
and  a  descendant  on  the  paternal  side  of 
ancestors  who  came  to  New  York  from 
Vermont  by  the  way  of  Pennsylvania. 

Jacob  Sloat  Fassett  attended  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  city,  and  became  a 
student  of  the  academy  at  Elmira,  and  in 
the  fall  of  1871  matriculated  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Rochester,  from  which  institu- 
tion he  was  graduated  in  1875,  with  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  having  especi- 
ally distinguished  himself  in  belles  lettres 
and  oratory,  with  high  prizes  to  his  credit. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Alpha  Delta  Phi 
fraternity,  and  has  for  many  years  been 
a  trustee  of  his  abna  mater.  After  giadu- 
ation  he  determined  upon  the  law  as  his 
profession  and  accordingly  studied  in  the 
office  of  Smith,  Robertson  &  Fassett  (his 
father),  at  Elmira.  He  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  as  an  attorney  in  1878  and  as  a 
counselor,  at  Albany,  in  1879.  Within 
half  an  hour  after  his  admission  as  coun- 
selor he  was  handed  a  commission  from 
Governor  Robinson  as  district  attorney 
for  the  county  of  Chemung.  He  held 
this  position  for  one  year,  —  a  signal 
recognition  of  his  talents  by  a  political 
opponent,  but  a  fellow  citizen.  During  the 
years  1880  and  1881  with  the  view  of  per- 
fecting himself  in  his  profession,  he  stud- 
ied law  and  political  economy  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Heidelberg ;  then  returned  to 
the  United  Slctes.  In  1878,  after  his  ad- 
mission as  attorney,  he  opened  an  office 
for  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  El- 
mira and  has  continued  therein  to  the 
present    (1916)  ;  although  at   times  with- 


343 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


drawn  from  its  activities  by  political  pref- 
erment and  business  interests. 

He  married,  February  13,  1879,  Jennie 
L.,  daughter  of  Judge  E.  B.  Crocker,  of 
Sacramento,  California,  a  lady  of  large 
fortune,  fine  culture  and  charming  man- 
ners, an  efficient  helpmeet  to  him  through- 
out his  eminent  career.  In  the  fall  of 
1883  he  was,  as  a  Republican,  elected  to 
the  State  Senate  from  the  Twenty-sev- 
enth District  (Allegany,  Chemung,  Steu- 
ben) and,  by  successive  reelections,  re- 
mained therein  for  the  ensuing  eight 
years,  exercising  marked  influence  in  its 
deliberations  and  gaining  celebrity  as 
committeeman,  speaker  and  parliamen- 
tarian. He  served  as  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  commerce  and  navigation 
and  that  on  insurance,  and  member  of  the 
committee  on  finance,  on  cities  and 
others.  In  1889,  upon  the  death  of  Sena- 
tor Low,  he  was  elected  temporary  presi- 
dent of  the  Senate  by  a  unanimous  vote, 
and  was  reelected  in  1890  and  1891. 

As  a  legislator,  high  minded,  acute  and 
accomplished,  his  name  is  connected  with 
many  important  measures  and  he  was  in- 
strumental in  securing  the  passage  of 
many  excellent  laws,  among  them  being 
the  one  making  employees  the  first  pre- 
ferred creditors  in  all  assignments.  He 
also  conducted  the  aqueduct  investiga- 
tion, and  the  investigation  into  the  mu- 
nicipal departments  of  the  city  of  New 
York,  which  resulted  in  considerable 
benefit  to  that  city.  As  a  debater  he  was 
ready,  clear,  incisive  and  cogent — at  times 
supremely  eloquent ;  and,  as  a  presiding 
officer,  thoroughly  informed  in  rules  and 
precedents  and  quick-witted  in  applying 
them  while  firm  and  courteous  in  bear- 
ing. He  retired  from  the  Senate  with 
a  brilliant  record  in  all  respects,  unex- 
celled and  rarely  equaled  in  the  legisla- 
tive annals  of  recent  years. 

Meanwhile,  he  became,  and  is  still 
recognized,  as  the  leader  of  his  party  in 


his  section  of  the  State,  utilizing  its  re- 
sources, directing  its  policies  and  mar- 
shaling its  forces.  Sagacious,  unsullied 
and  ardent  he  has  held  almost  uniformly 
his  senatorial  and  congressional  districts 
in  his  keeping  and  materially  changed  the 
political  complexion  of  his  own  county 
(Chemung)  which  long,  under  the  skill- 
ful management  of  Governor  Hill,  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  rolling  up  large 
Democratic  majorities,  Fassett's  mag- 
netic personality  supplementing  his  ex- 
ecutive ability  ;  for  many  men  have  loved, 
as  well  as  admired,  him.     He  was  from 

1879  until  1896  editor  and  proprietor  of 
the  Elmira  "Advertiser,"  of  which  his 
college  classmate,  Edward  L.  Adams, 
now  United  States  consul  at  Dublin,  was, 
for  years,  the  able  managing  editor,  but  to 
which  Fassett  himself  contributed  many 
leading  articles.     He  was   a  delegate   in 

1880  to  the  Republican  National  Conven- 
tion at  Chicago,  and  was  secretary  of  the 
Republican  National  Committee  from 
1888  until  1892.  In  1891  he  was  nominated 
enthusiastically  and  unanimously  by  the 
Republican  State  Convention  at  Roches- 
ter, for  Governor,  in  accepting  which  he 
delivered  one  of  the  most  feeling,  telling 
and  eloquent  addresses  that  it  has  been 
the  privilege  of  a  political  convention  to 
hear,  following  it  with  a  whirlwind  can- 
vass;  but  the  die  was  cast  against  him,; 
and  for  reasons  not  essential  here  to  reca- 
pitulate and  which  involved  no  reflections 
upon  him.  the  Democratic  ticket,  with 
Governor  Flower  at  its  head,  was  elected. 
In  1892,  he  was  chairman  of  the  Republi- 
can National  Convention  at  Minneapolis, 
sounding  in  his  speech  the  keynote  of 
the  campaign.  He  was  also  chairman  of 
the  Republican  State  Convention  of  1904. 
He  was  a  representative  in  Congress  for 
three  terms  (1905-11)  maintaining  therein 
the  same  high  standard  of  speech  and  ac- 
tion that  he  had  attained  in  the  Senate. 

Since    his    retirement    from    Congress, 


344 


E.XCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


while  still  retaining  his  interest  in  poli- 
tics, he  has  neither  sought  nor  seemed  to 
desire  public  preferment,  devoting  him- 
self mainly  to  his  large  business  enter- 
prises. He  is  or  has  been  manager  and 
vice-president  of  the  Second  National 
Bank  of  Elmira ;  vice-president  of  the 
Commercial  State  Bank  of  Sioux  City, 
Iowa ;  manager  of  the  little  mining  town 
of  Banner,  Idaho ;  of  a  ranch  and  cattle 
company  which  conducts  an  extensive 
business  in  New  Mexico;  and  is  under- 
stood to  hold  various  concessions  in  Ko- 
rea. He  holds  a  controlling  influence  in 
the  development  of  the  hardwood  re- 
sources of  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  the 
introduction  therefrom  in  this  country  of 
what  is  commercially  known  as  Philip- 
pine mahogany ;  controls  heavy  lumber 
interests  in  North  Carolina  and  Canada ; 
and  is  deeply  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  the  Corona  Typewriter,  and  of  glass 
bottles.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Order  of 
Free  Masons,  having  received  the  thirty- 
second  degree  of  the  Scottish  Rite ;  of 
the  Order  of  United  Workmen  ;  Improved 
Order  of  Red  Men ;  the  Benevolent  and 
Protective  Order  of  Elks ;  and  of  the 
honorary  college  fraternity  of  Phi  Beta 
Kappa.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Uni- 
versity, Bankers'  and  Metropolitan  clubs 
of  New  York  City.    In  1901  Colgate  Uni- 


who  removed  from  Massachusetts  to 
Syracuse  .'-.hortly  after  the  opening  of  the 
Erie  Canal  and  resided  there  the  rest  of 
their  lives.  The  father  was  liberally  edu- 
cated and  a  lawyer  by  profession,  but  did 
not  engaged  in  practice  after  leaving  Mas- 
sachusetts. From  1861  until  1870  he  was 
United  States  Consul  at  Santiago  de 
Cuba. 

William  James  Wallace  received  his 
early  education  at  the  select  schools  of 
Syracuse.  It  had  been  planned  that  he 
should  enter  Dartmouth  College,  where 
his  father  had  been  graduated,  but  after 
being  prepared  for,  he  was  disinclined 
to  devote  four  years  to  a  college  course, 
and  it  was  concluded  that  instead  of 
this  he  should  pursue  a  three  years' 
term  of  studies  especially  selected  to  be 
of  service  to  him  as  a  lawyer,  the  pro- 
fession which  he  had  chosen  as  his 
future  vocation.  Accordingly,  for  three 
years  he  took  a  course  of  general  reading 
under  the  tutorage  of  Judge  Thomas  Bar- 
low, a  scholarly  lawyer  of  Madison 
county,  who  had  retired  from  general 
practice.  Thereafter  he  studied  law,  and 
upon  graduating  horn  the  Law  School  of 
Hamilton  College  (of  which  the  distin- 
guished Prof.  Theodore  W.  Dwight  was 
then  preceptor)  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar.    At  his  application  for  admission  one 


versity  laureated  him  with  the  degree  of     of  the  examining  committee  was  Roscoe 


Doctor  of  Laws.  He  lives  happily  and 
hospitably  in  the  elegant  homestead  in 
Elmira.  He  is  still  (1916)  but  sixty-three 
years  of  age :  and  it  is  not  improbable,  as 
it  is  to  be  hoped,  that  further  political 
honors  may  attend  his  declining  days. 


WALLACE,  William  James, 

la-wyer   and  Jurist. 

William  James  Wallace  was  born  in 
Syracuse,  April  14,  1837,  the  son  of  E. 
Fuller  and  Lydia  Wheelwright  Wallace, 


Conkling,  and  the  occasion  was  the  origin 
of  a  friendship  between  the  young  lawyer 
and  the  eminent  statesman  which  ripened 
into  a  very  intimate  one  and  lasted  until 
the  death  of  the  Senator.  Immediately 
upon  his  admission  to  the  bar,  in  April, 
1838,  young  Wallace  commenced  the 
practice  of  his  profession  at  Syracuse, 
at  first  associated  with  the  Hon.  William 
Porter,  a  prominent  lawyer  and  subse- 
quently with  William  C.  Ruger,  Chief 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals. 

From   the   beginning  Wallace   made   a 


345 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


mark  in  his  profession.  Equipped  with 
knowledge  of  the  fundamentals,  familiar 
with  the  precedents,  skilled  in  the  tech;ii 
calities  of  the  law,  and  with  courage  in 
crossing  swords  with  the  veterans  of  the 
legal  arena,  he  acquired  prominence  un- 
usual for  his  years ;  before  he  was  thirty 
he  ranked  with  the  leading  practitioners 
of  central  New  York.  Enlisting  in  the  Re- 
publican party,  he  earnestly  promoted  i'  - 
weal  by  public  appeals  and  personal  bene- 
ficences— and  the  Union  cause  as  well — 
with  the  promise  of  a  brilliant  political 
career  opening  before  him.  Indeed,  in 
March,  1873,  at  the  age  of  thirty-six  years, 
he  was  elected  mayor  of  his  native  city, 
and  as  such,  by  his  honesty  and  intrepid- 
ity, gained  popular  distinction  and  favor 
in  combatting  and  overthrowing  a  corrupt 
ring  which  had,  for  several  years,  ruled 
the  city  government  by  sinister  means  for 
its  own  profit. 

Shortly  succeeding,  however,  his  retire- 
ment from  the  mayoralty  there  came  the 
departure  from  political  preferment,  dv 
to  his  appointment,  April  7,  1874,  at  the 
hands  of  President  Grant,  as  judge  of  the 
northern  district  of  New  York  of  the 
United  States  Court,  and  thenceforth  his 
career  was  distinctly  of  a  judicial  char- 
acter, the  change  closely  paralleling  that 
of  his  legal  contemporary  and  fellow  citi- 
zen, the  Hon.  Charles  Andrews. 

The  district  comprised  the  greater  part 
of  the  State,  and  its  terms  of  court  were 
held  at  BufTalo,  Rochester,  Utica,  Albany 
and  elsewhere.  Besides  holding  these 
terms  Judge  Wallace  was  frequently  as- 
signed by  the  circuit  judge  to  hold  courts 
at  New  York  City  and  Brooklyn,  and  be 
performed  a  large  part  of  his  judicial 
duties  at  these  cities.  In  1882  Judge  Sam- 
uel Blatchford,  who  was  then  a  circuit 
judge,  was  appointed  a  Justice  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court,  and  Judge 
Wallace  was  commissioned,  April  6,  by 


President  Arthur,  as  his  successor.  The 
ofifice  of  circuit  judge  was  one  of  great  re- 
sponsibility. The  judge  was  the  head  of 
the  federal  tribunals  of  the  States  of  New 
York,  Connecticut  and  Vermont,  and  as 
the  reviewing  authority  of  their  decisions 
and  the  presiding  judge  in  the  common 
law  and  equity  branches  of  the  courts,  his 
decisions  were  final  in  much  of  the  im- 
portant and  complicated  litigation  that 
occupied  these  courts.  Judge  Wallace 
heard  and  decided  between  1873  and  1892 
many  of  the  celebrated  law  suits  of  the 
day.  Some  of  them  involved  enormous 
sums  of  money,  and  every  variety  of  liti- 
gation was  presented  for  his  considera- 
tion. 

In  1892  there  was  constituted,  under 
recent  legislation  of  Congress,  for  each  of 
the  judicial  circuits  of  the  United  States, 
a  new  appellate  tribunal  whose  decisions 
were  to  be  final  in  various  classes  of  cases, 
which  had  theretofore  been  reviewed  by 
the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  and 
Judge  Wallace  became  the  presiding 
judge  for  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  of 
the  Second  Judicial  Circuit.  The  terms  of 
this  new  court  were  held  principally  at 
the  City  of  New  York,  and  from  its  organ- 
ization until  May,  1907,  Judge  Wallace 
continued  to  be  the  presiding  judge.  His 
duties  in  this  court  called  him  so  con- 
stantly from  home  that  he  concluded  to 
remove  his  place  of  residence  from  Syra- 
cuse to  a  more  convenient  location.  Ac- 
cordingly in  1892  his  home,  which,  for 
many  years  had  been  situated  on  James 
Street  Hill  in  Syracuse,  was  transferred 
to  Albany. 

In  May,  1907,  Judge  Wallace  resigned 
from  the  bench  after  a  term  of  thirty- 
three  years  of  continuous  service.  The 
event  was  commemorated  by  a  compli- 
mentary dinner  tendered  to  him  by  the 
bar  of  the  State,  at  which  were  present 
judges  and  lawyers  from  more  than  half 


346 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  the  States  of  the  Union.  It  was  a 
notable  affair  in  its  large  array  of  highly 
distinguished  members  of  the  bar,  as  well 
as  of  the  judiciary  and  in  the  quality  of 
the  speeches  and  letters  of  regret  it  elic- 
ited. In  all  of  these  were  emphatic  trib- 
utes to  his  standing  as  a  jurist  and 
through  all  ran  a  vein  of  personal  affec- 
tion rarely  tendered  upon  a  similar  occa- 
sion. Thus  Justice  Lurton,  of  the  United 
States  Supreme  Court,  upon  Judge  Wal- 
lace's national  repute : 

It  has  not  been  my  fortune  to  have  had  any 
great  degree  of  personal  acquaintance  with  Judge 
Wallace,  but  I  have  known  him  long  and  well 
through  a  long  line  of  opinions  that  have  en- 
riched for  all  time  the  judicial  literature  of  his 
country.  For  thirty  years  he  has  sat  in  judg- 
ment without  reproach  and  with  increasing  fame, 
until  it  has  come  about  that  his  name  is  known 
throughout  the  land  no  less  for  his  splendid 
balance  and  his  unsullied  integrity  than  for  his 
accurate  expoundings  of  the  law. 

Thus  Judge  Colt,  of  the  first  circuit, 
now  United  States  Senator  from  Rhode 
Island,  upon  him  as  a  judicial  authority: 

Judge  Wallace's  high  standing  on  the  Federal 
Bench,  his  learning,  ability  and  attainments,  have 
long  been  recognized  in  the  First  Circuit;  his 
decisions  have  been  respected  and  followed  and 
his  character  held  in  the  highest  esteem.  We 
have  recognized  in  those  decisions  rare  legal  in- 
sight, a  mastery  of  legal  principles,  close  and 
cogent  reasoning  and  the  power  of  terse  and 
luminous  expression.  He  has  been  a  sound  lawyer, 
a  just  and  upright  judge,  an  ornament  to  the 
Federal  Bench. 

Thus  his  colleague.  Judge  Lacombe, 
from  intimate  knowledge  of  the  habit  of 
Judge  Wallace's  in  the  conduct  and  de- 
termination of  cases : 

Whether  writing  his  own  opinions  or  discus- 
sing a  subject  with  his  associates,  the  trend  of 
his  mind  was  always  logical;  no  looming  up  of 
some  "hard  case"  would  swerve  it  from  following 
the  argument  to  its  conclusion.  But  at  the  same 
time  a  marvelous  facility  of  resource  in  detecting 


all  phases  of  a  question  (sometimes  most  ob- 
scure ones)  would  develop  some  wholly  different 
mode  of  approach  which  would  leave  the  "hard 
case"  far  off  to  leeward.  To  all  this  is  to  be  added 
the  circumstance  that  he  always  came  to  the 
consultation  room  with  absolutely  no  pride  of 
opinion ;  that  while  clear  and  forceful  in  express- 
ing his  own  views,  he  was  always  quick  as  a  flash 
to  appreciate  another's  and  ready  to  treat  both 
with  equal  consideration. 

Judge  Wallace's  own  address,  in  pecu- 
liarly felicitous  diction,  embraced  exalted 
eulogy  of  the  judiciary  with  which  he 
was  so  long  identified,  earnest  appeal  for 
the  safeguarding  of  its  integrity  against 
malicious  demagogues  and  frenzied  mal- 
contents, pleasant  reminiscences  of  his 
tenure  and  graceful  acknowledgment  of 
courtesies  extended  him  by  the  profes- 
sion, with  these  words  of  valediction  and 
intention : 

And  now,  brothers  of  the  New  York  Bar,  who 
have  so  long  made  my  life  among  you  a  happy 
and  contented  one,  I  must  say  the  final  word.  It 
is  not  "good  bye"  because  I  look  forward,  so 
long  as  my  health  and  strength  last,  to  a  life 
which  will  give  me  constant  opportunities  of  meet- 
ing you  in  the  future,  as  it  has  been  my  privilege  to 
do  in  the  past  and,  indeed,  I  fee!  that  if  it  were 
to  be  otherwise,  life  would  hardly  be  worth  the 
living.  But  it  is  a  farewell  as  a  judge,  and  I  am 
glad,  glad  with  an  exceeding  joy,  to  leave  the 
bench  and  join  you,  without  the  judicial  robe,  as 
comrade  and  companion. 

After  resigning  from  the  bench  Judge 
Wallace  resumed,  as  indicated,  for  three 
years  the  practice  of  the  law  at  New  York 
City,  as  the  head  of  an  historic  firm,  under 
the  title  of  Wallace,  Butler  &  Brown. 
During  this  time  he  was  retained  in  many 
notable  litigations  and  enjoyed  a  lucra- 
tive practice.  Since  retiring  from  prac- 
tice he  has  divided  his  leisure  between  his 
winter  home  at  Winter  Park  in  Florida 
and  his  summer  home  at  Cazenovia,  New 
York,  occasionally  occupying  his  resi- 
dence at  Albany.  He  was  the  candidate 
of  the  Republican  party  in   1897  for  the 


347 


ENXYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Chief  Judgeship  of  the  New  York  Court 
of  Appeals,  but,  in  the  general  defeat  of 
the  party  in  that  year  throughout  the 
State,  failed  of  an  election,  although  he 
received  nearly  16,000  votes  more  than 
the  party  ticket.  He  was  laureated  by 
Hamilton  College  with  the  degree  of  Doc- 
tor of  Laws  in  1876,  and  later  received  a 
similar  degree  from  Syracuse  University. 
He  was  the  first  president  of  the  Century 
Club  of  Syracuse,  and  his  interest  in  club 
life  may  be  inferred  from  his  membership 
for  many  years  in  other  clubs,  including 
the  Century,  the  Metropolitan,  and  the 
Union  League,  all  of  New  York  City,  as 
well  as  the  New  York  Yacht  Club  and 
the  Fort  Orange  Club  of  Albany.  Judge 
Wallace's  first  wife  was  Josephine  Rob- 
bins,  of  Brooklyn,  who  died  in  1874.  In 
1878  he  married  Alice  Heyward  Wheel- 
wright, of  New  York,  who  died  in  191 1. 
None  of  the  children  of  either  marriage 
survives. 

At  the  time  of  the  preparation  of  this 
sketch  Judge  Wallace  enjoys  vigorous 
health,  which  he  largely  attributes  to  his 
activities  as  a  sportsman,  fisherman  and 
lover  of  the  horse.  He  enjoys  good  din- 
ners, good  wines,  good  cigars,  good  books, 
and  more  than  either  the  society  of  good 
friends,  with  as  much  zest  as  in  his  earlier 
vears. 


WILLIAMS,  Sherman, 

Edacator,   Historian. 

Sherman  Williams,  prominent  in  the 
educational  field  and  as  an  historian,  was 
born  November  21,  1846,  on  a  farm  near 
Cooperstown,  the  son  of  Justin  Clark  and 
Mary  (Sherman)  Williams.  He  is  of 
Welsh  descent,  the  founder  of  the  family 
in  America  being  Captain  Robert  Wil- 
liams, who  migrated  in  1638  and  settled 
in  Cambridge,  Massachusetts  Bay.  Sev- 
eral   of    Sherman    Williams's    forebears 


served  in  the  French  and  Indian  wars 
and  in  the  Revolution.  His  paternal 
grandfather  was  for  three  terms  a  repre- 
sentative in  Congress. 

Dr.  Williams  received  his  preliminary 
education  in  the  common  schools  of  his 
native  town,  and,  as  a  youth  of  promise 
worked  on  the  farm  summers  and  taught 
school  winters.  Determined  upon  teach- 
ing as  his  profession  in  life,  he  entered 
the  Albany  Normal  School  (now  college) 
and,  was  graduated  therefrom  in  1871. 
He  received  from  the  college  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Pedagogy  in  1894.  His  re- 
pute as  a  teacher  was  achieved  early  and 
he  was  appointed,  in  1872,  superintendent 
of  schools  at  Flushing,  Long  Island,  in 
which  capacity  he  served  until  1882,  hav- 
ing married,  August  12,  1874,  Margaret 
H.  Wilber,  of  Pine  Plains.  In  1882  he 
became  superintendent  at  Glens  Falls,  re- 
maining as  such  until  1899. 

As  superintendent  in  both  places  he 
made  a  decided  mark.  His  first  work  of 
note  was  at  Flushing.  There  he  taught 
science  and  was  one  of  the  first  to  make 
considerable  use  of  home-made  and  im- 
provised apparatus.  With  his  pupils  he 
performed  nearly  all  the  experiments 
mentioned  by  Faraday  in  his  holiday  lec- 
tures and  many  others.  A  water  lantern 
was  made  that  showed  on  the  screen  the 
diffusion  of  liquids  and  the  formation  and 
breaking  up  of  crystals  and  other  phe- 
nomena. At  Flushing  also  he  began  the 
direction  of  the  reading  of  pupils  for  the 
purpose  of  creating  a  love  of  good  litera- 
ture, of  which  he  made  much  more  at 
Glens  Falls,  and  in  this  field — too  much 
neglected  in  our  common  school  system, 
it  may  be  remarked  en  passim — he  has 
been  a  constant  inspiration  and  assiduous 
laborer.  In  Glens  Falls  he  organized  a 
summer  school  for  teachers,  which  he 
supervised  for  thirteen  years.  The  ablest 
instructors  were  employed  and  students 


348 


from  all  sections  f. . 
classes  of  teacher- 
One  year  nearly  !>t 
were    present,    rej 
Stales   and   territi .; 
and  the  West  Indie...     .' 
a  member  of  the  commivi 
the  State  Council     "   "■  ; 
secure   the   enactr-; 
education  law,  takii: 
investigations  and  deiibcraviv.:..;  ^iid  m: 
ing   valuable    suggestions    which    auS: 
quently  received  legislative  saii     ' 
was  also  largely  instrumental  i; 
the  act  providing  for  the  establi; 
kindergarten  schools. 

In  1899,  he  wa.s  appointed  .1  condu :; 
of  teachers'  institutes,  and.  for  rV 
ing  decade,  was  thus  tngaged. 
ductor     he     \va>.     eminently     s;; 
With  conji^etetu  rr achers  and  in- 
lecturers    'cheduled    upon   his   >  ; 
himself  indulged  in  litth 
his    periods,    but    drew 
mainly  upon  his  experien> 
dealing  with  reading  and 
a  taste  for  good  reading.  . 
the  development  of  the  hahi:    t 
English  and  the  ability  to  spe:; 
logically  and  (-n<:'-\\{[r:  :  h'sf.r 
it  should  1 
pose ;  and  - 
be  added  p<  • 
ence    and    .> 
without  inflr,;  • 
trol  of  his  audien.i 
1912.  Dr.  WiHiam^. 
Ty.\  :  '  School    L.iiiT 

t     ■  ;,  congenial  !'■ 

W  't'.i  !  ■        ■    vi:iife  study,  ;.-:   .. 
t  of  history 
n  State — ar 
d  a  number 
-i     for    supple-' 
,  .    :  .  C'ls,  but,  preci.-  .. 
•  !  couched  in  a  perspicii' 
..    style,  they  have  attraci 


i- A ' 


-at 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


teur,  was  born  in  Watertown,  Jefferson 
county,  New  York,  the  eldest  son  of 
Charles  Fitch,  manufacturer,  and  Sarah 
Louise  (Grannis)  Symonds.  In  the  pa- 
ternal line  he  is  in  descent  from  the  Rev. 
James  Fitch,  closely  identified  with  the 
work  of  the  "Apostle,"  John  Eliot,  and 
the  principal  founder  of  Norwich,  Con- 
necticut. 

Charles  Stanley  Symonds  was  educated 
at  the  grammar  schools  and  Jefferson 
County  Institute  of  his  native  city,  and 
at  Charles  Bartlett's  High  School  at 
Poughkeepsie,  a  famous  institution  in  its 
day.  Although  prepared  for,  he  did 
not  enter  college,  but  read  law,  for  a 
time,  in  the  office  of  Brown  &  Beach, 
but  did  not  complete  his  legal  studies. 
He  found  employment  in  Wooster  Sher- 
man's Bank  and  the  Watertown  Bank, 
thus  beginning  the  business  in  which  he 
has  been  engaged  continuously  for  over 
fifty  years.  Removing  to  Utica,  he  en- 
tered the  Bank  of  Central  New  York  as  a 
clerk,  and  later  the  Utica  City,  which 
was  subsequently  made  the  Utica  City 
National  Bank,  of  which,  rising  through 
various  grades,  he  became  cashier  March 
6,  1868,  and  president  April  17,  1885,  the 
position  he  still  retains.  He  married,  Jan- 
uary 18,  1876,  Mary  Ella,  second  daugh- 
ter of  Thomas  Brockway  and  Ursula  Ann 
(Elliott)  Fitch,  of  Syracuse — an  espe- 
cially happy  union,  sadly  ended  by  her 
death  on  her  thirty-fifth  birthday.  May 
23,  1885,  two  sons.  Charles  Fitch  and 
Harold  Wilson  Symonds,  both  now  busi- 
ness men  in  Utica,  surviving.  Mr. 
Symonds  has  not  again  married. 

He  is,  to-day.  among  the  oldest,  as  well 
as  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  suc- 
cessful, bankers  in  the  State,  outside  of 
the  metropolis.  The  soul  of  integrity, 
sagacious  in  thought  and  conservative  in 
his  administration,  courteous  in  address 
and  helpful  in  all  his  ways,  he  has  brought 


the  bank  of  which  he  has  so  long  been  the 
head,  to  a  high  standard  of  efficiency  and 
usefulness,  with  abundant  resources,  a 
splendid  building,  hosts  of  depositors  and 
the  entire  confidence  of  the  community — a 
marked  trust  also  in  him  personally,  as 
evidenced  in  the  large  number  of  estates 
committed  to  his  charge  either  as  execu- 
tor or  administrator.  He  has  also  been 
engaged  in  many  business  activities,  in- 
dependent of  the  bank,  and  an  officer  in 
many  corporations.  Fie  is  a  director  in 
the  International  Heater  Com,pany  of 
Utica ;  the  Utica  Gas  and  Electric  Com- 
pany; the  Consolidated  Water  Company 
and  the  Robert  Wicks  Company.  He  is 
secretary,  treasurer  and  director  in  the 
Utica,  Clinton  &  Binghamton  Railroad 
Company;  director  and  treasurer  in  the 
Utica  Canning  Company  and  director  and 
vice-president  of  the  Utica  Trust  and  De- 
posit Company ;  trustee  of  the  Savings 
Bank  of  Utica;  has  been  director  in  the 
Northern  New  York  Trust  Company  and 
Binghamton  Trust  Company ;  was  a  trus- 
tee for  many  years  of  the  Utica  Ceme- 
tery Association,  also  of  the  Utica  Art 
Association.  He  has  also  been  identi- 
fied notably  with  city  and  State  philan- 
thropies. In  religion  he  is  of  the  Protes- 
tant Episcopal  communion  and  vestry- 
man of  Grace  Church  and  trustee  of  the 
House  of  the  Good  Shepherd.  He  was 
trustee  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation (1887-89).  He  was  appointed 
manager  of  the  State  Lunatic  Asylum  by 
Governor  Hill,  April  13,  1890,  and  of  the 
Utica  State  Hospital  by  Governor  Flower, 
November  30,  1894,  reappointed  by  Gov- 
ernor Morton,  May  16,  1895,  to  fill  a 
vacancy  and  again  by  Morton,  December 
2,  1896,  for  the  term  of  five  years  to  Janu- 
ary I,  1902 :  and  to  the  board  of  visitation 
by  Governor  Odell — these  successive  des- 
ignations by  executives  of  the  two  great 
parties  showing  that  Mr.  Symonds'  pref- 


350 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


erment  was  quite  independent  of  any 
political   considerations. 

Mr.  Symonds  has  always  been  an  earn- 
est Republican  and  has  received  much 
consideration  from  his  party,  such  offices, 
however,  as  he  has  held,  in  all  instances 
have  been  without  emolument,  voluntary 
service  on  his  part,  although  he  has  been 
repeatedly  pressed  to  become  a  candidate 
for  legislative  and  executive  positions. 
The  only  elective  office  he  has  filled,  and 
that  without  fees  attaching  to  it,  is  that 
of  school  commissioner  for  seven  years. 
He  was  commissioned  by  Governor  Mor- 
gan first  lieutenant  in  the  Forty-fifth 
Regiment,  Twenty-first  Brigade,  Sixth 
Division  New  York  State  Militia,  August 
3,  1861.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Republican  Congressional  Committee  of 
his  district  in  1886,  serving  thirty  years, 
twenty  of  which  he  was  chairman.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Republican  State 
Committee  for  six  years.  He  had  the 
honor  of  nominating  James  S.  Sherman 
for  Representative  in  Congress  each  time 
he  ran,  save  twice.  The  relations,  per- 
sonal, political  and  business,  between  Mr. 
Symonds  and  Mr.  Sherman  were  of  the 
most  intimate  character;  and  the  last 
office  which  Mr.  Symonds  performed  for 
his  friend  was  as  chairman  of  the  Citi- 
zens' Reception  Committee  on  both  occa- 
sions when  the  latter  was  notified  of  his 
nomination  for  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States. 

Mr.  Sym.onds  is  a  lover  of  music,  versed 
in  its  literature  and  practiced  in  its  art, 
especially  skilled  as  a  player  upon  the 
piano.  He  was  president  of  the  Utica 
Mendelssohn  Club  for  ten  years,  of  the 
St.  Cecilia  Musical  Club  for  a  long  period, 
is  a  member  of  the  Maennerchor  Club 
and  is  also  honorary  president  of  the 
Utica  Philharmonic  Society.  He  is  a 
man  of  scholarly  tastes,  a  lover  of  books, 


a  linguistic  student,  versed  in  German 
literature  and  singularly  well  informed 
on  the  German  drama.  He  possesses  a 
splendid  library,  intelligently  selected  and 
his  house  is  adorned  with  many  works  of 
art.  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the 
Oneida  Historical  Society,  1886,  made  a 
life  member,  January  9,  1900,  and  served 
two  terms — 1902  until  1904 — as  its  presi- 
dent. He  was  a  member  of  the  literary 
club,  distinctively  known  as  "The  Club," 
for  many  years,  composed  of  the  leading 
professional  and  lettered  men  of  the  city, 
before  which  he  read  a  number  of 
scholarly  papers,  among  them,  "Henry 
Clay,"  "John  C.  Calhoun,"  "Mohammed 
and  the  Koran,"  "Music,"  "Gotthold  Eph- 
raim  Lessing,"  "Usury,"  "The  Drama 
from  Athens  to  the  Press  Writers  of  Eng- 
land," "Daniel  Webster"  and  "Eduard 
Leopold  Van  Bismarck."  He  also  pre- 
sided, October  5,  1903,  at  the  celebration 
of  the  two  hundredth  anniversary  of  Jon- 
athan Edwards  in  the  Munson-Williams 
building  of  Utica  and  delivered  an  ad- 
dress upon  his  life  and  work.  Other  ad- 
dresses might  be  cited,  but  sufficient  has 
been  given  to  reveal  the  scope  of  his 
thought  and  the  felicity  of  his  utterance. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  societies  of  Colo- 
nial Governors,  Colonial  Wars,  May- 
flower Descendants,  Sons  of  the  Amer- 
ican Revolution  and  Sons  of  Oneida. 

He  is  passing  his  declining  years  among 
his  books,  and  his  children — a  grandfather 
now — in  his  elegant  residence  on  Genesee 
street,  and  at  his  bank,  still  vigorous  in 
his  faculties  and  receiving  the  fullest 
measure  of  public  esteem,  with  intervals 
of  travel,  and  the  enjoyments  of  the 
Maganassippi  Fish  and  Game  Club,  Can- 
ada ;  the  Yohnundasis  Golf  Club  of  Utica. 
He  is  a  member  also  of  the  Fort  Schuyler 
Club  of  Utica,  the  Rom,e  Club  and  the 
local  Republican  Club. 


351 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


WEBSTER.  Roy  C,     I 

Honored  is  the  name  of  Webster  wher- 
ever Americans  are  found,  not  only  in 
New  England,  where  John  Webster,  the 
founder,  first  settled  on  coming  from  Eng- 
land in  the  earliest  Colonial  days,  but 
wherever  the  English  language  is  spoken, 
the  names  of  the  lexicographer,  Noah 
Webster,  and  the  statesman,  Daniel  Web- 
ster, are  spoken  with  the  deepest  respect 
and  admiration.  In  Rochester,  where  a 
descendant  of  John  Webster,  the  founder, 
settled  about  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  the  name  is  an  equally  honored 
one,  borne  by  Edward  Webster,  a  gradu- 
ate of  Dartmouth  College,  editor  and 
lawyer,  and  his  son,  Roy  C.  Webster,  who 
since  1880  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Rochester  bar.  The  founder  of  this 
branch  of  the  descendants  of  John  Web- 
ster in  the  State  of  New  York  was  Uri 
Webster,  a  second  cousin  of  Noah  Web- 
ster, the  lexicographer,  who  like  his  cous- 
in was  born  in  Litchfield.  Connecticut. 
Uri  Webster  came  to  West  Bloomfield, 
New  York,  about  one  hundred  years  ago, 
and  conducted  his  own  woolen  mill  at 
Factory  Hollow  for  several  years. 

There  his  son,  Edward  Webster,  was 
born,  who  after  a  brilliant  career  died  at 
his  home  in  Rochester,  May  2^,  1900, 
leaving  a  son,  Roy  C.  Webster,  to  con- 
tinue the  law  business  the  father  had 
founded  and  both  had  aided  in  upbuild- 
ing. Edward  Webster  aspired  to  higher 
educational  attainment,  and  after  com- 
pleting the  public  school  courses  in  West 
Bloomfield  schools  he  entered  Dartmouth 
College.  His  means  were  limited,  but  by 
economy  and  industry  he  made  the 
money  he  had  with  what  he  earned 
finance  his  college  course  to  graduation. 
He  had  bountiful  capital,  however,  but 
it  consisted  of  courage,  energy  and  deter- 
mination,  these   overcoming  the   lack   of 


cash  and  enabling  him  to  complete  a 
course  in  law  study  in  Boston,  where  he 
was  admitted  to  the  Massachusetts  bar. 
In  looking  about  for  a  location  he  decided 
upon  Rochester,  but  he  did  not  at  once 
begin  law  practice.  For  two  years  he 
taught  in  old  public  school  No.  &,  then 
accepted  a  position  as  assistant  editor  of 
a  Boston,  Alassachusetts,  newspaper 
Later  he  became  chief  editor  and  while 
in  that  position  wrote  an  editorial  upon 
his  kinsman,  Daniel  Webster,  the  states- 
man, whose  death  had  just  occurred. 
Rochester  soon  after  again  called  him  and 
for  several  years  in  that  city  he  edited  the 
"Rural  New  Yorker."  With  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Rochester  Free  Academy 
he  became  assistant  principal  of  that  in- 
stitution and  in  1857  was  chosen  princi- 
pal, serving  until  1863,  his  connection 
with  the  academy  greatly  increasing  the 
reputation  of  the  school  and  establishing 
Mr.  Webster  among  the  able  educators  of 
his  day. 

In  1863  he  resigned  his  position  as  prin- 
cipal of  the  academy  and  henceforth  his 
connection  was  with  the  law,  the  profes- 
sion for  which  he  had  prepared  but  had 
not  hitherto  followed,  circumstances  lead- 
ing him  into  journalism  and  pedagogy. 
He  won  instant  recognition  at  the  Mon- 
roe county  bar,  for  he  was  thoroughly 
equipped  for  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion, and  during  his  years  as  editor  of  the 
"Rural  New  Yorker"  and  as  principal  of 
the  Free  Academy  he  had  made  a  large 
acquaintance  and  many  close  friends.  In 
1871  he  rented  offices  in.  the  Powers 
Building,  the  same  yet  being  occupied  by 
his  son,  Roy  C.  Webster,  forty-five  years 
later,  a  record  in  the  city  for  continuous 
occupancy  of  offices.  After  a  long  and 
honorable  career  as  journalist,  educator 
and  lawyer,  Edward  Webster,  "joined  the 
innumerable  caravan." 

Roy  C.  Webster,  son  of  Edward  and 
Polly  A.   (Andrews)   Webster,  was  born 
352 


Ex\CYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  Rochester,  New  York,  April  i6,  1858. 
After  completing  the  work  of  the  grades 
in  public  school  No.  6,  he  completed 
college  preparation  in  Rochester  Free 
Academy,  graduating  with  the  class  of 
1874.  The  next  four  years  were  spent  as 
a  student  in  the  University  of  Rochester, 
receiving  his  degree  A.  B.  from  that  insti- 
tution, class  of  1878.  He  then  studied 
law  for  two  years,  and  in  October,  18S0, 
was  admitted  to  the  Monroe  county  bar. 
He  at  once  began  practice  in  Rochester, 
his  honored  father  admitting  him  to  part- 
nership and  together  they  practiced  until 
death  dissolved  the  bond.  Since  that 
time  he  has  practiced  alone  retaining  the 
offices  303  Powers  Building,  which  since 
1871  has  borne  the  name  of  Webster  upon 
the  door.  He  is  not  only  learned  in  the 
law  but  is  a  man  of  broad  culture  and  re- 
finement, interested  in  all  good  works  and 
true  to  the  best  traditions  of  the  honored 
family  name  he  bears.  He  has  a  large 
practice  in  the  State  and  Federal  courts 
of  the  district  and  has  been  connected 
with  a  great  many  of  the  more  important 
cases  brought  before  those  courts.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  various  law  associations 
and  is  highly  esteemed  by  his  profes- 
sional brethren  of  the  bench  and  bar. 

The  following  case  excited  deep  in- 
terest and  is  one  of  the  many  of  note 
which  Mr.  Webster  has  brought  to  suc- 
cessful issue.  In  the  cause  quoted  he  was 
counsel  for  the  respondent. 

SUPREME   COURT. 
Monroe  County. 

The  People  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
on  the  Relation  of  Daniel  W.  Powers, 
Respondent, 
against 
Edwin  A.  Kalbfleisch,  Henry  C.  Munn 
and  Edward  B.  BtmcESS,  Assessors  of 
The  City  of  Rochester,  Monroe  County, 
New  York, 

Appellants. 


The  above  proceeding  was  brought  for 
the  purpose  of  reviewing  the  action  of  the 
assessors  in  assessing  the  building  known 
as  "Powers  Block"  at  the  sum  of  $1,000,- 
000  for  the  purposes  of  general  taxation. 
For  more  than  ten  years  prior  to  the  com- 
mencement of  this  proceeding  the  build- 
ing and  land  were  assessed  at  $1,035,000. 
Each  year  Mr.  Powers  had  protested 
against  this  assessment,  claiming  that  the 
valuation  was  excessive,  but  to  no  pur- 
pose. In  the  year  1896  Mr.  Powers  again 
appeared  before  the  assessors  and  filed  a 
protest  against  the  valuation  placed  on 
the  property  (building  and  premises)  and 
the  amount  was  reduced  to  $1,000,000. 
Still  feeling  an  injustice  had  been  done, 
he  commenced  the  proceeding.  It  was 
tried  before  Hon.  George  W.  Cowles,  of 
Clyde,  New  York,  as  referee,  who  re- 
ported that  the  property  was  over  as- 
sessed $175,000,  placing  its  value  at  $825,- 
000.  The  referee's  report  was  affirmed  by 
the  Supreme  Court  at  special  term ;  Jus- 
tice Edwin  A.  Nash  presiding.  An  appeal 
was  then  taken  from  the  judgment  and 
order  entered  to  the  Appellate  Division 
of  the  Supreme  Court  Fourth  Depart- 
ment, and  the  judgment  and  order  sus- 
tained by  an  unanimous  decision.  De- 
fendants then  appealed  to  the  Court  of 
Appeals.  The  appeal  was  dismissed  by 
the  Court  of  Appeals,  June  7,  1898. 

The  proceeding  is  in  many  respects 
novel  and  interesting  on  account  of  the 
value  and  reputation  of  the  subject-mat- 
ter involved  and  the  fact  that  this  is  the 
first  time  the  judgment  of  the  assessors 
was  called  in  question  and  reviewed  on 
the  determination  of  a  general  city  tax. 
It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  as  it  forms 
a  precedent  and  establishes  the  rule  gov- 
erning and  controlling  assessors  in  esti- 
mating the  value  of  commercial  property 
in  the  State  of  New  York. 

Mr.  Webster  is  attorney  for  the  Ameri- 
can Express  Company,  the  Westcott  Ex- 


353 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


press  Company  and  numerous  other  cor- 
porations in  addition  to  the  large  private 
interests  he  serves.  He  is  a  Republican 
in  politics,  and  thoroughly  alive  to  his 
responsibilities  as  a  citizen.  From  1890 
until  1892  he  was  a  member  of  the  school 
board  and  from  1892  until  1898  was  civil 
service  commissioner.  He  served  with 
admirable  zeal  in  both  positions  and  in 
many  ways  has  attested  his  loyalty  and 
his  public-spirited  interest  in  the  city  of 
his  birth.  He  is  a  member  of  the  P>rick 
Presbyterian  Church  which  for  many 
years  his  father  served  as  elder,  and  is  con- 
nected with  the  Masonic  order,  affiliating 
with  Corinthian  Lodge. 

Mr.  Webster  married.  March  20,  1901, 
Florence  A.  Kerwin,  of  Rochester.  They 
are  the  parents  of  a  daughter,  Marian 
Florence.  The  family  home  is  at  No 
1 1 15  Lake  avenue. 


JUDSON,  John  Browm, 

Printer,  Public  Official. 

John  Brown  Judson  is  a  member  of  one 
of  the  old  New  York  families,  a  family 
representative  of  the  best  type  which 
came  from  the  "Mother  Country"  and 
established  English  blood  and  English  in- 
stitutions as  the  foundation  of  the  social 
structure  in  the  United  States.  Domi- 
nant and  persistent  in  character,  it  has 
given  its  prevailing  traits  to  the  popula- 
tion of  this  country,  which  no  subsequent 
inroads  of  foreign  races  have  sufficed  to 
submerge,  and  has  formed  a  base  for  our 
citizenship  upon  which  the  whole  vast 
and  composite  fabric  of  this  growing 
people  is  being  erected  in  safety.  It  was 
sometime  prior  to  the  last  decade  of  the 
eighteenth  century  that  Deacon  Daniel 
Judson,  the  progenitor  of  the  Judsons  in 
Fulton  county,  New  York,  settled  in  what 
was  then  the  little  village  of  Kingsboro, 
New  York,  which  has  since  grown  to  be 
the  flourishing  city  of  Gloversville.    With 


this  progress  the  descendants  of  Deacon 
Judson  have  been  most  intimately  identi- 
fied, especially  with  the  upbuilding  of  the 
great  glove  industry  which  has  given  the 
place  its  name  and  put  it  among  the  in- 
dustrial centers  of  the  country.  Deacon 
Judson's  descendants  are  very  numerous 
in  the  region  of  the  city  and  all  the  lines 
of  descent  have  carried  on  the  woithy 
traditions  bequeathed  them  by  their  foun- 
der. It  is  from  the  second  son,  Elisha, 
that  the  branch  of  the  family  with  which 
we  are  concerned  is  derived,  the  members 
thereof  having  continued  to  make  their 
home  in  Kingsboro  or  Gloversville  down 
to  the  present  day.  This  Elisha  Judson 
was  born  in  1765,  and  followed  the  occu- 
pation of  farming  all  his  life  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  Revolutionary  period  dur- 
ing which  he  distinguished  himself  as  a 
soldier  in  the  Continental  army.  His 
wife,  who  was  Lucy  Case  before  her  mar- 
riage, was  born  in  1766,  and  they  were 
the  parents  of  six  children :  Sylvester, 
Sylvanus,  Gurdon,  Elisha,  Lucy  and  Alan- 
son.  The  son  Elisha  was  the  grandfather 
of  the  Mr.  Judson  of  this  sketch.  Like 
his  father  he  was  a  farmer,  but  he  was 
also  engaged  in  the  making  of  gloves, 
being  the  first  member  of  the  family  to 
enter  this  business.  He  may,  therefore, 
properly  be  called  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  immense  business  which  in  the  next 
generation  grew  to  such  large  propor- 
tions. He  and  his  wife,  who  was  Rachel 
B.  Brown  before  her  marriage,  were  the 
parents  of  three  children:  Daniel  Brown, 
John  Wesley  and  Elisha,  of  whom  the 
eldest  was  our  Mr.  Judson's  father. 

Daniel  Brown  Judson  was  a  man  of  un- 
usual ability  and  marked  talents  for  the 
practical  affairs  of  life.  A  great  organ- 
izer and  manager,  he  also  possessed  a 
wonderfully  receptive  mind  and  it  has 
been  said  of  him  by  Professor  Sprague  in 
his  "Gloversville  History"  that  "he  had 
less  to  learn  and  less  to  unlearn  than  com- 


354 


EXCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


monly  befalls  when  he  came  to  grapple      others  for  Congress  in  the  year  when  the 


with  the  duties  of  active  life."  His  abil- 
ities quickly  made  themselves  felt  even  as 
a  school  boy  nor  did  they  cease  to  be  ap- 
parent until  the  time  of  his  death.  After 
the  completion  of  his  schooling  he  taught 
for  a  time,  but  finally  turned  his  attention 
to  the  manufacture  of  gloves  in  which  his 
father  had  gained  a  considerable  success. 
It  was  his  purpose,  however,  to  conduct 
it  upon  a  much  larger  scale  than  any- 
thing his  father  had  ever  contemplated, 
and  this  purpose  he  rapidly  carried  out  in 
spite  of  obstacles  by  no  means  slight. 
His  great  plant  included  besides  the  large 
mills  where  the  gloves  themselves  were 
cut  and  sewed  two  leather  mills  where  the 
leather  used  in  their  product  was  dressed. 
During  the  seventies,  when  the  industry 
had  reached  to  its  greatest  importance,  it 
was  the  largest  in  the  world  at  that  time 
and  Mr.  Judson,  Sr.,  became  one  of  the 
most  prominent  figures,  not  only  in  the 
glove  trade,  but  in  the  commercial  and 
industrial  world  generally.  He  was  one 
of  the  most  prominent  figures  in  his  own 
town  and  county  and  held  many  impor- 
tant positions  there.  He  was  among 
other  things  vice-president  of  the  Fulton 
County  National  Bank  for  many  years, 
and  was  conspicuous  in  the  affairs  of 
the  Presbyterian  and  Congregational 
churches.  One  of  the  connections  in 
which  he  was  best  known  was  that  of  his 
activities  as  a  member  of  the  Democratic 
party  in  New  York  State.  A  man  of 
ready  intellect,  whose  thoughts  had  been 
turned  since  childhood  to  political  issues, 
he  was  also  possessed  of  that  essential  to 
popular  leadership,  a  strong  and  attrac- 
tive personality.  He  was  a  fluent  and 
forceful  speaker,  as  well,  and  these  quali- 
ties could  not  fail  to  gain  a  great  prestige 
with  his  fellow  Democrats  in  Fulton 
county.  He  was  his  party's  candidate  for 
a    number    of    important    offices,    among 


ticket  was  headed  by  Horace  Greeley.  He 
married,  March  lo,  1852,  Phoebe  E. 
Brown,  of  Gloversville,  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Eunice  (Mosher)  Brown. 
Their  children,  who  were  six  in  number, 
were  as  follows:  i.  Edward  Wall,  born 
January  30,  1853,  at  Gloversville;  has  had 
a  very  successful  career  as  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Baker  &  Judson,  contractors 
for  heavy  construction  work;  married 
Blanche  Cutter,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  2. 
Daniel  Brown,  Jr.,  born  February  13, 
1855,  died  February  14,  1857.  3.  Mary 
Louise,  born  December  3,  1857;  married 
Alvah  J.  Zimmer,  to  whom  she  bore  four 
children:  Judson,  Ruth,  Janet  and  Hor- 
ace. 4.  John  Brown,  of  whom  further.  5. 
Horace  Sprague,  born  June  10,  1863  ;  mar- 
ried (first)  Jessie  Belden,  (second)  Mabel 
Marstellar.  6.  Daniel  Bingham,  born  June 
2,  1866,  died  February  21,  1903;  married 
Nettie  Morrison. 

John  Brown  Judson,  the  fourth  child 
of  Daniel  Brown  and  Phoebe  E.  (Brown) 
Judson,  was  born  August  20,  1861,  at 
Gloversville,  New  York.  He  has  inher- 
ited the  talents  and  abilities  of  his  father 
and  now  occupies  much  the  same  place  as 
did  the  elder  man  in  former  times  in  the 
regard  of  the  community.  His  education, 
which  has  been  a  very  complete  one,  was 
begun  in  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
town.  A  course  in  the  Kingsboro  Acad- 
emy followed  and  his  studies  were  com- 
pleted at  Williston  Seminary,  Williston, 
Massachusetts.  Like  his  father,  he  showed 
great  aptness  as  a  student  and  drew  upon 
himself  the  favorable  regard  of  his  mas- 
ters and  instructors.  Upon  leaving  the 
Williston  Seminary,  he  returned  to  his 
native  city,  which  has  continued  to  be  his 
home  ever  since.  He  was  scarcely  more 
than  a  boy  at  the  time,  but  remarkably 
enterprising  and  alert,  and  not  only  suc- 
ceeded in  mastering  the  craft  of  printing 


355 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


but  by  the  time  he  was  sixteen  years  of 
age  had  established  a  job  printing  office 
of  his  own  at  Gloversville.  It  is  not  often 
the  case  that  the  business  experiments  of 
such  extreme  youth  are  permanently  suc- 
cessful, yet  this  was  so  in  Mr.  Judson's 
case,  and  the  little  printing  trade  estab- 
lished by  him  then  has  met  with  un- 
broken success  down  to  the  present  time, 
having  developed  in  the  meantime  to 
great  proportions.  His  success  has  been 
largely  due  to  the  fact  that  he  early  mas- 
tered every  detail  of  his  craft  and  was 
able  to  turn  out  work  far  superior  to  that 
of  his  competitors,  work  that  bore  the 
stamp  of  his  original  personality  in  a  cor- 
responding originality  and  an  attractive- 
ness of  design  of  its  own.  These  qualities 
have  not  diminished  but  increased  with 
the  passing  of  the  years  and  the  gaining 
of  experience  and  j\Ir.  Judson's  business 
is  now  on  a  more  secure  basis  than  ever. 
His  specialty  is  business  stationery,  it 
being  his  intention  from  the  start  to  make 
his  product  fit  the  needs  of  the  great 
manufacturing  concerns,  especially  the 
glove  companies  of  the  city.  In  this  he 
has  succeeded  remarkably  well  and  has 
now  a  large  market  for  his  goods  among 
glove  makers,  not  merely  in  his  own 
locality,  but  throughout  the  United  States 
and  Canada.  Another  matter  to  which 
Mr.  Judson  has  directed  his  attention,  in- 
creasingly so  of  late  years,  is  the  field  of 
real  estate  in  his  native  city.  He  has 
realized  with  his  usual  foresight  and 
sagacity  that  the  value  of  property  in  a 
growing  community  like  Gloversville  is 
bound  to  rise  as  a  general  proposition  and 
that  it  only  required  judgment  in  select- 
ing them  to  make  such  properties  the 
best  of  imaginable  investments.  He  has 
never  lost  sight  of  the  general  interests 
of  the  community,  however,  in  any  of  the 
transactions  he  has  entered  into  and  has 
rather  consulted  its  welfare  in  everything 


and  has  certainly  served  to  great  purpose 
by  the  development  of  several  important 
tracts  and  the  improvement  of  several 
localities  in  the  city.  One  of  these  tracts 
has  been  named  after  its  public-spirited 
developer  and  is  called  "Judson  Heights." 
But  it  is  not  by  any  means  only  in  oper- 
ations such  as  these,  or  in  the  conduct 
of  his  important  business,  that  Mr.  Jud- 
son is  best  known  in  Gloversville  and  Ful- 
ton county.  He  is  a  strong  subscriber, 
as  was  his  father  before  him,  to  the  prin- 
ciples which  are  represented  in  this  coun- 
try by  the  Democratic  party.  To  the 
early  trend  of  his  opinions,  gained  natur- 
ally enough  under  the  influence  of  his 
father's  strong  mind  and  personality,  Mr. 
Judson  has  added  the  still  more  profound 
kind  of  conviction  that  arises  from,  in- 
dividual thought  and  earnest  study.  He 
began  in  early  manhood  to  associate  him- 
self with  the  local  organization  of  his 
party,  and  from,  the  year  1888  has  been 
considered  an  important  factor  in  county, 
and  later,  in  State  politics.  In  that  year 
he  was  sent  as  a  delegate  to  the  State 
Democratic  Convention  and  was  again 
honored  in  the  same  manner  in  1892.  In 
1890  he  was  chosen  secretary  of  the  Ful- 
ton County  Democratic  Committee  and 
served  in  that  capacity  until  1894,  when 
he  was  chosen  its  chairman.  In  the  pre- 
ceding year  he  had  become  a  member  of 
the  New  York  State  Democratic  Commit- 
tee and  in  the  years  1894  and  1896  was 
elected  secretary  of  that  body,  an  office 
which  he  held  for  seven  years.  In  1895 
he  was  nominated  by  the  Democratic 
Convention  at  Syracuse  for  State  Comp- 
troller by  a  vote  of  three  hundred  and 
twelve  to  ninety-eight.  Again  in  1900  he 
was  the  Dem,ocratic  candidate  for  State 
Treasurer  on  the  same  ticket  as  that  upon 
which  John  B.  Stanchfield  ran  for  Gov- 
ernor. During  these  years  the  Demo- 
cratic party  was  not  the  popular  one  in 


356 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  State  and  Mr.  Judson  suffered  defeat 
with  his  colleagues,  but  a  great  change  in 
public  sentiment  was  about  to  be  made 
and  in  1913,  when  Woodrow  Wilson  was 
triumphantly  elected  President  on  the 
Democratic  ticket,  he  rewarded  Mr.  Jud- 
son for  his  long  and  faithful  service  to  the 
party  by  appointing  him  postmaster  of 
Gloversville.  Mr.  Judson's  administra- 
tion of  that  department  has  been  a  most 
efficient  one  and  he  has  brought  up  to  and 
maintained  at  the  highest  standard  its 
local  service.  Mr.  Judson  is  a  prominent 
figure  in  the  social  life  of  the  community, 
and  a  valuable  member  of  the  Eccentric 
Club  of  Gloversville,  and  served  as  its 
president  in  1913  and  1914. 

Mr.  Judson  was  united  in  marriage  at 
Gloversville  on  September  19,  1882,  to 
Isabelle  Stewart,  a  daughter  of  John  and 
Catherine  (Wells)  Stewart,  old  and  highly 
honored  residents  of  the  city.  The  Stew- 
arts are  of  Scotch  descent,  Mrs.  Judson's 
grandparents  being  James  and  Margaret 
(McFarland)  Stewart,  both  natives  of 
Scotland.  Her  father  was  Judge  John 
Stewart,  of  Johnstown,  one  of  the  best 
known  men  on  the  county  bench,  where 
he  presided  for  more  than  twenty  years. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Judson  are  the  parents  of 
two  children  as  follows:  Margaret,  born 
August  2,  1883,  married,  June  20,  1907, 
Boyd  G.  Curts,  of  Brooklyn,  trust  officer 
of  the  Empire  Trust  Company  of  New 
York,  to  whom  she  has  borne  one  child, 
Isabelle  Catherine  ;  John  Brown,  Jr.,  born 
May  10,  1893. 

John  Brown  Judson  is  a  fine  type  of 
citizen  and  the  part  that  he  plays  in  the 
community  is  a  very  vital  one.  He  com- 
bines in  very  happy  proportion  the  quali- 
ties of  the  practical  business  man  with 
those  of  the  public-spirited  altruist,  whose 
thoughts  are  with  the  good  of  the  com- 
munity, and  in  addition  is  noted  through- 
out Central  New  York  as  one  of  the  best 


after-dinner  orators,  his  services  being  in 
great  demand.  It  is  by  his  own  efforts 
that  he  has  developed  the  successful  busi- 
ness of  which  he  is  the  owner  and  be- 
come one  of  the  city's  prominent  mer- 
chants, and  through  all  his  worthy  career 
he  has  never  conducted  his  business  so 
that  it  was  anything  but  a  benefit  to  any 
of  his  associates  or  to  the  city  at  large. 
He  is  frank  and  outspoken,  a  man  whose 
integrity  has  never  been  called  in  ques- 
tion, who  can  be  and  is  trusted  to  keep 
the  spirit  as  well  as  the  letter  of  every 
contract  and  engagement  that  he  enters 
into.  He  is  possessed  of  the  true  demo- 
cratic instincts,  easy  of  access  to  all  men 
and  as  ready  to  lend  his  ear  to  the  most 
hum.ble  as  to  the  proudest  and  most  in- 
fluential. It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add 
that  these  qualities  give  him  a  host  of 
friends  and  admirers  from  every  class  of 
society  so  that  he  may  be  fairly  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  popular  men  of  the 
county. 


HILL,  Henry  W., 
Legislator,  Scholar,  'Waterway  Promoter. 

Henry  Wayland  Hill,  scholar,  lawyer, 
legislator,  and  especially  prominent  as  a 
champion  of  the  waterways  system  of 
the  State,  was  born  November  13,  1853, 
at  Isle  La  Motte,  Grand  Isle  county,  Ver- 
mont, of  good  New  England  lineage,  the 
son  of  Dyer  and  Martha  Puella  (Hall) 
Hill.  His  father  was  a  member  of  the 
Vermont  Legislature  (1849-50)  and  hia 
mother  was  of  prortounced  literary  tastes. 

Henry  Wayland  passed  his  youth  on 
his  father's  farm  and  attended  the  pub- 
lic schools  whenever  he  was  able  to  do 
so.  Desirous  of  a  liberal  education,  he 
began  his  preparation  for  college,  not 
without  certain  handicaps  due  to  con- 
tinued manual  labors,  and  was  enabled 
to  enter  the  classical  course  of  the  Uni- 


357 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


versity  of  Vermont  in  1872.  While  in 
college  he  was  a  diligent  student,  at- 
taining membership  in  the  Phi  Beta  Kap- 
pa Society,  and  was  graduated  honorably 
in  1876  as  Bachelor  of  Arts,  five  years 
thereafter  receiving  his  Master's  degree, 
in  1900  being  laureated  Doctor  of  Laws 
by  his  alma  mater,  and  in  1901,  in  recog- 
nition of  his  scholarly  attainments  the 
same  distinction  was  conferred  upon  him 
by  Middlebury  College.  A  period  of 
teaching  succeeded  his  graduation.  He 
was  principal  of  Swanton  (Vermont) 
Academy  (1877-79)  >  ^"d  of  the  Chateau- 
gay  (New  York)  Academy — Union  Free 
School  (1877-83).  Meanwhile  he  also 
read  law  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of 
the  State  of  New  York,  at  Albany,  Janu- 
ary 25,  1884.  The  following  May,  he  set- 
tled in  Buffalo  and  became  a  member  of 
the  law  firm  of  Andrews  and  Hill,  which 
partnership  continued  until  dissolved  by 
the  death  of  Andrews,  May,  1896.  He 
has  uniformly  maintained  an  honorable 
and  general  practice,  his  house  address 
being  at  471  Linwood  avenue,  Buffalo; 
where  he  has  a  choice  collection  of  books. 
He  married,  August  11,  1880,  Harriet  Au- 
gusta, daughter  of  Francis  and  Helen 
Eliza  (Butts)  Smith,  of  Swanton,  Ver- 
mont. Mrs.  Hill  is  a  very  amiable  lady. 
Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hill  are  descendants 
of  well  known  New  England  families. 

Early  enlisted  in  political  activities  as 
a  Republican — hailing  from  Vermont,  he 
could  not  well  be  otherwise — he  has  con- 
sistently adhered  to  that  faith  through- 
out; and,  happily,  he  came  into  New 
York  politics  too  late  to  be  involved  in 
the  factional  embroilments  that  had  vexed 
his  party  therein  for  the  preceding  twenty 
years.  His  first  preferment  was  an  ex- 
alted one,  that  of  his  election,  from  the 
Thirty-first  Senatorial  District,  to  the 
State  Constitutional  Convention  of  1894; 
and,  in  that  body  he  had  an  influential 
part.     He  served  on  the  suffrage,  educa- 


tion and  civil  service  committees.  He 
was  the  author  and  introducer  of  sev- 
eral important  measures  designed  to  pro- 
vide home  rule  for  cities,  honest  elections, 
the  maintenance  on  a  popular  basis  of 
secondary  and  higher  education,  especi- 
ally the  constitutionalizing  of  the  Re- 
gents of  the  University  and,  above  all, 
was  the  leading  advocate  of  the  further 
development  of  the  waterways  system  of 
the  State,  with  which  subsequently  he 
has  been  conspicuously  and  persuasively 
identified. 

At  the  general  election  in  1895,  he  was 
elected  to  the  Assembly  from  the  Second 
District  of  Erie  county,  and  by  successive 
reelections,  served  five  terms  in  the  Lower 
House  (1896-1900) ;  and,  promoted  to  the 
Senate  in  the  latter  year,  retained  a  seat 
therein  for  five  terms  (1901-10).  In  each 
house  respectively  he  was  highly  es- 
teemed and  influential,  clear  and  courte- 
ous in  debate,  diligent  as  a  member  of 
various  leading  committees  and  notably 
efficient  as  chairman  (in  the  Senate)  of 
those  on  commerce  and  navigation,  codes 
and  finance.  In  the  Assembly,  his 
labors  e.v  necessitate,  were  largely  of  a 
local  character,  among  which  the  follow- 
ing may  be  cited :  The  Buffalo  Free 
Public  Library,  the  Buffalo  Historical 
Society  Building  and  the  New  Armory 
appropriation  bills.  Among  general 
bills  to  his  credit  are  the  Pan-Ameri- 
can Exposition,  the  All-State  Pharmacy, 
and  the  Primary  Election  bills :  and 
as  chairman  of  the  canal  committee 
in  1900,  he  was  chiefly  responsible  for  for- 
mulating and  securing  the  passage  of  the 
Canal  Survey  law  for  a  barge  canal.  In 
the  Senate,  in  1902,  he  drafted  and  intro- 
duced a  proposed  amendment  to  article 
seven  of  the  Constitution,  providing  for 
the  application  of  the  surplus  moneys  in 
the  treasury  to  the  liquidation  of  the 
bonded  indebtedness ;  and  an  amendment 
to  the  same  article  extending  the  bonded 


358 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


period  from  eighteen  to  fifty  years,  both 
which  passing  two  legislatures,  were  ap- 
proved by  popular  vote  in  1905.  He  also 
was  the  principal  champion  of  the  $101,- 
000,000  canal  referendum  of  1903  which 
was  overwhelmingly  ratified  at  the  polls. 
He  has  also  championed  all  canal  refer- 
endum measures  since  that  time.  In 
the  last  year  of  Governor  Hughes's  ad- 
ministration he  was  chairman  of  the  fi- 
nance committee  of  the  Senate,  a  position 
of  the  highest  responsibility.  It  may  well  be 
doubted  that  any  Senator,  in  recent  years, 
has  compassed  more  of  competent  and 
valuable  legislation  than  did  Senator  Hill 
during  the  period  from  his  entry  into  the 
Assembly  in  1896  to  the  close  of  his  Sen- 
atorial career  in  1910. 

Outside  his  professional  and  legislative 
service.  Senator  Hill  has  been  engaged  in 
many  activities,  inuring  to  the  public 
benefit  and  his  own  distinct  desert.  His 
most  engrossing  labors  have  been  those 
devoted  to  the  waterways  of  the  State — 
the  problems  relating  to  their  improve- 
ment and  utilization.  His  signal  achieve- 
ments in  this  regard,  while  in  the  Legis- 
lature, have  been  referred  to  previously ; 
but  since  his  retirement  therefrom,  he  has 
also  been  incessant  and  indefatigable, 
with  voice  and  pen,  in  correspondence 
and  convention,  in  toil  and  travel,  in 
moulding  public  opinion  in  behalf  of  the 
cause  he  has  at  heart.  His  literary  con- 
tributions thereto  have  been  volumi- 
nous. He  is  the  author  of  "Waterways" 
in  the  "Encyclopedia  Americana,"  and  of 
"Waterways  and  Canal  Construction  in 
the  State  of  New  York,"  a  volume  of  five 
hundred  and  fifty  pages,  and  a  standard 
authority  on  the  subject.  He  is  the  author 
also  of  the  article  entitled  "Origin  and  Con- 
struction of  the  Barge  Canals"  in  "Official 
New  York  from  Cleveland  to  Hughes" 
and  is  also  the  author  of  a  comprehen- 
sive pamphlet  on  "The  Development  of 
Constitutional   Law  in   New  York."     He 


has  written  many  other  articles  and  de- 
livered scores  of  addresses  on  canal  and 
waterway  matters  in  New  York ;  and  has 
in  preparation  a  work  on  "Waterway  Ac- 
tivities in  the  State  of  New  York"  that 
is  designed  to  be  the  most  comprehensive 
work  on  the  subject  ever  produced.  For 
five  years  or  more  Senator  Hill  has  been 
president  of  the  New  York  State  Water- 
ways Association,  a  voluntary  organiza- 
tion, comprising  engineers  and  other  sci- 
entists and  representatives  from  various 
commercial  and  business  bodies,  which 
meets  annually  for  the  consideration  of 
water  and  waterway  matters  of  general 
public  interest,  including  the  seaboard,  as 
well  as  the  artificial  courses  and  inland 
lakes  and  rivers.  Next  year,  the  associ- 
ation purposes  to  celebrate  at  the  con- 
vention in  Rome  the  one  hundredth  anni- 
versary of  the  beginning  of  canal  con- 
struction in  the  State,  for  it  was  there 
that  ground  was  broken  for  the  original 
Erie  Canal,  July  4,  1817. 

He  made  a  tour  of  inspection  of  the 
waterways  of  western  Europe  in  1905  and 
has  a  large  collection  of  the  works  of 
writers,  publicists  and  governmental  de- 
partments on  this  subject.  Senator  Hill 
is  a  director  of  the  National  River  and 
Harbor  Congress. 

As  secretary  of  the  New  York  State 
Champlain  Commission,  he  gave  much 
time  to  formulating  plans  for  the  celebra- 
tion, preparing  the  program,  supervising 
most  of  the  addresses  and  writing  the  his- 
tory associated  with  the  event.  The  rec- 
ords alone  required  research  into  archives 
to  put  into  correct  form  hundreds  of  In- 
dian, French  and  other  names,  places  and 
occurrences,  which  have  been  too  care- 
lessly mentioned  by  many  historians.  The 
Senator's  researches  render  the  narra- 
tive, comprising  two  large  volumes,  en- 
tirely trustworthy.  In  recognition  of 
this  the  President  of  France  and  the 
Council,    in    1913,    conferred    knighthood 


359 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHl 


upon  him  in  the  National  Legion  of  Hon- 
or. He  was  one  of  the  contributors  to 
the  Bibliophile  edition  of  the  "Odes  and 
Episodes  of  Horace,"  of  whose  works  he 
has  many  valuable  volumes.  He  has 
written  many  historical  addresses,  some 
of  which  have  appeared  in  the  publica- 
tions of  the  Buffalo  Historical  Society,  of 
which  he  has  been  president  since  1910. 
He  is  a  citizen  of  high  ideals,  as  evidenced 
by  his  varied  activities  and  productions, 
all  bearing  the  finish  of  rare  culture. 

Senator  Hill  is  a  member  of  the  First 
Congregational  Church  of  Bufifalo;  of 
the  American  Bar,  the  Bibliophile  So- 
ciety of  Boston,  several  historical  asso- 
ciations ;  a  member  of  the  Knights  of 
Pythias,  and  one  of  the  tribunes  of  its 
Grand  Lodge ;  and  a  member  of  the  Lake 
Erie  Commandery,  Knights  Templar 
(York  Rite)  and  of  the  Consistory  of  the 
Scottish  Rite,  thirty-second  degree  of  the 
Masonic  order,  and  of  the  Phi  Beta  Kap- 
pa Society  of  Bufifalo.  His  clubs  are  the 
University  of  Buffalo,  the  Hobby  and  the 
Franco-American  of  New  York. 


KINNE,  E.  Olin,  M.  D.,       / 

Physician,  Hospital  Of&cial. 

Dr.  E.  Olin  Kinne,  highly  regarded  phy- 
sician of  Syracuse,  New  York,  in  which 
city  he  has  practiced  for  considerably 
more  than  a  generation,  was  born  in  De 
Witt,  Onondaga  county.  New  York,  July 
25,  1852,  son  of  Elbridge  and  Sophronia 
(Young)  Kinne.  Elbridge  Kinne  was  one 
of  the  pioneers  of  Onondaga  county.  New 
York,  and  his  ancestors  were  among  the 
earliest  of  colonial  families  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Colony  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. The  Kinne  family  history  is  part  of 
the  history  of  this  nation,  in  its  early 
Colonial  days  of  development. 

The  progenitor  of  the  Kinne-Kinney 
family  in  America  was  Henry  Kinne,  son 


of  Sir  Thomas  Kinne  (or  Kine),  an  Eng- 
lish knight  of  royal  favor,  and  possessed 
of  considerable  landed  estate  in  Lan- 
cashire, England.  He  is  reputed  to  have 
owned  the  land  whereon  now  stands  the 
important  manufacturing  city  of  Man- 
chester, England.'  Appleton's  "Cyclopedia 
of  American  Biography"  records  that  a 
Sir  Thomas  Kinney  came  to  this  country 
"before  the  Revolution"  to  explore  the 
mineral  resources  of  New  Jersey,  but  this 
probably  has  reference  to  a  generation  of 
the  titled  house  subsequent  to  that  headed 
by  Sir  Thomas  Kinne  (or  Kine),  father  of 
Henry  Kinne,  the  original  American  an- 
cestor of  the  family. 

Henry  Kinne,  who  probably  was  a 
younger  son  of  Sir  Thomas  Kinne  (Kine), 
was  born  in  England  in  1624,  and  no 
further  information  as  to  his  movements 
appears  in  the  annals  of  the  family  until 
the  recording  of  his  emigration  from  Hol- 
land to  America  in  165 1,  or  earlier.  Why 
he  should  have  emigrated  from  England 
to  Holland,  or  when,  does  not  appear, 
though  it  is  feasible  to  suppose  that  it 
had  some  connection  with  governmental 
pressure,  because  of  his  religious  convic- 
tions. That  he  was  an  adherent  of  the 
Independent  Church  of  England,  which 
was  actively  opposed  to  the  Romanizing 
of  the  established  Church  of  England,  is 
somewhat  substantiated  by  his  ultimate 
emigration  to  America  and  to  the  Massa- 
chusetts Colony,  which  was  composed  al- 
most exclusively  of  members  of  that 
church.  However,  State  chronicles  record 
that  "Henry  Kinne  served  in  King  Philip's 
war,  and  was  a  prosperous  farmer,  active 
in  town  and  church  affairs."  He  settled 
at  Salem,  Massachusetts,  with  his  wife, 
Anna,  and  in  that  settlement  their  eight 
children  were  born,  the  date  of  birth  of 
their  first-born  being  shown  in  the  rec- 
ords as  January.  1651,  so  that  apparently 
Henry  Kinne's  landing  in   America  was 


360 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


earlier  than  165 1,  unless  his  marriage 
occurred  in  Holland  before  his  emigra- 
tion. 

The  Kinne  family  has,  in  the  many  gen- 
erations from  that  of  Henry  Kinne,  the 
progenitor,  to  the  present,  spread  to  al- 
most all  parts  of  the  United  States,  and 
its  many  members,  during  the  various  na- 
tional periods  of  unrest  experienced  in  the 
centuries  of  evolution,  have  creditably 
shown  their  national  spirit.  Many  have 
been  soldiers  of  distinction  ;  many  have 
been  of  political  prominence ;  some  have 
gained  eminence  in  the  church,  while 
others  have  acquired  influence  in  the  vari- 
ous other  civil  walks  of  life.  Bishop 
Aaron  Kinne,  a  clergyman  of  much  emi- 
nence, born  at  Norwich,  Connecticut,  Sep- 
tember 24,  1744,  graduate  of  Yale  Univer- 
sity, 1765,  had  an  unusually  diversified 
life.  In  the  early  years  following  his  ordi- 
nation, he  was  a  missionary  to  the  Oneida 
Indians,  a  particularly  hazardous  labor. 
In  1709  he  was  elected  bishop  at  Groton, 
Connecticut,  where  he  remained  until  1798, 
in  this  period  passing  through  many  ex- 
citing episodes,  one  at  Fort  Griswold, 
where  he  was  chaplain  to  the  American 
forces  during  the  investment  of  the  for- 
tress by  British  and  Indians  in  1781,  and 
was  present  at  the  massacre  of  September 
6,  1781,  when  Colonel  Ledyard  was  killed, 
and  the  fort  taken  by  the  British  and  In- 
dians, led  by  Benedict  Arnold.  Especially 
is  Bishop  Aaron  Kinne  famed  for  his  liter- 
ary productions,  and  theological  writings, 
among  his  published  works  being:  "The 
Sonship  of  Christ;"  "A  Display  of  Scrip- 
ture Prophecies"  (1813')  ;  "Explanation  of 
the  Types,  Prophecies,  Revelation,  Etc." 
(1814),  and  an  "Essay  on  the  New 
Heaven  and  Earth"  (1821). 

Then,  the  Kinne-Kinney  family  in- 
cludes the  late  William  B.  Kinney,  a 
journalist  of  note,  who  in  185 1  was  ap- 
pointed United  States  Minister  to  Sar- 
dinia, and  who  was  a  friend  of  Kossuth, 


the  eminent  Hungarian  exile.  Another 
Kinne  of  note  was  Justice  La  Vega 
George  Kinne,  candidate  for  Governor  of 
the  State  of  Iowa  during  the  administra- 
tion of  President  Garfield,  and  later  ap- 
pointed Chief  Justice  of  Iowa. 

And,  Cyrus  Kinne,  great-grandfather 
of  Dr.  E.  Olin  Kinne,  of  Syracuse,  New 
York,  who  served  with  the  American 
army  throughout  the  Revolutionary  War, 
so  that,  all  in  all,  the  Kinne  family  has 
played  no  unimportant  part  in  the  making 
of  American  history. 

Dr.  E.  Olin  Kinne  passed  his  early 
years  of  elementary  education  in  the  dis- 
trict school  of  his  native  place,  De  Witt, 
Onondaga  county.  New  York,  and  later 
attended  the  Syracuse  public  schools,  re- 
ceiving also  private  tuition,  preparatory 
to  his  entrance  into  Syracuse  University, 
whereat  he  commenced  advanced  aca- 
demic studies  in  1872.  Four  years  later 
he  graduated  from  the  unversity,  gaining 
the  distinctive  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Phi- 
losophy. Having  determined  the  direc- 
tion of  his  future  activity,  and  being  de- 
sirous of  acquiring  an  expert  knowledge 
of  the  science  of  medicine  without  loss  of 
time,  E.  Olin  Kinne  proceeded  to  the  Uni- 
versity of  Michigan  very  shortly  after 
having  obtained  his  degree  at  Syracuse  in 
1876,  and  there  devoted  his  thoughts  and 
time  exclusively  to  professional  studies, 
successfully  graduating  in  1878,  and  be- 
coming thereby  the  possessor  of  the  uni- 
versity's degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine, 
which  entitled  him  to  practice  the  profes- 
sion at  his  pleasure  thereafter. 

Returning  to  Syracuse,  New  York,  Dr. 
Kinne  determined  to  obtain  his  final  aca- 
demic degree,  and  accordingly  reentered 
Syracuse  University,  for  a  post-graduate 
course,  and  the  following  year  (1879) 
gained  his  Mastership  of  Philosophy  degree. 
Meanwhile,  he  had  undertaken  additional 
post-graduate  medical  study  and  research, 
and  after  having  received  his  final  degree 


361 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


at  Syracuse,  was  anxious  to  settle  into  ac- 
tive general  practice  of  his  profession, 
with  which  object  he,  in  1879,  traveled  ex- 
tensively in  the  Southern  States.  Not 
linding  a  favorable  location  in  the  South, 
Dr.  Kinne  returned  to  Syracuse,  and  hav- 
ing, at  that  time,  an  inclination  to  make 
himself  especially  proficient  in  one  line  of 
medical  science  before  entering  upon  the 
ties  and  varied  duties  of  a  general  prac- 
titioner, he  began  a  special  research  into 
the  causes  and  treatment  of  diseases  of 
the  eye  and  ear,  which  intricate  studies 
occupied  his  whole  time  for  two  years. 
Then  he  went  into  the  State  of  New  Jer- 
sey, and  for  about  a  year  practiced  at 
Paterson,  returning  to  Syracuse  in  May, 
1882,  and  immediately  opened  an  office  in 
Syracuse  for  general  homoeopathic  prac- 
tice, which  he  has  continued  with  ever-in- 
ceasing  honor  and  prestige  until  the 
present  (1916).  After  a  brief  period,  dur- 
ing which  he  clearly  demonstrated  his 
skill  as  a  diagnostician  of  the  perplexing 
physical  ailments  of  the  human  frame, 
and  an  expert  familiarity  with  the  anti- 
dotes to  the  diseases  of  man.  Dr.  Kinne's 
practice  steadily  developed  to  its  present 
wide  and  lucrative  proportions. 

He  has  likewise  in  his  practice  and 
study  of  medicine  acquired  the  esteem  of 
his  confreres  in  medicine,  and  has  been 
brought  into  affiliation  with  many  profes- 
sional associations,  the  main  objects  of 
which  organizations  are  the  interchange 
of  professional  experiences  and  observa- 
tions, for  the  furtherance  of  the  under- 
standing of  medical  science,  and  the 
amelioration  of  suffering.  Dr.  Kinne 
holds  membership  in  the  American  In- 
stitute of  Homoeopathy ;  the  New  York 
State  Homoeopathic  Medical  Society ;  the 
Onondaga  County  Homoeopathic  Medical 
Society ;  and  the  Medical-Chirurgical  So- 
ciety of  Central  New  York.  His  standing 
among  homoeopathic  physicians  is  obvi- 
ous in  the  fact  of  his  having  been  elected 


to  the  presidency  of  the  American  Asso- 
ciation of  Medical  Examiners,  and,  locally, 
by  his  official  connection  as  consulting 
physician  with  the  Homoeopathic  Hos- 
pital, Syracuse,  New  York, 

Dr.  Kinne's  fraternal  inclinations  have 
found  expression  in  his  association  with 
many  fraternal  and  social  orders ;  he 
wears  the  Phi  Beta  Kappa  key;  has  many 
chairs,  titles,  and  other  fraternal  distinc- 
tions to  his  credit;  and  bearing  in  mind 
the  diversified  and  multitudinous  profes- 
sional claims  made  upon  the  time  of  a 
successful  general  medical  practitioner, 
Dr.  Kinne  has  well  observed  his  fraternal 
obligations.  He  has  never,  however,  in- 
terested himself  actively  in  political  work. 

On  November  i,  1881,  Dr.  Kinne  mar- 
ried Ella  M.  Potter,  of  Utica,  New  York. 
Six  children  were  born  to  the  marriage, 
but  unfortunately  three  died  in  infancy. 
The  three  surviving  children  are  :  Marion 
E.,  born  August  23,  1882;  Elbridge  P.. 
born  August  6,  1886;  and  Carleton  H., 
born  April  2D,  18S8,  The  daughter  has 
manifested  high  intellectual  powers ;  was 
a  graduate  of  Syracuse  University,  1905. 
afterwards  studying  two  years  in  France 
and  Germany ;  and  she  is  now  supervising 
instructor  of  German  in  the  schools  of 
Elizabeth,  New  Jersey. 

As  a  scion  of  an  old  Colonial  house.  Dr. 
Kinne  naturally  holds  highly  in  esteem 
his  privilege  and  admittance  to  member- 
ship in  the  "Sons  of  the  American  Revo- 
lution,"' his  right  to  inclusion  coming  from 
ancestors  of  at  least  three  different  lines — 
from  Cyrus  Kinne,  John  Young  and  Jere- 
miah Jackson,  all  of  whom  served  their 
country  loyally  in  the  struggle  for  inde- 
pendence. 


CLEMENT,  Frank  H„A 

Man   of  Affairs. 

It  was  not  until  he  was  twenty-eight 
that  Frank  H.  Clement,  of  Rochester,  per- 


362 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


manently  established  in  the  business  with 
which  he  has  been  connected  for  forty 
years,  a  business  now  an  important 
branch  of  the  American  Wood  Working 
Machinery  Company,  Mr.  Clement  its 
chief  of  construction.  But  the  year  fol- 
lowing the  completion  of  his  studies  until 
the  beginning  of  his  real  life  work  were 
well  spent  and  he  acquired  a  broad  experi^ 
ence  in  lines  which  later  were  to  intimate- 
ly affect  the  business  he  founded  and  de- 
veloped to  a  point  which  attracted  the 
covetous  attention  of  a  large  company. 
Fifty-three  years  ago,  1863,  Mr.  Clement 
came  to  Rochester  inexperienced  in  prac- 
tical business,  but  a  young  man  of  educa- 
tion with  a  talent  for  draughting  and  en- 
gineering. That  talent  was  developed  in 
the  employ  of  others  but  circumstances 
finally  brought  about  a  complete  change 
in  his  life  and  an  humble  start  was  made 
in  1871  by  the  establishment  of  a  small 
jobbing  machine  shop  in  Rochester.  From 
that  year  his  business  life  has  flowed  in 
an  unbroken  current  within  the  confines 
of  that  same  business,  but  so  broadened 
and  expanded  that  it  is  hard  to  believe  it 
sprang  from  so  small  a  beginning.  Air. 
Clement  did  not  inherit,  he  did  not  suc- 
ceed another,  but  he  built  from  the  very 
foundation,  and  is  one  of  the  men  of  to- 
day who  can  rejoice  in  the  fact  that  he 
has  been  a  strong  factor  in  the  upbuilding 
of  a  prosperous  city. 

The  Clements  of  this  branch  date  in 
Monroe  county.  New  York,  from  1824, 
when  Harris  Clement  came,  but  they 
trace  lineal  descent  to  James  Clement,  a 
Scotch-Irishman,  who  came  to  New  Eng- 
land in  1730  and  settled  at  Lancaster, 
Massachusetts.  From  James  Clement 
sprang  Harris  Clement,  son  of  John  and 
Polly  (Richardson)  Clement,  of  Peter- 
sham, Massachusetts.  Harris  Clement 
was  born  at  Petersham  in  1801,  died  in 
Rochester,  New  York,  May  13,  1873.  On 
both  the  paternal  and  the  maternal  sides 


he  was  descended  from  Revolutionary 
sires,  the  maternal  side  bearing  the  family 
name  Harris.  In  1824  he  settled  in  Clark- 
son,  Monroe  county,  New  York,  where  he 
was  a  merchant  for  several  years.  He 
then  moved  to  Parma,  New  York,  and  in 
1864  to  Rochester  where  he  served  for 
three  years  as  deputy  collector  of  the  in- 
ternal revenue.  He  was  a  leader  of  the 
Republican  party  in  the  county,  and  while 
living  at  Parma  served  several  times  as 
supervisor,  elected  without  opposition. 
He  married  Clarissa  Tilden  Pond,  of 
Knoxboro,  Oneida  county.  New  York, 
who  survived  him  exactly  six  years,  pass- 
ing away  on  the  anniversary  of  her  hus- 
band's death  in  1879.  They  were  the 
parents  of  two  sons,  Theodore  T.,  and 
Frank  H.,  to  whom  this  review  is  dedi- 
cated. 

Frank  H.  Clement  was  born  in  Parma, 
Monroe  covmty.  New  York,  June  26,  1843, 
his  birthplace  the  homestead  farm  on  the 
Ridge  road.  There  his  youth  was  passed 
and  the  foundation  of  his  character  laid 
under  the  watchful  care  of  his  honored 
father  and  mother.  He  attended  the  dis- 
trict public  school  until  its  advantages 
were  exhausted,  then  continued  his  studies 
at  Parma  Academy  and  Rochester  Colle- 
giate Institute.  He  taught  in  the  district 
schools  for  two  years  after  completing  his 
own  school  years,  but  kept  up  his  own 
studies,  being  especially  interested  in  me- 
chanical drawing  and  engineering. 

In  1863  he  permanently  became  a  resi- 
dent of  Rochester  and  began  his  business 
career  with  the  steam  engine  building 
firm  of  D.  A.  Woodbury  &  Co.  He  re- 
mained with  that  company  five  years,  ac- 
quiring expert  knowledge  of  machine 
building  and  became  foreman  of  a  depart- 
ment. He  also  was  a  capable,  talented 
draughtsman  and  possessed  a  valuable 
stock  of  information  concerning  ma- 
chinery, its  designing  and  its  construc- 
tion.  In  1868  he  accepted  appointment  as 


363 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


inspector  of  steam  boilers  for  the  twenty- 
eighth  New  York  district,  but  only  re- 
tained that  post  one  year,  resigning  to 
become  a  partner  of  W.  S.  Loughbor- 
ough, and  until  Mr.  Clement's  health 
failed  they  conducted  business  as  patent 
solicitors. 

His  failure  of  health  brought  a  com- 
plete change  in  the  plan  and  he  decided 
he  must  abjure  office  work  and  lead  a 
more  active  life.  In  1871  he  formed  a 
partnership  with  Thomas  L.  Turner  and 
as  Turner  &  Clement  they  opened  a  small 
shop  for  machine  jobbing  of  every  kind, 
no  job  too  small  to  be  considered  worthy 
of  their  attention.  Their  patronage  grew 
and  for  six  years  the  partnership  con- 
tined.  Mr.  Turner  then  wishing  to  retire 
Mr.  Clement  purchased  his  interest  and 
continued  alone.  The  little  shop  became 
unable  to  meet  the  demands  made  upon  it 
and  as  quarters  were  enlarged  new  lines 
of  business  were  introduced.  The  manu- 
facture of  wood  working  machines  was 
added  and  within  a  few  years  various  ma- 
chines in  that  line  were  being  made,  the 
demand  coming  from  manufacturers  of 
furniture,  from  pattern  makers,  carriage 
builders,  car  builders  and  other  concerns 
using  wood  working  machinery.  In  1890 
the  brick  plant  on  Lyell  avenue  adjoining 
the  Erie  canal  was  erected  and  the  line 
of  manufacture  greatly  broadened.  Up  to 
this  time  Mr.  Clement  had  been  sole 
owner  and  proprietor  of  the  business,  but 
in  1891  the  responsibility  became  too 
great  for  one  man  and  additional  help 
was  secured  through  incorporation  of  the 
Frank  H.  Clement  Company,  Mr.  Clement 
president  and  manager. 

Until  the  foundation  of  the  corporation 
in  1891  Mr.  Clement  had  been  the  me- 
chanical head  of  the  business  as  well  as 
its  executive  manager,  the  machines  being 
built  from  his  designs,  some  of  them  from 
his  own  patents,  and  had  in  addition  to 
supervising  their  construction  personally 


attended  to  office  details  and  correspond- 
ence. The  amount  of  work  he  was  en- 
abled to  accomplish  tells  the  story  of  his 
energy  and  capacity  better  than  words. 
The  company's  catalogue  of  1892-93 
shows  that  he  was  manufacturing  seventy 
different  wood  working  machines  that 
were  being  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the 
United  States  and  to  foreign  lands.  With 
incorporation  relief  came  and  the  various 
departments  were  placed  under  the  care  of 
the  proper  officials,  Mr.  Clement,  however, 
remaining  executive  head  and  manager 
of  the  plant,  the  largest  of  its  kind  in  the 
State.  The  Frank  H.  Clement  Company 
continued  a  most  successful  career  until 
1897  when  it  was  absorbed  by  the  Ameri- 
can Wood  Working  Machinery  Company, 
and  is  operated  as  a  branch  of  that  com- 
pany, Mr.  Clement  still  a  potent  factor  in 
the  management  and  success,  ranking  as 
chief  of  construction. 

He  is  a  lifelong  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian church,  his  membership  for  twenty- 
two  years  having  been  with  the  Brick 
Church  congregation.  In  1884  he  became 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  North  Church 
congregation,  his  name  appearing  on  the 
list  of  charter  members.  He  is  a  ruling 
elder  and  from  its  foundation  has  been  a 
strong  pillar  of  support.  In  political  faith 
he  is  a  Republican.  A  man  of  warm  heart 
and  generous  impulse,  he  has  many  friends, 
some  of  them  dating  back  to  his  early 
Rochester  days,  now  half  a  century  past. 
He  has  borne  his  full  share  of  the  "bur- 
dens and  heat  of  the  day"  and  now  in  the 
evening  of  life  the  lengthening  shadows 
warn  him  that  "old  age  is  an  incurable 
disease."  But  the  years  have  stolen  no 
fire  from  his  mind  and  but  little  vigor 
from  the  body,  and  "age  a  mature  mellow- 
ness doth  set  upon  the  green  promise  of 
youthful  heat." 

Mr.  Clement  married  (first)  in  1866, 
Harriet  E.  Fielden,  daughter  of  Armi- 
stead   Fielden,  of  Brockport,  New  York. 


364 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Mrs.  Clement  died  in  1880;  two  of  her 
children  are  yet  living  and  residing  in 
Rochester:  Benjamin  Harris  Clement  and 
Mary  Genevieve  Clement,  residing  at 
home.  Mr.  Clement  married  (second)  in 
1882,  Lovisa  S.  Knapp,  of  Farmington, 
Pennsylvania,  who  prior  to  her  marriage 
was  a  teacher  in  Rochester  schools.  The 
family  home  is  No.  46  Lorimer  street, 
Rochester. 


BLOSS,  William  C.  and  Joseph  B., 

Active  Factors  in  Public  Affairs. 

Originally  from  Massachusetts  the 
Bloss  family  located  in  Monroe  county, 
New  York,  in  1816,  the  early  settlers  be- 
ing Joseph  Bloss,  a  Revolutionary  soldier, 
and  his  son,  William  Clough  Bloss,  grand- 
father and  father  of  Joseph  Blossom  Bloss, 
of  Rochester.  The  old  brick  tavern  on 
East  avenue,  Brighton,  near  the  railroad, 
still  standing,  was  built  by  William  Clough 
Bloss,  who  conducted  it  as  a  hotel  for 
several  years.  With  the  onrush  of  the 
first  temperance  wave  which  swept  over 
the  United  States  he  experienced  a  change 
of  heart,  emptied  his  stock  of  liquor  into 
the  canal,  sold  his  hotel  and  moved  to 
Rochester,  where  his  son,  Joseph  Blossom 
Bloss,  was  born.  These  three  generations 
have  left  a  deep  impress  upon  their  times, 
and  the  life  work  of  the  last  named  has 
equalled  in  importance  that  of  his  honored 
father,  William  Clough  Bloss,  than  which 
no  higher  compliment  can  be  paid  him. 

Joseph  Bloss,  the  grandfather,  marched 
to  the  war  with  his  mother's  blessings 
and  her  injunction  ringing  in  his  ears: 
"Joe,  don't  get  shot  in  the  back."  He  was 
a  brave  soldier  and  to  him  was  entrusted 
the  duty  of  carrying  to  General  Wash- 
ington the  news  of  Major  Andre's  capture. 
He  came  to  Monroe  county,  New  York, 
with  his  family  in  1816  and  died  in  Brigh- 
ton, near  Rochester,  in  1838. 


His  son,  William  Clough  Bloss,  was 
born  in  West  Stockbridge,  Massachu- 
setts, January  19,  1795.  After  locating  in 
Rochester  he  became  an  ardent  temper- 
ance advocate,  represented  a  Rochester 
district  in  the  New  York  Legislature  and 
was  one  of  the  strong  anti-slavery  men  of 
his  day.  He  served  during  the  sessions 
of  1845-46-47,  and  while  a  legislator 
offered  the  following  amendment  to  the 
State  Constitution :  "Resolved,  That  no 
other  proof,  test  or  qualification  shall  be 
required  of  or  from  persons  of  color  in 
relation  to  their  exercise  of  the  right  of 
suffrage,  than  is  in  this  constitution  re- 
quired of  or  from  white  persons."  This 
resolution  was  introduced  in  1845,  ^'^'^ 
was  the  first  effort  in  New  York  State  to 
award  the  colored  man  the  ballot. 

In  1838,  he  published  the  second  anti- 
slavery  paper  printed  in  the  United  States, 
"The  Rights  of  Man,"  and  in  the  presi- 
dential campaign  of  1856  published  and 
circulated  a  map  illustrating  the  aggres- 
sions of  the  slave  power,  the  Southern 
States  being  shown  in  black  and  the 
Northern  States  in  white.  The  map  was 
widely  circulated  and  when  found  in 
Southern  mails  was  ordered  destroyed. 
A  copy  of  this  valuable  historical  docu- 
ment is  on  file  at  the  Rochester  Historical 
Society,  presented  by  Porter  Farley,  and 
a  copy  is  owned  by  Harvard  College  do- 
nated by  Charles  Sumner,  the  statesman. 

In  addition  to  his  valuable  work  for  the 
cause  of  abolition,  William  Clough  Bloss 
gave  himself  with  equal  enthusiasm  to 
the  cause  of  temperance.  His  home  on 
East  avenue  was  a  hospital  for  the  re- 
pentant and  struggling  inebriate  and  there 
the  helping  hand  was  extended  in  true 
friendship,  not  alone  to  the  slave  of  drink 
but  to  the  black  slave  fleeing  to  a  haven 
of  refuge  in  Canada,  for  the  Bloss  home 
was  a  station  on  the  "underground  rail- 
road."   His  deeds  are  recorded  in  bronze 


365 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


upon  a  monument  erected  to  his  memory 
in  Brigliton  Cemetery.  His  death  oc- 
curred April  i8,  1S63. 

Mr.  Bloss  married  Mary  Blossom,  a 
daughter  of  Captain  Ezra  Blossom,  an 
officer  of  the  Revolution  and  an  early  set- 
tler of  Monroe  county,  New  York.  Cap- 
tain Blossom  at  one  time  owned  a  tract 
of  land  extending  from  the  centre  of  the 
village  of  Brighton  to  South  Goodman 
street  in  the  city  of  Rochester. 

Joseph  Blossom  Bloss,  son  of  William 
Clough  and  Mary  (Blossom)  Bloss,  was 
born  in  Rochester,  New  York,  November 
22,  1839.  He  obtained  his  early  education 
in  public  school  No.  14,  Rochester,  and 
Clover  Street  Seminary,  Brighton,  begin- 
ning his  business  life  as  errand  boy  in  a 
grocery  store.  From  that  time  until  his 
retirement  in  1896,  Mr.  Bloss  was  actively 
and  successfully  engaged  in  commercial 
life.  He  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
G.  C.  Buell  &  Company  in  1868,  a  busi- 
ness established  in  1844,  and  for  twenty- 
eight  years,  until  his  retirement,  was 
prominently  connected  therewith  and  ac- 
tive in  its  management.  He  was  one  of 
the  contributing  factors  to  the  commer- 
cial greatness  of  his  native  city,  and  in 
public  affairs  has  held  with  the  ad- 
vanced thinkers  on  questions  of  political 
economy. 

He  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  his  hon- 
ored father  and  affiliated  with  the  Repub- 
lican party,  giving  close  and  earnest  study 
to  the  questions  and  issues  of  the  day. 
His  investigations  have  led  him  to  the 
adoption  of  some  of  the  tenets  of  Social- 
ism and  few  men  have  so  intimate  a 
knowledge  of  the  great  sociological,  eco- 
nomic and  political  questions  as  he.  His 
views  have  been  arrived  at  through  deep 
and  careful  study  and  he  is  ardent  in 
their  support.  In  1902  he  came  promi- 
nently into  the  public  eye  by  his  resist- 
ance of  an  unequal  and  exorbitant  per- 
sonal tax  imposed  by  the  city  of  Roches- 


ter upon  mortgages.  This  tax  fell  hardest 
upon  persons  of  small  means,  and  feeling 
keenly  its  injustice  Mr.  Bloss  felt  it  his 
duty  to  resist  payment,  his  case  being 
made  a  test  case  of  the  legality  of  the 
tax.  It  was  carried  to  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  State  of  New  York  and  a  decision 
rendered  in  favor  of  Mr.  Bloss.  The  Leg- 
islature of  the  State  overthrew  the  de- 
cision of  the  court  by  the  passage  of  an 
act,  legalizing  the  tax,  but  leaving  the 
tax  to  be  settled  by  a  board  of  apportion- 
ment, which  was  given  power  to  remit  all 
or  any  part  of  the  taxes  imposed.  Dur- 
ing this  long  contest,  Mr.  Bloss  refused 
to  obey  the  orders  of  the  court,  or  to 
answer  any  questions  which  might  com- 
mit him  to  the  payment  of  a  personal  tax. 
Although  such  action  rendered  him  liable 
to  fine  and  imprisonment,  he  maintained 
his  position  in  spite  of  the  legal  penalties 
which,  however,  were  never  enforced. 
His  action  in  this  matter  was  rendered  as 
a  public  service  and  by  his  friends  was 
regarded  as  a  valuable,  public-spirited 
action.  Mr.  Bloss,  however,  is  an  ardent 
advocate  of  a  national  income  tax  and 
was  on  the  lecture  platform  advocating 
that  form  of  raising  revenue  even  before 
William  Jennings  Bryan  made  it  a  tenet 
of  his  faith.  He  was  the  first  man  in  this 
country  to  advocate  an  income  tax  which 
should  bear  equally  upon  every  man  and 
woman  of  legal  age  in  exact  proportion 
to  their  ability.  In  addition  to  his  lectures 
on  the  subject,  he  has  contributed  many 
articles  to  the  Metropolitan  press  favor- 
ing such  a  tax,  also  the  local  and  western 
newspapers  and  to  the  foreign  press. 

Mr.  Bloss  was  one  of  the  originators  of 
the  Labor  Lyceum  which  inaugurated  the 
series  of  Sunday  afternoon  debates  in  the 
Common  Council  chamber  on  subjects  of 
public  policy,  a  series  of  debates  which 
awakened  a  deep  interest.  He  was  one  of 
the  founders  and  first  member  of  the 
Political  Equality  Club,  and  by  voice  and 


3'''! 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


pen  and  by  personal  interest  has  aided  the 
cause  of  Equal  Suffrage  for  many  years. 
He  was  a  close  friend  of  Susan  B.  An- 
thony, the  great  suffragist,  and  her 
trusted  adviser.  When  the  famous  Eng- 
lish militant  suffragist  leader,  Emeline 
Pankhurst,  came  to  the  United  States, 
Mr.  Bloss  arranged  for  her  coming  to 
Rochester  at  his  own  expense,  and  later 
gave  Rochester  an  opportunity  to  see  her. 
And  later,  he  also  brought  to  this  city  E. 
Sylvia  Pankhurst,  her  daughter,  this  be- 
ing their  first  visit  to  the  United  States. 
In  the  battle  for  equal  suffrage  in  Eng- 
land as  well  as  in  the  United  States  he 
has  taken  an  active  part,  aiding  by  cor- 
respondence and  other  valuable  ways. 
For  eighteen  years  he  has  served  as  vice- 
president  of  the  Rochester  Humane  So- 
ciety, has  frequently  addressed  State  and 
National  conventions  of  the  society,  and 
has  been  unintermittent  in  his  efforts  to 
promote  and  increase  the  usefulness  of 
this  society  for  the  prevention  of  all  forms 
of  cruelty. 

He  is  a  member  and  ex-president  of  the 
William  Clough  Bloss  Society,  composed 
of  one  hundred  male  and  female  descend- 
ants of  early  settlers  of  Brighton,  Mon- 
roe county,  New  York.  The  society  holds 
an  annual  meeting  and  banquet,  the  date 
selected  being  January  19,  the  birthday 
of  William  Clough  Bloss,  after  whom  the 
society  is  named. 

The  finer  talent  possessed  by  Mr.  Bloss 
shows  through  every  line  of  the  poem  of 
which  he  is  the  author,  "The  Morning 
Breath  of  June,"  a  beautifully  illustrated 
poem,  dedicated  to  the  New  York  City 
Fresh  Air  Fund,  published  by  A.  New- 
man Lockwood  in  1884.  Since  1863  he 
has  been  a  member  of  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Rochester  and  has  ever 
exerted  his  influence  on  the  side  of  re- 
form, progress  and  moral  uplift.  To  his 
study  of  men  and  economics,  Mr.  Bloss 
adds  the  culture  of  travel  and  judicious 


reading.  In  1896  he  made  a  tour  of  the 
world,  returning  with  enlarged  visions 
and  broadened  outlook.  He  is  held  in 
high  esteem  as  a  business  man,  while  his 
genial  personality  and  cultured  mind  have 
gained  him  the  friendship  of  a  wide  circle 
of  warm  friends. 

Mr.  Bloss  married  (first)  in  1888,  Mary 
Glen  Hooker,  who  died  in  1890,  daughter 
of  Henry  E.  Hooker,  leaving  an  infant 
daughter,  Mary  Glen  Bloss,  now  Mrs. 
Roger  S.  Vail,  Highland  Park,  Illinois. 
He  married  (second)  Ella  Welch,  of  Port 
Hope,  Canada.  They  are  the  parents  of 
three  sons,  William  C,  Joseph  B.  (2),  and 
Henry  W.  The  family  home  is  at  No. 
334  Oxford  street. 

A  sister  of  Hon.  William  Clough  Bloss, 
Celestia  Angenette  Bloss,  was  the  author 
of  a  popular  school  text  book,  largely 
used  in  the  schools  throughout  the  United 
States,  published  in  1845.  She  was  also 
the  principal  of  Clover  Street  Seminary, 
a  famous  co-educational  school  of  her  day. 


BAKER,  Hugh  Potter,   ^ 
Master  of  Forestry,  Doctor  of  Economics. 

As  dean  of  the  New  York  State  College 
of  Forestry  at  Syracuse  University,  Dr. 
Baker  has  reached  eminent  position  in  a 
profession  to  which  too  little  importance 
has  been  attached  in  this  country.  Through 
the  work  of  such  men  and  the  increasing 
necessity  for  conserving  our  national  re- 
sources it  is  at  last  receiving  at  least  part 
of  the  consideration  its  importance  de- 
mands. Dr.  Baker  prepared  thoroughly 
for  the  practice  of  forestry  in  college,  at 
home  and  abroad,  receiving  his  degree  of 
Master  of  Forestry  from  Yale  University 
and  Doctor  of  Economics  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  Munich,  Germany.  For  ten 
years  he  was  continuously  in  the  service 
of  the  National  Division  of  Forestry, 
which  later  became  the  United  States 
Forest  Service,  his  examinations  and  in- 


367 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


vestigations  covering  the  public  lands  in 
different  sections  of  the  West.  Since  1912 
he  has  been  dean  of  the  New  York  State 
College  of  Forestry  at  Syracuse  Univer- 
sity and  is  an  authority  deferred  to  by 
forestry  experts.  He  is  a  young  man  emi- 
nent in  a  youthful  profession,  is  thor- 
oughly devoted  to  his  chosen  work  and 
tilled  with  zeal  and  enthusiasm  commen- 
surate with  the  knowledge  gained  through 
careful  study  and  long  experience  in  the 
field.  He  is  not  a  theorist,  but  is  intense- 
ly practical,  advances  no  propositions  not 
established  on  proven  demonstrated  fact. 

Dr.  Baker  is  a  descendant  of  Alexander 
Baker,  who  arrived  from  England  at  Bos- 
ton on  the  ship  "Elizabeth  and  Ann"  in 
1635  with  his  wife  Elizabeth.  They  lived 
for  a  time  at  Gloucester,  Massachusetts, 
but  later  moved  to  Boston,  where  he  died 
in  1688.  Alexander  and  Elizabeth  Baker 
married  in  1632  and  were  the  parents  of 
eleven  children,  the  line  of  descent  being 
through  Joshua,  the  sixth  child. 

Joshua  Baker  was  born  April  30,  1642, 
died  December  27,  1717.  About  1670  he 
moved  to  New  London,  Connecticut,  and 
about  1702  to  Woodbury,  Connecticut. 
He  married,  September  13,  1674,  Hannah, 
widow  of  Tristam  Minter,  who  bore  him 
nine  children,  of  whom  John  was  the 
fourth. 

John  Baker  was  born  December  24, 
1681,  and  died  in  1750.  He  was  a  resident 
of  Woodbury.  The  Christian  name  of  his 
first  wife  was  Comfort,  his  second  Sarah, 
their  surnames  unknown.  His  daughter 
Mary  married,  Alarch  11,  1735,  Joseph 
Allen,  and  was  the  mother  of  Colonel 
Ethan  Allen  of  Revolutionary  fame.  The 
line  of  descent  continues  through  his 
fourth  son,  Remember. 

Remember  Baker  was  born  February 
22,  1711,  at  Woodbury,  Connecticut,  died 
June  I,  1737.  He  moved  to  Arlington, 
Vermont,  where  he  died  aged  twenty-six 
years.    His  wife,  Tamar  (Warner)  Baker, 


was  an  aunt  of  Colonel  Seth  Warner,  one 
of  the  "Green  Alountain  Boys"  of  the 
Revolution,  who  was  so  closely  associ- 
ated with  other  Warners  and  the  Aliens 
in  Vermont  early  history.  He  left  an 
only  son.  Remember  (2),  who  was  born 
shortly  after  his  father's  death. 

Captain  Remember  (2)  Baker  was  born 
in  Woodbury,  Connecticut,  in  June,  1737, 
and  was  killed  by  the  Indians  in  August, 
1775-  As  a  mere  boy  he  signalized  him- 
self in  the  Colonial  wars,  enlisted  first  on 
September  11,  1755,  and  later  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary War  commanded  the  little  band 
of  Green  Mountain  Volunteers,  which 
captured  Crown  Point  from  the  British 
on  May  12,  1775,  two  days  after  the  cap- 
ture of  Ticonderoga  by  Colonel  Allen, 
and  who  finally  met  his  death  at  the  early 
age  of  thirty-eight  in  a  skirmish  with  the 
Indians  on  Lake  Champlain  a  few  months 
later  in  the  same  year.  At  the  age  of  six- 
teen he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  a  company 
of  provincial  troops  designed  for  the  in- 
vasion of  Canada.  In  1757  his  company 
was  stationed  at  Fort  William  Henry,  at 
the  head  of  Lake  George,  and  during  that 
year  participated  in  the  battles  which  re- 
sulted disastrously  to  the  provincial 
troops.  In  1758  he  enlisted  a  second  time 
in  the  expedition  of  General  Abercrombie 
in  his  attempted  invasion  of  Canada,  and 
was  a  non-commissioned  officer  in  Colo- 
nel Wooster's  regiment,  from  Connecti- 
cut. The  command  consisting  of  9,000 
provincials  and  7,000  British  regulars, 
who  moved  in  four  divisions  toward  Ti- 
conderoga. In  front  of  the  right  center 
division,  a  little  band  of  one  hundred  men 
under  command  of  Major  Putnam,  ac- 
companied by  Lord  Howe,  advanced  to 
reconnoiter  the  movements  of  the  enemy. 
Young  Baker  was  one  of  this  party.  They 
were  surprised  by  a  party  of  five  hundred 
of  the  enemy.  At  the  first  exchange  of 
shots.  Lord  Howe  fell  mortally  wounded, 
Putnam  and  Baker  and  their  brave  men. 


368 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


with  the  fury  of  tigers,  cut  their  way 
through  the  French  ranks,  charged  them 
in  the  rear,  and  being  reinforced  killed 
three  hundred  of  the  enemy  and  captured 
one  hundred  and  forty-three  prisoners. 
"The  intrepid  courage  of  young  Baker  on 
this  occasion  gained  him  much  applause 
in  the  army,"  but  the  renewed  display  of 
his  bravery  two  days  later,  during  the 
desperate  fighting  in  the  general  engage- 
ment which  followed,  gained  him  no  less 
honor.  He  received  honorable  mention 
in  the  report  of  the  general  command- 
ing. Remember  Baker  remained  in  the 
service  until  the  close  of  the  year  1759. 
The  stirring  events  of  this  campaign  gave 
him  some  well-earned  experience  of 
soldier  life  and  that  character  for  heroic 
bravery  which  he  never  after  belied.  At 
the  close  of  1759,  he  left  the  army  and  set- 
led  in  Arlington,  Vermont,  Ethan  and  Ira 
Allen,  who  had  previously  settled  there, 
were  his  cousins,  their  mother  being  a 
sister  of  young  Baker's  father.  He  was 
for  a  number  of  years  associated  with 
Ethan  Allen  in  the  long  and  bitter  con- 
troversy over  the  title  of  the  settlers  of 
Vermont  to  their  land,  held  under  a  grant 
from  New  Hampshire,  a  company  of  New 
York  speculators  claimfng  the  lands  under 
a  grant  procured  by  fraud  from  the  King 
of  England.  The  settlers  organized  to 
defend  their  homes.  Ethan  Allen  was, 
by  common  consent,  chosen  colonel  and 
Remember  Baker  was  elected  captain  of 
one  of  the  five  companies.  He  rendered 
valuable  service  to  the  settlers  and  won 
their  respect  and  admiration  for  his  cool- 
ness, bravery  and  good  judgment.  A  re- 
ward was  offered  by  the  Governor  of  New 
York  for  the  capture  of  Ethan  Allen,  Re- 
member Baker  and  two  others,  designated 
"ring  leaders."  Baker  was  on  March  22, 
1772,  captured  by  a  band  of  New  Yorkers, 
very  cruelly  wounded,  and  was  being 
hurried  away  to  Albany  by  his  captors, 


when  Ethan  Allen  and  a  company  of  sel- 
lers pursued  them  on  horseback,  released 
Baker  and  returned  him  to  his  family. 
Ethan  Allen,  in  a  letter  written  to  the 
New  York  authorities,  gave  a  most 
graphic  account  of  this  transaction  (Vol- 
ume I,  "Vermont  Historical  Gazetteer," 
p.  124).  The  contest  between  the  Ver- 
mont settlers  and  the  New  York  claim- 
ants continued  until  it  was  suddenly 
arrested  by  the  more  absorbing  events 
of  the  Revolution.  Baker  was  one  of  the 
first,  on  the  opening  of  that  great  contest, 
to  enter  the  lists  of  the  patriots.  Two  days 
before  the  capture  of  Ticonderoga,  a  mes- 
senger arrived  at  Colchester,  where  Baker 
had  made  his  home,  from  Ethan  Allen, 
with  orders  to  Baker  to  come  with  his 
company  and  cooperate  with  Captain 
Warner  in  the  capture  of  Crown  Point. 
Baker  at  once  called  his  company  to- 
gether, went  up  the  lake  in  boats,  and  on 
his  way  met  and  captured  two  boats  that 
were  escaping  from  Crown  Point.  He 
hastened  on  and  he  and  Warner  appeared 
before  Crown  Point  at  about  the  same 
time.  The  garrison,  having  but  few  men, 
surrendered.  This  was  May  12,  1775,  two 
days  after  Ticonderoga  was  captured  by 
Ethan  Allen.  But  the  tragic  end  of 
Baker's  checkered  life  was  now  near  at 
hand.  He  had  accompanied  Allen  to  St. 
Johns  at  the  time  he  took  possession  of 
that  place,  but  soon  returned  to  Crown 
Point,  where  he  remained  in  charge  until 
the  arrival  of  Colonel  Hinman's  regiment. 
General  Montgomery  assumed  command 
of  the  garrison  and  Captain  Baker  was 
detailed  by  Montgomery,  in  August,  1775, 
with  a  party  of  men,  to  go  down  the  lake 
and  watch  the  movements  of  the  enemy. 
When  he  arrived  about  four  miles  south 
of  the  Isle  Aux  Naix,  it  being  in  the 
night,  he  landed  in  a  bay  and  ran  his  boat 
up  a  small  creek  to  secrete  it.  Early  in 
the  morning  he  passed  around  with  his 


369 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


men  to  a  small  point  beyond  his  boat  to 
reconnoiter.  He  sat  down  upon  the  point 
to  sharpen  his  flint  and  just  then  he 
noticed  that  some  Indians  had  gotten  pos- 
session of  his  boat  and  were  approaching 
the  point  where  he  lay,  on  their  way 
north.  He  placed  his  men  behind  trees, 
with  orders  not  to  fire  until  he  did,  and  as 
the  Indians  came  near,  he  hailed  them 
and  ordered  them  to  return  the  boat  or 
he  would  fire  upon  them,  but  they  re- 
fused. He  then  took  to  a  tree,  raised  his 
musket,  but  the  flint  he  had  sharpened 
hitched  onto  the  pan  and  his  firelock 
missed.  Instantly  one  of  the  savages 
fired  upon  him,  the  shot  took  eft'ect  in 
his  head  and  he  instantly  expired.  The 
Indians  made  their  escape  with  the  boat, 
and  Baker's  men  retreated  to  Crown 
Point.  After  a  short  time  the  Indians  re- 
turned, plundered  the  body,  cut  off 
Baker's  head,  raised  it  upon  a  pole  and 
carried  it  in  triumph  to  St.  Johns,  where 
the  British  officers,  out  of  humanity, 
bought  it  from  the  savages  and  buried  it, 
and  also  sent  to  the  point  and  buried  the 
body.  Nor  did  the  wily  savage  who  shot 
Baker  long  survive  his  triumph,  for  in 
October  following  he  too  was  killed  by 
some  American  soldiers,  and  Baker's 
powderhorn,  with  his  name  engraved 
upon  it,  taken  from  him.  The  trophy  was 
presented  by  Captain  Hutchins,  into 
whose  possession  it  came,  to  Colonel 
Seth  Warner,  Baker's  old  companion-in- 
arms, to  hand  over  to  Baker's  son,  as  a 
token  of  rememberance  of  his  brave  and 
esteemed  father.  His  was  the  first  death 
of  an  inhabitant  of  Colchester,  and  the 
first  life  sacrificed  in  the  cause  of  the 
Revolution  in  the  northern  military  de- 
partments. On  July  9,  1909,  a  monument 
was  dedicated  to  Captain  Remember 
Baker  and  Colonel  Seth  Warner  on  Isle 
La  Motte  by  the  patriotic  women  of  Ver- 
mont.   The  eventful  life  of  Captain  Baker 


has  been  utilized  by  many  writers  of 
historic  fiction,  notably  "The  Green 
Mountain  Boys,"  "The  Green  Mountain 
Heroes,"  and  others  of  a  similar  char- 
acter. He  married,  April  3,  1760,  Desire 
Hurlbert,  daughter  of  Consider  and  Pa- 
tience (Hawley)  Hurlbert.  They  were 
the  parents  of  an  only  child,  Ozi. 

Ozi  Baker,  who  died  in  1794-95,  was  a 
civil  engineer  and  a  Revolutionary  soldier. 
He  enlisted,  March  31,  1778;  was  ser- 
geant in  Colonel  Seth  Warner's  regiment 
in  1780;  was  with  General  Anthony 
Wayne  on  his  western  expedition  against 
the  Indians ;  was  one  of  the  engineers 
who  supervised  the  erection  of  Fort 
Wayne;  was  at  Niagara  Falls  a  short 
time  prior  to  his  death  which  occurred 
while  yet  in  the  military  service  of  his 
country.  His  exploits  when  a  lad  of 
twelve  in  the  defense  of  his  father  against 
an  armed  band  of  New  Yorkers  who  were 
seeking  to  kidnap  him  as  previously  nar- 
rated, and  the  prominent  part  he  took  in 
gathering  the  settlers  for  the  rescue  party 
have  been  made  the  principal  incidents  in 
a  very  entertaining  historical  novel,  "With 
Ethan  Allen  at  Ticonderoga,"  by  W.  Bert 
Foster,  the  name,  however,  changed  and 
the  incidents  much  garbled.  Ozi  Baker 
married  (first)  Lucy  Hard,  daughter  of 
Captain  James  and  Hester  (Booth)  Hard, 
her  father  reputed  to  have  been  a  devoted 
loyalist,  well  know  in  the  early  history  of 
Northern  Vermont.  He  married  (second) 
Hetty  Darling.  Their  eldest  son,  Re- 
member Baker,  served  in  the  War  of  1812 
as  a  non-commissioned  officer  of  cavalry, 
later  settled  in  Genesee  county.  Western 
New  York.  The  line  of  descent  is  through 
Luther  Alexander,  second  son  of  Ozi 
Baker  and  his  first  wife,  Lucy  (Hard) 
Baker. 

Luther  Alexander  Baker  was  born  at 
St.  Albans,  Vermont,  November  23,  1787, 
died  October  12,  1863.     He  served  as  a 


370 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


soldier  in  the  War  of  1812,  and  in  1817 
located  with  his  brother  Remember  in 
the  Genesee  Valley  of  Western  New 
York,  then  a  wilderness.  He  married, 
February  6,  1817,  Mercy  Stannard,  born 
at  Georgia,  Vermont,  October  29,  1794, 
died  June  14,  1856,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Stannard,  died  August  30,  1826,  a  soldier 
of  the  Revolution,  and  his  wife,  Phoebe 
(Denison)  Stannard,  of  Saybrook,  Con- 
necticut, who  married  in  1754,  died  Octo- 
ber II,  1838,  surviving  her  husband 
twelve  years  after  a  married  life  of  seven- 
ty-two years.  Luther  A.  and  Mercy 
(Stannard)  Baker  were  the  parents  of 
nine  children,  the  youngest,  Joseph  Stan- 
nard Baker,  the  next  in  direct  line  of  de- 
scent and  father  of  Hugh  Potter  Baker. 
Major  Joseph  Stannard  Baker  was  born 
March  21,  1838,  at  Stafford,  Genesee 
county.  New  York,  died  May  17,  1912,  a 
resident  of  St.  Croix  Falls,  Wisconsin. 
He  was  educated  at  Oberlin  College  and 
Wisconsin  University  He  was  a  veteran 
of  the  Civil  War,  serving  the  entire  four 
years  of  that  conflict,  ranking  as  major 
and  for  two  years  in  command  of  the 
First  District  of  Columbia  Cavalry,  the 
colonel  of  the  regiment  (who  was  his 
cousin).  General  L.  C.  Baker,  Chief  of 
the  United  States  Detective  Service,  be- 
ing on  detached  duty.  For  forty  years 
after  the  war  Major  Baker  was  engaged 
in  lumber  and  land  business  in  Northern 
Wisconsin,  a  capable,  successful  man  of 
affairs.  Major  Baker  married  (first) 
September  21,  1868,  Alice  Potter,  born  at 
Maple  Ridge,  New  York,  August  28, 1844, 
died  November  26,  1883,  daughter  of 
James  Addison  Potter  and  his  wife,  Mary 
Denio  (Aitkin)  Potter,  granddaughter  of 
Ezra  Stiles,  president  of  Yale  College. 
He  married  (second)  Mary  L.  Brown. 
Major  Baker  by  his  first  wife,  Alice  (Pot- 
ter) Baker,  had  six  sons:  i.  Ray  Stan- 
nard,  a   distinguished   litterateur,   editor 

371 


and  author  and  for  many  years  associate 
editor  of  the  "American  Magazine,"  now 
doing  most  of  his  writing  under  the  name 
of  David  Grayson.  2.  Charles  Fuller,  a 
famous  scientist,  entomologist  and  au- 
thor, now  teaching  in  the  University  of 
the  Philippines.  3.  Harry  Denio,  a  banker 
and  business  man  of  St.  Croix  Falls,  Wis- 
consin. 4.  Clarence  Dwight,  of  Des 
Moines,  Iowa,  deceased.  5.  Hugh  Potter, 
of  further  mention.  6.  James  Fred,  now 
director  of  Forest  Investigation  in  the 
New  York  State  College  of  Forestry  at 
Syracuse.  Major  Baker  by  his  second  wife, 
Mary  L.  (Brown)  Baker,  had  four  chil- 
dren :  Winifred,  Florence,  Joseph  Stan- 
nard and  Oscar  Roland. 

Hugh  Potter  Baker  was  born  at  St. 
Croix  Falls,  Polk  county,  Wisconsin,  Jan- 
uary 2,  1878,  fifth  son  of  Major  Joseph 
Stannard  Baker.  After  completing  pub- 
lic school  courses  of  study,  he  taught  for 
two  years  in  the  North  Woods  of  Wiscon- 
sin, then  spent  a  year,  1894-95,  in  study 
at  Macalester  College,  St.  Paul,  Min- 
nesota. He  is  a  graduate  of  the  Michigan 
Agricultural  College,  Lansing,  Michigan, 
B.  S.,  1901 ;  Yale  University,  M.  F.  (Mas- 
ter of  Forestry),  1904;  University  of 
Munich,  Germany,  D.  Oec.  (Doctor  of 
Economics),  1910. 

In  1901,  after  completing  his  course  at 
the  Michigan  Agricultural  College,  Mr. 
Baker  entered  the  government  service  in 
the  Division  of  Forestry  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  continuing  in  the 
service  for  ten  years,  examining  public 
lands  and  carrying  forward  investigative 
work  for  the  service  in  Central  Idaho, 
Wyoming,  Nebraska,  New  Mexico,  Wash- 
ington and  Oregon.  During  that  period 
he  pursued  courses  of  special  study  at 
Yale  and  Munich,  and  was  Associate 
Professor  of  Forestry  at  Iowa  State  Col- 
lege, 1904-07,  and  Professor  of  Forestry, 
Pennsylvania     State     College,     1907-12. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Since  1912  he  has  been  dean  of  the  New- 
York  State  College  of  Forestry  at  Syra- 
cuse University. 

Dr.  Baker  is  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Geographic  Names  of  the  State  of  New 
New  York;  fellow  of  the  American  As- 
sociation for  the  Advancement  of  Sci- 
ence; fellow  of  the  Royal  Geographic 
Society  of  England;  member  of  the 
American  Geographical  Society,  Geo- 
graphical Society  of  Philadelphia,  Geo- 
graphiscen  Gesellschaft  in  Munich,  Ger- 
many, American  Civic  Association,  So- 
ciety of  American  Foresters,  American 
Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science 
and  the  Archaeological  Institute  of  Amer- 
ica. Through  the  patriotic  service  of  his 
ancestors,  Captain  Remember  Baker  and 
others,  he  gained  membership  in  the  So- 
ciety of  Colonial  Wars  and  in  the  Sons  of 
the  American  Revolution.  His  fraternity 
is  Phi  Delta  Theta,  and  he  is  a  thirty-sec- 
ond degree  ]\Iason  of  the  Ancient  Ac- 
cepted Scottish  Rite.  His  clubs  are  the 
Yale  and  City  of  New  York  City,  the  Uni- 
versity, and  City  of  Syracuse.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Park  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Syracuse,  and  in  political  faith  a  Re- 
publican by  birth  and  inclination,  but 
Progressive  in  attitude  though  not  in  as- 
sociation. 

Dr.  Baker  married,  December  27  1904, 
at  Saginaw,  Michigan,  Fleta  Paddock, 
born  July  20,  1879,  fourth  child  of  Stephen 
Tappan  and  Aurelia  (Butler)  Paddock,  of 
Three  Oaks,  Michigan.  They  are  the 
parents  of  three  children :  Carolyn,  born 
January  i,  1906;  Stephen  Paddock,  August 
22,  1908;  Clarence  Potter,  September  15, 
1910. 


HUBBELL,  Walter  Sage,  ^' 

Lawyer,   Man   of  Affairs. 

Now  in  the  full  prime  of  his  splendid 
powers,  Mr.  Hubbell  from  safe  heights  of 
professional  eminence  can  review  a  life  of 


great  activity  at  the  bar,  in  business,  pub- 
lic service  and  philanthropy,  during  which 
personal  gain  has  ever  been  subordinated 
to  private  honor  and  the  public  good. 
With  a  full  realization  of  the  truth  of 
Abraham  Lincoln's  classic  utterance, 
"There  is  something  better  than  making 
a  living — making  a  life,"  he  has  labored 
energetically  and  forcefully,  not  only  to 
win  personal  success,  but  to  make  his  life 
a  source  of  benefit  to  his  fellow  man  and 
to  assist  others  in  making  the  most  of 
their  lives.  Genial,  courteous,  always 
approachable,  with  an  appreciation  for 
the  humor  of  life,  he  is  popular  in  his 
wide  circle  of  friends  with  whom  his 
social  nature  impels  the  close  association 
of  fraternity  and  club.  By  his  brethren 
of  the  bar  he  is  held  in  high  esteem,  that 
feeling  having  been  manifested  in  many 
ways,  especially  in  their  choice  of  him  as 
president  of  the  Rochester  Bar  Associ- 
ation. The  laity  have  shown  their  appre- 
ciation by  elevation  to  official  position  in 
institution  and  corporation,  while  the 
voters  of  the  city  have  ratified  general 
sentiment  by  his  election  to  the  State 
Legislature.  An  eloquent  and  entertain- 
ing public  speaker,  he  has  many  calls 
upon  his  powers  in  that  direction,  while 
the  depth  of  his  logic,  strength  of  his 
argument,  clear,  forcible  and  eloquent 
presentation  holds  the  closest  attention  of 
judges  and  juries. 

Paternally,  Mr.  Hubbell  descends  from 
an  ancient  Connecticut  family,  members 
of  whom  in  army  and  legislative  body 
aided  in  forming  the  colony,  winning  in- 
dependence and  in  the  creation  of  the 
Commonwealth.  His  descent  is  also 
traced  to  Governor  William  Bradford  and 
the  coming  of  the  "Mayflower."  A  branch 
of  the  Hubbells  settled  in  Saratoga  coun- 
ty. New  York,  in  which  county  Charles 
Hubbell,  father  of  Walter  Sage  Hubbell, 
was  born  at  Ballston  Springs.  In  later 
life  he  came  to  Rochester  where  he  was 


372 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


a  banker  for  several  years,  going  hence  to 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  where  he  was  a  bank 
cashier  until  ill  health  compelled  him  to 
resign.  In  Keokuk,  Iowa,  he  regained  his 
health,  there  remaining  until  1871.  The 
last  thirty-two  years  of  his  life  were  spent 
in  San  Diego,  California,  where  he  died  in 
1903,  aged  eighty-five  years.  He  married 
Anna  M.  Sage,  who  died  while  on  a  visit 
to  Rochester  in  1882,  daughter  of  Orin 
Sage,  a  shoe  manufacturer  of  Rochester. 
They  were  the  parents  of  five  children. 

Walter  Sage  Hubbell  was  born  in  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio,  December  24,  1850.  He 
spent  the  first  sixteen  years  of  his  life  in 
that  city  and  in  Keokuk,  Iowa,  then  re- 
turned to  Rochester,  New  York,  ever 
afterward  to  be  the  scene  of  his  life  ac- 
tivities. He  obtained  his  early  and  pre- 
paratory training  in  the  public  schools  of 
Keokuk;  returned  to  Rochester  in  1866 
and  soon  afterward  entered  the  college 
department  of  the  University  of  Roches- 
ter, pursuing  the  classical  course  until 
graduated  Master  of  Arts,  class  of  1871. 
He  was  then  twenty  years  of  age  and 
with  his  own  future  to  provide  for.  He 
selected  the  profession  of  law  and  in  due 
course  of  time  passed  through  all  the  pre- 
paratory phases,  studying  under  the  emi- 
nent lawyer  and  jurist,  George  F.  Dan- 
forth,  being  admitted  to  practice  at  the 
Monroe  county  bar  on  January  i,  1876. 
That  centennial  year  of  the  Nation's  in- 
dependence witnessed  the  beginning  of 
his  own  independent  career  and  the  forty 
years  which  since  have  intervened  have 
been  years  of  wonderful  progress  for  the 
then  young  man,  now  the  veteran  lawyer. 
Mr.  Hubbell  began  private  practice,  Jan- 
uary I,  1877,  continuing  ever  as  he  began, 
a  general  practitioner.  He  won  quick 
recognition  at  the  bar  and  has  attained 


position  as  one  of  the  leaders  of  that  bar, 
learned,  skillful,  upright  and  honorable. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Rochester  Bar  As- 
sociation of  which  he  is  an  ex-president, 
and  also  of  the  New  York  State  Bar  and 
the  American  Bar  associations. 

Business  activity  has  also  distinguished 
his  life  and  he  has  been  and  still  is  con- 
nected with  several  financial  and  business 
corporations  of  the  city.  These  include 
the  Alliance  Bank  as  director  and  attor- 
ney; the  Eastman  Kodak  Company  of 
New  Jersey,  vice-president  and  director; 
the  Eastman  Kodak  Company  of  New 
York,  secretary  and  director ;  the  Curtice 
Bros.  Company,  director.  He  is  a  trustee 
of  the  University  of  Rochester,  trustee 
and  vice-president  of  the  Rochester  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  trustee  of  the  Roches- 
ter Orphan  Asylum,  president  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church,  and  has  ever  been  a  helper  in 
promoting  those  movements  which  make 
for  better  living,  better  conditions  and  a 
higher  standard  of  civic  righteousness. 
He  is  a  member  of  both  York  and  Scottish 
Rites  in  Free  Masonry,  belonging  to 
lodge,  chapter  and  commandery  of  the 
first  named  Rite  and  holding  all  degrees 
of  the  last  named  up  to  and  including  the 
thirty-second.  His  clubs  are  the  Kent, 
Genesee  Valley  and  Rochester  Country. 
In  political  faith  he  is  a  Republican,  and 
in  1884  and  1885  represented  the  eastern 
district,  of  Monroe  county  in  the  State 
Assembly. 

Mr.  Hubbell  married,  June  21,  1877, 
Leora  A.,  daughter  of  Judge  Daniel  B. 
De  Land,  of  Fairport,  New  York.  They 
are  the  parents  of  Mrs.  Minnie  H.  Lewis ; 
Gertrude,  deceased ;  Anna  D.,  Bertha  D.. 
and  Mrs.  Margaret  H.  Huther.  The  fam- 
ily home  is  No.  1209  East  avenue. 


373 


INDEX 


ADDENDA  AND  ERRATA 


Graves,  p.  147:    Mrs.  Maurice  A.  Graves  died  September  i,  1916. 

Hancock,  Theodore  E.,  died  November  19,  1916;  he  had  been  in  ill  health  for  three  years,  but  his 
end  was  hastened  by  a  fall  and  hip  fracture  about  two  months  before  his  death. 

Northrup,  178  to  181:  The  following  is  from  the  pen  of  Charles  E.  Fitch,  received  too  late  to  appear 
in  his  masterly  sketch  of  Judge  Northrup:  Judge  Northrup  has  been  a  writer  upon  various 
subjects,  and  is  the  author  of  several  volumes  of  real  merit.  In  the  late  sixties  he  made  frequent 
contributions  to  the  local  press  upon  current  topics,  many  thoughtful  and  scholarly  editorials; 
and,  during  the  absence  of  the  editor  of  the  '"Daily  Standard,"  in  the  summer  of  1870,  conducted 
the  editorial  page  of  that  journal.  A  keen  sportsman,  his  vacations,  for  half  a  century,  have 
been  passed  either  in  the  woods  fmainly  in  the  .Adirondacks)  or  by  the  seashore  and  inland 
streams,  resultant  not  alone  in  exploits  with  gun  and  rod,  but  in  lettered  musings  as  well.  He 
published,  in  1880,  "Camps  and  Tramps  in  the  Adirondacks"  and  "Grayling  Fishing  in  Northern 
Michigan,"  in  one  volume — the  one  a  brisk  account  of  forest  scenes,  and  the  other  a  scientific 
description  of  a  fish  then  new  to  northern  waters.  A  second  edition  of  this  work  was  demanded 
in  1883.  "Sconset  Cottage  Life — a  Souvenir  on  Nantucket  Island,"  appeared  in  1881 — a  charm- 
ing study  of  the  quaint  hamlet  of  the  fisher  folk  before  fashion  invaded  it,  and  a  vivid  portrayal 
of  the  grandeur  of  nature  (e.  g.  that  of  "Tomneverhead,"  an  adjacent  promontory;  a  literary 
gem).  This  was  published  in  1889,  as  also  a  paper  on  the  History  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Society  on  the  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of  its  founding.  "Slavery  in  New  York,"  an  historical 
sketch,  is  contained  in  State  Library  Bulletin  Number  Four  (1900).  He  is  also  the  author  of 
many  addresses.  Judge  Northrup  is  entitled  to  distinction  as  a  genealogist.  His  labors  in  the 
field  have  been  earnest  and  incessant.  He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Genealogical  Society  of 
Central  New  York.  He  contributed  a  partial  Northrup  Genealogy  to  the  "New  England  His- 
torical and  Genealogical  Register"  (July,  1899);  published  "The  Northrup-Northrop  Genealogy" 
(Grafton  Press,  pp.  461,  19091.  This  genealogical  work  is  among  the  most  careful  and  complete 
volumes  of  its  kind  that  has  been  produced  in  America,  and  is  so  recorded  by  genealogical 
authorities  and  reviewers.  It  is  a  monumental  work,  reflecting  great  credit  upon  the  research  ot 
its  author,  who  also,  in  connection  with  it,  delivered  an  illuminating  address  on  several  occa- 
sions upon  "The  Making  of  a  Genealogy"  (not  printed).  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Judge 
Northrup  has  kept  for  nearly  seventy  years  a  diary,  writing  each  day  its  events,  which,  should 
be  edited  and  published. 


INDEX 

NOTE — An  asterisk  (*)  set  against  a  name  refers   to   note   under   head   "Addenda   and    Errata.' 

Abbott,  Abby  F.,  19  De  Alva  S.,  337 

Adoniram  J.,  286  Stanwood,  337 

Jacob,  17  Andrews,  Charles,  116 

John  B.,  286 

Louise  M.,  287  Baker,  Alexander,  368 

Lyman,  Rev.,  17  Fleta,  372 

Aldridge,  George  W.,  149  Hugh  P.,  367,  371 

George  W.,  Jr.,  148,  149  John,  368 

Alexander,  Alice,  339  Joseph  S.,  371 

Anne  L.,  339  Joshua,  368 

377 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Luther  A.,  370 
Ozi,  370 
Remember,  368 
Baldwin,  Evelyn,  Dr.,  317,  318 

William,  318 
Bechtold,  Charles  B.,  263 

Henry,  263 
Belden,  Alvin  J.,  280 
Augusta,  282 
Augustus  C,  281 
Bellows,  Anna  M.,  272,  273,  274 

Edwin  P.,  275 
Bentley,  Alexander,  307 

Sardius  D.,  307 
Benton,  Azariah  L.,  128 
Catherine  S.,  129 
George  A.,  128 
Bernhard,  Adam,  303 
Frank  E.,  304 
John  A.,  303,  304 
Minnie  E.,  304 
Robert  A.,  304 
Bloss,  Celestia  A.,  367 
Ella,  367 
Joseph,  365 
Joseph  B.,  365,  366 
Mary,  366 
Mary  G.,  367 
William  C,  265 
Bradley  ancestry,  117 
Cora  M.,  119 
Christopher  C,  118 
Christopher  C,  Jr.,  117,  119 
Daniel,  118 
Emma,  119 

George  W.,  Capt.,  118 
Huldah,  118 
Jesse,  Capt.,  118 
Waterman  C,  119 
William,  118 
Brayton  ancestry,  193 
Clarence  E.,  Lt.,  195 
Eli  C,  192 
Harriet  E.,  195 
Warren  C,  192,  193 


Brewster,  Alice,  57 

Henry  C,  55 

Simon  L.,  55 
Brown,  Adell,  137 

Charles  J.,  144 

D.  D.  S.,  137 

Dora,  145 

John  S.,  144 

Mary  E.,  137 

Robert,  144 

Selden  S.,  136,  137 
Browning,  Alfred  P.,  319 

Clarence  J.,  319 

Harriet  S.,  319 

John,  Dr.,  319 
Buckley,  Thomas  E.,  248 

William  A.,  248 
Butler,  Henry  L.,  13 

Kate,  14 

Nicholas  M.,  13 

Susanna  E.,  14 

Caldwell.  Charles  M.,  87 

George  B.,  86,  87 

Lucy  S.,  88 
Chapin,  Charles  H.,  258 

Charles  H.  (2nd),  260 

Charles  T.,  258,  259 

Emily,  259 

Moses,  258 

Thomas,  258 
Chapman,  Andrew,  176 

Charles  R.,  178 

Ella  L.,  178 

John, 176 

Levi  S.,  175,  177 

Lucia  L.,  178 

Nathan,  175,  176 

Nathan  R.,  175 
Chase,  Austin  C,  78,  79 

Harriet  M.,  79 

Lavina,  80 
Cheever,  Thomas,  Rev..  69 
Choate,  Caroline  D.,  221 

Francis,  216 
378 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


George,  Dr.,  216 
John, 216 
Joseph  H.,  215 
Thomas,  216 
William,  216 
Clapp  ancestry,  162 
Edward  E.,  162,  163 
Eliza  B.,  164 
Justice,  163 
Preserved,  163 
Roger,  Capt.,  163 
Supply,  163 
William,  162,  163 
Clarke  ancestry,  94,  161,  230 
Charles  J.,  161 
Charles  J.,  Jr.,  162 
James,  93 
John,  230,  231 
John  J.,  93 
Joseph,  232 

Lemuel  C,  233 

M.  Belle,  162 

Mary,  94 

R.  Floyd,  230,  234 

Samuel,  232 

Scott  H.,  162 

Thomas  W.,  161 
Clement,  Frank  H.,  362,  363 

Harriet  E.,  364 

Harris,  363 

Lovisa  S.,  365 
Cleveland,  Ellen  E.,  131 

Kathryn,  133 

Merritt  A.,  130 

Milo  L.,  132 

Philander  B.,  130 
Cobb,  Aurelius  H.,  Dr.,  105 

D.  Raymond,  105 

Katharine,  106 
Conklin,  Anna  L.,  86 

George,  86 

John, 85 

William  A.,  85 

William  B.,  86 

William  R.,  85,  86 


Conway,  John,  311 

Thomas  F.,  311 
Cortelyou,  George  B.,  23 

Lily  M.,  24 

Peter  C,  23 
Cunningham,  Benjamin  B.,  298 

Elonore,  299 

Michael,  298 
Curtice,  Ebenezer,  266 

Edgar  N.,  265,  266,  267 

Lucy  E.,  268 

Mark,  266 

Day,  Anna  E.,  66 
James  R.,  63,  64 
Thomas,  64 
Denison,  Bessie  E.,  284 
Howard  P.,  282,  283 
Le  Roy  W.,  283 
Depew  ancestry,  30 
Abraham,  31 
Chauncey  M.,  28,  31 
Elise,  34 
Francois,  30 
Henry,  30 
Isaac,  31 
May,  34 
William,  30 
Depuis,  Francois,  28 
Dickinson,  Alfred  L.,  33c 
Emma,  331 
Pomeroy  M.,  330 
Pomeroy  P..  329,  330 
Dix,  Gertrude  A.,  25 
James  L.,  24 
John  A.,  24 
Donohue,  Florince  O.,  Dr.,  83,  84 

Lucy  A.,  85 
Durand,  Frederick  L.,  89 
Harrison  C,  90 
John  E.,  89 
Lillie  C,  90 
Sam,uel  E.,  90 

Edgerton,  Hiram  H.,  106 
Medora,  107 

379 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Ralph  H.,  io6 
Edwards  ancestry,  252 

Amy,  253 

Daniel,  252 

Daniel  M.,  252 

Eleazer  W.,  252 

John,  252 

Josephine  A.,  253 

Oliver  M.,  251,  253 

Talmage,  251 
Ely  ancestry,  239 

Albert  H.,  Dr.,  239,  241 

Albert  H.,  Jr.,  241 

Heman,  240 

John,  239 

Justin,  239 

Maude  L.,  241 

Nathaniel,  239 

Samuel,  239 
Estabrook  ancestry,  198 

Clara,  199 

Experience,  198 

Henry  D.,  198,  199 

Joseph,  198 

Nehemiah,  198 

Samuel,  198 

Seth  W.,  198 

Fairchild,  Charles  S.,  9 

Helen,  10 

Sidney  T.,  9 
Farley,  John  M.,  Rt.  Rev.,  25 

Philip,  25 
Farmer,  Jonathan,  271 

Ruth,  272 

Seymour  M.,  271 

William  S.,  271,  272 
Fassett,  Jacob  S.,  343 

Newton  P.,  343 
Fisher,  Edwin  A.,  314,  315 

Ellen  F.,  316 
Fitch,  Charles  E.,  339,  340 

Elizabeth  L.,  343 

Lawrence  B.,  343 

Louise  L.,  343 

Thomas  B.,  340 


Follmer,  Charles  J.,  294,  295 

Mark,  295 

Theresa  F.,  295 
Fowler,  Hiram,  326 

John,  326 

Purdy  A.,  325,  326 

Purdy  H.,  327 

Sarah,  327 
French,  Edmund  L.,  195,  197 

Frances  C,  198 

Joshua,  196 

Mansfield,  Rev.,  196 

Samuel,  195 

Stephen,  195 

Gannon,  Frances,  78 

Frank  S.,  Tj 

Frank  S.,  Jr.,  yj,  78 

John,  -jj 
Garvan,  Francis  P.,  172 

Mabel,  173 

Patrick,  172 
Gere  ancestry,  173 

George,  173,  174 

Harriet,  175 

Helen,  174 

James  B.,  173,  175 

James  M.,  Col.,  174 

Jonathan,  173 

Walter,  173 

William  S.,  174 
Goethals,  Effie,  27 

George  W.,  Col.,  26 

John  L.,  27 
Goflf,  Clara  B.,  335 

Comfort,  333 

Frank  M.,  333,  334 

Henry  H.,  334 

Robert,  333 

Roswell,  334 

Squire,  333 
Goodelle,  Aaron  B.,  "jt^ 

Marian  H.,  yj 

William  P.,  73 
Grant,  Christian,  69 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Graves,  Abial  S.,  146 

Benjamin,  146 

Christina,  147 

Elijah,  146 
*Maurice  A.,  146 
Greene,  Ira  W.,  278 

John,  278 

Myron  W.,  278,  279 

Nancy  L.,  280 

Nathan,  278 

Hale,  Abner  C,  186 

David,  186 

Edith  H.,  186 

Elizabeth  L.,  186 

George  D.,  185,  186 

Mary  E.,  186 

Thomas,  186 
Hamilton,  Gavin  L.,  Rev.,  332 

Mae,  333 

R.  Andrew,  332 
Hancock,  Clarence  E.,  99 

Martha,  98,  99 

Stewart  F.,  99 
'■Theodore  E.,  97,  98 
Hargather,  Mathias  J.,  Rev.,  308,  309 
Havemeyer,  Alice  A.,  230 

John  C,  222,  225 

Sarah  A.,  225 

William,  222 

William  F.,  222 
Hazard,  Dora  G.,  loi 

Frederick  R.,  99,  loi 

Robert,  99,  100 

Rowland,  100 

Rowland  G.,  100 

Thomas,  99,  100 
Hessler,  Dayton  S.,  141 

Delia  H.,  141 

Holister  E.,  140 
Hill,  DanielT.,  Rev.,  211 

David  J.,  211 

Dyer,  357 

Henry  W.,  357 

Isaac,  211 

Juliet  L.,  213 


Hillis,  Annie  L.,  22 

Newell  D.,  Rev.,  21 

Samuel  E.,  22 
Hobart,  Henry  L.,  284,  285 

James  T.,  284 

Margaret  J.,  286 

Marie  E.,  285 
Hollister  ancestry,  109 

Elizabeth  C,  iii 

Emmett  H.,  no 

George  A.,  no 

Granger  A.,  109,  no 

Isabelle  M.,  in 

John,  Lt.,  no 
Holmes,  Daniel,  164 

Mary  J.,  165 
Honsinger,  Abram  W.,  72 

Evalina,  jz 

Frederick  S.,  Dr.,  72 
Hubbard,  Helen  C,  96 

William  A.,  Jr.,  94,  95 

William  A.,  Sr.,  94 
Hubbell,  Charles,  372 

Leora  A.,  373 

Walter  S.,  372,  373 
Hughes,  Antoinette,  7 

Charles  E.,  5 

David  C,  Rev.,  5 
Hyde  ancestry,  265,  316 

Anne  P.,  265 

Charles  S.,  265 

Dana  C,  265 

Edwin,  317 

Edwin  F.,  316,  317 

EHsha  H.,  264 

Erastus,  316 

Henry  N.,  Rev.,  265 

James,  Capt.,  316 

John  S.,  264 

Marie  E.,  317 

Nelson  C,  265 

Salem,  264 

William,  316 


Irving,  Bessie  L.,  51 
John  T.,  49 


^Si 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Walter,  48,  50 
William,  49 

James,  Thomas  L.,  11 

William,,  11 
Johnson  ancestry,  287 

Evelyn,  289 

Frank  V.,  287,  288 

Haynes,  Capt.,  288 

John,  288 

Joseph,  287 

Thomas,  287,  288 

William,  287 
Judson,  Daniel,  354 

Daniel  B.,  354 

Elisha,  354 

Isabelle,  357 

John  B.,  354,  355 

Kellogg,  Eliza  S.,  97 

Luther  L.,  96,  97 

Nathan,  96 

Nicholas,  96 

Stephen,  96 
King,  Gertrude  E.,  104 

Melvin  L.,  103,  104 

Russell  G.,  103 
Kinne,  Aaron,  361 

Cyrus,  361 

Elbridge,  360 

Ella  M.,  362 

E.  Olin,  Dr.,  360,  361 

Henry,  360 
Kinney  ancestry,  301 

Dorothy  E.,  302 

Elizabeth  J.,  302 

John  F.,  301,  302 

John  J.,  302 

William  D.,  302 

William  E.,  302 
Knapp,  George  W.,  331 

Homer,  331 

Mary  E.,  332 

L'Amoreaux,  Ellen  S.,  298 
Jesse,  297 
Jesse  S.,  297 


Lauterbach,  Alfred,  297 

Alice,  297 

Amanda,  296 

Edward,  295,  296 

Edith  M.,  297 

Florence  H.,  297 
Lee,  Carrie  E.,  172 

Carrie  M.,  172 

Idella,  172 

John  M.,  Dr.,  170 

Joseph  R.,  170 
Leonard,  Alexander,  263 

Elizabeth  D.,  262 

George  A.,  262 

George  B.,  261,  262 

James,  261 

John  A.,  262 

Thomas  D.,  262 
Levy,  Jefferson  M.,  27 

Jonas  P.,  Capt.,  27 

Uriah  P.,  28 
Lewis,  Adeline  L.,  134 

Charles  C,  133 

Eva  J.,  134 

Merton  E.,  133 
Lipe,  Charles  E.,  46 

Clifford  E.,  46 

Jacob  J.,  44 

Jennie,  46 

John  E.,  44 

Willard  C,  44 
Livingston,  Daniel,  44 

John,  43 

Philip,  43 

Robert,  42,  43 
Low,  Abiel  A.,  19 

Annie,  21 

Seth,  19 
Ludington,  George  W.,  120,  121 
James  S.,  119,  120 
Kate  M.,  121 

Magee,  John,  124 
Sarah  G.,  125 
Walter  W.,  124 


382 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Mahon,  George  S.,  Rev.,  90,  91 

Patrick  S.,  91 
Marshall,  Levi  T.,  273 

Thomas,  273 
Mathews,  Florence  H.,  168 

John  A.,  167 

William  J.,  167 
Meachem,  Jessie,  63 

Joseph  F.,  63 

Thomas  G.,  63 

Thomas  G.,  Rev.,  63 

Thomas  W.,  63 
Meany,  Edward  A.,  154 

Edward  P.,  Gen.,  154 

Rosalie,  155 

Shannon  L.,  155 
Meldram,  John  C,  251 

John  J.,  251 

Nellie  E.,  251 
Mercer,  A.  Clifford,  Dr.,  206 

Alfred,  Dr.,  204 

Delia,  206 

Esther  A.,  206 

William,  204 
Merritt,  Edwin  A.,  62 

Edwin  A.,  Gen.,  60,  61 

Eliza,  62 

Noadiah,  60 
Miller,  Benjamin,  242 

Charles  R.,  241,  242 

Elijah,  242 

Elijah  T.,  242 

Frances  A.,  243 

John,  241,  242 

Thomas,  241,  242 
Morey,  Alice  R.,  255 

John  E.,  254,  255 
Morris,  Alice  A.,  182 

Dwight,  181 

Eleazer,  181 

James,  181 

Robert  C,  181,  182 

Thomas,  181 
Morse  ancestry,  68 

Adelaide  P.,  71 

Adolphus,  69 


Amos,  68 

Jacob,  68 

Joseph,  68 

Samuel,  68 

Thomas,  Rev.,  68 

Waldo  G.,  68,  70 
Morton,  Anna  L.,  9 

Daniel  O.,  Rev.,  7 

George,  7 

Levi  P.,  7 

Lucy,  9 
Mosher,  Howard  T.,  260,  261 

Hugh,  260 

Jacob  S.,  Dr.,  260 

Mary  J.,  261 
Moulton,  Guy,  156 

Hazel  M.,  157 

Sara  A.,  156 

Webster  C,  155,  156 
Munger,  Ada  M.,  245 

Estelle,  244 

George  D.,  245 

George  G.,  243,  245 

James,  243 

Nicholas,  243 

Reuben  D.,  Rev.,  243 

Nettleton,  Albert  E.,  157 

Edward,  157 
Nichols,  Erwin  G.,  253,  254 

John,  254 

John  E.,  254 
Nolte,  Adolph,  Jr.,  245,  246 

Adolph,  Sr.,  246 

Eliza,  247 
Northrup  ancestry,  178 

Amos,  179 
*A.  Judd,  178,  179 

Edith,  181 

Edwin  F.,  180 

Eliza  S.,  180 

Elliott  J.,  180 

Joseph,  178,  179 

Moses,  179 

Rensselaer,  179 

Theodore  D.,  180 


383 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Nottingham,  Eloise,  ,115 
Van  Vleck,  114 
William,  113,  114 

Odell,  Benjamin  B.,  Jr.,  14 

Benjamin  B.,  Sr.,  14 

Estelle,  16 

Linda,  16 
Otis,  Amanda  M.,  278 

David  G.,  277 

John,  276 

Lyman  M.,  276,  277 

Mary  S.,  278 
Oviatt,  Helen  L.,  294 

Percival  D.,  293,  294 

Wilson  D.,  294 
Owen,  Charles  S.,  158 

Delphine  A.,  159 

Wilbur  F.,  158 

Parker,  Alton  B.,  16 

John  B.,  16 

Mary  L.,  17 
Patterson,  Alfred,  325 

Benjamin,  325 
Pelletreau,  William  S.,  247 
Pennock,  John  D.,  134,  136 

Samuel  M.,  135 

Una  A.,  136 
Perkins  ancestry,  170 

Benjamin  C,  170 

Charles  L.,   170 

David,  169 

John,  169 

Jonathan  L.,  169 

Robert  P.,  168,  170 

Thomas,  169 

Timothy,  169 
Pierce,  Charles  L.,  302,  303 

Grace,  303 

John  D.,  303 
Poole,  Charles  A.,  314 

Harry  O.,  313,  314 

Joseph  H.,  314 

Nanette  R.,  314 


Powell,  Edward  A.,  107,  108 

Edward  A.,  Jr.,  109 

Howell,  108 

Lucy,  109 

Watkin,  108 
Price,  George  M.,  Dr.,  187 

Nettie  B.,  187 

Randall,  James  A.,  127 

James,  Col.,  127 
Redman,  Catherine,  146 

Harriet  E.,  146 

Henry  S.,  Lieut.,  145 

Perry,  145 
Ricker,  Marcena,  Dr.,  270 

Wentworth  G..  271 
Rill,  Adrian  L.,  199 

Lillian  G.,  200 

Willard  A.,  199 
Roberts,  Elizabeth,  214 

Ellis  H.,  213 

Watkin,  213 
Rogers,  Clinton,  58,  59 

Fannie  C,  60 

Joel,  59 

Rochester  H.,  60 
Roosevelt,  Alice,  5 

Edith,  5 

Theodore,  3 

Salisbury,  Bert  E.,  151,  152 

Henry  O.,  152 

Mary  P.,   153 
Satterlee,  Francis  L.,  Dr.,  40,  41 

George  C,  41 

Laura,  42 

Mary  P.,  42 

William,  41 
Schmeer  ancestry,  249 

Charles  F.,  250 

George  J.,  250 

Henry,  249 

Henry  P.,  250 

Julia,  250 

Philip,  249 

William  N.,  250 


384 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Schumacher,  Albert  C,  139 

Carl,  Dr.,  139 

Louise  S.,  140 
Scott  ancestry,  147 

Belle,   148 

Frederick  B.,  147,  148 

Frederick  H.,  148 

Harold  B.,  148 

Harold  H.,  148 

Leonard  W.,  147 

Walter  H.,  148 
Skinner  ancestry,  209 

Albert  M.,  211 

Avery,  209 

Charles  R.,  209 

Charles  R.,  Jr.,  211 

Elizabeth,  210 

Harold  B.,  211 
Slater,  Samuel  AL,  66 

Samuel  S.,  66,  67 
Smith  ancestry,  121,  182 

Augusta  M.,  122 

Daniel,  183 

Henry,  188 

Jay  H.,  182.  184 

Jean,   185 

Job  C,  121 

Lucy,  122 

Mary  A.,  124 

Nehemiah,  Rev.,  121 

Nellie  K.,  190 

Ray  B.,  187,  188 

Samuel,  183 

Silas,  183 

William  B.,  121 

William  H.,  188 

William  P.,  183 

Willis,  188 

Willis  R.,  190 

Wing  R.,  121,  123 
Snowr,  Carrie  L.,  151 

Charles  W.,  150 

Harriet  L.,  151 

Hiram,  150 

Nelson  P.,  151 
Stewart,  Frances  E.,  63 


John  A.,  62 

William  A.  W.,  62 
Stone  ancestry,  159 

Charles  L.,  159,  161 

David,  159 

Isaac,  161 

James,  160 

John, 160 

Philip,  160 

Samuel  H.,  161 

Simon,  159,  160 

Zilla  B.,  161 
Strong  ancestry,  112 

Alvah,  112,  289 

Augustus  H.,  280 

Charles  A.,  291 

Harriet  L.,  290 

Hattie  M.,  113 

Helen  P.,  113 

Henry  A.,  112 

John  H.,  291 

Marguerite  G.,  291 
Sweet,  Caroline  V.,  307 

Horace,  304 

Irene  A.,  307 

John  E.,  304,  305 

Timothy,  304 
Symonds,  Charles  F.,  350 

Charles  S.,  349,  350 

Harold  W.,  350 

Mary  E.,  350 

Taylor  ancestry,  312 

Effie,  311 

Huston,  313 

Irwin,  312,  313 

J.  Hall,  313 

J.  Irwin,  313 

Lizzie.  313 

Mary  B..  313 

Zachary  P.,  309,  310 
Thacher,  Peter,  Rev.,  299 

Sarah  M.,  301 

Thomas,  299,  300 

Thomas  A.,  300 

Thomas,  Rev.,  209 


385 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Tinker,  John,  135 
Tooke,  Charles  W.,  320 

Sarah  L.,  321 

Wesley  F.,  320 
Totten,  Elma  S.,  ^T,y 

James,  Gen.,  335 

John  R.,  Capt.,  335,  336 

Van  Du3'n,  Abraham,  57 

Edward  S.,  58 

John,  Dr.,  57 

Sarah,  58 

Wilbur,  58 
Vann,  Florence,  192 

Irving  D.,  192 

Irving  G.,  190,  191 

Samuel,  190 

Samuel  R.,  191 
Van  Wyck  ancestry,  80 

Abraham,  81 

Augustus,  80,  81 

Cornelius,  80 

Leila  G.,  83 

Robert  A.,  83 

Theodorus,  80 

William,  81,  83 

Wallace,  Alice  H.,  348 

E.  Fuller,  345 

Josephine,  348 

William  J.,  345 
Ward  ancestry,  127,  200 

Bryan,  200 

Dudley  L.,  127 

Frank  A.,  126 

Frank  H.,  127 

George  M.,  127 

Harriet,  126 

Herbert  L.,  126 

John  M.,  203 

Katherine  L.,  202 

Katherine  M.,  203 

Levi  A.,  125 

Levi,  Dr.,  125 

Mary  H.,  127 


Matthew  H.,  200 

Philip  R.,  202 

Thomas,  Gen.,  200 

Thomas,  Jr.,  203 

William  D.,  Dr.,  127 
Warfield,  Alexander,  291 

Frederic  P.,  291,  292 

Lindsey  D.,  291 

Myron  F.,  292 

Richard,  291 
Webster,  Edward,  352 

Florence  A.,  354 

John  B.,  354 

Roy  C,  352 

Uri,  352 
Werner,  Anna,  293 

Christopher  C,  293 

William,  293 
Westervelt  ancestry,  327 

Adelia  C,  329 

Martha,  327 

Mary,  328 

William,  327 

William  B.,  327 

Zenas  F.,  327 
White  ancestry,  321 

Andrew  D.,  321 

Asa,  321 

Helen,  324 

Horace,  321 

Mary  A.,  321 
Whitmore  ancestry,  153 

Eunice  L.,  154 

Homer  G.,  154 

Lewis  S.,  154 

Valentine  F.,  153 

Walter  V.,  154 
Whitridge,  Frederick  W.,  47,  48 

John  C,  48 

Lucy,  48 

William  C,  48 
Widener,  Anna  L.,  270 

Henry,  269 

Howard  H.,  268,  269 

Kinney  A.,  269 


386 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY' 


Wiles,  Barbara,  103 

Ben,  102 

John  M.,  102 
Wilkinson,  Edith,  116 

J.  Forman,  115 

John,  115 
Williams,  Justin  C,  348 

Robert,  Capt.,  348 

Sherman,  348 
Winkworth,  Edwin  D.,  250 

John  W.,  250 

Prudence  M.,  251 
Wollensak,  Andrew,  141,  142 

Frances,  143 

Johan,  142 
Woodburn,  Delia  R.,  258 

George,  256 

Hiram  H.,  256,  257 


Naphtali,  256 
Woodley,  Alvin  C,  Dr.,  71 
George,  71 

Yawman,  Francis  J.,  54 

Mary  C,  54 

Nicholas,  52 

Philip  H.,  51,  52 
Yeatman,  Georgie  C,  139 

Pope,  137,  138 

Thomas,  138 

Zimmerman,  Edwin,  Dr.,  34 
Henry,  34 
Jeremiah,  Rev.,  34 
L.  M.,  Rev.,  34 
M.  Adele,  34 
Sophia  E.,  35 


387 


2990