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974.7  '^• 

v.e" 

1233359 


GENEALOGY  COLLECTION 


1833  01105  6261 


Encyclopedia  of  Biography 


OF 


NEW  YORK 


A  Life  Record  of  Men  and  Women  Whose  Sterling  Character  and  Energy  and 

Industry  Have  Made  Them  Preeminent  in  Their  Own 

and  Many  Other  States 


^ 


CHARLES  ELLIOTT  FTTCH.  L.  H.  D. 

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

and  Magazines;    ex-Regent  New  York  University;    Supervisor 

Federal  Census   (N.  Y.)    1880;    Secretary  New 

York  Constitutional  Convention,   1894 


ILLUSTRATED 


THE  AMERICAN  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY 

INCORPORATED 

BOSTON  NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 

1925 


ADVISORY 


§  ANDREW  D.  WHITE.  LL.  D.,  D.  C.  L... 

President  Cornell  University,  1867-85;  United 
States  Ambassador  to  Germany,  1897-1902; 
United  States  Minister  to  Russia,  1892-94:  Re- 
gent Smithsonian;  President  American  Histori- 
cal Association,  1884-85,  etc.,  etc.;  author  many 
historical  works. 


5  J.   BLOAT  FASSETT.  LL.  D., 


President.  1887-90-91  J;  Chairman  Republican 
National  Convention,  18S8-92;  Representative 
Congress,   1905-11;   Proprietor  Elmira   "Daily 


Advertiser,"  1879-96. 


SHERMAN  WILLIAMS,  Ph.  D., 


Chief  School  Library  Division,  New  York  State 
Education  Department;  President  New  York 
State  Historical  Association;  author  many  State 
historical  works. 


EDWIN  A.  MERRITT, 

Quartermaster-General  of  New  York,  1865-69; 
Delegate  New  York  Constitutional  Convention, 
1867;  Collector  Port  of  New  York.  1867;  United 
States  Consul,  London.  1881-85;  President  Board 
of  Trustees  St.  Lawrence  University;  Trustee 
Potsdam  State  Normal  School. 


CHARLES 


SYMONDS, 


ALBERT  VANDER  VEER,  M.  D.,  LL.  D., 

Member  of  the  Board  of  Regents  of  the  Univer- 
sity  of   the   State   of  New    York,    1895 ;   Vice 

Chancellor,    1915-21:    Chancellor.    1921 ;    Pro- 


Consulting  Surgeon,  Albany  Hospital;  St.  Peter's 
Hospital,  Albany,  1873-1903;  President  Ameri- 
can Surgical  Association,  1906;  President  Ameri- 
can Medical  Association,  1916:  Author  "Surgery 
and  Military  Surgery,"  Encyclopedia  Americana. 
1920.  and  other  contributions  on  medical  and 
surgical  subjects. 

DE  ALVA  S.   ALEXANDER,   LL.  D., 

Buffalo;  Editor  "Daily  Gazette,"  Fort  Wayne, 
Indiana,  1871-74;  Auditor  United  States  Treas- 
ury, 1887;  United  States  District  Attorney, 
Northern  District  of  New  York.  1889-93;  Repre- 
sentative in  Congress,  1897-1911;  author  of 
"Political  History  of  the  State  of  New  York," 
3  vols. 

CHARLES   R.  SKINNER.  LL.   D., 

Representative  in  Congress,  1881-85;  State  Su- 
perintendent of  Public  Instruction,  1895-1904; 
President  National  Educational  Association, 
1897;   Editor   "Brightside." 


Member  of  New  York  Genealogical  and  Bio- 
graphical Society,  Long  Island  Historical  So- 
ciety,   and   New   England   Historic-Genealogical 


A.  JUDD  NORTHRUP,  LL.  D.. 

United  States  Commissioner;  Judge  Onondaga 
County,  1892-94;  Commissioner  to  Revise  the 
Statutes  and  Code  of  New  York,  1895-1901; 
President  Onondaga  Historical  Association; 
Author  "The  Judiciary  of  New  York"  in  "Polit- 
ical History  of  New  York  from  Cleveland  to 
Hughes,"  1911;  author  various  literary  and  his- 
torical addresses. 

5  REV.  WALTON  WESLEY  BATTERSHALL  ,  D.  D., 
Rector  Emeritus  St.  Peter's  Protestant  Episco- 
pal Church  of  Albany,  N.  Y. 

i   WILLIAM  H.  SAMSON. 

Managing  Editor  Rochester  "Post-Express," 
1896-1911;  President  Rochester  Historical  So- 
ciety, 1904-06:  Vice-President  Anderson  Art 
Galleries;  Editor  "Private  Journal  of  Aaron 
Burr,"  etc.;  author  many  historical  monographs. 

5   HON.  WILLIAM  E.  WERNER, 

Rochester;  County  Judge  of  Monroe  County, 
1894;  Justice  Supreme  Court  of  New  York,  1895- 
1900;  Associate  Judge  Court  of  Appeals  of  New 
York   (terms)    1900-18. 

§  CHARLES  ANDREWS.   LL.   D., 

Mayor  of  Syracuse,  1861-62-68;  Delegate-at- 
Large  New  York  Constitutional  Convention, 
1867;  Judge  New  York  Court  of  Appeals,  1870- 
1897;  Chief  Judge,  1881-84,  1893-97. 

5   ELLIS  H.  ROBERTS,  LL.  D., 

Editor  Utlca  "Herald";  Representative  in  Con- 
gress; Treasurer  United  States;  Author  "The 
Planting  and  Growth  of  the  Empire  State.  "  2 
vols.,  in  "American  Commonwealth"  series;  also 
various  historical  and  financial  addresses. 


WILLIAM  H.  MACE,  Ph.  D., 

Professor  of  History  and  Political  Science,  Syra- 
cuse University:  University  Extension  Lecturer 
on  American  History;  Member  American  His- 
torical Association;  Author  of  "Heroic  Leaders 
in   American   History";   etc.,   etc. 

§  CHARLES  ELLIOTT  FITCH,  L.  H.  D.. 

Editor-in-Chief  Syracuse  "Daily  Standard," 
1866-73;  Rochester  "Democrat  and  Chronicle." 
1873-90;  State  Lecturer  New  York  Department 
of  Education.  1895-1904:  Chief  of  Division  of 
School  Libraries,  1906-12. 

HENRY  W.  HILL,  LL.  D., 

Assemblyman,  State  Senator,  New  York;  Dele- 
gate Constitutional  Convention  of  New  York, 
1894;  Chairman  Champlain  Commission;  au- 
thor of  many  authoritative  contributions  on 
the  canal  history  of  the  State. 

5   JAMES  A.  HOLDEN,  B.  A., 

State  Historian;  Member  American  Historical 
Association:  Trustee  New  York  State  Historical 
Association:  author  of  various  monographs  on 
historical  subjects. 

DAVID  JAYNE   HILL,   LL.   D., 

Educator,  Diplomat,  Historian;  ex-President 
University  of  Rochester;  First  Assistant  Secre- 
tary of  State,  United  States,  1898-1903;  Ambas- 
sador to  Germany,  1908-11;  Delegate  to  The 
Hague  Peace  Conference,  1907;  author  of  many 
works  of  Biography,  History  and  Diplomacy. 

!i   WII^LIAM   S.   PELLETREAU.  A.   M., 

Member  of  New  York  Historical  Society  and 
Suffolk  County  Historical  Society;  Author  of 
"History  of  Long  Island,"  "Old  New  York 
Houses."  "Early  Long  Island  Wills,"  etc. 


SDied   Dnrinc:   Publication 


1233359 


BIOGRAPHICAL. 


^."^u^^^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


HUGHES.  Charles  Evans, 

Secretary  of  State. 

The  American  Secretary  of  State  for 
Foreign  Affairs,  the  Hon.  Charles  Evans 
Hughes,  who  is  regarded  by  competent 
judges,  irrespective  of  party  or  national- 
ity, not  only  as  a  great  American  but  as 
one  of  the  world's  greatest  statesmen,  is 
a  native  of  New  York  State,  the  son  of  a 
clergyman,  and  as  far  as  origin  goes  em- 
bodies in  his  personality  the  best  strains 
of  American  descent,  being  of  mixed 
Welsh,  Scotch-Irish  and  Dutch  extrac- 
tion. 

He  commenced  his  education  in  the 
public  schools  of  New  York  City,  and 
was  fitted  for  college  by  his  father.  At 
the  age  of  eleven  he  entered  the  Madison 
(now  Colgate)  University,  transferring 
two  years  later  to  Brown  University, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1881, 
receiving  the  Bachelor  of  Arts  degree 
with  honors — winning  the  prize  in  Eng- 
lish literature  and  that  of  general  attain- 
ment 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 
years  entered  the  Columbia  Law  School, 
also  studying  in  the  offices  of  the  United 
States  District  Attorney  in  New  York, 
and  in  those  of  Chamberlain,  Carter  & 
Hornblower.  He  received  his  diploma 
from  the  law  school  in  1884,  and  was  ad- 
mitted at  once  to  the  bar.  From  1884 
until  1887  he  held  a  prize  fellowship  at 
Columbia  University. 

On  being  admitted  to  the  bar  he  be- 


came a  clerk  in  the  office  of  his  former 
preceptors.  Chamberlain,  Carter  &  Horn- 
blower,  remaining  as  such  until  1888, 
when  he  became  a  member  of  the  firm  of 
Carter,  Hughes,  Cravath,  afterwards. 
Carter,  Hughes  &  Dwight.  He  served 
Cornell  University  as  professor  of  law 
in  1891-93,  and  as  special  lecturer  on  gen- 
eral assignments  and  bankruptcy,  1893- 
1900.  In  1905-06  he  was  counsel  for  the 
Armstrong  Insurance  Commission  of  the 
New  York  Legislature,  and  special  assist- 
ant to  the  United  States  Attorney  General 
in  the  coal  investigations. 

The  public  career  of  the  Secretary  of 
State  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  of  New  York,  and 
was  re-elected  in  1908,  resigning  in  Sep- 
tember, 1910,  to  take  his  seat  as  associate 
justice  of  the  United  States  Supreme 
Court  under  appointment  of  President 
Taft.  As  Governor  he  steadfastly  ad- 
hered to  "the  highest  administrative 
standards"  and  effected  many  salutary 
changes  in  relation  to  railroads,  street 
railways,  gas  and  electrical  companies. 
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  pas- 
sage 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  this 
last  appeal  to  the  Legislature,  at  the 
session  in  which  the  measure  was  passed, 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


he  said:  "The  issue  has  been  clearly- 
presented  whether  the  interests  of  those 
who  wish  to  maintain  gambling  privileges 
at  race  tracks  shall  be  considered  para- 
mount to  the  Constitution  of  the  State. 
It  is  an  issue  which  has  been  clearly  de- 
fined and  is  fully  appreciated  by  the 
people.  It  cannot  be  obscured  by  discus- 
sion 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  dis- 
crimination. The  law  which  professes 
to  prohibit  it,  in  fact  protects  it." 

Early  in  his  administration  he  under- 
stood 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  subsequently  secured 
the  establishment  of  a  Department  of 
Highways.  He  also  took  a  persistent  and 
determined  interest  in  the  preservation 
of  forest  domain,  which  included  a  one 
thousand  acre  tract  given  by  Hon.  William 
P.  Letchworth  in  Wyoming  and  Living- 
ston counties ;  a  twenty-five  acre  tract  at 
Crown  Point,  containing  the  ruins  of 
Fort  Frederic  and  Fort  Amherst,  from 
Whiterbee,  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. 
Harriman.  Until  he  left  his  chair.  Gover- 
nor Hughes  industriously  and  persistent- 
ly followed  up  a  policy  of  improvement 
and  retrenchment;  also  steadily  insisting 
upon  honesty  and  efficiency  in  all  of  the 


various  departments  of  the  State  govern- 
ment. 

Early  in  1916  it  became  evident  that  a 
very  large  element  in  the  Republican 
Party  looked  upon  him  as  its  most  desir- 
able candidate  for  the  presidential  nomi- 
ation.  Seated,  as  he  was,  upon  the  bench 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  his  position  was  most  delicate.  He 
maintained  a  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 
his  silence  when  his  nomination  was 
actually  made,  when  he  at  once  forwarded 
to  President  Woodrow  Wilson  his  resig- 
nation as  an  associate  Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  which  was  instantly 
accepted.  He  received  two  hundred  and 
fifty-four  electoral  votes  for  the  Presi- 
dency, November  7,  1916,  as  against  two 
hundred  and  seventy-seven  for  Woodrow 
Wilson,  Democrat. 

From  1917  to  1921  he  was  a  member  of 
the  law  firm,  Hughes,  Rounds,  Schurman 
&  Dwight,  New  York  City.  Since  March 
4,  1921,  he  was  Secretary  of  State  in  the 
Cabinet  of  President  Warren  G.  Harding. 
He  acted  as  commissioner  plenipotentiary 
for  the  United  States  in  the  International 
Conference  on  the  Limitation  of  Arma- 
ments, which  met  at  Washington,  on 
November  12,  1921,  and  served  as  chair- 
man of  the  same. 

Hon.  Charles  E.  Hughes  is  Secretary 
of  State  in  the  Cabinet  of  President  Cal- 
vin E.  Coolidge  and  enjoys  an  interna- 
tional prestige  in  all  countries  of  the 
world  such  as  only  the  greatest  American 
statesman  could  lay  claim  to.  He  is  not 
only  one  of  the  greatest  moral  assets  in 
the  public  life  of  his  country,  but  by  mil- 
lions of  people  outside  of  America,  especi- 
ally in  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies,  is 
regarded  as  a  tower  of  strength  and  one 


P,.,L. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  the  greatest  forces  among  contempo- 
rary leaders  for  sound,  safe  and  steady 
progress  in  a  world  full  of  contention, 
strife,  race  and  class  hatred,  and  sub- 
verse,  revolutionary  and  destructive  tend- 
encies. He  is  a  Fellow  of  Brown  Uni- 
versity, and  a  trustee  of  the  University 
of  Chicago.  From  1917  to  1918  he  acted 
as  chairman  of  the  Draft  Appeals  Board 
of  New  York  City;  special  assistant  to 
the  Attorney  General  in  charge  of  air- 
craft inquiry,  1918;  president  of  the  New 
York  State  Bar  Association,  1917  to  1918 ; 
the  Legal  Aid  Society  of  New  York,  1917 
to  1919;  St.  David's  Society,  New  York, 

1917  to    1918;    Italy   American    Society, 

1918  to  1919;  New  York  County  Lawyers' 
Association,  1919;  Fellow  of  the  Ameri- 
can Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  etc. 
His  clubs  are  the  University ;  the  Union 
League,  of  which  he  was  president  from 
1917  to  1919 ;  Century  ;  Lawyer's  ;  Brown  ; 
Delta  Upsilon ;  and  Nassau  Country. 


LOW,  Seth, 

Former  President  of  Columbia  College, 
Practical  Reformer. 

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  the  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  succeeded 


to  the  business,  which  was  finally  liquid- 
ated in  1888.  Meantime  he  had  become 
a  member  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
in  which  he  soon  became  useful,  frequent- 
ly 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 
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  re-elected  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  en- 
gaged in  business,  in  which  he  continued 
until  1890,  when  he  was  called  to  the 
presidency  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  useful- 
ness 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  be- 
gan to  infuse  new  life  into  that  venerable 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


institution,  and  his  entire  management 
was  marked  by  most  wise  judgment.  In 
1890,  his  first  year,  the  several  instruc- 
tional departments,  which  had  been 
maintained  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  inade- 
quate, and  a  change  of  location  was  de- 
termined upon.  A  committee  recom- 
mended the  site  of  the  old  Bloomingdale 
Asylum  for  the  Insane,  on  Morningside 
Park  Heights,  valued  at  more  than  $2,- 
000,000.,  which  amount  was  paid  by  the 
year  1894 — a  result  in  large  measure  due 
to  the  persistent  interest  of  President 
Low — and  $7,500,000  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  publica- 
tion of  historic  and  scientific  documents, 
after  the  manner  of  the  Oxford  Clarendon 
Press  of  England.  President  Low's  bene- 
factions during  this  period  were  most 
princely.  In  1894  he  gave  to  the  uni- 
versity the  sum  of  $10,000  for  the  endow- 
ment of  a  classical  chair  in  honor  of  his 
former  teacher,  Professor  Henry  Drisler. 
In  1895  he  gave  $1,000,000  for  the  erection 
of  the  new  university  library ;  and  in 
recognition  of  his  munificence  the  trustees 
established  twelve  university  scholar- 
ships for  Brooklyn  boys,  and  twelve  in 
Barnard  College  for  Brooklyn  girls,  be- 
sides establishing  eight  annual  university 
scholarships.  In  1896  President  Low  gave 
$10,000   to    Barnard   College,   and  $5,000 


to  the  New  York  Kindergarten  Associa- 
tion. 

He  was  meantime  busied  with  various 
benevolent  and  charitable  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  pre- 
cautionary measures,  and  the  quarantine 
camp  established  at  Sandy  Hook  by  the 
National  Government  was  named  Camp 
Low  in  his  honor.  With  his  brother, 
Abbott  Augustus  Low,  in  1894,  he  built 
and  presented  to  the  mission  station  of 
the  Protestant  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  retirement  from  that  high  office  he 
has  been  busied  with  personal  aflfairs, 
giving  a  large  share  of  his  attention  to  the 
benevolent  and  charitable  causes  which 
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  Geographi- 
cal 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  Federa- 
tion ;  trustee  of  the  Carnegie  Institute, 
Washington  City ;  and  is  a  member  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society,  the  New 
York  Academy  of  Political  Science,  and 


^-^t^jL^  ^Cau?      ^C^-cT-^T^^-^^^^^' 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  American  Academy  of  Political  and 
Social  Science.  He  received  the  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Laws  from  Amherst  College 
in  1889;  from  the  University  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  from  Harvard  University, 
from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  and 
from  Trinity  College  in  1890;  from 
Princeton  University  in  1896;  from  Yale 
University  in  1901  ;  and  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  in  1910. 

Mr.  Low  married,  December  9,  1880, 
Annie  Curtis,  daughter  of  Benjamin  R. 
Curtis,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts. 


ROOSEVELT,  Theodore, 

Twenty-sixth   President   of   the    United 
States. 

It  is  not  an  easy  task  to  write  truth- 
fully, intelligently  and  frankly  of  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt,  there  being  much  in  his 
character  and  record  difificult  to  analyze 
or  explain.  Then  again  it  is  hard  to 
obtain  a  true  perspective,  the  nearness  of 
the  events  in  which  he  figured  so  promi- 
nently not  allowing  partisanship  to  abate, 
and  calm,  cool  judgment  to  reign.  No 
man  had  warmer,  truer  friends  nor  more 
bitter,  implacable  enemies,  his  positive 
controversial  nature  both  attracting  and 
repelling.  He  was  equally  pronounced 
in  his  own  likes  and  dislikes,  rewarding 
and  punishing  without  stint.  His  was 
the  soul  of  controversy,  yet  men  loved 
him  who  rarely  agreed  with  him,  and  his 
most  obvious  faults  seemed  rather  to  in- 
crease his  popularity  with  the  masses. 
The  inconsistencies  and  quarrels  in  which 
he  was  involved  were  largely  temper- 
mental.  He  did  not  always  reason  closely 
but  often  jumped  at  conclusions  and  then 
entered  the  fray,  never  doubting  the  cor- 
rectness of  the  opinions  thus  hastily 
arrived  at.  This  was  also  temperament, 
his  being  that  type  of  mind  which  easily 
believes  that  which  it  wants  to  believe. 


He  was  a  powerful  advocate  for  any  cause 
to  which  he  lent  his  voice  and  influence, 
and  his  declared  position  on  any  public 
question,  whether  for  or  against,  at  once 
crystalized  sentiment,  and  men  were  for 
or  against  that  measure  or  course  of 
action  who  hitherto  had  been  apathetic. 
He  was  a  born  leader  of  men  and  led  with 
a  rough,  unsparing  hand.  He  spoke 
freely  his  own  opinion,  yet  resented  the 
freedom  with  which  the  newspapers  of 
the  country  discussed  his  official  doings, 
although  no  man  in  American  public  life 
ever  owed  so  much  to  the  publicity  the 
newspapers  gave  him.  His  tastes  were 
domestic,  he  thoroughly  enjoyed  life  and 
wasted  no  time  over  trivial  worries.  He 
held  the  highest  ideals  of  public  and  pri- 
vate honor,  and  a  public  career  covering 
thirty-seven  years  left  him  without  taint 
or  stain  of  dishonor.  His  was  a  deeply 
sympathetic  nature  and  he  possessed  a 
lively  sense  of  humor.  He  was  fond  of 
athletics  but  never  greatly  excelled, 
boxing  being  his  favorite  sport,  although 
in  that  he  was  greatly  handicapped  by 
being  near  sighted.  His  love  for  the  open 
was  a  passion  from  boyhood  and  to  that 
love  his  strong  constitution  was  due.  "As 
a  boy  in  college  he  was  a  good  student 
but  he  entered  into  and  enjoyed  every 
phase  of  college  life  and  was  popular  with 
all.  The  natural  sciences,  history  and 
political  economy  were  the  studies  that 
interested  him  most;  he  had  honorable 
mention  in  natural  history,  had  a  com- 
mencement part  and  was  a  member  of  Phi 
Beta  Kappa.  He  was  intense  in  every- 
thing he  did,  his  occupation  for  the 
moment  was  to  the  exclusion  of  every- 
thing else.  His  power  of  concentration, 
a  great  gift,  was  one  which  contributed 
largely  to  his  ability  to  accomplish  so 
much  in  so  many  fields  of  activity."  He 
performed  a  vast  amount  of  literary  labor 
between  the  years  of  1882-1919,  his  first 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


book  "The  Naval  War  of  1812"  appearing 
in  the  first  named  year.  During  his  term 
as  governor  of  New  York  he  pubHshed 
"The  Rough  Riders,"  "The  Strenuous 
Life,"  and  the  "Life  of  Oliver  Cromwell." 
His  versatility  was  amazing  and  his  repu- 
tation might  safely  rest  upon  either  his 
literary  performance,  his  public  career  or 
his  contributions  to  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion through  his  exploring  and  hunting 
trips. 

From  an  old  and  important  family  of 
Holland  sprang  Claes  Martinzen  Van 
Roosevelt,  who  in  1654  came  to  New 
Amsterdam,  the  first  of  the  name  to  set- 
tle in  the  New  World.  By  wife  Jannetje 
he  had  a  son  from  whom  descended  Theo- 
dore Roosevelt,  twenty-sixth  president 
of  the  United  States,  whose  sudden  death, 
January  6,  1919,  plunged  a  nation  in 
grief.  The  family  early  obtained  large 
real  estate  holdings  in  New  York  City, 
their  lands  lying  between  Pearl,  Roose- 
velt and  Catherine  streets,  extending  from 
Chatham  Street  to  the  East  River,  the 
tract  known  originally  as  Rugers  farm. 
Descendants  of  Claes  and  Jannetje  Roose- 
velt, intermarried  with  the  Schuyler, 
Bogaert,  Provost,  Van  Schaick,  DePey- 
ster,  Latrobe,  Barclay,  Van  Courtland, 
Lispenard  and  other  equally  well  known 
Dutch  and  English  families  of  New  York, 
and  through  these  marriages  and  the  com- 
mercial achievement  the  Roosevelts  came 
into  great  social  and  business  prominence. 
In  every  generation  they  represented 
their  localities  in  Colonial  and  State 
affairs,  and  Roosevelt  is  a  name  as  well 
known  in  the  United  States  as  that  of 
Washington.  In  Holland  the  family 
bore  arms : 

Arms — Argent  on  a  mount  vert  a  rose  bush  with 
three  roses  proper. 

Crest — Three  ostrich  feathers  per  pale  gules  and 
argent. 

Mollo — Qui  plantoTit  curabit. 


From  Claes  Martinzen  Van  Roosevelt, 
the  line  of  descent  to  Theodore  Roosevelt 
is  through  the  former's  fourth  child, 
Nicholas  Roosevelt,  an  alderman  of  New 
York  City  1698-1701,  and  his  wife  Heytje 
Jans ;  their  son,  Johannes  Roosevelt, 
assistant  alderman  of  New  York  City 
1717-1727,  alderman  1730-1733,  and  his 
wife  Heltje  Sjverts  (also  spelled  Hyla 
Suerts)  ;  their  son  Jacobus  Roosevelt  and 
his  second  wife  Elenora  Thompson ; 
their  son  Jacobus  (2)  Roosevelt,  who,  as 
James  L.  Roosevelt,  served  as  commis- 
sary during  the  War  of  the  Revolution, 
and  his  wife,  Mary  Van  Schaick ;  their 
youngest  son  Cornelius  Van  Schaick 
Roosevelt,  and  his  wife  Margaret  Barn- 
hill,  a  granddaughter  of  Thomas  Potts  of 
Pennsylvania,  member  of  the  Continental 
Congress;  their  son  Theodore  (i)  Roose- 
velt and  his  wife  Martha  Bullock,  of  Ros- 
well,  Georgia;  their  son,  Theodore  (2) 
Roosevelt,  to  whose  memory  this  review 
is  dedicated. 

Cornelius  Van  Schaick  Roosevelt, 
grandfather  of  Theodore  (2),  inherited  a 
large  fortune  from  his  father  and  grand- 
father, and  to  this  he  made  substantial 
additions.  For  many  years  he  was 
engaged  in  the  importation  of  hardware 
and  plate  glass ;  was  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  Chemical  Bank  of  New  York  City, 
and  one  of  New  York's  wealthiest  men. 
He  established  a  summer  home  at  Oyster 
Bay,  Long  Island,  called  "Tranquility" 
and  there  his  son  Theodore  (i)  Roosevelt 
spent  the  summer  months  all  through  his 
life,  the  old  home  also  being  the  home  of 
Theodore  (2)  Roosevelt  during  his  early 
childhood. 

Theodore  (i)  Roosevelt  was  born  in 
New  York  City,  September  29,  1831,  and 
died  there  February  9,  1878.  He  became 
a  member  of  the  glass  importing  firm, 
Roosevelt  &   Company,    No.    2    Maiden 


8 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Lane,  there  continuing  in  business  until 
1876,  when  he  established  in  the  banking 
business  with  his  son  at  No.  32  Pine 
Street,  New  York.  He  was  a  State  com- 
missioner of  public  charities,  vice-presi- 
dent of  the  Union  League,  and  was 
appointed  collector  of  the  port  of  New 
York  by  President  Hayes,  but  failed  of 
confirmation,  the  senate  objecting  to  him 
on  account  of  his  former  affiliation  with 
an  importing  business,  which  some  be- 
lieved he  retained  an  interest  in.  He  was 
a  most  charitable  man,  abounding  in  good 
works,  but  particularly  interested  in  the 
Orthopaedic  Hospital  in  59th  Street, 
New  York,  the  Newsboys'  Lodging 
House  and  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association.  Theodore  (i)  Roosevelt 
married  Martha  Bullock,  daughter  of 
James  and  Martha  (Oswald)  Bullock  of 
Roswell,  Georgia,  and  granddaughter  of 
Archibald  Bullock,  first  Revolutionary 
governor  of  Georgia,  and  Mary  de  Vaux, 
of  Huguenot  blood,  and  a  maternal  grand- 
daughter of  Edward  Bellinger,  one  of  the 
Carolina  landgraves.  Governor  Archi- 
bald Bullock  was  a  son  of  James  Bullock, 
who  came  from  Scotland  about  1715,  a 
blood  relation  of  the  Douglass  Barton  and 
other  famed  families.  He  settled  in  Geor- 
gia, was  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress and  held  many  important  positions 
of  honor  and  trust.  Martha  (Bullock) 
Roosevelt  died  February  15,  1884,  leaving 
four  children :  Anna,  married  Capt.  W.  S. 
Cowles  of  the  United  States  Navy ;  Theo- 
dore (2)  of  further  mention ;  Elliott ; 
Corinne,  married  Douglass  (2)  Robinson. 
The  Roosevelt  home  was  on  West  57th 
Street,  New  York,  the  summer  home 
"Tranquility,"  Oyster  Bay,  Long  Island. 
Theodore  (2)  Roosevelt,  eldest  son  of 
Theodore  and  Martha  (Bullock)  Roose- 
velt, was  born  in  New  York,  October 
27,  1858,  died  suddenly  at  his  home  "Saga- 


more Hill,"  Oyster  Bay,  Long  Island, 
January  6,  1919.  His  early  life  was  largely 
spent  amid  the  healthful  surroundings  of 
"Tranquility,"  once  owned  by  his  grand- 
father, and  there  from  a  weakly  child  he 
developed  into  a  wiry,  earnest,  fearless 
lad,  who  rode,  swam,  climbed,  rowed  and 
jumped,  toughening  every  limb  and 
muscle  and  laying  the  foundation  for  the 
great  strength  which  enabled  him  to  lead 
the  strenuous  life  for  which  destiny  was 
preparing  him.  He  was  graduated  A.  B., 
Harvard,  class  of  1880,  and  shortly  after- 
ward purchased  100  acres  of  mostly  wood 
land  at  Oyster  Bay,  which  he  named 
"Sagamore  Hill,"  a  name  which  had 
then  no  special  significance,  but  which 
later  became  the  mecca  to  which  all  eyes 
turned  and  where  the  greatest  men  of  his 
party  met  to  counsel  with  their  greatest 
leader. 

In  1882  Theodore  Roosevelt  made  his 
first  appearance  in  public  life  as  a  member 
of  the  New  York  Legislature,  represent- 
ing the  2ist  Assembly  district  of  New 
York.  His  party  was  in  the  minority  but 
he  displayed  strong  qualities  of  leadership 
and  was  returned  in  1883.  During  that 
session  he  espoused  the  cause  of  State 
civil  service  reform,  and  was  again 
returned  to  the  Legislature  in  1884.  As 
chairman  of  the  committee  on  cities,  he 
reported  and  urged  to  passage  a  bill  abol- 
ishing fees  in  the  office  of  the  county 
clerk  and  register,  curtailing  abuses  in 
the  surrogate's  and  sheriff's  offices,  and 
secured  the  passage  of  a  bill  that  deprived 
aldermen  of  the  power  to  confirm  appoint- 
ments to  office,  and  centered  in  the  mayor 
the  responsibilities  for  the  administration 
of  municipal  affairs.  He  was  chairman 
of  the  New  York  delegation  to  the  Na- 
tional Republican  Convention  of  1884, 
which  nominated  James  G.  Blaine  for  the 
presidency,  and  in  1886  was  an  independ- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ent  candidate  for  mayor  of  New  York 
City.  He  received  the  endorsement  of 
the  Republican  party  but  was  defeated  by 
his  Democratic  opponent,  Abram  S. 
Hewitt.  During  the  years  1884-86  he 
resided  on  a  ranch  in  North  Dakota,  there 
gaining  that  intimate  knowledge  of  West- 
ern life  and  ways  which  he  gave  to  the 
world  in  "Hunting  Trips  of  a  Ranchman," 
which  he  published  in  1885.  In  May, 
1889,  he  was  appointed  United  States 
Civil  Service  Commissioner  by  President 
Harrison,  and  until  May,  1895,  he  served 
as  president  of  the  board.  In  that  office 
he  was  most  useful,  aiding  greatly  in 
establishing  important  changes  in  the 
manner  of  making  appointments  and  bet- 
tering conditions  in  the  public  service. 
In  May,  1895,  he  resigned  from  the  board 
to  accept  appointment  as  president  of  the 
New  York  Police  Board,  an  office  he  held 
until  1897.  As  police  commissioner  he 
enforced  civil  service  rules  in  appoint- 
ments and  promotions ;  stood  for  a  rigid 
enforcement  of  the  excise  laws  and 
opposed  all  corrupting  influences.  In  1897 
he  retired  from  the  police  board,  having 
been  appointed  assistant  secretary  of  the 
navy  under  President  McKinley.  This 
was  his  first  appearance  in  national  public 
life,  and  he  at  once  made  his  presence 
felt.  Trouble  with  Spain  had  long  been 
brewing  and  as  assistant  secretary,  Mr. 
Roosevelt  advocated  a  campaign  of  pre- 
paredness which  was  carried  out,  but  in  a 
rather  feeble  manner.  He  encouraged  the 
system  of  State  naval  reserve  and  "made 
many  addresses  in  which  he  upheld  the 
manful  necessity  of  war  to  compel  peace 
and  secure  justice."  When  war  with 
Spain  was  inevitable  he  resigned  his 
position  as  assistant  secretary  of  the  navy 
and  asked  for  a  commission  to  organize 
a  regiment  of  cavalry  of  which  his  friend. 
Dr.    Leonard    Wood,    (now    Major-Gen- 


eral) then  an  assistant  surgeon  in  the 
United  States  Army,  ranking  as  captain, 
was  to  be  commissioned  colonel.  The 
authorities  sought  to  impress  him  with 
the  idea  that  he  would  be  of  greater 
service  to  his  country  in  connection  with 
the  naval  department,  but  he  replied  in 
these  words :  "The  navy  department  is 
in  good  order.  I  have  done  all  I  can  here. 
There  are  other  men  who  can  carry  it  on 
as  well  as  I ;  but  I  should  be  false  to  my 
ideals,  false  to  the  views  I  have  openly 
expressed,  if  I  were  to  remain  here  while 
fighting  is  going  on,  after  urging  other 
men  to  risk  their  lives  for  their  country." 
The  regiment  recruited  among  the  ranch- 
men and  cowboys  of  the  West,  and 
former  friends  of  Mr.  Roosevelt  in  col- 
lege, and  in  public  life,  was  mustered  into 
the  United  States  service  as  the  first 
United  States  regiment.  Volunteer  Caval- 
ry, Dr.  Leonard  Wood,  colonel ;  Theodore 
Roosevelt,  lieutenant-colonel.  This  regi- 
ment, known  as  the  "Rough  Riders," 
particularly  distinguished  itself  at  Las 
Animas  and  San  Juan  Hill,  in  Cuba,  dur- 
ing the  short  lived  war  with  Spain,  Col- 
onel Wood  being  made  brigadier-general 
July  8,  1898,  and  major-general  Decem- 
ber 7,  1898.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Roose- 
velt, for  gallantry  in  action  at  the  same 
battles,  was  promoted  colonel  in  Sep- 
tember, 1898,  a  title  which  attached  to 
him  until  the  day  of  his  death.  A  graphic 
account  of  the  charge  of  the  "Rough 
Riders"  at  San  Juan  Hill,  and  Colonel 
Roosevelt's  part  in  the  battles  is  found 
in  his  own  work,  "The  Rough  Riders," 
published  in  1899,  and  in  histories  of  the 
Spanish-American  War.  After  the  des- 
truction of  the  Spanish  fleet  by  the 
American  vessels  under  Admiral  Samp- 
son, the  city  of  Santiago,  Cuba,  surren- 
dered on  July  17,  and  soon  afterward  the 
American  forces  were  ordered  home,  their 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


departure  being  hastened  by  the  famous 
"Round  Robin,"  a  circular  letter  signed 
by  the  officers  serving  under  General 
Shafter.  The  justification  for  that  letter 
was  the  fact  that  sickness  prevaded  the 
entire  force,  less  than  fifty  per  cent,  being 
fit  for  work,  and  yellow  fever  prevailing, 
chiefly  among  the  Cubans.  The  Wash- 
ington authorities  seemed  determined 
that  the  army  should  stay  in  Cuba,  but 
the  receipt  of  the  "Round  Robin"  setting 
forth  the  true  conditions  of  afifairs 
brought  about  an  instant  change,  and 
within  three  days  the  army  was  ordered 
home. 

Colonel  Roosevelt  and  his  "Rough 
Riders"  were  encamped  at  Montauk 
Point,  Long  Island,  and  the  following 
autumn,  peace  having  been  declared,  he 
resigned  his  commission,  bade  his  devoted 
regiment  farewell  and  retired  to  his  home, 
"Sagamore  Hill,"  at  Oyster  Bay." 

With  the  year  1898  Colonel  Roosevelt 
made  his  entry  into  political  life  as  a 
recognized  party  leader,  able  to  dictate 
his  own  terms,  and  while  the  party  leader. 
Senator  Piatt,  was  supreme.  Colonel 
Roosevelt  as  the  gubernatorial  candidate 
accepted  the  nomination  unpledged,  save 
to  work  with  all  his  heart  for  the  cause 
of  good  government.  In  November,  1898, 
he  was  elected  governor  of  New  York 
State  by  a  plurality  of  18,079,  and  filled 
honorably  and  efficiently  the  high  office  to 
which  he  had  been  chosen.  As  governor, 
he  encouraged  wise  legislation  and  car- 
ried through  every  reform  measure  to 
which  he  had  pledged  himself.  He  care- 
fully examined  every  bill  laid  before  him, 
and  signed  none  which  were  not  able  to 
undergo  the  closest  scrutiny.  His  task 
was  a  most  difficult  one,  for  while  reform 
was  a  good  thing  to  administer  to  the 
opposite  party,  the  State  leaders  brought 
great    pressure    to    bear    upon    Governor 


Roosevelt  to  force  him  to  exempt  certain 
places  and  factions  from  the  application 
of  "reform"  measures.  But  he  remained 
firm  and  administered  the  governor's 
office  as  a  sacred  trust,  although  he  risked 
his  political  future  and  did  make  power- 
ful enemies  in  his  own  party.  His  choice 
of  public  officials  was  excellent  and  it  was 
his  sincere  wish  that  he  be  reelected  in 
order  that  he  might  complete  the  work  he 
had  so  well  begun. 

In  the  year  1900  William  McKinley 
was  the  choice  of  the  Republican  party 
to  succeed  himself  in  the  presidency,  the 
only  contest  being  over  the  vice-presi- 
dency. Owing  to  his  independence  and 
vigorous  enforcement  of  party  pledges 
Governor  Roosevelt  had  incurred  the 
opposition  of  the  State  organization,  and 
it  was  deemed  necessary  to  get  him  out 
of  the  way  and  thus  prevent  his  nomina- 
tion for  a  second  term  as  governor.  They 
forced  the  governors  name  on  the  con- 
vention against  his  very  earnest  protest, 
but  when  the  name  of  Theodore  Roose- 
velt was  once  before  the  convention  he 
was  nominated  for  vice-president  of  the 
United  States  amid  scenes  of  wildest 
excitement  and  enthusiasm,  something 
very  unusual  in  connection  with  a  vice- 
presidential  nomination.  Governor  Roose- 
velt only  accepted  the  honor  after  it  was 
shown  him  that  his  popularity  would  save 
the  electoral  votes  of  half  a  dozen  West- 
ern states,  and  insure  a  Republican  major- 
ity in  Congress.  But  once  he  had  accepted 
he  plunged  into  the  contest  with  all  his 
energy,-  and  all  over  the  country  his  voice 
was  heard  addressing  audiences  from 
train  platforms,  in  the  open  air  and  in 
public  halls,  or  wherever  he  could  find 
people  gathered  to  hear  him.  He  was 
warmly  received  almost  everywhere  and 
proved  the  greatest  campaigner  William 
J.  Bryan  had  ever  met.    The  result  was  a 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


great  victory  for  sound  money  and  the 
expansion  policy  of  the  first  McKinley 
administration.  On  March  4,  1901,  Colo- 
nel Roosevelt  took  the  oath  of  office  and 
was  inaugurated  vice-president  of  the 
United  States.  In  his  inaugural  address 
he  said  with  almost  prophetic  vision: 

We  belong  to  a  young  nation  already  of  giant 
strength,  yet  whose  present  strength  is  but  a  fore- 
cast of  the  power  that  is  to  come.  We  stand 
supreme  in  a  continent,  in  a  hemisphere.  East  and 
west  we  look  across  the  two  great  oceans  toward 
the  larger  world,  life  in  which,  whether  we  will  or 
not,  we  must  take  an  ever-increasing  share  and  as, 
keen-eyed,  we  gaze  into  the  coming  years,  duties 
new  and  old,  rise  thick  and  fast  to  confront  us 
from  within  and  without.  There  is  every  reason 
why  we  should  face  these  duties  with  a  sober 
appreciation  alike  of  their  importance  and  of  their 
difficulty.  But  there  is  also  every  reason  for 
facing  them  with  high-hearted  resolution  and  with 
eager  and  confident  faith  in  our  capacity  to  do 
them  aright. 

On  Friday,  September  6,  1901,  the 
astounding  news  was  flashed  to  the  world 
that  William  McKinley,  president  of  the 
United  States,  had  been  shot  by  a  fanatic, 
one  Czolgosz,  while  visiting  the  Pan- 
American  Exposition  at  Buffalo,  New 
York.  vice-President  Roosevelt  hastened 
to  Buffalo  and  there  was  greatly  delighted 
with  the  encouraging  news  that  the 
wound  was  not  necessarily  fatal.  He 
remained  in  Buffalo  for  a  few  days  then 
upon  being  assured  that  the  danger  point 
seemed  past  went  on  a  hunting  trip  to  the 
Adirondacks.  But  soon  afterward  he  was 
notified  that  a  change  for  the  worse  had 
taken  place  and  he  quickly  returned  to 
Buffalo,  but  not  reaching  that  city  until 
some  hours  after  the  presidents  death. 
Although  at  a  cabinet  meeting  held  dur- 
ing the  forenoon  it  had  been  decided  that 
Mr.  Roosevelt  should  at  once  take  the 
presidential  oath,  he  positively  refused  to 
do  so  until  he  had  paid  his  respects  at 
William   McKinley's    bier    as    a    private 


citizen,  and  offered  his  condolence  to  the 
members  of  the  family  as  such.  Refusing 
a  police  escort,  he  drove  to  the  Milburn 
home  paying  his  respects  to  the  dead 
president,  after  which  he  took  the  oath  of 
office  and  became  the  twenty-sixth  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States. 

With  the  rise  of  Theodore  Roosevelt 
to  the  presidency  a  new  political  era  was 
ushered  in.  He  was  of  an  entirely  new 
type,  having  neither  business  or  profes- 
ional  experience,  he  did  not  know  any- 
thing about  the  Civil  War  save  the  know- 
ledge gained  from  books  and  from  family 
association  North  and  South,  his  mother 
being  of  a  family  noted  in  the  Confeder- 
acy. The  people  were  ready  to  follow  a 
new  leadership  and  although  they  were 
far  in  advance  of  Congress,  their  endorse- 
ment of  the  president  brought  both  legis- 
lative branches  into  line  and  the  new 
order  prospered.  "President  Roosevelt 
brought  to  his  great  task  high  ideals, 
prodigious  industry,  an  active,  educated 
mind,  a  good  deal  of  political  experience 
and  an  honest  desire  to  do  his  best." 
Questions  dealt  with  during  his  adminis- 
tration were :  The  trusts,  the  railroads, 
the  labor  problems,  the  coal  strike  of 
1902,  some  phases  of  the  negro  problem 
and  foreign  relations.  The  president 
regarded  his  intervention  in  the  coal 
strike  as  his  most  important  act  in  con- 
nection with  the  labor  question.  He 
recognized  the  necessity  both  of  organ- 
ized capital  and  organized  labor  under 
proper  supervision. 

The  corporation  has  come  to  stay,  just  as  the 
trade  union  has  come  to  stay.  Each  can  do  and 
has  done  great  good.  Each  should  be  favored  as 
long  as  it  does  good,  but  each  should  be  sharply 
checked  where  it  acts  against  law  and  justice. 

The  race  question  came  into  promin- 
ence, the  discussion  being  prompted  by 
the   president's    invitation   to    Booker   T. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Washington  to  dine  at  the  White  House, 
and  his  appointment  of  Dr.  Crum,  a  negro, 
as  collector  of  the  port  of  Charleston.  On 
the  other  hand,  in  1906,  he  ordered  the 
discharge  of  three  companies  of  colored 
soldiers  from  the  United  States  army 
because  of  the  shooting-up  by  some  of 
them  of  Brownsville,  Texas.  The  guilty 
men  could  not  be  individually  determined 
— there  was  a  "conspiracy  of  silence" 
among  their  comrades  to  protect  them — 
and  so  the  president  discharged  them 
all  and  said  of  his  action,  "If  any  organi- 
zation of  troops,  white  or  black,  is  guilty 
of  similar  conduct  in  the  future,  I  shall 
follow  precisely  the  same  course." 

President  Roosevelt  defined  the  Monroe 
Doctrine  as  a  "declaration  that  there  must 
be  no  territorial  aggrandizement  by  any 
non-American  power  at  the  expense  of 
any  American  power  on  American  soil." 
He  advocated  a  big  navy  to  enforce  our 
position.  He  stood  in  favor  of  the  acqui- 
sition of  the  Philippines  and  always 
asserted  that  we  occupied  the  Islands  for 
the  good  we  could  do  there.  His  foreign 
policy  was  based  upon  the  simple  rule 
that  we  behave  toward  other  nations  as  a 
strong  and  self-respecting  man  should 
behave  toward  the  other  men  with  whom 
he  is  brought  in  contact.  Or,  as  he  put  it 
in  another  way,  "Speak  softly  and  carry  a 
big  stick."  He  always  favored  prepared- 
ness for  war  as  the  best  means  of  secur- 
ing peace,  regarding  war  as  something  to 
be  avoided  if  possible,  and  honorable 
peace  to  be  desired  above  all  things.  He 
was  particularly  interested  in  the  navy 
and  on  one  occasion  sai<J : 

No  fighting  ship  of  the  first  class  should  ever  be 
laid  up  save  for  necessary  repairs ;  and  her  crew 
should  be  kept  constantly  exercised  on  the  high 
seas,  so  that  she  may  stand  at  the  highest  point  of 
perfection. 

It  was  with  this  end  in  view — to  keep 
our  fleet  efficient— that  it  was  sent  to  the 


Pacific  and  then  around  the  world.  The 
fleet  reached  Hampton  Roads  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  42,000  mile  cruise  on  Febru- 
ary 21,  1909.  On  the  occasion  of  their 
return  Colonel  Roosevelt,  then  an  ex- 
president,  delivered  a  speech  in  which  he 
said  in  part : 

WTien  I  left  the  presidency  there  was  not  a  cloud 
upon  the  horizon — and  one  of  the  reasons  why 
there  was  not  a  cloud  upon  the  horizon  was  that 
the  American  battle  fleet  had  just  returned  from 
its  sixteen  months'  trip  around  the  world,  a  trip 
such  as  no  other  battle  fleet  of  any  power  had  ever 
taken,  which  it  had  not  been  supposed  could  be 
taken,  and  which  exercised  a  greater  influence  for 
peace  than  all  the  peace  congresses  of  the  last  fifty 
years — with  Lowell  I  must  emphatically  believe 
that  peace  is  not  a  gift  that  tarries  long  in  the 
hands  of  cowards ;  and  the  fool  and  the  weakling 
are  no  improvement  on  the  coward. 

In  regard  to  the  tarifif  he  was  like  most 
college  graduates,  favorable  to  "free 
trade."  In  his  "Life  of  Benton"  in  1886, 
he  said : 

Free  traders  are  apt  to  look  at  the  tariff  from  a 
sentimental  standpoint;  but  it  is  in  reality  a  purely 
business  matter  and  should  be  decided  solely  on 
grounds  of  expectancy.  Political  economists  have 
pretty  generally  agreed  that  protection  is  vicious 
in  theory  and  harmful  in  practice;  but  if  the 
majority  of  the  people  in  interest  wish  it,  and  it 
affects  only  themselves  there  is  no  earthly  reason 
why  they  should  not  be  allowed  to  try  the  experi- 
ment to  their  heart's  content. 

While  president,  his  position  was  that 
the  question  of  lowering  and  raising  the 
duties  as  proposed  by  the  two  parties  did 
not  aproach  in  importance  the  trust  or 
labor  problems  so-called.  He  believed  in 
a  protective  tariff  administration  under 
a  tariff  commission  and  felt  that  if  he 
had  opened  up  the  tariff  question  no  good 
would  have  followed,  and  that  he  would 
have  played  into  the  hands  of  those  who 
wished  the  tariff  thrown  open  to  discus- 
sion merely  to  avoid  action  on  matters 
which  he  regarded  as  of  infinitely  greater 
importance. 


13 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Conservation  of  the  Nation's  natural 
resources  was  warmly  championed  by 
President  Roosevelt  from  the  time  when, 
as  governor  of  New  York,  the  Adirondack 
forests  were  under  consideration.  When 
he  became  president,  Frederick  H.  New- 
ell and  Gifford  Pinchot  were  asked  to 
prepare  memoranda  for  his  use  in  writing 
his  first  message  to  the  Fifty-Seventh 
Congress.  In  that  message  he  advised 
extensions  to  the  forest  reserve  and  that 
their  control  be  transferred  to  the  Bureau 
of  Forestry.    He  said: 

The  water  supply  itself  depends  upon  the  forest. 
In  the  arid  region  it  is  water,  not  land,  which 
measures  production.  The  western  half  of  the 
United  States  would  sustain  a  population  greater 
than  that  of  our  whole  country  to-day  if  the  waters 
that  now  run  to  waste  were  saved  and  used  for 
irrigation.  The  forest  and  water  problems  are  per- 
haps the  most  vital  internal  questions  of  the  United 
States. 

In  March,  1907,  he  added  16,000,000 
acres  to  the  forest  reservation,  just  before 
signing  an  act  forbidding  such  reserva- 
tion thereafter,  except  by  Congress  itself. 
In  speaking  of  the  attacks  upon  the  For- 
est Service  and  of  his  act,  he  said  : 

The  opponents  of  the  Forest  Service  turned 
handsprings  in  their  wrath  and  dire  were  their 
threats  against  the  Executive;  but  the  threats 
could  not  be  carried  out  and  were  really  only  a 
tribute  to  the  efficiency  of  our  action. 

During  his  seven  and  a  half  years  of 
service  as  president  he  had  in  the  main 
the  support  of  the  Republican  House  and 
Senate.  The  following  were  the  prin- 
cipal acts  passed : 

The  Elkins  Anti-Rebate  law ;  the  crea- 
tion of  a  Department  of  Commerce  and 
Labor ;  the  creation  of  a  Bureau  of  Cor- 
porations ;  the  law  authorizing  the  build- 
ing of  the  Panama  Canal ;  the  Hepburn 
Bill,  amending  the  Interstate  Commerce 
Act ;  the  Pure  Food  and  Meat  Inspection 


laws ;  the  law  creating  the  Bureau  of 
Immigration ;  the  Employers'  Liability 
and  Safety  Appliance  laws ;  the  law  lim- 
,  iting  the  working  hours  of  employees, 
making  the  government  liable  for  injuries 
to  its  employees,  and  forbidding  child 
labor  in  the  District  of  Columbia ;  acts 
reforming  the  consular  service,  and  pro- 
hibiting corporations  from  contributing 
to  campaign  funds ;  the  Emergency  Cur- 
rency Law  which  also  provided  for  the 
appointment  of  a  Monetary  Commission. 

The  passage  of  some  of  these  bills  was 
attended  with  considerable  friction  and 
towards  the  end  of  his  second  term  rela- 
tions between  the  president  and  Congress 
became  somewhat  strained.  The  presi- 
dent was  constantly  pressing  his  elabor- 
ate program  of  legislation.  Congress  never 
being  able  to  meet  his  expectations  or 
the  expectations  of  the  people.  Finally 
the  legislative  body  came  to  feel  that  its 
efforts  were  not  properly  appreciated  and 
that  the  Executive  held  a  place  in  the 
confidence  of  the  people  that  rightfully 
belonged  to  Congress;  a  condition  not 
unknown  in  our  present  public  life. 

The  period  covered  by  President  Roose- 
velt's service  had  been  one  of  industrial 
activity  with  few  exceptions,  a  period  of 
singularly  honest  and  efficient  adminis- 
tration of  the  government  and  one  in 
which  the  conscience  of  the  people  had 
been  wonderfully  quickened  and  for  this 
the  president  was  largely  responsible. 

His  administration  came  to  an  end 
March  4,  1909,  when  his  successor  Wil- 
liam H.  Taft  was  inaugurated.  He  drove 
to  the  Capitol  with  President  Taft  and 
immediately  after  the  inaugural  address 
drove  directly  to  the  railway  station,  a 
private  citizen. 

It  should  be  noted  that  President 
Roosevelt  was  elected  to  succeed  him- 
self in  the  presidential  office  November  8, 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


1904,  by  the  largest  popular  majority  ever 
accorded  a  candidate,  2,542,062. 

Perhaps  the  most  conspicuous  act  of 
his  second  administration  was  the  offer 
to  act  as  mediator  between  Russia  and 
Japan  in  1906,  an  offer  which  resulted  in 
the  ending  of  war  between  those  coun- 
tries, a  treaty  of  peace  following.  For 
this  he  was  awarded  the  Nobel  Peace 
prize  ($40,000)  which  he  used  to  endow 
the  foundation  for  the  Promotion  of 
Industrial  Peace.  That  money  was  never 
used,  and  in  1918  he  applied  to  have  it 
returned  to  him.  Upon  coming  into  pos- 
session of  the  money  he  devoted  it  to  war 
relief  work  through  the  regular  organi- 
zation. 

After  a  few  days  spent  at  Oyster  Bay 
the  ex-president  on  March  23,  1909, 
sailed  for  Africa  in  charge  of  a  scientific 
expedition  sent  out  by  the  Smithsonian 
Institute  to  collect  birds,  mammals,  rep- 
tiles and  plants,  but  especially  specimens 
of  big  game  for  the  National  Museum  at 
Washington.  Speaking  of  that  trip  before 
starting,  he  said  that  "Nothing  will  be 
shot  unless  for  food,  or  for  preservation 
as  a  specimen  or  unless  the  animal  is  of 
a  noxious  kind.  There  will  be  no  wanton 
destruction  whatever."  While  in  Africa 
he  wrote: 

As  a  matter  of  fact  every  animal  I  have  shot, 
except  six  or  eight  for  food,  has  been  carefully 
preserved  for  the  National  Museum.  I  can  be  con- 
demned only  if  the  National  Museum,  the  Ameri- 
can Museum  of  National  History  and  all  similar 
zoological  collections  are  to  be  condemned. 

The  achievements  of  this  expedition 
are  recorded  in  a  most  interesting  book, 
"African  Game  Trails,"  written  by  Col. 
Roosevelt,  who  was  accompanied  on  the 
trip  by  his  son  Kermit.  The  expedition 
ended  on  March  14,  1910,  when  it  reached 
Khartoum  and  then  began  that  extra- 
ordinary journey  through  Europe  during 


which  the  ex-president  delivered  a  series 
of  addresses  which  attracted  world-wide 
comment  both  favorable  and  unfavorable. 
These  speeches  are  preserved  in  a  volume 
entitled  "European  and  African  Ad- 
dresses." In  the  foreword  in  that  book 
he  says : 

My  original  intention  had  been  to  return  to  the 
United  States  direct  from  Africa,  by  the  same 
route  I  took  when  going  out.  I  altered  this  inten- 
tion because  of  receiving  from  the  Chancellor  of 
Oxford  University,  Lord  Curzon,  an  invitation  to 
deliver  the  Romanes  Lecture  at  Oxford.  The 
Romanes  Foundation  had  always  greatly  interested 
me  and  I  had  been  much  struck  by  the  general 
character  of  the  annual  addresses,  so  that  I  was 
glad  to  accept.  Immediately  afterwards  I  received 
and  accepted  invitations  to  speak  at  the  Sorbonne 
in  Paris  and  at  the  University  of  Berlin.  In  Berlin 
and  at  Oxford  my  addresses  were  of  a  scholastic 
character  designed  especially  for  the  learned  bodies 
which  I  was  addressing  and  for  men  who  shared 
their  interest  in  scientific  and  historical  matters. 
In  Paris  after  consulting  with  the  French  Ambas- 
sador U.  Jusserand,  through  whom  the  invitation 
was  tendered,  I  decided  to  speak  more  generally 
as  the  citizen  of  one  Republic  addressing  the  citi- 
zens of  another  Republic. 

His  journey  through  Europe  had  been 
a  royal  progress  and  he  was  received  on 
every  hand  with  great  acclaim  as  the 
champion  of  the  doctrine  of  equality,  of 
opportunity  for  all  men  irrespective  of 
race,  creed  or  color.  The  single  exception 
to  this  was  in  Rome,  where  the  Pope 
coupled  with  his  grant  of  an  audience  a 
condition  with  which  Mr.  Roosevelt 
would  not  comply.  The  ex-president  met 
this  issue  squarely  and  in  so  doing  took 
the  risk  of  offending  both  the  Catholics 
and  Methodists  of  the  United  States.  He 
had  been  advised  and  urged  not  to  go  to 
Rome  and  thus  avoid  trouble,  but  he  said 
he  would  not  invite  trouble  nor  would  he 
go  a  hand's  breadth  out  of  his  way  to 
avoid  trouble  when  he  knew  that  he  was 
in  the  right.  He  reached  New  York  June 
18,   1910,  and  received  a  royal  welcome, 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


reaching,  according  to  human  standards, 
on  that  day,  the  zenith  of  his  fame. 

President  Roosevelt  ardently  cham- 
pioned the  nomination  of  William  H. 
Taft  in  1908,  and  stood  sponsor  for  him  to 
the  nation  in  these  words:  "There  is  no 
other  man  so  well  qualified  for  the  office 
of  president  of  the  United  States."  The 
power  of  the  administration  was  used  in 
his  favor  and  the  South  sent  to  the  con- 
vention solid  Taft  delegations.  Not  only 
that,  but  every  precaution  was  taken  to 
prevent  the  stampeding  of  the  convention 
to  President  Roosevelt,  of  which  there 
was  always  danger.  His  trusted  per- 
sonal friend,  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  was 
chairman  of  the  convention,  who  in  his 
speech  said : 

That  man  is  no  friend  of  Theodore  Roosevelt 
and  does  not  cherish  his  name  and  fame  who,  now, 
from  any  motive,  seeks  to  urge  him  as  a  candidate 
for  the  great  office  which  he  has  finally  refused. 
The  President  has  refused  what  his  countrymen 
would  have  gladly  given  him.  He  says  what  he 
means  and  means  what  he  says  and  his  party  and 
his  country  will  respect  his  wishes,  as  they  honor 
his  high  character  and  his  great  public  services. 

Mr.  Taft  was  nominated  and  elected, 
but  sometime  in  some  way,  during  his 
administration  he  and  Colonel  Roosevelt 
came  to  the  parting  of  the  ways,  no  sin- 
gle act  so  far  as  known  being  the  cause  of 
their  estrangement. 

In  October,  1910,  Colonel  Roosevelt 
was  chairman  of  the  New  York  Republi- 
can State  Convention  and  in  full  control. 
He  compassed  the  defeat  of  James  S. 
Sherman,  vice-president  of  the  United 
States,  and  forced  the  nomination  of 
Mr.  Stimson  as  a  Roosevelt  candidate, 
John  Alden  Dix,  the  Democratic  candi- 
date, being  elected  Governor  by  100,000 
votes.  There  was  great  pressure  brought 
to  bear  upon  Colonel  Roosevelt  to  become 
a  candidate  for  the  presidency  for  a  third 
term   in    191 2,  and  gradually  he   became 


convinced  through  interviews,  the  news- 
papers, letters  and  other  communications 
that  two-thirds  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the 
Republican  party  wished  him  as  their 
candidate  ;  and  that  unless  he  made  the 
fight  for  the  principles  in  which  he  be- 
lieved with  all  his  heart  and  soul  there 
would  be  no  fight  made  for  them.  He  was 
in  that  state  of  mind  when  on  February 
10,  1912,  at  a  meeting  in  Chicago,  the  Re- 
publican Governors  of  seven  States,  West 
Virginia,  Nebraska,  New  Hampshire, 
Wyoming,  Michigan,  Kansas  and  Mis- 
souri, asked  him  in  a  formal  letter  to  be- 
come a  candidate  for  the  presidency.  He 
made  the  race,  lost  the  Republican  nomi- 
nation, then  accepted  that  of  the  Pro- 
gressive party  and  made  the  election  of 
1912,  a  triangular  contest  between  Wil- 
liam H.  Taft,  the  regular  Republican 
nominee  ;  Theodore  Roosevelt,  the  choice 
of  the  Progressive  party,  and  Woodrow 
Wilson,  the  standard  bearer  of  the  De- 
mocracy, the  last  named  being  returned 
the  victor  over  his  two  distinguished 
opponents. 

Mr.  Roosevelt's  political  creed  is  con- 
tained in  his  Carnegie  Hall  address  of 
March  20,  1912,  in  which  he  said  toward 
the  close : 

In  order  to  succeed  we  need  leaders  of  inspired 
idealism,  leaders  who  are  granted  great  visions, 
who  dream  greatly  and  strive  to  make  their  dreams 
come  true ;  who  can  kindle  the  people  with  the 
fire  from  their  own  burning  souls.  The  leader  for 
the  time  being  whoever  he  may  be  is  but  an  instru- 
ment to  be  used  until  broken  and  then  to  be  cast 
aside;  and  if  he  worth  his  salt  he  will  care  no 
more  when  he  is  broken  than  a  soldier  cares  when 
he  is  sent  where  his  life  is  forfeit  in  order  that  the 
victory  may  be  won.  In  the  long  fight  for  right- 
eousness the  watchword  for  all  of  us  is  spend  and 
be  spent.  It  is  of  little  matter  whether  any  one 
man  fails  or  succeeds;  but  the  cause  shall  not  fail 
for  it  is  the  cause  of  mankind. 

In  that  spirit  he  made  the  fight  and 
became    the    leader    of    the    Progressive 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


forces.  Many  of  his  friends  would  have 
preferred  to  have  him  preserve  the  fame 
that  was  his,  undimmed  by  further  politi- 
cal conflict,  but  he  chose  the  other  course 
and  in  the  campaign  inflicted  and  received 
many  wounds,  caused  suffering  and  suf- 
fered much  himself.  His  friend  and  biog- 
rapher, Charles  G.  Washburn,  in  his  work, 
"Theodore  Roosevelt,"  "The  Logic  of  his 
Career,"  from  which  extracts  have  been 
made  for  this  review,  thus  sums  up  Col- 
onel Roosevelt's  action  at  that  time  : 

No  one  would  feel  more  keenly  than  he  the  loss 
of  the  political  sympathy  and  support  of  those  of 
his  old  friends  who  did  not  follow  him  and  this  is 
to  me  convincing  proof  of  his  confidence  in  the 
righteousness  of  his  cause.  To  many  of  them,  to 
me,  I  am  sure,  parting  company  with  him  was 
deeply  painful.  I  count  it  among  the  sorrows  of 
my  life.  He  was  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the 
crusader;  he  believed  he  was  leading  a  great 
cause,  and  that  in  doing  so  he  was  serving  the  best 
interests  of  his  countrymen.  A  leader  on  the  field 
of  battle  sees  nothing  but  his  good  and  in  his 
progress  tramples  alike  on  friend  and  foe.  Such 
was  Roosevelt's  relation  to  the  conflict.  This  is 
the  reply  to  the  charge  that  he  wantonly  maimed 
and  bruised  many  of  his   former  associates  who 

differed  with  him  politically "Spend  and  be 

spent"  was  the  motto  emblazoned  on  his  shield 
which  was  always  found  in  the  forefront  of  battle. 
Who  will  say  that  he  should  or  could  have  fol- 
lowed any  other  course;  or  with  one  poor  mortal 
vision,  that  in  the  end  his  countrymen  may  not 
profit  by  what  his  friends  then  regarded  as  his 
great  sacrifice.  The  result  of  the  balloting  in 
1912  is  interesting.  Wilson,  6,293,019;  Roosevelt, 
4,119,507;    Taft,  3,484,956. 

In  1916  Colonel  Roosevelt  was  again 
the  nominee  of  the  Progressive  party,  but 
finally  declined  the  honor  and  supported 
the  Republican  nominee,  Charles  Evans 
Hughes,  who  was  defeated  by  President 
Wilson.  After  the  defeat  of  Judge 
Hughes,  Colonel  Roosevelt  who  had  vig- 
orously advocated  preparedness  for  war 
with  Germany  seemed  to  regain  a  portion 
of  his  popularity  and  prior  to  his  death 
he  was  regarded  by  many  as  the  logical 

N.T.— 8— 2 


nominee  of  the  Republican  party  for  the 
presidency  in  1920,  at  all  events  he  was 
sought  in  council  by  party  leaders,  and  a 
partial  reconciliation  was  brought  about 
between  him  and  his  former  close  friend, 
ex-President  Taft.  Colonel  Roosevelt 
offered  his  services  to  the  government, 
and  his  right  to  be  sent  to  France  as  an 
officer  of  high  rank  was  strongly  urged, 
through  the  press  of  the  country.  But  his 
age  was  against  him,  and  as  a  civilian  he 
rendered  valuable  home  service.  He  con- 
tinued a  power  in  the  party  which  both 
made  and  broke  him  until  the  hour  of 
his  death  and  Sagamore  Hill  was  ever  a 
news  center. 

Colonel  Roosevelt  was  long  a  contribu- 
tor to  magazines  and  newspapers,  and 
when  about  to  retire  from  the  presidency 
accepted  a  position  on  the  editorial  staff 
of  the  "Outlook,"  declining  the  presidency 
of  a  corporation  offering  him  $100,000 
annual  salary,  to  accept  the  "Outlook's" 
$12,000,  so  determined  was  he  to  make  no 
commercial  use  of  his  name.  He  con- 
tinued his  connection  with  the  "Outlook" 
as  special  contributing  editor  until  June, 
1914,  and  was  also  a  writer  on  the  staff 
of  several  newspapers,  notably  the  "Kan- 
sas City  Star."  He  was  a  member  of  the 
American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Letters. 
His  published  works  are :  "History  of  the 
Naval  War  of  1812;"  "Hunting  trips  of  a 
Ranchman" ;  "Life  of  Thomas  Hart  Ben- 
ton" ;  "Life  of  Gouverneur  Morris" ; 
"Ranch  Life  and  Hunting  Trails"  ;  "Win- 
ning of  the  West,"  1889 ;  "History  of  New 
York" ;  "The  Wilderness  Hunter" ; 
"American  Ideals  and  Other  Essays"; 
"The  Rough  Riders";  "Life  of  Oliver 
Cromwell";  "The  Strenuous  Life"; 
"Works"  (8  volumes)  ;  "Outdoor  Pas- 
times of  an  American  Hunter";  "Good 
Hunting"  ;  "True  Americanism"  ;  "Afri- 
can and  European  Addresses";  "African 

17 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Game  Trails" ;  "The  New  Nationalism" ; 
"Realizable  Ideals"  (The  Earl  Lectures)  ; 
"Conservation  of  Womanhood  and  Child- 
hood";  "History  of  Literature  and  Other 
Essays"  ;  "Theodore  Roosevelt,  an  Auto- 
biography" ;  "Life  Histories  of  African 
Game  Animals,"  (2  vols.)  ;  "Through  the 
Brazilian  Wilderness";  "America  and 
the  World  War";  "A  Booklover's  Holi- 
days in  the  open" ;  "Fear  God  and  Take 
Your  Own  Part" ;  "Foes  of  Our  Own 
Household";  "National  Strength  and 
International  Duty"  (Stafiford  Little  Lec- 
tures) ;  "Hero  Tales  from  American 
History"  (in  Collaboration  with  Henry 
Cabot  Lodge). 

In  1881,  Colonel  Roosevelt  made  his 
first  trip  to  Europe  and  while  in  Switzer- 
land made  the  ascent  of  the  Matterhorn 
and  the  Jungfrau.  Another  trip  of  espe- 
cial moment  was  as  special  ambassador  of 
the  United  States  at  the  funeral  of  King 
Edward  of  England,  in  1910. 

In  1913  Colonel  Roosevelt  visited  South 
America  and  delivered  addresses  before 
universities  and  learned  societies.  He 
headed  an  exploring  party  to  Brazil  in 
1914,  there  discovering  and,  between  Feb- 
ruary 27  and  April  26,  1914,  exploring  for 
a  distance  of  about  600  miles  a  territory 
of  the  Maderia  river,  subsequently  named 
in  his  honor,  by  the  Brazilian  govern- 
ment, "Reo  Teodoro."  This  expedition 
added  much  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
geography,  the  flora  and  the  fauna  of  the 
South  American  jungle.  The  same  year 
(1914)  he  visited  Spain  and  in  June  he 
lectured  before  the  Royal  Geographic 
Society,  London,  England. 

Colonel  Roosevelt  was  often  a  storm 
center  and  two  of  his  controversies  which 
reached  the  courts  are  of  interest.  He 
was  the  plaintiff  in  a  suit  for  libel  against 
G.  H.  Newett,  who  had  in  a  newspaper 
article  during  the  presidential  campaign 


of  1912,  charged  him  with  intoxication. 
The  case  came  to  trial  but  after  submis- 
sion of  the  defendant's  witnesses  the 
charge  was  withdrawn  in  open  court  and 
judgment  rendered  the  plaintii?,  thus 
completely  exonerating  him  from  a  charge 
which  all  knew  was  utterly  without  foun- 
dation. In  1914  Colonel  Roosevelt  was 
defendant  in  a  suit  brought  by  William 
Barnes,  Jr.,  of  Albany,  New  York,  for 
alleged  libelous  utterances  contained  in  a 
statement  made  on  July  22,  1914,  charg- 
ing among  other  things  that  the  "rotten- 
ness" of  the  New  York  State  government 
was  due  directly  "to  the  dominance  in 
politics  of  Charles  F.  Murphy,  Tammany 
Hall  leader  and  his  sub  bosses,  aided  and 
abetted  by  Mr.  Barnes  and  the  sub  bosses 
of  Mr.  Barnes,  and  that  there  was  an  in- 
visible government  of  party  bosses  work- 
ing through  an  alliance  between  crooked 
business  and  crooked  politics."  A  ver- 
dict was  rendered  at  Syracuse,  New  York, 
May  22,  191 5,  in  favor  of  the  defendant. 

Another  incident  of  this  wonderful  life, 
more  tragic  yet  with  as  happy  an  ending, 
was  his  attempted  assassination  in  Mil- 
waukee in  October,  1912,  while  delivering 
a  speech.  The  shot  was  fired  by  John 
Schrank,  who  later  was  adjudged  insane. 
The  ball  entered  the  Colonel's  body  in 
what  was  feared  a  fatal  spot,  but  after  an 
examination  he  returned  to  the  stage  and 
finished  the  delivery  of  his  speech, 
although  warned  not  to  do  so  by  the 
physicians  and  his  friends. 

The  degree  of  LL.  D.  was  first  con- 
ferred upon  Colonel  Roosevelt  by  Colum- 
bia University  in  1899,  followed  by  Hope 
College  in  1901,  Yale  University,  1901, 
Harvard  University,  1902,  Northwestern 
University,  1903,  Chicago  University, 
1903,  University  of  California,  1903,  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania,  1905,  Clark 
University,     1905,     George     Washington 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


University,  1910,  Cambridge  University, 
1910,  Oxford  University  conferred  D.  C. 
L.  in  1910,  the  University  of  Berlin,  Ph. 
D.,  1910. 

Colonel  Roosevelt  married,  October  27, 
1880,  Alice  Hathaway  Lee,  who  died 
February  14,  1884,  daughter  of  George 
Cabot  Lee,  of  Boston.  He  married  in 
London,  England,  December  2,  1886, 
Edith  Kermit  Carow,  daughter  of  Charles 
Carow,  of  New  York.  Children :  Alice 
Lee,  wife  of  Nicholas  Longworth,  Con- 
gressman;  Theodore  (3),  lieutenant- 
colonel  in  the  United  States  army  during 
the  World  War,  wounded  in  battle ; 
Kermit,  enlisted  first  in  the  British  army, 
later  commissioned  in  the  United  States 
army,  served  with  the  American  Expe- 
ditionary Forces  in  France;  Ethel,  wife 
of  Dr.  Richard  Derby,  a  member  of  the 
Medical  Reserve  Corps,  American  Expe- 
ditionary Forces;  Archibald,  decorated 
and  promoted  to  a  captaincy  on  the  field 
of  battle  in  France;  Quintin,  who  sleeps 
in  a  soldier's  grave  in  France,  was  an 
aviator  holding  the  rank  of  lieutenant, 
killed  in  aerial  conflict  with  German  fliers. 

No  one  characteristic  shone  forth  more 
prominently  in  Colonel  Roosevelt's  life 
than  his  great  love  of  family  and  home. 
Hence  it  was  most  fitting  that  he  should 
be  laid  to  rest  by  those  who  knew  and 
loved  him  and  not  with  the  pomp  and 
circumstance  of  a  military  funeral  which 
was  offered.  The  funeral  services  were 
held  in  the  little  Episcopal  Church  at 
Oyster  Bay,  the  only  persons  present,  the 
family  and  perhaps  500  personal  friends. 
The  grave  is  on  the  hillside  in  the  village 
cemetery  overlooking  Long  Island  Sound 
and  near  the  home  of  his  boyhood  and 
later  home  "Sagamore  Hill."  President 
Wilson  sent  his  respects  in  the  following 
words :  "The  United  States  has  lost  one 
of  its   most  distinguished    and    patriotic 


citizens  who  had  endeared  himself  to  the 
people  by  his  strenuous  devotion  to  their 
interests  and  to  the  public  interests  of  his 
countrymen.  .  .  .  His  private  life  was 
characterized  by  a  simplicity,  a  virtue 
and  an  affection  worthy  of  all  admiration 
by  the  people  of  America.  .  .  ."  Similar 
messages  came  from  all  over  the  United 
States,  from  European,  South  American 
and  other  countries  of  the  world. 

Sunday,  February  9,  1919,  was  observed 
all  over  the  United  States  as  Roosevelt 
Memorial  Day.  Special  services  were 
also  held  in  England  and  in  France.  At 
almost  every  church  in  the  United  States 
special  services  were  held  in  which  the 
memory  of  Colonel  Roosevelt  was  hon- 
ored by  addresses  or  remarks  or  some 
form  of  ritual. 

The  most  important  observance  was 
that  in  the  chamber  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives in  the  afternoon,  attended  by 
Senators,  Congressmen,  members  of  the 
Cabinet,  the  Diplomatic  Corps,  Justices 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  the  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States,  the  Speaker  of  the 
House  and  other  distinguished  persons. 
The  memorial  oration  was  delivered  by 
Senator  Lodge,  who  pronounced  the 
eulogy  from  a  full  heart  and  from  inti- 
mate knowledge. 

He  said  in  the  course  of  his  address: 

No  man  ever  had  a  more  abundant  sense  of  humor. 
Joyous,  irrepressible  humor — and  it  never  deserted 
him.  Even  at  the  most  serious  and  even  perilous 
moments  if  there  was  a  glean  of  humor  anywhere, 
he  saw  it,  and  rejoiced  and  helped  himself  with  it 
over  the  hard  places.  He  loved  fun,  loved  to  joke 
and  chaff,  and  what  is  more  uncommon  greatly 
enjoyed  being  chaffed  himself.  He  never  by  any 
chance  bored  the  American  people.  They  might 
laugh  at  him  or  laugh  with  him,  they  might  like 
what  he  said  or  they  might  dislike  it,  they  might 
agree  with  him  or  disagree  with  him,  but  they  were 
never  wearied  of  him  and  he  never  failed  to  inter- 
est them.     He  was  never  heavy,  laborious  or  dull. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


This  is  but  the  barest  outline  of  the 
career  of  one  of  America's  greatest  public 
men.  He  was  generous  and  brave,  a  lion 
in  the  face  of  danger,  yet  moved  to  pity 
at  the  sight  of  suffering,  a  man  of  action 
and  wonderful  performance  in  statesman- 
ship;  in  letters,  in  exploration,  and  in  his 
philosophy  of  life,  he  impressed  the  world 
with  his  opinions.  To  him,  Stevenson's 
requiem  and  epitaph  seems  most  appro- 
priate: 

Under  the  wide  and  starry  sky 
Dig  the  grave  and  let  me  lie. 
Gladly  did  I  live  and  gladly  die, 
And  I  laid  me  down  with  a  will. 

This  be  the  verse  you  grave  for  me : 
Here  he  lies  where  he  longed  to  be. 
Home  is  the  sailor  home  from  the  sea. 
And  the  hunter  home  from  the  hill. 


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  Par- 
ker, served  for  three  years  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary Army. 

Alton  Brooks  Parker  was  educated  in 
the  public  schools  of  his  native  town,  the 
Cortlandt  Academy,  and  the  State  Nor- 
mal 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  & 
Hardenbergh,  both  accomplished  lawyers, 
and  the  first  named  soon  afterward  be- 
coming Attorney-General  of  the  State. 
He   subsequently    took   a   course    in    the 


Albany  Law  School,  from  which  he  grad- 
uated, and  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
on  attaining  his  majority.  He  then 
formed  a  law  partnership  with  W.  S. 
Kenyon,  of  Kingston,  an  association 
which  was  maintained  until  1878.  Mean- 
time he  had  already  entered  upon  a  pub- 
lic 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  can- 
didates 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  occa- 
sioned by  the  death  of  Judge  Theodore 
R.  Westbrook,  and  on  the  expiration  of 
the  term  he  was  elected  to  the  place  for 
the  full  fourteen  year  term,  no  Republican 
candidate  being  nominated  against  him. 
Meantime  he  had  declined  other  prefer- 
ments— his  party  nomination  for  Secre- 
tary of  State,  and  for  Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor, and  later  the  proffer  of  the  position 
of  First  Assistant  Postmaster-General  by 
President  Cleveland.  In  1885,  at  the 
earnest  solicitation  of  many  of  the  princi- 
pal men  of  his  party,  he  accepted  the 
chairmanship  of  the  executive  committee 
of  the  Democratic  State  Committee,  and 
in  this  position  exhibited  masterly  quali- 
ties 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 
20 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Department.  The  Governor  complied, 
and  Judge  Parker  added  to  his  celebrity 
as  a  jurist,  and  to  such  a  degree  that  in 
1897  he  was  made  the  Democratic  nomi- 
nee 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),  where- 
as in  the  election  of  the  year  before,  the 
State  had  given  William  McKinley  a 
majority  of  268,469.  This  great  tribute 
to  his  character  and  talents  gave  Judge 
Parker  great  prestige,  and  in  1902  he  was 
urgently  requested  to  accept  the  Demo- 
cratic nomination  for  governor,  but  he 
was  averse  from  leaving  the  bench,  and 
declined.  However,  he  had  become  a 
character  of  national  importance,  and  in 
1904  he  was  the  logical  candidate  for  the 
presidential  nomination.  In  the  conven- 
tion, no  other  name  than  his  was  seriously 
considered.  But  one  ballot  was  taken, 
he  receiving  689  out  of  the  869  ballots 
cast,  and  the  nomination  being  made 
unanimous.  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 
Campaign.  The  election  resulting  in  his 
defeat,  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  in- 
terests. An  incident  of  his  practice  was 
his  appearance  as  counsel  for  the  mana- 
gers of  the  impeachment  trial  of  Governor 
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  Associa- 
tion in  1906-07;  of  the  New  York  County 
Lawyers'  Association  in  1900-11;  of  the 
New  York  State  Bar  Association  in  1913 ; 
and  first  vice-president  of  the  American 
Academy  of  Jurisprudence  in  1914. 

Alton  B.  Parker  married  (i),  October 
16,  1873,  Mary  L.  Schoonmaker,  daugh- 
ter of  M.  I.  Schoonmaker,  of  Accord, 
New  York.  He  married  (2)  Amelia  Day 
Campbell. 


DEPEW,  Chauncey  Mitchell, 

'Well-Known  Statesman. 

In  the  annals  of  Westchester  County 
appear  some  of  the  most  illustrious  names 
in  American  history,  and  prominent 
among  names  such  as  Verplanck,  Van 
Cortlandt  and  Pelham — members  of 
which  famed  families  were  cradled  in 
Westchester — and  later  those  of  Reid, 
Gould  and  Mills,  stands  the  world-known, 
world-renowned  name  of  Depew.  Chaun- 
cey Mitchell  Depew,  famous  scion  of  a 
famous  house,  is  one  of  Westchester 
County's  noblest  and  best-loved  sons.  In 
foreign  lands  his  name  is  synonymous 
with  America.  In  America  his  name  is 
synonymous  with  oratory,  philanthropy 
and  statesmanship,  and  decidedly  antony- 
mous  to  all  characteristics  not  compatible 
with  a  spotless  public  and  private  life. 
Westchester  County  in  particular,  and 
America  generally,  can  be  both  thankful 
and  grateful  for  the  son  who  brought 
honour  and  prestige  to  his  birthplace  and 
his  country,  and  whose  life  has  left  such 
a  distinct  and  lasting  impress  on  the 
history  of  the  United  States. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Chauncey  M.  Depew  is  a  descendant 
of  a  famous  Huguenot  family,  the  name  in 
passing  from  France,  through  Holland 
and  to  America,  having  undergone  vari- 
ous changes  of  spelling,  among  which  the 
following  are  the  more  general:  Original- 
ly Du  Puy  or  De  Puy,  then  Dupuis, 
Depui,  De  Pue,  Depuy,  De  Pew,  and  final- 
ly Depew.  History  records  that  one  of 
the  earliest  ancestors,  Raphael  Du  Puy, 
served  as  an  officer  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Empire  under  Conrad  the  Second,  in  1030. 
From  that  time  on,  down  through  the 
centuries,  the  family  has  distinguished  it- 
self in  both  State  and  church  history.  The 
Depews  had  their  inception  in  America 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  which  advent  was  due  to  the  re- 
ligious persecution  accorded  the  Hugu- 
enots, of  which  religious  faith  the  family 
was  in  sympathy.  The  progenitor  of  the 
American  branch  of  the  family  was 
Francois  Dupuis. 

(i)  Francois  Dupuis  fled  from  France 
to  Holland  to  escape  arrest  and  possible 
execution  from  the  hands  of  the  anti- 
Huguenots,  and  later  came  to  America, 
arriving  some  years  prior  to  1661,  the 
exact  date  not  being  obtainable.  Old 
records,  however,  prove  him  to  have  been 
an  early  resident  of  Boswyck  (Bushwick), 
for  his  name  appears  on  a  petition  asking 
for  certain  privileges  for  that  town  under 
date  of  March  14,  1661,  and  in  the  year 
1663,  his  name  again  appears  on  the 
muster  rolls  of  a  company  of  militia  under 
command  of  Ryck  Lykeker,  which  com- 
pany was  probably  organized  to  combat 
the  depredations  of  the  Indians.  Francois 
Dupuis  moved  in  succession  from 
(Breuckelen)  Brooklyn  to  Flatbush,  from 
there  to  Haverstraw,  and  finally,  in  1702, 
he  crossed  the  Hudson  River  and  settled 
in  Westchester  County  on  a  tract  of  land 
purchased  from  the  Indians.     On  a  part 


of  this  land  was  the  village  of  Peekskill 
founded  in  1764,  the  remainder  being  held 
in  fee  by  its  proprietor,  Francois  Depew, 
and  the  last  of  his  share  was  given  in 
1896  by  Chauncey  M.  Depew,  to  whom  it 
had  descended,  to  the  village  of  Peekskill 
for  a  public  park.  On  this  land,  which 
had  been  in  the  Depew  family  for  two 
hundred  and  eleven  years,  there  to-day 
stands  a  monument  to  Mr.  Depew  in  the 
form  of  a  statue  of  him  in  a  speaking  pose, 
a  fitting  tribute  to  a  well-loved  son. 
Francois  Dupuis  was  married  in  Brook- 
lyn, on  September  26,  1661,  to  Geertje 
Willems,  daughter  of  Willem  Jacobs  Van 
Boerum,  and  of  this  marriage  there  were 
several  children,  some  of  whom  settled 
and  married  throughout  what  is  now  the 
metropolitan  section  and  Westchester 
County.  The  line  continues  through  the 
eldest  child,  William,  of  whom  further 
mention. 

(II)  William  Depew,  probably  the 
eldest  son  of  Francois  and  Geertje  (Wil- 
lems) Dupuis,  was  born  at  Bushwick,  and 
was  among  the  pioneer  settlers  in  West- 
chester County.  He  married  Lysbeth 
Weyt,  of  English  parentage,  this  being 
the  first  marriage  in  the  Manor  of  Cort- 
landt.  Among  their  children  was  Fran- 
cois, grandson  of  the  original  Francois, 
of  whom  further. 

(HI)  Francois  (II)  Depew,  son  of 
William  and  Lysbeth  (Weyt)  Depew, 
was  born  at  or  near  Tarrytown,  New 
York,  in  August,  1700,  and  was  baptized 
in  the  old  Dutch  Church  of  Sleepy  Hol- 
low, at  Tarrytown,  on  August  zo,  1700. 
His  name  is  recorded  as  Frans  De  Pew, 
and  later  the  name  took  its  present  form 
of  Depew.  Francois  (II)  Depew,  married 
at  Tarrytown,  New  York,  on  June  3,  1727, 
Maritje  Van  Thessel.  Among  their 
children  was  Hendrikus,  through  whom 
the  line  descends. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


(IV)  Hendrikus  (or  Henry)  Depew, 
son  of  Francois  (II)  and  Maritje  (Van 
Thessel)  Depew,  was  baptized  at  Tarry- 
town,  New  York,  on  April  27,  1728.  He 
married,  but  his  wife's  name  is  not  re- 
corded. Upon  the  baptism  of  their  son, 
Abraham,  in  the  Dutch  Church  at  Tarry- 
town.  "Franz  Pue  and  Wife"  are  named 
as  sponsors  for  the  child.  Through  this 
child,  Abraham,  descent  is  traced  to 
Chauncey  Mitchell  Depew,  the  subject  of 
this  biographical  record. 

(V)  Abraham  Depew,  son  of  Hendri- 
kus (or  Henry)  Depew,  was  born  at  Cort- 
landt  Manor  and  was  baptized  in  the 
Dutch  Church  at  Tarrytown,  New  York, 
on  April  5,  1752.  He  enlisted  Januaty 
2,  1777,  and  served  throughout  the  Revo- 
lutionary War,  being  discharged  with  the 
rank  of  corporal  in  the  year  1780.  Abra- 
ham Depew  married  Catherine  Kronkite, 
daughter  of  Captain  James  Kronkite. 
Among  their  children  was  Isaac,  of  whom 
further. 

(VI)  Isaac  Depew,  son  of  Abraham 
and  Catherine  (Kronkite)  Depew,  was 
born  at  Peekskill,  New  York,  about  the 
year  181 1,  and  spent  most  of  his  life  car- 
ing for  the  estate  which  his  paternal  an- 
cestors had  purchased  from  the  Indians. 
He  was  an  influential  citizen  of  Peekskill, 
and  took  great  interest  in  the  affairs  of 
the  town.  He  married  Martha  Mitchell, 
daughter  of  Chauncey  Root  Mitchell,  a 
distinguished  lawyer.  Martha  (Mitchell) 
Depew  was  a  descendant  of  three  old  and 
honored  families :  the  Mitchells ;  the 
Johnstons;  and  the  Shermans.  Another 
of  her  ancestors  was  the  Rev.  Charles 
Chauncey,  the  first  president  of  Harvard 
College. 

(VII)  The  Honorable  Chauncey  Mit- 
chell Depew,  a  member  of  the  seventh 
generation  of  the  Dupuis  family  in  Ameri- 
ca, was  born  in  Peekskill,  Westchester 
County,  New  York,  on  April  23,  1834,  son 


of  Isaac  and  IMartha  (Mitchell)  Depew. 
He  received  his  scholastic  preparation  for 
college  at  the  Peekskill  Academy,  and  in 
the  year  1852,  matriculated  at  Yale  College 
in  what  was  destined  to  be  known  in  after 
years  as  the  "Famous  Class  of  '56."  Two 
members  of  this  class  later  became  Jus- 
tices of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  namely,  Henry  Billings  Brown 
and  David  J.  Brewer;  while  others  at- 
tained correspondingly  high  positions  in 
the  State  or  Nation.  Mr.  Depew  was 
graduated  from  Yale  with  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Arts  in  the  year  1856;  in 
due  course  received  his  Master  of  Arts 
degree  ;  and  in  1887,  was  given  the  honor- 
ary degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  During 
the  following  years  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  Yale  Corporation,  which 
position  he  held  for  a  period  of  twelve 
years. 

Upon  leaving  college,  he  entered  the 
political  arena  by  actively  supporting  and 
advocating  the  cause  of  Fremont  and 
Dayton,  the  first  presidential  and  vice- 
presidential  candidates  of  the  newly 
formed  Republican  party,  and  to  this  end 
he  made  speeches  throughout  the  country, 
deploring  the  slavery  and  polygamous 
conditions  existing  in  the  territories.  In 
1858,  he  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the 
Republican  State  Convention,  and  dur- 
ing the  half-century  that  has  elapsed  since 
that  time  has  been  a  delegate  to  every 
succeeding  convention  with  the  exception 
of  two.  He  has  also  been  a  delegate  to 
five  separate  Republican  National  Con- 
ventions, as  well  as  to  many  other  nati- 
onal conventions.  In  1861,  he  was  elected 
to  the  Legislature  from  the  Third  West- 
chester District ;  was  reelected  in  1862, 
and  became  chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Ways  and  Means,  as  well  as  leader  of 
the  House.  He  also  acted  for  a  great  part 
of  the  time  as  speaker  pro  tern. 

In  the  year  1863,  he  headed  the  Re- 


23 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


publican  State  ticket  as  candidate  for 
Secretary  of  State,  and  was  elected.  In 
1866,  President  Johnson  appointed  Mr. 
Depew  United  States  Minister  to  Japan, 
the  confirmation  by  the  Senate  followed 
immediately,  but  for  family  reasons  Mr. 
Depew  declined  this  great  honor.  In 
1872,  he  was  candidate  for  Lieutenant- 
Governor  on  the  Liberal  Republican 
ticket,  but  failed  to  be  elected.  In  1874, 
he  was  elected  by  the  Legislature  to  the 
post  of  regent  of  the  University  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  and  held  this  highly 
responsible  position  for  a  period  of  thirty- 
four  years.  He  was  also  one  of  the  com- 
missioners appointed  to  build  the  capitol 
at  Albany.  Mr.  Depew  was  candidate  for 
senator  on  two  occasions,  and  withdrew, 
once  to  secure  the  election  of  two  other 
senators,  and  the  other  time  for  business 
reasons. 

In  the  year  1888,  he  was  unanimously 
supported  by  the  State  of  New  York  for 
the  presidential  nomination  and  received 
ninety-nine  votes  in  the  Republican 
National  Convention.  General  Benjamin 
Harrison  was  nominated,  and  after  his 
election  offered  to  Mr.  Depew  every  posi- 
tion in  his  cabinet  except  that  of  Secre- 
tary of  State,  which  he  had  promised  to 
Mr.  Blaine,  or  if  he  preferred,  any  mission 
abroad  that  he  might  select,  all  of  which 
he  declined.  In  1894,  when  Mr.  Blaine 
resigned  from  his  office  of  Secretary  of 
State,  the  position  was  again  tendered  to 
Mr.  Depew,  but  this  he  also  declined.  In 
1899,  Mr.  Depew  was  elected  United 
States  Senator  for  six  years,  and  in  the 
year  1905  was  reelected.  As  a  candidate 
for  the  United  States  Senatorship,  Mr. 
Depew  has  received  more  ballots  from 
the  members  of  his  party  in  the  State 
Legislature  than  any  other  citizen  in  the 
United  States,  namely,  sixty  ballots,  one 
each    day   for   sixty   days    in    1881,    and 


sixty-four  during  the  forty-five  days  in 
the  year  191 1. 

Mr.  Depew  is  an  orator  of  world-wide 
reputation,  and  has  been  the  speaker  on 
many  occasions  of  national  importance. 
He  was  the  orator  selected  to  give  the 
oration  at  the  Centennial  Anniversary  of 
the  inauguration  of  the  first  President  of 
the  United  States  of  the  organization  of 
the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  New  York ; 
of  the  capture  of  Major  Andre;  of  the 
dedication  of  the  Bartholdi  Statue  of 
Liberty  in  the  harbor  of  the  city  of  New 
York ;  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  Harrison  in 
the  national  convention  in  1892,  and  for 
Roosevelt  in  1904.  His  last  notable 
political  speech  was  in  advocacy  of  the  re- 
election of  President  Taft  in  the  year 
1912.  Justin  McCarthy  in  his  "Remin- 
iscences" ranks  Mr.  Depew  second  only 
to  Charles  Dickens  as  an  after-dinner 
speaker.  It  is  safe  to  assume  that  no 
American  in  recent  years  has  been  the 
equal  in  forensic  ability  of  Chauncey  M. 
Depew.  In  him  it  was  more  than  a  gift — 
it  was  pure  genius ;  and  genius  is  dealt 
out  sparingly  by  the  gods.  In  Mr. 
Depew's  recent  volume,  "My  Memories 
of  Eighty  Years"  he  recounts  many  of 
his  stories  and  sayings  which  have  re- 
ceived world-wide  circulation  and  ac- 
claim. 

Mr.  Depew's  highest  reputation  through- 
out the  country  is  as  an  orator  and  states- 
man, yet  with  all  these  activities  his  life 
has  been  crowded  with  professional  and 
business  affairs.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1858,  and  1866  he  became  attorney 
for   the    New   York   &   Harlem    Railroad 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Company;  in  1869,  when  the  road  was 
consolidated  with  the  New  York  Central 
&  Hudson  River  Railroad,  with  Com- 
modore Vanderbilt  at  its  head,  Mr. 
Depew  was  chosen  attorney  for  the  new 
corporation  and  elected  a  member  of  the 
board  of  directors.  As  the  Vanderbilt 
railroad  system  expanded,  Mr.  Depew's 
interests  and  duties  increased  in  a  cor- 
responding degree,  and  in  1875  he  was  ap- 
pointed general  counsel  of  the  entire  sys- 
tem, and  elected  a  director  of  the  roads 
of  which  it  was  composed.  On  the  resig- 
nation of  Mr.  Vanderbilt  from  the  presi- 
dency, Mr.  Depew  was  made  second  vice- 
president,  and  in  1885,  was  advanced  to 
the  presidency  of  the  New  York  Central 
and  Hudson  River  Railroad.  He  held 
this  office  for  thirteen  years  during  which 
period  he  was  president  of  six  other  rail- 
road companies  in  the  system  and  was 
director  in  twenty-eight  additional  lines. 
On  his  resignation  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  and  Michigan  Southern 
Railroad,  and  the  New  York,  Chicago  and 
St.  Louis  Railroad,  which  position  he  held 
for  more  than  a  decade  and  a  half. 

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 ;  of  the  Yale  Alumni  Association  of 
New  York  for  ten  years ;  for  seven  years 
president  of  the  Union  League,  a  longer 
term  than  that  held  by  any  other,  and  on 
declining  further  election,  he  was  made  an 
honorary  life  member.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce ; 
the  society  of  Cincinnati ;  a  Master  Mason 
of  Kane  Lodge  of  Peekskill,  and  holds 
the  thirty-third  degree  in  the  Ancient  and 
Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  in  the  Valley  of 


New  York ;  the  Huguenot  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  Westchester 
County  Bar  Association ;  the  Republican 
Club  ;  the  Lotos  Club ;  the  Players'  Club  ; 
the  Transportation  Club ;  the  Lafayette 
Post ;  the  University  Club ;  the  Phi  Beta 
Kappa  Club,  and  the  Psi  Upsilon  Club. 
In  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  he 
is  a  member  of  the  Metropolitan  Club ; 
the  Chevy-Chase  Club ;  the  Alibi  Club ; 
the  Country  Club,  and  the  University 
Club ;  he  is  also  a  director  in  many  finan- 
cial, fiduciary  and  other  corporations.  He 
is  a  hereditary  member  of  the  Society  of 
Cincinnati ;  and  the  French  Government 
has  made  him  an  officer  of  the  Legion  of 
Honor. 

Mr.  Depew  married  (first)  in  1871, 
Elise,  daughter  of  William  Hegeman,  of 
New  York.  She  died  in  1892.  They  had 
one  son,  Chauncey  M.  Depew,  Jr.  He 
married  (second)  in  1901,  May  Palmer. 

Writing  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight 
years,  with  his  active  life  stored  with  rich 
memories,  Mr.  Depew  says  that  he  never 
keeps  a  diary,  but  depends  entirely  upon 
that  memory,  which  unfolds  before  him 
like  a  film  upon  the  screen,  reenacting 
the  episodes  and  thoughts  of  the  past. 
He  says: 

"Life  has  had  for  me  immeasurable 
charms.  I  recognize  that  at  all  times 
there  has  been  granted  to  me  the  loving 
care  and  guidance  of  God.  My  sorrows 
have  been  alleviated  and  lost  their  acute- 
ness  from  a  firm  belief  in  closer  re-union 
in  eternity.  My  misfortunes,  disappoint- 
ments and  losses  have  been  met  and  over- 
come by  abundant  proof  of  my  mother's 
faith  and  teaching  that  they  were  the  dis- 
cipline of  Providence  for  my  own  good, 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  if  met  in  that  spirit  and  with  redoubled 
effort  to  redeem  the  apparent  tragedy 
they  would  prove  to  be  blessings.  Such 
has  been  the  case."  His  thoughts  fre- 
quently revert  to  his  mother  whom  he 
held  in  highest  esteem.  He  said  in  a  con- 
versation to  newspaper  men  when  ques- 
tioned about  his  belief  in  communion  be- 
tween this  and  the  invisible  world  that 
whenever  a  crisis  comes  in  his  life,  he 
feels  that  he  can  get  advice  and  help  from 
his  mother  by  following  naturally  the  line 
of  thought  that  he  knows  she  would  fol- 
low— and  so  arrive  at  her  conclusion.  His 
mother  died  some  thirty  years  ago.  Re- 
calling his  reading  in  his  youth  he  says: 
"No  pleasure  derived  in  reading  in  after 
years  gave  me  such  delight  as  the  'Wa- 
verly  Novels',"  and  speaking  of  his  modes 
of  action  he  says :  "I  rarely  ever  part  with 
anything  and  I  may  say  that  principle 
has  brought  me  so  many  losses  and  so 
many  gains,  that  I  am  as  yet  .  .  .  un- 
decided whether  it  is  a  good  rule  or  not. 
...  I  have  no  regrets.  I  know  my  make 
up,  with  its  love  for  the  social  side  of  life 
and  its  good  things,  and  for  good  times 
with  good  fellows.  I  also  know  the  neces- 
sity of  activity  and  work.  I  am  quite 
sure,  that  were  this  necessity  removed 
and  ambition  smothered,  I  should  long 
ago  have  been  in  my  grave  and  lost  many 
years  of  a  life  which  has  been  full  of  hap- 
piness and  satisfaction."  These  are  but  a 
few  of  the  thoughts  taken  from  the  store- 
house of  "My  Memories  of  Eighty  Years" 
and  when  recently,  on  his  eighty-ninth 
birthday,  on  April  23,  1923,  Chauncey  M. 
Depew  was  interviewed  by  many  news- 
paper men,  he  spoke  of  his  career  and 
touched  upon  many  topics  of  the  day. 
Summing  it  all  up  he  said,  that  he  had 
found  the  last  decade  the  most  exciting 
time  of  his  life,  because  of  his  intense  in- 
terest in  the  World  War.    He  also  spoke 


of  the  present  prosperity  of  the  United 
States,  and  said  that  he  believed  that  it 
was  here  to  stay.  He  expects  to  live  to  be 
100  years  old,  and  believes  that  his  last 
decade  will  be  a  very  enjoyable,  even  if 
a  more  quiet  one,  than  his  earlier  life. 
His  name  is  one  that  shines  upon  the 
pages  of  the  history  of  his  State  and 
country,  for  service  rendered  and  for  a 
life  well-spent  in  the  upholding  of  ideals 
that  will  ever  make  him  loved  and  hon- 
ored. 


HILLIS,  Newell  Dwight, 

Clergyman,  Antbor. 

The  Rev.  Newell  Dwight  Hillis  was  for 
twenty-five  years  a  dynamic  force  in  his 
Plymouth  Church,  and  he  made  that 
church  a  dynamic  force  in  Brooklyn  life. 
He  came  to  Plymouth  Church  from  Chi- 
cago, an  aggressive  man  under  forty 
years  of  age.  His  physical,  mental  and 
spiritual  vigor  were  hurled  ardently  into 
the  task  of  building  and  broadening  his 
church  and  its  works.  The  Plymouth 
Institute,  a  fine  civic  project,  "Brooklyn 
Beautiful,"  a  library  of  his  own  creation 
of  idealistic  addresses,  sermons,  and 
books  for  the  guidance  of  men  and 
women,  and  a  record  of  zealous  service 
for  his  country  during  the  World  War; 
these  are  among  the  proofs  of  his  success. 

Newell  Dwight  Hillis  was  born  of 
Puritan  stock  in  Magnolia,  Iowa,  Sep- 
tember 2,  1858.  He  received  his  educa- 
tion at  Iowa  College,  Lake  Forest  Uni- 
versity, and  McCormick  Theological 
Seminary,  with  supplementary  work  at 
Northwestern  University  which  brought 
him  degrees  as  Master  of  Arts  and  as 
Doctor  of  Divinity.  By  way  of  the  Pres- 
byterian ministry  and  Illinois  pastorates, 
he  reached  Plymouth  Church  in  Brooklyn 
in  1899.     He  resigned  in  1924  because  of 


26 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ill  health.  Certain  monuments  to  his 
achievements  remain.  Plymouth  Institu- 
tion was  established  in  1914  with  the 
object  of  helping  worthy  young  men  and 
women  increase  their  personal  and  eco- 
nomic value  to  society.  Its  handsome 
buildings  house  social,  educational,  and 
physical  training  departments.  The 
Beecher  arcade  and  historic  room,  con- 
taining momentoes  of  the  great  preacher, 
a  park  and  a  bronze  statue  of  Henry  W. 
Beecher,  are  part  of  the  general  scheme. 
As  leader  in  the  "Brooklyn  Beautiful" 
movement,  Dr.  Hillis  invited  Mr.  Burn- 
ham  to  Brooklyn  and  strove  to  arouse  its 
civic  conscience  with  his  slogan,  "All 
sections  for  each  section,  each  section  for 
all  sections  and  all  of  the  citizens  for 
Brooklyn."  In  his  historic  old  church 
were  installed,  thanks  to  his  efforts, 
beautiful  memorial  windows,  which  bore 
out  his  belief  in  beauty  as  an  aid  to  good- 
ness. His  work  with  voice  and  pen  dur- 
ing the  World  War  was  prodigious;  he 
spoke  in  nearly  two  hundred  cities, 
delivered  more  than  four  hundred  addres- 
ses, wrote  against  German  atrocities, 
Bolshevist  machinations,  and  for  patri- 
otism in  fighting  and  buying  liberty 
bonds  on  the  side  of  this  country  and 
right  in  the  World  War.  Of  fine  presence 
and  magnetic  personality,  Dr.  Hillis  is 
also  gracious,  generous,  learned,  sincere, 
and,  in  the  language  of  his  old  and  inti- 
mate friend,  Theodore  Roosevelt,  "the 
greatest  forensic  orator  in  America." 
Some  of  his  books  are :  "Right  Living 
as  a  Fine  Art;"  "Success  through  Self- 
Help;"  "Great  Books  as  Life  Teachers;" 
"Influence  of  Christ  in  Modern  Life." 
With  these  and  his  published  sermons, 
as  well  as  with  his  spoken  words,  he 
profoundly  stirred  the  souls  of  the  Ameri- 
can people. 

Dr.  Hillis  married,  in  Chicago,  Illinois, 


April  14,  18S7,  Annie  Louise  Patrick, 
daughter  of  R.  M.  Patrick,  of  Marengo, 
Illinois.  Their  children  were:  Richard 
Dwight,  born  in  188S ;  Marjorie  Louise, 
born  in  1889;  and  Nathalie  Louise,  born 
in  1900. 


ODELL,  Benjamin  Barker,  Jr., 

Congressman,  Governor. 

One  of  New  York's  most  distinguished 
sons  is  Benjamin  Barker  Odell,  Jr., 
Governor  of  the  State  at  forty-seven, 
notable  conservationist  of  State  funds. 
No  administrator  of  New  York's  Govern- 
ment has  better  understood  the  wise  and 
efficient  paring  down  of  State  expenses, 
and  none  has  accomplished  it  with  more 
success  and  less  friction. 

Benjamin  Barker  Odell,  Jr.,  was  born 
in  Newburgh,  New  York,  January  14, 
1854,  son  of  the  Hon.  Benjamin  Barker 
and  Ophelia  (Bookstaver)  Odell.  Gover- 
nor Odell's  early  education  was  acquired 
in  the  public  schools  of  Newburgh,  from 
which  he  went  to  Bethany  College  in 
West  Virginia.  His  final  college  work 
was  done  at  Columbia  University  from 
1873  to  1875,  which  institution  bestowed 
on  him  the  degree  of  LL.  D.  in  1903. 
For  some  years  he  was  absorbed  in  finan- 
cial enterprises :  banking,  electric  light- 
ing, and  commercial  organizations  which 
materially  added  to  the  growth  of  New- 
burgh. He  was  president  of  the  New- 
burgh Electric  Company,  director  in  the 
Central  Hudson  Steamboat  Company  of 
New  York,  and  president  of  the  New- 
burgh Chamber  of  Commerce. 

From  his  early  voting  years  Governor 
Odell  was  keenly  alive  to  the  importance 
and  interest  of  political  affairs.  For 
twelve  years  before  1896  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Republican  State  Committee, 
and  from   1898  to   1900  chairman  of  the 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Republican  State  Executive  Committee. 
Although  defeated  in  his  first  campaign, 
for  State  Senator,  he  was  elected  to  the 
Fifty-fourth  Congress  as  Republican 
Representative,  was  re-elected,  serving 
from  March  4,  1895,  to  March  3,  1899, 
and  declined  renomination  for  a  third 
term.  When  elected  as  Governor  in  1900, 
he  announced  in  his  inaugural  address 
that  economy  and  good  judgment  in  the 
expenditure  of  the  State  funds  should  be 
the  keynote  of  his  administration.  It  was 
his  purpose  to  lay  the  burden  of  taxa- 
tion on  large  corporations  and  to  lessen 
that  on  property  owners.  He  effected 
savings  in  many  directions  without  im- 
pairing the  efficiency  of  the  Government ; 
the  Attorney  General  took  over  the  for- 
mer work  of  the  "counsel  to  the  Gover- 
nor ;"  tax  collection  was  reduced  in  cost 
by  some  $150,000  a  year;  the  consoli- 
dation of  various  bureaus  into  the  Depart- 
ment of  Labor  saved  some  $70,000  yearly ; 
reduction  in  membership  of  various 
boards  and  commissions,  and  consolida- 
tion of  commissions  efifected  other  large 
economies.  Perhaps  the  most  positive 
legislation  for  increasing  revenue  was  the 
taxation  of  trust  and  insurance  companies 
and  of  savings  banks,  so  as  to  bring  in 
additional  revenue  of  three  times  the 
original  amount  of  their  combined  taxa- 
tion. Liquor  taxes  were  increased  fifty 
per  cent.  A  Fiscal  Supervisor  of  State 
Charities  was  inaugurated  into  office,  and 
good  roads  became  a  slogan  in  the  depart- 
ment of  the  State  Engineer.  Governor 
Odell  vetoed  several  far-reaching  bills : 
one  effecting  the  rights  of  the  New  York 
and  New  Jersey  Bridge  Company  for  the 
construction  of  elevated  railroad  struct- 
ures on  West  Street  in  New  York  City ; 
two  relating  to  the  Park  Avenue  tunnel 
in  that  city ;  and  one  conferring  unusual 
powers    on    a    gas    company.      A    strict 


partisan,  he  did  all  that  he  honorably 
could  to  further  the  interests  of  the 
Republican  party.  Declining  renomina- 
tion in  1904,  he  returned  to  his  large 
financial  enterprises.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  National  Guard  for  eight  years, 
and  has  at  various  times  held  prominent 
positions  in  the  Masonic  and  Odd  Fellows 
fraternal   orders. 

Governor  Odell  married  (first),  August 
20,  1877,  Estelle  Crist,  of  Newburgh,  who 
died  in  1888.  He  married  (second)  Mrs. 
Linda  (Crist)  Trophagen,  sister  of  his 
first  wife. 


BUTLER,  Nicholas  Murray, 
Edncator,  Publicist. 

Scholars  are  popularly  supposed  to  be 
hermit-like  individuals,  who  are  gener- 
ally so  deeply  immersed  in  studies  that 
they  have  little  time  to  engage  or  take 
interest  in  the  practical  side  of  existence. 
But  a  review  of  the  life  of  Nicholas  Mur- 
ray Butler,  certainly  one  of  the  most 
scholarly  of  modern  Americans,  shows  a 
very  different  picture  than  this  popular 
conception,  for  few  men  in  any  calling 
have  as  wide  and  varied  interests  as  has 
he.  And  in  a  life  crowded  with  engross- 
ing activities  he  finds  time  to  be  an  en- 
thusiastic golfer  and  follower  of  other 
out-door  sports. 

Nicholas  Murray  Butler  was  born  in 
Elizabeth,  New  Jersey,  April  2,  1862,  the 
son  of  Henry  L.  and  Mary  J.  (Murray) 
Butler.  His  father  was  interested  in  edu- 
cational matters,  and  was  president  of  the 
Board  of  Education  of  Elizabeth  for 
many  years.  He  attended  school  in  Eliza- 
beth until  he  was  sixteen,  at  which  age 
he  entered  Columbia  University,  taking 
his  A.  B.,  1882,  M.  A.,  1883,  and  Ph.  D., 
1884.  He  then  went  abroad  and  con- 
tinued his  studies  in  the  universities  of 


28 


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:^.Q 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Berlin  and  Paris.  In  Berlin  he  met  and 
became  a  friend  of  professor  Paulsen,  the 
famous  philosopher.  Upon  his  return 
home  in  1886  he  became  an  instructor 
of  philosophy  at  Columbia  University,  a 
position  which  he  held  for  three  years. 
In  1889  he  became  adjunct  professor,  and 
the  following  year  a  full  professor  of  phi- 
losophy, ethics  and  psychology,  and  a 
lecturer  on  the  history  and  institutes  of 
education.  He  had  already  proven  him- 
self a  capable  instructor,  and  in  1890  he 
was  elected  dean  of  the  faculty  of  philoso- 
phy for  five  years  and  reelected  at  the 
expiration  of  this  period.  Meanwhile, 
in  addition  to  his  duties  at  Columbia,  he 
found  time  to  study  the  educational  sys- 
tem of  the  State  and  City,  and  to  compile 
statistics  and  official  documents  relating 
to  same.  He  was  also  president  of  Bar- 
nard College,  and  was  first  president  of 
the  New  York  College  for  the  Training 
of  Teachers  (now  Teacher's  College  of 
Columbia),  where  in  the  Horace  Mann 
School  of  Practice  he  had  the  opportunity 
to  test  his  educational  theories  from  1886 
to  1891. 

Dr.  Butler  was  a  member  of  the  State 
Board  of  Education,  1892-93,  and  in  1894 
he  became  university  examiner  in  educa- 
tion for  the  State  of  New  York.  Since 
1902  he  has  been  president  of  Columbia 
University,  including  the  presidency  of 
Barnard,  Teachers'  College,  and  the  Col- 
lege of  Pharmacy.  He  has  also  been  one 
of  the  largest  contributors  to  the  litera- 
ture of  his  profession.  He  was  the  founder 
of  the  "Educational  Review"  in  1891, 
and  his  editorship  of  this  publication  has 
done  much  to  promote  education  in 
America.  The  "Great  Educators"  of  the 
"Teachers'  Professional  Library"  was 
edited  by  him,  as  was  also  "Columbia 
University  Contributions"  to  philosophy, 
psychology,  and  education.     In    1899  he 


was  the  New  Jersey  commissioner  to  the 
Paris  Exposition.  He  has  taken  a  promi- 
nent part  in  politics,  and  his  friends  have 
several  times  urged  that  he  be  a  candidate 
for  the  presidential  nomination.  He  was 
a  delegate  to  the  Republican  National 
conventions  in  1884-1904-1912,  and  chair- 
man of  the  New  York  Republican  Con- 
vention in  1912.  He  received  the  Repub- 
lican electoral  vote  for  vice-president 
of  the  United  States  in  1913. 

In  addition  to  his  collegiate  duties, 
Dr.  Butler  was  chairman  of  the  admin- 
istrative board  of  the  International  Con- 
gress of  Arts  and  Sciences,  St.  Louis  Ex- 
position, 1904;  chairman  of  the  Lake 
Mohonk  conferences  on  International 
Arbitration,  1904;  president  of  the  Ameri- 
can branch  of  Conciliation  Internationale; 
trustee  of  the  Carnegie  Foundation  for 
the  Advancement  of  Teaching;  Carnegie 
Endowment  for  International  Peace, 
New  York  Life  Insurance  Company, 
Cathedral  of  St.  John  the  Divine,  New 
York  Philharmonic  Society ;  governor  of 
the  Society  of  the  Lying-In-Hospital ; 
trustee  of  the  Columbia  University  Press 
and  the  American  Academy  of  Rome; 
chairman  of  the  College  Entrance  Exami- 
nation Board ;  Officer  de  Legion  d'Hon- 
neur,  1906  (commander,  1912;  Grand 
Officer,  1921)  ;  commander  of  Order  of 
Red  Eagle  (with  Star)  of  Prussia,  1910; 
Grand  Cross  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Sava  (Greece)  1918;  Grand  Cordon 
of  the  Order  of  Leopold  (Belgium) 
1921  ;  also  Grand  Officer  of  the  Royal 
Order  of  the  Redeemer,  First  Class 
(Greece)  1918.  He  became  president 
of  the  American  Hellenic  Society  in 
1917,  and  a  member  of  the  Academy  of 
Arts  and  Letters,  Naples,  Italy,  1921.  He 
is  also  a  member  of  the  National  Educa- 
tional Association  (president,  1894) ; 
American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Letters; 


29 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


The  Pilgrims ;  the  American  Philosophi- 
cal Society;  American  Psychological 
Association  ;  New  England  Association  ; 
American  Historical  Association  (life)  ; 
Germanistic  Society ;  American  Scandi- 
navian Society ;  University  Settlement 
Society ;  National  Red  Cross  (life)  ; 
National  Commission  of  Education ;  New 
York  Chamber  of  Commerce  ;  and  Ameri- 
can Society  of  International  Law.  His 
clubs  are  the  Century,  Church,  Metropoli- 
tan, University,  Barnard,  Columbia  Uni- 
versity, Authors',  Garden  City  Golf,  Ard- 
sley.  Lotos,  Round  Table,  St.  Andrew's 
Golf,  Apawamis  Golf,  Metropolitan 
(Washington),  and  Bohemian  (San  Fran- 
cisco). 

Dr.  Butler  takes  a  keen  interest  in 
politics,  and  is  a  brilliant  speaker  on 
topics  of  this  nature  as  well  as  on  edu- 
cational and  scientific  subjects.  He  is 
also  a  prolific  writer,  and  among  the 
many  noteworthy  products  of  his  pen 
might  be  mentioned:  "The  Meaning  of 
Education" ;  "True  and  False  Demo- 
cracy" ;  "The  American  As  He  Is" ; 
"Philosophy" ;  "Why  Should  We  Change 
Our  Form  of  Government" ;  "The  Inter- 
national Mind" ;  "Education  in  the  United 
States";  "Is  America  Worth  Saving  and 
Other  Addresses";  "Scholarship  and  Ser- 
vice" ;  etc.  He  received  the  degree  of 
LL.  D.  from  Syracuse  University,  1898; 
Tulane,  1901 ;  Johns  Hopkins,  Princeton, 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Yale, 
1902;  University  of  Chicago,  1903;  St. 
Andrew's,  and  Manchester,  1905 ;  Wil- 
liams, 1908;  Harvard  and  Dartmouth, 
1909;  University  of  Breslau,  1911  ;  and 
D.  Lit.  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.     One  daughter  was 


born  to  them.  Mrs.  Butler  died  January 
ID,  1903.  He  married  (second),  March 
5,  1907,  Kate  La  Montagne. 


MORTON,  Levi  Parsons, 

statesman.  Financier. 

Rarely  in  the  history  of  the  world  has 
one  man  combined  the  qualities  of  a 
financier,  a  statesman,  and  a  diplomat,  all 
of  the  first  magnitude.  This  powerful 
trinity  is  the  distinction  of  Levi  P. 
Morton.  His  knowledge  of  financial 
affairs,  national  and  international,  his 
wealth,  his  political  insight  and  prestige, 
his  all-conquering  personality  were  all 
contributed  to  the  service  of  his  country. 
Levi  P.  Morton  was  born  at  Shoreham, 
Vermont,  May  16,  1824,  son  of  Rev. 
Daniel  Oliver  and  Lucretia  (Parsons) 
Morton.  A  paternal  ancestor  was  that 
George  Morton,  of  York,  England,  who 
was  financial  agent  of  the  Mayflower 
Puritans  in  London,  and  who  came  over 
in  the  ship  "Anne"  which  arrived  at  Ply- 
mouth, Massachusetts,  in  1623.  George 
Morton  established  his  family  at  Mid- 
dleboro,  Plymouth  County,  Massachu- 
setts, where  descendants  still  reside.  His 
son,  John  Morton,  was  the  first  delegate 
to  represent  Middleboro  in  the  General 
Court  at  Plymouth  in  1670,  which  service 
he  repeated  in  1672.  A  maternal  ancestor 
was  Cornet  Joseph  Parsons,  of  the  cav- 
alry troop  and  the  bearer  of  the  colors, 
who  was  the  father  of  the  first  child  born 
at  Northampton,  Massachusetts. 

Mr.  Morton  received  a  public  school 
education,  and  graduated  from  Shoreham 
Academy.  Dartmouth  College  conferred 
on  him  the  degree  of  LL.  D.,  July  14, 
1891,  and  Middleburg  College,  Vermont, 
added  a  similar  honor  in  1892.  At  fifteen 
he  entered  a  country  store  at  Enfield, 
Massachusetts,  which  he  left  in  order  to 


30 


^_^Z^lvn_7\    /^^^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


begin  in  mercantile  business  in  Hanover, 
New  Hampshire,  in  1843.  He  next  extend- 
ed his  circle  of  activities  to  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  beginning  as  a  clerk  with 
James  M.  Beebe  &  Company  and  becom- 
ing a  partner,  all  in  the  space  of  four 
years.  His  next  move  was  to  New  York, 
Mecca  of  the  ambitious,  where  limitless 
opportunities  opened  up  before  this  bril- 
liant young  man.  Continuing  his  mercan- 
tile business  in  Boston,  he  conducted  one 
simultaneously  in  New  York  until  he  had 
a  secure  footing  there.  He  then  estab- 
lished the  banking  firm  of  L.  P.  Morton 
&  Company,  in  1863.  Soon  a  foreign 
branch  was  added  under  the  firm  name  of 
L.  P.  Morton,  Burns  &  Company.  In 
1869  there  was  an  entire  reorganization 
under  the  name  of  Morton,  Bliss  & 
Company,  of  New  York,  and  Morton, 
Rose  &  Company,  of  London,  with  Sir 
John  Rose,  then  finance  minister  of  Can- 
ada, partner  in  the  London  firm.  Since 
Mr.  Morton  had  made  a  careful  study  of 
the  financial  transactions  of  the  United 
States  Government,  his  firm  was  one  of 
the  syndicates  to  assist  in  refunding  the 
national  debt,  which  made  the  resumption 
of  specie  payments  possible  at  a  fixed  rate. 
The  London  firm  was  appointed  financial 
agent  of  the  United  States  Government 
in  1873  and  continued  to  1884,  and  again 
in  1889.  With  the  dissolution  of  Morton, 
Bliss  &  Company,  the  Morton  Trust 
Company,  with  offices  at  No.  140  Broad- 
way, was  established  in  1899.  Other 
activities  in  the  financial  world  through- 
out the  later  years  of  his  life  included 
directorate  duties  in  the  .Equitable  Life 
Assurance  Company,  the  Home  Insur- 
ance Company,  the  National  Bank  of 
Commerce,  the  Guaranty  Trust  Company, 
the  Industrial  Trust  Company  of  Provi- 
dence, and  the  Newport  Trust  Company. 


The  Morton  Trust  Company  was  merged 
with  the  Guaranty  Trust  Company  in 
1910. 

His  first  official  representation  of  the 
United  States  was  his  appointment  by  the 
President  as  honorary  commissioner  to 
the  Paris  Exposition  in  1878.  His  politi- 
cal career  proper  began  with  his  election 
to  Congress  as  a  Republican  from  the 
Eleventh  District  of  New  York,  previ- 
ously Democratic,  by  an  overwhelming 
majority.  He  served  from  1879  to  1883, 
on  record  as  opposed  to  unlimited  silver 
coinage,  and  a  well-informed  and  keenly 
interested  member  of  the  Committee  on 
Foreign  Affairs  of  the  46th  Congress. 
Offered  a  choice  of  a  place  in  the  Cabinet 
as  Secretary  of  the  Navy  or  the  French 
mission,  he  chose  the  latter,  and  served 
as  Minister  to  France  from  1881  until 
1885,  when  he  resigned  his  office  under 
Grover  Cleveland's  administration  of  the 
Presidency.  He  secured  the  temporary 
revocation  of  a  French  prohibition  of 
American  pork  products,  and  recogni- 
tion of  American  financial  and  commer- 
cial corporations  in  France.  He  drove 
the  first  rivet  in  the  Bartholdi  statue  of 
"Liberty  Enlightening  the  World,"  and 
on  July  4,  1884,  accepted  on  behalf  of  his 
government  the  completed  statue.  Though 
a  candidate  for  the  United  States  Senate, 
he  failed  to  win  this  honor.  In  1888  he 
was  nominated  for  vice-president  of  the 
United  States  by  a  large  majority  and 
elected  on  the  ticket  with  Benjamin  Har- 
rison. From  1889  to  1893  he  presided 
with  dignity  and  fairness  over  the  Senate 
and  won  high  esteem. 

In  November,  1894,  the  ability  and  ex- 
perience of  Mr.  Morton  were  given  over 
to  the  service  of  New  York  State,  when 
he  became  Governor  by  a  preponderating 
number  of  votes.     He  put  into  force  the 


31 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAP^Y 

(/ 


new  constitution,  the  fourth,  and  began 
a  sixteen  year  period  of  Republican  con- 
trol of  New  York.  In  his  inaugural 
address,  Governor  Morton  laid  down  his 
executive  principle  that  the  governor 
should  never  interfere  with  the  work  of 
the  Legislature  beyond  the  precise  line 
which  his  constitutional  duty  and  obli- 
gation warranted.  He  used  the  veto  spar- 
ingly, but  frequently  influenced  the  with- 
drawel  of  obnoxious  bills  by  anticipatory 
conferences  with  the  authors.  The  work- 
ing out  of  the  new  constitutions  with 
the  new  boards  and  commissions  it  en- 
tailed was  an  arduous  task,  for  which  a 
more  suitable  executive  than  Governor 
Morton  would  have  been  hard  to  find. 
During  his  term  Greater  New  York  grew 
out  of  the  consolidation  of  New  York 
City,  Brooklyn,  and  Long  Island  City. 
More  effective  control  of  liquor  traffic 
and  a  reorganization  of  the  National 
Guard  are  minor  achievements  in  a  splen- 
did total.  In  this,  as  in  all  offices,  Gover- 
nor Morton  was  distinguished  for  execu- 
tive ability,  prudent  administration, 
courtesy,  modesty  and  graciousness. 

He  was  a  generous  and  faithful  member 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  and 
a  member  of  many  associations  and  clubs. 
The  Sons  of  the  Revolution,  the  Society 
of  Mayflower  Descendants,  the  New 
England  Society,  the  Metropolitan  Club, 
the  Union  League  Club,  the  Lawyers', 
Republican,  and  Downtown  clubs,  all 
claim.ed  his  membership. 

After  some  years  of  retirement  on  his 
estate,  "Ellerslie,"  at  Rhinecliff-on-the- 
Hudson,  he  died  May  i6,  1920. 

Levi  P.  Morton  married  (first)  Lucy 
Kimball,  who  died  in  1871.  He  married 
(second),  February  12,  1873,  Anna  Liv- 
ingston Street,  and  they  were  the  parents 
of  five  daughters  :  Edith  Livingston,  Lena, 
Helen,  Alice,  and  Mary. 


PERKINS,  Edward  Ellsworth, 

liaxryer,   Financier,   Political   I.eader. 

The  professional  career  of  Edward  E. 
Perkins,  of  Poughkeepsie,  New  York, 
lawyer  and  financier,  and  one  of  the  best 
known  men  of  that  section,  began  in  the 
town  of  which  he  is  yet  a  resident  and  of 
which  at  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  was 
elected  a  justice  of  the  peace.  His  advent 
into  the  business  world  followed  closely 
upon  his  admission  to  the  New  York  bar, 
and  he  has  been  identified  with  important 
corporate  interests  in  New  York  and 
Texas.  His  prominence  as  a  citizen  has 
kept  pace  with  his  business  and  profes- 
sional success,  and  he  has  been  a  leader 
of  the  Democracy  of  Dutchess  County 
with  a  record  of  nine  years  of  unbroken 
success  as  chairman  of  the  County  Com- 
mittee. Now,  just  at  the  prime  of  his 
splendid  powers,  he  reviews  a  career  of 
successful  law  practice  that  still  contin- 
ues, is  the  honored  chief  executive  of  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Poughkeepsie, 
and  finds  his  voice  yet  potent  in  high 
Democratic  councils. 

Edward  Ellsworth  Perkins  was  born  in 
the  town  of  Poughkeepsie,  Dutchess 
County,  New  York,  February  4,  1863, 
and  there  attended  the  district  schools 
until  completing  the  courses  they  offered. 
In  1878  he  became  a  student  at  Pelham 
Institute  in  the  City  of  Poughkeepsie, 
finishing  a  three-year  course  at  that  insti- 
tution. He  then  spent  two  years  at  home, 
on  the  old  Spackenkill  Farm,  his  birth- 
place, and  in  1883  began  the  study  of  law 
under  the  preceptorship  of  O.  D.  M. 
Baker,  of  Poughkeepsie.  In  1884  he  was 
elected  a  justice  of  the  peace,  an  office  he 
held  for  three  years.  In  1886  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  New  York  bar  at  the 
December  term  of  the  Supreme  Court 
held  in  Brooklyn,  standing  first  in  a  class 
of  seventy  members.     He  at  once  began 


32 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  practice  of  his  profession  in  the  office 
of  his  preceptor,  Mr.  Baker,  of  Pough- 
keepsie,  there  continuing  until  i8go, 
when  he  became  identified  with  New 
York  and  Philadelphia  capitalists  in 
Texas  investments  and  spent  three  years 
in  that  State,  returning  to  Poughkeepsie 
in  1893  ^ntl  resuming  the  practice  of  law, 
which  he  has  continued  to  the  present 
time. 

As  early  as  1887  Mr.  Perkins  became 
identified  with  Poughkeepsie  business 
undertakings  by  aiding  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Poughkeepsie  and  South- 
Eastern  Railroad  Company  extending 
from  Poughkeepsie  to  Hopewell  Junction, 
serving  that  company  as  its  first  secretary 
and  treasurer.  In  1890  he  began  his 
career  in  Texas  in  association  with  New 
York  City  and  Philadelphia  capitalists 
and  located  in  Fort  Worth,  where  they 
organized  and  built  an  extension  of  the 
Fort  Worth  &  Rio  Grande  Railroad  from 
Commache  to  Brownwood.  On  the  com- 
pletion of  that  line  Mr.  Perkins  became 
associated  with  T.  L.  Marselis,  of  Dal- 
las, Texas  in  extending  and  completing 
the  Dallas  &  Oak  Clifif  Railroad,  and 
later  in  the  building  of  the  Fort  Worth 
&  Dallas  Railroad  between  Fort  Worth 
and  Dallas.  While  in  Fort  Worth  he 
was  elected  president  of  the  American 
Savings  Bank  and  Trust  Company ;  also 
was  appointed  by  The  Travelers  Insur- 
ance Company  of  Hartford  as  their  finan- 
cial agent  for  the  State  of  Texas  in  the 
department  of  mortgages,  loans  and  in- 
vestments. In  1893  Mr.  Perkins  efifected 
the  organization  of  the  American  National 
Bank  of  Fort  Worth  and  was  chosen 
director  and  first  vice-president.  The 
same  year  he  returned  to  Poughkeepsie 
and  resumed  the  practice  of  law,  but  he 
has  also  continued  his  financial  connec- 
tions with  the  business   interests   of  his 


community.  In  1906  he  was  elected 
president  of  the  Evening  Enterprise 
Publishing  Company,  and  in  1909  he  was 
made  chief  executive  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Poughkeepsie.  In  1918  he 
merged  the  interests  of  the  two  evening 
papers, — the  "Evening  Star"  and  the 
Enterprise  Publishing  Company,  under 
the  name  of  the  Evening  Star  and  Enter- 
prise Publishing  Company,  and  was  elec- 
ted president  of  the  new  organization.  He 
aided  in  organizing  the  Hudson  Gas  & 
Electric  Company ;  the  Upper  Hudson 
Railway  &  Electric  Company ;  and  the 
United  Hudson  Electric  Company;  in  all 
of  these  holding  directorships.  He  is  also 
a  director  of  The  Shatz  Hardware  Manu- 
facturing Company.  He  is  a  life  member 
of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion ;  and  his  clubs  are  the  Amrita,  Dut- 
chess, Dutchess  Golf  and  Country,  and 
the  Poughkeepsie  Automobile. 

A  lifelong  Democrat,  Mr.  Perkins  has 
attained  leadership  in  his  city  and  county, 
succeeding  the  late  Major  J.  W.  Hinkley, 
of  Poughkeepsie.  For  nine  years  Mr. 
Perkins  was  chairman  of  the  Dutchess 
County  Democratic  Committee,  and  dur- 
ing that  period  was  victorious  in  every 
election.  In  August,  1910,  he  was  elected 
president  of  the  Democratic  County 
Chairmen's  Association,  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  and  in  1914  he  was  elected  to 
the  treasurership  of  the  New  York  Demo- 
cratic State  Committee.  He  is  a  wise 
political  leader,  his  advice  and  counsel 
being  sought  and  valued  by  party  leaders. 
On  July  II,  1918,  during  the  World  War 
emergency,  he  was  appointed  by  the 
governors  of  the  Federal  Reserve,  county 
director  in  the  certificate  of  indebtedness 
organization.  He  brought  the  bankers 
of  his  county  together  and  successfully 
dealt  with  many  problems  arising  in  con- 
nection with  the  war  finance  committee. 


33 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Mr.  Perkins  married,  June  23,  1891, 
Mary  D.  Beard,  daughter  of  Colonel  O. 
T.  and  Elizabeth  (Mosgrove)  Beard,  of 
Poughkeepsie.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Perkins 
are  the  parents  of  four  children:  i. 
Olive  Elizabeth,  married,  in  January, 
1919,  the  Marquis  Fanino  de  Amico,  of 
Milan,  Italy.  2.  Jeane  Maria,  married,  in 
June,  1922,  Prince  Fabrizio  Colono,  of 
Rome,  Italy.  3.  Argenta,  married  in 
August,  1920,  Louis  A.  Penaherrera, 
secretary  of  the  Equador  Legation, 
Paris,  France.  4.  Edward  Reginald,  born 
in  April,  1899,  served  with  the  American 
Expeditionary  Forces  in  France  with  the 
rank  of  sergeant,  during  the  war  with 
Germany,  and  is  now  (1924)  engaged  in 
the  lumber  business  in  Genoa,  Italy. 


BARNARD,  Hon.  Joseph  Folger, 

Jnrist. 

Unreserved  distinction  accorded  by  his 
contemporaries  placed  a  favorite  son  of 
Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  Hon.  Joseph 
Folger  Barnard,  on  the  pinnacle  of  fame 
as  the  greatest  legal  luminary  of  his  time 
in  the  State  of  New  York  and  the  most 
prominent  member  of  the  Dutchess 
County  bar,  and  who  served  for  thirty- 
six  years  as  a  Justice  of  the  New  York 
State  Supreme  Court,  the  longest  record 
for  length  of  service  in  that  high  office  in 
that  State.  This  intellectual  giant,  whom 
nature  had  endowed  with,  and  long  prac- 
tice had  perfected,  a  judicial  tempera- 
ment, stamped  upon  the  court  annals  of 
his  day  and  generation  the  remarkable 
impress  made  by  the  rendering  of  more 
that  100,000  decisions,  covering  an  ex- 
tremely wide  range  of  cases,  which  to 
this  day  are  quoted  as  authority  more 
frequently  by  trial  lawyers  and  judges 
than  the  utterances  of  any  other  Jurist 
in  the  State.    Three  New  York  governors 


delighted  to  honor  this  man  by  reappoint- 
ing him,  under  a  special  act  of  the  Legis- 
lature, to  serve  on  the  Supreme  Bench 
after  retirement  made  compulsory  by  the 
age  limit.  Here  was  a  justice  who, 
according  to  many  of  his  legal  brethren, 
possessed  all  the  attributes  of  a  judicial 
mind,  at  the  same  time  all  the  safeguards 
supposed  to  be  thrown  around  the  liti- 
gants in  a  case  by  a  jury  of  their  peers ; 
so  that  counsel,  when  appearing  before 
him,  often  decided  to  dispense  with  a 
jury  trial,  preferring  to  repose  their  con- 
fidence in  his  arbitrament  on  questions  of 
fact.  After  his  retirement  from  the 
bench  he  was  frequently  called  upon  to 
act  as  referee,  and  to  his  death  he  retained 
unimpaired  all  his  abilities  and  his  mental 
faculties.  He  departed  this  life  January 
6,  1904. 

The  following  tribute  might  well  serve 
as  the  best  epitaph  that  could  be  en- 
graved upon  his  tomb : 

In  law  always  just  and  impartial,  in  social  life 
a  lover  of  domesticity,  fond  of  anecdote  and 
epigram,  with  a  keen  sense  of  wit  and  humor,  no 
man  ever  questioned  his  strict  integrity  or  his  sin- 
cere desire  in  all  his  rulings  and  decisions  to 
accomplish  the  ends  of  justice  and  equity,  while 
adhering  to  the  strict  requirements  of  law. 

The  Barnard  family,  of  whom  came 
Justice  Barnard,  had  their  origin  in 
England.  That  the  members  were  of 
high  standing  in  the  realm  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  Burke's  "Armory  of  Eng- 
land, Scotland  and  Ireland"  has  nineteen 
coats-of-arms  registered  for  the  Barnards. 
Nearly  all  of  these  were  granted  to  Eng- 
lish branches  of  the  family.  Judge 
Barnard  was  a  descendant  of  Thomas 
Barnard,  who  came  from  England,  in 
1659,  with  the  King's  Patent,  and  settled 
in  Nantucket.  Of  him  came  Captain 
Frederic  Barnard,  the  master  of  a  whal- 
ing vessel  sailing  out  of  Nantucket,  who 


34 


Mc 


fVK^^ 


(^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


married  Margaret  Allen.  They  were  the 
parents  of  Judge  Barnard,  born  at  Pough- 
keepsie,  New  York,  September  i8,  1823. 
His  father  was  well  known  to  the  older 
citizens  of  Poughkeepsie  and  often 
delighted  them  with  the  traditions  of 
Nantucket  and  tales  of  the  whaling  trade. 
His  home  was  on  Cannon  Street,  where 
Judge  Barnard  first  saw  the  light. 

Judge  Barnard  received  a  well  rounded 
education.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  Poughkeepsie  and  the  Dut- 
chess County  Academy.  He  was  gradu- 
ated from  Yale  College,  class  of  1841, 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  After  a  pri- 
vate course  of  study  in  law  with  Stephen 
Cleveland  and  Henry  Swift,  both  of 
whom  in  their  time  were  leaders  in  the 
profession,  he  was  admitted  to  practice, 
1844,  and  for  twenty  eventful  years  he 
advised  an  ever  increasing  number  of 
clients  and  tried  numerous  and  important 
cases  before  the  courts.  January  i,  1864, 
Judge  Barnard  took  his  seat  as  a  Justice 
of  the  Supreme  Court  for  the  Second 
Judicial  District  of  the  State  of  New 
York,  and  continued  in  service  there  for 
eight  years.  He  then  was  reelected  for 
fourteen  years ;  and  at  the  end  of  twenty- 
two  years  of  continuous  service,  he  again 
was  reelected  for  a  fourteen  year  term, 
both  political  parties  uniting  in  bestowing 
this  honor  upon  him.  On  December  31, 
1893,  having  reached  the  age  limit, 
seventy  years,  he  was  retired  from  the 
bench  and  resumed  the  private  practice 
of  law.  But  it  was  for  only  a  brief  period 
that  he  was  absent  from  the  Supreme 
Bench,  because  Governor  Morton  prompt- 
ly took  advantage  of  a  constitutional 
provision  permitting  the  appointment  of 
a  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  who  had 
reached  the  age  limit,  to  resume  service 
for  the  remainder  of  the  term  for  which 
he  had  been   elected,   and   the    Governor 


replaced  Justice  Barnard  in  his  former 
position.  Governors  Black  and  Roose- 
velt did  likewise  in  giving  him  reappoint- 
ments ;  and  he,  therefore,  was  given  the 
rare  privilege  of  rounding  full  thirty-six 
years  on  the  Supreme  Court,  which  is  the 
longest  period  for  similar  service  to  be 
recorded  in  New  York  State.  Judge 
Barnard  was  the  presiding  Justice  of  the 
General  Term  in  1870  by  special  appoint- 
ment by  the  Governor. 

A  historian  of  earlier  years  in  Dutchess 
County  had  the  following  to  say  of  the 
service  of  Judge  Barnard  to  the  bench  and 
bar: 

The  group  of  lawyers  ....  undoubtedly  embraces 
the  most  brilliant  and  powerful  advocates  that 
have  ever  adorned  the  Dutchess  County  bar,  the 
Barnard  brothers  (Joseph  F.,  George  G.,  Frederick 
and  Robert)  Homer  A.  Nelson,  Charles  Wheaton, 
Allard  Anthony  and  William  I.  Thorn.  Their 
names  are  all  fresh  in  the  memories  of  the  present 
generation,  and  mouldy  tradition  does  not  have  to 
be  resorted  to  to  pass  judgment  upon  their  abilities 
and  achievements.  The  present  bar  hears  with 
interest  the  many  stories  of  their  doings  and  pro- 
ceedings in  their  early  days,  when  business  was 
dull  and  clients  were  scarce,  but  the  legal  battles 
fought  between  these  trained  legal  gladiators  in 
later  years  are  recalled  with  interest  and  e.xcite- 
ment  by  many  of  the  present  bar  who  remember 
well  the  magnificent  contests  of  which  they  were 
spectators.  It  is  hard  to  tell  where  the  palm  of 
supremacy  should  go.  Each  excelled  the  other  in 
some  quality,  but  each  was  a  forceful,  resourceful 
and  eloquent  trial  lawyer. 

Judge  Barnard  was  incomparably  the  greatest 
legal  character  that  Dutchess  County  has  ever 
produced.  A  fine  scholar,  a  trained  lawyer,  an 
incorruptible  and  fearless  man,  he  had  all  the  tools 
necessary  and  proper  for  use  in  his  life  work,  and 
he  used  them,  if  not  to  perfection,  at  least  so  as  to 
earn  and  receive  the  respect  and  reverence  not 
only  of  the  bar  but  of  the  people  of  the  entire 
judicial  district.  Austere  in  his  appearance,  quick 
and  impetuous  in  his  language,  he  had  under  his 
brusque  demeanor  the  heart  of  a  child.  Impatient 
of  the  fetters  of  legal  procedure,  caring  little  or 
nothing  for  precedent,  his  whole  aim  was  to  do 
justice  in  each  particular  case.  He  was  particu- 
larly helpful  to  young  and  inexperienced   practi- 


35 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tioners,  and  particularly  to  the  young  men  whom 
he  saw  studying  in  the  surrounding  offices ;  and 
it  was  a  chilly  day  for  the  veteran  when  one  of 
these  verdant  practitioners  appeared  in  Judge 
Barnard's  court  against  him. 

Judge  Barnard  was  a  Democrat  in  poli- 
tics. When  the  City  Bank  of  Pough- 
keepsie  was  organized,  i860,  he  was  elec- 
ted as  its  first  president. 

Judge  Barnard  married,  January  7, 
1862,  Emily  B.  Hasbrouck,  daughter  of 
Abraham  B.  and  Julia  F.  (Ludlum)  Has- 
brouck, of  Kingston,  New  York.  His 
father-in-law  was  for  ten  years  president 
of  Rutgers  College,  and  was  also  repre- 
sentative in  Congress  from  Ulster  County, 
New  York.  Judge  and  Mrs.  Barnard  were 
the  parents  of  Frederic  Barnard,  of 
whom  further,  and  Mrs.  James  Lenox 
Banks,  of  New  York  City. 


BARNARD,  Frederic, 

Attorney-at-Iia'nr. 

For  the  manifestation  of  his  public 
spirit,  as  well  as  for  the  enviable  reputa- 
tion borne  by  a  distinguished  family 
name,  the  city  of  Poughkeepsie  has  been 
honored  by  making  its  scenes  the  home 
and  business  circle  of  Frederic  Barnard, 
lawyer,  and  son  of  Judge  and  Mrs.  Joseph 
Folger  Barnard,  the  father  having  been 
for  three  decades  and  a  half  a  member  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  New 
York.  He  has  been  practicing  at  the 
Dutchess  County  bar  approaching  thirty 
years.  In  1923  he  gave  to  the  Rural 
Cemetery  a  work  of  art  in  the  form  of  a 
sundial  mounted  on  an  expensive  column 
at  a  cost  of  $5,000. 

Frederic  Barnard  was  born  in  Pough- 
keepsie, December  7,  1864.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  Bishop's  private  school  of 
his  home  city,  and  at  Yale  University, 
class  of  1885,  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts. 
On  the  completion  of  his  studies  he  read 


law  in  the  office  of  Hackett  &  Williams, 
of  Poughkeepsie.  He  prepared  for  the 
bar  at  the  Law  School  of  Columbia  Uni- 
versity, class  of  1886,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar,  in  February,  1887,  at  Brooklyn, 
New  York.  He  entered  upon  his  practice 
at  Poughkeepsie,  and  subsequently  for 
one  year,  1894,  was  associated  with  his 
father.  When  Judge  Barnard  resumed 
his  judicial  duties  on  the  Supreme  Bench, 
the  son,  Frederic  Barnard,  returned  to 
practice  alone,  in  which  he  still  continues. 
Merited  appreciation  was  given  when 
Mr.  Barnard,  in  the  summer  of  1923,  pre- 
sented to  the  Rural  Cemetery  of  Pough- 
keepsie the  artistically  designed  and 
charmingly  located  sundial,  which  is  suit- 
ably inscribed  with  legends  that  enhance 
the  appropriateness  of  the  gift  of  its 
public-spirited  donor.  A  local  newspaper, 
in  according  recognition  of  the  giver  and 
the  gift,  says : 

That  the  latter  is  destined,  as  it  becomes  gen- 
erally known,  to  be  accorded  distinguished  place 
among  the  works  of  art  in  this  section  of  the  Hud- 
son Valley. 

Frederic  Barnard,  of  Poughkeepsie, 
has  placed,  about  three  hundred  feet  west 
of  the  main  entrance  to  the  cemetery,  at 
the  point  where  all  the  driveways  con- 
verge, a  sundial  which  is  unique  and  mag- 
nificent and  which  must  be  seen  and  stu- 
died to  be  appreciated. 

Mention  of  a  sundial  calls  forth  in  most  minds 
the  thought  of  a  low  slender  column,  supporting 
a  small  dial-face,  but  Mr.  Barnard's  gift  is  quite 
the  opposite  in  character.  It  is  massive,  substan- 
tial, dignified  and,  in  its  material  aspect,  carries 
the  suggestion,  not  of  the  rapid  and  evanescent 
flight  of  time,  but  of  eternal,  unmoved  and  unchang- 
ing values  in  the  universe.  This  impression  is 
conveyed  by  the  size  and  the  proportions  of  the 
whole  creation  and  by  the  material  in  which  it  has 
been  wrought.  Within  a  grassy  circle  four  sets 
of  approaching  steps  lead  to  a  square  platform  of 
granite  on  which  stands  the  carved  pedestal  weigh- 
ing three  tons   that  bears   the  bronze   dial.     The 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


granite  is  exceptional  in  that  the  usual  gray  is  shot 
through  with  reds  and  greens,  and  the  stone  will 
ultimately  be  softened  by  the  weather  into  beauti- 
ful color-tones.  It  is  known  as  Tiffany  granite  and 
is  found  only  in  a  quarry  at  Cohasset,  Massachu- 
setts, owned  by  the  Tiffany  Studios  of  New  York 
City.  Louis  C.  Tiffany  has  had  general  charge  of 
the  design  for  Mr.  Barnard's  gift,  and  Edwin 
Stanton  George,  manager  of  the  Tiffany  Studios, 
has  given  his  special  oversight  to  the  execution  of 
the  plans.  Alexander  J.  Cowe,  superintendent  of 
construction,  has  directed  the  work  at  the  quarry 
and  the  assembling  and  erection  of  the  parts  at 
Poughkeepsie. 

Visitors  to  the  cemetery  may  well  be  prepared 
to  be  surprised  at  the  dimensions  of  this  symbolic 
memorial,  for  the  platform  stands  some  eighteen 
inches  high  and  is  about  ten  feet  square,  while  the 
pedestal  is  two  feet  six  inches  in  height,  with  a 
diameter  of  three  feet.  It  is  necessary  to  approach 
closely  to  read  the  ornamental  lettering,  which, 
however,  repays  examination.  On  the  bronze  dial 
occur  these  words : 

This  sundial  was  presented  to  the   Poughkeepsie 

Rural  Cemetery  A.  D.  1923,  by  Frederic  Barnard. 

Fitae  fugaces  exhibet  horas. 

The  Latin  quotation  (which,  freely  translated, 
reads :  It  shows  the  fleeting  hours  of  life)  is  one 
that  Pierre  Loti,  French  author,  mentions  in  one 
of  his  books  as  appearing  upon  the  face  of  a  clock 
in  a  ward  of  the  French  Military  Hospital  at  Saint 
Louis,  Senegal,  French  Equatorial  Africa. 

Encircling  the  granite  column  that  supports  the 
dial-plate  are  two  bands,  each  of  which  is  carved 
with  the  words  of  a  quotation.  The  upper  band  is 
inscribed  with  a  couplet  from  Austin  Dobson,  the 
English  writer: 

Time  goes,  you  say?    Ah,  no! 
Alas,  time  stays,  we  go. 

On  the  lower  band  is  the  exclamation : 

What  shadows  we  are  and  what  shadows  we 
pursue. —  (Taken  from  a  speech  delivered  by 
Edmund  Burke  at  Bristol,  England,  September  9, 

The  trustees  of  the  cemetery  have  made  to  Mr. 
Barnard  suitable  expression  of  their  appreciation 
of  the  remarkable  addition  to  the  beauty  of  the 
cemetery — property  which  has  been  afforded  by 
his  generosity,  and  many  residents  of  the  city, 
possessed  of  taste  and  discrimination,  will  doubt- 
less follow  their  example  as  the  gift  becomes  more 
and  better  known, 

Mr.  Barnard  is  a  director  of  the  Far- 
mers' and  Manufacturers'  National  Bank, 


trustee  of  the  Poughkeepsie  Savings 
Bank  and  the  Rural  Cemetery ;  member  of 
the  American  Museum  of  Natural  His- 
tory, New  York;  American  Geographical 
Society,  New  York ;  National  Geographi- 
cal Society,  Washington,  District  of 
Columbia;  Amrita  Club,  and  Dutchess 
County  Historical  Society,  Poughkeepsie. 
He  is  affiliated  with  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  of  the  Holy  Comforter  at 
Poughkeepsie.  In  politics  he  is  a  Demo- 
crat. 


PECKHAM,  Alva  L., 

Physician,   Snrgeon. 

Dr.  Alva  L.  Peckham,  one  of  Dutchess 
County's  most  prominent  physicians  and 
surgeons,  comes  from  a  long  line  of  dis- 
tinguished ancestors,  whose  advent  into 
the  New  World  antedated  1640,  and 
whose  English  history  dates  back  to  the 
twelfth  century.  The  surname  "Peck- 
ham"  is  classified  as  a  local  surname, 
being  derived  from  the  Parish  of  Peck- 
ham  in  County  Kent,  England.  Thus 
Hugo  who  lived  in  Peckham  became 
Hugo  de  Peckham.  The  heraldic  device 
used  by  the  descendants  of  the  early 
English   Peckham  is  as  follows: 

Arms — Ermine,  a  chief  quarterly  gules  and  or. 

(i)  Hugo  de  Peckham  is  the  first  of 
the  name  of  whom  we  have  definite  in- 
formation. He  resided  in  Tunbridge  in 
1 199. 

(II)  Sir  John  Peckham,  Knight,  son 
of  the  above,  was  one  of  the  commission- 
ers for  the  Preambulation  of  North  Frith, 
near  Tunbridge. 

(III)  William  Peckham,  Esquire,  a 
descent  of  the  above,  died  in  1491,  leav- 
ing issue  :  James  ;  Thomas  ;  and  Reginald. 

(IV)  The  line  descends  through  either 
James,  Thomas  or  Reginald,  just  which 
one  is  not  known. 


37 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


(V)  John  Peckham,  descended  from 
one  of  the  above. 

(VI)  John  Peckham,  son  of  John  Peck- 
ham. 

(VII)  Edward  Peckham,  son  of  John 
Peckham,  was  Lord  of  the  Manor  of  East 
Hampnett  in  Sussex,  near  Chichester. 
He  married  Grace  Lamburne. 

(VIII)  Henry  Peckham,  son  of  Ed- 
ward and  Grace  (Lamburne)  Peckham, 
was  likewise  Lord  of  the  Manor.  He  mar- 
ried Ehzabeth  Badger,  a  daughter  of 
Robert  Badger.  Issue:  Henry,  Lord  of 
Manor  in  1634;  John,  of  whom  forward; 
WilHam ;  Thomas. 

(The  Family  In  America). 

(I)  John  Peckham,  second  of  the  four 
sons  of  Plenry  Peckham,  Lord  of  the 
Manor  of  East  Hampnett,  and  Elizabeth 
(Badger)  Peckham,  was  a  member  of  the 
ninth  English  generation  in  direct  line 
and  was  destined  to  become  the  progeni- 
tor of  the  family  in  America.  He  was 
born  and  reared  on  the  family  estate  of 
East  Hampnett,  in  Sussex,  near  Chi- 
chester, England,  and  immigrated  to 
America,  in  1630.  On  March  2,  1638,  he 
was  admitted  an  inhabitant  of  the  island 
of  Aquidneck  (Rhode  Island),  and  was 
made  a  freeman  of  Newport  on  March 
16,  1641.  In  1644  he  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  and 
in  1648  was  one  of  the  ten  male  members 
in  full  communion.  He  resided  in  that 
part  of  Newport  that  was  later  set  off 
as  Middletown,  where  he  was  again  made 
a  freeman  in  1655.  John  Peckham  was 
married  (first)  to  Mary  Clarke,  a  sister 
of  Rev.  John  Clarke,  friend  and  helper  of 
Roger  Williams,  and  one  of  the  most 
influential  men  of  his  day.  John  Peckham 
was  married  (second)  to  Eleanor,  whose 
family  name  is  unknown.  Issue:  Proba- 
bly all  by  first  union :  John ;  William ; 
Stephen  ;    Thomas  ;   James  ;    Clement,    of 


whom  forward  ;  Sarah ;  Rebecca ;  Debo- 
rah ;  Phoebe;  Elizabeth;  Susannah. 

(II)  Clement  Peckham,  sixth  of  the 
twelve  children  of  John  and  Mary 
(Clarke)  Peckham,  was  born  probably  at 
Newport,  Rhode  Island,  and  died  while 
yet  a  young  man,  leaving  but  one  child. 
Little  is  known  of  him  except  that  he 
bought  land  in  Tiverton,  Rhode  Island, 
in  1706-8.  Tradition  says  that  his  wife 
was  a  sister  of  Giles  Lawton.  Issue: 
Job,  of  whom  forward. 

(III)  Job  Peckham,  only  child  of  Job 

and (Lawton)  Peckham,  was  born 

in  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  about  1692, 
and  died  in  Providence,  Rhode  Island, 
August  22,  1779.  He  owned  large  farms 
in  Tiverton  and  Middletown,;  Rhode 
Island,  probably  inherited  from  his 
father.  Job  Peckham  married  Mary 
Turner,  a  daughter  of  Lawrence  and 
Mary  Turner,  of  Newport,  who  bore  him 
the  following  children:  Silas,  born  in 
1 73 1,  died  in  1820;  Giles,  of  whom  for- 
ward; Enos;  George;  Sarah,  married 
Henry  Tew;  Mary,  married  Joseph  Ben- 
nett; Lydia,  married  Elisha  Gibbs ; 
Nancy,  married  a  Mr.  Freeborn. 

(IV)  Giles  Peckham,  second  of  the 
eight  children  of  Job  and  Mary  (Turner) 
Peckham,  was  probably  born  in  Provi- 
dence, although  no  record  of  his  birth  and 
death  has  ever  been  found.  He  lived  in 
Providence,  Rhode  Island,  and  Rehoboth, 
Massachusetts.  He  was  married,  on  May 
20,  1753,  to  Mary  Kingsley,  a  daughter  of 
the  Hon.  Aaron  and  Patience  (Cole) 
Kingsley.  Issue  :  Jonathan,  of  whom  for- 
ward ;  Aaron,  born  in  1756;  Patience; 
Mary ;  Silas. 

(V)  Jonathan  Peckham,  eldest  of  the 
five  children  of  Giles  and  Mary  (King- 
sley) Peckham,  was  born  in  Providence, 
Rhode  Island,  in  the  year  1754,  and  died 
at  Ballston  Spa,  New  York,  February  3, 


38 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


1803.  He  resided  at  Bristol,  Rhode 
Island  ;  Swansea,  Massachusetts ;  Schen- 
nectady,  New  York;  and  finally  Ballston 
Spa,  New  York.  He  served  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary War  as  a  member  of  Captain 
Peck's  company.  Colonel  Lippitt's  regi- 
ment, in  1776;  and  in  Captain  Peleg 
Peck's  company,  Colonel  Thomas  Car- 
penter's regiment,  until  1780.  For  his 
services  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution  he 
was  given  a  land  grant  at  Ballston  Spa, 
Saratoga  County,  New  York.  He  was 
married  (first),  April  18,  1779,  to  Susan- 
nah West,  daughter  of  Henry  West ;  and 
(second)  to  Innocent  Wood.  Issue  by 
first  union:  Mary,  born  March  14,  1780; 
Nancy,  born  January  31,  1783;  Caleb, 
born  January  11,  1785.  Children  by 
second  wife:  Giles  Henry,  of  whom  for- 
ward ;  Stephen,  born  in  1792 ;  George ; 
Sarah  R. ;  Aaron  ;  Minerva  ;  Susan. 

(VI)  Giles  Henry  Peckham,  eldest  of 
the  seven  children  of  Jonathan  and  Inno- 
cent (Wood)  Peckham,  was  born  in  1786, 
and  died  in  Schenectady,  New  York,  Sep- 
tember II,  1876.  He  resided  in  Ballston 
Spa  and  Schenectady,  New  York,  and 
served  with  distinction  in  the  War  of 
1812.  He  married  Abigail  Gregory,  who 
bore  him  the  following  children:  Eliza, 
born  in  1812;  Alva  Gregory,  of  whom  for- 
ward ;  Harriet;  Anne,  born  July  20,  1820; 
Rinaldo  Silas  F.,  born  in  1824. 

(VII)  Alva  Gregory  Peckham,  second 
of  the  five  children  of  Giles  Henry  and 
Abigail  (Gregory)  Peckham,  was  born 
January  i,  1815,  and  died  in  Schenectady, 
New  York,  August  14.  1876.  During  his 
life  he  was  a  farmer,  merchant,  and  engi- 
neer. He  was  a  Baptist,  but  late  in  life 
joined  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church.  He 
married  Mary  Ann  Stevens,  daughter  of 
Nicholas  and  Eleanor  Stevens,  who  bore 
him  the  following  children:  William 
Davis,   died   young;   William    Henry,   of 


whom  forward;  Robert  B.,  died  young; 
Isaac  J.,  died  young;  Mary  Eleanor,  died 
young. 

(VIII)  William  Henry  Peckham,  sec- 
ond of  the  five  children  of  Alva  Gregory 
and  Mary  Ann  (Stevens)  Peckham,  was 
born  in  Milltown,  New  York,  April  25, 
1846.  He  was  educated  in  the  schools 
of  Schenectady,  following  which  he  be- 
came bookkeeper  and  teller  in  1877  of  the 
Mohawk  National  Bank,  continuing  in 
this  position  for  about  fifteen  years.  In 
1891  he  entered  the  lumber  business  firm 
of  Van  Vorst  &  Peckham,  which  later 
became  Peckham,  Wolf  &  Company.  He 
retired  from  active  business  in  1911.  He 
was  a  director  for  many  years  of  the 
Mohawk  National  Bank;  a  member  of 
the  Schenectady  School  Board;  and 
treasurer  for  many  years  of  the  Schenec- 
tady Volunteer  Fire  Department ;  and  a 
staunch  Republican.  He  was  married,  in 
Albany,  New  York,  July  21,  1870,  to 
Emma  Lawson,  born  October  12,  1848,  a 
daughter  of  Henry  and  Eunice  (Hogan) 
Lawson,  and  a  granddaughter  of  Peter 
Hogan,  a  native  of  Ireland.  To  William 
Henry  and  Emma  (Lawson)  Peckham 
was  born  a  son,  Alva  Lawrence,  of  whom 
forward. 

(IX)  Alva  Lawrence  Peckham,  M.  D., 
son  of  William  Henry  and  Emma  (Law- 
son)  Peckham,  and  a  representative  of  the 
ninth  generation  of  the  Peckham  family 
in  America,  is  to-day  (1924)  one  of  the 
prominent  physicians  and  surgeons  in 
Dutchess  County,  New  York  State.  He 
was  born  in  Schenectady,  New  York, 
November  25,  1874.  He  received  his 
early  education  in  the  public  and  high 
schools  of  his  birthplace.  He  then  matric- 
ulated at  Union  College,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  in  1896  with  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Science  and  with  special 
honors  in  biology.     In   1899  he  received 


39 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  from  the 
same  institution.  Meanwhile  he  had 
matriculated  at  the  Hahnemann  Medical 
College  of  Philadelphia,  and  was  gradu- 
ated from  this  famous  institution  with 
the  class  of  1899,  receiving  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine.  He  then  served  for 
three  months  at  the  Philadelphia  Lying- 
in  Charity  Hospital,  from  which  he  re- 
ceived his  diploma  and  in  1895  he  com- 
pleted a  special  course  in  Embryology  at 
the  Cold  Spring  Harbor  Biology  Labora- 
tory, Cold  Spring  Harbor,  Long  Island. 
In  1897  he  served  as  the  national  chief 
executive  officer  of  the  Chi  Psi  Fraternity. 
He  was  also  a  member  of  the  Alpha  Zeta 
Fraternity  in  the  Union  Classical  Insti- 
tute, Schenectady,  New  York,  and  served 
as  editor-in-chief  of  the  Centennial  Garnet 
at  Union  College.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
University  Club. 

In  1899,  upon  the  completion  of  his 
medical  studies,  Dr.  Peckham  took  up  his 
residence  at  Poughkeepsie,  New  York, 
and  began  the  practice  of  his  chosen  pro- 
fession, which  he  carried  on  with  steadily 
growing  success  until  1918,  at  which  time 
he  became  Pathologist  to  Vassar  Broth- 
ers' Hospital,  and  spent  two  summers 
in  study  at  Columbia  University.  In 
1923,  after  the  remodeling  of  the  hospital, 
Dr.  Peckham  was  appointed  Director  of 
Laboratories  of  that  institution  and 
devoted  his  time  to  special  work  in  bac- 
teriology, chemistry,  and  pathology. 
Physically  ineligible  for  service  in  the 
Army  Medical  Corps,  he  served  as  one  of 
the  medical  examiners  for  the  local  draft 
board  during  the  American  participation 
in  the  World  War. 

Dr.  Peckham  is  a  Fellow  of  the  Ameri- 
can Medical  Association  and  the  Ameri- 
can Society  of  Clinical  Pathologists ;  a 
member  of  the  American  Association  for 
the   Advancement   of   Science;   the   New 


York  State  Medical  Society ;  the  Dutchess 
Putnam  Medical  Society,  of  which  he  was 
president  in  1916;  the  Poughkeepsie 
Academy  of  Medicine,  of  which  he  was 
president  in  1910.  In  1906  he  organized 
the  first  Medical  Milk  Commission  under 
the  authority  of  the  County  Medical 
Society  and  was  its  chairman  for  several 
years.  He  has  also  been  a  member  and 
chairman  of  the  Medical  Library  Com- 
mittee since  its  organization.  Fraternally, 
he  is  a  member  and  Past  Master  of  Tri- 
une Lodge,  No.  782,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons ;  and  a  member  of  Poughkeepsie 
Chapter,  No.  172,  Royal  Arch  Masons. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees 
of  Vassar  Brothers'  Institute,  and  has 
served  as  president  of  that  body  for  three 
terms.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Poughkeepsie  Automobile  Club,  of  which 
he  was  president  of  in  1909,  1910,  and 
191 1  ;  and  a  member  of  the  Poughkeepsie 
Board  of  Health  from  1918  to  1920. 
Politically,  he  gives  his  support  to  the 
Republican  party.  He  holds  membership 
in  the  Dutchess  County  Historical  Soci- 
ety. His  religious  afifiliation  is  given  to 
the  First  Congregational  Church,  of 
Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  of  which  for 
several  years  he  was  a  trustee. 

Dr.  Alva  Lawrence  Peckham  was  mar- 
ried (first)  in  Schenectady,  New  York, 
June  15,  1899,  to  Mary  Woolworth  Hal- 
sey,  a  daughter  of  Professor  Charles  S. 
and  Maria  (Lippincott)  Halsey.  Pro- 
fessor Halsey  was  for  many  years  Princi- 
pal of  the  Union  Classical  Institute  of 
Schenectady,  New  York,  and  is  well 
known  as  an  educator.  Mrs.  Peckham 
died  of  pneumonia  on  December  19,  1909, 
and  a  memorial  font  was  erected  to  her 
memory  in  the  First  Congregational 
Church  at  Poughkeepsie  in  which  she 
was  a  most  active  worker.  To  Dr.  Alva 
Lawrence  and  Mary  Woolworth  (Halsey) 


u 


&tp^>^i^c^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Peckham  have  been  born  two  children,  as 
follows:  I.  Elizabeth  Halsey,  born  in 
the  year  1903,  educated  in  Poughkeepsie 
High  School  and  Elmira  College.  2. 
William  Halsey,  a  student  at  Union  Col- 
lege, representing  the  tenth  generation 
of  his  paternal  line  in  America,  born  April 
24,  1907,  in  Poughkeepsie,  New  York. 
On  October  23,  1914,  Dr.  Peckham  mar- 
ried (second)  to  Margaret  (Chisholm) 
Wade,  of  Gouverneur,  New  York,  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  H.  and  Julia 
(Banell)  Chisholm. 


REYNOLDS,  WUliam  Thatcher^^ 

Business   Execntive. 

The  late  William  Thatcher  Reynolds, 
whose  death  in  the  year  1917  removed 
from  Dutchess  County,  New  York,  one 
of  the  most  prominent  and  widely  known 
citizens  of  the  Empire  State,  was  a  lineal 
descendant  of  an  old  Colonial  Rhode 
Island  family,  whose  ancestry  traces 
back  to  Henry,  King  of  France,  1030, 
and  to  Robert,  Earl  of  Leicester,  Eng- 
land, 1310,  an  authentic  record  of  which 
is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  family  of 
the  Hon.  John  Jonathan  Reynolds,  of 
North  Kingston,  Rhode  Island.  There 
were  three  early  settlements  of  the  Rey- 
nolds family  in  Rhode  Island :  Jonathan 
at  Bristol ;  John  the  carpenter  at  what 
is  now  Exeter;  and  James  in  what  is  now 
North  Kingston.  It  is  through  James 
Reynolds  that  the  line  herein  considered 
descends. 

(I)  James  Reynolds  married  Deborah, 
surname  unknown,  and  had  children : 
John,  born  October  12,  1648,  was  killed 
in  the  Great  Swamp  Fight,  December  19, 
1675.  2.  James,  born  October  28,  1650; 
married  (first),  February  20,  1685,  Mary 

Green,  and  (second)  .     3.  Joseph, 

born      November      27,      1652 ;      married 


(second)  Mary,  surname  unknown.  4. 
Henry,  born  January  i,  1656;  married 
Sarah  Greene.  5.  Deborah,  born  Febru- 
ary 12,  1658;  married  John  Sweet.  6. 
Francis,  of  whom  forward.  7.  Mercy, 
born  December  22,  1664;  married  Thomas 
Nichols.  8.  Robert,  born  in  1666.  9. 
Benjamin,  born  in  1669.  10.  Elizabeth, 
born  in  1670. 

(II)  Francis  Reynolds,  son  of  James  and 
Deborah  Reynolds,  was  born  October  12, 
1662,  and  died  April  14,  1722.  He  married 
(first)  Elizabeth  Greene,  born  October 
17,  1668,  daughter  of  James  Greene,  and 
had  four  children:  i.  Francis,  born  in 
1689 ;  married  Mary  Greene.  2.  Peter,  of 
whom  forward.  3.  James,  born  in  1693 ; 
married,  December  7,  1717,  Hannah 
Jenkins.  4.  Jabez,  born  in  1695,  died 
June  3,  1759.  He  married  (second) 
Elizabeth  Berry,  and  had  four  daughters: 
5.  Elizabeth.  6.  Mary.  7.  Deborah.  8. 
Susannah. 

(III)  Peter  Reynolds,  son  of  Francis 
and  Elizabeth  (Greene)  Reynolds,  was 
born  in  1691,  and  died  in  1761.  His  father 
gave  him  one-third  of  the  farm  on  Grand 
Plain,  Exeter,  and  on  this  he  settled  in 
1717.  In  1744  he  purchased  the  estate 
where  Allen  Reynolds  now  lives,  at 
Davisville.  Peter  Reynolds  now  lives,  at 
Davisville.  Peter  Reynolds  and  his  wife 
Sarah  had  five  children  :  i.  John,  of  whom 
forward.  2.  Joseph.  3.  Francis.  4.  Jon- 
athan, who  married  Mary  Tanner.  5. 
Benjamin. 

(IV)  John  Reynolds,  son  of  Peter  and 
Sarah  Reynolds,  was  born  in  North 
Kingstown,  in  1718,  died  October  9,  1804. 
He  married  (first),  July  15,  1744.  Phebe 
Tillinghast,  and  had  two  children:  i. 
Phebe,  born  January  2,  1747;  married 
John  Kenyon.  2.  Weltham,  born  April 
20,  1749,  died  February  11,  1823.  He 
married      (second)     Anne     Utter,     born 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


October  28,  1725,  daughter  of  William 
Utter,  and  she  died  April  28,  1787.  They 
had  children :  3.  Anne,  born  August  9, 
1751 ;  married  Giles  OHn  December  17, 
1769,  and  went  to  Vermont.  4.  William, 
of  whom  forward.  5.  Benjamin,  born 
April   19,   1756,  died  February   19,   1820. 

(V)  William  Reynolds,  son  of  John 
and  Anne  (Utter)  Reynolds,  was  born 
July  19,  1753,  and  died  October  4,  1841. 
He  was  a  house  builder  and  erected  many 
of  the  houses  now  standing  in  Wickford. 
He  was  ensign  of  the  First  Company, 
train  band,  in  June,  1775 ;  and  was  a  pri- 
vate in  a  Rhode  Island  Troop  under 
Captain  Clark  and  Colonel  Brown,  and 
received  a  pension  from  the  United  States 
for  his  services.  (See  Vol.  XII,  page  338, 
"Vital  Statistics  of  Rhode  Island.") 
Late  in  life  he  became  almost  blind,  and 
his  death  was  due  to  a  fall  down  a  flight 
of  stairs.  His  first  wife  was  his  second 
cousin,  Esther  Reynolds,  daughter  of 
John  Reynolds,  son  of  James  Reynolds. 
She  was  born  August  11,  1755,  and  died 
September  7,  1822.  Their  children  were: 
I.  Jonathan,  born  March  31,  1774,  died 
September  12,  1851.  2.  Nicholas,  born 
December  12,  1775,  died  January  19, 
1822.  3.  James,  of  whom  forward.  4. 
Silas,  born  October  17,  1782,  died  July 
22,  1814.  5.  Zebulon  U.,  born  November 
15,  1786,  died  December  15,  1837.  6. 
Esther,  born  August  19,  1788,  died 
December  31,  1850.  7.  William  Job, 
born  March  12,  1791,  died  July  14,  1833. 
8.  Samuel  Watson,  born  April  13,  1795, 
died  September  15,  1863.  9.  Daniel,  born 
March  13,  1797,  died  March  23,  1821. 
William  Reynolds'  second  wife  was  Mary 
(Razee)  Reynolds,  a  widow,  who  died 
March   4,    1847,   aged    ninety-two   years. 

(VI)  James  Reynolds,  third  of  the  nine 
children  of  William  and  Esther  (Rey- 
nolds) Reynolds,  was  born  April  7,  1777, 


and  died  November  18,  1856.  He  left 
his  birthplace.  North  Kingston,  Rhode 
Island,  in  1800,  and  removed  to  Pough- 
keepsie,  Dutchess  County,  New  York. 
Soon  after  his  arrival  in  Poughkeepsie, 
he  entered  into  partnership  with  Aaron 
Innis  in  the  operation  of  a  line  of  packet 
sloops,  running  from  what  was  then 
known  as  the  "Upper  Landing"  to  New 
York  City.  In  181 1  two  sloops,  named 
the  "Mary"  and  the  "Driver"  ran  to  New 
York  on  alternate  weeks,  carrying  both 
freight  and  passengers.  These  sloops 
were  replaced  in  1816  by  the  "Huntress" 
and  the  "Counsellor,"  and  somewhat 
later  the  barges  "Clinton"  and  "Republic" 
were  added  to  the  little  fleet.  Reynolds  & 
Innis,  in  the  year  1818,  gave  notice 
through  the  columns  of  the  "Pough- 
keepsie Journal"  "to  the  Farmers  and 
Merchants  of  Dutchess  County  that  the 
subscribers  have  taken  the  mill  lately 
occupied  by  Martin  Hoffman  &  Company, 
to  tender  their  services  to  the  customers 
of  that  firm  in  the  milling  business." 
About  the  year  1820,  James  Reynolds 
added  a  general  store,  which,  with  the 
mill,  became  the  natural  outgrowth  of 
the  transportation  business.  This  was 
the  start  of  the  present  day  well  known 
firm  of  W.  T.  Reynolds  &  Company, 
which  continues  a  business  that  has  been 
in  the  family  for  more  than  a  century. 
James  Reynolds  married  Elizabeth 
Winans,  and  to  them  were  born  two  sons : 
I.  William  W.,  of  whom  forward.  2. 
James,  Jr. 

(VII)  William  W.  Reynolds,  the  eld- 
est son  of  James  and  Elizabeth  (Winans) 
Reynolds,  was  born  May  21,  1807,  and 
died  April  27,  1873.  William  W.  Rey- 
nolds, and  his  brother,  James  Reynolds, 
Jr.,  succeeded  to  their  father's  business 
about  1840,  at  which  time  the  firm  name 
became   W.    W.   &  J.   Reynolds.      Later, 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


they  developed  the  wholesale  flour  and 
grain  branch  of  the  business.  In  1849 
they  built  a  warehouse  at  the  Upper 
Landing,  and  conducted  the  business 
there  until  1871.  In  1872,  since  railroads 
had  almost  superceded  the  slower  boat- 
shipping  facilities,  they  erected  the  present 
warehouse  opposite  the  passenger  station 
of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad.  At 
the  death  of  James  Reynolds,  Jr.,  in  1865, 
the  firm  name  became  Reynolds  &  son, 
and  in  1869,  when  John  R.,  son  of  James, 
Jr.,  associated  himself  with  the  business, 
it  became  W.  W.  Reynolds  &  Company. 
In  1874,  when  George  E.  Cramer  entered 
the  firm,  the  name  became  Reynolds  & 
Company ;  and  in  1889,  upon  the  death  of 
John  R.  Reynolds,  the  firm  name  was 
changed  to  Reynolds  &  Cramer.  Finally, 
in  1899,  when  Mr.  Cramer  died,  the  firm 
name  became  William  T.  Reynolds  & 
Company,  its  present  form. 

William  W.  Reynolds  married  Amanda 
Thacher,  a  daughter  of  the  Rev.  William 
Thacher,  who  was  descended  from  Hon. 
John  Thacher,  of  Yarmouth,  Massachu- 
setts. The  latter  served  in  King  Philip's 
War  in  1675,  and  was  an  influential  mem- 
ber of  the  Governor's  Council.  To  Wil- 
liam W.  and  Amanda  (Thacher)  Rey- 
nolds was  born  a  son,  William  Thacher, 
of  whom  forward. 

(VIII)  William  Thacher  Reynolds,  a 
son  of  William  W.  and  Amanda 
(Thacher)  Reynolds,  was  born  in  Pough- 
keepsie,  Dutchess  County,  New'  York, 
December  20,  1838,  and  died  January  28, 
191 7,  during  his  seventy-ninth  year.  His 
education  was  received  in  the  schools  and 
academies  of  his  birthplace,  following 
which  he  at  once  engaged  in  the  great 
commercial  business  founded  by  his 
grandfather,  taking  his  place  as  a  member 
of  the  firm  in  i860,  and  succeeding  to  the 
head  of  the  firm  upon  the  death  of  his 


father  in  1873.  Mr.  Reynolds  was  the 
possessor  of  an  unusual  amount  of  execu- 
tive ability,  and  the  present  excellent 
status  of  this  old  established  house  is  in 
great  measure  due  to  his  foresight  and 
unerring  business  judgment.  He  was 
prominent  in  the  business  life  of  the  com- 
munity for  more  than  half  a  century.  He 
never  took  an  active  part  in  politics,  but 
in  all  kinds  of  church  and  charitable  work 
he  was  undeniably  a  leader.  Mr. 
Reynolds  was  a  director  of  the  Fallkill 
National  Bank,  and  a  trustee  of  the 
Poughkeepsie  Savings  Bank,  and  for  a 
period  of  forty-seven  years  served  as 
president  of  the  official  board  of  the 
Washington  Street  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  of  which  he  was  a  regular  attend- 
ant and  a  loyal  and  sincere  supporter. 
Formerly,  he  had  been  a  trustee  of  the 
Vassar  Brothers'  Hospital;  the  Vassar 
Brothers'  Home  for  Aged  Men ;  the  Old 
Ladies'  Home ;  and  of  the  Poughkeepsie 
Rural  Cemetery  Association. 

William  Thacher  Reynolds  was  mar- 
ried in  Clinton  Corners,  Dutchess  County, 
New  York,  on  July  6,  1864,  to  Louisa 
Smith,  a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Esther 
(Doty)  Smith,  of  Clinton  Corners,  New 
York.  Louisa  (Smith)  Reynolds  was  born 
October  i,  1843,  and  died  January  28, 
1917,  her  death  occuring  within  twenty- 
four  hours  of  that  of  her  husband,  the 
burial  being  a  double  one.  Mrs.  Reynolds 
throughout  her  life  had  been  prominent  in 
church  and  charitable  aflfairs  in  Pough- 
keepsie. Their  married  life  was  one 
closely  approaching  the  ideal,  and  a  little 
more  than  two  years  before  their  deaths, 
when  both  were  in  the  best  of  health  and 
enjoying  the  greatest  happiness,  their 
Golden  Wedding  was  celebrated.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Reynolds  were  the  parents  of 
two  children :  i.  Harris  S.,  of  whom  for- 
ward.   2.  May  L. 


4.1 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


(IX)  Harris  S.  Reynolds,  only  son  of 
William  Thacher  and  Louisa  (Smith) 
Reynolds,  and  a  direct  representative  of 
the  ninth  generation  of  his  family  in 
America,  was  born  in  Poughkeepsie, 
Dutchess  County,  New  York,  May  19, 
1865.  His  early  education  was  received 
in  the  local  public  schools  and  in  Pough- 
keepsie Academy,  following  which  he 
matriculated  at  Yale  University  and  was 
graduted  with  the  class  of  1887,  receiv- 
ing the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy. 
In  September,  1887,  he  entered  the  busi- 
ness which  had  been  so  well  and  firmly 
established  by  his  forefathers,  and  be- 
came associated  with  the  branch  known 
as  the  Reynolds  Wholesale  Grocery 
House.  He  began  at  the  very  foot  of  the 
ladder,  and  rose  step  by  step  until  his 
admission  into  the  firm  of  Reynolds  & 
Cramer  took  place  in  1900,  during  which 
year  the  firm  name  was  changed  to  Wil- 
liam T.  Reynolds  &  Company.  In  191 7 
the  company  was  incorporated  and  Harris 
S.  Reynolds  was  made  president,  which 
position  he  now  retains  (1924). 

Mr.  Reynolds  is  prominent  in  the  com- 
mercial and  financial  circles  of  Pough- 
keepsie, and  at  the  present  time  is  carry- 
ing forward  the  great  enterprise  founded 
by  his  ancestors  to  an  ever  increasing 
success.  He  is  a  director  of  the  Fallkill 
National  Bank;  a  trustee  of  the  Pough- 
keepsie Savings  Bank;  a  trustee  of  the 
Poughkeepsie  Rural  Cemetery;  director 
of  the  Central  Hudson  Gas  &  Electric 
Company;  director  of  the  United  Hudson 
Electric  Corporation  and  its  subsidiaries ; 
and  a  member  of  the  executive  board  of 
the  New  York  State  Grocers'  Associa- 
tion. His  clubs  include,  among  others: 
the  Yale  Club,  of  New  York  City;  St. 
Anthony  Club,  of  New  York  City  ;  Amrita 
Club,  former  president  of  same  ;  Dutchess 
Golf  &   Country  Club  ;  charter  member. 


Poughkeepsie  Tennis  Club;  and  the 
Poughkeepsie  Chamber  of  Commerce,  of 
which  he  was  a  former  director.  Politi- 
cally, Mr.  Reynolds  is  a  member  of  the 
Republican  party.  His  religious  affilia- 
tion is  given  to  Christ  Episcopal  Church. 
Harris  S.  Reynolds  was  married  in 
New  Hamburg,  New  York,  October  12, 
1892,  to  Martha  Millard,  a  daughter  of 
William  B.  and  Cordelia  (Lawson)  Mil- 
lard, of  New  Hamburg.  Harris  S.  and 
Martha  (Millard)  Reynolds  are  the 
parents  of  three  children:  i.  Martha 
May,  graduated  from  Vassar  College  in 
1915,  later  taking  her  Master  of  Arts 
degree  in  Psychology,  and  the  degree  of 
Master  of  Arts  from  Columbia  University. 
During  the  late  World  War  she  served  in 
France  for  a  period  of  eighteen  months 
with  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion. 2.  Dorothy  Millard,  educated  at 
Westover  School,  Middlebury,  Connecti- 
cut. She  married  Robert  Lansing  Smith, 
and  they  have  three  children:  Marion, 
Barbara,  and  Elsie  Jane  Smith.  3.  Harry- 
ette  Lawson,  educated  in  Westover 
School,  Middlebury,  Connecticut,  and 
served  in  France  for  one  year  with  the 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  dur- 
ing the  World  War. 


WEBB,  John  Griswold, 

Republican  State  Senator. 

State  Senator,  member  of  the  New 
York  Assembly  for  four  years,  president 
of  an  international  publishing  house,  pres- 
ident of  a  corporation  whose  purpose  it  is 
to  build  and  manage  farms  and  country 
estates,  owner  and  organizer  of  the 
famous  Webb  Farms,  at  Clinton  Cor- 
ners. New  York,  war  correspondent  in 
Mexico  for  two  years,  with  an  enviable 
record  of  high  patriotic  service  to  the 
United    States    Government    during    the 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


World  War,  John  Griswold  Webb,  who 
has  not  as  yet  reached  his  thirty-fourth 
birthday,  has  crowded  into  his  compara- 
tively young  life  more  of  diversified  en- 
deavor and  recognized  usefulness  to  State 
and  Nation  than  often  is  accomplished  by 
men  of  his  age  and  station.  From  school 
walls  to  legislative  halls.  Senator  Webb's 
career  has  been  to  the  oresent  time  one 
of  ceaseless  activity,  in  which  worthy 
ambition  has  urged  him  on  to  make  the 
most  of  every  opportunity,  to  do  the  next 
thing  in  the  very  best  possible  way,  and 
thus  build  upon  a  good  foundation  a 
superstructure  of  success  in  which  his 
colleagues  and  fellow-citizens  share  with 
a  degree  of  pride  that  is  commendable. 

Senator  Webb  at  his  birth  came  into  a 
long  and  honorable  line  of  ancestors.  He 
is  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  "first  Webb," 
Richard  Webb,  of  Dorsetshire,  England, 
who  emigrated  to  America  and  settled  in 
Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  in  1626,  but 
four  years  after  the  Pilgrims  landed  at 
Plymouth.  His  great-grandfather,  Sam- 
uel Blatchley  Webb,  was  a  brigadier- 
general  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  and 
acted  as  aide-de-camp  and  private  secre- 
tary to  General  George  Washington. 
His  great-grandfather,  on  his  maternal 
side,  Chester  Griswold,  was  mayor  of 
the  city  of  Troy,  New  York,  in  1820,  and 
was  a  member  of  the  New  York  State 
Legislature  in  1823 ;  his  grandfather,  John 
A.  Griswold,  also  served  the  city  of  Troy 
as  mayor,  and  for  three  terms  was  a 
member  of  Congress  ;  he  was  instrumental 
with  the  famous  Ericsson  in  the  building 
of  the  battleship  "Monitor."  Senator 
Webb's  father,  the  late  Henry  Walter 
Webb,  was  vice-president  of  the  New 
York  Central  Railroad,  and  with  the  sup- 
port and  cooperation  of  the  Vanderbilt 
family  he  had  much  to  do  with  develop- 
ing the  elements  of  progress  of  that  great 
transportation  system. 


John  Griswold  Webb  was  born  on  Au- 
gust 13,  1890,  at  Riverdale,  New  York, 
son  of  Henry  Walter  Webb,  born  May  6, 
1852.  at  Tarrj'town,  New  York,  died  June 
18,  1900,  at  Scarboro,  New  York,  and 
Leila  Howard  (Griswold)  Webb,  daugh- 
ter of  John  A.  Griswold,  of  Troy.  The 
son,  J.  Griswold,  was  educated  at  the 
Browning  School,  New  York  City ; 
Groton  School,  Groton,  Massachusetts, 
1903-09;  Harvard  College,  1909-13;  grad- 
uated with  the  degree  of  A.  B. ;  and  Cor- 
nell Agricultural  College,  1913-14.  His 
academical  and  technical  education  com- 
pleted, his  first  occupation  in  life  was  to 
acquire  ownership  and  assume  the  man- 
agement of  a  450  acre  commercial,  agri- 
cultural enterprise,  known  as  Webb 
Farms,  at  Clinton  Corners,  New  York. 
Into  the  development  of  this  great  farm 
project  he  brought  all  his  youthful  energy 
and  the  results  of  years  of  close  study 
and  the  application  of  scientific  methods. 
Two  years  previously,  1912-13,  he  had 
smelled  powder  and  observed  the  clash  of 
arms  in  the  turbulent  scenes  of  Mexico, 
where  he  acted  as  war  correspondent  of 
"The  Boston  Herald."  Five  years  after 
launching  his  commercial  farm  enter- 
prise, he  became  president  of  Webb,  Mar- 
low  &  Vought,  Inc.,  a  corporation  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  building  and  managing 
farms  and  country  estates.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year,  1921,  he  was  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  American  International  Pub- 
lishers, Inc.,  a  corporation  publishing 
agricultural  magazines,  among  which  are 
well  known  periodicals  such  as  "Field 
Illustrated"  and  "Field  Annual  Year 
Book,"  for  the  American  trade,  and  "El 
Campo"  and  "O  Campo,"  for  the  South 
American   trade. 

Senator  Webb's  public  service  began 
in  1913,  when  he  was  elected  justice  of 
the  peace,  and  he  served  in  that  office 
until  1917.    He  now  was  on  the  highway 


45 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


to  hig-her  honors  in  the  preferment  of  his 
fellow-citizens,  and  he  was  elected  to  the 
Assembly  of  the  State  of  New  York  dur- 
ing the  years  1919,  1920,  1921  and  1922. 
In  1923  he  was  elevated  by  the  voters  to 
the  Senate  of  the  State  of  New  York, 
which  office  he  now  holds.  In  1923  he 
was  honored  with  the  election  to  chair- 
manship of  the  Republican  County  Com- 
mittee of  Dutchess  County.  Senator 
Webb's  record  of  patriotic  activity  dur- 
ing the  World  War  covers  the  years  1917 
and  the  first  half  of  1918,  when  he  acted  as 
local  chairman  of  Red  Cross,  Liberty 
Loan  and  War  Savings  Stamp  campaign 
drives ;  the  year  1917  he  was  chairman 
of  the  committee  on  food  production  of 
the  Home  Defense  Committee,  and  in  No- 
vember, 1917,  he  was  made  a  member  of 
the  executive  committee  of  the  Dutchess 
County  Defense  Council;  in  1917  he  was 
appointed  Federal  Fuel  Administrator  for 
Dutchess  County.  He  filled  all  these  po- 
sitions until  August,  1918,  when  he  en- 
listed as  a  private  in  the  United  States 
Army,  and  was  sent  to  the  Field  Artil- 
lery Officers'  Training  Camp  at  Camp 
Zachary  Taylor,  Kentucky.  He  was  hon- 
orably discharged  from  the  service  in 
March,  1919,  having  never  been  permitted 
to  see  active  service  overseas,  since  he 
was  on  duty  at  the  training  camp  when 
the  armistice  was  signed. 

Senator  Webb  is  a  member  of  Sheko- 
meko  Lodge,  No.  458,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  of  Washington  Hollow,  New 
York ;  Poughkeepsie  Lodge,  No.  275,  Be- 
nevolent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks ; 
the  Society  of  Colonial  Wars ;  the  Sons 
of  the  Revolution;  and  the  Society  of 
American  Wars.  He  holds  membership  in 
the  Harvard  Club,  New  York  City ;  A.  D. 
— D.  K.  E.  and  S.  K.  clubs  of  Harvard 
University ;  Knickerbocker  and  Racquet 
and  Tennis  clubs  of  New  York  City  ;  Som- 


erset Club,  of  BcSston ;  Fort  Orange  Club, 
Albany;  Automobile  Club  of  America; 
Amrita  and  Dutchess  County  Golf  and 
Country  clubs,  of  Poughkeepsie,  New 
York. 

Senator  Webb  married.  May  16,  1914, 
Anne  Pendleton  Rogers,  daughter  of 
Archibald  and  Anne  (Coleman)  Rogers, 
of  Hyde  Park,  New  York.  They  are  the 
parents  of  two  children :  John  Griswold, 
Jr.,  born  December  3,  191 5,  and  Leila 
Griswold,  born  October  17,  1920. 

This  review  would  be  incomplete  did 
it  not  embrace  more  extended  mention  of 
the  worthy  father  of  a  worthy  son. 
Henry  Walter  Webb,  father  of  Senator 
Webb,  formerly  vice-president  of  the  New 
York  Central  and  Hudson  River  Railroad, 
died  suddenly,  June  18,  1900,  at  his  home, 
"Beechwood,"  in  Scarboro.  He  was  a 
brother  of  Dr.  W.  Seward  Webb,  who 
married  Lila  Osgood  Vanderbilt,  a  daugh- 
ter of  William  H.  Vanderbilt.  Follow- 
ing this  alliance.  Dr.  Web!)  gave  up  the 
practice  of  medicine  and  established  the 
banking  and  brokerage  house  of  W.  S. 
Webb  &  Co.  He  induced  his  brother, 
Henry  Walter  Webb,  to  give  up  his  prac- 
tice of  law  and  to  become  associated 
with  him  in  the  business  in  which  he  had 
become  engaged  and  which  gave  promise 
of  great  success.  In  1886  Dr.  Webb  was 
elected  president  of  the  Wagner  Palace 
Car  Company,  whose  affairs  were  in  very 
bad  shape;  and  as  a  result  Dr.  Webb 
again  called  upon  his  brother  to  come  to 
his  assistance  in  establishing  a  new  sys- 
tem of  conducting  the  business.  Mr. 
Webb  became  the  first  vice-president  of 
the  company,  and  here  was  where  he 
made  his  beginning  in  the  business  of 
railroading,  in  which  he  was  destined 
to  exhibit  remarkable  aliility.  He  was 
quick  to  show  his  capacity  as  a  railroad 
man,  and  this  at  once  gained  the  recogni- 


.16 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tion  of  the  Vanderbilts,  who  had  become 
interested  in  his  advancement.  He  was 
appointed  assistant  to  President  Chaun- 
cey  M.  Depew,  and  in  March,  1890,  he  was 
elected  by  the  directors  to  the  office  of 
third  vice-president.  Hardly  had  he  en- 
tered upon  his  new  work  when  the  great 
railroad  strike  was  declared  and  5,000 
men  stopped  work  at  the  order  of  the 
Council  of  the  Knights  of  the  Labor. 
Then  was  offered  the  great  oppor- 
tunity for  Mr.  Webb  to  attain  unusual 
distinction.  President  Depew  was  in 
Europe,  Mr.  Vanderbilt  also  was  absent, 
and  the  two  other  vice-presidents  were 
not  connected  with  the  operating  de- 
partment. The  task  of  combatting  the 
strikers  fell  heavily  upon  Mr.  Webb's 
shoulders.  He  met  the  problem  brave- 
ly, with  firmness  and  with  that  ce- 
lerity of  decision  which  won  the  approval 
of  the  Vanderbilt  family.  The  Vander- 
bilts placed  the  entire  matter  of  the  settle- 
ment of  the  strike  in  his  hands,  and 
eventually  he  came  off  victorious. 

The  long  strain  incurred  through  that 
struggle,  however,  seriously  impaired  his 
health.  He  continued  with  his  work  and 
entered  into  the  operation  of  the  New 
York  Central's  passenger  system  in  a 
manner  which  has  had  much  to  do  with 
the  adoption  of  the  new  system  of  operat- 
ing fast  passenger  trains  on  railroads 
throughout  the  country.  Mr.  Webb  made 
practical  the  theory  that  time  is  money, 
and  that  the  saving  of  time  meant  the 
increase  of  traffic.  He  inaugurated  the 
fast  train  service  and  established  the 
"Empire  State  Express."  Many  railroad 
men  poked  fun  at  him,  but  Mr.  Webb  had 
the  Vanderbilts  at  his  back;  and  to-day 
history  of  that  advanced  step  in  railroad- 
ing has  more  than  justified  Mr.  Webb's 
departure  from  the  old  system  of  doing 
things. 


In  1896  ill  health  compelled  Mr.  Webb 
to  retire  to  a  country  home,  and  from 
that  point  he  directed  the  affairs  of  the 
passenger  traffic  of  the  road.  His  health 
eventually  became  completely  broken, 
and  he  resigned  his  office.  He  had  never 
been  a  well  man  since  the  great  rail- 
road strike. 

Mr.  Webb  married,  in  1884,  Leila  How- 
ard Griswold,  daughter  of  John  A.  Gris- 
wold,  of  Troy,  New  York.  His  widow 
and  two  sons  survived  him.  Mr.  Webb 
was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education 
under  Mayor  Grace.  He  was  a  director 
of  the  Lincoln  National  Bank,  the  Hudson 
River  Bank,  Commonwealth  Insurance 
Company,  Hamilton  Bank  Note  Engrav- 
ing Company,  International  Pulp  Com- 
pany, Kensico  Cemetery  Company,  Lin- 
coln Safe  Deposit  Company,  Love  Elec- 
tric Traction  Company,  Mutual  Life  In- 
surance Company,  National  City  Bank, 
New  York  Mutual  Gas  Light  Company, 
New  York  Security  and  Trust  Company, 
Terminal  Warehouse  Company,  Wagner 
Palace  Car  Company,  and  of  the  different 
railroads  owned  or  controlled  by  the  New 
York  Central  Railroad  Company. 


PILGRIM,    Charles   W.,   M.    D., 
Leading  Alienist. 

Not  long  after  his  graduation  from 
Bellevue  Hospital  Medical  College,  Dr. 
Pilgrim  began  the  study  of  mental  science 
and  its  varied  and  obscure  phenomena, 
with  the  result  that  for  nearly  forty  years 
he  was  connected  with  the  New  York 
State  Hospital  system,  and  is  to-day  rec- 
ognized by  his  profession  as  one  of  Amer- 
ica's leading  alienists.  His  profound 
study  of  mental  diseases  and  his  author- 
ship of  treatises  bearing  on  their  treat- 
ment and  cure  have  won  for  him  the  at- 
tention of  the  entire  country.     One  phase 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  his  research  has  developed  a  definite 
program  of  anticipating  the  maturity  of 
insanity  and  by  treating  it  in  its  incip- 
iency,  arresting  its  development  and  sav- 
ing threatened  victims  from  becoming 
mental  wrecks.  Several  States  followed 
the  lead  of  New  York  State  in  this  method 
of  dealing  with  the  dread  disease  and 
good  results  are  reported. 

Throughout  his  long  career  as  a  physi- 
cian and  psychiatrist  in  the  State  Hos- 
pital service,  Dr.  Pilgrim  always  sought 
to  elevate  the  standard  of  medical  and 
nursing  care  of  the  insane,  and  sys- 
tematically endeavored  to  promote  scien- 
tific interest  in  psychiatry  on  the  part  of 
the  State  Hospital  staff.  As  a  member 
and  chairman  of  the  State  Hospital  Com- 
mission he  consistently  supported  the  Psy- 
chiatric Institute  as  a  highly  important 
work  of  the  State  Hospital  system,  and 
encouraged  the  younger  physicians  in  the 
service  to  avail  themselves  of  the  oppor- 
tunities it  offered  for  their  improvement 
by  attending  the  courses  of  instruction 
the  institute  provided. 

Dr.  Pilgrim,  furthermore,  was  a  pioneer 
in  the  development  of  out-patients  de- 
partments in  connection  with  State  hos- 
pitals ;  was  one  of  the  earliest  and  strong- 
est advocates  of  the  mental  clinics  and 
social  service  work  of  these  departments, 
and  was  a  potent  factor  in  securing  the 
adoption  by  the  State  Hospital  Develop- 
ment Commission  of  a  resolution  declar- 
ing that  social  service  workers  should 
be  provided  in  each  hospital  in  the  pro- 
portion of  one  for  each  hundred  patients 
on  parole.  His  contributions  to  the  lit- 
erature of  his  profession  are  numerous 
and  weighty,  his  topics  always  having 
a  direct  bearing  upon  his  specialty. 

Dr.  Pilgrim  is  a  native  son  of  the  Em- 
pire State,  and  with  the  exception  of  the 
time   spent   in   study   abroad   has   always 


resided  within  the  limits  of  his  own  State, 
giving  to  her  people  and  her  institutions 
of  healing  his  great  skill  and  power  of 
mind. 

Dr.  Charles  W.  Pilgrim  was  born  in 
Monroe,  Orange  County,  New  York, 
March  27,  1855,  son  of  Roe  C.  and  Frances 
(Wilkes)  Pilgrim.  He  was  educated 
under  private  tutors,  and  in  Monroe  In- 
stitute, New  York  University,  and  Belle- 
vue  Hospital  Medical  College,  receiving 
from  the  last  named  institution  the  de- 
gree of  M.  D.,  class  of  1881.  After  grad- 
uation from  the  medical  college,  he  served 
as  an  interne  of  Bellevue  Hospital  for 
eighteen  months,  and  then  began  his  work 
in  psychiatry  at  the  State  Asylum  for  In- 
sane Criminals  at  Auburn,  New  York, 
where  he  remained  for  one  year.  In 
1883  he  was  appointed  an  assistant  physi- 
cian in  the  State  Asylum,  Utica,  New 
York,  and  that  connection  he  continued 
for  seven  years,  attaining  the  rank  of 
assistant  superintendent.  About  one- 
half  of  each  of  the  years,  1885-86  and  1889 
were  spent  by  Dr.  Pilgrim  in  the  hospitals 
and  clinics  of  Vienna,  Munich  and  Ber- 
lin, leave  of  absence  being  granted  him 
by  the  State  Hospital.  In  February, 
1890,  he  was  transferred  from  the  assist- 
ant superintendency  of  State  Hospital  at 
Utica  to  the  superintendency  of  State 
Hospital  at  Willard,  New  York,  and 
there  his  great  ability  both  as  physician 
and  organizer  became  more  apparent,  as 
demonstrated  by  noteworthy-  improve- 
ments in  the  medical  and  administrative 
departments  of  the  hospital. 

His  constructive  work  at  Willard  State 
Hospital  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
managers  of  the  Hudson  River  State  Hos- 
pital at  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  and  in 
May,  1893,  'is  was  appointed  superinten- 
dent of  that  institution,  there  remaining 
until  April,  1906,  when  Governor  Higgins 


48 


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c^:^^  -^^^^^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


requested  him  to  assume  the  duties  of 
chairman  of  the  State  Hospital  Commis- 
sion,   with    the    understanding    that    he 
should  return  to  the  Hudson  River  State 
Hospital  as  its  superintendent,  if  at  the 
end  of  the  year  he  desired  to  do  so.     Dr. 
Pilgrim   found   the   duties   of  a   commis- 
sioner   less    attractive    than    those    of    a 
hospital    superintendent.        He   therefore 
resigned  his  office  at  the  expiration  of  the 
year  and  returned  to  the  State  Hospital 
at     Poughkeepsie,     where     he     rendered 
highly  efficient  service  until   September, 
1916,  when  he  was  again  called  to  Albany 
as  chairman  of  the  State  Hospital  Com- 
mission, by  Governor  Whitman,  and  he 
served  in  that  capacity  with  conspicuous 
ability  until  December,  1921,  when  he  re- 
signed  in   order  to  take  control   of  the 
well    known    sanitarium    of    Dr.    Carlos 
MacDonald,  at  Central  Valley,  New  York. 
While  Dr.  Pilgrim  has  devoted  himself 
entirely   to   his   profession,   his    interests 
have  demanded  a  certain  association  with 
the  business   life   of  the   city   of  Pough- 
keepsie,  and   he   has   served   the   Pough- 
keepsie Trust  Company  as  vice-president, 
and  other  corporations  as  a  director.    His 
great  abilities  and  wide  acquaintance  have 
caused  his  being  called  as  an  expert  in 
many  medico-legal  cases,  and  his  connec- 
tion with  the  literature  of  his  profession 
has  covered  the  various  phases  of  mental 
diseases.     He  was,  until  his  resignation, 
a  member  of  many  years  standing  of  the 
editorial    staff    of    "The    State    Hospital 
Quarterly."     He  published  many  articles 
on     psychiatry     and     kindred     subjects, 
among  which  may  be  mentioned  "A  Case 
of    Epileptic    Insanity    With    Echo-Sign 
Well  Marked,"  "A  Case  of  Spontaneous 
Rupture  of  the  Heart,"  "Pyromonia  (so- 
called)  With  Report  of  Case,"  "A  Visit 
to  Gheel,"  "Mental  Disturbances  Follow- 
ing Puerpal  Eclampsia,"  "A  Study  of  Sui- 
cide," "Schools  For  the  Insane,"  "Genius 


and  Suicide,"  "Does  the  Loco  Weed  Pro- 
duce Insanity?"  "Communicated  Insan- 
ity," "Suicide  and  Insanity,"  "Care  and 
Treatment  of  the  Insane  in  the  State  of 
New  York,"  "The  Proper  Size  of  Hos- 
pitals for  the  Insane,"  "The  Study  of  a 
Year's  Statistics,"  "Old  Age  and  Its  Psy- 
choses," "Meeting  the  Mentally  Sick 
Half  Way,"  etc.  From  1882  until  1890 
he  was  associate  editor  of  "The  American 
Journal  of  Insanity,"  and  an  associate 
editor  of  "The  Institutional  Care  of  the 
Insane  in  the  United  States  and  Canada," 
recently  published  under  the  direction  of 
Dr.  Henry  M.  Hurd,  of  Johns  Hopkins 
University,  Baltimore,  Maryland.  He  is 
a  Fellow  of  the  American  Psychiatric  As- 
sociation, of  which  he  was  president  in 
191 1 ;  a  member  of  the  Medical  Society 
of  Dutchess  County,  of  which  he  was 
president  in  the  same  year;  a  member  of 
the  Society  of  the  Alumni  of  Bellevue 
Hospital;  a  Fellow  of  the  New  York 
Academy  of  Medicine ;  and  president  of 
the  New  York  Psychiatrical  Society. 

Dr.  Pilgrim  married,  in  1889,  Florence 
M.  Middleton,  who  died  December  15, 
1904.  His  daughter,  Florence,  is  the  wife 
of  Dr.  Theodore  Neumann,  who  was 
prominently  connected  with  the  New 
York  State  Hospital  service,  but  is  now 
associated  with  Dr.  Pilgrim  in  the  man- 
agement of  his  sanitarium.  Mrs.  Neu- 
mann is  a  talented  musician,  whose  artis- 
tic ability  is  widely  recognized  in  the 
circles  in  which  she  moves.  She  is  most 
gracious  in  her  willingness  to  share  her 
talents  with  others,  and  particularly  if  a 
function  is  to  be  given  in  aid  of  some 
worthy  charity. 


TROY,  Peter  H., 

Investment  Banker  and  Broker. 

Peter   H.   Troy,   of   Poughkeepsie   and 
Barrytown,  New  York,  investment  banker 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  broker,  is  one  of  the  best  known  men 
in  the  State  of  New  York  through  his 
active  work  in  many  important  organi- 
zations of  a  civic  or  business  character. 
It  is  said  of  him  that  his  true  measure 
as  a  citizen  does  not  consist  so  much  in 
any  calculation  of  his  professional  suc- 
cess as  in  his  comradeship  with  men  who 
have  taken  an  abiding  interest  in  human 
affairs,  without  money  and  without  price. 

It  has  become  the  habit  of  such  men 
to  devote  almost  as  much  of  their  time 
and  fully  as  much  of  their  energy  and  abil- 
ity to  the  loyal  service  of  their  fellow- 
men  as  they  devote  to  their  own  business 
interests.  They  are  the  Americans  who 
are  making  American  communities 
sparkle  with  vitality  and  progress.  They 
are  found  in  every  city  where  clubs  and 
committees  are  accomplishing  things  for 
the  general  good.  Their  name  is  legion, 
and  they  are  the  salt  of  the  earth. 

Mr.  Troy  was  born  in  Red  Hook, 
Dutchess  County,  January  23,  1868,  son 
of  Peter  and  Bridget  (Dee)  Troy.  As  a 
boy  Peter  H.  Troy  studied  telegraphy 
in  his  native  village  of  Barrytown-on- 
Hudson,  the  opportunity  to  do  so  having 
come  to  him  through  the  friendship  of 
the  station  agent  of  the  New  York  Cen- 
tral Railroad  there,  and  in  the  meantime 
he  continued  his  studies  under  the  private 
tutelage  of  William  Gaston  Donaldson. 
So  apt  a  pupil  was  he  that  when  he  had 
reached  the  age  of  fifteen  (in  1883)  he 
secured  the  consent  of  his  father,  Peter 
Troy,  a  contractor  in  Barrytown,  to  ac- 
cept an  ofifer  from  the  stock  brokerage 
firm  of  Boody,  McLellan  &  Company,  of 
Manhattan,  to  become  a  clerk  and  wire 
operator  in  the  Poughkeepsie  branch 
ofifice  of  that  house.  The  ambitious  lad 
left  the  environment  of  his  boyhood  home 
and  applied  himself  to  the  intricate  details 
of  investment  and  market  finance  while 


handling  the  messages  which  passed  back 
and  forth  over  the  wire.  Later  he  be- 
came ofiice  manager  for  the  firm  of  E.  & 
C.  Randolph,  remaining  with  that  house 
for  fifteen  years,  and  then  being  admitted 
to  partnership  in  the  firm  of  C.  D.  Hal- 
sey  &  Company,  of  New  York  City,  the 
above  firms  all  being  members  of  the 
New  York  Stock  Exchange. 

In  1918  Mr.  Troy  purchased  a  seat  on 
the  New  York  Stock  Exchange,  and  the 
same  year  withdrew  from  C.  D.  Halsey  & 
Company  to  engage  privately  as  a  banker 
and  broker,  dealing  under  his  own  name 
through  his  stock  exchange  membership 
in  investment  securities.  He  is  also  a 
director  of  The  Poughkeepsie  Trust  Com- 
pany, and  was  one  of  the  organizers  and 
is  a  director  of  the  Vassar  Bank  at  Arling- 
ton, New  York.  A  director  of  the  United 
States  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  New 
York  City,  director  of  The  Poughkeepsie 
City  and  Wappinger  Falls  Electric  Rail- 
road Company,  and  is  president  of  the 
Red  Hook  Telephone  Company,  which  he 
organized  in  1895.  Also  a  trustee  of  Put- 
nam Hall,  Poughkeepsie,  a  preparatory 
school  for  girls,  and  a  trustee  of  St. 
Francis  Hospital. 

In  politics  Mr.  Troy  is  a  lifelong  Dem- 
ocrat. He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Kansas 
City  convention  that  nominated  William 
J.  Bryan  for  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  a  close  personal  friend  of  the 
late  Governor  David  B.  Hill.  He  has  sat 
in  many  State,  district  and  county  con- 
ventions of  his  party,  and  his  voice  has 
long  been  a  potent  one  in  party  councils. 
He  is  a  recent  president  of  the  Dutchess 
County  Society  in  the  city  of  New  York ; 
a  former  president  of  the  New  York  State 
Motor  Federation  ;  director  of  the  Amer- 
ican Automobile  Association  ;  and  chair- 
man of  the  board  of  directors  of  the 
Poughkeepsie    Automobile    Club.        Mr. 


^^^^-S^  C2.,^-z^(U^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Troy  stands  high  among  his  con- 
temporaries of  these  organizations  and 
of  the  business  world,  his  career  a  striking 
illustration  of  what  an  ambitious,  ener- 
getic boy  can  attain  in  business  prom- 
inence without  the  adventitious  aids  of 
wealth,  position  and  influence.  He  rose 
solely  through  his  own  efforts  and  may 
be  justly  termed  self-made  in  the  very 
best  sense  of  the  phrase. 

Peter  H.  Troy  married.  June  30,  1896, 
Matilda  A.  Bullock,  daughter  of  Charles 
and  Almira  (Livingston)  Bullock,  her 
father  for  many  years  representative  of 
the  New  York  Central  Railroad  Company 
at  Cold  Springs,  New  York.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Troy  are  the  parents  of  four  chil- 
dren :  I.  Almira  Livingston,  a  graduate  of 
Putnam  Hall,  Poughkeepsie,  Dwight 
School,  Englewood,  New  Jersey,  and  Vas- 
sar  College,  receiving  her  degree  from  the 
last  named  institution,  class  of  1920. 
She  was  married,  June  28,  1924,  to  Cap- 
tain Walter  W.  Warner,  United  States 
Army,  located  at  the  United  States  Ar- 
senal, Augusta,  Georgia.  2.  Helen  Tay- 
lor, a  graduate  of  Putnam  Hall,  the  Bald- 
win School,  Bryn  Mawr,  Pennsylvania, 
and  Vassar  College,  class  of  1922.  3. 
Frances  Dee,  a  graduate  of  Putnam  Hall 
and  the  Madeira  School,  Washington, 
District  of  Columbia.  4.  Peter  F.,  born 
April  26,  1907. 


CAMPBELL,  Hon.  George  D., 

Contractor,  Ex-Mayor  of  Poughkeepsie. 

To  even  a  novice  or  a  beginner  in  his- 
tory, heraldry,  and  genealogy,  the  sur- 
name "Campbell"  cannot  be  disassociated 
from  Scotland,  the  land  of  "hills  and 
heather,"  for  in  Bonnie  Scotland  did  the 
present  great  family  of  Campbell  have  its 
inception.  The  name  now  appears  in 
great  numbers  in  England  and  America, 


but  Scotland  still  claims  the  four  main 
branches  of  the  family:  The  Campbells 
of  Argyll,  the  Campbells  of  Breadalbane, 
the  Campbells  of  Cawdor,  and  the  Camp- 
bells of  Loudoun.  The  Campbells  of 
Argyll  seem  to  be  the  oldest,  and  there- 
fore probably  the  parent  branch,  for  in 
the  year  1216  Gillespie  Campbell  is  given 
in  the  Exchequer  Rolls  as  holding  the 
lands  of  Menstrie  and  Sauchie  in  Stirling. 
He  was  also  a  witness  of  the  charter  of 
the  burgh  of  Newburgh  in  Fife,  in  1266. 
From  this  Gillespie  Campbell  are  de- 
scended, directly  or  indirectly,  all  the 
present-day  bearers  of  the  name. 

The  badge  of  the  Campbells  of  Argyll 
is  as  follows:  Roid  (Wild  Myrtle),  or 
Garbhag,  an  t-sleibhe  (Fir  Club  Moss). 
The  war  cry  is:  "Cruachan"  (a  moun- 
tain near  Loch  Awe).  The  clan  pipe 
music,  which  is  deservedly  world  famous, 
is  as  follows :  Salute — "Failte  'Mharcius" 
("The  Marquis'  Salute")  ;  March— "Bail'- 
lonaraora"  ("The  Campbells  are  com- 
ing") ;  Lament — "Cumha  'Mharcius") 
("The  Marquis'  Lament"). 

The  arms  granted  to  the  Duke  of 
Argyll  were : 

Arms — Quarterly,  first  and  fourth,  gyronny  of 
eight  or  and  sable  (for  Campbell),  second  and 
third,  argent,  a  lymphad,  her  sails  furled  and  oars 
in  action,  all  sable,  flag  and  pennants  flying  gules 
(for  Lorn). 

Crest — A  boar's  head  couped  or. 

Motto — Vix  ca  nostra  voce. 

The  patronymic  "Campbell"  is  derived 
from  two  old  Gaelic  words,  and  has  refer- 
ence to  a  facial  characteristic,  or,  in  the 
opinion  of  some  authorities,  it  denotes  a 
facial  deformity.  The  surname  is  com- 
pounded from  cam,  meaning  "wry,"  and 
Beul,  meaning  "mouth,"  wry-mouth.  Wry- 
mouth  could  have  reference  to  a  stern 
expression  or  firm,  straight,  unsmiling 
lips.  W.  &  A.  K.  Johnston's  "The  Scot- 
tish  Clans   «&   Their   Tartans,"   however, 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


claims  that  it  is  now  generally  admitted 
that  the  surname  denotes  a  facial  deform- 
ity, wry-mouth  meaning  twisted  lips.  The 
clan  tartan  of  the  Campbells  of  Argyll  is 
one  of  the  most  beautiful,  being  of  inter- 
secting squares  of  dark  green,  dull  blue, 
and  black,  with  alternating  narrow  stripes 
of  yellow  and  white.  Nothing  need  be 
said  of  the  consummate  bravery,  the 
prominence,  or  the  military  exploits  of 
the  early  Campbells,  for  these  are  synony- 
mous with  the  surname,  and  a  recountal 
here  would  be  but  in  the  nature  of  repeti- 
tion. The  American  branch  herein  con- 
sidered begins  with  Daniel  Campbell,  of 
whom  further. 

(I)  Daniel  Campbell  was  born  in  Nairn, 
Scotland,  in  the  year  1810.  He  served  in 
the  British  Army  and  was  granted  a  tract 
of  land  in  Newfoundland  for  his  services. 
He  was  one  of  a  large  family  which  im- 
migrated to  America  in  1830.  They  set- 
tled in  Newfoundland  and  later  removed 
to  Eastport,  Maine.  Daniel  Campbell 
then  moved  to  Ridges,  New  Brunswick, 
Canada,  and  still  later  returned  to  the 
States,  settling  finally  in  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  he  learned  the  trade  of 
tailor,  which  he  followed  for  many  years. 
He  was  married,  in  1836,  to  Lucy  Perry,  a 
native  of  Sherbourne,  Massachusetts,  and 
a  member  of  an  old  New  England  family. 
Daniel  and  Lucy  (Perry)  Campbell  were 
the  parents  of  six  children,  as  follows: 
Donald,  Lucy,  Margaret,  William,  Henry 
A.,  of  whom  forward ;  Frederick. 

(II)  Henry  A.  Campbell,  fifth  of  the 
six  children  of  Daniel  and  Lucy  (Perry) 
Campbell,  was  born  in  Westford,  Massa- 
chusetts, in  the  year  1854.  His  early  years 
were  spent  at  Gardner,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  received  his  education  in  the 
local  public  schools.  His  first  business 
venture  was  in  the  logging  and  lumber 
industries,  buying  wooded  districts,  and 
then    sawing,    trucking,    and    selling    the 


lumber.  Later  he  conducted  a  wood- 
working factory  at  Everett,  Massachu- 
setts, which  business  he  eventually  sold 
in  order  to  enter  the  contracting  and 
building  field.  He  built  many  residences 
for  speculation  both  in  the  North  and 
South,  and  upon  his  return  from  the  South 
he  settled  permanently  in  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts, where  he  now  (1924)  lives 
retired.  Politically,  Henry  A.  Campbell 
is  a  staunch  Republican.  Fraternally,  he 
holds  membership  in  the  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows.  His  religious  affil- 
iation is  given  to  the  Baptist  Church  of 
Boston. 

Henry  A.  Campbell  was  married,  in 
1875,  to  Lila  O.  Gifford,  a  daughter  of 
George  E.  and  Adeline  (Harrington)  Gif- 
ford, of  North  Grafton,  Massachusetts. 
To  Henry  A.  and  Lila  O.  (Gififord)  Camp- 
bell have  been  born  seven  children,  as  fol- 
lows: Maud,  Walter,  Gertrude,  George 
D.,  of  whom  further;  Adeline,  Harold, 
Chester,  now  deceased. 

(Ill)  The  Hon.  George  D.  Campbell, 
fourth  of  the  seven  children  of  Henry  A. 
and  Lila  O.  (Gifford)  Campbell,  and  a 
representative  of  the  third  generation  of 
the  ancient  Campbell  Clan  of  Scotland  in 
America,  was  born  in  Williamsville,  town 
of  Hubbardston,  Massachusetts,  Septem- 
ber 14,  1884,  and  at  the  age  of  one  year 
removed  with  his  parents  to  North  Graf- 
ton, Massachusetts.  Here  he  acquired  his 
education  in  the  local  public  and  high 
schools,  following  which  he  worked  for  a 
short  time  in  a  country  grocery  store  in 
North  Grafton.  He  then  learned  the  car- 
penter's trade,  and  somewhat  later  the 
mason's  trade,  and  for  a  year,  beginning 
in  191 1,  he  was  engaged  in  general  con- 
tracting and  building  in  North  Grafton. 

The  year  1912  brought  Mr.  Campbell's 
advent  into  Poughkeepsie,  New  York, 
which  city  was  destined  to  be  the  seat  of 
his  business  and  public  activities  for  more 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


than  a  decade.  Mr.  Campbell,  in  the  prac- 
tice of  his  chosen  vocation,  has  achieved 
success.  For  a  year  following- his  removal 
to  Poughkeepsie  he  was  in  charge  of  the 
carpenter  work  in  the  course  of  construc- 
tion at  Vassar  College.  In  1913  he  formed 
a  partnership  with  Walter  Willis  King- 
ston under  the  firm  name  of  Kingston  & 
Campbell,  and  during  the  succeeding  six 
years  the  firm  constructed  many  private 
residences,  the  Dutchess  Manufacturing 
Building,  the  Smith  Brothers'  Factory, 
the  Windsor  Hotel,  and  the  First  National 
Bank  Building.  In  1919  the  firm  was  dis- 
solved by  mutual  consent,  and  since  that 
time  Mr.  Campbell  has  conducted  the 
business  alone.  Among  the  many  build- 
ings which  he  has  erected  are  the  Re- 
formed Church;  the  Arlington  School; 
the  new  Merchants'  National  Bank  Build- 
ing ;  the  new  St.  Francis  Hospital,  as  well 
as  additions  to  the  original  building;  the 
Corrugated  Rubber  Building;  and  addi- 
tions to  the  Wallace  Department  Store. 
Mr.  Campbell's  building  operations  have 
been  characterized  in  every  instance  by 
excellence  of  material  and  workmanship, 
and  have  brought  him  a  high  reputation 
as  an  efficient  contractor  and  builder 
throughout  Dutchess  County  in  general 
and  the  city  of  Poughkeepsie  in  particular. 
For  many  years  Mr.  Campbell  has  been 
identified  with  the  Republican  party,  and 
has  held  a  prominent  place  in  civic  affairs. 
He  served  Poughkeepsie  as  alderman, 
representing  the  Seventh  Ward  for  a 
period  of  two  years,  and  for  two  years 
was  president  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen. 
In  1921  he  was  elected  mayor  of  the  city 
of  Poughkeepsie,  and  in  this  highest  civic 
office  he  ably  discharged  the  duties  de- 
volving upon  his  executive  position  in  a 
manner  that  called  forth  the  praise  of  the 
public  and  press.  His  achievements  while 
in  office  were  noteworthy  and  deserving 
of  more   than   passing  mention.     It  was 


once  remarked  that  "an  able  public  official 
is  a  priceless  boon  and  heritage."  Fol- 
lowing Mayor  Campbell's  incumbency 
the  local  press  devoted  columns  of  edi- 
torial comment  on  his  regime,  excerpts 
from  the  "Poughkeepsie  Eagle-News," 
under  date  of  December  31,  1923,  being 
herewith  granted  inclusion : 

George  D.  Campbell  will  serve  as  mayor  of 
Poughkeepsie  for  the  last  time  to-day.  To-morrow 
he  will  turn  the  duties  of  the  office  over  to  Mayor- 
elect  Frank  B.  Lovelace,  after  two  years'  labor 
for  the  good  of  the  city,  marked  by  an  enviable 
record  of  achievement.  Coming  to  the  City  Hall 
as  an  alderman,  raised  from  the  ranks  to  the  posi- 
tion of  alderman-at-large  and  then  the  highest 
office  in  the  power  of  the  voters  of  the  city  to  give, 
Mr.  Campbell  steadily  maintained  his  principles  of 
square  dealing  with  friend  and  foe,  above-board 
politics,  business-like  methods  and  progressiveness 
throughout  his  administration. 

Perhaps  it  was  the  fact  that  Mr.  Campbell  came 
from  another  city  in  another  State  that  he  could 
see  Poughkeepsie  and  its  need  so  clearly.  There 
were  enough  natives  with  perspective,  however,  to 
second  his  ideas  in  ta.xpayers'  election  and  help 
him  toward  the  realization  of  a  clean,  well-paved 
and  progressive  city. 

The  Campbell  administration  has  brought  fol- 
lowing improvements : 

Smooth,  wide  pavement,  where  before  there 
was  a  succession  of  bumps  and  hollows,  suggestive 
of  Flanders,  after  the  retreat  of  the  armies  of  the 
Central  Powers. 

An  electrified  water  pumping  station  in  place  of 
an  antiquated  one. 

Water  mains  twice  the  diameter  of  the  ancient 
mains  they  replaced  and  capable  of  supplying 
strong,  inexhaustible  streams  to  the  firemen  to 
save  city  property,  instead  of  futile  little  spouts. 

An  auxiliary  reservoir  to  insure  the  new  mains 
adequate  supply. 

Pavements  and  adequate  water  supply  were  the 
crying  needs  of  the  city  as  Mr.  Campbell  saw  it, 
but  he  saw  other  things,  too.  The  need  of  taking 
care  of  ever-increasing  traffic  was  great  and  he 
not  only  supervised  the  redrafting  of  the  city  traf- 
fic ordinance  to  aid  the  police  in  the  performance 
of  their  duty,  but  he  assisted  them  in  their  work 
by  widening  streets  in  connection  with  the  paving 
program  as  much  as  possible.  The  widening  and 
electric  lighting  of  Cannon  Street  are  character- 
istic of  the  mayor's  progressive  policies.    That  was 


53 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  next  logical  step  in  making  the  street  what  it 
fast  is  becoming — a  business  street  and  a  traffic 
thoroughfare. 

An  appropriation  to  help  obtain  the  intercollegi- 
ate regatta  here  was  put  on  the  polls  for  voters 
election  day  at  his  suggestion  and  was  carried. 
The  construction  of  new  sewers  wherever  needed 
was  urged  by  him. 

As  ex-officio  president  of  the  Board  of  Health 
the  mayor  made  the  work  of  the  board  his  hobby. 
All  kinds  of  difiiculties  were  encountered  by  the 
board  by  circumstances  beyond  their  control  during 
his  presidency,  but  all  were  met  and  overcome. 
Child  clinics  were  established  and  what  was  the 
mayor's  pet  idea,  the  establishment  of  the  office 
of  the  city  physician,  to  supply  free  medical  atten- 
tion to  the  poor,  developed. 

Realizing  that  the  pressure  of  his  business  would 
make  it  impossible  for  him  to  remain  in  politics 
after  the  conclusion  of  his  term  of  office,  he  sought 
for  some  means  to  extend  his  own  and  the  efforts 
of  his  predecessors  into  the  future.  As  a  means 
to  this  end  he  studied  the  subject  of  zoning  and  city 
planning  and  became  convinced  that  it  was  a  neces- 
sity. He  was  able  to  inspire  others  with  this  con- 
viction and  with  the  help  of  those  who  had  tried 
to  bring  zoning  to  this  city  in  the  past  was  able 
to  get  an  appropriation  in  the  city  budget  for  the 
work,  which  already  is  being  done.  In  city  plan- 
ning he  saw  the  reasonable  development  of  the  city 
along  lines  of  efficiency  and  beauty. 

George  D.  Campbell  to-day  rounds  out  his  term 
as  mayor  of  Poughkeepsie  and  at  midnight  becomes 
again  a  private  citizen. 

To  permit  him  to  retire  without  some  public 
expression  of  the  appreciation  of  his  fellow-citizens 
for  the  extraordinarily  high  service  which  he  has 
rendered  them  would  be  the  part  of  an  unbecoming 
lack  of  gratitude.  For  when  Mayor  Campbell 
gives  up  the  reins  to-night,  he  will  leave  behind 
him  an  administration  that  has  been  one  of  the 
most  progressive  and  constructive  in  the  city's 
history,  an  administration  whose  good  works  will 
continue  to  bear  civic  dividends  for  many  years 
to  come. 

Now  that  question  has  been  answered  in  full, 
and  the  public  realizes,  now  that  Mr.  Campbell  is 
about  to  retire  from  office,  what  a  striking  success 
he  made  of  it.  He  has  been  mayor  in  the  two 
years  that  Poughkeepsie  has  done  more  than  it 
did  in  any  like  period  in  the  last  decade  to  improve 
its  equipment  and  physical  well  being  as  a  city. 
Under  his  administration  we  have  begun  notably  to 
make  good  the  deficiencies  which  the  war  inevit- 
ably brought  about;    we  have  taken  up  the  slack 


and  made  a  fine  start  for  the  future.  His  admin- 
istration has  seen  the  new  Main  Street  pave- 
ment, planned  for  and  hoped  for  these  many  years, 
become  a  reality.  It  has  witnessed  the  installa- 
tion of  the  new  water  system,  including  the  new 
mains  which  will  give  Poughkeepsie  adequate  fire 
protection  and  provide  for  the  normal  needs  which 
its  growth  will  bring  with  them.  Under  his  admin- 
istration, too,  the  foundation  has  been  laid  for  city 
planning  and  city  zoning  to  make  possible  the 
assimilation  of  the  increase  in  population  which 
Poughkeepsie  expects  in  a  normal  and  well- 
regulated  manner.  In  the  schools  something  has 
been  done  to  relieve  overcrowding  by  adding  to 
present  buildings  and  by  obtaining  new  sites  for 
units  which  presently  must  be  built.  A  start  has 
been  made  toward  the  new  Poughkeepsie  highway 
bridge.  Aside  from  such  out  of  the  ordinary 
achievements,  there  has  been  in  addition,  under 
Mayor  Campbell,  a  high  standard  of  efficiency  for 
all  of  the  city  boards  and  commissions,  a  har- 
monious doing  of  business  without  much  ostenta- 
tion, but  with  extremely  beneficial  results. 

In  reviewing  Mayor  Campbell's  administration, 
it  is  hard  to  resist  the  temptation  to  become  per- 
sonal with  him.  What  he  has  been  able  to  do  has 
been,  of  course,  the  result  of  what  he  is  and  what 
he  believes.  He  has  been  a  good  public  servant 
because  he  has  taken  the  time  and  trouble  to  make 
a  study  of  the  city's  needs  in  a  level-headed,  busi- 
ness like  manner,  and  because  he  has  attempted  to 
meet  those  needs  as  well  as  possible  with  such 
resources  as  were  available.  He  has  wasted  no 
time  shooting  at  the  moon,  but  on  the  other  hand 
he  has  not  been  deterred  from  advocating  courses 
of  action  which  appeared  to  him  desirable  merely 
because  they  were  difficult  of  accomplishment  to 
himself  or  anyone  else.  He  has  shown  initiative  of 
a  high  type  combined  with  good  common  sense. 

So  as  Mayor  Campbell  completes  his  term  of 
office,  "The  Eagle-News"  wishes  to  express  to  him 
the  esteem  in  which  it  holds  him  as  a  man,  a  citi- 
zen, and  a  public  official,  and  to  give  utterance,  for 
the  city,  to  the  appreciation  with  which  it  regards 
his  contributions  to  its  welfare  during  his  term  of 
office. 

Fraternally  Mr.  Campbell  is  active  in 
Masonic  circles,  being  a  member  of  Frank- 
lin Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of 
Grafton,  Massachusetts ;  Poughkeepsie 
Council,  Royal  Arch  Masons  ;  Poughkeep- 
sie Chapter,  Royal  and  Select  Masters ; 
and  Poughkeepsie  Commandery,  Knights 


54 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Templar.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  North 
Grafton,  Massachusetts ;  and  of  the 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks, 
of  Poug-hkeepsie.  He  also  holds  member- 
ship in  the  Amrita  Club,  the  Dutchess 
Golf  and  Country  Club,  the  Rotary  Club, 
and  the  Poughkeepsie  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, being  a  director  of  the  last-named 
organization.  His  religious  affiliation  is 
with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  of 
Poughkeepsie,  of  which  he  has  been  a 
trustee  for  some  time. 

Mr.  Campbell  was  married  at  Putnam, 
Connecticut,  April  24,  1912,  to  Mildred 
Windle,  a  daughter  of  John  E.  and  Eliza- 
beth (Wilbur)  Windle,  residents  of  North 
Grafton,  Massachusetts.  To  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Campbell  have  been  born  three  chil- 
dren, as  follows :  George  Donald,  Jr., 
born  August  10,  1913;  H.  Wilbur,  born 
September  7,  1915;  M.  Douglas,  born 
April  7,  1921.  The  family  residence  is 
maintained  at  No.  60  Grand  Avenue, 
Poughkeepsie,   New  York. 


HULL,  Hon.  J.  Frank,//" 

Late  Mayor  and  Prominent  Industrial 
Head,  Poughkeepsie,  New  York. 

To  the  wise  and  beneficent  manage- 
ment of  Hon.  J.  Frank  Hull,  late  mayor 
of  the  city  of  Poughkeepsie,  New  York, 
is  due  the  remarkable  growth  and  world- 
wide reputation  of  the  great  industry  of 
which  he  was  the  organizing  head  and  the 
directing  genius  for  nearly  thirty  years. 
With  his  passing  he  left  to  his  home  city 
and  State  a  model  of  business  established 
upon  the  principle  of  cooperative  man- 
agership by  employer  and  employees  of 
the  concern  which  they  all  alike  had 
helped  to  build  as  a  monument  of  suc- 
cess. This  astute  and  far-seeing  business 
man  was  the  son  of  John  F.  Hull,  cashier 
of  the  Fallkill  National  Bank,  Poughkeep- 


sie, who  was  born  in  Standfordville,  New 
York,  November  20,  1816;  married  Chloe 
Winchell  Hartwell ;  he  died  October  20, 
1896,  at  Poughkeepsie.  He  was  of  Quaker 
ancestry. 

(I)  The  family  in  America  was  founded 
by  Rev.  Joseph  Hull,  born  in  Somerset- 
shire, England,  in  1594,  sailed  March  20, 
1635,  and  landed  at  Boston,  Massachu- 
setts, May  6,  1635.  He  died  at  Isle  of 
Shoals,  November  19,  1665.  From  him  the 
line  descends  through  his  son,  Tristam, 
of  whom  further. 

(II)  Captain  Tristam  Hull,  son  of  Rev. 
Joseph  Hull,  was  born  in  1624  in  Eng- 
land, and  came  to  America  with  his  father. 
He  died  February  22,  1662.  He  married 
and  was  the  father  of  John,  of  whom 
further. 

(III)  John  Hull,  son  of  Captain  Tris- 
tam Hull,  was  born  March,  1654,  died  De- 
cember I,  1732.  He  married  and  was  the 
father  of  John,  of  whom  further. 

(IV)  John  Hull,  son  of  John  Hull,  born 
December  4,  1694,  died  March  9,  1765.  He 
married  and  was  the  father  of  Tedeman, 
of  whom  further. 

(V)  Tedeman  Hull,  son  of  John  Hull, 
was  born  February  i.  1734.  He  married 
and  was  the  father  of  Charles  Wager,  of 
whom  further. 

(VI)  Charles  Wager  Hull,  son  of  Tede- 
man Hull,  was  born  April  16,  1765,  died 
August  28,  1858.  He  married  and  was 
the  father  of  eleven  children,  among 
whom  was  John  Franklin,  of  whom 
further. 

(VII)  John  Franklin  Hull,  son  of 
Charles  Wager  Hull,  was  born  at  Stan- 
fordville,  New  York,  November  20,  1816, 
died  at  Poughkeepsie,  New  York  Octo- 
ber 20,  1896.  He  was  privileged  only  to 
receive  a  common  school  education,  and 
at  the  age  of  fourteen  he  came  from  Stan- 
fordville  to  Poughkeepsie  and  entered  the 
employ  of  W.  W.  White  as  a  clerk  in  his 


55 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


dry  goods  store,  serving  in  association 
with  Stephen  Frost  and  a  Mr.  Appleton. 
From  that  position  he  was  called  to  the 
Poughkeepsie  Bank,  and  while  serving 
that  institution  he  was  elected  cashier  of 
the  Pine  Plains  Bank  as  successor  to  F. 
W.  Davis,  who  had  come  to  Poughkeep- 
sie to  assume  the  office  of  cashier  of  the 
Farmers'  and  Manufacturers'  Bank.  For 
more  than  fifty  years  Mr.  Hull  was 
cashier  of  the  Fallkill  National  Bank,  re- 
tiring from  that  position  four  years  before 
his  death.  Mr.  Hull  was  prominent  in  the 
municipal  affairs  of  Poughkeepsie,  having 
served  his  city  as  alderman,  police  com- 
missioner, member  of  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, and  Dutchess  County  as  its  treas- 
urer during  the  trying  times  of  the  Civil 
War.  The  name  of  Mr.  Hull  will  con- 
tinue to  be  associated  with  the  progress 
and  growth  of  the  city  of  Poughkeepsie, 
and  his  valued  services  as  a  public- 
spirited  citizen  will  long  be  remembered. 
In  addition  to  his  varied  activities,  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the 
Old  Ladies'  Home  and  a  director  of  the 
Fallkill  National  Bank.  When  Mr.  Hull, 
who  was  of  the  Quaker  persuasion,  was  a 
resident  of  Pine  Plains,  there  was  no 
meeting  of  the  Society  of  Friends  in  that 
town,  and  he,  therefore,  attended  the 
services  at  the  Baptist  Church,  where  he 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Chloe  Winchell 
Hartwell,  who  became  his  wife.  They 
were  the  parents  of  a  daughter  and  two 
sons,  namely:  John  Franklin  (J.  Frank), 
of  whom  further ;  William  Bird,  born  Jan- 
uary 26,  1852 ;  Mary  Shepard,  born  De- 
cember 28,  1856. 

(VIII)  Hon.  J.  Frank  Hull,  former 
mayor  of  Poughkeepsie,  son  of  John  F. 
and  Chloe  Winchell  (Hartwell)  Hull,  was 
born  at  Pine  Plains,  November  15,  1849, 
and  died  July  5,  1907.  His  education  was 
received  at  the  College  Hill  School  and 
Riverview  Military  Academy.  He  entered 


upon  his  business  career  as  a  clerk  in  the 
Fallkill  Bank,  and  on  the  death  of  Wil- 
liam Forby,  in  1879,  he  purchased  an  in- 
terest in  the  firm  of  Lasher,  Haight  & 
Kelly,  which  had  been  established  a  few 
years  before,  the  firm,  on  Mr.  Hull's 
entrance,  becoming  Lasher  &  Hull.  Mr. 
Hull  later  acquired  Mr.  Lasher's  interest 
in  the  business  and  the  firm  name  became 
Hull  &  Company,  and  in  1901  it  was  in- 
corporated under  the  name  of  Dutchess 
Manufacturing  Company.  The  plant  first 
was  located  on  North  Cherry  Street,  and 
in  1888  it  was  removed  to  Crannell 
Street.  Through  Mr.  Hull's  energy  and 
business  foresight,  the  establishment  was 
developed  to  its  present  great  size ;  it 
now  is  known  as  the  largest  industry  of 
its  kind  in  the  world.  The  "Dutchess 
Trousers"  is  a  well-known  product  of  the 
Hull  concern  and  sold  the  country  over. 

Mr.  Hull  not  only  attained  success  as 
a  business  man,  but  he  also  won  the  re- 
spect and  the  affection  of  his  employees. 
Upon  the  business  becoming  incorpo- 
rated, nearly  all  the  heads  of  departments 
became  stockholders  in  the  concern.  He 
believed  in  cooperation  on  the  part  of  the 
owner  and  the  employees,  and  no  serious 
labor  trouble  ever  interrupted  the  opera- 
tion of  the  Hull  plant.  Mr.  Hull  made  it 
his  earnest  endeavor  to  throw  pleasant 
surroundings  about  those  whose  efficient 
labor  was  an  important  element  in  his 
success.  During  his  presidency  he  devel- 
oped many  industrial  reforms  then  in 
their  infancy,  the  nine-hour  day  and  the 
conference  idea  standing  out  prominently. 
There  were  many  outings  and  entertain- 
ments for  the  employees,  which  were  due 
to  his  kindly  forethought  and  cooperation 
on  the  part  of  Mrs.  Hull. 

In  1896  Mr.  Hull  was  the  choice  of  the 
Republicans  of  Poughkeepsie  for  mayor 
of  the  city,  and  it  is  recorded  that  he  gave 
the  city  an  excellent  administration.     He 


56 


^.  Cj^c^^o-^^^C^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


was  a  director  of  the  Fallkill  National 
Bank ;  a  charter  member  of  the  Amrita 
Club,  and  an  active  member  of  the  Sec- 
ond Reformed  Church. 

Mr.  Hull  married  (first),  March  7,  1877, 
Mrs.  Lucinda  Ruth  (Sterling)  Holley, 
daughter  of  George  "W.  Sterling,  who  died 
during  the  late  eighties.  They  were  the 
parents  of  three  children  :  John  Franklin, 
born  July  i,  1878,  died  August  i,  1878; 
William  Franklin,  born  August  30,  1881, 
died  August  9,  1882;  Ruth  Chapin,  born 
May  2,  1884.  Mr.  Hull  married  (second), 
December  31,  1894,  Carrie  L.  Gibson,  born 
at  Marengo,  New  York,  March  24,  1868, 
daughter  of  the  late  Rev.  David  Gibson. 
They  were  the  parents  of  four  children: 
Lucinda  Gibson,  born  April  8,  1896,  died 
June  3,  1896;  John  Franklin,  born  Octo- 
ber 16,  1898,  educated  at  private  schools 
in  Poughkeepsie,  and  Columbia  Univer- 
sity, New  York  City,  is  associated  with 
the  Dutchess  Manufacturing  Company; 
Stanley  Gibson,  born  August  18,  1900, 
educated  at  private  schools,  connected 
with  the  Dutchess  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany; Charles  Amory,  born  December  17, 
1901,  educated  at  private  schools  and  Wil- 
liams College,  class  of  1924. 

As  a  fitting  completion  of  this  memorial 
to  J.  Frank  Hull,  the  following  obituary 
notice  from  "The  Poughkeepsie  Daily 
Eagle"  is  given : 

The  death  of  J.  Frank  Hull  adds  another  link  to 
the  chain  of  losses  of  prominent  citizens  this  city 
has  sustained  during  the  past  few  months.  Mr. 
Hull  was  a  citizen  and  manufacturer  of  the  best 
type.  The  growth  of  his  business  was  an  increas- 
ing benefit  to  the  city,  and  certainly  no  one  could 
say  of  him  that  as  he  grew  richer,  anyone  was 
made  poorer.  The  principle  of  friendly  coopera- 
tion with  his  employees,  for  which  he  stood,  is  a 
principal  that  has  not  been  much  favored  by  labor 
unions ;  but  it  is  the  right  principle  and  is  sure 
to  increase  in  favor  when  fairly  tried.  Fortu- 
nately Mr.  Hull  had  so  arranged  his  business  that 
it  can  probably  continue  without  serious  interrup- 
tion, though  sadly  missing  the  inspiration  of  his 
presence  and  counsel.    The  sympathy  of  the  whole 


city  is  with  his  family  so  suddenly  bereaved  just 
as  they  were  planning  a  happy  summer  together. 
— "Poughkeepsie  Daily  Eagle,"  July  8,  1007. 


CLEVELAND,  Joseph  Manning,  M.  D., 

Public   Benefactor. 

To  stamp  upon  the  history  of  one's  time 
the  impress  of  his  life  as  a  pioneer  in  any 
worthy  movement  is  a  matter  of  record 
justifiably  to  be  envied  by  all  those  per- 
sons who  have  been  so  fortunate  as  to 
have  fallen  under  the  influence,  either 
directly  or  remotely,  of  a  life  intensively 
lived  for  the  betterment  of  his  kind,  men- 
tally, spiritually  and  physically.  Such  a 
benefactor  of  his  fellowmen,  particularly 
in  the  State  of  New  York,  was  Dr.  Joseph 
M.  Cleveland,  of  happy  memory,  who  de- 
voted more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  of 
a  crowded  life  to  the  study  and  care  of 
the  insane  and  was  among  the  very  first 
inspirers  of  the  movement  for  the  treat- 
ment of  this  class  of  unfortunates  as  folks 
mentally  ill,  and  to  divorce  from  hospital 
walls  the  ancient  and  heathenish  custom 
of  harshly,  often  brutally,  dealing  with 
the  patient  as  an  offender  against  the  laws 
of  the  State  and  society  because  of  the 
superstition  that  they  were  possessed  of 
devils.  With  the  establishment  of  Dr. 
Cleveland's  system  of  applying  humane 
methods  only  in  ministering  to  the  care 
of  the  mentally  ill,  he  became  a  nationally- 
known  figure  in  the  medical  world.  At 
Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  where  the 
major  part  of  his  highly  useful  life  was 
lived,  his  name  was  made  for  himself  and 
his  fame  attained  as  the  medical  superin- 
tendent of  the  Hudson  River  State  Hos- 
pital. The  superintendent,  the  hospital 
and  the  adoption  of  kindness  into  the  rules 
governing  a  hospital  for  the  insane  soon 
became  the  cynosure  of  the  medical  fra- 
ternity in  general  and  specialists  on  men- 
tal diseases  in  particular,  the  country 
over.     The  thing  that  had  been  done  at 


57 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Poughkeepsie  under  the  Cleveland  regime 
gradually  in  many  similar  institutions 
came  to  be  recognized  as  the  correct 
method  of  assisting  the  curable  to  regain 
their  mental  faculties,  at  the  same  time 
flashing  to  the  confirmed  human  derelict 
the  illuminating  fact  that  a  human  being 
was  at  the  helm  of  his  broken  life  to  guide 
it  humanely  while  life  held  together  the 
malformed  functions  of  the  patient.  So 
long  as  the  age  endures,  then,  the  name  of 
Dr.  Cleveland  will  continue  to  be  asso- 
ciated with  one  of  the  most  progressive 
revolutions  in  the  modern  world  of  new 
discoveries  in  science  and  other  fields  of 
human  endeavor.  Poughkeepsie's  loss, 
though  very  great,  was  essentially  that  of 
the  physical  presence  of  one  of  its  oldest 
and  most  efficient  public  servants. 

The  old  family  of  Cleveland,  ancient 
and  honorable,  throughout  the  line  made 
history  of  its  lineal  descendants,  among 
whose  number  were  clergymen,  an  army 
chaplain,  Revolutionary  soldier,  physician 
and  liberty-loving  and  liberty-seeking 
members.  The  family  name  Cleveland 
means  "of  Cleveland,"  a  hamlet  in  the 
parish  of  Ormsby,  County  of  York,  Eng- 
land. Johannes  de  Clyveland  is  recorded 
in  the  poll-tax  of  Yorkshire,  A.  D.  1379, 
his  name  giving  trace  of  its  derivation, 
"Cliff-land."  The  Cleveland  family  coat- 
of-arms  is  of  singularly  interesting  design 
as  denoting  the  inherent  strength  and 
longevity  of  the  Clevelands,  and  their 
lofty  aim  and  pureness  of  purpose  of  life. 
The  description  follows : 

Arms — Per  chevron  sable  and  ermine,  a  chevron 
engrailed  counterchanged. 

Crest — A  demi-old  man  proper,  habited  azure, 
having  on  a  cap  gules  turned  up  with  a  hair  front, 
holding  in  the  dexter  hand  a  spear  headed  argent, 
on  the  top  of  which  is  fixed  a  line  proper,  passing 
behind  him,  and  coiled  up  in  the  sinister  hand. 

Motto — Pro  Deo  et  patria.  (For  God  and 
country.) 


(I)  Moses  Cleveland,  the  common  an- 
cestor of  all  the  Clevelands,  or  Cleave- 
lands.  of  New  England  origin,  came  when 
a  youth  from  Ipswich,  County  Suffolk, 
England.  According  to  tradition,  he 
embarked  from  London,  arriving  in  Mas- 
sachusetts, 1635,  and  settled  at  Woburn. 
He  was  born,  probably  at  Ipswich,  Eng- 
land, about  1625.  He  died  at  Woburn, 
January  9,  1701  or  1702.  He  married, 
September  26,  1648,  Ann  Winn,  born  in 
1626,  died  before  May  6,  1682.  They  were 
the  parents  of  seven  sons  and  four  daugh- 
ters. 

(II)  Josiah  Cleveland,  son  of  Moses 
and  Ann  (Winn)  Cleveland,  was  born  in 
Woburn,  Massachusetts,  February  26, 
1666  or  1667,  died  in  Canterbury,  Connec- 
ticut, April  26,  1709.  He  followed  his 
brother  Samuel,  in  1693,  to  Plainfield, 
now  Canterbury,  set  off  in  October,  1703. 
He  married,  at  Chelmsford,  Massachu- 
setts, about  1689,  Mary  Bates,  daughter 
of  John  and  Mary  Bates.  They  had  eight 
sons  and  three  daughters. 

(III)  Josiah  Cleveland,  son  of  Josiah 
and  Mary  (Bates)  Cleveland,  was  born 
in  Chelmsford,  Massachusetts,  October  7, 
1690,  and  died  in  Canterbury,  Connecti- 
cut, February  9  (N.  S.  20),  1750.  He 
married,  at  Canterbury,  August  7,  1710, 
Abigail  Paine,  daughter  of  Elisha  and 
Rebecca  (Doane)  Paine,  of  Eastham, 
Massachusetts  (1686-1762)  ;  they  had  six 
sons  and  four  daughters. 

(IV)  John  Cleveland,  son  of  Josiah 
and  Abigail  (Paine)  Cleveland,  was  born 
April  1 1- 1 2,  1722,  in  Canterbury,  Connec- 
ticut, and  died  in  Ipswich,  Massachusetts, 
April  22,  1799.  He  was  a  distinguished 
clergyman,  a  public-spirited  man,  a  force- 
ful writer  and  speaker.  He  entered  Yale 
College,  1741,  preached  two  years  to  a 
Separatist  Society  at  Boston,  but  was  or- 
dained minister  of  a  new  church  at  Che- 
bacco,  Ipswich,  Massachusetts.    Fel^ruary 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


25,  1747;  he  witnessed  a  great  revival 
among  his  people,  1763-64.  He  was  in  the 
French  and  Indian  War,  1756-60.  He 
married  (first),  at  Ipswich,  July  15,  1747, 
Mary  Dodge  (1723-68),  only  daughter  of 
Parker  and  Mary  (Choate)  Dodge.  He 
married  (second),  at  Salem,  Massachu- 
setts, September  28,  1769,  Mrs.  Mary 
(Neale)  Foster,  widow  of  Captain  John 
Foster;  there  were  four  sons  and  five 
daughters,  all  by  the  first  marriage. 

(V)  Nehemiah  Cleveland,  son  of  Rev. 
John  and  Mary  (Dodge)  Cleveland,  was 
born  in  Ipswich,  August  26,  1760,  and 
died  in  Topsfield,  Massachusetts,  Febru- 
ary 26,  1837.  He  served  with  the  Con- 
tinental Army,  1775,  with  the  regiment  of 
which  his  father  was  chaplain;  studied 
medicine.  He  married  (first),  in  Ipswich, 
October  6,  1787,  Lucy  Manning,  daugh- 
ter of  John  and  Lucy  (Bolles)  Manning. 
He  married  (second),  at  Pomfret,  Con- 
necticut, July  I,  1792,  Experience  Lord, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Elisha  and  Tamarson 
(Kimball)  Lord ;  there  were  no  children 
of  the  first  union,  but  there  were  nine  by 
the  second. 

(VI)  Nehemiah  Cleveland,  son  of  Ne- 
hemiah and  Experience  (Lord)  Cleveland, 
was  born  August  16,  1796,  in  Topsfield, 
Massachusetts,  and  died  in  Westport, 
Connecticut,  April  17,  1877.  He  married 
(first),  at  Ipswich,  September  8,  1823, 
Abby  Pickard  Manning.  He  married 
(second),  in  Brooklyn,  New  York,  No- 
vember 25,  1842,  Katherine  Atherton 
Means ;  there  were  seven  children  by  the 
first  marriage  and  one  by  the  second. 

(VII)  Dr.  Joseph  Manning  Cleveland, 
son  of  Nehemiah  and  Abby  Pickard  (Man- 
ning) Cleveland,  was  born  in  Newbury, 
Massachusetts,  July  22,  1824,  died  in 
Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  January  21, 
1907.  It  was  early  determined  in  the 
minds  of  parents  and  son  that  Joseph 
Manning  Cleveland  should  become  a  phy- 


sician. His  training  was  therefore  admin- 
istered with  that  objective  in  view.  He 
attended  Dummer  Academy,  South  By- 
field,  Massachusetts,  and  was  graduated, 
1846,  from  New  Jersey  College,  Princeton, 
with  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts.  He 
soon  settled  in  New  York  City,  where  he 
studied  medicine,  unders  Drs.  Manning 
and  Smith,  at  the  College  of  Physicians 
and  Surgeons ;  graduated  in  the  class  of 
1850  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medi- 
cine. He  began  his  professional  career 
in  the  old  New  York  Hospital  on  Broad- 
way, where  he  remained  three  years. 
Later  he  accompanied  Dr.  Agnew,  of  New 
York,  one  of  the  world's  most  famous 
physicians,  to  Great  Cliff  mine.  Lake  Su- 
perior, in  the  medical  care  of  1,200  miners. 
Dr.  Cleveland  first  gained  attention  for 
his  work  among  the  insane  at  the  Utica 
Hospital,  Utica,  New  York,  as  assistant 
to  Dr.  Gray.  His  skill  and  progressive 
ideas  in  the  line  he  had  chosen  to  special- 
ize were  brought  to  the  attention  of  the 
New  York  State  authorities,  and  he  was 
commissioned  to  go  to  Poughkeepsie  to 
superintend  the  establishment  of  the  new 
State  Hospital  in  that  city  and  was  a 
member  of  the  committee  that  chose  the 
site.  He  personally  supervised  the  con- 
struction of  the  building  and  the  installa- 
tion of  the  appointments.  It  was  during 
his  incumbency  that  Dr.  Cleveland  shat- 
tered the  rule  of  force  and  substituted  the 
rule  of  reason  coupled  with  kindness  in 
the  treatment  of  insane  patients.  He  was 
untiring  in  his  efforts  to  smooth  the  lot  of 
his  unfortunate  charges  and  remove,  as 
far  as  in  his  power  lay,  the  rasp  from  the 
knowledge  of  relatives  that  members  of 
their  families  were  removed  from  free 
spheres  of  society  because  of  the  sore 
affliction  that  had  befallen  them.  To  do 
these  things,  now  the  dearest  to  his  great 
heart,  he  set  himself  assiduously  to  work. 
When  kindness  walked  within  the  hospi- 


59 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tal's  walls,  where  bruitality  formerly 
stalked,  there  came  also  a  change  in  the 
character  name  of  the  institution.  Dr. 
Cleveland  was  one  of  the  first  in  the  move- 
ment, which  resulted  successfully,  in  alter- 
ing the  name  of  the  hospital  from  "State 
Institution  for  the  Care  of  the  Insane"  to 
"State  Hospital  for  the  Insane."  As 
showing  Dr.  Cleveland's  insistence  upon 
the  application  of  his  new  treatment  of 
patients,  the  one  ofifense  against  the  rules 
of  the  hospital  that  he  refused  to  overlook, 
in  employee  or  staflf  officers,  or  anybody 
serving  under  him,  was  that  of  unkind- 
ness  to  a  patient. 

Dr.  Cleveland  retired  from  the  State 
service  in  1893,  having  served  faithfully 
and  well  for  more  than  twenty-five  years. 
He  was  president  and  one  of  the  original 
Board  of  Trustees  of  Vassar  Brothers' 
Hospital,  founded  in  1882  at  Poughkeep- 
sie.  In  honor  of  the  memory  of  this  man, 
one  of  the  leading  physicians  of  the  world 
in  his  line,  the  trustees  of  the  Hudson 
River  State  Hospital  have  voted  to  give 
Dr.  Cleveland's  name  to  the  new  nurses' 
and  attendants'  home,  which  is  to  become 
a  part  of  the  hospital  plant.  Dr.  E.  W. 
Merriman,  the  assistant  superintendent, 
said:  "Dr.  Cleveland's  administration 
compassed  most  of  the  building  of  the 
main  hospital  and  much  construction  was 
done.  Because  of  his  long  years  of  serv- 
ice and  his  contribution  to  the  original 
planning  of  the  hospital,  it  has  been  de- 
cided to  name  this  home  after  him,"  who 
was  the  hospital's  first  superintendent, 
1871-95.  In  the  latter  year  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Dr.  Charles  W.  Pilgrim  as 
superintendent.  The  latter  took  over  the 
management  of  a  hospital,  whose  site  had 
been  purchased  about  1866,  and  to  which, 
in  1872,  sixty  patients  were  admitted. 
Most  of  the  roadways  were  planned  under 
Dr.  Cleveland's  administration  and  the 
general  plan  of  the  hospital  was  conceived 


and  furthered  under  his  direction.  Dr. 
Cleveland  served  as  president  of  the 
Board  of  Managers  of  Vassar  Brothers' 
Hospital.  He  was  a  Democrat  in  politics. 
He  was  a  member  of  Christ  Episcopal 
, Church,  Poughkeepsie. 

Dr.  Cleveland  married,  at  Poughkeep- 
sie, October  17,  1877,  Cornelia  Frances 
Barculo,  daughter  of  the  Hon.  Seward 
and  Cornelia  A.  (Talman)  Barculo,  a 
sketch  of  whom  follows.  Three  children 
were  born  to  them  ;  Barculo,  born  August 
18,  1878,  died  March  5,  1880;  Manning,  a 
sketch  of  whom  follows ;  and  Frederic 
Howland,  a  sketch  of  whom  follows.  Mrs. 
Cleveland,  the  mother,  died  in  1882,  and 
in  her  memory  were  built  the  beautiful 
chapel  and  Sunday  school  of  St.  Paul's 
Church,  Poughkeepsie. 


CLEVELAND,  Manning, 

Realtor,  Builder. 

Eighth  in  the  line  of  descent  from 
Moses  Cleveland,  the  common  ancestor  of 
all  the  Clevelands,  Manning  Cleveland,  of 
Poughkeepsie,  the  son  of  a  great  father 
and  himself  an  integral  factor  in  the  life 
and  growth  of  his  city,  has  exhibited  over 
a  period  of  many  years  a  rare  talent  for 
the  construction  of  buildings  of  architec- 
tural worth  for  both  residential,  commer- 
cial and  religious  purposes.  He  has  served 
the  city,  State  and  Nation  in  offices  of 
trust  and  responsibility.  He  did  not 
allow  his  business  to  interfere  with  devo- 
tion to  his  country,  for  when  the  Federal 
Government  desired  him  for  service  as 
Deputy  United  States  Marshal  during  the 
World  War,  he  responded.  In  all  his 
walks  of  life,  varied  as  they  are  or  have 
been,  he  has  acquitted  himself  with  dis- 
tinction and  given  valued  service  to  what- 
ever duty  came  to  his  hand. 

He  was  born  February  12,  1880,  in 
Poughkeepsie,  son  of  Dr.  Joseph  Manning 


60 


^a^m/^ 


/^ji-tmi-af  Mt/i-rfCu/S^tiffy 


^ii^ 

^^^E  * 

'4^B 

i' 

/  y 

^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  Cornelia  Frances  (Barculo)  Cleve- 
land, a  sketch  of  whom  precedes  this. 
Manning  Cleveland  was  educated  at 
Riverview  Academy,  a  military  school, 
and  entered  the  University  of  Wisconsin 
Law  School.  At  the  age  of  twenty-three 
he  engaged  in  the  real  estate  business, 
with  its  combining  building.  With  two 
exceptions  he  built  the  entire  block  of 
buildings  standing  on  the  east  side  of 
Academy  Street,  Poughkeepsie.  He  has 
bought,  sold  and  remodeled  many  of  the 
finest  buildings  of  the  city.  In  1910  he 
built  the  Flatiron  Building,  on  Main  and 
Church  streets,  that  city,  and  at  that  time 
that  section  was  virtually  undeveloped. 
About  the  year  1910  he  started  a  taxicab 
service,  which  he  operated  for  a  number 
of  years.  Mr.  Cleveland  is  a  strong  Dem- 
ocrat and  takes  pride  in  his  political  affili- 
ation. He  was  president  of  the  Pough- 
keepsie Board  of  Police  Commissioners 
for  three  years,  and  has  been  a  deputy 
sheriff  of  Dutchess  County  continuously 
since  the  days  of  Sheriff  Bob  Chanler.  He 
was  appointed  Special  Deputy  United 
States  Marshal  during  the  administration 
of  the  late  President  Wilson,  and  occu- 
pied a  special  office  in  Poughkeepsie. 

Mr.  Cleveland  married,  at  Fishkill  Land- 
ing, New  York,  October  3,  1903,  Nora 
Orr,  and  seven  children  were  born  to 
them :  Helen  Cornelia,  born  July  4,  1907 ; 
Isabel  May,  born  March  5,  1909;  Man- 
ning, Jr.,  born  March  20,  1910;  Paul,  born 
February  14,  191 1,  died  in  infancy;  Mar- 
ion, born  May  6,  1912;  Raymond,  born 
August  2,  1913 ;  and  Shirley  Barculo,  born 
April  8,  1924.  Mr.  Cleveland's  children 
are  in  the  ninth  generation  of  the  Cleve- 
lands  of  America. 


CLEVELAND,  Frederic  Howland, 
Realtor,  Agriculturist. 

Frederic    Howland    Cleveland,    in    the 
eighth  generation  from  the  progenitor  of 


the  Cleveland  family  in  the  United  States, 
son  of  Dr.  Joseph  Manning  and  Cornelia 
Frances  (Barculo)  Cleveland,  a  sketch  of 
whom  precedes  this,  was  born  May  4, 
1881,  in  Poughkeepsie,  New  York. 

He  was  educated  at  Riverview  Acad- 
emy and  under  a  private  tutor.  On  the 
completion  of  his  studies  he  took  up  agri- 
culture and  made  a  specialty  of  fruit 
growing.  At  the  present  writing  he  owns 
five  fruit  farms  in  Dutchess  County  on 
which  are  about  24,000  trees,  apples, 
peaches  and  pears  of  about  eighteen  varie- 
ties. He  is  also  one  of  the  largest  real 
estate  owners  in  Poughkeepsie.  He  atone 
time  owned  a  large  farm  for  the  breeding 
of  Arabian  horses,  which  were  noted  for 
their  beauty.  Mr.  Cleveland  was  the 
owner  of  two  sons  of  the  Arabian  horses 
presented  to  General  Ulysses  S.  Grant  by 
the  Sultan  of  Turkey  on  General  Grant's 
famous  trip  around  the  world.  Mr.  Cleve- 
land is  a  member  of  the  New  York  State 
Horticultural  Society,  and  St.  Paul's 
Episcopal  Church  of  Poughkeepsie. 


BARCULO,   Seward, 

Jurist,  Horticulturist. 

Although  cut  short  in  life  while  still  in 
his  prime.  Judge  Seward  Barculo  left  an 
imperishable  impression  on  both  legal 
and  social  life,  accomplishing  much  for  his 
own  fame  and  for  the  good  of  others. 

The  family  of  Barculo  is  an  ancient  one 
from  the  Netherlands.  On  the  River 
Ysel,  there  is  a  small  town  called  Borculo ; 
it  is  near  Zutphen,  which  a  famous  town 
in  the  Province  of  Gelderland,  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Ysel,  and  at  the  influx 
of  the  Berkel  River.  Trade  is  brisk  in 
this  part  of  busy  Holland,  timber  floats 
down  the  Ysel  from  the  Black  Forest. 
The  soil  is  good  for  grain,  and  there  are 
many  industries.  In  the  Middle  Ages 
Zutphen  was  the  seat  of  a  line  of  counts 


61 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


who  ruled  this  district.  Many  notable 
wars  were  fought  in  Gelderland,  and  the 
people  of  the  province  were  all  staunch 
upholders  of  what  they  deemed  their 
rights 

The  Barculo  family  were  established  in 
Gelderland  from  very  ancient  times. 
Their  name  is  spelled  in  various  ways  on 
old  records,  the  most  common  spelling 
being  Borkelow  or  Brochelloo.  William 
James  Van  Borkeloo  came  to  America  in 
the  seventeenth  century.  He  settled  in 
Flatlands,  Long  Island,  and  died  in  1683. 
He  married  twice,  his  second  wife  being 
Lysbeth  janse,  a  widow.  He  had  seven 
children  probably  all  by  his  first  wife, 
whose  name  is  unknown.  Among  his 
children  was  Willem  Willense,  who  lived 
at  New  Utrecht,  Long  Island.  He  took 
the  oath  of  allegiance  in  1687,  and  made 
his  will  on  April  2,  1745.  He  married 
Marie  Cortelyou  and  had  a  son  Har- 
manus,  who  married  Sarah  Terhune.  He 
made  his  will  September  8,  1752,  and  had 
several  children,  among  them  being  Har- 
manus  Barculo,  who  married  Elizabeth 
Duryea  in  1765.  They  were  the  parents 
of  the  following  children:  Sarah,  born 
1766,  married  Rev.  Peter  Stryker;  Cath- 
erine, born  1768,  died  young;  Catherine, 
born  1770,  married  John  Van  Dyck;  Har- 
manus,  born  1772,  died  young.  Harmanus 
H,  born  1773,  married  Maria  Suydan; 
John,  born  1778,  married  Catherine  Lott; 
William,  born  in  1780;  Elizabeth,  born  in 
1780;  Nancy,  born  in  1786,  married  Cor- 
nelius Duryea;  George,  of  whom  further. 

George  Barculo,  son  of  Harmanus  and 
Elizabeth  (Duryea)  Barculo,  was  born  at 
New  Utrecht,  Long  Island,  in  1775.  He 
was  graduated  from  Columbia  in  1795, 
and  licensed  to  preach  in  1798.  He  was 
made  minister  of  Hopewell  and  New 
Hackensack,  which  position  he  held  from 
1805  to  1810.  He  died  in  1832  at  Preak- 
ness,  New  Jersey.     He  married,  Decem- 


ber 16,  1806,  Hannah  Seward,  daughter  of 
the  Rev.  William  Seward,  who  was  of 
English  descent,  the  emigrant  ancestor 
being  William  Seward,  who  was  born  in 
England  in  1627,  and  came  from  Bristol 
to  New  England,  settling  first  in  New 
Haven,  later  in  Guilford,  Connecticut,  but 
he  spent  the  later  part  of  his  life  at  New 
Hackensack,  Dutchess  County,  New 
York,  where  he  lived  in  a  house  which  is 
still  standing.  He  was  by  trade  a  tan- 
ner, and  he  was  commander  of  the  train 
band,  and  a  member  of  the  General  As- 
sembly. He  died  March  29,  1689.  He 
married  Grace  Norton,  of  Guilford,  and 
they  were  the  parents  of  Captain  John 
Seward,  born  February  14,  1653-54.  Cap- 
tain Seward  removed  from  Guilford  to 
Durham,  and  died  December  6,  1748.  He 
married  Abigail  Bushnell,  daughter  of 
William  Bushnell,  of  Saybrook,  and  they 
were  the  parents  of  Deacon  William  Sew- 
ard, born  March  25,  1683-84.  Deacon 
Seward  spent  some  of  his  life  in  Killings- 
worth,  and  died  May  31,  1764.  He  mar- 
ried, September  19,  1710,  Damaris  Pun- 
derson,  daughter  of  John  Punderson,  Jr., 
of  New  Haven,  Connecticut.  They  were 
the  parents  of  the  Rev.  William  Seward, 
born  July  27,  1712.  He  took  his  Bachelor 
of  Arts  degree  at  Yale,  and  died  Febru- 
ary 6,  1782.  He  married  Concurrence 
Stevens,  daughter  of  Jeremiah  Stevens, 
and  was  the  father  of  the  Rev.  William 
Seward,  born  Novembr  19,  1747,  who,  fol- 
lowing in  his  father's  steps,  went  to  Yale, 
and  took  his  Bachelor  of  Arts  degree  in 
1769.  He  died  in  1822.  He  married 
Thankful,  surname  unknown,  and  they 
were  the  parents  of  four  children  :  Ann  R., 
who  married  Jacobus  I.  Swartwout;  Elec- 
tra,  born  in  May,  1786,  married  James 
Dodge;  Philander,  born  in  June,  1791, 
married  Susan  Manfort;  and  Hannah, 
who  married  George  Barculo. 

Judge    Seward    Barculo,    the    eminent 


62 


5  ^o^^-uj^A 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Jurist  and  horticulturist  of  Dutchess 
County,  was  born  at  Hopewell,  New 
York,  September  22,  1808,  and  died 
in  New  York  City,  June  20,  1854,  while 
on  his  return  from  a  trip  to  Europe. 
He  was  a  favorite  of  his  uncle,  Jacobus 
I.  Swartwout,  with  whom  he  spent  much 
of  his  time  in  boyhood,  and  who  adopted 
him  and  provided  for  his  education.  As 
a  boy  he  was  remarkable  for  the  active 
and  mischievous  turn  of  his  mind,  while 
he  was  at  the  same  time  truthful,  gen- 
erous, fearless  and  firm.  He  began  his 
academic  course  in  1826,  at  the  academy 
in  Fishkill  Village,  under  the  charge  of 
the  Rev.  Cornelius  Westbrook.  He  pre- 
pared for  college  at  Cornwall,  Connecti- 
cut, and  entered  the  freshman  class  at 
Yale  in  September,  1828,  remaining  until 
August,  1830,  when,  owing  to  some  diffi- 
culty with  the  faculty,  he  received  an  hon- 
orable discharge  and  entered  Rutgers 
College,  New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey, 
from  which  he  graduated.  He  then 
studied  law  with  Stephen  Cleveland,  of 
Poughkeepsie,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
the  spring  of  1834,  and  became  a  partner 
of  Mr.  Cleveland.  The  junior  partner 
rapidly  acquired  confidence  and  began  to 
try  his  skill,  unaided  by  senior  counsel, 
and  as  Mr.  Cleveland  was  in  New  York 
much  of  the  time  he  gradually  assumed 
the  business  of  the  ofifice,  with  credit  to 
himself  and  satisfaction  to  his  clients. 
In  April,  1845,  on  the  unanimous  recom- 
mendation of  the  Dutchess  County  bar. 
Governor  Wright  appointed  him  County 
Judge,  in  1846  he  was  appointed  Circuit 
Judge  by  Governor  Wright,  and  in  1847 
he  was  elected  one  of  the  justices  of  the 
Supreme  Court  for  the  long  term,  the 
youngest  man  ever  on  this  bench,  but  still 
looked  back  to  and  quoted  as  one  of  its 
greatest  judicial  minds.  Judge  Barculo 
had  no  negative  characteristics ;  none  of 


the  easy  and  facile  utterances  of  non- 
committal expressions  which  marked  the 
weak  and  mediocre  man  who  aims  at 
political  "availability."  He  was  an  ex- 
tensive reader,  possessed  of  fine  literary 
taste,  and  took  great  interest  in  the  pub- 
lic library  of  the  city  of  Poughkeepsie. 
Horticulture  was  a  favorite  pursuit  with 
him,  and  his  variety  of  strawberries, 
peaches,  pears  and  other  fruits  became 
quite  celebrated  in  this  section.  To  the 
culture  of  the  grape  he  paid  especial  at- 
tention, and  to  the  manufacture  of  wine, 
of  which  he  left  some  fine  varieties.  Some 
valuable  papers  were  written  by  him  for 
the  "Horticulturists"  on  the  varieties  and 
management  of  fruit.  In  1846-50-54  he 
visited  Europe.  His  death  occurred  June 
20,  1854,  in  New  York  City,  and  he  was 
buried  with  the  solemn  ritual  of  the  Epis- 
copal Church,  of  which  he  was  a  member. 

On  May  12,  1834,  Judge  Barculo  mar- 
ried Cornelia  A.  Talman,  daughter  of  John 
H.  and  Sarah  (Somerindyk)  Talman,  of 
New  York  City,  their  children  were:  i. 
Caroline  T.,  who  married  Judge  Charles 
W.  Wheaton,  of  Poughkeepsie.  2. 
Marion.  3.  Cornelia  Frances,  who  mar- 
ried Dr.  Joseph  Manning  Cleveland. 

It  is  one  of  the  consolations  of  a  good 
man  that  his  memory  shall  not  die,  that 
the  remembrance  of  his  services  and  vir- 
tues shall  be  preserved  as  an  inheritance 
to  his  children,  and  as  an  incentive  to 
others  who  may  be  treading  the  arduous 
path  of  public  life.  The  sentiment  which 
seeks  its  gratification  in  the  desire  for 
honest  fame  while  we  live  may  legit- 
imately be  extended  to  posthumous  re- 
nown. It  is  a  premonition  and  prophecy 
that  we  are  not  all  mortal,  but  that  some- 
thing survives  and  claims  a  consciousness 
of  the  character  it  leaves  behind.  Judge 
Barculo  well  merited  the  epitaph  in- 
scribed on  his  monument: 


63 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


In  Society  an  Ornament ; 

In  the  State,  a  Judge,  fearless,  dignified  and 

incorruptible. 

In  habit,  simple  and  pure. 

He  died  young,  but  mature 

in  usefulness  and  fame. 

Adorning  Jurisprudence  by  the  clearness   of  his 

decisions 

And  illustrating  religion  by 

The  strength  of  his  Faith. 


WILBUR,   Hon.   Daniel  W., 

Ex-Mayor  of  City  of  PougKkeepsie. 

Twice  honored  by  his  fellow-citizens 
with  election  to  the  office  of  mayor  of 
Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  highly  es- 
teemed for  his  many  notable  public  acts, 
his  deeds  of  charity,  and  meriting  the  re- 
spect of  the  community  for  his  integrity 
in  business  affairs  and  financial  matters, 
Hon.  Daniel  W.  Wilbur  has  gone  in  and 
out  among  his  people  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  a  recognized  leader  of  men.  He 
is  a  direct  descendant  of  an  ancient  Eng- 
lish family  granted  by  the  Crown  the 
right  to  bear  arms. 

Arms — Sable,  on  a  fesse  between  two  boars  pas- 
sant, a  javeline  point  of  the  field. 

Crest — The  upper  part  of  a  spear  proper  through 
a  boar's  head  erased  argent. 

Motto— Animo  nan  astutia.  (By  wisdom  not 
by  craft.) 

(I)  From  Doncaster,  Suffolk  County, 
England,  there  came  to  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts, in  December,  1633,  one  Samuel 
Wildbore,  the  founder  of  the  Wilbur 
family  in  America,  and  the  spelling  of 
whose  surname  was  changed  by  the  fifth 
in  the  line  of  descent  to  its  present  form. 
From  this  progenitor  sprang  Ex-Mayor 
Wilbur,  among  whose  ancestry  were 
many  worthy  men  of  strongly  indepen- 
dent religious  views  and  the  pioneer  in- 
stinct, who  made  not  a  little  of  the  history 
of  their  day  and  generation.  Samuel 
Wildbore  himself  was  a  shining  example 
of   the   desirable   elements   in  this   hardy 


race,  for  he  was  a  close  and  cooperative 
friend  of  Roger  Williams,  of  revered 
memory,  and  acting  on  his  advice  added 
another  to  the  number  of  the  American 
Colonies  by  joining  in  the  purchase  from 
the  Narragansett  Indians  of  the  island  of 
"Aquednek,"  now  the  Rhode  Island  of 
the  New  England  States.  Samuel  Wild- 
bore was  made  a  freeman  of  Boston, 
March  4,  1634.  He  was  the  owner  of  con- 
siderable property  in  Taunton,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  also  possessed  large  realty 
holdings  in  Boston.  It  is  inferred  that  he 
had  two  residences,  spending  part  of  the 
year  in  Boston  and  a  part  in  Taunton. 
Samuel  Wildbore  was  one  of  the  party 
that  was  banished  in  November,  1637, 
from  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony  because 
they  held  religious  views  strongly  at  vari- 
ance with  those  held  by  the  ruling  major- 
ity. Then  it  was  that  adopting  the  hope- 
ful suggestion  of  that  man  of  independent 
thought  and  action,  possessing  the  spirit- 
ually impelling  force  of  the  true  colonizer, 
Roger  Williams,  Samuel  Wildbore  and 
the  others  of  his  banished  party  fled  to 
what  is  now  Providence,  Rhode  Island, 
and  there,  under  divine  guidance,  they 
negotiated  with  the  Indians  for  the  pur- 
chase of  "Little  Rhody"  and  set  up  within 
its  confines  a  little  realm  of  spiritual  free- 
dom for  God's  freemen  and  his  kin.  This 
landmark  in  American  history  was  made 
by  Samuel  Wildbore  and  those  of  like 
aims  and  purposes  in  1638,  in  which  year 
this  forebear  of  the  Wilburs  moved  his 
family  to  their  new  refuge.  There  came, 
evidently,  a  time  when  the  rulers  of  the 
Massachusetts  Bay  Colony  softened  in 
their  attitude  toward  these  holders  of  new 
and  strange  religious  views,  for  Samuel 
Wildbore  returned  to  Boston,  1645,  and 
it  is  supposed  that  he  renewed  business 
relations  with  its  people.  Then  back  to 
Taunton,  his  "other  home,"  he  later  re- 

64 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


turned,  and  there  built  the  first  iron  fur- 
nace known  to  New  England.  Samuel 
Wildbore  was  an  all-round  man  of  affairs, 
whose  deeds  and  services  to  his  fellows 
seem  to  have  been  emulated  by  his  de- 
scendants. He  was  clerk  of  the  Town 
Board,  1638;  constable,  1639;  and  ser- 
geant, 1644.  Samuel  Wildbore  married 
Ann  Bradford,  daughter  of  Thomas  Brad- 
ford. The  line  of  descent  is  through  their 
son,  William,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  William  Wildbore,  son  of  Samuel 
and  Ann  (Bradford)  Wildbore,  of  Little 
Compton,  Rhode  Island,  was  born  in  1630, 
and  died  at  Tiverton,  Rhode  Island,  1710. 
He  married  and  was  the  father  of  Samuel, 
of  whom  further. 

(III)  Samuel  (name  changed  to  Wil- 
bor),  son  of  William  Wildbore,  was  born 
in  1664,  and  died  in  1749.  His  wife,  Mary 
(Potter)  Wilbor,  daughter  of  Nathaniel 
and  Elizabeth  (Starks)  Potter,  bore  him 
a  son,  Samuel,  of  whom  further. 

(IV)  Samuel  Wilbor,  son  of  Samuel 
and  Mary  (Potter)  Wilbor,  was  born  No- 
vember 7,  1692,  and  died  April  28,  1752. 
His  wife,  Elizabeth  (Carr)  Wilbor,  bore 
him  a  son,  Esek,  of  whom  further. 

(V)  Esek  (name  changed  to  Wilbur), 
son  of  Samuel  and  Elizabeth  (Carr)  Wil- 
bor, was  born  December  22,  1728,  and 
died  in  1781.  His  wife,  Rachel  (Giflford) 
Wilbur,  bore  him  a  son,  Jeptha,  of  whom 
further. 

(VI)  Jeptha  Wilbur,  son  of  Esek  and 
Rachel  (Gifford)  Wilbur,  was  born  Janu- 
ary 18,  1759,  and  died  in  1843.  He  was 
one  of  the  "little"  nine  partners.  He 
lived  in  the  town  of  Milan,  Dutchess 
County,  New  York.  His  wife,  Elizabeth 
(Mosher)  Wilbur,  bore  him  a  son,  Sam- 
uel, of  whom  further. 

(VII)  Samuel  Wilbur,  son  of  Jeptha 
and  (Elizabeth  (Mosher)  Wilbur,  was 
born  on  his  father's  farm,  in  the  town  of 


Milan,  May  7,  1785.  died  November  6, 
1826.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  in  early  life 
settled  on  a  farm  in  Pine  Plains,  Dutchess 
County,  New  York.  His  wife,  Betsy 
(Hicks)  Wilbur,  bore  him  a  son,  Jeptha 
S.,  of  whom  further. 

(VIII)  Jeptha  S.  Wilbur,  the  youngest 
son  of  Samuel  and  Betsy  (Hicks)  Wilbur, 
was  born  at  Pine  Plains,  Dutchess  County, 
Xew  York,  October  29,  1817,  died  at  Pine 
Plains,  New  York,  September  21,  1885. 
He  followed  farming  until  his  death.  He 
was  a  church  member,  a  temperance  man, 
a  strong  Abolitionist,  a  Whig,  later  a  Re- 
publican, and  a  good  citizen.  He  mar- 
ried Mary  Jane  Story,  and  their  son,  Dan- 
iel W.,  of  whom  further. 

(IX)  Daniel  W.  Wilbur,  son  of  Jeptha 
S.  and  Mary  Jane  (Story)  Wilbur,  was 
born  at  Pine  Plains.  Dutchess  County, 
New  York,  in  1857.  He  attended  the 
country  schools  and  took  a  course  in  the 
De  Garmo  Institute  at  Rhinebeck,  New 
York.  On  his  return  home  he  assisted  his 
father  in  the  cultivation  of  the  farm.  He 
remained  on  the  farm  until  he  was 
twenty-five  years  old,  when  he  removed 
to  Red  Hook,  where  he  engaged  in  the 
coal  and  lumber  business  in  partnership 
with  his  father-in-law,  H.  H.  Conklin, 
under  the  firm  name  of  H.  H.  Conklin  & 
Company.  The  partnership  continued 
until  the  death  of  Mr.  Conklin,  August  i, 
1883,  when  Mr.  Wilbur  succeeded  to  the 
business,  which  he  managed  with  success 
for  eighteen  years.  In  1901  he  came  to 
Poughkeepsie  to  live,  and  soon  became 
one  of  the  leaders  in  the  business  life  of 
that  city.  While  a  resident  of  Red  Hook, 
and  prior  to  1901,  Mr.  Wilbur  bought  of 
William  H.  Sheldon  his  coal  business  and 
of  E.  B.  Taylor  his  lumber  business,  both 
of  Poughkeepsie,  and  incorporated  the 
Wilbur  Company,  of  which  Mr.  Wilbur 
has  been  president  since  its  organization. 


65 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


In  1909  he  became  the  incorporator  of  the 
Hygeia  Ice  and  Storage  Company,  which 
continued  in  business  until  1919,  when  the 
concern  dissolved.  Mr.  Wilbur  was  also 
one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  Kail  Rock 
Chair  Company,  which  has  ceased  to  do 
business. 

Mr.  Wilbur  has  always  been  a  strong 
advocate  of  the  principles  of  the  Repub- 
lican party.  His  fellow-citizens  honored 
him  with  the  mayoralty  nomination  in 
1913,  and  he  was  elected.  So  able  an  ad- 
ministration did  he  give  the  city  that  he 
was  renominated  in  1914  and  was  re- 
turned to  the  executive  office  January  i, 
1915.  Mr.  Wilbur  continued  to  be  much 
in  the  public  eye  and  in  demand  for  ser- 
vice. In  1917  Governor  Whitman  ap- 
pointed him  a  member  of  the  local  board, 
of  which  he  served  as  chairman  until  the 
end  of  the  World  War.  Mr.  Wilbur  was 
prominently  identified  with  others  in  the 
promotion  of  the  Poughkeepsie  Highway 
Bridge  bill,  which  passed  the  New  York 
State  Legislature  in  May,  1923.  His  civic 
pride  has  also  found  expression  in  the 
gift  of  the  site  on  which  the  St.  Francis 
Hospital  stands.  Mr.  Wilbur  was  one  of 
the  incorporators  of  the  village  of  Red 
Hook  in  1895,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
original  board  of  village  trustees  until 
his  removal  to  Poughkeepsie. 

Mr.  Wilbur's  clubs  are  the  Amrita  and 
Elks,  of  Poughkeepsie.  He  has  been  a 
trustee  of  the  Washington  Street  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  for  twenty  years, 
and  was  a  member  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
held  at  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  1924. 
He  is  essentially  a  home  man,  of  domestic 
habits,  devoted  to  the  good  of  the  com- 
munity, and  deeply  interested  in  the  wel- 
fare of  the  city  and  its  people. 

Mr.  Wilbur  married,  November  17, 
1881,  Mary  G.  Conklin,  daughter  of  Henry 


H.  and  Ann  Eliza  (Gifford)  Conklin,  and 
is  of  an  old  Dutchess  County  family  and 
Revolutionary  stock. 


MOFFIT,  Albert  R.,    ^ 

Attending    Surgeon    Vaasar    Brothers* 
Hospital,   Fonghkeepsie. 

In  a  direct  line  from  a  sturdy  Scotch 
forebear,  who  came  to  this  country  from 
Scotland  during  the  French-English  War 
to  serve  the  Crown  as  a  British  soldier, 
and  who  afterward  was  one  of  the  settlers 
of  Central  Illinois,  comes  Dr.  Albert  R. 
Moffit,  attending  surgeon  at  Vassar 
Brothers'  Hospital,  Poughkeepsie,  New 
York,  great-grandson  of  William  Mof- 
fit, the  Scottish  progenitor  of  this  branch 
of  the  American  Moiifits.  "Blood  will 
tell,"  and  so  it  was  that  when  the  Civil 
War  broke  out.  Dr.  Moffit's  father  en- 
tered the  army  for  the  preservation  of  the 
Union ;  and  Dr.  Moffit  himself  has  fought 
his  way  over  numerous  obstacles  until  he 
has  reached  a  very  high  place  in  his  pro- 
fession. The  Moffits  have  been  noted  for 
centuries  for  their  indomitable  and  ad- 
venturesome spirit,  their  pioneering  in- 
stinct and  their  deeds  of  valor  on  the  field 
of  battle  and  in  the  realm  of  the  profes- 
sions; therefore,  it  would  have  been 
wholly  out  of  the  Moffit  order  of  things 
had  the  Moffit  of  this  review  been  satis- 
fied to  have  unsuccessfully  sought  the 
royal  road  to  learning. 

William  Moffit,  the  British  soldier  who 
later  became  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Cen- 
tral Illinois,  married  Mary  Porter.  They 
were  the  parents  of  a  son,  William  Moffit, 
born  in  Illinois.  He  became  a  farmer  on 
his  section,  joining  the  early  settlers  in 
opening  up  the  country.  He  married 
Mary  Carlton.  They  were  the  parents  of 
Aaron  Carlton  Moffit,  born  in  Illinois,  in 
1840.     He  received  a  common  school  edu- 


66 


^^^rZ,r^jJjL 


^^. 


^t^i^'Z-^t^r^t-'t-^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


cation.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War 
Aaron  C.  Moffit  enlisted  at  Jubilee,  Illi- 
nois, in  the  48th  Regfiment,  Illinois  Vol- 
unteer Infantry,  and  became  first  ser- 
geant of  Company  K.  The  war  ended,  he 
settled  in  Princeville,  Illinois,  where  he 
followed  the  trade  of  wagon  maker  and 
wheelwright,  and  later  became  a  carpen- 
ter and  builder,  which  trade  he  followed 
until  he  retired  from  active  work.  He 
died  November  30,  1921.  He  married 
Mary  Jane  Rowcliffe,  daughter  of  William 
and  Mary  (Ford)  Rowcliffe,  of  County 
Devonshire,  England,  and  of  this  union 
there  were  two  children:  Fred  Howard, 
born  in  1873,  at  Princeville,  Illinois,  grad- 
uated from  Williams  College,  and  a  post- 
graduate of  Columbia  University,  New 
York  City;  he  is  a  government  geologist 
at  Washington,  District  of  Columbia ; 
and  Albert  R.,  of  whom  further. 

Albert  R.  Mofifit  was  born  at  Prince- 
ville, October  11,  1876.  He  attended  the 
common  schools  of  Princeville,  and 
Princeville  Academy.  He  entered  Wil- 
liams College  with  the  class  of  1898,  and 
was  graduated  with  the  degree  of  A.  B. 
He  entered  Columbia  University  College 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  and  was 
graduated  with  the  class  of  1904,  degree 
of  Medical  Doctor.  The  three  years  fol- 
lowing his  graduation  he  saw  surgical  ser- 
vice at  St.  Luke's  Hospital,  New  York 
City.  In  1907  he  removed  to  Poughkeep- 
sie.  New  York,  to  become  assistant  sur- 
geon of  Vassar  Brothers'  Hospital.  In 
1909  Dr.  Moffit  was  appointed  attending 
surgeon  of  this  hospital,  a  position  which 
he  still  holds.  His  services  are  devoted 
exclusively  to  surgery,  in  which  field  he  is 
widely  acknowledged  to  be  an  expert. 
Dr.  Moffit  is  a  Fellow  of  the  American 
Medical  Association,  Fellow  of  the  Amer- 
ican College  of  Surgeons,  member  of  the 
New  York  State  Medical  Society,  Dutch- 


ess and  Putnam  Counties  Medical  So- 
ciety, Poughkeepsie  Academy  of  Medi- 
cine, and  Alumni  Association  of  St. 
Luke's  Hospital,  New  York  City.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Princeville,  Illinois.  His  clubs  are:  The 
Amrita  and  Dutchess  Golf  and  Country, 
of  Poughkeepsie,  and  Williams  Club  of 
New  York  City. 

Dr.  Moffit  married,  November  18, 
1916,  Ella  Borland,  daughter  of  John  and 
Constance  (Reeves)  Borland,  of  New 
York  City  and  New  Hamburg,  New  York. 


SEAMAN,  George, 

Coal   Merchant,    Financier. 

The  late  George  Seaman,  who  for  more 
than  fifty  years  was  a  prominent,  widely 
known,  and  respected  citizen  of  Pough- 
keepsie, Dutchess  County,  New  York, 
was  descended  from  the  Seaman  family 
of  Long  Island,  whose  common  ancestor. 
Captain  John  Seaman,  was  an  influential 
colonist  of  the  early  days.  Captain  Sea- 
man was  the  father  of  eight  sons  and 
eight  daughters,  all  of  whom  married  and 
had  numerous  offspring.  The  direct  line, 
therefore,  is  obscured  by  literally  thou- 
sands of  Seaman  surnames,  but  as  far  as 
can  be  ascertained  the  line  of  descent  is 
as  follows:  (i)  Captain  John  Seaman; 
(2)  Nathaniel  Seaman;  (3)  Nathaniel 
Seaman;  (4)  Ambrose  Seaman;  and  (5) 
Samuel  Seaman,  the  latter  of  whom  was 
the  grandfather  of  George  Seaman,  of  this 
record. 

(I)  Samuel  Seaman,  probably  the  son 
of  Ambrose  Seaman,  removed  from  Staten 
Island,  New  York,  in  1833,  and  settled  in 
Dutchess  County,  New  York.  His  two 
brothers.  Hicks  and  Stephen,  accompa- 
nied him,  but  they  later  went  on  to  Sara- 
toga County.  Samuel  Seaman  located  in 
Hyde  Park,  where  he  was  soon  engaged 


67 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  the  manufacture  of  woolen  cloth.  An 
ancestor,  Zebulun  Seaman,  was  noted 
as  being  the  manufacturer  of  the  finest 
linen  in  America,  which  he  made  from 
flax  grown  upon  his  own  property,  and 
prepared  by  his  wife,  Phebe  (Valentine) 
Seaman.  A  piece  of  this  homespun  linen 
is  still  in  existence.  Samuel  Seaman  mar- 
ried Sarah  Billings,  and  they  were  the 
parents  of  six  children,  among  whom 
was  Nelson,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  Nelson  Seaman,  one  of  the  six 
children  of  Samuel  and  Sarah  (Billings) 
Seaman,  was  born  in  the  year  1833,  and 
died  in  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  Sep- 
tember 26,  1904.  He  followed  the  trade 
of  carpenter  and  builder,  and  constructed 
many  buildings  throughout  this  section. 
He  was  a  Republican  in  politics,  and 
served  Poughkeepsie  as  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Aldermen.  Nelson  Seaman  was 
married  to  Elizabeth  Millard,  whose 
death  occurred  on  January  29,  1888.  They 
were  the  parents  of  George,  of  whom  fur- 
ther. 

(III)  George  Seaman,  son  of  Nelson 
and  Elizabeth  (Millard)  Seaman,  was 
born  in  Poughkeepsie,  Dutchess  County, 
New  York,  October  18,  1854.  He  was 
educated  in  the  Quaker  schools  of  his 
birthplace,  following  which  he  attended 
the  Warring  Military  School.  Upon  the 
completion  of  his  scholastic  work,  in  1872, 
he  entered  the  employ  of  the  firm  of  Col- 
lingwood,  Millard  &  Company,  coal  and 
lumber  dealers.  In  1894  Mr.  Seaman  be- 
came a  partner  of  the  late  George  Colling- 
wood,  under  the  firm  name  of  Colling- 
wood  &  Seaman,  they  having  purchased 
the  coal  business  of  George  E.  Dutcher, 
in  the  northeast  section  of  the  city.  After 
the  death  of  Mr.  Collingwood  the  busi- 
ness was  continued  by  Mr.  Seaman  under 
the  original  name  of  Collingwood  &  Sea- 
man, and  at  the   present  time    (1924)    is 


one  of  the  oldest  coal  concerns  in  the  city. 
For  many  years  Mr.  Seaman  was  a  direc- 
tor of  the  Farmers'  &  Manufacturers' 
National  Bank,  and  in  the  year  1912  was 
elected  vice-president  of  the  institution, 
which  important  office  he  held  for  many 
years.  At  a  meeting  of  the  board  of 
directors  of  the  bank,  held  on  June  30, 
1924,  following  the  death  of  Mr.  Seaman, 
the  following  expression  of  regret  and 
esteem  was  passed : 

Since  the  last  meeting  of  this  Board  it  has 
learned  of  the  death  of  George  Seaman,  for  many 
years  one  of  its  directors. 

Mr.  Seaman,  while  in  health,  was  diligent  and 
faithful  in  the  performance  of  his  duties  as  a 
director  and  his  cheerful  and  helpful  disposition 
endeared  him  to  all  his  fellow-directors.  They  all 
feel  a  personal  loss  in  his  death,  and  that  the  bank 
has  lost  a  valuable  and  efficient  officer.  They  wish 
to  express  to  his  widow,  and  the  immediate  mem- 
bers of  his  family  the  respect  and  affection  in 
which  they  held  their  deceased  associate,  and  their 
sympathy  for  them  in  their  loss. 

Let  this  be  inscribed  in  full  upon  the  minutes  of 
the  Board,  and  a  copy  sent  to  Mrs.  Seaman. 

Mr.  Seaman  was  also  prominent  in 
club  life,  holding  membership  in  the 
Amrita  Club;  the  Dutchess  Golf  & 
Country  Club ;  the  Poughkeepsie  Rotary 
Club  ;  and  at  one  time  was  actively  con- 
nected with  the  Apokeepsing  Boat  Club. 
For  years  Mr.  Seaman  had  been  a  loyal 
and  sincere  member  of  Trinity  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

George  Seainan  was  married  in  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  June  19,  1895,  ^o  Cora  U. 
L.  Knapp,  a  daughter  of  Jerome  B.  and 
Sarah  (Sickles)  Knapp,  old  residents  of 
Ulster  County,  New  York.  Mrs.  Cora 
U.  L.  (Knapp)  Seaman,  on  the  maternal 
side,  comes  from  Revolutionary  stock, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  local  chapter  of 
the  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolu- 
tion. 

The  death  of  George  Seainan  occurred 


68 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


at  his  home  in  Poughkeepsie,  New  York, 
June  i8,  1924.  He  is  survived  by  his 
widow,  Mrs.  Cora  U.  L.  (Knapp)  Sea- 
man. In  the  death  of  George  Seaman 
Poughkeepsie  lost  a  sterling  citizen.  He 
was  one  of  the  most  prominent  business 
men  of  the  city,  and  the  head  of  a  concern 
that  has  been  foremost  among  local  in- 
dustries for  a  long  period  of  years.  A 
quiet,  thoughtful  man  he  said  or  did  no- 
thing for  display  or  eclat.  Always  a  gentle- 
man it  was  a  pleasure  to  be  associated  with 
him  socially  and  in  business  discussions. 
He  was  prominent  in  church  and  club 
circles,  and  possessed  a  host  of  friends 
who  deeply  regret  his  passing.  His  life 
was  long  and  useful  and  he  goes  to  his 
eternal  repose  with  the  honor  and  affec- 
tion of  all  who  knew  him. 


FISH,  Hamilton, 

Congressman,  'World  War  Veteran. 

Three  generations  of  this  family  have 
been  headed  by  a  Hamilton  Fish,  and 
within  the  recollection  of  the  present 
generation  have  held  either  Cabinet, 
Senatorial  or  House  seats.  The  elder 
Hamilton  Fish  was  Lieutenant-Governor 
of  New  York  State,  Governor  of  New 
York  State,  United  States  Senator  from 
New  York  State,  elected  to  all  as  a  Whig, 
and  Secretary  of  State  in  the  cabinet  of 
President  Grant,  a  Republican.  His  son, 
Hamilton  (2)  Fish,  was  elected  a  member 
of  the  Sixty-First  Congress,  and  his  son, 
Hamilton  (3)  Fish,  was  elected  to  fill  a 
vacancy  in  the  Sixty-Sixth  Congress,  and 
was  reelected  to  the  Sixth-Seventh,  being 
the  present  sitting  member  from  the 
Twenty-Sixth  New  York  Congressional 
District  comprising  the  counties  of  Dut- 
chess, Orange  and  Putnam. 

Hamilton  (i)  Fish  was  a  son  of  Colo- 
nel Nicholas  and  Elizabeth  (Stuyvesant) 


Fish,  his  mother  a  descendant  of  Peter 
Stuyvesant,  the  Dutch-Colonial  Governor 
of  New  Amsterdam.  The  earliest  Ameri- 
can ancestor  of  the  family,  Jonathan  Fish, 
was  born  in  England,  in  1610.  He  early 
came  to  New  England,  settling  in  Lynn, 
Massachusetts,  afterward  removing  to 
Sandwich,  and  thence  to  Newtown,  Long 
Island.  From  Jonathan  Fish  the  line  of 
descent  is  through  his  son,  Nathan  Fish  ; 
his  son,  Jonathan  Fish ;  his  son,  Samuel 
Fish;  his  son,  Jonathan  Fish;  his  son, 
Colonel  Nicholas  Fish  ;  his  son,  Hamilton 
Fish ;  his  son,  Nathan  Fish,  who  died  in 
Newtown,  Long  Island,  August  i,  1734; 
his  son,  Jonathan  Fish,  of  Newtown,  a 
man  of  value  to  his  town  and  church ; 
his  son,  Samuel  Fish,  a  man  of  influence 
in  Newtown,  who  was  thrice  married,  and 
had  fifteen  children ;  his  son,  Jonathan 
Fish,  who  dwelt  in  Newtown,  but  for 
some  years  was  a  merchant  of  New  York 
City ;  his  son,  Colonel  Nicholas  Fish,  who 
was  the  father  of  Hamilton  (i)  Fish  of 
this  review. 

Colonel  Nicholas  Fish,  only  son  of 
Jonathan  and  Elizabeth  (Sackett)  Fish, 
was  born  in  New  York  City,  August  28, 
1758,  died  in  the  city  of  his  birth,  at  his 
home.  No.  21  Stuyvesant  Street,  June  20, 
1833.  He  studied  law,  but  on  the  out- 
break of  war  with  the  Mother  Country 
he  entered  the  Colonial  service,  receiving 
a  lieutenancy  in  the  First  New  York 
Regiment.  On  November  21,  1776,  he 
was  appointed  by  Congress,  Major  of  the 
Second  New  York  Regiment,  of  the  Con- 
tinental Army,  and  at  the  close  at  that 
year,  by  resolution  of  Congress,  was  com- 
missioned Lieutenant-Colonel.  He  took 
part  in  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  the  bat- 
tle of  Monmouth,  and  was  with  General 
Sullivan  in  his  expedition  against  the 
Indians.  He  was  engaged  in  the  fighting 
which    led    to   the   surrender    of   General 


69 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Burgoyne  at  Saratoga,  and  was  with  his 
lifelong  friend,  General  Hamilton,  in  the 
final  assault  at  Yorktown.  He  enjoyed 
the  confidence  of  Washington  and  was  by 
him  appointed  a  division  inspector  in 
1778,  under  General  Steuben.  He  con- 
tinued in  the  regular  army  for  a  few  years 
after  the  close  of  the  war,  commanding  a 
regiment  of  infantry  at  Fort  Mcintosh, 
and  at  other  points  on  the  river. 

Colonel  Fish  was  one  of  the  original 
members  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincin- 
nati, assistant-treasurer  of  New  York 
chapter  at  the  organization  and  president 
thereof,  1 797-1804.  He  was  the  first  adju- 
tant-General of  the  State  of  New  York, 
1786-1793,  and  for  several  years  was 
Supervisor  of  the  Revenue,  appointed  by 
President  Washington  in  1794.  He  was 
an  alderman  of  New  York  City,  1806-17, 
serving  on  the  Committee  of  Defense 
during  1812-14.  He  was  chairman  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  Columbia  College, 
1824-1832,  and  in  1831  was  the  last  presi- 
dent of  the  Butchers'  and  Drovers'  Bank. 
He  was  a  devout  churchman  and  served 
the  Episcopal  Church  in  many  capacities. 
His  epitaph  in  St.  Mark's  Church  in  the 
Bowerie  records : 

He  was  the  faithful  soldier  of  Christ  and  of 
his  country. 

Colonel  Nicholas  Fish  married,  April 
30,  1803,  Elizabeth  Stuyvesant,  daughter 
of  Petrus  Stuyvesant,  a  great-grandson 
of  the  last  Dutch  Governor  of  New  Am- 
sterdam  (New  York). 

Hamilton  (i)  Fish,  son  of  Colonel 
Nicholas  and  Elizabeth  (Stuyvesant) 
Fish,  was  born  in  New  York  City,  August 
3,  1808,  died  at  Glen-Clyflfe,  near  Garrison, 
New  York,  September  7,  1893.  He  com- 
pleted his  classical  education  at  Columbia 
College  with  the  class  of  1827,  then 
studied  law  and  was  admitf^d  to  the  New 


York  bar  in  1830.  From  the  beginning 
of  his  law  studies  he  took  a  deep  interest 
in  politics,  espousing  the  Whig  side.  For 
several  years  he  was  a  commissioner  of 
deeds,  and  in  1834  was  the  Whig  candi- 
date from  his  district  for  Assembly,  but 
was  defeated.  In  1842  he  was  a  candidate 
for  Congress  from  the  Sixth  District  of 
New  York  City,  was  elected,  but  in  1844 
was  defeated  for  reelection.  In  1846  he 
was  the  unsuccessful  candidate  for  Lieu- 
tenant-Governor of  New  York,  but  the 
successful  candidate  Adderson  Gardner 
was  made  a  Judge  of  the  Court  of 
Appeals,  Mr.  Fish  being  elected  to  suc- 
ceed him  in  1847.  In  1848  he  was  elected 
Governor  of  New  York,  and  in  185 1  he 
was  chosen  United  States  Senator  to 
succeed  Daniels  Dickinson.  In  the 
Senate  he  opposed  the  repeal  of  the  "Mis- 
souri Compromise,"  and  from  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Republican  party  in  1856  he 
acted  with  that  party.  He  retired  from 
the  Senate  at  the  expiration  of  his  term, 
March  4,  1857. 

Upon  retiring  from  the  Senate  he  re- 
sumed the  practice  of  law  in  New  York 
City,  and  in  1859-60  he  toured  Europe. 
On  his  return  he  warmly  supported  the 
candidacy  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  and  in 
1861  he  ardently  espoused  the  Union 
cause.  He  served  on  numerous  commit- 
tees, and  served  in  January,  1862,  under 
appointment  of  Secretary  of  War  Stanton 
on  a  commission,  "to  relieve  the  neces- 
sities and  provide  for  the  comfort  of 
Federal  prisoners  in  Confederate  prisons." 
The  refusal  of  the  Confederate  Gover- 
nors to  treat  with  this  Commission  save 
upon  the  principle  of  a  general  exchange 
of  prisoners  soon  resulted  in  a  satisfac- 
tory system  of  exchange. 

On  March  11,  1869,  Mr.  Fish  became  a 
member  of  President  Grant's  Cabinet, 
succeeding  Elihu  B.  Washburn,  as  Secre- 


70 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tary  of  State.  He  held  that  portfolio 
through  President  Grant's  second  term, 
and  in  the  Cabinet  of  President  Hayes 
until  March  12,  1877,  then  surrendered 
it  to  William  M.  Evarts,  the  choice  of 
President  Hayes.  Mr.  Fish  was  the 
father  of  the  joint  high  commission  to 
arrange  the  differences  with  Great  Britain 
in  1871,  served  as  a  member  thereof  and 
was  appointed  plenipotentiary  to  sign  the 
treaty  settling  the  Alabama  claims  and 
Northwestern  boundary  question  the 
same  year.  In  November,  1873,  he  nego- 
tiated the  settlement  of  the  "Virginius" 
question  with  the  Spanish  minister  at 
Washington. 

In  matters  educational  and  patriotic, 
Mr.  Fish  figured  prominently.  He  was  a 
trustee  of  his  alma  mater,  Columbia  Col- 
lege, from  1840  until  1893,  and  chairman 
of  the  board,  1859-93 !  president  of  the 
General  Order  of  the  Cincinnati,  1854- 
93 ;  chairman  of  the  Union  Defense  Com- 
mittee, 1861-65 ;  president  of  the  New 
York  Historical  Society,  1867-69 ;  trustee 
of  the  Astor  Library;  and  one  of  the 
original  trustees  of  the  Peabody  Educa- 
tion Fund  appointed  by  the  founder.  He 
received  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Laws  from  Columbia  College  in  1850, 
Union  College  in  1869,  and  from  Harvard 
in  1871. 

Hamilton  (i)  Fish  married,  in  1836, 
Julia  Kean,  daughter  of  John  Kean,  long 
a  leader  of  the  Republican  party  in  New 
York.  Mrs.  Fish  died  in  1887,  leaving 
three  sons  and  five  daughters:  Hamilton 
(2)  of  whom  further;  Nicholas;  Stuy- 
vesant;  Sarah  Norris,  married  Sidney 
Webster;  Elizabeth  Stuyvesant,  married 
G.  d'Nauteville ;  Julia  Kean,  married 
Colonel  S.  N.  Benjamin;  Susan  Le  Roy, 
married  William  E.  Rogers ;  Edith 
Livingston,  married  Oliver  Northcole. 
The  family  home  became  Glen-Clyffe  at 


Garrison,  New  York,  and  there  Mr.  Fish 
died,  aged  eighty-five. 

Hamilton  (2)  Fish,  eldest  son  of 
Hamilton  (i)  and  Julia  (Kean)  Fish, 
was  born  at  Albany,  New  York,  April 
17,  1849.  He  attended  private  schools  in 
his  own  State  and  in  Switzerland,  Europe, 
later  becoming  a  student  at  Columbia 
College,  whence  he  was  graduated,  class 
of  1869.  He  chose  to  follow  his  father's 
profession,  and  after  ample  preparation 
was  admitted  to  the  New  York  bar  in 
1873.  He  practiced  his  profession  in  New 
York  City,  but  soon  after  his  admission 
to  the  bar  his  father  was  appointed  Secre- 
tary of  State  in  President  Grant's  Cabinet 
and  from  1869  until  1872  the  young  man 
acted  in  the  capacity  of  private  secretary 
to  his  father.  He  then  returned  to  the 
practice  of  law  in  New  York  City,  and  for 
several  terms  represented  a  Putnam 
County  district  in  the  New  York  Legisla- 
ture, and  during  the  session  of  1895-96 
served  as  Speaker  of  the  House 

He  then  again  devoted  himself  to  the 
practice  of  his  profession  until  1903, 
when  he  was  appointed  assistant  trea- 
surer of  the  United  States  at  New  York 
by  President  Roosevelt,  serving  in  office 
under  one  reappointment  until  October 
1908,  when  he  resigned.  He  was  elected 
as  a  Republican  to  the  Sixty-first  Con- 
gress, March  4,  1909-March  3,  191 1. 
After  leaving  Congress  Mr.  Fish  estab- 
lished his  residence  at  Garrison.  During 
his  legislative  career  Mr.  Fish  served  as 
a  member  of  important  committees  and 
upon  the  staff  of  Governor  John  A.  Dix, 
as  aide-de-camp.  He  was  one  of  the 
recognized  leaders  of  the  Republican 
party  in  New  York  State,  and  in  1884  was 
a  delegate  to  the  National  Convention  at 
Philadelphia,  which  nominated  James  G. 
Blaine,  of  Maine,  "The  Plumed  Knight," 


71 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


for   president,   he  going  down   in    defeat 
before   Grover  Cleveland,  of  New  York. 

Hamilton  (2)  Fish  married  (first),  in 
1880,  Emily  M.  Mann,  daughter  of  Fran- 
cis N.  Mann,  of  Troy,  New  York,  and 
they  were  the  parents  of  five  children. 
Mr.  Fish  married  (second),  in  1912, 
Florence  Delaplaine  Amsinck,  widow  of 
Gustav  Amsinck. 

Hamilton  (3)  Fish,  and  son  of  Hamilton 
(2)  Fish,  was  born  at  Garrison,  fifty  miles 
north  of  New  York,  in  Putnam  County, 
New  York,  December  7,  18S8.  He  was 
early  prepared  to  enter  college,  and  at  the 
age  of  twenty  was  graduated  cum  laude 
from  Harvard  University.  He  was  not 
only  a  student  but  an  athlete,  and  gained 
the  distinction  of  leading  the  Varsity  foot- 
ball team  as  its  captain.  In  the  business 
world  Mr.  Fish  is  known  as  the  capable 
vice-president  of  John  C.  Paige  Company, 
general  insurance.  No.  115  Broadway, 
New  York  City,  but  is  better  known 
through  his  political  prominence  and  his 
military  record  in  the  war  with  Germany. 
In  1914  he  made  his  entrance  into  politi- 
cal life  as  a  member  of  the  New  York 
State  Assembly,  a  body  in  which  he 
served  three  consecutive  terms.  He  was 
then  out  of  politics  until  after  the  war, 
when  he  was  elected  to  fill  a  vacancy  in 
the  Sixty-sixth  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  caused  by  the  resignation  of  Ed- 
mund Piatt.  He  was  the  regular  candi- 
date of  the  Republican  party  for  the  same 
seat  and  was  elected  by  a  large  majority 
and  is  now  serving  in  the  Sixth-seventh 
Congress  from  the  Twenty-sixth  New 
York  District  composed  of  Dutchess, 
Orange  and  Putnam. 

When  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  declared  a  state  of  war  against 
Germany  in  the  spring  of  1917,  Mr.  Fish 
tendered  his  services  and  was  commis- 
sioned Captain  of  Colored  Infantry  (15th 
Regiment,  New  York  Volunteers)   later 


known  as  the  369th  Regiment  of  Infantry, 
United  States  Army,  went  overseas,  and 
took  an  active  part  in  the  battle  of  Cham- 
pagne, July  15,  and  in  the  general  offen- 
sive of  September,  1918,  following. 
Captain  Fish  was  decorated  with  the 
Croix  de  Guerre  for  his  conspicuous  bra- 
very at  the  capture  of  the  Village  of 
Sechoult,  and  later  was  commissioned 
major  of  Infantry,  Fourth  Division  Army 
of  Occupation.  He  is  a  graduate  of  the 
Army  General  Staff  College,  American 
Expeditionary  Forces,  and  when  he  re- 
turned to  the  United  States  was  honor- 
ably discharged  from  the  service. 

Congressman  Fish  married,  September 
24,  1921,  Grace  Chapin,  daughter  of  Alfred 
Chapin,  a  former  Democratic  mayor  of 
Brooklyn,   New  York. 


TUTHILL,  Robert  K. 


/ 


Physician,  Snrgeon. 

For  more  than  sixty  years  Pough- 
keepsie,  New  York,  relied  upon  the  pro- 
fessional skill  and  ability  of  a  Dr.  Tuthill, 
beginning  in  1847  when  Dr.  Samuel  Tut- 
hill came  to  the  city  from  Newburgh, 
New  York,  and  quickly  won  his  way  to 
high  standing  as  a  physician  and  as  a 
citizen.  Then,  in  1859,  his  son,  Robert 
K.  Tuthill,  joined  his  father  in  practice, 
but  only  until  1861,  when  he  responded  to 
the  President's  call,  and  not  until  1864 
were  his  services  available  to  his  home 
community.  Then  he  again  assumed  the 
responsibilities  of  private  practice  and 
served  Poughkeepsie  with  faithfulness 
and  vigilance  until  his  passing  in  1909, 
having  been  in  continuous  practice  from 
1859  until  1909,  a  full  half-century,  all 
passed  in  Poughkeepsie  excepting  his 
years  of  military  service  as  surgeon.  He 
was  a  physician  of  deep  learning  and  yet 
all   his  life   he   was    a    student,    always 


72 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


seeking  "more  light"  through  study,  re- 
search and  observation.  Nearly  a  decade 
and  a  half  has  elapsed  since  Dr.  Tuthill 
wrote  his  last  prescription  and  performed 
his  last  operation,  but  his  memory  is  green 
in  the  city  he  loved  and  in  which  he  left 
a  host  of  friends  who  believed  in  him, 
trusted  him  and  loved  him.  He  was 
blessed  with  a  keen  sense  of  humor,  and 
this  with  his  wit  greatly  aided  him. 

To  have  known  him  as  a  family  physician  is  to 
have  felt  the  influence  of  good  cheer  and  constant 
hope  in  the  sick  room.  His  presence  brought  con- 
fidence and  relief  like  a  benediction  to  the  suf- 
ferer. He  was  for  almost  a  generation  among  the 
busiest  of  men  to  be  found  in  the  community.  He 
numbered  his  patients  among  the  rich  and  the  poor, 
and  he  gave  in  fullest  measure  all  his  splendid 
gifts  in  every  case  with  which  he  had  anything 
to  do.  His  skill  was  acknowledged  wherever  he 
was  known  and  his  pleasing  personality  endeared 
him  to  his  patients  and  their  friends. 

The  name  Tuthill  is  probably  derived 
from  tot-hill,  or  tut-hill,  an  artificial 
mound  or  tumulus,  a  number  of  these 
mounds  being  found  in  widely  separated 
localities  in  England.  Families  living 
near  them  in  ancient  times  probably  re- 
ceived this  designation  as  a  surname. 
The  largest  of  these  tumuli,  called  tut- 
hill, in  Thetford,  Norfolk  County,  Eng- 
land, is  described  by  Blomefield,  the 
historian  of  Norfolk  County;  it  was 
probably  raised  by  the  Danes  in  871  A. 
D.  to  cover  their  slain  after  the  battle 
with  King  Edward. 

The  arms  of  the  Tuthills  of  Norfolk, 
as  given  in  the  Visitation  of  Essex,  in 
1634,  are. 

Arnus — Or,  on  a  chevron  azure,  three  crescents 
argent. 

Crest — A  leopard  passant,  sable,  crowned  or,  on 
a  mound  vert. 

These  arms,  without  the  crest,  are 
found  in  the  church  of  Trowse-with- 
Newton,  Norfolk,  England,  on  the  tomb 


of  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Sir  Roger  Dalyson, 
daughter  of  William  Tuthill,  of  Newton, 
Gentleman,  and  granddaughter  of  John 
Tuthill,  of  Saxlingham.  She  died  Sep- 
tember 27,  1585,  in  her  nineteenth  year. 

John  Tuthill,  of  Saxlingham,  father  of 
Henry  Tuthill,  born  in  1580,  was,  perhaps, 
brother  of  William  Tuthill,  named  above. 

Henry  Tuthill,  of  Tharston,  Norfolk 
County,  England,  was  born  in  1580,  as 
above  stated,  and  is  the  ancestor  of  this 
branch  of  the  Tuthill  family  in  America. 
He  died  in  1619.  He  was  the  third  son  of 
John  Tuthill,  of  Saxlingham,  and  married 
Alice  (Gooch?).  They  had  five  children: 
John,  born  in  1607;  William,  born  in 
1609;  Henry,  of  whom  further;  Alice, 
baptized  in  1614;  Elizabeth,  baptized  in 
1616. 

Henry  Tuthill,  son  of  Henry  and  Alice 
(Gooch?)  Tuthill,  was  born  at  Tharston, 
Norfolk  County,  England,  in  1612,  and 
baptized  on  the  28th  of  June  of  that  year. 
He  came  to  Hingham,  Massachusetts,  in 
1637,  receiving  a  land  grant  there  on  July 
17.  He  married,  in  England,  Bridget, 
surname  unknown,  who  came  with  him 
to  America.  She  survived  him  and  mar- 
ried again  after  her  first  husband's  death. 
Henry  Tuthill  and  his  wife  settled  in 
Hingham,  Massachusetts.  He  was  made 
a  freeman  in  March,  1638,  and  constable 
in  1640.  He  sold  his  lot  in  Hingham, 
June  20,  1644,  and  doubtless  came  to 
Southold,  where  it  is  said  he  settled  in 
the  same  year.  It  is  also  stated  that  both 
he  and  his  wife  died  before  1650.  Their 
children  were:  John,  of  whom  further; 
Elizabeth,  married  William  Johnson; 
Nathaniel,  died  at  Southold  in  1660; 
Daniel,  died  at  Southold  in  1658. 

John  Tuthill,  son  of  Henry  and  Bridget 
Tuthill,  was  born  in  1635.  He  married,  in 
1657,  Deliverance  King,  and  was  an  ex- 
tensive land  owner.     He  was,  with  little 


73 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


or  no  doubt,  the  link  through  whom  the 
family  under  the  present  consideration 
was  descended.  John  and  Deliverance 
Tuthill  had  nine  children,  some  of  whom 
married  on  Long  Island,  and  others  re- 
moved to  various  localities.  Their  son, 
John  Tuthill,  who  was  born  in  1658,  mar- 
ried Mehitabel  Wells,  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam Wells.  They  were  the  parents  of  a 
number  of  children,  among  whom  was 
Foregift  Tuthill,  born  in  1698,  and  mar- 
ried, in  1727,  Abigail  Goldsmith.  They 
settled  in  Orange  County,  New  York. 
They  had  children,  Abigail,  Nathaniel, 
Joshua,  and  Freegift,  the  sons  all  being 
soldiers  of  the  Revolutionary  War. 
Among  the  children  of  their  son  Nathan- 
iel was  a  son,  John  Tuthill,  who  fought  in 
the  War  of  1812,  and  removed  from 
Blooming  Grove  to  Chemung  County  in 
1819.  Among  his  children  was  Hiram 
Tuthill,  who  was  born  in  1799,  and  who 
also  had  a  son  Hiram ;  the  name  being 
that  of  an  uncle  of  Dr.  Robert  K.  Tuthill 
and  of  a  brother  of  Dr.  Samuel  Tuthill, 
father  of  Dr.  Robert  K.  Tuthill. 

Samuel  Tuthill,  M.  D.,  father  of  Dr. 
Robert  K.  Tuthill,  was  born  in  Blooming 
Grove,  Orange  County,  New  York,  April 
2,  181 1,  and  died  in  1890,  the  youngest  of 
the  ten  children  of  Samuel  and  Eunice 
(Youngs)  Tuthill.  His  father  was  a 
farmer,  and  originally  came  from  Long 
Island,  and  died  when  his  son  Samuel 
was  twelve  years  of  age.  The  son  Samuel 
remained  on  the  farm  with  his  mother 
and  elder  brother  Hiram  until  his  eight- 
eenth year.  He  was  educated  in  the  dis- 
trict schools  of  that  day,  and  was  reared 
in  the  faith  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  In  1837  he  began  the  study  of 
medicine  with  Dr.  Thomas  Lapham,  a 
well-known  "Thompsonian"  physician  in 
Poughkeepsie,  and  entered  upon  his  pro- 
fessional career  in  Kingston,  New  York, 


in  1840,  and  in  1848  he  returned  to  Pough- 
keepsie and  practiced  the  "Eclectic 
School  of  Medicine,"  to  which  he  rose  to 
high  rank,  having  been  honored  and 
licensed  as  an  M.  D.  by  Syracuse  Medical 
College  and  the  Medical  College  of  the 
City  of  New  York.  He  was  president  of 
the  District  Eclectic  Society  and  the  New 
York  Eclectic  Society,  also  serving  as 
as  treasurer  of  the  latter  named  society. 
Although  he  never  was  identified  with  the 
"old  school"  of  medicine,  he  enjoyed  the 
confidence  and  respect  of  its  members. 
Dr.  Tuthill  was  a  man  of  remarkable 
physique,  dignified  and  courteous  in  man- 
ner, and  a  general  favorite  with  all  on 
account  of  his  kindness  of  heart  and  good 
sense.  For  years  he  was  an  alderman  in 
the  Poughkeepsie  city  government,  and 
a  member  of  the  County  Legislature  as  a 
supervisor,  where  he  was  locally  famous 
as  a  ready,  witty  and  direct  speaker.  For 
many  years  Dr.  Tuthill  and  his  family 
were  members  of  the  Cannon  Street 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  Dr. 
Tuthill  served  as  one  of  the  district 
stewards  and  lay  delegates  to  the  New 
York  Annual  Conference.  By  common 
consent  it  was  truly  said  of  Dr.  Tuthill 
that  he  was  a  representative  man,  in 
medicine,  in  politics  and  in  the  church. 

Dr.  Tuthill  married,  in  1833,  Sally 
Maria  Kelly,  a  native  of  England.  They 
were  the  parents  of  six  children.  Robert 
K.,  of  whom  further;  James  Youngs; 
Orpha  Maria;  Sarah  Elizabeth;  Marj' 
Ida,  and  a  son  who  died  in  infancy. 

Dr.  Robert  K.  Tuthill,  son  of  Dr. 
Samuel  and  Sally  Maria  (Kelly)  Tuthill, 
was  born  in  Newburgh,  New  York,  Janu- 
ary 18,  1835,  and  died  in  Poughkeepsie, 
New  York,  June  11,  1909.  The  first  thir- 
teen years  of  his  life  were  spent  in  New- 
burgh, but  in  1848  Poughkeepsie  became 
the  family  home.and  there  he  completed 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


full  courses  of  preparatory  training  before 
entering  upon  his  life  work,  the  practice 
of  medicine  and  surgery.  He  was  trained 
by  his  eminent  father  to  succeed  him,  and 
after  his  training  he  entered  New  York 
Medical  College,  whence  he  was  gradu- 
ated M.  D.,  class  of  1859. 

The  year  of  graduation  he  began  prac- 
tice at  Poughkeepsie  and  continued  until 
about  the  middle  of  April,  1861,  when  he 
volunteered  his  services  to  the  Govern- 
ment and  went  to  the  front  with  the 
Twenty -first  Regiment,  New  York  Volun- 
teer Infantry,  as  assistant  surgeon.  He 
was  later  appointed  assistant  surgeon  of 
the  Eightieth  Regiment,  and  in  1863  was 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  surgeon  and  as- 
signed to  the  One  Hundred  and  Forty 
Fifth  Regular  New  York  Infantry.  In 
June,  1863,  he  was  made  surgeon  of  the 
First  Brigade  (six  regiments).  First 
Division,  Twelfth  Army  Corps,  and  early 
in  1864  was  appointed  surgeon-in-chief  of 
the  First  Division  (fourteen  regiments) 
of  the  Twelfth  Army  Corps.  He  was  with 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  all  its  princi- 
pal battles,  and  also  did  duty  with  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland.  By  his  general 
professional  ability  and  his  strict  obser- 
vance of  sanitary  regulations.  Dr.  Tuthill 
kept  his  regiment  and  brigade  in  such  a 
healthy  and  physical  condition  of  effici- 
ency  that  he  received  special  commenda- 
tion from  the  War  Department  officials. 
His  service  continued  throughout  the 
war,  when  he  returned  to  Poughkeepsie 
a  veteran  surgeon,  then  only  about  thirty 
years  of  age. 

From  1865  until  his  death  in  1909  Dr. 
Tuthill  was  a  notably  successful  practi- 
tioner of  medicine  and  surgery  in  Pough- 
keepsie. In  1862  he  had  been  in  charge 
of  the  military  hospital  at  Fredericks- 
burg, Virginia;  from  1870  until  its  clos- 
ing in  1887  he  was  a  member  of  the  surgi- 
cal staff  of  St.  Barnabas  Hospital,  Pough- 


keepsie, and  from  the  opening  of  Vassar 
Brothers'  Hospital  in  1887  until  1909  he 
was  a  member  of  its  surgical  staff  selected 
by  its  founder,  Mathew  Vassar.  From 
1898  until  his  death  he  was  a  member  of 
the  consulting  staff  of  the  hospital.  He 
visited  many  hospitals  and  attended  many 
clinics  in  the  European  surgical  and  medi- 
cal centers  of  learning,  London,  Paris, 
Berlin,  Vienna,  always  being  anxious  to 
keep  in  close  touch  with  all  advances  in 
diagnosis,  treatment,  instrument  and 
operation.  He  accepted  only  one  office 
from  his  city,  health  officer,  and  that  he 
filled  for  four  terms.  He  was  president 
of  the  Dutchess  County  Medical  Society 
for  two  years,  member  of  the  New  York 
Medical  Society  and  of  other  societies 
of  physicians  and  surgeons.  He  was  a 
Companion  of  the  New  York  Chapter, 
Military  Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion  of 
the  United  States ;  a  charter  member  of 
Hamilton  Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public ;  and  was  affiliated  with  Lodge, 
Chapter  and  Commandery  of  the  Masonic 
Order,  and  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Amrita  Club.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  Poughkeepsie. 
Dr.  Tuthill  married,  April  6,  1864, 
Cornelia  de  Irius  Eckert,  daughter  of 
Eugene  Erskine  and  Catherine  C.  de 
Irius  Eckert,  of  Poughkeepsie,  of  Holland 
and  French  ancestry,  respectively.  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Tuthill  were  the  parents  of  four 
children:  i.  Edith  Craig,  died  at  the  age 
of  five  years.  2.  Grace  Eckert,  died  at 
the  age  of  three  years.  3.  Josephine 
Corlies,  residing  with  her  mother  in 
Poughkeepsie.  4.  Albert  Sidney,  died  in 
infancy. 


CANNON,  Pelton, 

Financier. 

The  ancestors  of  the   Cannon   family, 
who  originally  spelled  their  name  Canon, 


75 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


were  among  that  great  and  worthy  throng 
of  thrifty  French  Protestants,  who  during 
the  poHtical  and  religious  disturbances  of 
the  seventeenth  century  fled  from  France 
to  England  and  later  to  America.  The 
Canon  family  settled  on  Staten  Island, 
where  the  earliest  of  the  name  Andries 
(or  Andrew)  and  his  son  Abraham  signed 
their  names  Canon.  The  modern  spell- 
ing. Cannon,  was  not  adopted  until  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  on  Staten  Island 
the  name  was  usually  accented  on  the  last 
syllable.  Andries  or  Andrew  Canon  was 
a  resident  of  Staten  Island  as  early  as 
1680,  and  there  he  raised  his  family. 
Records  indicate  that  he  was  born  in  165 1, 
and  his  death  occurred  in  March,  1710. 
He  was  twice  married,  first  to  Jane 
Pierce,  who  died  before  1695,  and  second 
to  Anna  Papin,  who  was  still  alive  in  1727. 
Among  the  children  of  the  first  marriage 
was  John,  of  whom  further. 

John  Canon,  son  of  Andries,  or  Andrew, 
and  Jane  (Pierce)  Canon,  was  born  in 
1677,  died  in  1746-48.  He  was  "a  boat- 
man," plying  between  Staten  Island  and 
New  York  in  1699.  He  purchased  land 
in  New  York  City  in  1706  and  1718,  and 
in  1728  was  the  owner  of  Cannon's  wharf, 
which  adjoined  Schermerhorn's  wharf,  ex- 
tending toward,  if  not  over,  the  present 
Fulton  Market  in  New  York.  He  mar- 
ried, in  1697,  Maria  Le  Grand,  daughter 
of  Pierre  and  Jeanne  (de  Mendell)  Le 
Grand.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the 
first  four  of  their  children  were  baptized 
in  the  French  Church  in  New  York,  and 
the  remainder  in  the  Dutch  Church  of  the 
same  city.  Among  their  thirteen  chil- 
dren was  Peter,  of  whom  further. 

Peter  Cannon,  son  of  John  and  Maria 
(Le  Grand)  Canon,  was  born  in  New 
York,  March  11,  171 1.  He  was  master  of 
the  sloop  "Two  Brothers,"  which  ran  be- 
tween New  York  and  South  Carolina.  He 


married,  in  1732,  Willentje  (or  Wil- 
lemyntje)  Schermerhorn,  daughter  of  Ar- 
nout  and  Marytje  (Beekman)  Schermer- 
horn. and  their  first  born  was  a  son,  born 
July  19,  1732,  whom  they  called  Arnout. 
Thus  the  name  Arnout  came  into  the  fam- 
ily and  was  handed  down  to  a  later 
Arnout  Cannon,  born  in  1805,  grandfather 
of  Pelton  Cannon.  He  is  thought  to  have 
been  a  grandson  of  the  first  Arnout  Can- 
non, but  the  incomplete  records  of  the 
time;  do  not  fully  establish  the  exact 
relationship. 

(I)  Arnout  Cannon,  grandfather  of  Pel- 
ton  Cannon,  was  born  in  New  York  City, 
July  13,  1805,  and  died  in  Poughkeepsie, 
New  York,  September  12,  1882.  The 
name  Arnout  Cannon  appears  upon  the 
New  York  directories  as  a  carpenter  at 
No.  41  Thompson  Street,  in  1829;  is  next 
found  at  No.  9  King  Street  (now  Pine 
Street),  in  1831  and  1832;  at  No.  215 
Laurens  Street  in  1833 ;  at  No.  139  Amity 
Street  in  1834;  and  at  "13th  Street  near 
Avenue  5th"  in  1835.  The  1836-37  direc- 
tory does  not  contain  his  name,  as  in  1836 
he  removed  to  Poughkeepsie,  New  York, 
where  he  became  a  prominent  builder  and 
contractor.  He  held  a  leading  place  in 
many  of  the  progressive  movements  of 
the  day,  and  was  a  highly  respected  cit- 
izen. He  married,  in  New  York  City, 
Naomi  Chilson,  born  in  Orange  County, 
New  York,  June  11,  1812.  and  they  were 
the  parents  of  eight  children :  Hester, 
George  W.,  Charles  H.,  Arnout,  Jr.,  of 
whom  further;  William  H.,  Maria,  Cor- 
nelius L.,  and  Emma  Kate. 

(II)  Arnout  Cannon,  Jr.,  son  of  Arnout 
and  Naomi  (Chilson)  Cannon,  was  born 
in  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  August  3, 
1839,  and  died  March  31,  1898.  After  at- 
tending the  public  schools  of  Pough- 
keepsie, he  continued  his  studies  in  the 
Dutchess  County  Academy,  and  then  at 


76 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  age  of  fifteen  years  began  to  learn  the 
building  and  contracting  business  with  his 
father,  with  whom  he  remained  for  four 
years.  He  then  removed  to  New  York 
City,  where  for  two  years  he  studied  ar- 
chitecture in  the  office  of  Frederick 
Diaper.  In  the  spring  of  1861  he  re- 
turned to  Poughkeepsie  and  established 
himself  as  an  architect  in  an  office  on  the 
corner  of  Main  and  Catherine  streets. 
But  Fort  Sumpter  had  been  fired  upon  and 
the  country  was  disrupted  by  civil  war. 
.^rnout  Cannon  was  not  one  to  remain  at 
home  while  others  gave  their  lives  for 
the  Union.  In  August,  1861,  he  enlisted 
in  the  128th  New  York  Volunteer  In- 
fantry, and  served  in  that  regiment  until 
after  the  siege  of  Port  Hudson.  He 
took  part  in  the  siege  of  Mobile,  and  was 
assigned  to  duty  as  an  engineer,  in  which 
capacity  he  was  engaged  in  building  the 
dam  on  the  Red  River.  In  1863  he  was 
transferred  to  the  command  of  some  col- 
ored troops,  who  fought  so  nobly  that  he 
was  successively  promoted  to  the  rank  of 
second  lieutenant,  first  lieutenant,  cap- 
tain, and  finally  lieutenant-colonel  of  the 
97th  United  States  Colored  Infantry.  He 
received  his  discharge  in  April,  1865,  and 
on  his  return  to  Poughkeepsie  resumed 
the  work  of  architect.  Energy,  ability 
and  fair  dealing  brought  the  just  reward 
of  healthy  expansion  of  business  oppor- 
tunity, and  for  twenty-eight  years  he  con- 
tinued to  manage  his  business  alone.  In 
1893,  however,  when  business  success  and 
nearly  three  decades  of  continuous  pro- 
fessional activity  enabled  him  to  look 
toward  the  time  when  he  might  hope  for 
some  years  of  leisure,  he  decided  to  ad- 
mit a  partner,  and  chose  Walter  Schofield. 
In  1894  Percival  Lloyd  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm,  and  the  firm  name  became 
Cannon  &  Lloyd.  In  April  of  the  follow- 
ing year,  1895,  M""-  Cannon  retired  from 


active  participation  in  the  business,  hut 
retained  his  interest  in  the  enterprise. 
He  had  long  been  known  as  one  of  the 
foremost  of  his  profession  in  his  section 
of  the  .State.  Among  the  many  important 
commissions  which  he  executed  with  ex- 
ceptional ability  may  be  mentioned  the 
Vassar  Brothers'  Home  for  Aged  men, 
Vassar  Brothers'  Institute,  Vassar  Broth- 
ers' Library,  the  Masonic  Temple,  and 
Nelson  House  Annex.  These  beautiful 
buildings  stand  as  permanent  visible  me- 
morials to  the  artistic  ability  and  profes- 
sional skill  of  Arnout  Cannon.  Another 
memorial,  invisible,  but  rarely  beautiful, 
remains  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  knew 
and  loved  him,  for  Mr.  Cannon  was  one 
of  those  who  realized  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes'  closing  lines  in  "The  Chambered 
Nautilus" : 

Build  thee  more  stately  mansions. 

Oh  my  soul, 

As  the  swift  seasons  roll! 

Leave  thy  low-vaulted  past. 

Let  each  new  temple,  nobler  than  the  last. 

Shut  thee  from  Heaven  with  a  dome  more  vast, 

Till  thou  at  length  art  free, 

Leaving  thine  out-grown  shell 

By  life's  unresting  sea. 

Mr.  Cannon  was  a  prominent  member 
of  the  D.  B.  Sleight  Post,  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic,  of  Poughkeepsie ;  of  the 
Lo3^al  Legion ;  of  Poughkeepsie  Lodge, 
No.  266,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons;  and 
of  Fallkill  Lodge,  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows. 

In  February,  1862,  Arnout  Cannon,  Jr., 
married  (first)  Ann  E.  Davis.  She  died, 
leaving  three  children :  Ida  Francis,  How- 
ard A.,  and  Grace  A.  He  married  (sec- 
ond), April  7,  1879,  Emily  J.  Pelton,  and 
they  are  the  parents  of  one  son,  Pelton, 
of  whom  further. 

(Ill)  Pelton  Cannon,  son  of  Arnout, 
Jr.,  and  Emily  J.  (Pelton)  Cannon,  was 
born  in  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  May  28, 
1880.     He  received  his  academic  educa- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


tion  in  Riverview  Military  Academy. 
Upon  completing  his  course  in  that  insti- 
tution he  made  special  preparation  for  a 
business  career  by  taking  a  course  in 
Eastman's  Business  College,  and  then, 
on  March  28,  1900,  he  began  his  long  con- 
nection with  the  Merchants'  National 
Bank  of  Poughkeepsie.  Beginning  as  a 
junior  clerk,  when  he  was  twenty  years 
of  age,  by  ability  and  strict  attention  to 
business,  he  steadily  rose  through  various 
positions  until  July,  191 7,  he  was  made  as- 
sistant cashier.  On  July  2,  1918,  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  board  of  direc- 
tors, and  on  July  9,  of  the  same  year  the 
officers  of  the  bank  further  expressed  their 
confidence  in  his  ability  and  integrity  by 
choosing  him  to  fill  the  responsible  posi- 
tion of  cashier  of  the  bank.  In  January. 
1921,  he  was  elected  vice-president  of  the 
institution,  and  the  last  two  positions, 
those  of  cashier  and  vice-president,  he  is 
at  the  present  time  (1924)  ably  filling. 

A  list  of  Mr.  Cannon's  social  affiliations 
is  sufficient  to  indicate  the  extent  and  the 
strenuousness  of  his  recreational  activ- 
ities. He  is  a  member  of  the  Amrita 
Club ;  of  the  Dutchess  Golf  and  Country 
Club,  of  which  he  was  formerly  director 
and  treasurer;  the  Poughkeepsie  Tennis 
Club,  of  which  he  is  a  former  director 
and  treasurer ;  a  charter  member  of 
Poughkeepsie  Rotary  Club,  of  which 
he  is  now  (1924)  director  and  treasurer; 
and  of  Triune  Lodge,  No.  782,  Free 
and  Accepted  Masons.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association;  and  of  Christ  Episcopal 
Church. 


SPOOR,  Lloyd  E., 

Bnsiness  Executive. 

Lloyd  E.  Spoor,  president  of  the  Spoor, 
Lasher  Company,  Inc.,  and  prominent 
road  builder  of  Poughkeepsie  and  Dut- 


chess County,  comes  of  ancient  Dutch 
ancestry.  The  word  "spoor"  is  the  Dutch 
for  trail  or  track,  and  as  a  noun  it  is  used 
to  designate  the  traces  left  by  an  animal 
or  man  in  the  sand,  mud  or  snow.  As  a 
surname  it  has  always  been  popular  in 
Holland,  but  when  and  how  the  common 
name  became  a  patronymic  is  a  matter 
of  conjecture.  In  the  original  Dutch 
"spoor"  is  pronounced  "spore,"  the  Dutch 
double  "o"  being  like  our  long  sound  of  o, 
and  it  is  quite  likely  that  this  pronuncia- 
tion accounts  for  the  change  in  spelling 
of  the  surname  from  Spoor  to  Spore 
which  occurs  in  several  branches  of  the 
family.  The  family,  as  a  rule,  has  usually 
followed  agricultural  pursuits,  but  in 
many  instances  of  derivation  from  the 
vocation  of  their  fathers,  members  of  the 
family  have  achieved  great  success  in 
legal,  medical  and  theological  circles,  as 
well  as  in  business  and  commercial  life ; 
Lloyd  E.  Spoor's  excellent  record  forming 
proof  of  the  latter. 

(I)  Jan  Wybesse  Spoor  was  the  immi- 
grant ancestor  of  the  American  family. 
He  was  born  in  Harlingen,  Freisland,  and 
died  probably  in  Linlithgo,  New  York. 
The  exact  date  of  his  coming  to  America 
is  not  known,  but  in  the  year  1662  he  is 
on  record  as  the  purchaser  of  a  tract  of 
land  in  Catskill  under  the  name  of  Jan 
Wybesse  Van  Harlingen  He  next  ap- 
pears as  Jan  Wybesse  Spoor  when  he  pur- 
chased land  in  the  vicinity  of  Niskayuna, 
a  settlement  east  of  Schenectady,  near 
what  is  now  known  as  Lishaskill.  In 
1697  he,  his  wife,  and  six  children  are 
listed  in  the  census,  and  in  1714  it  is  likely 
that  he  made  his  home  with  his  eldest 
son,  Johannis,  on  the  Livingston  Manor. 
Jan  Wybesse  Spoor  was  married  to  Anna 
Maria  Hanse,  who  bore  him  ten  children, 
among  them  being  Johannis,  of  whom 
forward. 

(II)  Johannis  Spoor,  eldest  of  the  ten 


78 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


children  of  Jan  Wybesse  and  Anna  Maria 
(Hanse)  Spoor,  was  born  in  Albany,  New 
York,  and  was  a  wheelwright  by  occupa- 
tion. His  name  appears  among  the  peti- 
tioners in  a  petition  from  the  "Protestants 
of  America  to  King  William,"  dated 
December  30,  1701.  On  November  30, 
1715,  he  is  mentioned  as  an  ensign  in  the 
"Roll  of  the  Independent  Company  of 
the  Manor  of  Livingston."  In  1731  he 
is  listed  as  a  captain.  He  purchased  from 
the  Indians  for  thirty  pounds  and  a  suit 
of  clothes,  six  hundred  acres  of  land  on 
Egremont  Plain,  Berkshire  County,  Mas- 
sachusetts. In  1735  and  1736  he  was  con- 
stable of  Albany,  New  York.  He  was 
married  in  Kingston,  New  York,  April 
21,  1700,  to  Mary  Singer,  who  bore  him 
nine  children,  among  whom  was  Johan- 
nis,  of  whom  forward. 

(HI)  Johannis  Spoor,  eldest  of  the  nine 
children  of  Johannis  and  Mary  (Singer) 
Spoor,  was  baptized  in  Kingston,  New 
York,  July  13,  1701,  and  died  in  Lunen- 
burgh.  New  York,  February  15,  1761. 
At  an  early  date  he  removed  to  Coxsackie, 
where  he  was  one  of  the  first  settlers.  On 
December  30,  1741,  he  purchased  of  the 
Van  Loons  a  forty-five  acre  tract  of  wood- 
land in  Coxsackie,  where  he  built  the 
stone  house  which  is  still  standing.  The 
neighborhood  became  known  as  Spoor- 
enberg,  or  Spoor's  Hill.  In  his  will  he 
describes  himself  as  a  yeoman.  Johannis 
Spoor  was  married  to  Eva  Siberse,  who 
bore  him  six  children,  the  third  being 
Johannes,  of  whom  forward. 

(IV)  Johannis  Spoor,  third  of  the  six 
children  of  Johannis  and  Eva  (Siberse) 
Spoor,  was  baptized  in  Coxsackie,  New 
York,  October  8,  1733.  He  served  with 
distinction    in    the    Revolutionary  War. 

He  married  Catherina  ( )  who  bore 

him  five  children,  the  eldest  being  Abra- 
ham, of  whom  forward. 


(V)  Abraham  Spoor,  eldest  of  the 
five  children  of  Johannis  and  Catherina 
Spoor,  was  born  July  28,  1759,  baptized 
in  Athens,  New  York,  July  27,  1761,  and 
died  in  Guilderland,  New  York,  Decem- 
ber 17,  1829.  He  acquired  lots  8-13  in- 
clusive in  Roosevelt's  Purchase,  Oswego, 
New  York,  in  1826,  and  bought  more  land 
in  1827  in  Scriba's  Patent.  He  removed 
to  Guilderland,  where  three  of  his  sons 
were  baptized.  He  served  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War  as  a  private  in  the  Eleventh 
Regiment,  under  the  command  of  Colonel 
Anthony  Van  Bergen.  He  was  married 
at  Coxsackie,  New  York,  March  26,  1782, 
to  Maria  Wells,  who  bore  him  eleven 
children,  the  fifth  being  Jacob,  of  whom 
forward. 

(VI)  Jacob  Spoor,  fifth  of  the  eleven 
children  of  Abraham  and  Maria  (Wells) 
Spoor,  was  born  in  Guilderland,  New 
York,  November  29,  1790,  and  died  there 
in  January,  1882,  having  followed  farming 
throughout  his  life  at  Guilderland,  and 
Watervliet,  New  York  He  was  married 
December  28,  1816,  to  Hannah  Smith,  a 
daughter  of  Jonas  Smith,  of  Guilderland, 
New  York.  Of  this  union  there  were 
seven  children,  among  them  being  John 
J.,  of  whom  forward. 

(VII)  John  J.  Spoor,  fifth  of  the  seven 
children  of  Jacob  and  Hannah  (Smith) 
Spoor,  was  born  in  Guilderland,  New 
York,  May  9,  1826.  He  was  a  successful 
farmer  of  his  section,  and  a  member  of 
the  Reformed  Church.  He  was  married, 
October  12,  1848,  to  Anna  Eliza  Hallen- 
beck,  and  they  had  issue:  Jacob  J.,  of 
whom  forward ;  Isaac  H. ;  Agnes  A. ;  John 
B. ;  Agnes  Augusta ;  Anna  M. ;  Marga- 
retta. 

(VIII)  Jacob  J.  Spoor,  eldest  of  the 
seven  children  of  John  J.  and  Anna  Eliza 
(Hallenbeck)  Spoor,  was  born  in  Guilder- 
land  Center,  New  York,  August  12,  1849. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


He  was  educated  in  the  local  district 
schools  and  at  Hartwick  Seminary, 
Cooperstown,  New  York,  following  which 
he  engaged  in  farming  with  his  father  on 
the  old  homestead,  and  followed  this 
vocation  during  his  active  years  He  is 
vice-president  of  the  Mutual  Fire  Insur- 
ance Company,  Colonie,  Albany  County, 
New  York,  and  a  member  of  the  Re- 
formed Church  of  Lishaskill  He  is  a 
representative  citizen  and  has  ever  been 
active  in  local  aflfairs.  He  was  married, 
June  17,  1874,  to  Alida  M.  Van  Vranken, 
a  daughter  of  Peter  and  Arietta  (Lan- 
sing) Van  Vranken,  of  Lishaskill,  Albany 
County,  New  York.  Three  children  were 
born  of  this  union,  as  follows:  i.  Peter 
Van  V'ranken,  born  June  24,  1875  ;  now  a 
prominent  contractor,  being  superintend- 
ent of  the  Raymond  Concrete  Pile  Com- 
pany of  New  York  City.  He  married  Let- 
tie  Lasher,  of  Vischer  Ferry,  Saratoga 
County,  New  York,  and  they  are  the 
parents  of  four  children :  Lloyd  E.,  de- 
ceased ;  Everitt ;  Anna  ;  Donald.  2.  Lloyd 
E.,  of  whom  forward.  3.  Arietta  May, 
born  September  9,  1888;  married  Percy 
W.  Ward,  of  Schenectady,  New  York, 
and  they  have  one  daughter,  Dorothy. 

(IX)  Lloyd  E.  Spoor,  second  of  the 
three  children  of  Jacob  J.  and  Alida  ]\I. 
(Van  Vranken)  Spoor,  and  a  representa- 
tive of  the  ninth  generation  in  America  of 
the  ancient  Dutch  family  of  Spoor,  was 
born  in  Lishaskill,  Albany  County,  New 
York,  October  15,  1878.  His  early  educa- 
tion was  received  in  the  district  schools  of 
his  native  town,  following  which  he  at- 
tended the  Schenectady  Business  College, 
of  Schenectady  ,New  York.  Upon  the  com- 
pletion of  his  scholastic  work  he  returned 
to  his  father's  farm  and  for  three  years 
was  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits.  In 
1904  he  entered  the  emijloy  of  the  Sche- 
nectady  Contracting   Com])any   as   time- 


keeper. His  ability  was  such  that  he  was 
advanced  rapidly,  and  after  occupying 
various  positions  of  increasing  impor- 
tance, he  was  made  general  superintend- 
ent of  the  firm  in  1909.  Mr.  Spoor  was 
closely  identified  with  the  success  of  the 
Schenectady  Contracting  Company  for  a 
period  of  fifteen  years,  his  association 
terminating  in  the  year  1919  when  the 
firm  of  Spoor,  Lasher  Company,  Inc., 
was  formed  with  Mr.  Spoor  as  president. 
The  firm  are  general  contractors,  the 
scope  of  their  activities  extending  from 
a  transportation  business  to  highway 
construction  and  street  paving.  The 
success  and  progress  of  the  company  has 
been  startling  from  the  very  first,  and  at 
the  present  time  (1924),  it  is  one  of  the 
leading  firms  of  its  kind  in  this  section 
of  the  State,  having  the  largest  and  most 
complete  equipment  for  handling  concrete 
material  between  New  York  City  and 
Albany. 

Mr.  Spoor  is  correspondingly  promi- 
nent in  fraternal  and  club  circles,  being  an 
active  member  of  Poughkeepsie  Lodge, 
No.  266,  Free  and  accepted  Masons ; 
Poughkeepsie  Chapter,  No.  172,  Royal 
Arch  Masons ;  Poughkeepsie  Lodge,  No. 
275,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks  ;  the  Poughkeepsie  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce ;  the  Amrita  Club ;  the  Dutchess 
Golf  and  Country  Club;  Rotary  Club; 
and  the  Poughkeepsie  Automobile  Club. 

Lloyd  E.  Spoor  was  married  in  Sche- 
nectady, New  York,  October  15,  1903,  to 
Helen  Bertha  Hart,  of  Vischer  Ferry, 
New  York. 


GREENE,  Frederick  Howell, 

Nenrologist,    Nenro-Patholog^st. 

Dr.  Frederick  Howell  Greene,  of  Pough- 
keepsie, New  York,  is  well  and  widely 
known  not  only  in  New  York  State  but 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  the  adjoining  states  as  well  for  his 
remarkable  work  as  a  neurologist  and 
neuro-pathologist.  As  a  prominent  phy- 
sician who  has  made  a  life  study  and  life 
practice  of  neurology,  Dr.  Greene  is 
recognized  as  an  authority  on  the  diseases 
peculiar  to  the  nervous  system. 

Dr.  Greene  comes  from  old  Colonial 
stock  which  was  descended  from  ancient 
and  noble  English  ancestry.  The  sur- 
name "Greene"  appears  as  early  as  the 
year  1273,  at  which  time  Dconisia  ate 
Grene  and  Warin  de  la  Grene  were  listed 
in  the  Hundred  Rolls.  Later,  in  1379,  the 
Poll  Tax  of  Yorkshire  contained  the 
names  of  Adam,  Petrus,  and  Willelmus 
del  Grene.  The  family  was  seated  in 
Northamptonshire,  and  traced  its  descent 
from  Alexander  de  Boketon,  who  was 
said  to  have  been  a  great-grandson  of  one 
of  the  Norman  nobles  who  came  into 
England  in  1066  during  the  Norman  in- 
vasion, under  William  the  Conqueror. 
King  John  granted  to  Alexander  de 
Boketon  the  estate  of  Boketon  or  Bough- 
ton  in  the  year  1202,  and  from  him  the 
line  descends  to  Walter;  to  John;  to 
Thomas  ;  to  Thomas  (2)  ;  to  Chief  Justice 
Henry  de  Grene,  heir  of  Thomas  (2)  ;  Sir 
Henry  (2) ;  Thomas  (3)  ;  Greene,  sur- 
name lost;  John  (2)  ;  Robert;  John  (3)  ; 
Henry  (4)  ;  Robert  (2) ;  and  to  John  (4) 
Greene,  who  founded  the  American 
branch.  The  coat-of-arms  of  the  old 
Northamptonshire  family  of  Greene  is  as 
follows : 

Arms— Azme,  three  bucks  trippant  or. 
Crest — A  buck's  head  or. 

The  crescent  near  the  top  of  the  shield 
is  used  by  all  the  American  descendants 
as  a  mark  of  cadency,  or  descent  from 
the  second  son.  The  name  "Greene" 
originally  was  applied  to  people  who  lived 
near  or  at  the  village  green  or  common. 

N.Y.— 8— 6  ' 


After  fourteen  generations  of  Greenes  in 
England  came  John  Greene,  the  fourth  of 
that  name,  who  was  destined  to  become 
the  progenitor  of  his  family  in  the  new 
World. 

(I)  John  (4)  Greene,  a  member  of  the 
fifteenth  generation  of  the  Greenes  of 
Northamptonshire,  and  a  son  of  Robert 
Greene,  was  born  in  the  year  1606.  He 
lived  near  London,  at  Enfield  in  the  sub- 
urbs, and  emigrated  from  England  early 
in  1635  on  the  ship  "Matthew."  He  went 
first  to  St.  Christopher,  British  West 
Indies,  where  he  remained  for  two  years, 
in  1637  he  settled  at  Quidnesset  (later 
named  Wickford),  Rhode  Island,  and 
lived  in  the  family  of  Richard  Smith,  an 
Indian  trader,  at  the  blockhouse.  He 
was  married,  about  1642,  to  a  widow,  Joan 
Beggarly,  of  Massachusetts.  Issue,  born 
at  Wickford,  Rhode  Island:  i.  Edward, 
born  about  1643.  2.  John  (5),  of  whom 
forward.  3.  Daniel,  died  in  1730.  4. 
Henry,  removed  to  New  Jersey.  5.  Wel- 
thiam.  6.  Robert,  born  in  1653.  7.  James, 
born  in  1655,  died  in  1728.  8.  Enfield.  9. 
Benjamin,  married  Humility  Coggeshall. 

(II)  John  (5)  Greene,  second  of  the 
nine  sons  of  John  and  Joan  (Beggarly) 
Greene,  was  born  about  1645,  and  died  at 
Coventry,  Rhode  Island,  October  6,  1729. 
He  served  as  a  lieutenant  in  King  Philip's 
War,  and  removed  to  East  Greenwich  in 
1685,  and  from  there  to  Coventry  in  1690, 
where  he  built  a  house  and  saw  mill  at  the 
foot  of  Harkney  Hill.  He  was  married 
in  1684,  to  Abigail  Wardwell,  of  Ipswich, 
Massachusetts,  who  bore  him  the  follow- 
ing eleven  children:  i.  James,  of  whom 
forward.  2.  John,  born  at  East  Green- 
wich, Rhode  Island,  April  g,  1688.  3. 
Jane,  born  at  Coventry,  Rhode  Island, 
January  30,  1691.  4.  Uzal,  born  in  1694, 
died  in  1797.  5.  Ebenezer.  6.  Robert, 
married,  in   1730,  to  Mary  Andrews.     7. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


William.  8.  Enfield.  9.  Mary.  10.  Han- 
nah, born  1706,  married,  in  1727,  to  John 
Andrews.     11.  Andrew. 

(III)  James  Greene,  eldest  of  the 
eleven  children  of  John  (5)  and  Abigail 
(Wardwell)  Greene,  was  born  at  East 
Greenwich,  Rhode  Island,  August  18, 
1685,  and  died  in  June,  1771,  at  Warwick, 
Rhode  Island.  He  lived  throughout  his 
lifetime  near  Maroon  Swamp,  Warwick. 
He  was  married,  December  18,  1717,  to 
Rebecca  Cahoon,  daughter  of  Nathaniel 
Cahoon.  Issue,  all  born  in  Warwick, 
Rhode  Island:  i.  Nathaniel,  born  in 
1718;  married  Alice  Low.  2.  James,  born 
in  1720;  married  Humility  Greene.  3. 
Wardwell,  born  in  1723,  married  a  cousin, 
Ann  Greene.  4.  Isaac,  born  in  1724; 
married  Mary  Weaver.  5.  Patience,  born 
in  1727;  married  Benjamin  Andrews.  6. 
Charles,  of  whom  forward.  7.  Othniel, 
born  in  1731. 

(IV)  Charles  Greene,  sixth  of  the 
seven  children  of  James  and  Rebecca 
(Cahoon)  Greene,  was  born  in  Warwick, 
Rhode  Island,  July  28,  1729,  and  died 
about  1760.  He  lived  at  Coventry,  Rhode 
Island,  where  he  married  Mary,  surname 
unknown,  who  bore  him  four  children,  all 
at  Coventry,  as  follows:  i.  Job,  born  in 
1751.  2.  Philip.  3.  Wardwell,  of  whom 
forward.    4.  John. 

(V)  Wardwell  Greene,  third  of  the 
four  children  of  Charles  and  Mary  Greene, 
was  born  in  Coventry,  Rhode  Island,  be- 
fore 1760,  and  died  there  about  1808. 
In  Coventry  he  removed  to  West 
Greenwich  in  1782.  He  married  Mary 
Stevens,   who   bore   him   three   children : 

1.  Ruth,  married,  in  1807,  Seth  Martin. 

2.  Orpha,  married,  in  1810,  Obadiah 
Johnson.    3.  Rathburn,  of  whom  forward. 

(VI)  Rathburn  Greene,  youngest  of  the 
three  children  of  Wardwell  and  Mary 
(Stevens)  Greene,  was  born  in  the  year 


1787,  and  died  in  Otsego  County,  New 
York,  where  he  had  removed  in  1820.  He 
was  married  to  Jane  Millard,  a  daughter 
of  Captain  Samuel  Millard.  Rathburn 
and  Jane  (Millard)  Greene  were  the 
parents  of  twelve  children,  the  first  five 
born  in  Coventry,  Rhode  Island,  and  the 
remainder  in  Otsego  County,  New  York: 
I.  Alamanzo  Johnson  (sometimes  written 
Amaza),  of  whom  forward.  2.  Wardwell, 
born  in  1812.  3.  Samuel  Nelson,  born  in 
1814.  4.  Olive,  born  in  1815;  married 
Charles  Georgia.  5.  Hannah,  married 
Joseph  Wilson.  6.  John  R.,  lived  in  North 
Dakota.  7.  Orpha,  married  Benjamin 
Mackey.    8.  George,  removed  to  the  West. 

9.  Mary,  married  Chancellor  Hough- 
taling,  of  Union,  New  York.  10.  Dexter, 
died  in  the  Civil  War.  11.  Albert,  lived  in 
Central  New  York  State.  12.  Eliza,  mar- 
ried Belden  Allen. 

(VII)  Alamanzo,  or  Amaza,  Johnson 
Greene,  eldest  of  the  twelve  children  of 
Rathburn  and  Jane  (Millard)  Greene,  was 
born   in    Coventry,    Rhode   Island,   April 

10,  1810,  and  died  at  Laurens,  Otsego 
County,  New  York  He  removed  with  his 
parents  to  Otsego  County,  New  York, 
where  he  became  a  well  known  citizen, 
respected  farmer,  and  a  devout  Methodist. 
He  was  married  to  Villette  Johnson,  who 
bore  him  eleven  children,  the  second, 
John  W.,  of  whom  forward. 

(VIII)  Dr.  John  W.  Greene,  second  of 
the  eleven  children  of  Alamanzo  Johnson 
and  Villette  (Johnson)  Greene,  was  born 
at  Laurens,  Otsego  County,  New  York, 
in  the  year  1836,  and  died  at  West  Lau- 
rens, New  York,  in  1913.  He  was  edu- 
cated in  the  country  schools,  and  fol- 
lowing collegiate  courses  in  Pennsylvania, 
he  engaged  in  the  jewelry  business.  At 
the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  War  he  enlisted 
in  the  Union  Army  at  Rockport,  New 
York,   and   served   in   the   hospital   corps 


82 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


until  the  cessation  of  hostilities.  At  the 
close  of  the  war  he  resumed  his  jewelry 
business  at  Hamilton,  Ontario,  and  some 
years  later  returned  to  West  Laurens, 
Otsego  County,  New  York,  where  he  was 
similarly  engaged.  On  account  of  ill- 
health  he  retired  from  the  jewelry  busi- 
ness, and  took  up  the  study  of  medicine 
at  the  Albany  Medical  College,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  with  the  class 
of  1881.  He  then  took  a  post-graduate 
course  at  the  Bellevue  Medical  College, 
New  York  City,  1884-85,  following  which 
he  returned  to  West  Laurens,  New  York, 
where  he  was  actively  engaged  in  the 
practice  of  his  profession  until  his  death 
in  1913.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  and  gave  his  re- 
ligious affiliation  to  the  Baptist  Church. 
He  was  married  to  Elizabeth  Howell,  a 
daughter  of  Jonah  Howell,  a  farmer  and 
extensive  land  owner  of  St  George, 
Ontario.  They  were  the  parents  of  four 
children,  as  follows :  i.  Frederick  Howell, 
of  whom  forward.  2.  Mary,  married  to 
Joseph  Clark.  3.  Evelina,  married  Irving 
Fiske.  4.  Olive,  married  Andrew  Wig- 
ham. 

(IX)  Dr.  Frederick  Howell  Greene, 
eldest  of  the  four  children  of  Dr.  John 
W.  and  Elizabeth  (Howell)  Greene,  and 
a  representative  of  the  twenty-third  gener- 
ation of  the  ancient  and  noble  English 
family  of  Greene,  was  born  at  West 
Laurens,  Otsego  County,  New  York, 
June  15,  1872,  and  was  destined  to  become 
one  of  the  outstanding  figures  in  the  great 
medical  fraternity.  He  received  his  early 
education  in  the  country  schools  of  his 
natal  town,  and  the  public  schools  of  St. 
George,  Ontario,  following  which  he 
entered  and  was  graduated  from  the  Mor- 
ris High  School,  Morris,  Otsego  County, 
New  York.  At  intervals  during  his  scho- 
lastic work  he  taught  school.    In  1894  he 


engaged  upon  his  medical  studies  at  the 
Albany  Medical  College,  as  did  his  father 
before  him,  and  was  graduated  from  this 
time-honored  institution  with  the  class 
of  1897,  receiving  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine — sixteen  years  after  his  father 
had  been  graduated  from  the  same  col- 
lege. 

Upon  the  completion  of  his  medical 
studies.  Dr.  Greene  returned  to  West 
Laurens,  New  York,  and  there  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  his  chosen  profession  in 
association  with  his  father,  and  during  the 
same  year,  1897,  he  established  a  practice 
at  New  Paltz,  Ulster  County,  New  York, 
where  he  soon  built  up  a  large  clientage, 
remaining  here  until  1906.  During  the 
latter  year  Dr.  Greene  removed  to  Pough- 
keepsie.  New  York,  where  he  has  success- 
fully continued  in  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession, specializing  in  nervous  diseases, 
and  by  his  great  work  in  this  phase  of 
medicine  becoming  widely  known  as  an 
expert  neurologist  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Poughkeepsie  Academy  of  Medicine, 
State  ana  County  Medical  societies  and 
the  American  Medical  Association.  Politi- 
cally, he  gives  his  support  to  the  Repub- 
lican party.  He  is  a  member  of  Triune 
Lodge,  No.  872,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons  ;  Poughkeepsie,  Dutchess  County, 
Sportsman  Association  and  Poughkeepsie 
Automobile  Club. 

Dr.  Frederick  Howell  Greene  was  mar- 
ried at  West  Camp,  New  York,  June  29, 
1898,  to  Ethel  Emerick,  a  daughter  of 
Peter  and  Elizabeth  (Bouck)  Emerick, 
residents  of  West  Camp,  Ulster  County, 
New  York,  and  descendants  of  the  early 
German  settlers.  Dr.  Greene's  few  leisure 
hours  are  given  over  to  his  favorite  recre- 
ation, fishing;  and  he  and  his  wife  are 
prominent  in  the  social  circles  of  their 
community. 


83 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


MAPES,  Stephen  S.,     ^' 
Financier. 

Stephen  S.  Mapes,  the  well  known 
banker  of  Beacon,  formerly  Fishkill-on- 
the-Hudson,  lays  claim  to  a  surname  that 
has  been  borne  with  honor  by  various 
members  of  the  family  through  many 
generations.  The  name  is  thought  to  be 
of  Welsh  origin  and  is  the  Latinized  form 
of  Map,  Mapp  or  Mapps.  In  the  Domes- 
day Book  of  William  the  Conqueror 
allusion  is  made  to  an  "irruption  of  the 
Welsh  into  Herefordshire  previous  to  the 
Norman  Conquest,"  and  the  name  of 
Godric  Mappsone  (that  is,  Godric,  son  of 
Mapp),  of  Herefordshire  appears  under 
the  heading,  "Index  of  tennants  in  the 
time  of  William  the  Conqueror  who  hold 
their  lands  immediately  from  the  King." 
This  Godric,  it  is  understood,  took  part 
in  the  Norman  invasion  and  laying  waste 
of  Archenfield  in  1055,  and  establishing 
himself  in  the  conquered  territory,  built 
Goderich  (or  Goodrich)  Castle,  a  noted 
seat  in  Herefordshire,  which  is  still 
known  by  his  name.  In  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury an  archbishop  of  Oxford  was  Walter 
Mapes,  who  was  born  on  the  Welsh 
border,  a  man  of  great  learning  and  versa- 
tility, an  author  as  well  as  a  scholar,  who 
was  in  the  confidence  of  the  king  and 
represented  him  in  a  council  in  France. 

In  America  the  name  has  had  its  repre- 
sentatives in  the  literary  and  ministerial 
professions,  among  inventors  and  chem- 
ists, and  those  who  have  served  with 
honor  in  the  great  wars  of  our  country. 
The  American  descent  is  traced  prin- 
cipally from  John  Mapes,  of  Feltham 
in  Norfolk,  England,  who  lived  about  two 
centuries  after  the  time  of  Archbishop 
Mapes,  of  Oxford.  About  1640  three 
brothers  arrived  in  New  England,  one  set- 
tling in  New  Hampshire  and  the  others 


on  Long  Island.  From  one  of  the  latter 
was  descended  Samuel  Mapes  who,  some 
years  prior  to  the  Revolution,  moved  first 
to  Monroe,  Orange  County,  New  York, 
and  then  to  Howell's  Depot,  where  he 
became  the  owner  of  a  section  of  land. 

On  the  records  of  those  assembled  for 
the  first  town  meeting  of  Monroe,  in  1765, 
was  Thomas  Mapes,  who  was  born  in 
Orange  County  in  1728  He  was  one  of 
the  signers  in  1775  of  the  Revolutionary 
pledge  against  British  tyranny,  as  was 
also  his  son  James,  then  but  a  youth  of 
nineteen,  who  enlisted  later  under  Cap- 
tain Thomas  McKinstry  in  Colonel  Wil- 
liam Malcolm's  regiment  of  the  Conti- 
nental Army.  He  took  part  in  the  storm- 
ing of  Stony  Point,  was  at  Valley  Forge 
and  Monmouth,  and  in  "several  brilliant 
and  successful  movements  led  by  Colonel 
Burr  and  Major  Albert  Pawling." 

The  father  of  Stephen  S.  Mapes  was 
Dr.  Stephen  Mapes,  who  was  born  in 
Monroe,  September  19,  1826,  and  died  at 
his  home  in  Fishkill-on-the-Hudson,  Octo- 
ber 21,  1896.  After  receiving  such  educa- 
tion as  the  country  schools  afforded,  he 
went  to  Newburgh  and  found  employ- 
ment in  a  general  store.  The  profession 
of  dentistry  attracted  him,  and  determin- 
ing to  make  that  his  life  work,  he  obtained 
tools  and  books  and  set  himself  the  task 
of  accomplishing  his  desire  by  hard  study 
in  his  garret  room.  His  industry  was  in 
time  rewarded  by  a  most  successful  prac- 
tice. He  also  made  himself  familiar  with 
the  drug  business,  and  spent  some  time 
in  Newburgh  in  the  drug  store  of  Dr. 
Edmonston.  Deciding  to  enter  business 
for  himself  he  established,  in  May,  1846, 
in  Fishkill  Landing  as  doctor,  dentist  and 
druggist,  and  soon  attained  a  position  of 
prominence.  He  became  a  leading  drug- 
gist and  continued  the  business  for  many 
years  most  successfully,  retiring  in  1893. 


84 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Dr.  Mapes  married  Elizabeth  Simonson, 
of  Vernon,  New  Jersey,  and  to  them  three 
children  were  born :  Leila,  who  married 
J.  M.  W.  Scott,  M.  D.,  of  Schenectady; 
Stephen  S..  of  whom  further ;  W.  Irving, 
of  Beacon. 

Stephen  S.  Mapes  was  born  in  Fishkill- 
on-the-Hudson  (now  Beacon),  New  York, 
March  8,  1868.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  the  town,  then  continued  his 
education  at  Riverview  Military  Acade- 
my, Poughkeepsie,  and  Wesleyan  Acade- 
my, Wilbraham,  Massachusetts.  His 
business  career  was  begun  in  his  father's 
drug  store,  and  he  continued  in  business 
with  his  father  until  the  latter's  retire- 
ment in  1893.  The  manufacture  of  piano 
strings  engaged  him  from  1899  for  nearly 
a  score  of  years,  the  business  being  in- 
corporated in  1912  under  the  firm  name  of 
The  Mapes  Piano  String  Company.  In 
1917  he  disposed  of  his  interests  to  be- 
come president  of  the  Blickensderfer 
Typewriter  Company,  of  Stamford,  Con- 
necticut, and  occupied  this  position  until 
1920,  retiring  at  that  time.  He  had  been  a 
director  for  many  years  of  the  old  First 
National  Bank  of  Fishkill,  which,  when 
the  towns  of  Beacon  and  Fishkill  were 
incorporated,  became  the  Fishkill  Nation- 
al Bank  of  Beacon,  and  Mr.  Mapes  was 
elected  its  president.  He  is  also  a  direc- 
tor of  the  Poughkeepsie  Trust  Company 
and  the  American  Thermos  Bottle  Com- 
pany, of  New  York  City. 

Mr.  Mapes  married,  December  26,  1907, 
Bertha  P.  Hoag,  of  Patterson,  New  York. 


OWSLEY,  Henry  F., " 

Eye,  Ear,  Nose,  Throat  Specialist. 

Specializing  in  his  department  of  sur- 
gery— eye,  ear,  nose  and  throat — which 
he  has  developed  to  a  high  degree  of  pro- 
ficiency, through  intensive  study  in  pro- 


fessional schools  of  this  country  and 
abroad,  as  well  as  in  actual  practice  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  Dr.  Henry  F. 
Owsley  has  earned  the  right  to  be  classed 
as  a  prominent  physician  and  surgeon 
and  recognized  as  a  leader  in  his  profes- 
sion among  the  medical  fraternity  of 
Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  and  the  people 
of  that  city  and  elsewhere  throughout 
that  section  of  the  State.  In  addition  to 
his  individual  practice,  he  devotes  not  a 
little  of  his  time  and  skill  to  the  per- 
formance of  his  duties  as  a  member  of  the 
medical  staffs  of  two  hospitals  in  Pough- 
keepsie 

Dr.  Henry  F.  Owsley  is  a  lineal  de- 
scendant of  William  Mason  Owsley,  a 
country  gentleman  of  England,  who 
maintained  an  estate  of  many  acres,  which 
has  been  in  the  Owsley  family  for  six 
centuries.  His  son,  Charles  F.  Owsley, 
father  of  Dr.  Owsley,  was  born  on  the 
Owsley  estate,  Leicestershire,  December 
15,  1845,  ^i^d  married,  in  England,  Mary 
Williams,  who  died  in  Youngstown, 
Ohio,  March  4,  1910.  They  were  the 
parents  of  five  children.  Mr.  Owsley, 
while  living  in  England,  had  learned  the 
profession  of  architect,  and  on  coming  to 
the  United  States  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
one,  he  settled  in  Youngstown,  Ohio, 
where  he  successfully  practiced  his  pro- 
fession. The  influence  of  his  work  has 
gone  through  the  State  of  Ohio,  in  which 
he  was  the  originator  of  many  notable  ex- 
amples of  architecture.  He  retired  from 
the  profession  in  1912. 

Henry  F.  Owsley  was  born  December 
21,  1870,  in  Girard,  Ohio.  His  early  edu- 
cation was  acquired  in  the  schools  of  his 
native  town  and  at  the  Rayne  School, 
Youngstown,  Ohio.  In  1S93  he  went  to 
New  York  City  and  entered  the  college 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  from  which 
he  was  graduated,  class  of  1896,  degree  of 


8:; 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Medical  Doctor.  He  was  appointed  in- 
terne at  Bellevue  Hospital  and  served  two 
years,  1897-99.  In  1899  he  began  general 
practice  in  New  York  City  and  continued 
in  it  for  six  years.  In  1905  he  went  to 
London,  England,  and  entered  the  Royal 
Ophthalmic  Hospital,  where  he  took  the 
special  course  of  study  and  attended  the 
clinics.  He  was  graduated  from  the  hos- 
pital in  1907.  Returning  to  the  United 
States,  Dr.  Owsley  decided  to  take  a 
much-needed  rest,  and  he  bought  a  500 
acre  farm  at  Stormville,  Dutchess  County, 
New  York.  On  this  farm  he  remained 
about  three  years.  The  property  later 
was  acquired  by  the  State  of  New  York 
and  was  named  Camp  Whitman.  In  191 1 
Dr.  Owsley  located  in  Poughkeepsie  and 
resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession  by 
specializing  on  the  eye,  ear,  nose  and 
throat.  He  built  up  a  large  practice  and 
his  services  began  to  be  in  demand 
throughout  that  section  of  the  State.  His 
skill  as  a  specialist  attracted  the  attention 
of  medical  authorities  over  a  wide  range 
of  activity,  and  he  was  appointed  to  the 
medical  staffs  of  the  Vassar  Brothers' 
Hospital,  Ophthalmic  Department,  and 
the  Bowne  Memorial  Hospital  of  Pough- 
keepsie. 

Dr.  Owsley  is  a  member  of  the  Ameri- 
can Medical  Association;  is  an  alumnus 
of  Bellevue  Hospital,  New  York  City; 
member  of  New  York  Academy  of  Medi- 
cine, Dutchess  and  Putnam  Counties 
Medical  Society.  He  is  a  member  of 
Triune  Lodge,  No.  782,  Free  and  Accep- 
ted Masons,  Poughkeepsie,  and  is  afifili- 
ated  with  the  Presbyterian  Church.  His 
club  memberships  are  in  the  Anvita  and 
Dutchess  Golf  and  Country  Clubs  of 
Poughkeepsie  and  the  New  York  Yacht 
Club  of  New  York  City. 

Dr.  Owsley  married,  January  10,  1900, 
Gertrude  Fowler,  daughter  of  Dr.  George 


B.  and  Anna  (Prince)  Fowler,  of  Irving- 
ton-on-the-Hudson,  New  York.  Her 
father  was  health  commissioner  under 
Mayor  Strong  of  New  York  City,  a  promi- 
nent member  of  the  Union  League  Club 
of  that  city,  and  was  twice  elected  presi- 
dent of  the  New  York  County  Medical 
Society.  Mrs.  Owsley,  on  the  maternal 
side  (Prince)  comes  of  an  old  and  promi- 
nent family  of  Irvington-on-the-Hudson. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Owsley  are  the  parents  of 
four  children:  i.  Gertrude,  educated  at 
Gardner's  School,  New  York,  married 
Thomas  Crowley,  of  Poughkeepsie.  2. 
Margaret,  educated  at  Wellesley  College. 
3.  Natalie.     4.  Harriet. 


EVERETT,  Marvin  N., 

Man  of  Varied  Enterprises. 

The  name  Everett  is  derived,  accord- 
ing to  two  noted  authorities  on  English 
nomenclature,  Bardsley  and  Harrison,  from 
Old  English,  French,  and  Teutonic  word 
forms,  the  former  translating  them  as 
boar  plus  brave,  the  latter  as  boar  plus 
counsel.  The  name  was  originally  doubt- 
less a  descriptive  title  designating  its 
bearer  as  the  possessor  of  staunch,  aggres- 
sive courage  or  keen  sagacity.  The  first 
form  was  Everard,  the  next  change 
Evered,  and  then  the  final  "d"  was  sharp- 
ened into  "t"  in  Everett.  A  distinguished 
record  in  civil,  military,  and  religious 
callings  has  been  written  in  the  family 
name  in  England,  and  its  American  his- 
tory dates  from  1636,  when  Richard  Ever- 
ett founded  a  numerous  progeny  in  New 
England.  The  Everett  family  herein  men- 
tioned, however,  records  its  first  annals  in 
this  country  at  a  later  period  through 
John  Everett,  though  its  origin  traces 
back  to  the  same  common  ancestor  in 
England.  The  family  coat-of-arms  is  as 
follows: 


^wxtii 


3r     ^, 


^i-W^  0.  S>-^^-^^r<jpr 


Sy^/yxadefA^    ma^^y)<  Q^m-^-^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Arms — Gules,  a  chevron  paly  of  eight  or  and 
azure,  between  three  mullets  argent ;  a  bordure 
wavy  of  the  second. 

Crest — A  griffin's  head  sable  erased  gules  charged 
with  three  barrulets,  that  in  the  middle  argent,  the 
other  two  or,  over  all  a  pallet  wavy  ermine. 

Motto — Festina  lentc. 

(I)  The  first  generation  of  this  Hne  of 
the  Everett  family  of  whom  there  is  rec- 
ord extant  was  a  Rev.  Everett,  a  Presby- 
terian minister  of  England,  who  remained 
in  that  country  all  of  his  life.  The  name 
of  John  is  a  tradition  in  the  family,  and  it 
is  probable  that  this  was  the  name  he 
bore.  He  was  the  father  of  an  only  child, 
John  Everett,  the  immigrant  ancestor, 
who  came  to  this  country  about  1770. 

(II)  John  Everett,  founder  of  his  line 
in  America,  was  a  young  man  of  venture- 
some spirit  and  independent  nature,  and 
did  not  come  kindly  under  the  strong  reli- 
gious discipline  of  his  father,  the  Rev. 
Everett.  Consequently,  in  early  young 
manhood,  he  came  to  America  with  two 
other  youths  of  his  own  age,  arriving  in 
New  York  about  1770.  He  followed  the 
Hudson  River  northward,  and  settled  in 
Saratoga  County,  New  York,  this  being 
the  first  definite  location  of  this  branch  of 
the  Everett  family  in  America.  Accord- 
ing to  family  history,  he  was  a  Revolu- 
tionary soldier,  and  fought  in  the  Ameri- 
can army  in  battles  and  campaigns  in  the 
neighborhood  of  his  home.  Records  show 
that  John  Everett  is  listed  as  a  private  in 
Colonel  Malcom's  regiment  and  in  the 
Third  Regiment  of  Orange  County  Mili- 
tia during  the  Revolutionary  War.  John 
Everett  married,  and  had  two  sons:  i. 
John,  of  whom  further.    2.  Daniel. 

(III)  John  Everett,  son  of  John  Ever- 
ett, the  immigrant  ancestor,  was  born 
about  1795,  in  Saratoga  County,  New 
York.  He  became  a  manufacturer  of 
measures,  and  his  products  were  periodi- 
cally shipped  down  the  Hudson  River  to 
New  York  City,  where  they  were  sold  in 


the  open  market.  He  was  the  owner  of  a 
substantial  business,  and  acquired  title  to 
considerable  land  in  Saratoga  County ; 
two  parcels  were  deeded  to  him  in  1820 
and  1836.  He  remained  in  Saratoga 
County  many  years,  then  moved  to  Ful- 
ton County,  New  York,  locating  at  Cran- 
berry Creek,  where  he  died  at  the  age  of 
fifty-five  years. 

Mr.  Everett  married,  in  Saratoga 
County,  New  York,  about  1822-23,  Eliza- 
beth Walker,  daughter  of  John  Walker, 
of  New  York.  (See  Walker  VI.)  Eliza- 
beth (Walker)  Everett  was  a  devout 
Christian,  finding  in  religious  work  and 
belief  the  inspiration  for  a  life,  that,  at 
its  best,  lacked  many  of  the  comforts  and 
pleasures  of  the  present  day.  To  her  fam- 
ily she  was  devotion  itself,  and  to  them 
she  transmitted  her  many  excellent  quali- 
ties of  mind  and  heart,  a  strong  intellectu- 
ality, a  love  of  literature  and  reverence  for 
the  word  of  God.  She  was  an  ideal  home- 
maker,  spun  the  family  garments,  and 
performed  much  of  the  work  of  the  house 
herself,  making  it  a  place  where  her  fam- 
ily, relatives,  and  their  friends,  loved  to 
gather.  She  died  in  1881,  at  Falconer, 
New  York,  where  she  had  removed  in 
later  years  with  her  children.  John  and 
Elizabeth  (Walker)  Everett  were  the  par- 
ents of  eight  children,  as  follows  :  i.  John, 
of  whom  further.  2.  Marvin  N.,  of  whom 
further.  3.  Benjamin,  died  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  years.  4.  Nelson,  died  at  the 
age  of  fifteen  years.  5.  Miranda,  died  at 
the  age  of  eighteen  years.  6.  Washing- 
ton, married  Mary  Adams ;  he  was  a 
farmer  by  occupation,  and  also  was  a 
Civil  War  veteran ;  he  died  in  1875.  7. 
William,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years.  8.  Melvin,  a  carpenter  by  trade, 
and  the  only  surviving  member  of  the 
family  ;  he  resides  at  Falconer,  New  York, 
and  is  unmarried. 

(IV)   John    Everett,   son   of  John   and 


87 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Elizabeth  (Walker)  Everett,  was  born  in 
Saratoga  County,  New  York,  February 
i8,  1825.  He  worked  at  home  with  his 
father,  like  his  brother,  Marvin  N.,  and 
when  a  young  man  removed  to  Chautau- 
qua County,  New  York.  He  became  a 
builder  of  flat  boats,  in  association  with 
his  brother,  Marvin  N.,  on  which  they 
shipped  various  cargoes  down  the  Alle- 
gheny River  to  the  Ohio,  thence  to  Pitts- 
burgh, Pennsylvania,  where  their  pro- 
ducts were  sold  in  the  market.  He  pros- 
pered in  this  enterprise,  and  later  became 
a  manufacturer  of  sash  and  doors,  and 
one  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  Fal- 
coner, New  York. 

Mr.  Everett  married  Elizabeth  Yaw, 
and  to  them  were  born  the  following  chil- 
dren :  I.  Martha  F.,  who  became  the  wife 
of  Jackson  C.  Meredith,  a  business  man 
of  Jamestown.  2.  Walter  R.,  of  whom 
further.  3.  John,  Jr.,  married  Jennie 
Young,  by  whom  he  had  three  children. 

(IV)  Marvin  N.  Everett,  son  of  John 
and  Elizabeth  (Walker)  Everett,  was 
born  at  Maxon  Hill,  Saratoga  County, 
New  York,  March  24,  1828,  and  died  in 
Jamestown,  New  York,  February  4,  1909, 
aged  eighty  years,  eleven  months  and 
twenty  days,  and  was  buried  in  Lake 
View  Cemetery.  His  youth  was  passed 
in  Saratoga  County,  in  association  with 
his  father,  who  was  a  manufacturer  of 
measures.  In  1850,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
two  years,  the  young  man  left  home  and 
made  his  way  westward,  finally  locating 
at  Worksburg,  now  Falconer,  Chautau- 
qua County,  New  York.  There,  with  his 
brother,  John,  he  engaged  in  the  building 
of  flat  boats,  which  they  loaded  with  pro- 
duce and  sent  down  the  Allegheny  River 
to  Pittsburgh.  In  1854  he  sold  his  busi- 
ness interests  at  Falconer  to  his  brother, 
and  spent  the  following  six  years  in  the 
State  of  California,  as  a  millwright  in 
Sacramento,  and  later  located  in  Trinity 


County,  where  he  became  a  successful 
gold  miner.  In  i860  he  returned  to  Chau- 
tauqua County,  New  York,  and  bought  a 
large  farm  in  the  town  of  Gerry,  which  he 
owned  and  conducted  for  five  years.  In 
1866  he  married,  and  later  went  West  on 
account  of  his  wife's  health,  locating  in 
Kansas.  There  Mr.  Everett  bought  con- 
siderable land,  and  also  engaged  in  the 
brokerage  business  in  Minneapolis,  Kan- 
sas. After  spending  two  years  in  Kansas, 
he  again  returned  to  Chautauqua  County, 
New  York,  locating  in  the  town  of  Gerry. 

After  the  death  of  his  wife  he  made  his 
home  in  Falconer,  where  he  married 
again,  in  1875,  and  in  1881  built  a  fine  resi- 
dence in  Falconer,  which  he  occupied 
until  1895,  then  moved  to  Jamestown.  In 
1887  Mr.  Everett  drew  plans  and  built  the 
Hotel  Everett  on  West  First  Street, 
Jamestown,  at  a  cost  of  $50,000.  This 
was  a  substantial  building  of  brick  and 
stone,  five  stories  in  height,  well  ap- 
pointed, and  one  of  the  leading  hotels  in 
its  day.  He  continued  owner  of  the  hotel 
until  1892,  when  he  sold  it  and  retired 
from  active  business. 

Mr.  Everett  was  very  fond  of  mechani- 
cal work,  a  genius  in  many  ways,  fond  of 
scientific  studies,  and  a  constant  reader. 
He  also  at  one  time  had  quite  an  exten- 
sive apiary,  and  was  deeply  interested  in 
bee  culture,  to  which  he  devoted  much 
time  and  study.  Strictly  temperate  him- 
self, he  strongly  advocated  the  cause  of 
temperance  in  the  most  pronounced  way, 
and  to  his  interest  and  generosity  the 
building  of  the  First  Methodist  Church  of 
Falconer  is  due.  The  beautiful  house  on 
Main  Street,  Falconer,  was  sold  by  Mr. 
Everett  in  1895,  and  a  residence  estab- 
lished at  No.  105  West  Second  Street, 
Jamestown,  where  he  resided  until  his 
death.  He  was  a  Republican  in  politics, 
and  strictly  adhered  to  the  policies  of  his 
party.    He  was  ever  interested  in  the  wcl- 


THE    EVERETT     HOTEL     AT     J  AME  S  T  O  WN  „   N  .  Y, 
BUILT     BY     MARVIN    N.    EVERETT      IN     IS87 


S5 

O    > 
< 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


fare  of  the  community  and  gave  much  of 
his  time  and  material  assistance  to  pub- 
lic-spirited movements. 

Mr.  Everett  married  (first),  June  23, 
1866,  Emily  J.  Perry,  daughter  of  Ebene- 
zer  and  Susan  (Coil)  Perry.  He  married 
(second),  March  3,  1875,  Viola  De  Ette 
Oburg,  born  November  14,  1854,  daugh- 
ter of  Oscar  and  Bebe  (Wellman)  Oburg, 
of  Ashville,  Chautauqua  County,  New 
York.  (See  Oburg  III.)  Mrs.  Everett 
survives  her  husband,  a  woman  of 
forceful  character,  business  ability,  and 
womanly  virtues.  She  was  always  a  true 
partner  and  helpmate,  and  of  real  assist- 
ance to  her  husband  in  his  business  under- 
takings. When  his  health  failed  she 
assumed  the  management  of  the  Hotel 
Everett  and  so  continued  until  that  prop- 
erty was  sold.  In  1908  she  occupied  the 
Marvin  House  of  twenty-one  rooms,  and 
in  1909  she  bought  the  property  from  the 
heirs  of  the  Isabelle  Marvin  estate  and 
has  since  operated  it  with  success.  She 
also  built,  adjoining  the  Marvin  House,  a 
three-story  brick  block,  the  first  story 
now  occupied  by  the  American  Railway 
Express  Company  and  the  Williamson 
Veneer  Company.  The  upper  stories  con- 
stitute the  Lawrence  Hotel.  In  addition 
to  these  properties,  Mrs.  Everett  is  the 
owner  of  other  valuable  real  estate  in 
Jamestown,  where  she  is  known  and  rec- 
ognized as  a  woman  of  rare  executive 
ability.  She  is  of  deeply  charitable  im- 
pulse and  interested  in  all  public  move- 
ments for  the  good  of  her  community. 
She  has  a  host  of  friends  and  is  highly 
esteemed.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Everett  were 
without  children. 

(V)  Walter  R.  Everitt,  son  of  John 
and  Elizabeth  (Yaw)  Everett  (the  for- 
mer speUing  his  name  "Everitt"  and  the 
latter  "Everett"),  was  born  March  16, 
1855,  in  Falconer,  Chautauqua  County, 
New  York.    He  was  educated  in  the  com- 


mon schools  of  Falconer,  and  in  the 
Jamestown  High  School.  At  the  age  of 
twenty  years  he  went  to  the  State  of  Kan- 
sas, remaining  for  a  year  on  account  of 
poor  health,  then  returned  East,  going  to 
Bradford,  Pennsylvania,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  wagon  manufacturing  busi- 
ness with  a  Mr.  Larson.  In  those  days 
there  were  no  pipe  lines  to  convey  the  crude 
oil  found  in  the  oil  fields  about  Bradford, 
and  wagon-making  was  an  allied  indus- 
try, thus  the  wagons  made  by  Mr.  Everitt 
were  used  to  transport  oil  to  market.  A 
few  years  were  spent  here  and  then  he 
returned  to  his  native  town.  Falconer, 
where  he  assumed  the  management  of  the 
affairs  of  his  father's  estate.  In  1887  he 
built  a  large  warehouse  and  grist  mill  in 
Falconer  and  took  in  as  a  partner  Well- 
ington Warner.  After  Mr.  Warner's 
death  in  1899,  Mr.  Everitt  sold  the  mill 
and  retired  from  active  business  life.  He 
lived  retired  in  Falconer  until  the  latter 
part  of  1905,  when  he  went  to  San  Diego, 
California,  to  benefit  his  health,  remain- 
ing a  year  and  a  half ;  he  then  came  East 
to  look  after  some  of  his  interests.  He 
left  Falconer  a  second  time  for  California, 
and  his  health  was  seemingly  improved 
by  travel  and  change  of  climate ;  in  1908 
he  became  connected  with  a  biological 
station  at  La  Jolla  in  a  minor  position. 
This  station  has  since  become  the  Scripps 
Institution  for  Biological  Research  of  the 
University  of  California.  Here  Mr.  Ever- 
itt acquired  much  knowledge,  training, 
and  experience  in  the  study  of  biology, 
his  studies  at  La  Jolla  being  to  collect  and 
care  for  molluscs,  fish  and  various  other 
marine  animals.  In  the  course  of  time  it 
was  recommended  by  Dr.  Ritter,  who  was 
director  of  the  station,  that  Mr.  Everitt 
be  transferred  to  the  University  at  Ber- 
keley. The  recommendation  was  accepted 
by  the  faculty  and  subsequently  he  was 
with  the  department  of  zoology  for  sev- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


eral  years.  During  his  residence  in  Cali- 
fornia he  made  a  large  personal  collec- 
tion of  things  pertaining  to  biology  and 
one  of  the  finest  assortments  of  sea  shells 
known  in  this  country.  The  shells  are 
now  being  prepared  and  will  be  presented 
presently  to  the  University  of  California 
as  the  Walter  R.  Everitt  collection.  In 
191 1  he  returned  a  third  time  to  Falconer 
and  remained  eight  years,  until  Novem- 
ber 30,  1919,  when  most  of  his  interests 
here  were  settled.  He  then  decided  to  go 
to  La  Jolla,  California,  establish  a  home 
and  there  spend  the  remainder  of  his  life 
His  health  was  apparently  good,  having 
improved  from  its  condition  in  earlier  life, 
and  his  sudden  death  from  heart  trouble 
came  as  a  great  shock  to  his  wife,  rela- 
tives, and  friends,  September  30,  1920.  He 
was  laid  at  rest  in  Pine  Hill  Cemetery, 
Falconer,  New  York. 

Mr.  Everitt  was  a  man  of  retiring 
nature  and  did  not  indulge  in  fraternal 
or  club  life,  being  a  great  lover  of  the 
home.  His  recreation  was  one  of  study, 
being  a  constant  reader.  He  did  consid- 
erable research  work  during  his  leisure 
moments  in  the  study  and  collection  of 
marine  life.  He  was  a  true  student  of 
nature,  very  fond  of  travel,  and  a  keen 
observer.  Another  of  his  favorite  pastimes 
was  to  care  for  his  garden,  in  which  he 
did  much  to  develop  horticulture  and  agri- 
culture. He  was  a  strong  advocate  of 
outdoor  life,  as  has  been  shown  by  his 
outdoor  activities.  In  politics  he  was 
afifiliated  with  the  Republican  party,  but 
independent  and  progressive  with  his 
vote,  and  in  religion,  while  he  was  not  a 
member  of  any  church,  his  life  was  lived 
as  that  of  a  true  Christian. 

Mr.  Everitt  married  (first),  in  1895, 
Catherine  Cryan,  of  Dunkirk,  New  York ; 
she  died  in  1902.  He  married  (second), 
in  1920,  Mrs.  Ada  (Pew)  Mayo,  of 
Helena,  Montana,  daughter  of  George  W. 


Pew.  Mr.  Pew  was  a  graduate  of  Cornell 
University,  and  held  life  certificates  as  a 
teacher  in  the  States  of  New  York,  Wis- 
consin, and  Iowa. 

(The  Walker  Line). 

Anns — Gules,  a  fesse  between  a  mullet  in  chief 
and  a  dove  or,  holding  in  the  beak  a  sprig  of 
laurel  vert. 

Walker  has  a  derivation  extremely  in- 
teresting, coming  from  the  occupation 
generally  known  under  the  name  "fuller." 
In  some  countries  these  workers  were 
called  walkers  because  they  trod  or 
stamped  with  their  feet  upon  the  cloth. 
Piers  Plowman,  A.  D.  1362-1400  describes 
the  process : 

Cloth  that  Cometh  fro  the  wevyng, 
Is  nought  comely  to  wear 
Till  it  be  fulled  under  foot. 

In  the  extraordinary  ruins  of  Pompeii, 
there  is  a  house  that  was  once  owned  by 
fullers.  One  of  the  men  of  the  family  had 
the  rooms  decorated  with  mosaics,  repre- 
senting scenes  from  the  life  of  a  fuller, 
and  we  can  see  that  the  process  of  fulling 
was  the  same  then  as  in  much  later 
periods,  Under  the  rule  of  ancient  Rome 
and  also  in  Greece,  fullers  held  an  impor- 
tant position,  for  their  profession  was  con- 
sidered a  highly  skilled  one  and  they  were 
the  caterers  to  the  luxury  of  the  age  as 
goldsmiths  were. 

Many  men  bearing  the  name  Walker 
have  been  distinguished  in  the  army  and 
navy  of  Great  Britain.  Sir  Charles  P.  B. 
Walker,  who  was  born  near  Bristol,  Octo- 
ber 7,  1817,  served  as  aide-de-camp  to 
Lord  Lucan  in  the  Crimean  War ;  he  was 
promoted  to  the  rank  of  major-general, 
December  29,  1873.  Sir  George  Town- 
send  Walker,  who  was  born  May  25,  1764, 
was  a  noted  soldier,  holding  high  rank  in 
the  army. 

Amasa  Walker  is  noted  in  the  United 
States  as  an  economist,  and  his  son  Fran- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


cis  A.  Walker,  served  as  a  brigadier- 
general  in  the  Civil  War,  and  was  also 
prominent  as  a  writer  on  educational  and 
historical  subjects.  Many  members  of 
the  Walker  family  have  been  United 
States  Senators  and  Congressmen. 

(I)  John  Walker,  who  died  at  Marsh- 
field,  Massachusetts,  December  ii,  1663, 
first  settled  in  Marshfield,  in  1643.  He 
took  the  oath  of  fidelity  in  1657.  Tradi- 
tion says  that  he  was  a  Quaker.  He  mar- 
ried, October  20,  1654,  Lydia  Reed,  of 
Marshfield,  Massachusetts.  Her  mother 
was  Mrs.  Margaret  (Reed)  Rowland. 
Issue  :    I.  Lydia,  born  September  20,  1655. 

2.  John,  of  whom  further.  3.  Martha.  4. 
Mary. 

(II)  John  W'alker,  son  of  John  and 
Lydia  (Reed)  Walker,  was  born  in  Marsh- 
field, Massachusetts,  October  26,  1657, 
and  died  in  the  same  town  in  1747.  His 
will  was  proved  August  8,  1747.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and 
was  a  blacksmith  by  trade.  He  married 
Bethiah  Norcut,  and  they  had  two  chil- 
dren: I.  Isaac,  who  died  1750.  2.  John, 
of  whom  further. 

(HI)  John  Walker,  son  of  John  and 
Bethiah  (Norcut)  Walker,  was  born  in 
Marshfield,  Massachusetts,  and  died  there 
some  time  before  1747.  At  one  time  he 
was  living  at  Dartmouth,  Massachusetts. 
He  married,  but  his  wife's  name  is  not 
known.  Issue:  i.  Mary,  born  November 
16,  1720.  2.  Hannah,  born  January  7,  1722. 

3.  John,  of  whom  further.  4.  Genevra, 
born  June  12,  1729.  5.  Keziah,  born  Sep- 
tember 16,  1730. 

(IV)  John  Walker,  son  of  John  Walker, 
was  born  in  Dartmouth,  Massachusetts, 
April  12,  1725,  and  died  at  Stillwater, 
Saratoga  County,  New  York,  July  4,  1804. 
He  married  Margaret  Mosher,  daughter 
of  Joseph  and  Mehitable  Mosher.  Issue: 
I.  Mehitable,  born  May  12,  1748,  died  in 
Peru.    Clinton    County,    New    York.      2. 


Walter,  born  December  10,  1749,  died  in 
Macedon,  Wayne  County,  New  York.  3. 
Sarah,  born  January  30,  1751,  died  1843. 
She  married  David  Shephard,  one  of 
the  early  settlers  of  Saratoga,  Saratoga 
County,  New  York.  4.  Nathaniel,  born 
January  30,  1754,  died  in  1838  in  Macedon, 
Wayne  County,  New  York.  5.  John,  of 
whom  further.  6.  Isaac,  born  May  17, 
1759-  7-  Mary,  born  May  11,  1768;  mar- 
ried Nicholas  Barker,  of  Saratoga. 

(V)  John  Walker,  son  of  John  and 
Margaret  (Mosher)  Walker,  was  born  in 
Dartmouth,  Massachusetts,  August  29, 
1757,  and  died  in  Stillwater,  Saratoga 
County,  New  York,  August  7,  1840.  He 
lived  in  Saratoga,  in  Watertown,  and  in 
Stillwater.  By  trade  he  was  a  blacksmith, 
and  was  noted  by  his  exemplary  char- 
acter.    He  was  a  Quaker. 

In  the  vital  statistics  and  various  rec- 
ords we  have  had  access  to,  we  find  that 
this  John  Walker  was  the  only  John 
Walker  who  lived  in  these  various  towns 
at  his  time.  We  cannot,  however,  find 
positive  proof  that  he  is  the  father  of  Eliz- 
abeth, of  present  interest,  but  we  do  find 
that  he  had  three  children,  and  others ;  it 
is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  he  was  the 
father  of  Elizabeth,  since  we  know  that 
her  father  was  a  John  Walker,  and  that 
her  father  was  a  resident  of  Dartmouth, 
Stillwater,  and  Saratoga,  and  that  he  was 
born  and  died  at  about  the  same  dates  as 
recorded  above.  He  married  about  1777, 
Lydia  Smith,  who  was  born  at  Hilleston, 
Massachusetts,  August  23,  1757,  and  died 
March  28,  1837.  Issue:  i.  Robert,  born 
October  19,  1778;  he  lived  in  Saratoga, 
New  York,  and  married  Patience  Mosher. 
2.  Joseph,  born  July  21,  1780,  lived  in  Sar- 
atoga. He  married  Lydia  Walker,  daugh- 
ter of  Archibald  Walker,  of  Argyleshire, 
Scotland,  and  Saratoga,  New  York.  3. 
Lucy,  born  November  9,  1783;  married 
John  Wing,  of  Saratoga.    4.  Lucina,  mar- 


91 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ried  Hezekiah  Tyrell.  5.  John,  who  lived 
and  died  in  Corning,  New  York.  6.  Eliz- 
abeth, of  whom  further.  7.  Kate,  who 
married  and  lived  in  Cleveland. 

(VI)  Elizabeth  Walker,  daughter  of 
John  Walker,  was  born  in  Saratoga,  New 
York,  December  13,  1800,  and  died  in  Fal- 
coner, New  York,  in  1881.  She  married 
about  1822-23,  John  Everett.  (See  Ever- 
ett III.) 

(The  Oburg-Oberg  Line). 

Arms — Or,  two  lozenges  conjoined  in  fesse  sable. 
Crest— Out  of  a  tube  or  three  peacock  plumes 
proper,  charged  with  two  lozenges  of  the  shield. 
Supporters — Two  lions   rampant  reguardant  or. 

The  name  Oburg  is  one  of  old  origin  in 
Sweden,  and  many  people  bearing  it  are 
of  high  station  in  life ;  this  is  evidenced 
by  the  fact  that  several  of  Sweden's  fore- 
most citizens  bear  this  name.  The  life  of 
Oscar  Oburg,  of  which  this  narrative 
chiefly  deals,  is  one  which  bears  out  the 
traditions  of  the  Oburg  family. 

(I)  This  line  of  the  Oburg  family  of 
Sweden  was  founded  in  the  United  States 
by  Peter  Oburg,  who  was  born  near 
Stockholm,  Sweden,  and  lived  there  until 
1849,  when  he  and  his  family  emigrated 
to  America,  arriving  in  New  York  City. 
From  New  York  City  he  came  to  Chau- 
tauqua County,  New  York,  by  the  way  of 
Bufifalo  and  Dunkirk,  thence  to  James- 
town, mostly  by  boat  and  stage  coach. 

Mr.  Oburg  married,  in  his  native  land, 
Margaret,  surname  unknown,  and  to  them 
were  born  five  children  before  coming  to 
this  country.  Issue:  i.  Caroline,  mar- 
ried John  Anderson,  and  they  lived  near 
Sugar  Grove,  Pennsylvania,  later  at  Red 
Wing,  Minnesota,  where  they  died.  2. 
Mary,  died  young,  unmarried.  3.  Pontius, 
married  Mary  ;  they  went  to  In- 
diana, where  both  died  at  an  early  age.  4. 
Oscar,  of  whom  further.  5.  Frank,  mar- 
ried   Eliza    ;    he    went    to    Peoria, 

Illinois;  during  the  Civil  War  he  enlisted 


in  the  army,  and  served  for  four  years, 
taking  part  in  many  important  battles. 

(II)  Oscar  Oburg,  son  of  Peter  and 
Margaret  Oburg,  was  born  February  25, 
1833,  near  Stockholm,  Sweden.  At  the 
age  of  sixteen  he  came  to  this  country 
with  his  parents,  and  upon  his  arrival  in 
Jamestown,  New  York,  he  found  employ- 
ment at  the  old  Shaw  Hotel  in  this  city, 
which  was  located  at  the  corner  of  Main 
and  West  Third  streets,  the  site  now 
occupied  by  the  Prendergast  block.  The 
Shaw  Hotel  was  a  regular  stop  for  stage 
coaches,  then  practically  the  only  means 
of  travel,  a  change  of  horses  being  neces- 
sary at  the  hotel  stables,  and  it  was  here 
that  the  young  man  secured  his  first  em- 
ployment. Later,  Oscar  Oburg  went  to 
Ashville,  Chautauqua  County,  New  York, 
where  for  some  time  he  was  engaged  in 
the  tailoring  business,  having  learned  the 
trade  in  his  native  land.  He  remained  in 
this  business  for  some  time,  subsequently 
becoming  interested  in  the  shoe  business, 
which  he  continued  until  after  the  Civil 
War,  when  he  turned  his  attention  to 
farming,  following  this  calling  until  old 
age  compelled  his  retirement.  Mr.  Oburg 
was  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  was 
active  on  the  local  town  election  boards ; 
a  devoted  member  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  of  Ashville  for  more  than 
sixty-six  years.  He  was  greatly  inter- 
ested in  church  work,  being  at  various 
times  steward,  trustee,  class  leader,  super- 
intendent of  the  Sunday  school,  and  filled 
various  other  offices.  He  was  a  man  of 
high  religious  character,  kindhearted.  and 
beloved  by  all  who  knew  him.  From  an 
humble  immigrant  boy  he  arose  to  a  sta- 
tion of  high  respect  and  esteem  in  his 
community. 

Oscar  Oburg  married,  in  Ashville,  Feb- 
ruary 27,  1852,  Bebe  Wellman,  daughter 
of  Barnabas  and  Pamela  (Bullock)  Well- 
man.     (See  Wellman  Line.)     Mrs.  Bebe 


92 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


(Wellman)  Oburg,  like  her  husband,  was 
a  devoted  Christian  affiliated  with  the 
Ashville  Church  from  the  age  of  fifteen 
years.  Oscar  Oburg-  died  at  Ashville, 
April  9,  1919,  aged  eighty-six  years.  His 
wife  died  at  Ashville,  April  i,  1918,  aged 
eighty-three  years.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Oburg 
were  the  parents  of  six  children,  all  born 
in  Ashville,  Chautauqua  County,  New 
York.  They  are:  i.  Elon  Medford,  born 
December  20,  1852;  a  farmer  in  Busti, 
Chautauqua  County,  New  York ;  married 
Mary  Sherman.  2.  Viola  De  Ette,  of  whom 
further.  3.  Nina  Melinda,  born  October 
26,  1856;  resides  at  the  family  homestead 
at  Ashville;  unmarried.  4.  Lelia  Chris- 
tina, born  March  20,  1859;  married  (first) 
John  C.  Walter,  deceased;  she  married 
(second)  Rollin  Lee,  a  business  man  in 
Ashville.  5.  Abbie  Derutha,  born  Janu- 
ary J,  1861 ;  became  the  wife  of  Charles 
Wellman,  who  is  connected  with  a  large 
industry  in  Jamestown,  New  York.  6. 
Victor  Francis,  born  April  9,  1863,  a  rail- 
road man  in  Pittsburgh,  Pennsylvania ; 
married  Irene  Grunder. 

(Ill)  Viola  De  Ette  Oburg,  daughter 
of  Oscar  and  Bebe  (Wellman)  Oburg, 
married  Marvin  N.  Everett.  (See  Ever- 
ett IV.) 

(The   Wellman   Line). 

Arms — Argent,  on  a  bend  gules  between  two 
apples  vert,  three  mullets  or. 

Crest — A  demi-lion  argent  holding  between  his 
paws  an  apple  as  in  the  arms  charged  with  a  mul- 
let or. 

Motto — Dei  providcntia  jiivaf. 

Wellman  as  a  family  quite  evidently 
took  its  name  from  the  city  of  Wells  in 
Somersetshire,  England,  which,  in  turn, 
obtained  its  name  from  a  well  called  St. 
Andrew's  Well,  near  the  bishop's  palace, 
and  from  the  fact  that  the  founder  of  the 
family  had  received  from  one  of  the 
bishops  charge  of  St.  Andrew's  Well,  and 
had  been  called  at  first  John  the  Well- 
man,    or   William    the    Well-man,    which 


later  became  John  or  William  Wellman. 
The  name  has  been  variously  spelled  as 
Wellman,  Wellmane,  Wellmon,  Welman, 
Welmon.  Welmin,  Wilman,  Wilmon, 
Willman.  Willmon,  Willsman,  Wellsman, 
and  Weelman.  In  America  the  practice 
of  spelling  this  name  as  Wellman  began 
quite  early  and  has  increased  in  practice 
until  it  is  nearly  universally  used  by  all 
of  the  family  here. 

The  genealogy  and  history  of  the  Well- 
man  family  and  its  origin  in  the  Old 
World  has  been  searched  with  some  suc- 
cess. Investigation  in  this  country  seems 
to  show  that  the  early  immigrant  Well- 
mans  were  only  two  in  number,  Thomas 
Wellman  and  William  Wellman.  How- 
ever, family  recollection  points  to  a  third, 
in  the  person  of  Barnabas  Wellman.  The 
name  Barnabas  has  been  carried  through 
several  generations  and  it  is  thought  that 
a  Barnabas  may  have  been  one  of  the 
immigrants,  and,  if  not,  at  least  one  of  the 
sons  of  William  Wellman. 

Thomas  Wellman  was  in  Lynn,  Massa- 
chusetts, as  early  as  1640.  He  bought 
land,  lived  and  died  in  Lynn  End  (now 
Lynnfield),   Massachusetts. 

William  Wellman  was  in  Marshfield. 
Massachusetts,  as  early  as  1642,  but 
moved  that  year  to  Gloucester,  Massachu- 
setts, and  thence,  in  1650,  to  New  Lon- 
don, Connecticut,  and  a  few  years  later 
to  Killingworth,  Connecticut,  where  he 
died. 

There  is  a  line  of  seven  generations 
bearing  the  name  of  Barnabas  Wellman, 
the  first  of  whom  there  is  any  information 
being  a  Captain  Barnabas  Wellman,  a 
sea-faring  man,  who  made  voyages  be- 
tween America  and  China.  On  one  of 
these  voyages  he  brought  home  a  set  of 
china  dishes,  a  picture  of  his  ship  on  each, 
and  these  were  long  preserved  in  the  fam- 
ily;  another  Barnabas  Wellman,  who 
represented  the  family  in   the  American 


93 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Revolution ;  and  last,  a  Barnabas  Well- 
man,  who  was  an  early  settler  in  Chau- 
tauqua County,  New  York. 

Barnabas  Wellman,  the  Revolutionary 
soldier,  was  born  August  15,  1756,  in  Kill- 
ingworth,  Connecticut.  According  to  rec- 
ords, he  was  a  drum  major  in  the  War  of 
of  the  Revolution.  His  brother  and  sis- 
ters were :  Freelove,  born  May  22,  1753  ; 
Molly,  born  March  13,  1755;  and  Paul, 
born  April  15,  1757.  He  married,  and  had 
the  following  children:  i.  James,  born 
November  30,  1783.  2.  Homer,  born 
March  9,  1786.  3.  Barnabas,  of  whom 
further.  4.  Ford,  bo'rn  January  3,  1796.  5. 
Leander,  born  October  14,  1801.  There 
were  also  two  daughters,  Millie  and 
Hannah. 

Barnabas  Wellman,  son  of  Barnabas 
Wellman,  the  Revolutionary  soldier,  was 
evidently  born  at  Killingworth,  Connecti- 
cut, September  16,  1793.  He  is  later 
recorded  among  the  first  settlers  of  Chau- 
tauqua County,  New  York,  having  located 
in  the  town  of  Ashville.  He  had  a  small 
farm  there,  but  he  was  chiefly  occupied 
as  a  stone  mason,  and  it  is  said  that  he 
was  a  man  of  strong  character,  very  reli- 
gious, and  preached  in  the  village  church 
in  the  absence  of  the  local  minister.  He 
was  noted  for  his  fine  voice,  which  he 
used  in  connection  with  his  church  work 
and  local  entertainments.  He  was  a  kind- 
hearted  man,  reverenced  by  all,  and  known 
to  the  townsfolk  as  "Uncle  Barney." 

Mr.  Wellman  married  Pamela  Bullock, 
born  September  14,  1798,  daughter  of  Jon- 
athan and  Dorcas,  usually  called  Tabitha, 
(Cody)  Bullock,  the  granddaughter  of 
Jonathan  Bullock,  of  English  descent. 
(See  Bullock  VI.) 

Barnabas  and  Pamela  (Bullock)  Well- 
man  were  the  parents  of  nine  children,  all 
born  in  Ashville,  Chautauqua  County, 
New  York:  i.  Henry,  married  Alvira 
Pierce,  a  farmer  of  Three  Rivers,  Michi- 


gan. 2.  Malinda,  died  aged  ten  years.  3. 
Alfred,  married  Thedoca  Covey ;  he  was 
6  farmer  living  near  Three  Rivers,  Michi- 
gan. 4.  Matilda,  died  at  the  age  of  thirty ; 
unmarried.  5.  Barnabas,  married  Harriett 
Phelps;  he  was  the  owner  of  a  lumber 
mill  at  Cherry  Creek,  Chautauqua  County, 
New  York.  6.  Delila,  married  (first) 
Israel  Millard,  deceased ;  she  married 
(second)  Seymour  Millard,  an  oil  man  at 
Titusville,  Pennsylvania,  and  a  brother  of 
her  first  husband.  7.  Rachel,  married 
Alpheus  Alexander,  a  farmer  in  Har- 
mony, Chautauqua  County,  New  York.  8. 
Bebe,  of  whom  further.  9.  Lucinda,  mar- 
ried (first)  A.  Herrick,  deceased ;  she 
married  (second)  Nathaniel  Smith,  a 
farmer  of  Harmony,  Chautauqua  County, 
New  York. 

The  Wellmans  are  a  well-known  family 
in  Chautauqua  County,  New  York,  num- 
bered among  the  first  rank  citizens. 
Among  them  are  a  number  of  notable  pro- 
fessional and  business  men,  and  this  name 
stands  foremost  in  the  community. 

Bebe  Wellman,  daughter  of  Barnabas 
and  Pamela  (Bullock)  Wellman,  married 
Oscar  Oburg.    (See  Oburg  II.) 

(The   BuHock   Line). 

Amis — Gules,  a  chevron  ermine  between  three 
bulls'  heads  cabossed  argent,  armed  or. 

Crest — Five  Lochaber  axes  sable  encircled  by  a 
ribbon  or. 

Motto — Nil  consciie  sibi.  (Conscious  of  no 
wrong.) 

From  Berry's  "Essex"  the  Bullock  pedi- 
gree is  traced  in  the  following  manner: 

Richard  Bullock,  temp.  Henry  III. 

Gilbert  Bullock. 

Robert  Bullock,  temp.  Edward  I. 

Gilbert  Bullock. 

Robert  Bullock,  died  in  1405,  was  of 
County  Berks. 

Thomas  Bullock,  married  Alice  Yead- 
ing. 


94 


lUellman 


bullock 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Robert  Bullock,  of  County  Berks,  mar- 
ried Eleanor. 

Gilbert  Bullock,  married  Margaret  Nor- 
ris. 

Thomas  Bullock,  Esquire,  of  County 
Essex,  in  1566;  married  Alice  Kingsmill. 
Their  children  were  Richard,  Thomas, 
John,  George,  John,  and  William. 

(I)  Richard  Bullock  was  born  in  Essex 
County,  England,  in  1622,  and  died  in 
Rehoboth,  Massachusetts,  November  22, 
1667.  He  was  in  Rehoboth  as  early  as 
1643  ^"^d  left  the  town  soon  after  1644. 
The  Colonial  records  show  that  he  was 
made  a  freeman  in  May,  1646,  but  do  not 
indicate  his  residence  at  that  time.  In 
1656  he  removed  to  Newton,  Long  Island, 
but  soon  went  back  to  Rehoboth  and 
resided  there  until  his  death.  He  was  one 
of  the  fifty-eight  landed  proprietors  of 
Rehoboth.  On  June  22,  1658,  "at  a  town- 
meeting  lawfully  warned,  lots  were  drawn 
for  the  meadows  that  lie  on  the  north 
side  of  the  town,  in  order  as  followeth, 
according  to  person  and  estate."  Richard 
Bullock  drew  No.  19,  and  he  bought  the 
governor's  lot  valued  at  two  hundred 
pounds.  His  name  appears  on  the  records 
of  the  town  in  1643,  and  he  came  there  it 
is  said  with  Roger  Williams.  The  town 
records  recite:  "30th  of  the  nth  mo. 
(January),  1650,  quoted  to  agree  with 
Richard  Bullock  to  perform  the  office  of 
Town  Clerk ;  to  give  him  16  s.  a  year,  and 
to  be  paid  for  births,  burials  and  mar- 
riages besides."  He  married  (first),  at 
Rehoboth,  Massachusetts,  August  4,  1647, 
Elizabeth  Ingraham.  She  died  January 
7,  1659-60.  He  married  (second),  Sep- 
tember 21,  1660,  Elizabeth  Billington. 
Children  of  first  marriage :  i.  Samuel,  of 
whom  further.  2.  Elizabeth,  born  Octo- 
ber 9,  1650.  3.  Mary,  born  February  16, 
1652.  4.  Mehitable,  born  April  4,  1655.  5. 
Abigail,  born  August  29,  1657.  6.  Hope- 
still,  born  December  26,  1659.     Children 


of  second  marriage :  7.  Israel,  born  July 
15,  1661.  8.  Mercy,  born  March  13,  1662. 
9.  John,  born  March  19,  1664.  10.  Rich- 
ard, born  March  15,  1666-67. 

(II)  Deacon  Samuel  Bullock,  son  of 
Richard  and  Elizabeth  (Ingraham)  Bul- 
lock, was  born  in  Rehoboth,  Massachu- 
setts, August  19,  1648,  and  died  there 
March  10,  1717-18.  He  lived  at  Rehoboth, 
and  in  1710  he  was  a  member  of  a  com- 
pany of  Rehoboth  militia.  He  married 
(first),  November  12,  1673,  Mary  Thur- 
ber,  who  died  in  1674.  He  married  (sec- 
ond). May  26,  1675,  Thankful  Rouse. 
Child  of  first  marriage:  i.  Mary,  born 
October  5,  1674.  Children  of  second  mar- 
riage :  2.  Ebenezer,  born  February  22, 
1676.  3.  Thankful,  born  June  26,  1681.  4. 
Samuel,  born  November  7,  1683.  5.  Israel, 
born  April  9,  1687.  6.  Daniel,  born  in 
1689.  7.  Richard,  born  July  i,  1692.  8. 
Seth,  of  whom  further. 

(HI)  Seth  Bullock,  son  of  Deacon 
Samuel  and  Thankful  (Rouse)  Bullock, 
was  born  in  Rehoboth,  Massachusetts, 
September  26,  1693,  and  was  living  in 
1758.  His  residence  was  at  Rehoboth.  He 
married,  about  1718,  Experience,  surname 
unknown.  Children:  i.  Cordila,  born 
November  3,  1719.  2.  Hezekiah,  born  June 
13,  1722.  3.  Benjamin,  born  June  26, 
1725.  4.  Experience,  born  June  18,  1728. 
5.  Hannah,  born  January  4,  1730.  6.  Seth, 
born  May  26,  1733,  served  in  the  French 
and  Indian  War  (1758).  7.  Jonathan,  of 
whom  further.  8.  Shubael,  born  March 
31,  1738.  9.  Rebeckah,  born  July  7,  1739. 
10.  Ann,  born  November  23,  1741.  11. 
Barack,  born  December  9,  1744. 

(IV)  Jonathan  Bullock,  son  of  Seth  and 
Experience  Bullock,  was  born  in  Reho- 
both, Massachusetts,  February  17,  1736, 
and  died  of  quinsy  in  the  army  during  the 
French  and  Indian  War.  He  married,  in 
Rehoboth,  Massachusetts,  December  9, 
1758,  Bebe  Bowen,  who  was  born  in  Re- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


hoboth,  Massachusetts,  April  22,  1739, 
daughter  of  David  and  Hannah  Bowen. 
They  were  the  parents  of  Jonathan,  of 
whom  further. 

(V)  Jonathan  Bullock,  son  of  Jonathan 
and  Bebe  (Bowen)  Bullock,  was  born  in 
Rehoboth,  Massachusetts,  December  27, 
1759.  and  died  in  Panama,  Chautauqua 
County,  New  York.  His  name  is  on  the 
list  of  Captain  Cole's  Company  during  the 
Revolution  for  fifteen  months'  service.  In 
1790  he  was  of  Rehoboth,  Massachusetts, 
and  in  1797  removed  to  Ontario  County, 
New  York.  He  married,  January  28,  1788, 
Tabitha  Cody,  daughter  of  Joseph  and 
Mary  (Whitney)  Cody.  (See  Cody  III.) 
Children:  i.  Jonathan,  born  November 
7,  1788,  died  in  Panama,  New  York,  in 
1885.  2.  Bebe,  born  March  8,  1790,  died 
in  Sugar  Grove,  Pennsylvania,  in  1878.  3. 
William,  born  August  6,  1794,  died  in 
Busti,  New  York.  4.  Pamela,  of  whom 
further.  5.  Joseph,  born  April  18,  1803, 
died  in  Ontario  County,  New  York,  in 
young  manhood.  6.  Alfred,  died  young. 
7.  Mary  P.,  died  young.  8.  Shubael,  died 
young. 

(VI)  Pamela  Bullock,  daughter  of  Jon- 
athan and  Tabitha  (Cody)  Bullock,  was 
born  September  14,  1798,  died  in  Ashville, 
Chautauqua  County,  New  York,  in  1874. 
She  married  Barnabas  Wellman.  (See 
Wellman  line.) 

(The  Codey-Cody  Line). 

Arms — Argent,  three  piles  engrailed  sable,  on 
each  a  cross  pattee  fitchee  or. 

The  patronymic  Mc  Cody  is  a  corrup- 
tion of  the  name  Mac  Odo,  designating 
a  family  founded  in  Kilkenny,  Ireland, 
early  in  the  thirteenth  century,  by  Mac 
Odo  L'Ercedekne,  a  Norman.  Sir  Stephen 
L'Ercedekne  married  one  of  the  daughters 
and  co-heirs  of  Thomas  Fitz-Anthony, 
thereby  acquiring  lands  in  Leinster.  The 
land   was   the   ancient   Manor  of  Ogenti, 


which  became  the  Manor  of  Thomaston 
and  later  by  partition  the  Manors  of  Gre- 
nan  and  Dangin.  Peter  Mc  O'dy  L'Erce- 
dekne was  the  son  of  Thomas,  son  of  Red- 
mond, son  of  John.  This  last  John  was 
a  descendant  of  Sir  Stephen  L'Ercedekne. 
Peter  Mc  O'dy  became  Lord  of  the  Manor 
of  Bawnmore.  He  died  without  issue,  but 
the  heirs  of  his  brothers  came  into  the 
Manor.  The  contraction  of  the  original 
form  doubtless  gave  birth  to  the  present 
forms  of  Codey  and  Cody. 

(I)  Joseph  Cody,  who  was  born  prob- 
ably in  Ireland,  died  in  Hopkinton,  Mas- 
sachusetts, prior  to  1782.  In  1727  three 
men,  William  McNall,  John  Lawson,  and 
James  Shearer  came  from  Ireland  to 
America  and  began  a  settlement  in  Con- 
necticut which  they  called  "Union."  From 
time  to  time  other  families  from  their 
country  joined  them  until  in  1734  there 
were  nineteen  families.  This  was  the  only 
Irish  settlement  in  Connecticut.  Some 
time  before  1732  came  Isaac,  Joseph 
and  John  Cody.  Before  long  John  and 
Isaac  removed  to  Hopkinton,  Massa- 
chusetts. Isaac  married  there,  but  re- 
turned to  Union,  Connecticut,  where  he 
died.  John,  too,  removed  from  Hopkin- 
ton, but  Joseph  settled  there  in  1738  and 
spent  his  life  there,  dying  some  time 
before  1782.  He  married  before  1720, 
Mary,  surname  unknown.  Children:  i. 
Joseph,  of  whom  further.  2.  Lucy,  born 
about  1725  ;  married  John  Nutt.  3.  Mary, 
born  about  1728;  married  Nathan  Jef- 
fords. 4.  Philip,  born  about  1730;  mar- 
ried Abigail  Emerson.  5.  Jerusha,  born 
about  1733;  married  John  Death.  6. 
Jonathan,  born  1735,  died  September  26, 
1807.    7.  Isaac,  born  in  1739. 

(II)  Joseph  Cody,  Jr.,  son  of  Joseph 
and  Mary  Cody,  was  born  in  1720,  and 
died  in  Hopkmton,  Massachusetts,  Janu- 
ary 26,  1818,  aged  ninety-eight  years.  He 
lived  in  Hopkinton,  Massachusetts,  served 


96 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  the  French  and  Indian  War  (1754- 
1763),  was  in  the  expedition  to  Crown 
Point  and  in  the  expedition  to  Fort 
George,  and  served  also  in  the  Revolution 
for  forty-three  days.  He  married,  in  Hop- 
kinton,  Massachusetts,  November  3,  1748, 
Mary  Whitney,  who  was  born  October  4, 
1731,  and  died  December  5,  1816.  Chil- 
dren: I.  Mary,  born  July  26,  1749.  2. 
Sarah,  born  September  3,  1751.  3.  Joseph, 
born  December  3,  1753.  4.  Sarah,  born 
December  7,  1756;  married  William  Fan- 
ning. 5.  Hannah,  born  January  11,  1759. 
6.  Tabitha,  of  whom  further.  7.  Esther, 
born  October  15,  1766.  8.  Elizabeth,  born 
September  7,  1769.  9.  John,  born  Decem- 
ber 2,  1774. 

(Ill)  Tabitha  Cody,  daughter  of  Joseph 
and  Mary  (Whitney)  Cody,  was  born 
in  Hopkinton,  Massachusetts,  August  13, 
1763.  She  married,  January  28,  1788, 
Jonathan  Bullock.     (See  Bullock  V.) 


ADRIANCE,  John  P., 

Manafactnrer. 

In  the  second  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  when  manufacturing  assumed 
such  new  and  large  proportions  in  the 
United  States,  no  one  industry  at  Pough- 
keepsie.  New  York,  did  so  much  to  create 
a  good  name  at  large  for  the  city  as  did 
"The  Buckeye,"  the  plant  of  Adriance, 
Piatt  &  Company,  where  harvesting 
machinery  was  built.  For  stability, 
sound  policies,  broad  and  progressive 
administration,  Adriance,  Piatt  &  Com- 
pany had  a  wide  reputation  and  one  which 
honored  not  only  the  corporation  itself, 
but  gave  prominence  to  the  community 
in  which  it  did  its  work. 

The  roots  of  this  great  establishment 
are  traceable  to  the  business  activities  in 
Poughkeepsie  of  John  Adriance,  who, 
having  owned  an  iron  foundry,  became  in- 
terested in  newly  invented  machines  for 


mowing  and  began  about  1850  to  build 
a  machine  which  he  called  "The  Forbush." 

Meanwhile,  John  Adriance's  son,  John 
P.  Adriance,  had  been  engaged  in  busi- 
ness in  New  York,  but  he,  like  his  father, 
saw  the  potential  importance  of  machin- 
ery for  harvesting  and  began  to  build 
mowers  at  Worcester,  Massachusetts.  In 
1859  John  P.  Adriance  moved  his  business 
from  Worcester  to  Poughkeepsie,  New 
York,  occupying  at  first  as  a  factory  the 
Red  Mill  at  Mill  and  Smith  streets,  and 
then  erecting  a  large  new  building  on  the 
shore  of  the  Hudson,  adjoining  the  New 
York  Central  &  Hudson  River  Railroad. 
In  this  latter  location  his  output  grew  to 
its  great  ultimate  extent  and  value,  and 
his  standing  in  the  world  of  industry 
became  of  the  highest  rank. 

(I)  John  P.  Adriance  and  his  father 
were  members  of  a  Dutch  family  estab- 
lished in  America  in  the  first  years  of  the 
colonies.  About  1646  Adrian  Reyersz 
settled  at  Flatbush,  Long  Island.  He  is 
supposed  to  have  been  the  son  of  Reyer 
Elberts,  of  Utrecht,  and  had  a  brother, 
Martin  Reyersz,  also  of  Long  Island. 
The  descendants  of  Martin  Reyersz  be- 
came known  by  the  patronymic :  Ryers- 
Reyerson,  while  members  of  Adrian 
Reyersz  family  have  borne  the  surname 
Adrianse-Adriance. 

Adrian  Reyersz  married,  in  1659,  An- 
natie  Schenck,  daughter  of  Martin 
Schenck,  lived  a  useful  and  respected  life 
at  Flatbush,  and  died  in  1710.  In  the  line 
which  John  P.  Adriance,  of  Poughkeepsie 
descended  from,  Adrian  Reyersz,  of  Flat- 
bush, the  second  and  third  generations 
were  resident  on  Long  Island,  the  fourth 
and  Fifth  at  Hopewell,  Dutchess  County, 
New  York,  and  the  sixth  (John  P.  Adri- 
ance's father)  at  Poughkeepsie.  After 
Adrian  Reyersz  and  Annatie  Schenck,  his 
wife,  came: 


97 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


(II)  Albert  Adrianse,  born  1663,  mar- 
ried, 1689,  Catalina,  daughter  of  Rem  and 
Jannetje  (de  Rapalie)  Vanderbeck. 

(III)  Rem  Adrianse,  born  1690,  died 
1730;  married  Sarah  Brinckerhoff,  daugh- 
ter of  Joris  and  Annetje  (Bogart) 
Brinckerhoff. 

(IV)  Abraham  Adrianse,  born  1720,  on 
Long  Island,  died  1765,  in  Dutchess 
County,  New  York;  married,  1751,  Fem- 
metje  Van  Kleef. 

(V)  Abraham  Adriance,  Jr.,  who 
changed  the  spelling  of  the  name,  was 
born  (Post.)  1766,  died  1825 ;  married 
1788,  Ann  Storm,  daughter  of  Goris  and 
Maritje  (Concklin)  Storm. 

(VI)  John  Adriance,  born  1795,  died 
1873;  married,  1817,  Sarah  Ely,  daughter 
of  Joseph  and  Elizabeth  (Tarpenning) 
Harris. 

(VII)  John  P.  Adriance,  born  March  4, 
1825,  died  June  18,  1891 ;  married,  in  New 
York  City,  June  13,  1848,  Mary  Jane 
Ruthven,  daughter  of  Isaac  L.  and  Mari- 
on Erskine  (Ruthven)  Piatt.  Their  chil- 
dren were:  i.  Isaac  Reynolds,  a  sketch 
of  whom  follows.  2.  John  Erskine,  a 
sketch  of  whom  follows.  3.  James  Ruth- 
ven, born  June  8,  1856,  died  April  21, 
1879.  4.  Marion  Ruthven,  born  August 
18,  1858;  married,  January  12,  1887,  Silas 
Wodell;  died  March  24,  1917.  5.  Harris 
Ely,  born  February  18,  1861.  6.  William 
Allen,  born  February  6,  1864.  7,  Francis 
Henry,  born  December  16,  1866. 

John  P.  Adriance,  after  passing  through 
the  schools  of  Poughkeepsie,  went  to  New 
York  City  in  1845  and  entered  the  hard- 
ware business  in  the  employ  of  Walsh  & 
Mallory,  a  firm  which  shortly  sent  him  to 
Manchester,  New  Hampshire,  in  charge 
of  a  branch  store.  Mr.  Adriance  soon 
succeeded  to  the  store  at  Manchester, 
but,  in  1852,  returned  to  New  York  City 
where    he    formed    a    partnership    with 


Samuel  R.  Piatt  and  Samuel  W.  Sears 
to  deal  in  wholesale  hardware.  In  1854 
Sears,  Adriance  &  Piatt  bought  the  patent 
rights  in  the  Manny  mower  for  the  New 
England  States  and  began  to  manufacture 
mowers  at  Worcester,  Massachusetts. 
Then,  in  1857,  John  P.  Adriance  saw  a 
mower,  patented  by  Aultman  &  Miller, 
of  Canton,  Ohio,  tried  out  at  Syracuse, 
New  York,  in  a  competitive  test  of  such 
machines,  and  was  so  impressed  with  its 
excellence  that  he  acquired  the  patent 
rights,  named  the  machine  "The  Buckeye" 
in  honor  of  its  original  connection  with 
Ohio,  and  began  making  mowers  of  this 
model  at  Worcester.  In  1859  this  busi- 
ness at  Worcester  was  removed  to  Pough- 
keepsie, as  stated  above.  Four  years  later 
(1863)  the  firm  of  Sears,  Adriance  & 
Piatt  was  dissolved,  Mr.  Sears  retaining 
the  hardware  department  and  a  new  firm 
— Adriance,  Piatt  &  Company — being  or- 
ganized to  build  harvesting  machinery, 
with  Mr.  Adriance  as  president,  Samuel 
R.  Piatt  as  vice-president  and  Isaac  S. 
Piatt  as  treasurer.  Mr.  Adriance  re- 
mained in  active  connection  with  Adri- 
ance, Piatt  &  Company  until  his  death  in 
1 891. 

No  citizen  of  Poughkeepsie  ever  had  a 
more  respected  place  in  the  community 
than  John  P.  Adriance.  His  ability  to 
develop  and  maintain  a  large  industrial 
establishment,  which  ability  was  based 
on  good  judgment  and  strength  of  moral 
principle,  was  supplanted  by  a  quality  of 
character  and  personality  which  endeared 
him  to  large  numbers  of  people.  Kind- 
ness was  innate  with  him.  The  inner  side 
of  the  story  of  business  in  the  Pough- 
keepsie of  his  day  would,  if  told  in  full, 
show  many  men  carried  by  him  through 
temporary  financial  stringencies  ;  while  in 
private  life  he  helped  many  families  to 
carry  on,   and  to  charitable   and   philan- 


J  .    '  {jUAr^^-crCc^    JTcLr[.^y,,.c>.y,,^JZsO> 


/%r  j^Ktgncm"  jVji. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


thropic  work  was  a  generous  contributor. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church,  and  in  politics  was  a  Republican. 
The  Adriance  Memorial  Library  building 
in  the  city  of  Poughkeepsie  was  erected 
by  his  children  in  memory  of  him  and  of 
his  wife. 

The  Adriance  family  arms  are  regis- 
tered in  Holland,  whence  the  members 
who  planted  that  stock  in  American  life 
emigrated  in  the  seventeenth  century. 
In  the  "Ryerson  Genealogy"  and  history 
of  the  Knickerbocker  families  of  Ryerson, 
Ryerse  Adriance  and  Martense,  all  de- 
scendants of  Marten  and  Adriaen  Ryerse 
(Reyerzen),  of  Amsterdam,  Holland,  the 
description  of  the  family  coat-of-arms  is 
given  as  follows: 

Arms — Quarterly,  one  and  four,  sable  a  tree 
withered  and  eradicated  argent ;  two  and  three, 
argent;  three  halberds  bendways,  and  in  bend  sin- 
ister, the  middle  one  longer  than  the  others,  sable ; 
the  blades  vert;    surtout  argent;   a  martlet  or. 

Crest — A  swan  rousant. 


ADRIANCE,  Isaac  Reynolds, 

Man  of  Varied  Activltiea. 

I.  Reynolds  Adriance  was  born  in  Man- 
chester, New  Hampshire,  January  12, 
1851,  the  son  of  John  P.  and  Mary  Jane 
R.  (Piatt)  Adriance.  His  education  was 
received  at  the  F.  B.  Warring  School  at 
Poughkeepsie  and  at  the  Churchill  School 
at  Ossining,  New  York.  It  was  not  long 
after  he  left  school  that  he  became  associ- 
ated with  the  firm  of  Adriance,  Piatt  & 
Company,  manufacturers  of  harvesting 
machinery,  of  which  his  father  was  the 
president.  The  desire  to  master  the  de- 
tails of  anything  and  everything  worth 
while  that  came  to  his  hand  accounted  in 
no  little  degree  for  his  rapid  and  merited 
rise  in  the  councils  of  the  great  family 
concern.  He  was  advanced  to  treasurer 
of  the  company  and  occupied  that  office 


until  Adriance,  Piatt  &  Company  was 
absorbed  by  the  Moline  Plow  Company, 
of  Moline,  Illinois,  January  18,  1913. 
Thereafter  Mr.  Adriance  confined  his 
attention  to  his  personal  and  financial 
affairs,  which  were  numerous  enough  to 
make  large  demands  upon  his  time  and 
energy. 

Mr.  Adriance,  when  a  youth  of  seven- 
teen, enlisted  in  Company  A,  21st  Regi- 
ment, New  York  State  National  Guard, 
and  eight  years  later,  or  in  1875,  through 
successive  promotions,  he  was  made 
captain  of  his  company.  His  interest  in 
military  affairs  remained  one  of  his  hob- 
bies all  through  life,  and  although  he  v/as 
on  the  retired  list  when  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment determined  that  this  country 
should  cast  its  lot  on  the  side  of  the  allies 
in  the  World  War,  Mr.  Adriance  quickly 
came  forward  and  offered  his  services  to 
the  War  Department.  He  was  appointed 
mustering  officer  for  Dutchess  County, 
and  in  this  capacity  he  mustered  into  the 
Federal  service  all  the  National  Guard 
units  of  the  district.  Throughout  the  war 
Captain  Adriance  was  a  tireless  worker 
and  a  generous  contributor  to  the  drives 
for  funds  for  the  Government  and  the 
welfare  organizations. 

On  the  cultural  side  of  Mr.  Adriance's 
nature  his  commendable  leaning  toward 
literature  had  its  most  visible  example 
in  his  rich  collection  of  books,  among 
which  were  many  volumes  privately 
printed  for  a  limited  number  of  sub- 
scribers. For  virtually  half  a  century  Mr. 
Adriance  made  public  exhibit  of  his  book- 
lover's  spirit  by  continuous  association 
with  library  work,  and  on  his  death  he 
was  chairman  of  the  board  of  trustees  of 
the  Adriance  Memorial  Library,  a  posi- 
tion he  had  held  since  the  founding  of 
that  institution.  Previous  to  the  opening 
of  the  Adriance  Library,  which  was  given 


99 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


to  the  city  of  Poughkeepsie  by  the  chil- 
dren of  the  late  John  P.  Adriance,  I. 
Reynolds  Adriance  was  chairman  of  the 
library  board  of  the  Board  of  Education 
of  that  city,  and  in  years  of  continuous 
service  he  was  dean  of  city  office  holders. 
In  October,  1898,  the  Adriance  Library 
was  opened  to  the  public,  and  with  this 
event,  as  well  as  with  the  conception  of 
the  initial  plans,  Mr.  Adriance  was  inti- 
mately connected,  having  from  the  very 
first  given  of  his  best  in  an  advisory 
capacity. 

In  1891  Mr.  Adriance  became  actively 
associated  with  the  Merchants'  National 
Bank  of  Poughkeepsie  as  a  director  of 
that  institution.  Four  years  later  he  was 
elected  vice-president  and  filled  that  posi- 
tion until  1897,  when  he  was  advanced 
to  the  presidency  of  the  bank,  which 
office  he  held  until  191 1.  From  191 1  to 
1916  he  once  more  served  as  vice-presi- 
dent, and  from  1916  to  1921  he  served  his 
second  term  as  president.  After  that  Mr. 
Adriance  became  chairman  of  the  board 
of  directors  and  continued  as  such  until 
the  time  of  his  death.  He  was  a  director 
of  the  Williamsburg  Fire  Insurance 
Company  and  later  of  the  United  States 
Fire  Insurance  Company  when  the  latter 
absorbed  the  former.  He  was  a  director 
of  R.  U.  Delapenha  &  Company,  a  trustee 
of  Vassar  Brothers'  Hospital,  a  trustee 
of  the  Holland  Society  of  New  York, 
and  an  officer  in  many  charitable  insti- 
tutions. He  was  a  member  of  the  Sons 
of  the  Revolution,  the  Army  and  Navy 
Club  of  New  York  City,  the  Dutchess 
Golf  and  Country  Club,  and  the  Amrita 
Club,  of  Poughkeepsie,  of  which  latter 
organization  he  was  president  in  1890. 

Mr.  Adriance  married,  April  27,  1876, 
Ada  Ferris  Campbell,  daughter  of  Henry 
Livingston  and  Emmeline  (Collins) 
Campbell,  of  Unionvale,  Dutchess  County, 


New  York.  The  Campbell  family  have 
resided  in  Dutchess  County  since  the 
Revolutionary  War;  Captain  Archibald 
Campbell,  of  the  Argyle  clan,  having 
come  to  this  country  as  an  officer  in  the 
British  army.  He  married  Jane  Munroe, 
of  Long  Island,  and  was  killed  during  the 
war  at  a  skirmish  near  White  Plains, 
New  York,  in  1776.  His  two  sons  were 
educated  in  England,  but  Archibald,  Jr., 
returned  to  this  country  and  made  his 
home  on  his  father's  estate  at  Pawling, 
New  York.  He  was  well  known  through- 
out the  country,  giving  his  attention 
largely  to  the  management  of  his  proper- 
ty, but  also  being  a  very  efficient  magis- 
trate for  one  not  professionally  a  lawyer. 
He  was  possessed  of  such  extensive  legal 
knowledge  that  he  became  County  Judge. 
He  married  Elizabeth  Livingston  Mit- 
chell. His  death  occurred  in  1847,  leaving 
a  widow  and  ten  children.  One  of  his 
sons,  Duncan,  married  Amanda  Ferris, 
and  lived  on  the  family  estate  at  Pawling, 
where  he  upheld  the  traditions  of  his  fore- 
bears. He  died  in  1892.  His  only  son 
was  Henry  Livingston,  who  married 
Emmeline  Cordelia  Collins,  and  settled 
on  the  Collins  estate  in  the  town  of 
Unionvale.  Mr.  Campbell  engaged  in 
farming,  and  became  a  well  known  and 
respected  citizen  of  the  community.  He 
died  in  1894,  survived  by  his  widow  and 
three  children ;  Duncan  ;  Ada  Ferris,  who 
married  I.  Reynolds  Adriance ;  and  Eliza- 
beth Borden,  who  married  Albert  Adri- 
ance Simpson,  of  Poughkeepsie.  The 
Campbell  family  of  which  Mrs.  Adriance 
is  a  member,  is  entitled  to  bear  arms: 

Arms — Quarterly,  ist  and  4th,  gyronny  of 
eight  or  aiid  sable,  (for  Campbell)  2nd  and  3d 
argent,  a  lymphad,  her  sails  furled  and  oars  in 
action  sable,  flag  and  pennants  flying  gules  ( for 
Lome).  Behind  the  escutcheon  are  placed  saltire- 
ways,  a  baton  powdered  with  thistles,  on  the  top 
thereof  an  imperial  crown,  and  thereon  the  royal 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


crest  of  Scotland;  and  a  sword  proper,  hilt  and 
pommel  or.  Upon  the  escutcheon  is  placed  the 
coronet  of  his  rank. 

Crest — Upon  a  wreath  of  the  colors,  a  boar's 
head  erased  or. 

Supporters — On  either  side  of  the  escutcheon  a 
lion  guardant  gules. 

Mottoes — Above  the  crest:  Ne  obliviscaris. 
(Means:  Do  not  forget.)  Below  the  arms  :  Vix 
ea  nostra  voco.  (Means :  I  scarce  call  these  deeds 
of  our  ancestors  ours.) 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Adriance  were  born 
two  children:  i.  John  P.,  born  August 
2.  1891 ;  educated  at  Hill  School,  Potts- 
town,  Pennsylvania ;  Yale  University, 
class  of  1913,  degree  of  Ph.  B. ;  a  director 
of  the  Merchants'  National  Bank,  Pough- 
keepsie;  a  director  of  R.  U.  Delaphenha 
&  Company ;  member  of  the  Yale  Club  of 
New  York  City,  Dutchess  Golf  and 
Country  Club,  of  which  he  is  secretary 
and  treasurer,  and  a  member  of  the  Am- 
rita  Club.  2.  Marion  Campbell,  educated 
at  The  Misses  Masters  School,  Dobbs 
Ferry,  New  York ;  married,  June  8,  1918, 
Edgar  Voorhees  Anderson,  and  has  two 
children,  Edgar  Adriance  Anderson,  born 
April  25,  1919,  and  Adriance  Campbell 
Anderson. 

I.  Reynolds  Adriance  relinquished  his 
many  sided  service  at  his  home  in  Pough- 
keepsie,  April  16,  1923.  Mourning  for 
his  loss  extended  far  beyond  the  limits 
of  the  city  of  his  residence.  Organiza- 
tions with  which  he  had  been  affiliated 
and  the  local  press,  in  resolutions,  edi- 
torials and  news  comment,  paid  sincere 
and  cordial  tribute  to  his  memory.  This 
memorial  would  be  incomplete  without 
the  inclusion  of  these  testimonials  from 
the  voice  of  the  people. 

"The  Poughkeepsie  Eagle-News"  said 
editorially : 

The  death  Monday  morning  of  I.  Reynolds  Adri- 
ance brought  to  a  close  a  career  of  very  real  use- 
fulness to  the  community  in  which  he  had  lived. 
His  was  a  life  filled  with  a  wide  variety  of  inter- 


ests, business  and  civic,  and  while  he  had  given  up 
a  good  deal  of  business  activity  during  the  last 
few  years,  his  loss  will  be  keenly  felt  not  only  by 
his  associates,  but  by  the  city  at  large. 

Mr.  Adriance  will  be  remembered  for  his  serv- 
ices to  the  Merchants'  National  Bank  and  for  his 
interest  in  the  Adriance  Memorial  Library,  the 
president  of  whose  board  he  had  been  since  its 
organization  in  the  "90's."  A  great  lover  of  books 
himself,  he  did  his  utmost  through  the  library  to 
make  good  reading  available  to  the  people  of 
Poughkeepsie,  a  service  which  everyone  who  has 
been  benefited  by  it  should  fully  appreciate.  And 
his  work  with  the  library  will  continue  to  bear 
fruit  in  the  years  to  come.  In  a  business  way,  Mr. 
Adriance  was  a  conservative  of  the  best  type. 
Being  conservative  isn't  always  popular,  but  every 
city  needs  men  of  the  type  as  a  steadying  influence, 
for  they  prevent  many  a  mistake. 

Mr.  Adriance  was  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school. 
In  a  personal  way  he  was  extremely  generous,  and 
his  quiet  benefactions,  though  oftentimes  unknown 
to  the  general  public,  were  many  and  great.  He 
was  deeply  interested  in  Poughkeepsie  and  Pough- 
keepsians,  and  his  knowledge  of  family  history  in 
this  city,  coupled  with  an  exceptionally  retentive 
memory,  made  him  a  real  authority  on  bygone 
days.  Few  Poughkeepsians  have  had  so  exhaus- 
tive and  authoritative  a  fund  of  local  information 
as  he. 

The  loss  of  Mr.  Adriance  will  be  keenly  felt  in 
this  city  in  which  he  lived,  and  to  which  he  con- 
tributed so  much. 

An  epitome  of  the  life  that  Mr.  Adri- 
ance lived  among  his  fellows  was  elo- 
quently given  in  an  editorial  by  "The 
Evening  Star  and  Enterprise"  of  Pough- 
keepsie, April  17,  1923,  the  day  following 
his  death : 

The  passing  winter  has  exacted  a  severe  toll 
from  our  membership. 

In  no  case  has  the  grim  reaper  been  more  cruel 
than  in  removing  from  our  community  that  most 
unassuming  yet  estimable  member,  I.  Reynolds 
Adriance. 

His  life  among  us  was  of  the  wholesome  sort. 
A  life  of  leisure  did  not  appeal  to  him,  though  such 
a  life  was  made  possible  by  the  accident  of  wealth. 
His  money  did  not  spoil  him;  on  the  contrary,  it 
gave  him  the  chance  to  cultivate  the  cultural  side 
of  life.  He  became  a  lover  of  books,  of  art  and 
the  sciences.  Even  in  gratifying  his  tastes  in  that 
direction,  our  fellow-townsman  was  unselfish.    He 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


wished  to  share  with  his  fellowmen  his  opportuni- 
ties for  study  and  for  cultivating  acquaintance  with 
authors  of  standard  books.  This  explains  his 
untiring  devotion  to  the  mission  of  the  Adriance 
Memorial  Library.  In  other  fields  of  civic  useful- 
ness he  was  also  entitled  to  the  credit  which  goes 
to  the  volunteer  rather  than  to  the  drafted  man. 
He  became  a  military  man  because  in  that  way  he 
wished  to  serve  his  country.  His  Americanism 
was  of  the  deep-seated  variety,  exemplified  not  in 
words  of  mouth  but  in  years  of  devotion  to  the 
flag  and  its  upholding. 

Others  have  spoken  and  written  of  his  ability  as 
a  banker,  as  a  manufacturer. 

We  like  to  think  of  'Ren'  Adriance  as  a  man 
who  saw  the  finer  things  of  life  come  within  his 
grasp — and  wish  not  only  to  enjoy  them  himself  but 
to  share  them  with  others.  No  higher  tribute 
could  be  paid  to  any  citizen. 


ADRIANCE,  John  Erskine,  ^ 

Business  Man,  Financier, 

John  E.  Adriance,  second  son  of  John 
P.  and  Mary  Jane  R.  (Piatt)  Adriance, 
was  born  in  New  York  City,  December 
23.  1853.  He  attended  the  Poughkeepsie 
Military  Institute,  Riverview  Academy, 
Poughkeepsie,  and  the  Churchill  School 
at  Ossining,  and  after  a  year  spent  in 
travel  abroad,  entered  the  counting  room 
of  Adriance,  Piatt  &  Company.  He  rose 
to  the  presidency  of  the  corporation  and 
was  actively  identified  with  its  affairs 
until  in  1913,  in  the  era  of  business  con- 
solidations, the  Buckeye  plant  was  sold 
to  the  Moline  Plow  Company,  of  Moline, 
Illinois. 

John  E.  Adriance  has  maintained  touch 
with  the  life  of  his  own  city  in  innumer- 
able ways  and  has  promoted  the  interests 
of  Poughkeepsie  in  a  broad-minded  spirit, 
giving  largely  of  time,  means  and  influ- 
ence. Since  1894  he  has  been  a  director 
of  the  Farmers'  and  Manufacturers' 
Bank,  serving  as  vice-president  1912-1922, 
and  again  in  1924.  He  was  elected  a  trus- 
tee of  Vassar  College  in  1910,  and  was  re- 
tained in  that  office  eleven  years,  resign- 


ing in  1921  on  account  of  ill  health.  On 
the  death  of  his  brother,  I.  Reynolds 
Adriance,  1923,  he  was  elected  to  succeed 
him  as  president  of  the  Adriance  Memo- 
rial Library  of  Poughkeepsie.  He  is  a 
trustee  of  the  Poughkeepsie  Savings 
Bank,  elected  September  24,  191 7;  presi- 
dent of  the  Poughkeepsie  Rural  Cemetery 
Association,  elected  1913,  and  a  tnistee 
since  1900;  trustee  of  the  Poughkeepsie 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association;  one 
of  five  who  organized  the  Dutchess  Golf 
and  Country  Club,  April,  1897,  ^"d  presi- 
dent for  more  than  fifteen  years ;  member 
of  Triune  Lodge,  No.  782,  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons ;  member  of  the  Chapter 
Commandery  and  the  Mystic  Shrine ; 
member  of  the  Holland  Society  of  New 
York  State.  He  is  a  communicant  of 
Christ  Episcopal  Church,  of  Pough- 
keepsie. 

On  April  27,  1882,  Mr.  Adriance  mar- 
ried Mary  Hasbrouck,  daughter  of  Mat- 
thew and  Jane  Catherine  (Hardenbergh) 
Hasbrouck,  of  Stone  Ridge,  Ulster 
County,  New  York.  They  are  the  parents 
of  two  children  :  Jean  Hardenbergh,  who 
died  October  11,  1897;  and  Marguerite 
Piatt. 


P 

ANDREWS,  Robert  W., 

Physician,  Surgeon. 

Dr.  Robert  W.  Andrews,  a  prominent 
and  widely  known  physician  and  surgeon 
of  Dutchess  County,  New  York,  for  more 
than  two  decades,  and  by  reason  of  his 
expert  professional  services  has  contribu- 
ted to  the  physical  well  being  of  his  com- 
munity, and  thus  to  general  advancement 
and  progress,  comes  of  old  English  stock. 

The  surname  "Andrews"  is  a  baptismal 
name,  meaning  "son-of-Andrew,"  and 
became  very  popular  throughout  the 
British  Isles  during  the  thirteenth  cen- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPH-^ 


tury.  Since  Andrew  was  the  name  of  the 
patron  saint  and  knightly  champion  of 
Scotland,  as  title  of  the  primatial  See, 
the  surname  became  especially  wide 
spread  in  Scotland.  As  an  apostolic  name 
it  became  popular  at  an  early  date  all 
over  Europe,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  vast 
numbers  who  bear  that  name  to-day  in 
America,  descendants,  for  the  most  part, 
of  English  and  Scotch  Andrews.  The 
name  has  undergone  many  changes,  and 
has  been  written  as  Anderewe,  Andreu, 
Andrea,  Andre,  Andrewes  (still  in  ex- 
istence), and  finally,  Andrews. 

The  following  coat-of-arms  is  the 
heraldic  device  used  by  the  American 
Andrews : 

Arms — Gules,  a  saltire  or  surmounted  by  another 
vert 

Crest — A  blackamoor's  head  in  profile  couped  at 
the  shoulders  and  wreathed  about  the  temples  all 
proper. 

Motto — Virtute  et  fortuna. 

One  branch  of  the  family  were  residents 
of  Yorkshire,  England,  as  early  as  the 
year  1379,  for  in  the  Poll  Tax  of  Yorks 
of  that  year  a  Willelmus  Anderewe  is 
mentioned,  this  man  probably  being  the 
common  ancestor  of  all  the  Yorkshire 
Andrews.  The  branch  of  the  English 
family  herein  considered  begins  with 
Robert  Andrews,  of  whom  forward. 

(I)  Robert  Andrews,  the  progenitor  of 
this  branch  of  the  family  in  America,  was 
born  September  6,  1823,  in  Mosely,  near 
Leeds,  Yorkshire,  England,  where  he  was 
reared  and  educated.  He  immigrated  to 
the  United  States  as  a  young  man,  land- 
ing at  Boston,  Massachusetts,  but  settling 
in  Vermont,  where  he  followed  the  trade 
of  wool  carder,  which  he  had  learned  in 
his  native  country,  plying  his  trade  both 
at  Northfield  and  Northfield  Falls,  Ver- 
mont. Fraternally,  he  was  a  Mason, 
having    been    raised    to    the    degree    of 


Master  Mason  before  he  emigrated  from 
England.  His  religious  affiliation  was 
given  to  the  Episcopal  faith  (Church  of 
England).  His  death  occurred  at  North- 
field  Falls,  Vermont,  April  30,  1895.  He 
took  his  wife  Belinda  Germaine,  a  native 
of  Vermont,  who  bore  him  two  children, 
as  follows:  Charles  H.,  of  whom  for- 
ward ;  and  Ellen,  who  became  the  wife  of 
Fred  N.  Cook,  of  Northfield,  Vermont. 

(H)  Charles  H.  Andrews,  elder  child 
and  only  son  of  Robert  and  Belinda  (Ger- 
maine) Andrews,  was  born  in  Northfield, 
Vermont,  in  December,  1847,  and  is  still 
living  (1924).  He  was  educated  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  natal  town,  following 
which  he  learned  the  trade  of  wool-carder 
under  the  expert  tutelage  of  his  father, 
and  in  this  vocation  he  has  been  identi- 
fied all  his  life.  He  is  also  a  musician  of 
more  than  ordinary  ability,  and  in  addi- 
tion to  serving  as  bandmaster  of  his 
native  town,  he  has  composed  many  band 
selections  of  note.  Fraternally,  Mr. 
Andrews  is  a  member  of  Granite  Lodge, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of  Barre, 
Vermont.  In  religion  he  adheres  to  the 
faith  of  his  fathers.  Charles  H.  Andrews 
was  married  at  Rochdale,  town  of  Pough- 
keepsie.  New  York,  to  Elenora  F.  Du 
Bois,  a  daughter  of  John  M.  and  Mary 
Ann  (Van  Dyne)  De  Bois.  Issue: 
Robert  Wesley,  of  whom  forward. 

(Ill)  Robert  Wesley  Andrews,  M.  D., 
only  son  of  Charles  H.  and  Elenora  F. 
(Du  Bois)  Andrews,  was  born  in  the 
town  of  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  Sep- 
tember 9,  1869.  His  early  education  was 
received  in  the  public  schools  of  his  birth- 
place, and  following  his  graduation  from 
the  Northfield  High  School  in  1887,  he 
entered  the  employ  of  A.  M.  Doty,  a 
prominent  druggist  of  Poughkeepsie. 
After  becoming  thoroughly  familiar  with 
the  various  phases  of  pharmaceutics — a 
103 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


praiseworthy  pre-medical  course  of  action 
— he  took  up  the  study  of  medicine, 
during  which  time  he  learned  the  art, 
trade,  and  mystery  of  a  hollow  glassware 
blower  at  the  Poughkeepsie  Glass  Works, 
and  in  1895  entered  the  Albany  Medical 
College,  Albany,  New  York,  from  which 
institution  he  was  graduated  with  the  class 
of  1898,  receiving  the  degree  of  Doctor 
of  Medicine.  He  then  took  up  his  desi- 
dence  in  Brooklyn,  New  York,  and  shortly 
after  was  appointed  acting  assistant 
surgeon  in  the  United  States  Army,  being 
stationed  first  at  Chickamauga  Park, 
Georgia,  and  then  transferred  to  the  San 
Juan  Hospital,  at  Porto  Rico.  In  1899 
Dr.  Andrews  returned  to  Poughkeepsie, 
and  in  August  of  that  year  he  was  ap- 
pointed first  lieutenant  and  assistant 
surgeon.  United  States  Volunteers,  and 
assigned  to  the  Forty-Sixth  Infantry, 
which  was  ordered  to  the  Philippine 
Islands.  Dr.  Andrews  remained  in  the 
Philippines  for  a  period  of  twenty  months, 
and  was  an  active  participant  in  many  of 
the  numerous  engagements.  Among  the 
recommendations  in  the  Forty-Sixth  In- 
fantry for  medals  of  honor,  brevet  com- 
missions, and  certificates  of  merit.  Dr. 
Andrews  was  thus  honored :  "First 
Lieutenant  and  Assistant  Surgeon  Robert 
W.  Andrews  for  Brevet  rank  of  Captain ; 
for  coolness  and  good  judgment  dis- 
played at  Battle  of  Montalban,  Philip- 
pine Islands,  December  27,  1899."  Cap- 
tain Andrews  was  mustered  out  of  service 
on  March  17,  1901,  at  Poughkeepsie,  New 
York. 

In  the  same  year,  1901,  Dr.  Andrews 
resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession 
in  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  where  he 
has  since  remained,  building  up  a  large 
clientage  and  a  reputation  for  ability, 
integrity  and  efficiency.  To-day  he  is 
one  of  the  foremost  practitioners  in  the 
medical  fraternity  of  Dutchess  County. 


Politically,  he  is  a  staunch  supporter 
of  the  Democratic  party,  and  served  his 
party  ably  as  coroner  of  Dutchess  County 
in  1906;  and  as  bacteriologist  for  the 
Poughkeepsie  Board  of  Health  in  1909-10. 
Dr.  Andrews  is  a  member  and  past  presi- 
dent of  the  Dutchess  County  Medical 
Society,  having  been  the  second  youngest 
physician  to  occupy  this  important  office 
in  the  century  and  a  quarter  of  the  soci- 
ety's existence.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  American  Medical  Association,  the 
New  York  State  Medical  Society,  the 
Dutchess-Putnam  Medical  Society,  a 
Fellow  of  the  American  College  of  Sur- 
geons, and  the  Poughkeepsie  Academy  of 
Medicine.  He  is  attending  physician  at 
the  Vassar  Brothers'  Hospital  and  the 
Bowne  Memorial  Hospital,  and  is  con- 
sulting surgeon  at  the  Hudson  River 
State  Hospital  of  Poughkeepsie. 

Fraternally,  Dr.  Andrews  has  been 
active  in  Masonic  circles,  as  were  also 
his  forefathers,  and  is  a  member  of 
Poughkeepsie  Lodge,  No.  266,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons ;  Poughkeepsie  Chapter, 
No.  172,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  King 
Solomon's  Council,  No.  31,  Royal  and 
Select  Masters ;  and  Poughkeepsie  Com- 
mandry,  No.  43,  Knights  Templar.  Dr. 
Andrews  is  also  a  Past  Grand  of  the  In- 
dependent Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  and 
holds  membership  in  the  Amrita  Club, 
and  the  Dutchess  County  Golf  and 
Country  Club. 

Dr.  Robert  Wesley  Andrews  was  mar- 
ried at  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  Sep- 
tember 27,  1898,  to  Minnie  M.  Marrill,  a 
daughter  of  Dr.  Joaquin  and  Amanda 
(Caire)  Marrill,  natives  of  Havana  and 
Jersey  City,  New  Jersey,  respectively. 
Dr.  Robert  Wesley  and  Minnie  M.  (Mar- 
rill) Andrews  are  the  parents  of  two  chil- 
dren: I.  Robert  Carlisle,  born  September 
16,  1902,  received  his  early  education  in 
the  Poughkeepsie  public  schools,  follow- 


104 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ing  which  he  entered  and  was  graduated 
from  the  Poughkeepsie  High  School, 
then  followed  a  preparatory  course,  after 
which  he  matriculated  at  West  Point 
United  States  Military  Academy,  being 
graduated  from  this  famous  institution 
with  the  class  of  1924,  and  receiving  a 
commission  as  second  lieutenant  in  the 
United  States  Army.  2.  Helen  Germaine, 
born  March  8,  1904,  educated  in  the 
Poughkeepsie  public  and  high  schools, 
and  at  Vassar  College. 


GUERNSEY,  Stephen  Gano, 

litLvryeT,  Banker. 

The  Poughkeepsie  Bank  was  organized 
in  1830,  and  the  same  year  the  substantial 
bank  building,  with  a  portico  of  heavy 
plastered  columns,  was  built  and  shel- 
tered the  bank  for  three-quarters  of  a 
century,  being  torn  down  in  1906  to  fur- 
nish a  site  for  the  building  erected  by 
the  Poughkeepsie  Trust  Company,  a 
corporation  formed  by  the  merger  of  the 
Poughkeepsie  National  Bank  and  the  City 
Bank,  the  last  named  institution  having 
been  organized  in  i860.  It  was  to  the 
service  of  the  Poughkeepsie  National 
Bank  that  Stephen  Gano  Guernsey  came, 
and  to  the  presidency  of  which  he  was 
elected  in  1892,  and  when  that  bank  and 
the  City  National  Bank  merged  into  the 
Poughkeepsie  Trust  Company  in  1901, 
he  became  president  of  that  institution,  a 
position  he  yet  most  ably  fills.  He  is  a 
lawyer  by  profession,  and  has  not  aban- 
doned his  first  love,  but  still  continues 
the  general  practice  of  law. 

The  Guernseys  of  Dutchess  County, 
New  York,  trace  descent  from  John 
Guernsey,  who  came  to  New  England, 
and  appeared  in  Milford,  Connecticut, 
about  1634,  and  in  that  colony  four  gene- 
rations of  the  family  lived,  John  Guern- 


sey, of  the  fourth  generation,  removing  to 
Amenia,  Dutchess  County,  New  York. 
From  John  Guernsey,  the  American  an- 
cestor, the  line  is  traced  through  his  son, 
Joseph  Guernsey,  born  in  1639,  and  his 
wife,  Hannah  (Coley)  Guernsey;  their 
son,  Joseph  (2)  Guernsey,  a  large  land 
owner  of  Milford,  and  his  wife,  Hannah 
(Disbrow)  Guernsey,  daughter  of  General 
Disbrow,  who  died  at  Woodbury,  Con- 
necticut, September  15,  1754;  their  son, 
John  (2)  Guernsey,  born  April  6,  1709, 
and  his  wife,  Anna  (Peck)  Guernsey, 
daughter  of  Jeremiah  Peck  and  grand- 
daughter of  Rev.  Jeremiah  Peck,  they  re- 
moved to  Litchfield,  Connecticut,  and 
thence  to  Amenia,  Dutchess  County,  New 
York,  where  he  died  in  1783;  their  son, 
John  (3)  Guernsey,  born  October  28, 
1734,  died  in  1799,  and  his  wife,  Azubah 
(Buel)  Guernsey,  with  whom  he  removed 
to  Broome  County,  New  York,  there 
owning  one  thousand  acres  of  farm  and 
timber  land,  but  he  returned  East,  joined 
his  family  in  Dutchess  County,  New 
York,  and  was  buried  near  his  father; 
their  son,  Ezekiel  Guernsey,  a  physician, 
born  in  1755,  died  at  Stanford,  Dutchess 
County,  New  York,  in  1856,  and  his  wife, 
Lavoisa  (Bennett)  Guernsey,  daughter  of 
Colonel  Peter  Bennett;  their  son,  Stephen 
Gano  Guernsey,  born  in  Stanford,  Dut- 
chess County,  New  York,  September  8, 
1799,  died  there  in  1875,  and  his  wife, 
Eleanor  (Rogers)  Guernsey,  daughter  of 
Dayton  Rogers,  of  Litchfield,  Connecti- 
cut, and  granddaughter  of  a  Revolution- 
ary soldier;  their  son,  Stephen  Gano  (2) 
Guernsey,  of  whom  further. 

Stephen  Gano  (2)  Guernsey,  of  the 
eighth  American  generation  of  the  family 
founded  in  New  England  by  John  Guern- 
sey, son  of  Stephen  Gano  and  Eleanor 
(Rogers)  Guernsey,  was  born  in  the  town 
of  Stanford,  Dutchess  County,  New  York, 
105 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


April  22,  1848.  Being  the  son  of  a  farmer, 
he  alternated  school  attendance  with  farm 
work  until  he  had  exhausted  the  advan- 
tages of  the  schools  of  his  town.  He  then 
attended  that  famous  northern  New  York 
school,  Fort  Edward  Institute,  and  there 
completed  his  institutional  education.  He 
continued  at  the  home  farm,  his  father's 
assistant,  until  well  over  legal  age,  then 
in  1870  left  the  farm  and  settled  in  Pough- 
keepsie,  New  York,  where  his  elder  broth- 
er. Captain  Daniel  W.  Guernsey,  later 
County  Judge  (1884-96)  was  engaged  in 
law  practice. 

Stephen  G.  Guernsey,  having  deter- 
mined to  embrace  the  profession  of  law, 
began  his  studies  in  1870  in  the  office  of 
Charles  Wheaton,  ex-County  Judge,  later 
passing  under  the  preceptorship  of  his 
brother.  Captain  Daniel  W.  Guernsey,  a 
veteran  of  the  Civil  War,  born  in  1834, 
died  in  1902.  In  1872,  Stephen  G.  Guern- 
sey was  admitted  to  the  New  York  bar, 
and  at  once  began  practice  in  Pough- 
keepsie  and  there  continues  in  general 
practice,  his  career  closely  paralleling 
that  of  another  veteran  of  the  Dutchess 
County  bar,  Frank  B.  Lown,  a  sketch  of 
whom  also  appears  in  this  work,  they  be- 
ginning the  study  of  law  at  about  the 
same  time,  Mr.  Guernsey  about  one  year 
the  elder  in  age,  Mr.  Lown  one  year  the 
elder  in  professional  age,  both  having 
practiced  in  Poughkeepsie  for  more  than 
half  a  century,  both  eminent  in  the  law, 
and  both  presidents  of  strong  financial 
institutions,  and  both  yet  "in  the  harness" 
as  professional  men  and  financiers.  Mr. 
Guernsey,  in  1874,  was  appointed  deputy 
county  clerk,  an  office  he  held  until  1876, 
when  he  resigned  to  engage  in  private 
practice  in  the  office  of  Jacob  Jewett. 
Shortly  afterward,  Mr.  Jewett  died,  Mr. 
Guernsey  continuing  in  the  same  offices. 
In  politics  Mr.  Guernsey  is  a  Democrat, 


and  from  1890  until  1894  he  was  a  member 
of  the  Poughkeepsie  Board  of  Education. 
During  the  administration  of  Governor 
Lucius  Robinson  he  was  appointed  loan 
commissioner  for  New  York  State,  and 
was  reappointed  by  succeeding  governors. 
In  1892,  he  was  elected  president  of  the 
Poughkeepsie  National  Bank,  and  in  1901 
president  of  the  Poughkeepsie  Trust 
Company,  as  heretofore  outlined.  His 
record  as  a  financier  has  won  him  annual 
reelection  to  the  presidency  during  the 
more  than  two  decades  that  have  passed 
and  the  steady  growth  of  the  company  in 
business  and  in  public  confidence  is  the 
best  comment  that  can  be  made  upon  his 
efficiency  and  ability.  He  is  a  trustee  of 
Vassar  Brothers'  Hospital,  one  of  the 
early  members  of  the  Amrita  Club,  mem- 
ber of  the  Bar  Association  and  other 
clubs  and  societies,  and  a  member  of  the 
Congregational  Church. 

Stephen  G.  Guernsey  married,  April  18, 
1877,  Marianna  Hicks,  of  Poughkeepsie, 
New  York,  and  they  are  the  parents  of 
four  children:  Raymond  G.,  Homer  W., 
Louis  G.,  Emmeline. 


HARRINGTON,  James  Taylor, 

SnFKeon. 

When  Dr.  Harrington  began  his  pro- 
fessional career  he  elected  surgery  as  his 
special  line  of  practice  and  so  continues, 
having  been  since  1910  located  in  Pough- 
keepsie, New  York,  with  the  exception  of 
about  two  years  spent  overseas  with  the 
American  Expeditionary  Forces  and  the 
Army  of  Occupation,  serving  as  surgical 
director  with  the  rank  of  major  in  the 
Medical  Corps  of  the  United  States  Army. 
He  is  locally  prominent  both  in  his  pro- 
fession and  as  a  citizen. 

(I)   Dr.  Harrington  is  a  descendant  of 
Robert  Harrington,  born   in  England  in 
106 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


1616,  died  in  Waltham,  Massachusetts, 
May  7,  1707,  and  was  buried  there.  He 
went  to  Watertown,  Massachusetts,  and 
there  married,  October  i,  1648,  Susan 
George,  born  1632,  died  July  6,  1694. 

(II)  John  Harrington,  son  of  Robert 
and  Susan  (George)  Harrington,  was 
born  August  24,  1651,  and  died  July  17, 
1741,  at  Waltham,  Massachusetts.  His 
wife,  Hannah  (Winter)  Harrington, 
whom  he  married  November  16,  1681, 
died  at  Waltham,  July  17,  1741,  aged 
seventy-eight. 

(III)  John  Harrington,  son  of  John 
and  Hannah  (Winter)  Harrington,  was 
born  in  October,  1684.  His  wife,  Sarah 
(Barnard)  Harrington,  whom  he  married 
November  13,  1740,  bore  him  a  son  John. 

(IV)  John  Harrington,  son  of  John 
and  Sarah  (Barnard)  Harrington,  was 
born  February  28,  1742,  and  died  at  West- 
bury,  Massachusetts,  January  23,  1829. 
His  wife,  Mary  (Whitney)  Harrington, 
whom  he  married  December  20, 1766,  bore 
him  a  son  Thomas  Wentworth. 

(V)  Thomas  Wentworth  Harrington, 
son  of  John  and  Mary  (Whitney)  Har- 
rington, was  born  October  i,  1774,  and 
died  about  1809.  His  wife,  Rachel  Eunice 
(Hyde)  Harrington,  died  at  Worcester, 
Massachusetts,  about  1850. 

(VI)  Stephen  Harrington,  son  of 
Thomas  W.  and  Rachel  E.  (Hyde)  Har- 
rington, was  born  at  Southboro,  Massa- 
chusetts, December  14,  1806,  and  died 
April  13,  1886.  His  second  wife,  Sarah 
Bachelder  (Holbrook)  Harrington,  whom 
he  married  at  Grafton,  Massachusetts,  in 
May,  1842,  died  at  Worcester,  Massa- 
chusetts, November  26,  1877. 

(VII)  Lewis  Wentworth  Harrington, 
son  of  Stephen  and  Sarah  B.  (Holbrook) 
Harrington,  was  born  in  Millbury,  Massa- 
chusetts, September  23,  1844.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Wor- 


cester, Massachusetts,  and  in  1869  went 
to  New  York  City  and  became  connected 
with  the  Sargent  Hardware  Company, 
and  later  formed  an  association  with 
Tobias  New,  the  original  constructor  of 
water-proof  cellars.  Since  1870  he  has 
been  connected  with  the  Tobias  New 
Construction  Company,  and  is  now  its 
president.  Lewis  W.  Harrington  mar- 
ried, April  21,  1874,  Mary  Young  Taylor, 
born  in  New  York  City,  December  19, 
1850,  daughter  of  James  and  Olivia 
(Moody)  Taylor,  her  parents  both  born  in 
Scotland. 

(VIII)  James  Taylor  Harrington,  son 
of  Lewis  W.  and  Mary  Y.  (Taylor)  Har- 
rington, was  born  in  New  York  City, 
May  7,  1877.  He  there  attended  the  pub- 
lic schools,  and  for  two  years  was  a  stu- 
dent at  the  College  of  the  City  of  New 
York.  Later  he  spent  two  years  at 
Phillips-Andover  Academy,  and  in  1895 
he  entered  Harvard  College,  whence  he 
was  graduated  Bachelor  of  Arts,  class  of 
"99".  The  following  three  years  he  spent 
in  New  York  City  engaged  with  a  whole- 
sale woolen  and  silk  house,  but  in  the  fall 
of  1902  he  entered  the  College  of  Physi- 
cians and  Surgeons,  Columbia  University, 
whence  he  was  graduated  Doctor  of  Medi- 
cine, class  of  June,  1906. 

The  three  years  following  graduation. 
Dr.  Harrington  spent  as  interne  at  Roose- 
velt and  Sloan  hospitals.  New  York  City, 
then  for  one  year  was  assistant  surgeon 
to  "Overlook  Hospital,"  Summit,  New 
Jersey.  On  May  15,  1910,  he  located  in 
Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  as  superintend- 
ent and  surgeon  at  Vassar  Brothers 
Hospital.  In  191 1  he  resigned  the  super- 
intendency  to  devote  his  time  entirely  to 
his  duties  as  attending  surgeon,  and  so 
continued  until  August  16,  1917,  when  he 
was  commissioned  an  officer  of  the  medi- 
cal  Corps   of   the   United   States  Army, 


107 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


serving  overseas  from  April  8,  1918,  until 
July  12,  1919,  receiving  honorable  dis- 
charge with  the  rank  of  major,  on  August 

9,  1919- 

While  abroad  on  military  duty  Dr. 
Harrington  saw  active  service  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  surgical  staff  of  Evacuation 
Hospital  No.  6,  American  Expeditionary 
Forces,  and  as  surgical  director  of  Evacu- 
ation Hospital  No.  27,  with  the  Army  of 
Occupation.  He  sailed  for  home,  July 
14,  1919,  receiving  honorable  discharge 
after  his  return  to  the  United  States. 

On  his  return  to  Poughkeepsie,  Dr. 
Harringfton  resumed  his  duties  as  attend- 
ing surgeon  to  Vassar  Brothers  Hospital, 
and  has  since  devoted  himself  exclusively 
to  surgical  practice.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Poughkeepsie  Academy  of  Medicine, 
of  which  he  was  president  in  1916  and 
1917.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the  Dutchess 
Putnam  Medical  Society,  the  American 
Medical  Association,  is  a  Fellow  of 
the  American  College  of  Surgeons,  mem- 
ber of  the  Harvard  Club  of  New  York, 
the  Amrita  Club,  Dutchess  Golf  and 
Country  Club,  Rotary  Club,  University 
Club,  Poughkeepsie  Tennis  Club,  Triune 
Lodge,  No.  782,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons ;  director  of  Veterans  Mountain 
Camp  and  of  its  medical  board,  member 
of  the  American  Legion,  the  Military 
Order  of  the  World  War,  Poughkeepsie 
Board  of  Health  and  its  vice-president 
(1924).  He  heads  the  list  of  the  nine 
Legionaires  of  the  Dutchess  County 
organization  of  the  American  Legion  that 
have  been  appointed  to  the  State  Com- 
mittee of  the  Legion  in  New  York  State, 
he  represented  Lafayette  Post  on  the 
Advisory  Board  of  the  Rehabilitation 
Committee.  Major  Harrington  was  a 
member  of  the  National  Rehabilitation 
Committee  representing  New  York,  New 
Jersey     and     Connecticut.       In     politics 


Major  Harrington  is  a  Republican.  He 
is  a  member  of  the  Reformed  Church  of 
Poughkeepsie. 

Dr.  Harrington  married  Lavina  Cornell 
Vail,  born  at  Verbank,  Dutchess  County, 
New  York,  March  24,  1888,  whom  he 
married  at  Poughkeepsie,  New  York, 
January  7,  1914.  Their  children  :  Jocelyn, 
born  December  26,  1914,  and  Willard 
Vail,  born  September  21,  1918,  both  of 
Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  the  latter  de- 
ceased. 

Mrs.  James  T.  Harrington's  father, 
Willard  Cornell  Vail,  is  a  descendant  of 
George  Vail,  who  emigrated  from  Eng- 
land to  Long  Island,  about  1680.  His 
son,  Moses  Vail,  died  at  Huntington, 
Long  Island.  He  married  Phoebe,  sur- 
name unknown.  Isaac  Vail,  the  next  in 
line,  was  born  in  1741,  died  in  1801,  at 
Verbank,  Dutchess  County,  New  York; 
he  married  Lavina  Ketcham.  Their  son, 
Elias  Vail,  lived  at  Verbank,  Town  of 
Unionvale,  in  the  old  Vail  homestead 
and  died  in  1857;  he  married  Hannah 
Duncan.  Their  son,  Elias  D.  Vail,  of 
Verbank,  born  1823,  died  1908;  he  was  a 
gentleman  farmer;  he  married  Lavina 
Cornell,  they  are  the  parents  of  Willard 
Cornell  Vail,  born  in  Verbank,  Dutchess 
County,  New  York,  May  17,  1856,  died  in 
Poughkeepsie,  August  5,  1910;  he  was 
born  in  the  old  Vail  homestead  and  was 
educated  in  the  district  schools  of  his 
native  town,  Oswego  Institute,  and 
Poughkeepsie  Military  Institute.  For 
some  time  he  served  as  clerk  and  book- 
keeper in  the  hardware  store  of  Valentine 
&  Coleman,  of  Poughkeepsie,  later  taking 
up  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Tris- 
tram Coffin.  Two  years  later  he  entered 
the  Albany,  New  York,  Law  School,  and 
was  graduated  in  the  class  of  1876.  Re- 
turning to  the  old  homestead  he  was  en- 
gaged in  farming  until  1895,  when  he  re- 
108 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


moved  to  Poughkeepsie,  where  he  lived  a 
retired  life.  Mr.  Vail  was  a  director  for 
fifteen  years  of  the  Fallkill  National  Bank, 
member  of  the  Amrita  Club.  Dutchess 
Golf  and  Country  Club,  and  of  the 
Masonic  order.  He  married,  January  14, 
1885,  Gertrude  B.  Flagler,  born  January 
24,  1862,  daughter  of  Philip  D.  Flagler, 
of  "Overlook,"  town  of  Lagrange,  Dutch- 
ess County,  New  York.  They  were  the 
parents  of  two  children :  Lavina  Cornell, 
who  married  Dr.  Harrington ;  and  Elias 
C,  born  September  25,  1889,  at  Verbank, 
Dutchess  County,  New  York ;  educated 
at  Riverview  Military  Academy,  vice- 
president  of  the  Pouvailsmith  Manu- 
facturing Company,  Poughkeepsie ;  mar- 
ried, October  7,  1916,  Alice  Jaquith,  of 
Omaha,  Nebraska,  and  they  were  the 
parents  of  two  children  :  Joan  and  Eleanor 
Vail. 


VAN  KLEECK,  Frank,  ' 
Merchant. 

In  the  death  of  Frank  Van  Kleeck,  in 
1917,  the  city  of  Poughkeepsie,  New 
York,  lost  one  of  its  most  honorable 
merchants  and  citizens.  A  thoughtful, 
quiet  man,  he  said  or  did  nothing  for  dis- 
play, and  was  always  tolerant  of  those 
who  differed  with  him.  Always  a  gentle- 
man, it  was  a  pleasure  to  be  associated 
with  him  socially  or  in  business,  and  he 
left  a  good  example  of  honorable  and 
faithful  living.  Mr.  Van  Kleeck  was 
noted  in  the  business  world  principally 
for  his  succession  in  the  family  line  in  the 
manufacture  of  hats  and  furs,  an  industry 
established  more  than  a  century  ago  in 
Poughkeepsie  and  which  holds  an  impor- 
tant place  in  the  commercial  life  of  that 
city.  He  preserved  the  rich  traditions  of 
the  ancient  family  name,  and  sought  to 
promote  the  success  of  the  establishment 


through  increased  volume  of  trade  and 
progressiveness  of  management.  In  these 
endeavors  he  was  instrumental  in  having 
the  business  keep  pace  with  the  forward 
movement  of  the  city  of  Poughkeepsie. 
Mr.  Van  Kleeck  himself  set  a  high  mark 
for  personal  integrity  in  business  affairs, 
which  is  one  of  the  pleasant  memories 
cherished  by  his  family  and  associates. 

Frank  Van  Kleeck  was  a  direct 
descendant  of  Baltus  Barentsen  Van 
Kleeck,  the  first  of  the  family  name  to 
emigrate  from  Holland  and  transplant 
the  roots  of  that  robust  stock  to  a  farm- 
stead on  the  site  of  the  present  city  of 
Poughkeepsie.  In  1697,  Baltus  B.  Van 
Kleeck  bought  a  farm,  and  with  character- 
istic energy  began  to  do  those  things 
to  which  the  succeeding  generations  of 
Van  Kleeck's  delighted  to  point.  He  was 
the  first  man  to  open  a  farm  in  that 
section,  and  he  was  the  first  man  of  any 
family  in  that  region  to  build  a  stone 
house  as  the  seat  of  his  homestead.  This 
famous  Van  Kleeck  house  for  many  years 
stood  as  a  landmark  on  Mill  Street,  near 
Vassar  Street,  Poughkeepsie.  From  with- 
in its  walls  Baltus  B.  Van  Kleeck  went 
forth  to  become  a  member  of  the  Colonial 
Assembly.  He  was  successful  in  this  ad- 
venture into  politics,  and  was  succeeded 
in  office  by  his  son  Johannis.  There  were 
six  children  in  the  Van  Kleeck  family 
from  which  Frank  Van  Kleeck  sprang. 
The  line  descends  through  Peter,  Baltus, 
Peter  B.  and  Teunis,  the  grandfather  of 
Frank  Van  Kleeck. 

Teunis  Van  Kleeck  was  born  June  14, 
1773,  in  Poughkeepsie,  and  having  learned 
the  hatter's  trade,  he  established  himself 
in  that  line  of  business  in  1799.  He  mar- 
ried, January  15,  1792,  Irene  Bacon,  and 
to  them  were  born  nine  children,  of  whom 
the  son  next  in  line  was  Albert. 

Albert  Van  Kleeck  was  born  in  Pough- 


109 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


keepsie,  December  27,  1807.  He  carried 
on  his  father's  business  until  his  own 
death,  November  7,  1866.  He  attained 
prominence  in  that  region  in  both  busi- 
ness and  politics.  In  1857  he  was  elected 
treasurer  of  Dutchess  County.  He  was 
appointed  postmaster  of  Poughkeepsie  by 
President  Lincoln,  and  received  a  reap- 
pointment from  President  Johnson,  but 
died  before  his  term  of  office  expired.  In 
early  manhood  he  was  a  Whig,  but  after- 
ward threw  his  influence  to  the  new-born 
Republican  party.  He  was  succeeded  in 
the  hat  manufacturing  business  by  his 
son  Edward,  who  died  November  13, 
1890.  His  widow  and  Frank  Van  Kleeck 
managed  the  business  until  February, 
1894,  when  Frank  Van  Kleeck  assumed 
the  entire  management.  Albert  Van 
Kleeck  married,  September  23,  1833,  Eliza 
Green,  a  native  of  England.  To  them 
were  born  ten  children. 

Frank  Van  Kleeck,  of  this  memorial, 
was  born  in  Poughkeepsie,  June  25,  1857, 
the  son  of  Albert  and  Eliza  (Green)  Van 
Kleeck.  His  death  occurred  on  October 
14,  1917.  He  was  educated  in  the  schools 
of  Poughkeepsie,  and  early  in  life  became 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  hats  and 
furs,  an  industry  that  had  been  in  the  Van 
Kleeck  family  for  more  than  one  hundred 
years.  The  family  traditions  and  inci- 
dents of  local  history  were  so  indelibly 
stored  in  the  mind  of  Frank  Van  Kleeck 
that  for  many  years  he  was  a  delightful 
medium  of  this  class  of  information  to 
numerous  people  of  the  community.  One 
of  the  relics  most  highly  prized  by  him 
was  a  hat  that  had  been  made  by  his 
grandfather,  Teunis  Van  Kleeck,  for  a 
soldier  of  the  War  of  1812. 

Mr.  Van  Kleeck  for  a  number  of  years 
had  been  president  of  Vassar  Brothers' 
Hospital,  and  was  a  trustee  of  that  insti- 
tution for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 


tury. The  board  of  trustees  of  the  hos- 
pital adopted  the  following  resolutions  on 
the  death  of  Mr.  Van  Kleeck : 

Whereas,  Frank  Van  Kleeck,  whose  death 
occurred  on  October  14,  1917,  was  a  trustee  of 
Vassar  Brothers'  Hospital  for  twenty-six  years 
and  was  president  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  for 
eleven  years  prior  to  March,  1913,  it  seems  fitting 
that  more  than  passing  notice  should  be  taken  of 
his  death. 

Resolved.  That  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Vassar 
Brothers'  Hospital  desires  to  place  upon  record  its 
appreciation  of  his  sterling  qualities,  his  uniform 
courtesy  and  his  conscientious  performance  of  his 
official  duties  and  its  profound  regret  that  a  life 
so  useful  and  a  relationship  so  agreeable  should  be 
terminated ;    further 

Resolved,  That  this  resolution  be  recorded  in 
the  minutes  of  the  board  and  a  copy  thereof  sent 
to  Mr.  Van  Kleeck's  family. 

Benjamin  M.  Fowler,  Secretary. 

Mr.  Van  Kleeck  was  a  trustee  for  twen- 
ty-six years  of  the  Vassar  Brothers'  Home 
for  Aged  Men.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Adriance  Memorial  Library  Board,  hav- 
ing been  appointed  to  the  first  board  in 
1899.  At  a  special  meeting  of  the  board 
of  trustees  of  the  City  Library,  October 
16,  1917,  the  following  was  unanimously 
adopted : 

The  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  City  Library 
wishes  to  record  its  esteem  for  its  late  member, 
Mr.  Frank  Van  Kleeck,  and  to  express  its  sorrow 
and  regret  for  his  death. 

Mr.  Van  Kleeck  was  one  of  the  original  mem- 
bers of  the  library  board  and  has  continued  in 
office  since  the  board  organized  on  May  4,  1900. 
He  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  work  of  the  library, 
and  as  chairman  of  the  Book  Committee  did  much 
by  his  advice  and  counsel  to  give  the  library  its 
present  high  standing. 

The  board  feels  that  the  city  has  lost  a  valuable 
official  and  a  citizen;  and  the  cordial  relation 
existing  among  the  members  of  the  board  makes 
his  death  the  loss  of  a  personal  friend  to  the  sur- 
viving members. 

Resolved,  That  the  foregoing  be  entered  in  full 
upon  the  minutes  and  a  copy  sent  to  his  family. 
I.  Reynolds  Adriance,  President. 

John  L.  Sicklev,  Secretary. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Mr.  Van  Kleeck  published,  in  1900, 
"The  Van  Kleeck  Family,"  a  little  volume 
of  great  historical  value.  In  his  political 
affiliations  he  was  a  Republican.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Holland  Society  of  the 
State  of  New  York ;  a  member  for  more 
than  forty  years  and  at  one  time  president 
of  the  Amrita  Club,  a  member  of  the 
Dutchess  County  Historical  Society,  the 
Phoenix  Hose  Company,  Triune  Lodge, 
No.  782,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and 
the  Reformed  Dutch  Church. 

Mr.  Van  Kleeck  married,  September 
24,  1891,  Sarah  P.  Sleight,  daughter  of 
Henry  A.  and  Mary  (Ward)  Sleight,  old 
and  honored  residents  of  Dutchess 
County  and  of  Revolutionary  stock.  The 
children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frank  Van 
Kleeck  are:  i.  Mary  Sleight,  who  mar- 
ried, December  29,  1920,  Theodore  Van 
Kleeck  Swift,  of  Poughkeepsie.  2.  Baltus 
Barentsen,  born  April  10,  1901,  at  Pough- 
keepsie; he  was  educated  at  Riverview 
Military  Academy,  the  Choate  School  at 
Wallingford,  Connecticut,  and  Williams 
College,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Delta 
Kappa  Epsilon  fraternity  and  the  Holland 
Society  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  is 
associated  in  the  management  of  the  busi- 
ness established  by  his  forefathers. 


RYON,  Walter  Gohring, 

Saperlntendent   Hudson   River   State 
Hospital,  Ponglikeepsie. 

Recognized  throughout  the  State  of 
New  York  as  an  authority  on  mental 
diseases,  Dr.  Walter  G.  Ryon,  the  super- 
intendent of  the  Hudson  River  State  Hos- 
pital at  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  brought 
to  his  present  important  position  exper- 
ience and  equipment  acquired  in  four 
hospital  tenures  of  office  or  periods  of 
post-graduate  study.  At  the  institution 
of  which  he  is  the  head  his  deep  learning 
and  the  great  fund  of  knowledge  gained 


from  close  research  in  matters  and  cases 
of  ills  affecting  the  mind  qualify  him  to 
serve  with  excellence  of  wisdom  and  ex- 
treme humaneness  as  the  final  arbiter  in 
the  numerous  perplexing  problems  pre- 
sented in  the  care  of  nature's  unfortu- 
nates. So  highly  esteemed  is  he  as  an  ex- 
pert in  his  specialized  department  that 
Governor  Alfred  E.  Smith  has  appointed 
him  a  member  of  a  commission  to  deter- 
mine the  mental  condition  of  condemned 
prisoners.  Dr.  Ryon  also  ranks  as  a  high 
authority  on  nervous  diseases,  and  has 
contributed  numerous  articles  for  maga- 
zines and  other  periodicals  on  mental 
subjects.  He  has  now  been  seven  years 
superintendent  of  the  Hudson  River  State 
Hospital,  and  is  said  by  State  Officials 
and  the  medical  fraternity  to  have  made 
an  unqualified  success  of  his  administra- 
tion. 

(I)  Dr.  Ryon  is  a  grandson  of  George 
P.  Ryon,  one  of  the  early  settlers  of  St. 
Lawrence  County,  New  York,  who  was 
born  in  Hammond,  New  York,  1820,  and 
died  there  in  1881.  He  was  a  master 
builder  by  occupation.  He  married  Eliza- 
beth Lum,  who  came  of  an  old  Ogdens- 
burg,  New  York,  family,  and  they  were 
the  parents  of  three  sons :  Charles,  Frank, 
and  George  Ludlow,  of  whom  further. 

(II)  George  Ludlow  Ryon,  son  of 
George  P.  and  Elizabeth  (Lum)  Ryon, 
was  born  in  Rossie,  St.  Lawrence  County, 
New  York,  February  6,  1850.  He  attend- 
ed the  public  schools  of  Ogdensburg, 
and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  while  the 
Civil  War  was  in  progress,  he  entered  the 
service  as  a  drummer-boy.  He  later  was 
made  Quartermaster  sergeant  and  as- 
signed to  Department  Headquarters  at 
Atlanta,  Georgia.  Returning  from  the 
war,  he  became  connected  with  the  firm 
of  Skillings,  Whitney  &  Barnes,  a  lumber 
company  of  Ogdensburg,    of    which    he 

II 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


became  treasurer,  and  remained  with 
them  in  various  capacities  until  he 
reached  the  age  of  fifty-five,  when  he  re- 
tired from  active  work.  Mr.  Ryon  is  vice- 
president  and  director  of  the  National 
Bank  of  Ogdensburg,  and  is  interested  in 
the  Strong  Lumber  Company,  the  Mc- 
Laren Lumber  Company  and  a  number 
of  other  business  enterprises.  He  is  a 
member  and  a  trustee  of  the  Ogdensburg 
Presbyterian  Church  and  is  active  in 
church  aiifairs.  Mr.  Ryon  married  (first), 
in  1872,  Grace  Hill,  who  died  in  March, 
1874;  they  were  the  parents  of  one  child, 
Walter  Gohring,  of  whom  further,  whose 
grandparents,  on  his  mother's  side,  were 
James  and  Jane  (Kane)  Hill,  of  Ham- 
mond, New  York.  Mr.  Ryon  married 
(second),  in  1879,  Emma  Frances  Davis, 
daughter  of  Hollis  and  Hannah  (Haber) 
Davis,  of  Weston,  Massachusetts. 

(Ill)  Dr.  Walter  Gohring  Ryon,  son 
of  George  Ludlow  and  Grace  (Hill)  Ryon, 
was  born  in  Ogdensburg,  New  York, 
March  23,  1874.  He  attended  the  public 
schools  of  his  home  city  and  Ogdens- 
burg Academy.  He  then  took  up  the 
study  of  medicine  at  the  College  of  Physi- 
cians and  Surgeons  of  Columbia  Uni- 
versity, New  York  City,  and  was  gradu- 
ated, class  of  1896,  degree  of  M.  D.  He 
entered  the  Manhattan  State  Hospital, 
Ward's  Island,  as  interne,  where  he  re- 
mained fourteen  months.  He  next  was 
appointed  assistant  physician  at  the  State 
Hospital,  Central  Islip,  Long  Island,  re- 
maining there  six  years.  He  then  was 
assigned  as  assistant  physician  to  the  St. 
Lawrence  State  Hospital  at  Ogdensburg, 
in  which  position  he  continued  eight 
years,  of  until  he  was  promoted  to  first 
assistant  physician  to  the  Willard  State 
Hospital,  Willard,  New  York.  He  was 
in  the  latter  position  ten  months,  when 
he  was  given  the  appointment,  January 
17,  1912,  of  medical  inspector  for  the  State 


Hospital  Commission.  This  position  he 
filled  until  April  19,  1917,  when  he  was 
appointed  superintendent  of  the  Hudson 
River  State  Hospital  at  Poughkeepsie,  of 
which  ofifice  he  is  the  successful  incum- 
bent. 

Dr.  Ryon  is  a  Fellow  of  the  American 
Medical  Association,  member  of  the  New 
York  State  Medical  Society,  American 
Psychiatric  Association,  New  York  Soci- 
ety for  Clinical  Psychiatry,  Society  of 
Medical  Jurisprudence,  Mental  Hygiene 
Committee  of  the  New  York  State  Chari- 
ties Aid  Association,  Dutchess  and  Put- 
nam Counties  Medical  Society,  Pough- 
keepsie Academy  of  Medicine,  Dutchess 
County  Historical  Society,  Nurses  Advis- 
ory Council  of  the  New  York  State 
Department  of  Education.  His  fraterni- 
ties are:  Poughkeepsie  Lodge,  No.  275, 
Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of  Elks  ; 
Poughkeepsie  Lodge,  No.  266,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons;  Ogdensburg  Chapter, 
No.  63,  Royal  Arch  Masons  and  King 
Solomon  Council,  No.  31,  Royal  and 
Select  Masters,  Poughkeepsie.  His 
clubs  are  the  Amrita,  Dutchess  Golf  and 
Country,  Dutchess  County  Sportsman 
and  Poughkeepsie  Auto,  all  of  Pough- 
keepsie. He  is  a  member  of  Christ  Epis- 
copal  Church,  Poughkeepsie. 

Dr.  Ryon  married,  October  2,  1902, 
Annie  Isabel  Hall,  daughter  of  William 
C.  and  Anna  (Cooper)  Hall,  of  Ogdens- 
burg. Dr.  and  Mrs.  Ryon  are  the  parents 
of  three  sons:  William  Church  Hall, 
born  October  20,  1903 ;  George  Ludlow 
(2),  born  September  14,  1905;  Walter 
Gohring,  Jr.  born  May  16,  1908. 


KINGSTON,  Walter  W., 

Contractor,  Bnilder. 

The  line  of  the  Kingston  family  herein 
considered  has  been  identified  with 
America    for  three  generations,  but  for 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


many  centuries  prior  to  the  founding  of 
the  family  in  the  New  World  the  patro- 
nymic "Kingston"  was  well  and  widely 
known  throughout  the  British  Isles. 
Walter  W.  Kingston  is  to-day  a  represent- 
ative of  the  third  generation  of  his 
branch  of  the  family  in  the  United  States, 
and  as  a  successful  contractor  and  builder 
and  as  a  highly  respected  citizen  his  name 
is  well  known  in  Poughkeepsie  and 
Dutchess  County,  New  York  State. 

The  family  originated  in  England, 
whence  it  eventually  spread  to  Scotland 
and  Ireland.  The  name  is  classified  by 
the  late  etymologist,  Charles  Wareing 
Bardsley,  as  a  local  surname,  taken  from 
the  name  of  the  parish  in  which  early 
members  of  the  family  lived.  There  are 
Kingston  parishes  in  the  counties  of  Cam- 
bridge, Devon,  Somerset,  Southampton, 
Sussex,  Berks,  Wilts,  East  Riding,  and 
Yorks,  and  in  the  parishes  did  the  name 
originate  almost  simultaneously  when 
early  in  the  eleventh  century  it  became  the 
custom  to  use  surnames.  Probably  the 
most  ancient  of  the  twenty-two  coats-of- 
arms  which  have  been  granted  to  various 
branches  of  the  family  is  the  one  used  by 
the  parent  branch  during  the  reign  of 
Richard  II. 

Arms — Argent,  a  steel  cap  proper  in  the  front 
thereof  a  feather  gules. 

Unlike  the  vast  majority  of  English, 
Irish,  Scotch,  and  Welsh  patronymics, 
Kingston  has  undergone  very  few  ortho- 
graphic changes.  Its  earliest  form  was 
Kyngeston,  as  is  evidenced  by  many  old 
records,  for  instance,  in  the  Hundred 
Rolls,  1273,  Peter  de  Kyngeston  is  listed 
as  a  resident  of  London.  In  England 
proper  and  in  Ireland  did  the  family  be- 
come especially  numerous  and  ramified, 
and  from  Ireland  sprang  the  progenitor 
of  the  family  from  which  Walter  W. 
Kingston  is  a  lineal  descendant. 

N.Y.— 8— 8 


(I)  John  Green  Kingston,  the  immi- 
grant ancestor  of  Walter  W.  Kingston, 
was  born  August  17,  1814,  in  Bantry  Bay, 
Ireland,  and  died  in  Worcester,  Massa- 
chusetts, February  19,  1895.  Upon  com- 
ing to  America  he  settled  in  St.  John, 
New  Brunswick,  Canada.  He  was  a  ship- 
builder, and  followed  the  vocation  for 
many  years  in  St.  John.  Subsequently  he 
removed  to  Worcester,  Massachusetts, 
where  he  lived  a  retired  life  until  his 
death.  He  was  married,  in  England,  to 
Harriet  Smith,  born  January  11,  1826,  in 
Hull,  Yorkshire,  England ;  she  died  in 
March,  1913;  she  bore  her  husband  five 
sons  and  one  daughter,  George,  of  whom 
forward,  being  the  youngest. 

(II)  George  Kingston,  youngest  of  the 
six  children  of  John  Green  and  Harriet 
(Smith)  Kingston,  was  born  in  St.  John, 
New  Brunswick,  Canada,  October  3,  1854. 
His  education  was  received  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  birthplace,  following  which 
he  became  associated  with  his  father  in 
the  latter's  ship-building  business.  While 
still  a  young  man  he  removed  to  and  set- 
tled in  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  and 
here  with  his  four  brothers  he  engaged  in 
the  contracting  and  building  business. 
Later  he  took  over  the  concern  and  con- 
ducted it  alone,  doing  an  extensive  busi- 
ness in  Worcester  and  its  environs.  To- 
day he  is  a  well  known  and  respected  citi- 
zen, and  identified  with  the  fraternal  life 
of  his  community  through  membership  in 
the  Ancient  Free  and  Accepted  Masons 
and  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fel- 
lows. His  religious  affiliation  is  given 
to  the  Universalist  Church.  He  was  mar- 
ried in  the  year  1878  to  Harriet  Margaret 
Neve,  born  March  5,  1859,  a  native  of 
London.  To  them  were  born  four  chil- 
dren :  Laura  ;  Alma  ;  Walter  W.,  of  whom 
forward ;  Alice. 

(III)  Walter   W.   Kingston,   only   son 
"3 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  third  of  the  four  children  of  George 
and  Harriet  Margaret  (Neve)  Kingston, 
was  born  in  Worcester,  Massachusetts, 
April  i8,  1883.  His  early  education  was 
obtained  in  the  local  public  schools  and 
Worcester  English  High  School.  Upon 
the  completion  of  his  scholastic  work  he 
entered  the  employ  of  George  H.  Cutting 
&  Company,  of  Worcester,  as  civil  engi- 
neer and  time  keeper  on  their  construc- 
tion work.  After  a  period  of  six  years  in 
this  capacity  he  became  connected  with 
the  J.  W.  Bishop  Company  as  superin- 
tendent of  construction,  which  position 
he  ably  filled  for  eight  years.  In  191 1  he 
removed  to  Poughkeepsie,  Dutchess 
County,  New  York,  in  order  to  become 
superintendent  of  construction  of  Jocelyn 
Hall  and  the  Auditorium  buildings  at 
Vassar  College.  In  1913  the  firm  of  King- 
ston &  Campbell,  contractors  and  build- 
ers, was  formed,  and  during  the  follow- 
ing six  years  the  firm  constructed  many 
private  residences,  in  addition  to  the 
Dutchess  Manufacturing  Building,  the 
Smith  Brothers  Factory,  the  Windsor 
Hotel,  and  the  First  National  Bank 
Building.  In  1919  the  firm  was  dissolved 
by  mutual  consent  and  W.  W.  Kingston 
now  conducts  his  business  under  the  firm 
name  of  W.  W.  Kingston  &  Company,  In- 
corporated, of  which  beholds  the  chief  ex- 
ecutive position.  Among  the  many  im- 
portant contracting  and  building  opera- 
tions undertaken  by  the  firm  was  the  re- 
modeling of  the  Lucky  Piatt  Department 
Store,  the  Viola  Public  School,  the  Hud- 
son River  Foundry,  the  Delafield  School, 
Marion's  Garage,  and  many  others. 

Mr.  Kingston  has  been  active  in  fra- 
ternal circles,  as  is  evidenced  by  his  many 
affiliations.  He  is  Past  Master  of  Pough- 
keepsie Lodge,  No.  266,  Free  and  accept- 
ed Masons;  Past  High  Priest  of  Pough- 
keepsie   Chapter,    No.    172,    Royal    Arch 


Masons ;  Past  Master  of  King  Solomon's 
Council,  No.  31,  Royal  and  Select  Mas- 
ters ;  Grand  Representative  of  the  Grand 
Council,  State  of  New  York ;  and  member 
of  Poughkeepsie  Commandery,  No.  43, 
Knights  Templar ;  Tri-Po-Bed  Grotto, 
Veiled  Prophets  of  the  Enchanted  Realm  ; 
and  the  Masonic  Club ;  Poughkeepsie 
Lodge,  No.  21,  Independent  Order  of  Odd 
Fellows ;  and  Poughkeepsie  Lodge,  No. 
275,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order  of 
Elks.  He  also  holds  membership  in  the 
Amrita  Club ;  the  Poughkeepsie  Auto- 
mobile Club ;  Poughkeepsie  Kiwanis 
Club ;  and  is  a  member  and  former  direc- 
tor of  the  Poughkeepsie  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce. He  was  one  of  the  six  enterpris- 
ing citizens  to  take  over  the  Poughkeepsie 
Driving  Park  in  order  to  maintain  it  as 
such  for  the  community.  His  religious 
affiliation  is  given  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church. 

Walter  W.  Kingston  was  married  in 
Baltimore,  Maryland,  July  30,  1907,  to 
Marguerite  Louise  Pentz,  a  daughter  of 
Thomas  and  Katherine  C.  (Mathews) 
Pentz,  residents  of  Baltimore,  Maryland. 
Walter  W.  and  Marguerite  Louise 
(Pentz)  Kingston  are  the  parents  of  two 
children:  Mildred  D.,  born  July  5,  1908, 
and  Elva  M.,  born  April  10,  1918. 


WEAVER,  Fred  Bain, 

Physician. 

Ability,  thorough  preparation,  and  close 
attention  to  the  duties  of  his  profession 
have  enabled  Dr.  Fred  Bain  Weaver  to 
attain  high  standing  among  his  col- 
leagues and  to  fill  with  notable  efficiency 
the  responsible  position  of  company  sur- 
geon of  the  New  York  Central  &  Hudson 
River  Railroad  Company. 

Dr.  Weaver  is  of  English  ancestry, 
bearing  a  name  which  was  distinguished 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  the  "right  little  tight  little  island"  more 
than  three  centuries  ago.  The  name 
doubtless  belongs  to  the  class  known  as 
occupational  in  its  earliest  history,  but 
the  family  in  America  is  said  to  derive  its 
name  directly  from  the  Manor  of  Weever, 
near  Middlewick,  Cheshire,  England. 
After  coming  to  America  the  form 
Weaver  seemed  to  be  preferred  and  it  is 
in  general  use  in  this  country  at  the  pres- 
ent time.  The  family  in  England  was 
and  is  armigerous,  bearing  arms  as  fol- 
lows : 

Arms — Barry  of  four,  argent  and  sable ;    on  a 
chief  of  the  last  a  garb  or. 
Crest — A  ram's  head  erased  argent,  armed  or. 

In  this  country  the  Weaver  family  has 
attained  distinction  and  honor,  and  has 
been  represented  in  nearly  every  line  of 
useful  activity  including  agriculture, 
mechanical  lines,  and  the  professions. 
The  Weaver  family  of  Rhode  Island, 
which  ranks  among  the  leading  families 
of  Colonial  origin  in  the  State,  was 
founded  in  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  about 
the  year  1655,  when  Clement  Weaver  be- 
came a  freeman  in  Newport.  He  pur- 
chased land  there  and  settled  about  three 
miles  from  Newport,  in  which  is  now 
Middletown.  He  became  prominent  in 
the  community  and  was  elected  deputy 
to  the  Rhode  Island  General  Assembly. 
Representatives  of  the  name  were  in  New 
York  State  before  the  Revolution. 

(I)  Peter  A.  Weaver,  grandfather  of 
Dr.  Fred  B.  Weaver,  was  born  in  the 
town  of  Gallatin,  Columbia  County,  New 
York,  in  1815,  and  died  there  in  1859.  He 
spent  practically  all  of  his  life  there.  He 
was  well  known  as  a  successful  hotel 
proprietor  and  farmer,  and  was  one  of 
the  highly  esteemed  citizens  of  the  town. 
He  married  Emma  Barnard,  born  in  Gal- 
latin, in  181 1,  died  in  1884,  and  they  were 
the  parents  of  four  daughters  and  one 


son,  the  son  being  Norman,  of  whom  fur- 
ther. 

(II)  Norman  Weaver,  son  of  Peter  A. 
and  Emma  (Barnard)  Weaver,  was  born 
in  the  town  of  Gallatin,  Columbia  County, 
New  York,  March  12,  1840,  and  died 
December  21,  192 1.  After  receiving  a 
good  practical  education  in  the  public 
schools  of  his  native  district,  he  became 
his  father's  associate  in  the  hotel  business 
and  in  his  agricultural  activities,  and  this 
connection  was  maintained  to  the  time  of 
the  death  of  the  father.  Norman  Weaver 
then  purchased  the  homestead  from  the 
other  heirs,  but  in  1874  he  sold  the  home 
farm  and  purchased  a  larger  one,  known 
as  the  Lasher  Farm,  located  near  Gal- 
latin. This  he  successfully  conducted  to 
the  time  of  his  death.  While  winning 
success  in  his  personal  business  affairs,  he 
did  not  neglect  his  duties  as  a  citizen,  but 
served  the  community  in  which  he  lived 
in  the  same  efficient  manner  in  which  he 
conducted  his  own  business.  He  was 
prominent  and  highly  esteemed  through- 
out the  county,  and  took  an  active  part  in 
local  public  affairs,  serving  for  years  as 
town  clerk.  For  more  than  half  a  cen- 
tury he  was  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
order,  being  affiliated  with  Widows  Sons 
Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  of 
Livingston,  New  York. 

Norman  Weaver  married,  July  6,  1864, 
Christina  Avery,  daughter  of  Solomon 
and  Sarah  E.  (Bain)  Avery,  of  West 
Tagkkanic,  Columbia  County,  New  York. 
Mrs.  Weaver  is  a  descendant,  in  the 
eighth  generation,  of  Captain  James 
Avery,  who  was  born  in  England,  about 
1620,  and  married  Joanna  Greenslade,  of 
Boston,  Massachusetts;  their  son,  Sam- 
uel Avery,  1664-1723,  married  Susannah 
Palnus,  1665-1747,  who  was  a  direct  de- 
scendent  of  Egbert,  first  king  of  England, 
837,  and  of  fourteen  subsequent  kings  of 

15 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


England,  and  of  Irish  descent ;  their  son, 
Humphrey  Avery,  1699-1788,  married, 
1724,  Jerusha  Morgan  ;  their  son,  Solomon 
Avery,  1729-1798,  married,  1753,  Hannah 
Punderson  ;  their  son,  Henry  Avery,  1767- 
1853,  married  Hannah  Rockefeller  (aunt 
of  John  D.  Rockefeller's  father)  ;  their 
son,  Solomon  Avery,  1812-1901,  married 
Sarah  C.  Bain,  and  their  daughter,  Chris- 
tina Avery,  married  Norman  Weaver. 
The  Bain  family,  mentioned  above,  is  of 
Scotch  origin.  Sarah  C.  Bain,  v^^ho  mar- 
ried Solomon  Avery,  was  a  daughter  of 
Andrew  and  Christina  (Millis)  Bain,  and 
a  descendant  of  Hugh  Bain,  who  came  to 
this  country  from  Scotland  about  171 5. 
Norman  and  Christina  (Avery)  Weaver 
became  the  parents  of  two  children:  i. 
Henry  Avery,  born  April  19,  1867,  died 
November  6,  1893 !  married  Kate  Hins- 
dale, and  has  one  child,  Henry  Avery 
Weaver,  born  April  3,  1894.    2.  Dr.  Fred 

B.  Weaver,  of  whom  further. 

(Ill)  Dr.  Fred  Bain  Weaver,  son  of 
Norman  and  Christina  (Avery)  Weaver, 
was  born  in  Gallatinville,  Columbia 
County,  New  York,  April  12,  1875.  He 
acquired  his  early  and  preparatory  train- 
ing in  the  public  schools,  and  in  Seymour 
Smith  Academy,  Pine  Plains,  graduating 
from  the  latter  in  1895.  ^^  had  already 
begun  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  H. 

C.  Wilbur,  of  Pine  Plains,  as  instructor, 
and  in  the  fall  of  1895  he  matriculated  in 
Albany  Medical  College,  which  is  the 
medical  department  of  Union  University, 
and  there  he  completed  his  course  with 
graduation,  April  19,  1898,  at  which  time 
he  received  the  degree  of  Medical  Doctor. 
Meantime,  in  1897,  during  the  vacation 
period,  he  had  served  as  interne  in  the 
New  York  Lying-In-Hospital,  and  after 
receiving  his  degree  he  enlarged  his  hos- 
pital experience  by  serving  as  house  sur- 
geon in  St.   Peter's  Hospital  in  Albany. 


When  that  period  of  hospital  training 
was  completed  he  began  general  practice 
in  association  with  his  former  preceptor. 
Dr.  Wilbur,  of  Pine  Plains,  with  whom  he 
remained  until  September,  1900,  at  which 
time  he  became  an  interne  in  the  Mothers' 
and  Babies'  Hospital  in  New  York  City, 
remaining  there  until  December  i,  of  the 
same  year.  His  already  extended  period 
of  hospital  experience  was  further  en- 
larged by  a  month  spent  in  the  New  York 
Polyclinic  Hospital,  and  from  January, 
1901,  to  June  12,  1901,  he  was  a  member 
of  the  surgical  staff  of  Mt.  Sinai  Hospital, 
New  York.  He  then  located  at  Hyde 
Park-on-Hudson,  and  engaged  in  gen- 
eral practice. 

In  February,  1903,  Dr.  Weaver  was  ap- 
pointed company  surgeon  at  Hyde  Park 
for  the  Central  Hudson  Railroad  Compa- 
ny, and  so  well  has  he  met  the  responsi- 
bilities of  that  important  position  that 
since  that  time  he  has  been  annually  re- 
appointed. Dr.  Weaver  has  continued  to 
be  a  careful  student  during  the  entire 
period  of  his  professional  career.  In  1922 
he  took  a  health  officer's  course  for  in- 
fectious diseases  and  public  health  work 
under  Dr.  Charles  C.  Duryea,  of  the  New 
York  State  Board  of  Health,  and  in  1923 
he  took  a  post-graduate  course  in  the 
School  of  Medical  Inspection  under  Pro- 
fessor Haven  Emerson,  of  Columbia  Uni- 
versity. He  is  a  member  of  the  New 
York  and  New  England  Association  of 
Railway  Surgeons,  Dutchess  County 
Medical  Society,  Medical  Society  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  Association  of  New 
York  Central  Lines  Surgeons,  Albany 
Medical  College  Alumni  Association, 
New  York  City  Alumni  Association  of 
Albany  Medical  College,  Volunteer 
Medical  Service  Corporation,  authorized 
by  the  Council  of  National  Defense, 
November  9,  1918,  Empire  Society,  sons 


116 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  the  American  Revolution,  Hyde  Park 
Ice  Yacht  Club,  Poughkeepsie  Yacht 
Club,  and  of  Eagle  Engine  Company,  No. 
I,  of  Hyde  Park.  He  is  a  member  of 
Stissing  Lodge,  No.  615,  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons;  Poughkeepsie  Chapter, 
No.  172,  Royal  Arch  Masons ;  King  Solo- 
mon Council,  No.  31,  Royal  and  Select 
Masters ;  Poughkeepsie  Commandery, 
No.  43,  Knights  Templar ;  and  Cypress 
Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order  Nobles  of 
the  Mystic  Shrine.  He  is  a  member  of 
Park  Lodge,  No.  203,  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows ;  Poughkeepsie  Lodge, 
No.  275,  Benevolent  and  Protective  Order 
of  Elks,  which  he  served  as  lecturing 
knight,  1905-06.  He  is  also  a  member  of 
the  Dutchess  County  Horticultural  Soci- 
ety, of  the  Courtesy  Staff  of  Vassar 
Brothers  Hospital,  and  of  the  Rocke- 
feller Family  Association. 


REYNOLDS,  Clarence  James, 
Business  Man,  Scientist. 

The  late  Clarence  James  Reynolds,  of 
Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  was  well 
known  during  his  long  life  not  only  as  a 
business  man  but  as  a  scientist  of  ability. 
Beside  his  lifelong  connection  with  the 
old  house  of  Reynolds  &  Company,  his 
tastes  led  him  into  research  and  study, 
and  in  geology,  anthropology,  horticul- 
ture and  music  he  had  a  wide  reputation. 

The  name  Reynolds  is  an  evolution 
from  regen  weald,  Scandinavian  words, 
meaning  "strong  ruler,"  which  were  car- 
ried by  the  Norsemen  into  France.  From 
France  the  various  forms  of  the  name 
reached  England:  Reginald,  Reigneaud, 
Reignold,  Reynold,  whence  Reynolds. 
James  Reynolds,  a  settler  in  the  Narra- 
gansett  Country,  Rhode  Island,  early  in 
the  eighteenth  century,  was  the  first 
American    ancestor    of    Clarence    James 


Reynolds  (i)  of  Poughkeepsie.  From 
him  the  line  of  descent  was  through: 
Francis  (2),  Peter  (3),  John  (4),  William 
(5),  James  (6),  William  W.  (7),  to 
Clarence  J.  Reynolds  (8). 

In  the  fifth  generation,  William  Rey- 
nolds, of  Wickford,  Rhode  Island,  lived 
in  the  period  of  the  War  of  the  Revolu- 
tion and  rendered  service  with  Rhode 
Island  troops. 

In  the  sixth  generation,  James  Rey- 
nolds removed  from  Rhode  Island  to  the 
valley  of  the  Hudson,  establishing  him- 
self at  Poughkeepsie,  where  he  founded 
the  business  which  in  1919  celebrated  its 
centennial.  James  Reynolds  settled  at 
Poughkeepsie,  about  1800,  and  quickly 
entered  into  the  various  activities  of  a 
commercial  sort.  First  he  operated  a  line 
of  sloops  for  passengers  and  freight,  out 
of  which  grew  a  storehouse  and  landing, 
and  grist,  plaster  and  saw  mills,  which 
together  formed  a  distributing  point  for 
Dutchess  County  produce.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  sons,  William  W.  and 
James  Reynolds,  Jr.  Steamboat  traffic 
on  the  Hudson  and  the  opening  of  the 
Erie  Canal  altered  local  conditions,  and 
the  business  of  James  Reynolds  and  his 
sons  expanded  and  shaped  itself  to  meet 
new  factors.  With  the  opening  of  the 
New  York  Central  Railroad  still  other 
conditions  were  created  and  the  business 
was  moved  from  the  waterfront  to  the 
side  of  the  railroad.  The  river  freighting 
was  eliminated  and  the  wholesale  distri- 
bution of  flour  and  grain  became  for  many 
years  the  business  of  the  firm.  To  that 
was  added  in  1887  the  wholesale  distribu- 
tion of  groceries  and  food  supplies  and 
these  two  departments  are  to-day  still  in 
operation,  the  title  of  the  house  being 
William  T.  Reynolds  &  Company,  Inc. 
The  business  founded  by  James  Reynolds 
has  borne  the  following  firm  names: 
17 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Reynolds  &  Innis  (from  about  1811  to 
1837),  W.  W.  &  J.  Reynolds,  Jr.,  1835- 
1865  ;  Reynolds  &  Sons,  1865-1869;  W.  W. 
Reynolds  &  Company,  1869-1874;  Rey- 
nolds &  Company,  1874-1889;  Reynolds 
&  Cramer,  1890-1899;  William  T.  Rey- 
nolds &  Company,  1900.  During  a  period 
of  over  a  century  this  house  has  deserved 
a  reputation  for  conservatism,  stability 
and  honorable  standards. 

Clarence  James  Reynolds,  who  became 
associated  with  Reynolds  &  Company  in 
1883,  was  born  in  Poughkeepsie,  New 
York,  July  25,  1853.  He  was  educated  in 
the  city  of  his  birth,  and  in  young  man- 
hood went  abroad  to  study  music,  enter- 
ing the  Conservatory  in  Paris.  While 
in  Paris  he  married,  October  14,  1878, 
Mile.  Marguerite  Beatrix  de  Lalande, 
daughter  of  Laurence  and  Marie  Louise 
(Ristelhuber)  de  Lalande.  Returning  to 
the  United  States  he  began  his  long  con- 
nection with  the  business  of  his  father 
and  grandfather,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  July  31,  1919,  he  was  the  secretary 
of  the  corporation  of  William  T.  Reynolds 
&  Company.  Mr.  Reynolds  was  a  valued 
member  of  several  clubs  and  scientific 
societies  among  them  being:  the  Arche- 
ological  Institute  of  America,  the  Na- 
tional Geographic  Society,  the  Navy 
League,  the  Dutchess  County  Horti- 
cultural Society,  Euterpe  Glee  Club,  Am- 
rita  Club,  Apokeepsing  Boat  Club,  and 
Triune  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons.  His  scientific  interests  led  to 
rather  extensive  travel,  which  helped  to 
broaden  and  diversify  his  large  fund  of 
general  information,  but  his  love  for 
study  never  afifected  his  capacity  for 
friendship  and  his  human  contacts  were 
warm  and  kindly.  He  and  his  wife  (who 
died  October  8,  1885)  were  the  parents  of: 
Louis  W.,  died  April  22,  1923.  Marie 
Louise,  wife  of  Isaac  Piatt  and  the  mother 


of  a  daughter,  Louise  de  Lalande  Piatt. 
Marguerite  Beatrix,  who  married  Wilfred 
H.  Sherrill,  and  died  October  12,  1904. 
Paul  Innis. 

Paul  Innis  Reynolds,  youngest  of  the 
four  children  of  Clarence  James  and 
Marguerite  Beatrix  (de  Lanande)  Rey- 
nolds, and  a  representative  of  the  ninth 
generation  of  his  family  in  America,  was 
born  in  Poughkeepsie,  May  i,  1883.  He 
attended  private  schools  in  Poughkeepsie, 
and  upon  the  completion  of  his  course  at 
Riverview  Military  Academy  in  1900 
entered  the  employ  of  William  T.  Rey- 
nolds &  Company.  His  first  position  was 
that  of  clerk  in  the  shipping  department, 
where  he  remained  for  five  years.  He 
then  became  buyer  and  advertising  man- 
ager, and  later  business  manager,  and  in 
1917  treasurer  of  the  corporation,  to  which 
office  was  added  that  of  secretary  in  1919 
at  his  father's  death.  During  the  early 
part  of  America's  entry  in  the  World 
War,  Mr.  Reynolds'  services  were  asked 
for  by  the  Italian  Commission  of  the 
American  Red  Cross.  Answering  this 
call  he  served  over-seas  until  the  close 
of  the  war  as  first  lieutenant  of  the  Ameri- 
can Red  Cross  having  charge  of  relief 
work  in  one  of  the  important  districts  of 
the  province  of  Tuscany. 

In  politics  Mr.  Reynolds  is  a  Republi- 
can. He  is  a  member  and  past  vice- 
president  of  the  Amrita  Club,  Pough- 
keepsie ;  a  member  of  the  Dutchess  Golf 
and  Country  Club  ;  a  member  and  several 
times  vice-president  of  the  Poughkeepsie 
Tennis  Club ;  a  member  and  first  presi- 
dent of  the  Poughkeepsie  Rotary  Club; 
member  of  the  Poughkeepsie  Automobile 
Club;  member  and  present  (1924)  first 
vice-president  of  the  Poughkeepsie  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce ;  member  and  one  of 
the  executive  committee  of  the  New  York 
State  Wholesale  Grocers'  Association ; 
118 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


and  trustee  and  executive  committee- 
member  of  Vassar  Brothers'  Hospital. 
On  the  hospital  board  Mr.  Reynolds  has 
taken  a  leading  part  in  the  reorganization 
of  the  institution  in  connection  with  its 
extensive  building  program.  He  is  a 
member  of  Christ  Episcopal  Church, 
Poughkeepsie. 

Paul  Innis  Reynolds  was  married  in 
Poughkeepsie,  February  28,  1922,  to 
Dorothy  Titus,  daughter  of  Henry  P. 
and  Clara  A.  (Fesler)  Titus.  They  are 
the  parents  of  four  children :  Clarence 
James,  2d,  and  Clara  Marguerite,  twins, 
born  December  10,  1922 ;  Ruth  de  Lalande 
and  Rosalind  May,  twins,  born  October 
6,  1924. 


OTIS,  John  C, 

Physician,  Philanthropist. 

The  useful  life  of  Dr.  Otis,  of  Pough- 
keepsie, New  York,  has  almost  entirely 
been  passed  in  his  native  Dutchess 
County,  and  since  January  i,  1872, 
Poughkeepsie  has  been  his  home  and  the 
seat  of  his  medical  practice.  His  success 
as  a  physician  has  been  remarkable,  not 
only  for  the  length  of  his  career  in  that 
profession,  but  also  for  the  great  number 
of  patients  to  whom  he  ministered  so  de- 
votedly that  many  of  them  looked  upon 
him  as  their  best  friend  and  always  as 
their  safest  counselor  in  matters  pertain- 
ing to  their  bodies,  and  their  domestic 
and  business  affairs.  His  philanthropies 
were  numerous  and  diversified,  testifying 
to  that  liberality  of  mind  and  generosity 
of  purse  for  which  he  has  become  more 
than  locally  esteemed.  As  president  of 
the  Poughkeepsie  Board  of  Health  and 
the  Board  of  Public  Works,  as  well  as 
president  of  leading  medical  associations, 
he  has  exhibited  his  spirit  of  public  ser- 
vice and  professional  skill  that  has  made 
him  a  man  much  sought  after  by  his  col- 


leagues and  fellow-citizens.  Dr.  Otis 
comes  of  ancient  English  family,  Otes, 
Otys,  that  bore  arms: 

Arms— Azure,  a  cross  engrailed  argent  between 
four  crosslets  fitchee  or. 

A  variation  of  the  above  was : 

/4r»u— Argent,  a  saltire  engrailed  between  four 
crosses-crosslets  fitchee  azure. 

The  arms  of  Oates  of  Leeds,  York- 
shire, figured  in  a  variation  of  H.  H.  Otis, 
in  genealogical  memoir,  were  not  granted 
until  1815. 

"The  family  of  Otis,"  says  Tudor,  "has 
produced  some  eminent  persons,  and  its 
several  branches  are  now  widely  extend- 
ed." The  family  name  Otis  is  from  the 
personal  name  Otes,  which  "Camden 
Remains"  says  is  from  Otho,  rather  Oto 
(Odo),  brought  into  England  by  the 
Normans  and  used  in  the  possessive  case. 
Oto  de  Bagley  flourished  about  1300,  and 
Andreas  Otes  was  in  the  Hundred  Rolls 
of  Norfolk,  1273  A.  D.,  as  was  Henry  fil 
Ode  in  the  Hundred  Rolls  of  Yorkshire 
in  the  same  year. 

There  was  a  distinguished  patriot, 
James  Otis,  of  Boston,  during  Revolu- 
tionary times,  who  may  have  been  the 
ancestor  of  Dr.  John  C.  Otis  in  maternal 
line,  but  his  only  son  died  young.  A 
John  Otis  seems  to  have  been  the  com- 
mon ancestor  of  many  Massachusetts 
families,  he  born  at  Barnstable,  Devon- 
shire, England,  in  1581.  He  came  to 
Hingham,  Massachusetts,  where  he 
shared  in  the  first  division  of  lands  in 
1635.  He  took  the  freeman's  oath,  March 
13,  1635,  and  resided  at  Otis  Hill,  a  beau- 
tiful slope  southwest  of  the  harbor,  the 
hill  there  being  covered  with  a  heavy 
growth  of  forest  trees.  He  died  at  Wey- 
mouth, Massachusetts,  May  31,  1657, 
aged  seventy-six.  His  first  wife  Mar- 
garet, whom  he  married  in  England,  died 
in    Hingham,    Massachusetts,    in    June, 


119 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


1653,  according  to  Deane,  but  in  July, 
1652,  Tudor  says  he  removed  to  Wey- 
mouth and  married  a  second  wife,  who 
survived  him.  He  left  sons,  John  (2) 
and  Richard,  also  four  daughters,  Mar- 
garet, Hannah,  Ann  and  Alice. 

(I)  Henry  Otis  was  born  in  Massa- 
chusetts, and  became  a  builder,  spending 
most  of  his  life  as  a  contractor.  He  mar- 
ried, and  had  two  sons  and  seven  daugh- 
ters.   He  died  in  1812. 

(II)  John  H.  Otis,  son  of  Henry  Otis, 
was  born  in  New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey, 
in  1809,  although  the  family  only  resided 
there  a  short  time.  At  the  age  of  eighteen 
John  H.  Otis  went  to  Charleston,  South 
Carolina,  where  he  engaged  in  business 
under  the  firm  name,  Otis  &  Roulane.  In 
1846  he  disposed  of  his  interests  in  the 
South  and  came  to  Dutchess  County,  New 
York,  where  he  bought  700  acres  in  the 
town  of  Stanford.  He  held  that  property 
until  1855,  then  sold  and  moved  to  Pough- 
keepsie,  where  with  E.  B.  Osborne  he 
was  interested  in  the  "Telegraph,"  later 
the  "News-Press."  He  was  for  many 
years  a  director  of  the  Merchants'  Bank 
of  Poughkeepsie,  was  an  ardent  Demo- 
crat, and  a  man  of  strong,  upright  cha- 
racter. During  the  "Nullification"  period 
of  1832  he  was  a  member  of  a  company 
of  Northern  volunteers  in  Charleston, 
and  served  in  the  Seminole  War  in  Flor- 
ida under  Andrew  Jackson.  When  war 
broke  out  between  the  States  he  raised  the 
first  company  in  Dutchess  County,  New 
York,  Company  E,  Thirtieth  Regular 
New  York  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  later 
was  ofiFered  the  colonelcy  in  the  One 
Hundred  and  Fiftieth  Regiment,  but  de- 
clined the  honor.  In  1863  he  went  to  the 
front  as  Captain  of  Company  K,  One 
Hundred  and  Sixty-Fifth  Regiment,  New 
York  Heavy  Artillery,  and  served  with 
honor.    As  a  citizen  he  was  popular  and 


influential,  serving  seven  times  as  super- 
visor of  Dutchess  County,  also  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Poughkeepsie  Board  of  Health 
and  of  the  Board  of  Education.  In  1852 
and  1853  he  was  a  member  of  the  New 
York  State  Senate.  He  was  an  active 
member  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  serving  as 
vestryman  for  a  period  of  twenty  years. 

Senator  John  H.  Otis  married,  in  1842, 
Ann  Briggs  Buckman,  of  a  prominent 
Dutchess  County  family,  who  died  in 
i860,  leaving  two  children:  Mary  Anna, 
married  Dr.  W.  R.  Case,  of  Poughkeepsie, 
and  Dr.  John  C.  Otis,  of  further  mention. 
Senator  John  H.  Otis  died  in  July,  1887. 

(HI)  John  C.  Otis,  only  son  of  Senator 
John  H.  and  Ann  Briggs  (Buckman)  Otis, 
was  born  in  the  town  of  Stanford,  Dutch- 
ess County,  New  York,  January  4, 
1847,  and  now  (1925)  holds  honored  rank 
among  the  physicians  of  his  native 
county.  He  is  also  president  of  the  Farm- 
ers' and  Manufacturers'  Bank  of  Pough- 
keepsie. At  an  early  age  Poughkeepsie 
became  the  family  home,  and  there  he 
obtained  his  preparatory  education  in 
Dutchess  Academy  and  the  John  R.  Les- 
lie School.  In  1863  and  1864  he  served  as 
quartermaster  in  the  Department  of  Wil- 
limantic,  and  later  for  a  time  was  a  stu- 
dent at  the  University  of  Vermont. 

In  1865  he  began  his  medical  studies 
with  Dr.  Case,  of  Harts  Village,  Dutchess 
County,  New  York,  and  in  March,  1868, 
was  graduated  M.  D.  from  New  York 
Homeopathic  College,  and  in  June  of  that 
year  completed  a  course  of  medical  study 
at  the  University  of  Vermont,  having 
persued  courses  in  both  homeopathy  and 
allopathy  for  some  time  at  these  two  in- 
stitutions. He  began  medical  practice  at 
Erie,  Pennsylvania,  but  later  moved  to 
Millbrook,  Dutchess  County,  New  York : 
then,  two  years  later,  on  January  i,  1872. 
finally  located  in  Poughkeepsie,  forming 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


a  partnership  with  Dr.  A.  Hall,  an  old 
practitioner.  Two  years  later  he  estab- 
lished in  practice  alone,  but  in  1878 
formed  a  partnership  with  Dr.  Taylor 
Lansing,  which  continued  until  Dr.  Lans- 
ing's death  in  1883.  In  1884  Dr.  Otis 
associated  with  Dr.  Case,  continuing  until 
1888,  then  practiced  alone  until  1892, 
when  he  admitted  his  son,  Dr.  John  Havi- 
land  Otis,  to  a  partnership,  father  and  son 
continuing  together  until  the  death  of  the 
latter  on  June  30,  1907. 

Dr.  Otis  always  commanded  a  large 
general  practice,  but  gave  special  atten- 
tion to  the  diseases  of  children.  He  was 
for  a  number  of  years  president  of  the 
Poughkeepsie  Board  of  Health,  and  is  an 
ex-president  of  the  Dutchess  County 
Homeopathic  Society.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Dutchess-Putnam  Counties  Medi- 
cal Society  and  the  Poughkeepsie  Acade- 
my of  Medicine,  both  of  which  organiza- 
tions he  has  served  as  presiding  officer. 
He  is  president  of  the  First  District 
Branch  of  the  Medical  Association  of 
New  York  State.  He  served  the  city  of 
Poughkeepsie  two  terms,  six  years,  as 
president  of  the  Board  of  Public  Works. 
He  is  a  trustee  of  the  Poughkeepsie  Sav- 
ings Bank,  an  institution  with  which  he 
has  been  connected  with  for  twenty-five 
years.  For  thirty  years  he  has  been  con- 
nected with  the  Farmers'  and  Manufac- 
turers' Bank  of  Poughkeepsie,  and  in 
March,  1922,  was  elected  president  of  that 
institution,  succeeding  Edward  S.  At- 
water,  deceased. 

Dr.  John  C.  Otis'  contributions  to  the 
municipal  welfare  of  the  city  of  Pough- 
keepsie are  beyond  compare.  He  has  been 
the  organizer  of  numerous  health  and 
charitable  organizations  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  city.  He  was  most  active  in 
the  reorganization  of  the  Board  of  Pub- 
lic Works,  which  body  was  placed  on  an 
efficient  basis,  functioning  in  satisfactory 


manner  with  other  related  departments  of 
the  city  government.  For  years  he  has 
been  a  trustee  of  the  Poughkeepsie  Rural 
Cemetery.  He  is  identified  with  every 
movement  having  as  its  purpose  the  pro- 
gress and  enhancement  of  the  good  name 
of  the  city  of  Poughkeepsie.  He  has  been 
a  member  of  the  Amrita  Club  and  the 
Poughkeepsie  Tennis  Club  for  many 
years.  He  is  a  warden  and  vestryman  of 
Christ  Episcopal  Church. 

Dr.  John  C.  Otis  married,  October  6, 
1870,  Catherine  Haviland,  daughter  of 
R.  Barclay  and  Susan  (Tredway)  Havi- 
land. Her  father  was  a  prominent  farmer 
of  Millbrook,  then  Harts  Village,  Dutch- 
ess County;  a  lifelong  Democrat,  tak- 
ing an  active  interest  in  all  civic  affairs. 
He  was  one  of  the  original  members  and 
officials  of  the  Dutchess  County  Agri- 
cultural Society,  and  a  birthright  member 
of  the  Society  of  Friends.  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Otis  were  the  parents  of  two  children, 
both  deceased.  Dr.  John  Haviland,  of 
whom  further,  and  Annie  S.  Otis.  i^ 

(IV)  Dr.  John  Haviland  Otis,  son  0/ 
Dr.  John  C.  and  Catherine  (Haviland) 
Otis,  was  born  at  Harts  Village,  Dutchess 
County,  New  York,  July  27,  1871.  He 
was  a  graduate  of  the  New  York  Homeo- 
pathic Medical  College,  M.  D.,  1892,  and 
immediately  began  practice  with  his 
father  in  Poughkeepsie.  He  became 
famous  in  his  profession  as  a  specialist 
in  diseases  of  children,  and  was  always 
a  student,  taking  a  special  course  in  New 
York  almost  every  year  as  long  as  he 
lived.  He  was  a  member  of  several  medi- 
cal societies,  member  of  the  Masonic 
order,  attending  physician  to  the  City 
Home,  and  at  the  time  of  his  passing  was 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  Charity  Com- 
mittee. He  married,  in  October,  1894, 
Louise  N.  Smith,  of  Poughkeepsie,  who 
survives  him  with  three  children :  Anna 
S.,  John  H.  and  Catherine  H.  Otis. 
121 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


LOWN,  Frank  B., 

Lawyer,  Banker. 

In  Hasbrouck's  "History  of  Dutchess 
County"  the  chapter  devoted  to  the  Bench 
and  Bar  of  the  county  is  from  the  pen  of 
Frank  B.  Lown,  a  member  of  that  bar 
since  1871  and  yet  in  practice  after  more 
than  half  a  century.  With  characteristic 
modesty  Mr.  Lown  made  no  mention  of  his 
own  part  in  the  making  of  the  legal  histo- 
ry of  his  county,  but  he  cannot  now  claim 
immunity  from  the  attention  of  the  biog- 
raphers as  he  could  then,  being  himself 
the  writer.  He  said :  "Time  marches 
rapidly  and  the  lawyers  of  one  genera- 
tion, except  they  be  of  remarkable  ability 
and  achievement,  are  forgotten  by  the 
next.  The  distinguished  and  the  great 
need  no  historians.  Their  lives  and  deeds 
pass  from  father  to  son,  their  names  and 
reputations  never  suffering  in  the  telling." 
In  his  review  the  record  of  this  eminent 
member  of  the  Dutchess  County  Bar, 
this  counsellor  and  friend  of  other  law- 
yers, this  banker  and  business  man  is  re- 
viewed, that  his  deeds  may  be  perpetu- 
ated and  kept  in  mind  with  many  others 
of  the  strong  men  of  the  bar  of  the  State 
of  New  York. 

When  the  Dutch  dominion  in  the  Val- 
ley of  the  Hudson  passed  to  the  English, 
the  Lown  family  came  in  with  other  Eng- 
lish settlers,  Rhinebeck  becoming  their 
home.  Frank  B.  Lown  is  a  grandson  of 
David  Lown,  and  a  son  of  David  (2) 
Lown,  born  in  Rockland  County,  New 
York,  who  was  a  cooper  by  trade,  he  be- 
coming a  resident  of  Poughkeepsie,  New 
York,  in  1857,  where  he  died  in  1875. 
David  (2)  Lown  married  Jane  M.  Coon, 
and  they  were  the  parents  of  seven  chil- 
dren :  David  Mills ;  Robert  B. ;  Frank  B. ; 
of  whom  further;  Clarence;  Sarah,  wife 
of  Leo  E.  D.  Sutcliff ;  Jennie;  Jessie. 


Frank  B.  Lown  was  born  at  Red  Hook, 
Dutchess  County,  New  York,  January  i, 
1849,  and  since  1857  has  been  a  resident 
of  Poughkeepsie.  He  completed  full 
courses  of  public  school  study  in  the  city 
of  his  adoption,  and  then  began  the  study 
of  law.  He  finished  his  law  preparation 
in  the  office  of  Nelson  &  Baker,  his  pre- 
ceptor the  eminent  Judge  Homer  A.  Nel- 
son, born  in  1829,  died  in  1891,  County 
Judge,  Secretary  of  State,  State  Senator, 
whom  Mr.  Lown  styles,  "The  most  for- 
midable jury  lawyer  of  a  group  of  strong 
Dutchess  county  lawyers.  The  junior 
member  of  the  firm  was  Orlando  D.  M. 
Baker,  born  in  1842,  died  in  1890.  In  all 
matters  concerning  practice,  concerning 
the  machinery  of  the  law,  far  and  away 
the  ablest  man  at  the  bar." 

Under  such  preceptors  Mr.  Lowe  spent 
the  years  1870  and  1871,  gaining  admis- 
sion to  the  New  York  bar  in  the  latter 
year.  After  his  admission  to  the  bar  he 
became  a  law  clerk  in  the  offices  of 
Thompson  &  Weeks,  then  the  oldest  firm 
of  legal  practitioners  in  Dutchess  County. 
Of  John  Thompson,  born  in  1809,  died  in 
1890,  Mr.  Lown  wrote,  "Mr.  Thompson 
was  a  brilliant  advocate  and  a  man  of 
much  learning  in  his  profession.  He 
dearly  loved  the  turmoil  of  a  lawsuit  and 
it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  he  was  in 
practically  every  important  trial  from 
1845  until  his  retirement."  Of  Mr.  Weeks 
he  wrote:  "Mr.  Weeks  disliked  the  com- 
bative air  of  the  court  room  and  rarely 
could  be  induced  to  take  an  active  part 
in  trials.  He  was  perhaps  the  best  and 
safest  office  lawyer  and  general  adviser 
at  the  bar,  and  with  his  partner  to  supply 
the  eloquence  and  pyrotechnics  the  firm 
Thompson  &  Weeks  was  deservedly  pre- 
eminent in  the  legal  history  of  Dutchess 
County." 

Such   were   the   men  with   whom   Mr. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Lown  was  associated  during  the  first 
seven  years  of  his  legal  career,  1871-78. 
He  was  then  admitted  the  third  member 
of  the  firm  which  continued  as  Thomp- 
son, Weeks  &  Lown  until  1887,  when  Mr. 
Weeks  died,  Mr.  Thompson  passing  away 
in  1890.  Mr.  Lown  continued  the  busi- 
ness as  the  last  survivor  and  is  yet  in 
practice,  the  Nestor  of  the  Dutchess 
County  bar,  occupying  both  as  banker  and 
lawyer  the  peculiar  position  of  counsellor 
and  friend  of  other  lawyers,  a  fact  which 
in  itself  reveals  the  possession  of  uncom- 
mon attainments  of  a  high  order.  His 
practice  has  covered  a  wide  range  as 
opposed  to  the  modern  idea  of  specializ- 
ing in  one  of  the  branches  of  the  law.  It 
was  perhaps  the  versatile  quality  of  his 
mind  that  led  him  into  banking.  His 
first  connection  with  that  business  was 
when  retained  as  counsel  by  the  Farmers' 
and  Manufacturers'  National  Bank  of 
Poughkeepsie,  a  financial  institution  rep- 
resenting the  best  traditions  in  conserva- 
tive banking.  Mr.  Lown's  sound  judg- 
ment in  matters  of  credit  and  banking 
policy  soon  led  to  his  election  to  the  bank 
directorate,  and  to  other  positions  of 
trust.  Finally,  in  1922,  he  was  elected 
president  of  the  Poughkeepsie  Savings 
Bank,  an  institution  standing  high  upon 
the  list  of  thrift  banks  and  successful 
conservers  of  the  savings  of  the  public  it 
serves. 

A  man  of  public  spirit,  Mr.  Lown  ren- 
ders present  service  to  his  State  as  presi- 
dent of  the  board  of  directors  of  The 
Hudson  River  Insane  Asylum ;  to  his 
profession-at-large  as  president  of  the 
Dutchess  County  Bar  Association;  and 
socially  is  identified  with  the  Amrita 
Club,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  founders. 
His  fraternity  is  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows. 

Mr.  Lown  married  Augusta  Paulding, 


of  ancient  Dutchess  County  family, 
daughter  of  William  and  Margaret  Pauld- 
ing. The  only  child  born  to  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Lown  died  in  infancy. 

Such  in  brief  has  been  the  career  of 
Frank  B.  Lown,  a  native  son  of  the  Em- 
pire State,  and  of  Dutchess  County,  who 
now  in  his  seventy-fifth  year  has  never 
had  a  home  outside  the  county  of  his 
birth,  but  in  that  county  has  risen  to 
eminence  as  professional  man,  banker  and 
citizen,  and  to  a  position  in  public  esteem 
and  confidence  to  a  degree  few  men  attain. 


SMITH,  Scott  Lord, 

Physician. 

Scott  Lord  Smith,  M.  D.,  who  enjoys  a 
wide  reputation  in  the  Hudson  River  sec- 
tion, particularly  in  that  region  focussing 
upon  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  the  scene 
of  his  principal  activities  as  a  success- 
ful practitioner,  comes  of  an  ancestry,  on 
the  paternal  side,  dating  back  to  the 
settlement  for  the  second  time  of  Amenia, 
Dutchess  County,  New  York.  The  father 
of  Dr.  Scott  L.  Smith  was  himself  a 
noted  physician,  alienist  and  prominent 
throughout  the  East  as  a  specialist  in 
mental  diseases ;  it  was  therefore  but 
natural  that  the  son  should  in  early  life 
show  a  bent  in  the  direction  of  the  medi- 
cal profession.  With  such  a  substantial 
background,  supplemented  by  as  com- 
plete an  education  as  could  be  desired, 
it  was  to  be  expected  that  the  young 
doctor  would  become  a  permanent  fix- 
ture in  the  life  of  the  community  where 
he  chose  to  largely  confine  his  practice. 

Dr.  Smith  is  a  grandson  of  Everitt 
Kimball  Smith,  for  many  years  a  manu- 
facturer in  Hanover,  New  Hampshire, 
who  married  Harriet  Williston,  and  they 
were  the  parents  of  Edwin  Everett  Smith, 
who  was  prominently  identified  with  the 


123 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


medical  profession  for  nearly  a  half  cen- 
tury. Dr.  Edwin  Everett  Smith  was  a 
native  of  Hanover,  born  in  1844.  He  mar- 
ried, in  New  York  City,  in  1877,  Jeanette 
Lord,  who  died  May  27,  1919,  daughter 
of  Judge  Scott  Lord,  former  member  of 
Congress,  of  Geneseo,  New  York.  He 
received  his  public  school  training  at 
Hanover,  and  persued  his  studies  at 
Peacham  Academy,  Peacham,  Vermont, 
graduating  in  the  class  of  1863 ;  and  Dart- 
mouth College,  graduating  in  the  class 
of  1868.  He  took  up  the  actual  study 
of  medicine  at  the  Long  Island  Medical 
College  Hospital  of  Jamaica,  Long  Island, 
graduating  in  the  class  of  1871.  His  first 
practice  was  as  an  interne  on  Ward's 
Island,  to  which  hospital  he  was  attached 
two  years ;  then,  deciding  to  take  up  the 
study  of  mental  diseases,  followed  a 
course  at  the  New  York  State  Asylum 
for  the  Insane,  under  Dr.  Gray,  at  Utica, 
New  York.  Afterward  he  was  appointed 
assistant  physician,  under  Dr.  Batolf,  at 
the  New  Jersey  State  Asylum,  Morris 
Plains,  New  Jersey ;  in  1882  he  was 
appointed  superintendent  and  physician- 
in-charge,  continuing  in  that  capacity 
until  1886.  In  the  latter  year  he  resigned 
and  established  a  private  sanitorium  for 
the  care  of  the  insane  at  Norwalk,  Con- 
necticut. This  institution  he  conducted 
with  marked  success  until  1914,  when, 
because  of  ill  health,  he  was  forced  to 
retire  from  the  supervision  and  active 
practice,  and  settled  in  Cold  Spring,  New 
York,  where  he  died  June  19,  1918. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Edwin  Everett  Smith 
were  the  parents  of  four  children :  Everett 
Kimball,  of  Cold  Spring,  New  York; 
Helen  Williston,  married  Dr.  Sanger 
Brown,  and  died  in  July,  1896;  Frances 
Jeanette,  of  Norwalk,  Connecticut;  and 
Scott  Lord,  of  this  review. 


Scott  Lord  Smith  was  born  October 
22,  1878,  at  Morris  Plains,  New  Jersey. 
He  was  educated  at  Norwalk  Military 
Academy ;  Hotchkiss  Preparatory  School, 
Lakeville,  Connecticut,  graduated  in  the 
class  of  1898 ;  Yale  University,  graduated 
Bachelor  of  Arts,  class  of  1902;  College 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  Columbia 
University,  graduated  Doctor  of  Medi- 
cine, class  of  1906.  A  term  of  two  years 
as  interne  was  spent  at  Roosevelt  Hos- 
pital, New  York  City,  and  later  at  the 
Sloan  Maternity  Hospital,  New  York 
City.  Dr.  Scott  Lord  Smith  located  in 
August,  1909,  at  Poughkeepsie  for  the 
practice  of  his  profession.  Upon  his 
arrival  on  the  field  of  his  choice,  he  was 
appointed  attending  physician  at  the 
Vassar  Brothers  Hospital  and  the 
appointment  still  is  in  force  after  fifteen 
years.  He  devotes  his  attention  wholly 
to  the  practice  of  internal  medicine,  and 
enjoys  the  confidence  of  a  large  and  select 
clientele.  Dr.  Smith  is  a  Fellow  of  the 
American  Medical  Association ;  member 
of  New  York  City  Academy  of  Medicine ; 
Alumni  associations  of  the  Roosevelt 
and  Sloan  hospitals ;  Poughkeepsie 
Academy  of  Medicine;  and  Dutchess  and 
Putnam  Counties  Medical  Society.  His 
clubs  are  the  Yale  Club  of  New  York 
City,  Amrita  Club  of  Poughkeepsie,  New 
York,  and  the  Adirondack  League  Club. 
He  is  a  member  of  Christ  Episcopal 
Church  of  Poughkeepsie. 

Dr.  Smith  married,  March  23,  1910, 
Mildred  Gorham,  daughter  of  John  and 
Helen  Maud  (Neal)  Gorham,  of  Halifax, 
Nova  Scotia,  her  father  having  been  a 
successful  merchant  of  that  city.  They 
have  three  children :  Gorham,  born  Janu- 
ary 10,  191 1,  and  Marion  Williston  and 
Scott  Lord,  Jr.,  twins,  born  March  11, 
1915- 


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B 

m^ 

f\ 

MM 

^ICL. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


BENSON,  Harold  A., 

Physloian,  Snrgeon. 

Descendant  of  worthy  ancestors  of 
English  origin,  learned  in  the  various 
branches  of  medicine,  and  having  shared 
service  in  behalf  of  the  United  States 
Government  at  home  and  overseas  in  the 
World  War,  Dr.  Harold  A.  Benson  is 
one  of  the  younger  successful  physicians 
and  surgeons  at  Poughkeepsie,  New 
York,  where  he  has  practiced  his  pro- 
fession since  late  in  1919,  following  his 
honorable  discharge  from  the  United 
States  Army.  Through  training  and 
association  with  the  requirements  of  his 
vocation.  Dr.  Benson  has  acquired  that 
skill  in  medicine  and  surgery,  as  well  as 
that  broad  humanity,  that  have  made  him 
the  able  practitioner,  wise  counsellor  and 
friend,  elements  that  have  contributed  in 
no  minor  measure  to  securing  for  him  the 
enduring  place  he  holds  in  the  community 
of  his  labors. 

Dr.  Benson's  English  and  American 
paternal  forefathers,  from  the  time  of 
emigration  to  America,  are  traced  as  fol- 
lows: 

(I)  John  Benson,  of  Caversham,  in 
Oxfordshire,  England,  came  from  South- 
ampton, in  1638,  at  thirty  years  of  age,  in 
the  ship  "Confidence,"  with  his  wife 
Mary  and  children,  and  he  had  a  grant 
of  land  at  Hingham,  Massachusetts,  upon 
his  arrival.  Children:  i.  John,  of  whom 
further.  2.  Mary,  both  then  under  four 
years  of  age. 

(II)  John  Benson  was  born  in  Eng- 
land, and  came  with  his  parents  to 
America  in  1638.  He  lived  at  Hingham, 
Massachusetts,  where  he  was  a  free- 
holder. 

(III)  Isaac  Benson  lived  at  Gloucester, 
Rhode  Island,  where  he  owned  a  farm. 

(IV)  Job  Benson  owned  a  farm  in 
Gloucester,  Rhode  Island,  where  he  died. 


The  late  Mrs.  Martha  (Benson)  Davis 
was  possessor  of  his  commission  "dating 
as  far  back  as  the  reign  of  King  George 
III,  signed  by  Governor  Wanton  of  the 
Colony  of  Rhode  Island,  in  the  Town  of 
Gloucester,  County  of  Providence,  giving 
Job  Benson  the  office  of  Ensign,  dated 
the  17th  of  June,  1769."  He  married 
Miriam  (Mary?),  surname  unknown,  and 
their  sons  were:  i.  Elihu,  of  whom  fur- 
ther.    2.  Job. 

(V)  Elihu  Benson  was  born  at  Glou- 
cester, Rhode  Island,  about  1757,  and  he 
taught  school  for  awhile  at  the  home  of 
John  Inman.  He  died  about  1805,  and 
his  will  was  signed  by  Barak  Benson 
(grandson  of  Elihu,  son  of  Daniel),  Sarah 
Benson,  (daughter-in-law  of  Elihu,  and 
second  wife  of  Daniel),  and  Hannah  Ben- 
son (granddaughter  of  Elihu,  and  daugh- 
ter of  Duty  Benson) ;  and  the  sole  execu- 
tor was  Benedict  Arnold.  The  Arnold 
family  lived  in  Rhode  Island,  neighbors 
to  the  Bensons  in  Providence  Plantation, 
of  which  Gloucester  was  a  part,  as  did 
the  Allen  family.  Thence,  later,  all 
pushed  their  way  into  Vermont,  where 
Ethan  Allen  and  Benedict  Arnold  formed 
their  regiment  which  was  known  as  the 
"Green  Mountain  Boys." 

Elihu  Benson  went  from  Rhode  Island 
as  early  as  1778,  accompanied  on  horse- 
back by  his  wife  Hulda,  to  settle  at 
Danby,  Vermont,  as  his  name  appears  on 
the  roll  of  freemen  of  that  year.  His 
permanent  residence  was  not  made  there 
until  some  years  afterwards,  when  he 
eventually  settled  on  a  farm  that  was 
owned  in  1869  by  John  and  Ira  Cook. 
Elihu  Benson  and  his  brother  Job  both 
enlisted  during  the  Revolutionary  War 
in  the  Thirteenth  Regiment  of  the  Albany 
Company  of  Militia,  in  1780,  under  Colo- 
nel Cornelius  Van  Veghten,  and  they 
were  given   honorable  discharge   at   the 


125 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


close  of  service.  Elihu  Benson  married 
Hulda  Brown,  daughter  of  Daniel  Brown, 
the  latter  having  been  given  a  commis- 
sion as  ensign  at  Fort  Rehoboth,  Massa- 
chusetts, in  the  reign  of  George  III. 
Members  of  the  family  state  that  there 
is  some  evidence,  though  as  yet  unproven, 
that  Daniel  Brown  was  a  descendant  of 
Peter  Brown,  one  of  the  "Mayflower" 
passengers.  The  children  of  Elihu  and 
Hulda  Benson:  i.  Allen.  2.  Daniel.  3. 
Solomon.  4.  Rufus.  5.  Duty.  6.  David. 
7.  Amos,  of  whom  further.  8.  Job.  9. 
Jacob.  ID.  Elizabeth.  11.  Chloe.  12. 
Phebe. 

(VI)  Amos  Benson  was  born  Novem- 
ber 30,  1798,  in  Rhode  Island,  and  he  re- 
moved with  his  parents  to  Rutland 
County,  Vermont.  There  he  married 
(first)  Ruth  Gifford,  and  removed  with 
his  bride  to  Ellisburg,  New  York,  where 
his  brother  resided,  and  later  to  Plessis, 
where  he  bought  a  farm  and  resided  al- 
most to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1884. 
While  there,  his  wife  died,  survived  by 
her  husband  and  eight  children,  two 
children  having  died.  Amos  married 
(second)  Olivia  (Lockwood)  Hubbard,  a 
widow  with  seven  children,  and  by  whom 
he  had  four  children. 

(VII)  Charles  Allen  Benson  was  born 
September  16,  1855,  at  Alexandria  Bay, 
New  York,  and  died  September  9,  1922,  at 
St.  Vincent  De  Paul  Hospital,  Brock- 
ville,  Ontario,  Canada.  He  was  a  farmer 
and  carpenter,  and  lived  at  Alexandria 
Bay,  where  he  was  justice  of  the  peace 
for  many  years.  He  was  a  highly 
esteemed  and  prominent  citizen  of  his 
community;  his  fraternal  affiliations  were 
those  of  the  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
in  the  Blue  Lodge  and  the  Chapter;  and 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows, 
of  which  he  was  District  Deputy.  His 
religious  fellowship  was  with  the  Metho- 


dist Episcopal  Church.  He  married 
Sibyl  Ann  Robison,  of  Orleans,  New 
York,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  five 
children:  i.  Mabel  E.,  who  received  her 
education  at  the  Alexandria  Bay  High 
School,  where  she  was  graduated  with 
the  highest  honors  ;  at  the  Potsdam,  New 
York,  State  Normal  School,  where  she 
took  the  Clarkson  Prize  for  efficiency  in 
English ;  and  at  Syracuse  University, 
where  she  was  graduated  in  the  class  of 
1916,  with  special  honors  in  English. 
She  married  Charles  S.  Orr,  of  Erie, 
Pennsylvania.  2.  Walter  Scott,  medical 
student  in  New  York  City,  who  died  in 
191 1.  3.  Lillian  Annette,  who  died  at  the 
age  of  eleven  years.  4.  Josie,  who  died  in 
infancy.  5.  Harold  A.,  of  whom  further. 
(VIII)  Harold  A.  Benson  was  born  at 
Alexandria  Bay,  New  York,  October  12, 
1891.  He  received  his  preliminary  edu- 
cation in  the  public  schools  of  his  birth- 
place, and  graduated  at  the  Alexandria 
Bay  High  School.  In  preparation  for  his 
life-work,  he  took  the  course  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Vermont  College  of  Medicine, 
where  he  was  an  honor  graduate  with  the 
class  of  1915.  Receiving  his  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine,  Dr.  Benson  at  once 
entered  upon  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion, later  receiving  an  appointment  as 
pathologist  to  the  Eastern  Maine  Sana- 
torium, at  Hebron,  Maine,  where  he 
remained  one  year.  In  1916  he  entered 
the  Army  Medical  School  at  Washington, 
District  of  Columbia,  and  afterwards 
was  transferred  to  Fort  Bliss,  El  Paso, 
Texas,  and  assigned  to  the  Field  Ambu- 
lance Corps.  There  he  remained  for  six 
months,  when  he  was  transferred  to  the 
Plattsburg  Training  Camp,  Plattsburg, 
New  York,  to  act  as  pathologist,  continu- 
ing to  serve  in  that  capacity  until  Janu- 
ary, 1918,  when  he  was  ordered  to  Camp 
Pike,  also  there  to  act  as  pathologist.    In 


126 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


August,  1918,  he  sailed  for  France,  and 
was  there  attached  to  Base  Hospital  No. 
83,  Evacuation  Hospital  No.  16,  and  the 
2ist  Infantry,  with  rank  of  captain.  He 
returned  to  the  United  States,  in  May, 
1919,  and  was  honorably  discharged  from 
the  service  at  Camp  Dix. 

Dr.  Benson,  immediately  upon  resump- 
tion of  civil  life,  reentered  upon  the 
duties  of  his  profession,  and  with  a  three 
months'  course  in  Tuberculosis,  Its  Cause 
and  Prevention,  at  Bowne  Memorial 
Hospital,  Poughkeepsie,  he  still  further 
perfected  himself  for  his  vocation.  In 
September,  1919,  with  a  wealth  of  train- 
ing and  experience  at  his  command,  he 
began  the  general  practice  of  internal 
medicine  and  surgery  at  Poughkeepsie, 
where  he  has  steadily  advanced  in  favor 
with  the  community  and  an  increasing 
practice. 

Dr.  Benson's  fraternal  affiliations  are 
those  of  the  National  Phi  Chi  Fraternity, 
and  he  is  a  Fellow  of  the  American  Medi- 
cal Association,  and  a  member  of  the 
Dutchess  and  Putnam  Counties  Medical 
Society,  and  the  Poughkeepsie  Academy 
of  Medicine.  He  is  a  member  of  Triune 
Lodge,  No.  782,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  the  Scottish  Rite,  Thirty-Second 
Degree,  the  Masonic  Club,  the  Benev- 
olent and  Protective  Order  of  Elks,  and 
the  Knights  of  Pythias ;  and  his  clubs  are 
the  Elks  and  the  Kiwanis,  of  Pough- 
keepsie. 

Dr.  Benson  married,  September  23, 
1921,  Helen  Irene  Cole,  daughter  of  Cal- 
vin and  Emma  (Lund)  Cole,  of  Esopus, 
New  York. 

y 


Dubois,  James  Fletcher, 
Mercbant. 

In  the  course    of    American    business 
history  it  has  been  continuously  proven 


that  no  public  enterprise  has  come  into 
closer  touch  with  communities,  large  or 
small,  or  more  generally  met  the  needs  of 
the  people,  than  that  of  the  keeper  of  the 
general  merchandising  store,  a  distinc- 
tively American  institution.  A  lifelong 
witness  to  such  a  statement,  an  expert  in 
the  calling  that  he  has  honored,  and  that 
by  straightforward  dealing  he  has  found 
lucrative,  James  Fletcher  DuBois,  more 
than  a  half  century  a  merchant  at  Pough- 
keepsie, New  York,  and  during  that  long 
period  at  the  one  location,  has  made  busi- 
ness history  both  for  the  city  and  the 
State. 

The  story  of  a  career  devoted  to  the  ful- 
fillment of  the  daily  requirements  of  a 
progressive  population  is  necessarily 
filled  with  the  record  of  the  great  changes 
that  come  to  a  township,  as  well  as  with 
the  current  account  of  events  of  all 
degrees  of  value ;  but  let  it  be  sufficient  to 
say  that  Mr.  DuBois,  whose  store  has 
been  for  so  many  years  a  landmark,  is 
himself  partaker  and  custodian  of  the 
mercantile  chapter  of  that  history  in  this 
section.  No  merchant  or  store-keeper  has 
a  more  widely  established  repute  through 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  Hudson 
River  Valley,  not  alone  on  account  of 
his  farsighted  business  ability  that  has 
been  the  means  of  bringing  him  emolu- 
ment and  confort  in  his  age,  but  through 
the  hard  work  and  the  sterling  integrity 
that  have  been  the  invariable  accompani- 
ment of  native  business  intuition  and 
capabilities. 

His  is  an  old  family  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  and  without  exception  his 
ancestors  have  possessed  the  same  pride 
of  industry  that  is  Mr.  DuBois'  rightful 
heritage.  His  grandfather,  Joseph  Du- 
Bois, was  a  native  of  Ulster  County,  New 
York,  and  Josiah  C.  DuBois,  father  of 
James  Fletcher  DuBois,  was  born  at  his 
127 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


father's  home  that  stood  midway  between 
the  townships  of  Highland  and  Marlboro, 
also  in  Ulster  County.  Josiah  C.  DuBois 
attended  the  schools  of  his  neighborhood 
and  early  in  life  he  found  employment  in 
the  general  store  of  Miles  J.  Fletcher,  at 
Marlboro,  which  continued  for  several 
years ;  in  1846,  he  removed  to  the  town 
of  Highland,  and  there  he  opened  a  store, 
which  he  conducted  until  his  death,  which 
took  place  at  the  age  of  sixty-five.  He 
was  a  strictly  religious  man,  upright  in 
all  his  dealings,  an  adherent  of  the  Pres- 
byterian faith,  and  an  official  in  his 
church.  He  married  Sarah  E.  Weygant, 
a  daughter  of  James  and  Philena  Wey- 
gant, of  Marlboro,  and  they  were  the 
parents  of  six  children:  Calvin,  Myron, 
Chandler,  Abigail,  Jennie,  and  James 
Fletcher,  of  whom  further. 

James  Fletcher  DuBois  was  born  in 
Highland,  New  York,  March  11,  1847. 
He  received  his  preliminary  education  in 
the  schools  of  his  birthplace,  graduating, 
also,  at  Highland  Academy,  one  of  the 
older  academical  institutions  of  the  State. 
He  thereupon  started  out  upon  his  mer- 
cantile career  that  proved  in  its  results 
the  prudence  and  wisdom  of  his  choice. 
His  first  occupation  was  that  obtained 
in  the  store  of  William  H.  Howland,  in 
the  capacity  of  clerk,  and  for  his  duties 
he  received  the  sum  of  $150  a  year,  and 
his  board.  He  remained  with  Mr.  How- 
land  one  year,  and  in  1865  he  transferred 
his  interests  to  the  general  store  of  C. 
B.  Harrison,  at  Highland,  where  he  con- 
tinued in  the  same  line  for  four  years.  In 
1869  Mr.  DuBois  removed  to  Pough- 
keepsie  and  there  found  employment  with 
the  firm  of  Trowbridge  &  Company, 
dealers  in  general  merchandise,  and 
whose  store  at  that  time  was  one  of  the 
oldest  and  best  known  business  land- 
marks in  the  Hudson  River  Valley.    The 


name  of  the  concern  was  changed  in  1887 
to  Trowbridge  &  Kirby,  the  former  com- 
pany retiring;  and  one  year  later,  in  1888, 
the  firm  name  became  Kirby,  DuBois  & 
Boyd.  In  1896  the  firm  name  was  again 
changed,  Messrs.  Kirby  and  Boyd  retir- 
ing from  the  partnership,  and  Mr.  DuBois 
took  in  his  brothers,  Calvin  and  Myron, 
as  partners,  the  firm  becoming  known  as 
DuBois  Brothers.  This  association  con- 
tinued for  twenty  years,  to  1916,  when 
James  Fletcher  DuBois  purchased  the 
interests  of  his  brothers,  and  conducted 
the  business  alone,  retaining  the  name 
DuBois  Brothers. 

On  December  31,  1920,  Mr.  DuBois 
retired  from  active  business  life,  his 
associations  therewith  covering  a  period 
of  fifty-two  years,  and  at  the  same  loca- 
tion. No.  321  Main  Street,  Poughkeepsie, 
New  York.  For  a  number  of  years  Mr. 
DuBois  has  been  a  member  of  the  board 
of  directors  of  the  Farmers'  and  Manu- 
facturers' Bank. 

Mr.  DuBois  married  Marianna  Kelley,  of 
Nantucket,  Massachusetts,  and  they  are 
the  parents  of  three  children :  i.  Jennie, 
who  married  Edward  J.  MacClelland,  and 
whose  children  are :  Helen,  who  married 
Harry  Reeves,  of  Eldorado,  Arkansas, 
one  daughter,  Jean  MacClelland  DuBois 
Reeves ;  M.  Gretchen  Glenn,  of  Pough- 
keepsie, New  York ;  Donald  Fletcher ; 
and  Edward  J.  MacClelland,  Jr.  2. 
Gertrude.  3.  Philena,  who  married  D.  J. 
Cronk,  of  Poughkeepsie. 


LASHER,  Irving, 

General  Contractor. 

As  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Spoor- 
Lasher  Company,  Incorporated,  Irving 
Lasher  is  identified  with  one  of  the  lead- 
ing construction  and  general  contracting 
concerns  in  the  Hudson  River  section  of 

128 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


the  State.  Mr.  Lasher  is  well  known  as 
an  expert  in  his  line,  and  is  prominent  in 
fraternal  circles.  The  Lasher  (or  Loes- 
cher)  family  is  of  German  origin,  tracing 
descent  from  Sabastian  Loescher,  of  the 
Province  of  the  Rhine,  Germany. 

(I)  Sabastian  Loescher  sailed  from 
Germany  with  a  fleet  of  ten  vessels  leav- 
ing December  25,  1709,  and  arriving  in 
New  York  City  in  June,  1710.  So  great 
were  the  hardships  of  the  voyage  that  of 
the  four  thousand  on  board  seventeen 
hundred  died  during  the  passage.  Sabas- 
tian Loescher  settled  at  West  Camp,  now 
Kingston,  New  York,  in  1710,  and  later 
was  at  East  Camp,  Livingston  Manor, 
near  Germantown,  New  York,  where  m 
1724  records  show  that  he  was  willing  to 
settle  if  he  could  secure  clear  title  to  his 
property.  He  had  three  sons:  Sabastian, 
Conrad,  of  whom  further,  and  George. 

(II)  Conrad  Lasher,  son  of  Sabastian 
Loescher,  was  born  in  Germany  in  1708, 
and  lived  at  Athens,  Germantown,  and 
Rhinebeck,  New  York,  in  which  places 
their  children  were  baptized.  He  married 
Angeline  Sestis,  and  they  were  the 
parents  of  six  children :  Sabastian,  of 
whom  further,  George,  Conrad,  Jr.,  Anna 
Maria,  John,  and  Gerret. 

(III)  Sabastian  Lasher,  son  of  Conrad 
and  Angeline  (Sestis)  Lasher,  was  born 
in  1729.  He  married  Margaret  Schu- 
macker,  at  Germantown,  New  York,  April 
4,  1748,  and  had  ten  children:  Conrad, 
Sabastian,  Mark,  of  whom  further,  John, 
Jacob,  Philip,  George,  Christina,  Peter, 
and  Adam. 

(IV)  Mark  Lasher,  son  of  Sabastian 
and  Margaret  (Schumacker)  Lasher, 
was  born  in  1752,  and  died  in  1829.  He 
married  Christina  Best,  of  Germantown, 
New  York,  who  was  born  in  1755,  and 
died  in  1835,  and  they  were  the  parents 
of  six  children :  John  M.,  of  whom  further, 

N.Y. — 8—9  I 


Catharin,    Jacob    G.,    Christina,    Marcus, 
and  Margaret. 

(V)  John  M.  Lasher,  son  of  Mark  and 
Christina  (Best)  Lasher,  was  born 
November  29,  1777,  and  died  November 
8,  1859.  He  married,  at  Rhinebeck,  New 
York,  April  23,  1801,  Cathrine  Clum, 
born  November  i,  1785,  and  died  Novem- 
ber I,  1851.  Their  children  were:  Philip 
Lasher,  baptized  December  24,  1802, 
married  Catharin  Harden ;  Christina, 
baptized  December  24,  1803,  married  Ste- 
phen Miller;  Eliza,  baptized  May  25, 
1807,  married  Simeon  Flagler ;  John  E., 
baptized  May  24,  1808,  married  Jane 
Hammond ;  Johnas,  baptized  December 
23,  1810,  married  Elizabeth  Smith  ;  Robert 
William,  of  whom  further ;  Hannah  Caro- 
line, baptized  November  21,  1818,  married 
DeWitt  C.  Harris;  Catharin  Maria,  bap- 
tized November  22,  1822,  married  Israel 
Ward ;  Jane  Maria,  baptized  September 
28,  1823 ;  and  Frederick,  baptized  Sep- 
tember 2,  1827,  married  Margaret  Wilson. 

(VI)  Robert  William  Lasher,  son  of 
John  M.  and  Cathrine  (Clum)  Lasher, 
was  born  in  Dutchess  County,  New  York, 
May  21,  1815,  and  died  at  Vischer  Ferry, 
Saratoga  County,  New  York,  March  i, 
1902,  having  removed  to  Saratoga  County 
in  1825.  He  married,  February  24,  1842, 
in  the  town  of  Malta,  Saratoga  County, 
New  York,  Jane  A.  Miller,  born  Septem- 
ber 16,  1818,  and  died  January  i,  1898,  at 
Vischer  Ferry.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lasher 
celebrated  their  golden  wedding  on 
February  24,  1892.  Their  children  were : 
Mary  A.,  born  December  5,  1842,  married 
James  Van  Hyning;  William  H.,  born 
June  28,  1845,  married  Margaret  A. 
Smith;  Augustus,  born  August  27,  1848, 
married  Rachel  Vischer;  George  J.,  of 
whom  further;  Clark,  born  May  13,  1854, 
married  Amelia  Weldon;  Lester,  born 
November  12,  1857;  Charles,  born  May 

29 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


17,   1859,  married  Jennie   Bell ;  and   Ida 
Jane,  born  November  13,  1863. 

(VII)  George  J.  Lasher,  son  of  Robert 
William  and  Jane  A.  (Miller)  Lasher, 
was  born  in  Saratoga  County,  New  York, 
October  5,  1851.  He  received  his  edu- 
cation in  the  district  schools  of  his  native 
town,  and  spent  his  whole  life  in  agri- 
cultural persuits  in  that  vicinity,  where  he 
won  in  a  high  degree  the  esteem  of  his 
friends  and  neighbors.  He  married  Anna 
Van  Denburgh,  daughter  of  Vischer  and 
Emma  (Sibley)  Van  Denburgh,  of  Sara- 
toga County,  New  York,  and  their  chil- 
dren were :  Lettie  May,  who  married 
Peter  Van  Vranken  Spoor,  and  has  living 
children,  Anna,  Everett,  and  Donald 
Spoor;  Lloyd  E.,  deceased;  Dorothy, 
deceased ;  Irving,  of  whom  further ;  Ella, 
who  married  Lewis  L.  Fellows  and  had 
two  sons,  Larold,  deceased,  and  Howard, 
living. 

(VIII)  Irving  Lasher,  son  of  George 
J.  and  Anna  (Van  Denburgh)  Lasher, 
was  born  at  Vischer  Ferry,  Saratoga 
County,  New  York,  November  20,  1878. 
He  received  his  early  school  training  in 
the  district  school  of  his  native  town, 
and  then  made  further  preparations  for  a 
successful  career  by  taking  a  course  in 
Albany  Business  College,  and  by  continu- 
ing his  studies  in  a  night  school  in  Schen- 
ectady, where  he  studied  mechanical 
engineering.  Possessed  of  considerable 
mechanical  ability  and  being  deeply  inter- 
ested in  that  line  of  activity,  he  decided 
to  find  employment  where  he  would  also 
receive  the  best  possible  training,  and  in 
1901  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  General 
Electric  Company  at  Schenectady,  with 
whom  he  remained  for  two  years,  in  the 
machine  fitting  department.  His  next 
connection  was  with  George  Van  Vran- 
ken, a  general  contractor  of  Schenectady, 
with  whom  he  was  identified  as  foreman 


and  superintendent  until  the  time  he 
became  associated  with  the  Acme  Engin- 
eering Company,  of  Schenectady,  as  car- 
penter superintendent.  Later,  he  re- 
turned to  the  employ  of  Mr.  Van  Vran- 
ken, with  whom  he  remained  until  1914, 
leaving  him  in  order  to  accept  a  position 
with  the  Raymond  Concrete  Pile  Com- 
pany, of  New  York  City.  In  1919,  hav- 
ing acquired  an  extended  experience  in 
general  construction  work,  he,  in  associa- 
tion with  L.  E.  Spoor,  organized  the  firm 
of  Spoor-Lasher  Company,  Incorporated, 
and  engaged  in  business  as  general  con- 
tractors, carrying  on  a  transportation 
business  and  including  highway  con- 
struction and  street  paving.  The  enter- 
prise met  with  success  and  has  steadily 
grown,  until  at  the  present  time  (1924) 
the  firm  of  Spoor-Lasher  Company, 
Incorporated,  is  known  as  one  of  the 
leading  concerns  of  its  kind  in  Dutchess 
and  Orange  counties,  possessing  the  larg- 
est business  equipment  for  handling  con- 
crete material  and  street  construction 
between  New  York  and  Albany.  Thor- 
ough technical  knowledge  and  sound 
business  principles  have  enabled  Mr. 
Lasher  to  win  in  a  high  degree  the  con- 
fidence of  his  patrons  and  the  esteem  of 
his  associates. 

In  addition  to  his  business  activity, 
Mr.  Lasher  has  found  time  for  extensive 
fraternal  affiliations.  He  is  a  member  and 
junior  warden  of  Poughkeepsie  Lodge,  No. 
266.  Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  Pough- 
keepsie Chapter,  No.  172,  Royal  Arch 
Masons;  King  Solomon  Council,  Royal 
and  Select  Masters ;  Poughkeepsie  Com- 
mandery,  No.  43,  Knights  Templar; 
Mecca  Temple,  Ancient  Arabic  Order 
Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine;  and 
of  Tri-Po-Bed  Grotto,  Veiled  Prophets 
of  the  Enchanted  Realm.  He  is  also 
a      member      of      the      Kiwanis      Club, 


130 


^^A^^^i^-^i^^^  <^- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Amrita  Club,  and  Dutchess  County  Golf 
and  Country  Club.  His  religious  affilia- 
tion is  with  the  Reformed  Church  of 
Poughkeepsie.  Mr.  Lasher  has  a  host  of 
friends,  both  among  his  business  associ- 
ates and  among  those  with  whom  he  is 
associated  in  a  social  way. 

On  June  25,  1913,  Irving  Lasher  mar- 
ried May  B.  Ritter,  daughter  of  Charles 
and  Mary  (Darling)  Ritter,  of  Saratoga 
County,  New  York.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lasher 
are  the  parents  of  one  daughter,  Mary 
Barbara,  born  in  Boston,  February  18, 
1918. 


LANE,  Charles  E., 

Physician. 

The  Lanes  of  Old  Monmouth  County, 
New  Jersey,  who  came  from  Holland  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  and  in 
the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  centuries, 
gave  to  Dutchess  County,  New  York, 
descendants  of  the  same  name,  who  have 
built  into  the  history  of  that  region  not 
a  little  of  the  virility  for  which  the  old 
families  and  their  posterity  of  Dutch 
origin  have  been  noted  for  nearly  three 
centuries.  The  Holland  family  of  Lane 
were  robust  and  intrepid  folk  in  the  main, 
a  number  of  whom  were  eager  to  brave 
the  dangers  of  a  sea  voyage  in  those  pre- 
carious days,  when  an  adventurous  spirit, 
a  courageous  heart  and  faith  in  the  future 
were  the  chief  resources  of  these  builders 
of  the  new  civilization  across  the  seas. 
Of  a  race  such  as  this  comes  Charles  E. 
Lane,  M.  D.,  who  ranks  among  the  promi- 
nent and  widely  known  physicians  and 
surgeons  of  Poughkeepsie,  and  is  a  great- 
grandson  of  Jacob  Lane,  who  settled  in 
Dutchess  County  prior  to  and  served  in 
the  Revolutionary  War. 

The  Monmouth  County  (New  Jersey) 
Lanes  chiefly  were  descended  from  Gys- 


bert  and  Jacob  Thysz  Van  Pelt  Lanen, 
and  are  of  the  same  stock  as  the  Van 
Pelts.  They  used  the  surname,  Laen, 
Laan  or  Lane.  Gysbert  Lane  settled  in 
New  Utrecht,  Long  Island,  and  in  1699 
bought  land  in  New  Jersey.  In  171 1  he 
deeded  land  in  Monmouth  County  to  his 
son,  Cornelius.  Gysbert  Lane  died  in 
1727.  His  wife,  Jane  Lane,  bore  him  four 
children,  Adrian,  Cornelius,  Mary  and 
Jane.  Mathias  Lane,  who  died  in  Mon- 
mouth County,  1729,  was  probably  a 
brother  of  Gysbert.  Cornelius  Lane,  son 
of  Gysbert  Lane,  died  in  Monmouth 
County,  1762.  Jacob  Lane,  of  Monmouth 
County,  also  died  in  1762,  and  his  will  is 
filed  at  Trenton,  New  Jersey.  Many 
others  of  the  name  of  Lane  have  lived  in 
Monmouth  County,  and  from  Raritan, 
probably  of  Monmouth  County,  came 
Jacob  Lane,  of  Dutchess  County,  New 
York. 

(I)  This  Jacob  Lane  was  born  in 
Raritan,  New  Jersey,  and  died  in  Dutch- 
ess County,  New  York.  He  was  the  Lane 
of  his  generation  who  stood  out  as  a 
soldier  of  the  Revolution.  In  1790  he  was 
a  resident  of  Beekman,  Dutchess  County. 
He  married,  at  New  Hackensack,  New 
York,  June  28,  1770,  Annetje  Concklin,  of 
Romboat,  New  York,  daughter  of  John 
and  Annetje  (Storm)  Concklin.  They 
had  two  sons,  Peter,  John  G.,  of  whom 
further,  and  five  daughters. 

(II)  John  G.  Lane,  son  of  Jacob  Lane, 
was  born  in  Beekman  (now  Unionvale), 
May  22,  1776,  and  spent  all  his  life  in 
that  town.  He  married  Betsey  Emigh, 
and  to  them  were  born  twelve  children : 
Thomas,  Benson,  Marvin,  Jackson,  Wil- 
liam, Rensselaer,  Jeremiah,  Edward,  of 
whom  further;  Betsey,  Hannah,  Phebe, 
and  Julia. 

(HI)  Edward  Lane,  son  of  John  G.  and 
Betsey  (Emigh)  Lane,  was  born  June  19, 


131 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


1825,  and  died  September  24,  1904,  in 
Fishkill,  New  York.  He  received  a 
limited  education,  and  at  an  early  age  left 
home  to  support  himself.  He  embarked 
upon  a  whaling  voyage  and  was  gone 
several  years.  He  possessed  a  good  intel- 
lect, and  spent  most  of  his  leisure  hours 
in  study.  He  served  on  a  number  of 
boats  on  the  Hudson  River  as  pilot  and 
captain,  and  later  became  the  owner  of  a 
schooner,  which  at  the  time  was  the 
largest  boat  that  ran  to  Troy,  New  York. 
In  1863  he  removed  to  a  farm  in  Seneca 
County,  New  York,  and  still  later  to 
Fishkill,  New  York.  He  married,  in  1854, 
Jane  A.  Hall,  daughter  of  Gilbert  and 
Mary  Hall.  They  were  the  parents  of 
three  children :  Charles  E.,  of  whom  fur- 
ther ;  Celestia  A. ;  and  Irvin  J. 

(IV)  Dr.  Charles  E.  Lane,  son  of 
Edward  and  Jane  A.  (Hall)  Lane,  was 
born  in  Clove,  Dutchess  County,  New 
York,  August  16,  1855.  He  was  educated 
in  the  district  schools  of  that  community, 
at  Wesleyan  Academy,  Wilbraham, 
Massachusetts,  and  in  1876  took  a  course 
at  Eastman's  Business  College,  Pough- 
keepsie,  New  York.  He  entered,  in  1880, 
the  New  York  Homeopathic  Medical  Col- 
lege, class  of  1883,  and  began  the  practice 
of  his  profession  at  Clove,  New  York, 
where  he  remained  five  years.  In  1888 
he  located  at  Poughkeepsie,  where  he  con- 
tinues as  a  general  practitioner  and  a 
specialist  in  orificial  surgery,  which  latter 
practice  won  for  him  speedy  recognition 
by  the  medical  fraternity  and  the  public. 
He  was  examining  surgeon  of  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Pensions,  1888-94. 

Dr.  Lane  is  a  member  of  the  American 
Medical  Association,  New  York  State 
Medical  Society,  Dutchess  and  Putnam 
Counties  Medical  Society,  Poughkeepsie 
Academy  of  Medicine,  and  American 
Institute  of  Homeopathy.     He  is  a  mem- 


ber of  Triune  Lodge,  No.  782,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons  ;  Poughkeepsie  Chapter, 
No.  172,  Royal  Arch  Masons;  King  Solo- 
mon Council,  No.  31,  Royal  and  Select 
Masters;  Tri-Po-Bed  Grotto,  Veiled 
Prophets  of  the  Enchanted  Realm; 
Poughkeepsie  Commandery,  No.  43, 
Knights  Templar ;  Ancient  Arabic  Order 
Nobles  of  the  Mystic  Shrine;  Fallkill 
Lodge,  No.  297,  Independent  Order  of 
Odd  Fellows.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church.  His  club  is 
the  Amrita  of  Poughkeepsie.  Dr.  Lane 
is  a  Republican,  and  was  president  of  the 
Poughkeepsie  Board  of  Aldermen,  1894- 
1901.  Dr.  Lane  married,  March  28,  1877, 
Hattie  A.  Yeomans,  daughter  of  George 
and  Eliza  (Haight)  Yeomans,  of  Clove, 
New  York.  They  have  had  two  sons, 
Theron,  who  died  in  infancy,  and  George 
Edward,  of  whom  further. 

With  becoming  pride,  and  equally  with 
his  father,  Dr.  George  Edward  Lane  can 
trace  his  ancestral  progenitors  of  the 
Lane  family  in  America  back  to  Holland, 
to  a  Revolutionary  soldier  and  to  a  pio- 
neer merchant  vessel  captain,  whose  boat 
plied  the  Hudson  River  from  the  ocean 
as  far  as  Troy,  New  York.  Great  forti- 
tude, persistency  and  progressiveness 
characterized  those  sturdy  Lanes  of  the 
Colonies  and  the  early  days  of  the  Repub- 
lic, and  from  father  to  son  in  succeeding 
generations  these  virtues  were  passed  to 
the  present  Dr.  Lane,  who  has  emulated 
his  father  in  profession  and  reputation 
both  as  a  skillful  practitioner  and  a 
worthy  citizen.  He  stands  forth  among 
Dutchess  County  physicians  an  X-ray 
specialist  of  great  proficiency. 

(V)  Dr.  George  Edward  Lane,  son  of 
Dr.  Charles  E.  and  Hattie  A.  (Yeomans) 
Lane,  was  born  at  Clove,  New  York, 
November  30,  1883.  He  was  educated  at 
the  old   Quincy   private   school,   Pough- 

32 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


keepsie  public  schools,  Riverview  Mili- 
tary Academy,  and  was  graduated  with 
honors  from  the  New  York  Homeopathic 
Medical  College,  class  of  1908,  with  the 
degree  of  M.  D.  He  served  as  interne  at 
Flower  Hospital  for  one  year,  and  in 
1909  began  practice  at  Poughkeepsie,  be- 
ing associated  with  his  father  for  three 
years,  and  then  for  two  years  practiced 
alone.  In  1914  he  took  an  X-ray  post- 
graduate course  at  the  New  York  Post- 
Graduate  Hospital.  He  now  enjoys  a 
large  and  lucrative  practice  in  Pough- 
keepsie and  vicinity,  in  general  practice 
and  X-ray  work.  He  is  radiologist  at  the 
Bowne  Memorial  Hospital  and  St. 
Francis'  Hospital,  Poughkeepsie. 

Dr.  Lane  is  a  Fellow  of  the  American 
Medical  Association,  a  member  of  the 
New  York  State  Medical  Society,  Dutch- 
ess and  Putnam  Counties  Medical  Associ- 
ation, American  Institute  of  Homeopa- 
thy, New  York  State  Homeopathic  Medi- 
cal Society,  New  York  and  New  England 
Association  of  Railway  Surgeons,  Alumni 
Association  of  Flower  Hospital,  New 
York  City;  the  Alpha  Sigma  fraternity; 
Triune  Lodge,  No.  782,  Free  and 
Accepted  Masons ;  Poughkeepsie  Chapter, 
No.  172,  Royal  Arch  Masons ;  Pough- 
keepsie Council,  No.  31,  Royal  and  Select 
Masters ;  Poughkeepsie  Commandery, 
No.  43,  Knights  Templar ;  New  York 
Consistory,  32nd  degree ;  Mecca  Temple, 
Ancient  Arabic  Order  Nobles  of  the 
Mystic  Shrine ;  Tri-Po-Bed  Grotto, 
Veiled  Prophets  of  the  Enchanted  Realm ; 
Fallkill  Lodge,  No.  297,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows;  Poughkeepsie 
Council,  No.  391,  Royal  Arcanum.  His 
club  is  the  Amrita. 

Dr.  Lane  married,  June  19,  1912,  Inez 
Johnston,  daughter  of  Robert  L.  and 
Mary  Frances  Pattison  of  Cincinnati, 
Ohio.      Mrs.    Lane    comes    of    Revolu- 


tionary descent  on  both  sides  and  is  a 
member  of  Mahwenawsigh  Chapter, 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution, 
of  Poughkeepsie,  New  York.  They  are 
the  parents  of  two  children :  Charles  E. 
{2),  born  March  19,  1914,  and  Roberta  J. 
born  December  30,  1915. 


NESBITT,  Fitz  James, 

Business  Man,  Veteran  of  Civil  War. 

The  recent  death  of  Fitz  James  Nesbitt, 
one  of  Poughkeepsie's  most  prominent 
and  successful  business  men,  struck  one 
more  name  from  the  fast  diminishing  roll 
of  Civil  War  veterans.  Mr.  Nesbitt,  how- 
ever, leaves  behind  him  more  than  an 
honorable  war  record,  for  his  memory  will 
also  live  through  the  great  integrity 
which  always  characterized  his  life, 
through  his  many  years  of  successful 
business,  and  through  the  beauties  of  a 
perfect  home  life.  He  will  long  be  re- 
membered as  a  soldier,  business  man, 
fraternal  man,  and  last  but  not  least,  a 
good  citizen — for  to  be  a  good  citizen 
requires  the  highest  virtues  of  man. 

Fitz  James  Nesbitt,  of  Scotch-English 
ancestry,  was  born  in  Albany,  New  York, 
July  3,  1840,  a  son  of  David  and  Charlotte 
(Mink)  Nesbitt,  the  latter  of  whom  was 
a  descendant  of  English  forebears.  The 
father,  David  Nesbitt,  was  a  native  of  the 
land  of  "hills  and  heather,"  and  upon  emi- 
grating from  Scotland  to  America,  he  set- 
tled in  Albany,  New  York,  where  he  fol- 
lowed his  trade  of  boat  builder. 

The  son  received  his  education  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  birthplace,  and 
shortly  after  the  completion  of  his  school- 
ing the  long-feared  Civil  War  suddenly 
became  an  actuality.  Fitz  James  Nesbitt 
at  once  enlisted  in  the  Union  Army  and 
served  with  distinction  throughout  the 
duration  of  the  war.     Upon  the  cessation 

133 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


of  hostilities  between  the  North  and  the 
South,  in  1865,  Mr.  Nesbitt  came  to 
Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  and  here  estab- 
lished a  business  enterprise  in  the  old 
Enterprise  Building  on  Main  Street. 
Later  he  removed  his  business  to  the 
Lockwood  House,  where  he  continued 
with  steadily  increasing  success  until  the 
year  1886,  at  which  time  he  again 
removed  his  concern  to  No.  261  Main 
Street.  Mr.  Nesbitt  remained  here  until 
his  retirement  from  active  life  in  1918. 
This  business  venture,  which  he  founded 
in  1865,  is  to-day  (1924)  being  carried  for- 
ward by  his  son-in-law,  Richard  F.  Kolb, 
at  No.  273  Main  Street,  Poughkeepsie, 
New  York. 

Politically,  Mr.  Nesbitt  had  always 
been  a  firm  supporter  of  the  Democratic 
Party,  and  had  served  his  chosen  party 
ably  and  well  on  more  than  one  occasion. 
At  one  time  he  was  an  alderman  of  the 
City  of  Poughkeepsie,  representing  the 
Fourth  Ward,  following  which  he  became 
president  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen.  For 
a  short  period  he  was  acting  mayor  of  the 
City;  at  one  time  served  as  president  of 
the  Board  of  Police  Commissioners ;  and 
was  a  foremost  member  of  the  commis- 
sion that  condemned  the  land  for  the 
Central  New  England  Station.  Mr.  Nes- 
bitt also  had  the  distinction  of  being  the 
delegate  to  the  Democratic  State  Conven- 
tion in  1894  when  Grover  Cleveland  was 
running  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United 
States.  His  deep  interest  in  municipal 
affairs  was  always  evident,  and  any  move- 
ment for  the  improvement  of  civic  or 
county  conditions  was  ever  close  to  his 
heart. 

Fraternally,  Mr.  Nesbitt  had  been  an 
active  member  of  the  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows  for  more  than  five 
decades,  and  it  was  due  to  his  interest 
and     influence     that     the     present     Odd 


Fellow's  Building  was  purchased.  A  few 
years  ago  Mr.  Nesbitt  received  a  fiftj'- 
year  gold  medal  from  his  lodge  in  recog- 
nition of  his  long  membership  in  the  Odd 
Fellows.  He  was  also  prominent  in 
Masonic  Circles,  having  for  many  years 
been  a  member  of  Poughkeepsie  Lodge, 
No.  266,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons.  Mr. 
Nesbitt's  religious  affiliation  was  given 
to  the  Methodist  Church. 

In  the  financial  circles  of  Poughkeepsie, 
Mr.  Nesbitt  was  represented  by  being  a 
member  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the 
Merchants'  National  Bank.  The  follow- 
ing resolutions  were  passed  by  the  board 
of  directors  upon  his  death : 

Resolved,  That  we  record  with  deep  sorrow  the 
death  of  our  fellow-director,  Fitz  James  Nesbitt. 

We  have  enjoyed  our  association  with  Mr.  Nes- 
bitt during  his  thirteen  years  on  the  Board  of 
Directors  of  this  bank,  and  know  that  his  high 
ideals,  integrity  and  loyalty  were  of  great  benefit 
to  us  and  to  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him. 

With  a  sincere  sense  of  our  loss  in  the  passing 
of  a  loyal  and  true  friend,  we  extend  to  his  family 
this  expression  of  appreciation  and  heartfelt 
sympathy. 

Fitz  James  Nesbitt  married,  in  Pough- 
keepsie, April  27,  1870,  Louise  J.  Bahret, 
a  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Fredericka 
(Deitz)  Bahret,  old  residents  of  Dutchess 
County,  New  York.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nes- 
bitt were  the  parents  of  three  children, 
as  follows:  i.  Dr.  Edward  J.  Nesbitt, 
who  married  Ida  Traver,  of  Brooklyn, 
New  York,  and  their  children  are:  a.  Mil- 
dred, who  married  Frederick  Waite,  of 
Poughkeepsie,  and  they  have  one  son. 
i.  Frederick  Waite,  Jr.  b.  Edward  J.  Jr. ; 
and  c.  Marjorie.  2.  Grace  F.,  who  died  at 
the  age  of  four.  3.  Mabel  Louise,  who  mar- 
ried Richard  F.  Kolb,  and  they  have  the 
following  children :  Louise  N.  and  Rich- 
ard F.  Kolb,  Jr.  Mrs.  Louise  J.  (Bahret) 
Nesbitt,  two  of  her  three  children,  five 
grand-children,  and   one  great-grandson. 


134 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


survive  Mr.  Fitz  James  Nesbitt,  whose 
death  occurred  at  Poughkeepsie,  New 
York,  March  8,  1924,  during-  his  eighty- 
third  year. 


ELSEFFER,  Jacob  W., 

Lawyer,   Financier. 

The  late  Jacob  W.  Elseffer  was  for 
more  than  half  a  century  a  prominent 
lawyer  and  a  foremost  banker  of  Dutchess 
County,  New  York.  His  ancestors  were 
among  the  earliest  settlers  of  Dutchess 
County,  and  for  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years  had  been  closely  identified  with  the 
local  history  of  progress  and  advance- 
ment. 

Jacob  W.  Elsefler  was  born  in  Red 
Hook,  New  York,  September  6,  1822,  a 
descendant  of  Louis  Elzvier,  who  in  1580 
started  in  Holland  the  Elzvier  Printing 
Works  soon  to  be  known  throughout  the 
civilized  world  as  the  makers  of  the  noted 
Elzvierian  Bibles,  a  son  of  former 
Assemblyman  John  Elseffer,  whose  wife 
was  Katherine  (Whiteman)  Elseffer,  a 
descendant  of  the  Whiteman  family  who 
came  from  Switzerland  in  1720.  Henry 
Whiteman  and  his  son  were  noted  patri- 
ots in  the  Revolution,  and  large  land 
owners  in  Dutchess  and  Columbia 
counties. 

The  early  education  of  Jacob  W.  Elsef- 
fer was  obtained  at  the  Claverack  Insti- 
tute, Claverack,  New  York,  following 
which  he  matriculated  at  Williams  Col- 
lege. Instead  of  pursuing  that  full  college 
course,  however,  he  took  up  the  study  of 
law  in  the  offices  of  Judge  Rowley,  of 
Upper  Red  Hook,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  the 
year  1845.  He  at  once  began  the  practice 
of  his  profession  in  his  native  town,  and 
in  a  short  time  had  built  up  a  large  and 
lucrative  clientage.    Such  was  his  ability. 


efficiency,  and  probity  that  his  earliest 
clients  and  their  descendants  adhered  to 
him  throughout  his  long  and  unusually 
successful  legal  career.  In  1865  the  First 
National  Bank  of  Red  Hook  was  incor- 
porated, of  which  Mr.  ElseiTer  was  largely 
instrumental  in  its  organization,  and 
which  institution  fittingly  honored  him 
by  choosing  him  as  its  first  president. 
Mr.  Elseffer  continued  for  many  years  as 
director  of  and  attorney  for  the  bank,  and 
much  credit  was  awarded  him  for  the 
excellent  condition  of  its  affairs.  Both 
as  a  lawyer  and  as  a  financier,  Mr.  Elsef- 
fer, by  his  absolute  uprightness  of  char- 
acter and  his  proved  ability  and  deep 
wisdom,  held  the  confidence  and  esteem 
of  his  contemporaries,  townspeople,  and 
associates.  Fraternally,  Mr.  Elseffer 
limited  his  affiliation  to  the  Masonic 
bodies  only,  and  was  an  active  and  sincere 
member  for  many  years  of  Monumental 
Lodge,  No.  374,  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons.  His  interest  in  "the  search  for 
further  light"  led  him  through  the  chairs 
until  he  became  Master  of  the  lodge.  At 
the  time  of  his  death  he  had  the  unique 
distinction  of  being  the  Senior  Past 
Master  of  Monumental  Lodge.  Political- 
ly, Mr.  Elseffer  gave  his  support  and 
allegiance  to  the  Democratic  party,  and 
although  he  never  aspired  to  political 
honors,  yet  he  was  ever  an  influential 
man  in  the  affairs  of  his  chosen  party. 
Mr.  Elseffer  was  a  man  of  great  intel- 
lectual power,  unusual  forensic  ability 
in  the  court-room,  brilliant  and  sparkling 
in  conversation,  and  polished  and  always 
courteous  in  manner.  He  had  the  quality 
for  making  friends  and,  what  is  still  more, 
the  capacity  for  keeping  them. 

Jacob  W.  Elseffer  was  married  (first), 
October  17,  1847,  to  Delia  Eliza  Bone- 
steel,  of  Clermont,  New  York,  whose 
death    occurred    October   20,    1888.      Mr. 


t35 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Elseffer  was  married  (second),  Novem- 
ber II,  1890,  to  Harriet  E.  Mesick,  a 
daughter  of  Frederick  Mesick,  of  Clave- 
rack.  She  died  in  April,  1907.  Issue  by 
first  wife:  Mary;  John  Henry,  a  sketch 
of  whom  follows ;  Katherine  Whiteman, 
who  married  William  P.  Adams,  of 
Cohoes,  New  York ;  she  died  at  Red 
Hook,  New  York,  July  16,  1924.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Adams  were  the  parents  of  two 
children,  Elizabeth  Piatt,  married  Rad- 
cliffe  Heermance,  of  Princeton,  New 
Jersey;  Mrs.  Hermance  died  in  October, 
1919;  and  Katherine   Elseffer  Adams. 

Jacob  W.  Elseffer's  death  occurred  at 
his  home  in  Red  Hook,  New  York, 
November  15,  1907,  during  his  eighty- 
fifth  year,  and  lost  to  Dutchess  County 
one  of  its  foremost  legal  lights  and  finan- 
cier extraordinary. 


ELSEFFER,  John  Henry, 

Attorney-at-Law. 

John  H.  Elseffer  was  a  descendant  of 
old  Dutchess  County  pioneer  stock,  his 
ancestors  having  come  into  the  county 
when  it  was  but  a  wilderness,  and  by 
unremitting  toil  had  cleared  farm  acreage, 
built  hamlets,  and  instituted  town  and 
village  governments.  John  H.  Elseffer's 
was  a  noble  heritage  of  true  American- 
ism, by  reason  of  the  achievements  of  his 
paternal  and  maternal  forebears,  and  a 
heritage  in  which  he  took  justifiable  pride. 

John  H.  Elseffer  was  born  in  Red 
Hook,  New  York,  as  was  his  father 
before  him,  July  2,  185 1,  a  son  of  Jacob 
W.  and  Delia  Eliza  (Bonesteel)  Elseffer, 
see  preceding  sketch.  His  early  educa- 
tion was  received  in  the  district  schools  of 
his  native  town,  following  which  he  took 
a  college  preparatory  course  at  the  De 
Garmo  Institution,  at  Rhinebeck.  He 
then  matriculated  at  Cornell  University, 


at  Ithaca,  New  York,  supplementing  his 
collegiate  course  by  reading  law  under 
the  expert  tutelage  of  his  honored  father 
in  the  latter's  offices  in  Red  Hook,  New 
York.  He  then  entered  the  Albany  Law 
School,  from  which  he  was  graduated 
with  the  class  of  1876,  and  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  of  the  State  of  New  York  in 
Binghamton  in  the  year  1876.  For  sev- 
eral years  directly  following  he  was 
associated  with  his  father  in  the  latter's 
extensive  law  practice  in  Red  Hook.  He 
then  removed  to  San  Diego,  Southern 
California,  where  he  resided  until  the 
death  of  his  wife  in  1920,  at  which  time 
he  returned  to  the  place  of  his  nativity. 
Somewhat  later  he  removed  to  Pough- 
keepsie,  New  York,  where  he  lived,  re- 
tired, at  the  Nelson  House,  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  February  11,  1925. 

Mr.  Elseffer  was  a  member  of  the  Sons 
of  the  American  Revolution,  and  of  the 
Dutchess  County  Historical  Society. 
Politically,  he  supported  the  Democratic 
party,  but  took  no  active  participation  in 
political  matters  aside  from  exercising 
his  right  of  franchise.  His  religious  affili- 
ation was  given  to  the  Lutheran  Church. 

John  H.  Elseffer  was  married  at  New 
Orleans,  Louisiana,  January  6,  1900,  by 
Rev.  G.  C.  Franke,  pastor  of  the  First 
English  Lutheran  Church,  to  Emma 
Manchester.  Her  death  occurred  in  San 
Diego,  Southern  California,  in  1920,  and 
she  is  buried  at  Red  Hook,  New  York. 


RIVENBURGH,  Willard  T., 
Physician. 

One  of  the  well  known  and  notably 
successful  physicians  of  Highland,  New 
York,  is  Dr.  Willard  T.  Rivenburgh,  who 
has  been  engaged  in  general  practice 
there  since  1914.  The  Rivenburgh  family 
early  located  in  Columbia  County,  New 


136 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


York,  and  its  members  have  contributed 
to  the  development  of  that  section  of  the 
State,  serving  in  professional,  business, 
and  agricultural  fields  of  activity. 

(I)  Jacob  N.  Rivenburgh,  grandfather 
of  Dr.  Rivenburgh,  was  successfully 
engaged  in  agricultural  activities  in  and 
near  Chatham,  Columbia  County,  New 
York.  He  married  Charlotte  Tipple,  and 
they  were  the  parents  of  two  sons:  i. 
John  H.,  of  whom  further.  2.  Dr.  Willard 
T.  Rivenburgh,  who  was  a  practicing  phy- 
sician of  Middleburgh,  Schoharie  County, 
New  York. 

(II)  John  H.  Rivenburgh,  son  of  Jacob 
N.  and  Charlotte  (Tipple)  Rivenburgh, 
was  born  in  Ghent,  Columbia  County, 
New  York,  in  1855,  and  died  there  in  1912. 
After  attending  the  public  schools  of 
Ghent,  he  completed  his  education  in 
Millerton  Academy,  and  then  began  his 
business  career  in  the  employ  of  a  local 
hardware  concern.  After  a  time  he 
severed  this  connection  and  entered  the 
employ  of  Higgins  &  Tremain,  dealers  in 
coal  and  feed,  whom  he  served  in  the 
capacity  of  bookkeeper  for  several  years. 
While  attending  to  these  duties  he  made 
himself  thoroughly  familiar  with  the  busi- 
ness, and  when  Mr.  Higgins  retired  from 
active  participation  in  the  concern  Mr. 
Rivenburgh  was  made  a  partner  and  the 
firm  became  Tremain  &  Rivenburgh.  Mr. 
Rivenburgh  was  a  man  of  excellent  busi- 
ness ability,  a  good  friend  and  neighbor 
and  popular  among  a  large  group  of 
friends.  He  took  a  deep  interest  in 
municipal  affairs,  and  throughout  his  life 
was  identified  with  the  activities  of  the 
Republican  party  in  Columbia  County. 
He  served  as  town  clerk  of  Ghent  and 
overseer  of  poor,  and  for  nine  years  was 
superintendent  of  the  poor  of  Columbia 
County.  Later  he  became  a  clerk  of  one 
of  the  Legislative  committees  in  the  State 


Senate  at  Albany,  and  was  well  known 
among  the  leaders  of  the  party  in  the 
State  at  Albany.  His  religious  aiifilia- 
tion  was  with  the  Reformed  Church  of 
Ghent.  He  married  Sarah  J.  Cobum, 
daughter  of  Henry  R.  and  (Sim- 
mons) Coburn,  of  Columbia  County,  and 
they  were  the  parents  of  three  children : 
I.  John  H.,  Jr.,  who  died  at  the  age  of 
sixteen.  2.  Russell,  who  died  in  infancy. 
3.  Willard  T.,  of  whom  further. 

(Ill)  Dr.  Willard  T.  Rivenburgh,  son 
of  John  H.  and  Sarah  J.  (Coburn)  Riven- 
burgh, was  born  in  Ghent,  New  York, 
July  II,  1886.  He  received  his  earliest 
education  in  the  district  schools  of  his 
native  town.  Later  he  entered  Chatham 
High  School,  from  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated. In  1905,  having  chosen  the  medical 
profession  as  his  field  of  service,  he  began 
study  in  Albany  Medical  College,  of 
Union  University,  where  he  remained  for 
a  year.  At  the  end  of  that  time  he 
entered  the  pharmacy  of  Troy  in  the 
capacity  of  clerk,  but  in  1907  he  reentered 
Albany  Medical  School,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  with  the  class  of  1910, 
receiving  the  degree  M.  D.  at  that  time. 
The  following  year,  1910-11,  he  served 
his  internship  in  Samaritan  Hospital, 
Troy,  and  when  that  period  of  practice 
and  study  was  completed,  he  engaged  in 
general  practice  in  his  home  town.  In 
1914  he  removed  to  Highland,  New  York, 
where  he  has  since  remained  and  where 
he  has  built  up  a  large  and  important 
practice.  He  is  known  as  one  of  the  lead- 
ing physicians  of  that  section  of  the 
County  and  enjoys  in  a  high  degree  the 
respect  and  esteem  both  of  his  large  clien- 
tele and  of  his  professional  colleagues. 

On  April  10,  1918,  after  the  entrance  of 
the  United  States  into  the  World  War, 
Dr.  Rivenburgh  enlisted  in  the  United 
States  Army  and  was  assigned  to  duty 


137 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


at  the  Base  Hospital,  Camp  Upton,  New 
York,  where  he  remained  until  he  was 
discharged  from  service.  May  25,  1919, 
with  the  rank  of  first  lieutenant.  Medical 
Forces.  In  1920-21  he  entered  the  medi- 
cal department  of  Endicott-Johnson 
Corporation,  Johnson  City,  New  York, 
but  after  remaining  there  for  a  short  time 
he  returned  to  Highland,  and  resumed 
general  practice.  Dr.  Rivenburgh  is  by 
courtesy  attending  physician  of  the 
Vassar  Brothers'  Hospital,  Poughkeepsie. 
He  is  a  member  of  Highland  Lodge,  No. 
718,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons ;  and  of 
Otseningo  Consistory,  Ancient  Accepted 
Scottish  Rite.  He  is  a  Republican  in 
politics,  and  a  member  and  former  trustee 
of  Highland  Presbyterian  Church. 

Dr.  Willard  L.  Rivenburgh  married, 
February  18,  1914,  Florence  Darrow, 
daughter  of  J.  Wallace  Darrow,  of 
Chatham,  New  York,  former  editor  of 
the  Chatham  "Courier."  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
Rivenburgh  are  the  parents  of  two  chil- 
•dren  :  Florence  Elizabeth  ;  Willard  John, 
born  May  11,  1921. 


ALBRO,  William  C, 

Attorney-at-Law. 

In  the  eighth  generation  of  descent 
from  John  Albro,  the  founder  of  the 
family  name  in  America,  who  came  from 
England  in  1634,  became  a  major  in  the 
Colonial  Militia,  and  died  at  Portsmouth, 
Rhode  Island,  December  14,  1712,  Wil- 
liam C.  Albro,  of  Poughkeepsie,  New 
York,  in  a  half-century  of  practice  of  the 
law  has  risen  to  a  high  place  in  the  esteem 
and  affectionate  regard  of  his  brethren  at 
the  bar  and  of  a  large  clientele.  He  has 
also  given  much  of  his  time  and  energy  to 
the  affairs  of  education  in  his  home  city, 
and  being  a  speaker  of  no  mean  ability, 
his   services   in   that   respect   have   often 


been  in  demand  in  the  campaigns  for  pro- 
moting the  success  of  one  enterprise  or 
another.  He  continues  to  be  actively 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession, 
although  now  (1924)  more  than  seventy- 
five  years  of  age. 

(I)  Thomas  Albro,  grandfather  of 
William  C.  Albro,  was  born  May  2,  1799, 
and  died  September  24,  1852,  in  Genesee 
County,  New  York.  His  wife,  Ever 
Albro,  was  born  in  1782,  and  died  October 
28,  1851.  They  were  the  parents  of  Zeno, 
of  whom  further. 

(II)  Zeno  Albro,  son  of  Thomas  and 
Ever  Albro,  was  born  June  10,  1809,  at 
Clove,  Dutchess  County,  New  York,  and 
died  November  26,  1883,  at  Scranton, 
Pennsylvania.  Zeno  Albro  attended  at 
Clove  the  public  schools,  afterward  taught 
school,  and  was  a  successful  farmer,  hav- 
ing owned  farms  in  Dutchess  and  Genesee 
Counties,  New  York,  and  in  Wyoming 
County,  Pennsylvania.  He  was  one  of 
those  who  interested  themselves  in  the 
formation  of  Lackawanna  County,  Penn- 
sylvania. His  sympathies  were  strong  on 
the  side  of  the  Union  cause  in  the  Civil 
War,  and  he  was  among  those  who  went 
to  Washington,  District  of  Columbia,  for 
the  purpose  of  filling  the  quota  of  men  to 
be  taken  into  service  for  Dutchess 
County.  He  married  Mary  Ann  Clark, 
November  2,  1846,  who  died  in  January, 
1 91 7,  at  the  age  of  ninety  years.  They 
were  the  parents  of  five  children. 

(III)  William  C.  Albro,  son  of  Zeno 
and  Mary  Ann  (Clark)  Albro,  was  born 
August  16,  1848,  in  Genesee  County,  New 
York.  He  was  prepared  for  college  at 
Wesleyan  Academy,  Wilbraham,  Massa- 
chusetts, and  completed  his  education  at 
Cornell  University  and  Columbia  Uni- 
versity Law  School,  from  which  he  was 
graduated,  1874,  with  degree  LL.  B.  In 
the  fall  of  1874  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar 

38 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


at  the  general  term  of  court  sitting  at 
Poughkeepsie,  and  at  once  began  the 
practice  of  law  which  to  the  present  time 
has  covered  a  period  of  more  than  fifty 
years. 

Mr.  Albro  always  has  exhibited  a  deep 
interest  in  the  affairs  of  the  school  and  in 
educational  matters  in  general.  For  nine 
years  he  was  a  member  of  the  Pough- 
keepsie Board  of  Education.  He  was 
appointed  a  member  of  the  commission 
which  revised  the  charter  of  the  city  of 
Poughkeepsie  in  1920.  He  was  appointed 
in  1920  by  Mayor  Butt  a  member  of  the 
Poughkeepsie  Board  of  Public  Works  for 
a  term  of  three  years,  and  he  was  presi- 
dent of  the  board  for  two  years.  In  politi- 
cal activities  he  has  always  declared  him- 
self to  be  a  Democrat.  In  1913  he  was 
nominated  by  his  party  for  mayor  of 
Poughkeepsie ;  he  made  a  remarkably 
good  run  for  the  office,  but  was  defeated. 

One  of  the  outstanding  instances  in 
Mr.  Albro's  career  to  which  he  and  his 
friends  point  with  commendable  pride 
was  in  connection  with  the  early  move- 
ment in  support  of  women  who  then  were 
pushing  to  the  fore  in  the  professions 
theretofore  preempted  by  the  men,  par- 
ticularly in  New  York  State.  The  occa- 
sion was  a  visit  of  that  champion  and  pio- 
neer of  "woman's  rights,"  Belva  Lock- 
wood,  to  Poughkeepsie.  In  one  of  her 
masterful  lectures  before  a  Poughkeepsie 
audience  she  made  a  driving  remark  to 
the  effect  that  women  were  not  allowed  to 
practice  law  in  the  State  of  New  York. 
The  correctness  of  her  statement  and  the 
odious  comparison  drawn  naturally 
roused  the  women  present  to  reassert 
their  intention  to  urge  their  cause  the 
more  insistently,  and  the  more  chivalrous 
of  the  men  quickly  rallied  to  their  stand- 
ard. Of  the  men  who  thus  became  allies 
of  the  women  none  was  quicker  in  enter- 


ing the  forward  movement  than  Mr. 
Albro.  Suiting  the  deed  to  the  word,  he 
drafted  the  now  historical  amendment  to 
the  Code  of  Civil  Procedure,  introduced 
in  the  Legislature  by  Hon.  John  I.  Piatt, 
member  of  the  Assembly  from  Pough- 
keepsie, and  which  was  signed  by  Gover- 
nor Hill,  thus  entitling  women  to  become 
lawyers  in  New  York  State,  and  regis- 
tering another  mark  in  the  adoption  of  a 
more  liberal  policy  in  the  equality  of  the 
sexes  in  matters  of  government  and  politi- 
cal economy.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Dutchess  County  Bar  Association  and 
the  Vassar  Brothers   Institute   Society. 

Mr.  Albro  married,  November  3,  1874, 
Theodora  Rogers,  born  February  17,  1853, 
daughter  of  Egbert  and  Maria  (Sherman) 
Rogers,  of  the  town  of  Beekman,  Dutch- 
ess County,  New  York.  Mrs.  Rogers  is  a 
sister  of  John  B.  Sherman,  the  founder 
of  the  Chicago  stockyards.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Albro  are  the  parents  of  a  daughter,  Edna 
C,  a  mernber  of  the  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution,  on  the  maternal 
side,  and  who  lives  at  home. 


WILLIAMS,  H.  St.  John, 

Physician. 

Rarely  has  any  man  brought  to  a  highly 
important  position  a  fuller  training  and  a 
riper  experience  than  has  been  acquired 
by  H.  St.  John  Williams,  M.  D.,  widely 
known,  even  beyond  his  own  State,  and 
who  is  superintendent  of  the  Bowne 
Memorial  Hospital,  Poughkeepsie,  New 
York,  where  he  has  given  skillful  service 
and  wise  counsel  for  nearly  a  decade. 
Before  coming  to  Poughkeepsie  he  had 
passed  through  three  hospitals  either  as  a 
student-doctor  or  resident  physician ;  he 
was,  therefore,  splendidly  equipped  in  his 
profession  to  take  over  himself  the  man- 
agement of  a  large  hospital.    His  paternal 


139 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


grandfather  left  to  him  a  rich  memory  for 
accomplishing  things  of  lasting  value,  for 
he,  although  a  farmer,  but  a  successful 
one  at  that,  was  one  of  the  prime  movers 
in  the  founding  of  Bedford  Academy. 
His  father  was  a  well-known  educator, 
having  been  a  teacher  in  academy,  public 
schools  of  two  states  and  a  superintendent 
of  schools.  It  was  therefore  considered 
the  proper  thing  for  the  son  and  grand- 
son to  have  early  instilled  within  him  the 
desire  for  a  well-rounded  education  lead- 
ing to  the  profession  of  which  time  has 
shown  he  made  a  wise  choice. 

(I)  James  Francis  Williams  was  of 
Bedford,  Westchester  County,  New  York, 
and  married  Mary  Stone.  It  was  he  who 
proved  to  his  neighbor  folk  that  the 
occupation  of  farmer  did  not  cramp  his 
horizon,  and  he  possessed  that  intuition 
for  progress  which  reached  far  beyond  the 
limits  of  forest  and  field.  This  onward 
and  upward  look,  when  the  opportunity 
was  both  made  and  offered,  found  its 
focal  point  in  a  strong  local  movement  for 
the  establishment  of  a  school  of  a  higher 
grade  and  wider  range  of  subjects  than 
had  heretofore  been  taught  in  his  home 
town.  He  was  at  the  forefront  of  the 
movement  that  culminated  in  the  found- 
ing of  the  academy  which  has  given  the 
town  name,  as  it  was  the  aim  of  the 
founders  to  have  it  become  a  co-operative 
agency  for  the  intellectual  uplift  of  the 
entire  community.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wil- 
liams are  the  parents  of  seven  children, 
among  whom  was  James  Francis,  of 
whom  further. 

(II)  James  Francis  Williams,  second 
son  of  James  Francis  and  Mary  (Stone) 
Williams,  was  born  October  7,  1854,  in 
Bedford  Village.  He  was  given  a  good 
start  in  life  in  the  district  schools,  and 
the  Potsdam  Normal  School,  of  Potsdam, 
New  York.     He  taught  at  Bedford  Aca- 


demy, which  his  father  had  helped  to 
found;  at  Stamford,  Connecticut,  and 
Springfield,  Massachusetts.  He  was 
superintendent  of  schools  at  Bristol, 
Connecticut,  for  a  number  of  years.  On 
his  retirement  from  active  educational 
work  he  settled  in  Darien,  Connecticut. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Congregational 
Church.  He  married  Clara  Barrett, 
daughter  of  Hiram  and  Mary  Ann 
(Knapp)  Barrett,  of  Pound  Ridge,  West- 
chester County,  New  York.  To  them 
were  born  five  sons  and  one  daughter. 

(Ill)  Dr.  H.  St.  John  Williams,  third 
child  of  James  Francis  and  Clara  (Bar- 
rett) Williams,  was  born  in  Bristol,  Con- 
necticut, December  11,  1888.  He  was 
educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Bristol, 
the  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  High 
School ;  Yale  University,  graduated  com- 
bination course,  class  of  1910,  degree  of 
M.  D.  Dr.  Williams  made  his  beginning 
at  his  profession  by  doing  substitute  in- 
terne work  at  Fordham  Hospital,  New 
York,  and  was  resident  interne  for  eigh- 
teen months  at  the  Bridgeport  General 
Hospital,  Bridgeport,  Connecticut.  He 
was  afterward  appointed  resident  physi- 
cian at  the  State  Sanitorium  at  Meriden, 
Connecticut.  In  November,  1914,  after 
the  trustees  of  Bowne  Memorial  Hospital 
at  Poughkeepsie  had  looked  about  for  a 
desirable  physician  for  superintendent, 
investigated  the  experience  and  fitness  of 
Dr.  Williams  and  elected  him  to  the  posi- 
tion which  he  has  continued  to  fill.  Dr. 
Williams  is  also  engaged  in  private  work 
as  a  consultant,  specializing  on  the  heart 
and  lungs.  He  is  a  member  of  the  con- 
sulting staffs  of  St.  Francis  Hospital, 
Poughkeepsie,  and  the  Thompson  House 
Hospital,  Rhinebeck,  and  is  physician  in 
charge  of  the  Poughkeepsie  Tuberculosis 
clinic    and    Beacon    Tuberculosis    clinic. 

During  the  World  War  he  gave  of  his 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ham  Lent,  as  heretofore  noted.  Issue : 
Samuel,  of  whom  forward. 

(III)  Samuel  Cronkhite  (note  change 
of  spelling),  a  son  of  Sybout  Herrickse 
and  Mary  (Lent)  Krankheyt,  was  bap- 
tized in  Tarrytown,  New  York,  Novem- 
ber 8,  1710.  In  regard  to  the  shortening 
of  the  surname  the  following  has  been 
written : 

It  is  established  that  the  original  name  Cronk- 
heit  was  in  many  cases  shortened  to  Cronk  by  the 
American  families,  although  there  are  many  fami- 
lies now  in  the  United  States  using  the  original 
name  Cronkheit.  The  records  of  the  Fourteenth 
Regiment  from  Hoosick  and  Schaghticoke,  also 
Albany  County,  New  York,  which  fought  under 
Colonel  Peter  Yates  in  the  War  of  the  American 
Revolution,  contained  the  name  of  an  Abraham 
Cronkheit,  a  Tunis  Cronkheit,  besides  five  other 
Cronks  and  Cronkhcits.  This  would  seem  to  sup- 
port the  theory  that  the  family  had  come  to  Amer- 
ica considerably  before  the  year  1700,  and  that 
they  entertained  diversified  political  views.  There 
are  New  York  records  that  show  that  Dutchess 
County  Cronkheits  favored  the  American  cause, 
and  "Signed  the  Associations,"  in  July,  1775.  Two 
Ulster  County  Cronks  refused,  as  did  two  Dutchess 
County  Kranchites.  Captain  James  Kronkhyte  led 
a  company  of  Westchester  County  Revolutionary 
troops.  All  of  these  different  spellings  and  opinions 
within  a  few  miles. 

As  near  as  can  be  ascertained  Samuel 
Cronkhite  was  the  father  of  Samuel 
Cronk,  of  whom  forward. 

(IV)  Samuel  Cronk,  probably  the  son 
of  Samuel  Cronkhite,  was  born  in  Suy- 
dam,  Columbia  County,  New  York.  He 
kept  a  general  store,  and  was  also  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits.  He  mar- 
ried    Kilmer,  and  they  had  a  son 

Martin  L.,  of  whom  forward. 

(V)  Martin  L.  Cronk,  a  son  of  Samuel 

and (Kilmer)  Cronk,  was  born  in 

Suydam,  Columbia  County,  New  York, 
in  the  year  1834,  and  died  there  on  Decem- 
ber 7,  1907,  having  spent  his  life  as  a  far- 
mer. He  was  married  in  1865  to  Marion 
Carl,  who  bore  him  four  children,  as  fol- 


lows:  Jennie,  Alice,  Esbon,  and  James 
M.,  of  whom  forward. 

(VI)  Dr.  James  M.  Cronk,  one  of  the 
four  children  of  Martin  L.  and  Marion 
(Carl)  Cronk,  was  born  in  Suydam, 
Columbia  County,  New  York,  August  8, 
1867.  His  early  education  was  acquired 
in  the  district  schools  of  his  native  town, 
following  which  he  attended  the  Hudson 
River  Institute  at  Claverick-on-the-Hud- 
son.  In  1895  he  matriculated  in  the  Medi- 
cal Department  at  Albany  of  Union  Uni- 
versity, of  Schenectady,  New  York,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  the  class  of 
1898  with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medi- 
cine. Immediately  upon  the  completion 
of  his  medical  studies,  he  began  the  prac- 
tice of  his  chosen  profession  in  Hyde 
Park,  Dutchess  County,  New  York,  where 
he  has  since  remained,  becoming  very 
successful  and  widely  known,  and  build- 
ing up  a  large  and  lucrative  clientage. 

Politically,  Dr.  Cronk  has  always  been 
an  advocate  and  supporter  of  the  princi- 
ples of  Republicanism.  He  has  ever  been 
an  interested  worker  in  municipal  aflfairs, 
having  served  as  health  officer  of  Hyde 
Park  for  a  period  of  twenty-four  years, 
and  as  president  of  the  Hyde  Park  Board 
of  Education  for  thirteen  years.  His 
religious  affiliation  is  given  to  the  Hyde 
Park  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  of 
which  he  has  been  a  trustee  for  some 
years. 

Dr.  Cronk  has  had  a  military  career 
deserving  of  more  than  passing  mention. 
During  the  late  World  War,  on  June  7, 
1918,  he  entered  the  government  training 
camp  at  Camp  Oglethorpe,  Georgia,  with 
the  rank  of  lieutenant,  and  two  months 
later  was  assigned  to  Base  Hospital,  No. 
121,  of  the  same  cantonment.  He  was 
next  transferred  to  Camp  Beauregard, 
Louisiana.  On  November  11,  1918,  he 
went  overseas  and  was  stationed  at  Beau- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Besert,  Base  Section  No.  2,  France.  On 
May  19,  1919,  he  was  commissioned  cap- 
tain, and  made  commanding  officer  of 
Sanitary  Squad  No.  76.  Captain  Cronk 
returned  to  America  on  May  30,  1919, 
and  was  mustered  out  of  service  at  Camp 
Dodge,  June  17,  1919. 

Dr.  Cronk  is  an  active  member  of  the 
Dutchess- Putnam  Counties  Medical  Asso- 
ciation; the  New  York  State  Medical 
Association  ;  and  the  Poughkeepsie  Acad- 
emy of  Medicine.  Fraternally  he  holds 
membership  in  Triune  Lodge,  No.  782, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  The  National 
League  of  Masonic  Clubs,  and  the  Inde- 
pendent Order  of  Odd  Fellows. 

Dr.  James  M.  Cronk  was  married  in 
Hudson,  New  York,  January  3,  1893,  to 
Nellie  Palmer,  a  daughter  of  Peter  and 
Elizabeth  (Pearsall)  Palmer,  of  Matte- 
wan,  New  Jersey.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Cronk 
are  the  parents  of  one  daughter,  Laura, 
who  was  married  in  the  year  1917,  to 
Frederick  Traudt,  of  Hyde  Park.  To 
Frederick  and  Laura  (Cronk)  Traudt 
have  been  born  three  children :  Fred- 
erick, Phyllis,  and  James  C.  Traudt.  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Cronk  make  their  home  at  Hyde 
Park,  Dutchess  County  New  York. 


GROUSE,  John  Seneca,     A' 

Financier. 

Known  as  one  of  the  strongest  financial 
men  of  Dutchess  County,  New  York, 
John  Seneca  Crouse,  born  in  Clinton 
Hollow,  New  York,  September  26,  1828, 
died  in  Red  Hook,  New  York,  October  6, 
1893,  rendered  conspicuous  service  to  his 
own  banks,  the  banks  of  his  region  and 
to  the  United  States  Government  during 
the  Civil  War  period  and  the  reconstruc- 
tion days  immediately  following  the  peace 
by  reason  of  his  expert  ability  for  the 
detection  of  counterfeit  money.     Taking 


advantage  of  the  disturbed  condition  of 
the  country  in  the  hazardous  times  of  the 
war  and  its  aftermath,  evilly  inclined  men 
of  high  technical  ability,  either  in  com- 
bination or  as  individuals,  flooded  the 
circulation  of  the  country  with  counter- 
feit paper  and  metal  money.  So  closely 
did  the  spurious  resemble  the  genuine 
money,  that  often  it  was  declared  to  be 
an  impossibility  to  discern  the  diiiference. 
Irreparable  damage  was  done  to  the 
receivers  of  the  counterfeit,  and  an  im- 
mense inconvenience  was  caused  to  busi- 
ness and  bankers  generally.  State  and 
National  authorities  bent  all  their  ener- 
gies and  applied  all  their  resources  in  an 
effort  to  apprehend  the  criminals.  They 
succeeded  to  a  marvelous  degree,  and  thus 
were  brought  to  justice  many  notorious 
counterfeiters ;  but  the  product  of  their 
nefarious  business  was  in  the  currency, 
and  it  became  a  very  serious  problem  how 
to  rid  the  circulation  of  the  troublesome 
and  illicit  medium  of  exchange,  particu- 
larly since  now  and  again  the  craft,  ever 
receiving  reinforcements,  would  inject  a 
fresh  supply  of  the  base  material.  Thus 
the  difficulty  would  no  sooner  become 
seemingly  remedied  to  an  appreciable 
degree  as  far  as  the  capture  of  some  of 
the  most  prolific  and  skillful  of  the  coun- 
terfeiters was  concerned,  than  it  would 
again  become  sorely  aggravated  by  a  re- 
currence of  the  unlawful  money.  To 
meet  this  dire  emergency  in  a  remarkable 
way,  there  arose  here  and  there  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  country  men  who,  by 
long  years  of  experience  in  the  handling 
of  money  in  banks,  became  expert  in  the 
detection  of  counterfeit  money.  They 
became  also  invaluable  servants  to  the 
Government,  and  to  its  forces  they  acted 
as  the  second  line  of  attack,  which  could 
always  be  depended  upon  to  do  its  part 
to  eliminate  as  far  as  possible  the  coun- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


terfeit  from  the  supply  of  genuine  money. 
In  this  category  belonged  John  Seneca 
Crouse,  whose  fame  spread  far  and  wide 
in  the  i86o's  and  onward.  So  proficient 
did  he  become  in  the  matter  of  selection 
of  counterfeit  from  the  money  that  passed 
through  his  hands,  that  other  banks  than 
the  one  that  he  served  in  official  capacity 
often  called  upon  him  to  render  like  ser- 
vice for  them.  He  soon  became  the  most 
expert  counterfeit  detector  in  Dutchess 
County,  if  not,  in  fact,  in  a  territory  far 
beyond  the  confines  of  that  division  of 
the  State. 

John  Seneca  Crouse  was  a  lineal 
descendant  of  Jacob  Crouse,  who  settled 
in  Beekman,  Dutchess  County,  New 
York,  about  the  year  1760.  John  Crouse, 
father  of  John  S.  Crouse,  lived  in  Clinton 
Hollow,  and  married  Jane  Ann  Young. 
He  had  brothers  and  sisters:  Deborah, 
Tillie,  William  and  Seneca.  John  and 
Jane  Ann  (Young)  Crouse  had  one  son, 
John  Seneca,  of  whom  further. 

John  Seneca  Crouse  received  his  pre- 
liminary education  in  the  country  schools 
of  his  native  village,  and  he  also  took  an 
academic  course.  School-days  at  an  end, 
he  cast  about  for  employment,  and  his 
first  steady  job  was  with  Spencer  Bennett 
in  the  "freighting"  business  at  Hyde 
Park,  New  York.  He  afterward  engaged 
in  the  same  line  of  business  at  Pough- 
keepsie.  New  York.  The  salient  turning 
point  in  his  career  came  in  1863,  in  which 
year  he  entered  the  employ  of  the  Pough- 
keepsie  Bank,  established  in  1830  and  now 
known  as  the  Poughkeepsie  Trust  Com- 
pany. His  position  was  that  of  clerk,  and 
he  remained  with  that  bank  for  thirteen 
years,  during  which  period  he  became 
acquainted  with  much  of  the  detail  of  a 
banking  institution.  In  1865  he  was 
called  to  Red  Hook  to  become  cashier  of 
the   First    National    Bank,    the    leading 


financial  institution  of  that  town.  He 
held  that  office  for  thirty  years,  or  until 
the  time  of  his  death  in  1893.  Mr.  Crouse 
is  highly  esteemed  for  his  sterling  worth, 
and  his  memory  is  held  in  deep  affection 
by  his  intimates,  who  knew  him  as  man 
of  genuine  quality  and  as  one  who  was 
bent  on  doing  service  to  the  extent  of 
his  powers  in  whatever  avenue  of  life's 
activities  he  was  placed.  He  was  true  to 
himself  and  true  to  his  friends,  loyal  to 
his  business  and  financial  connections, 
devoted  to  his  family,  and  intensely  patri- 
otic in  his  allegiance  to  the  common- 
wealth and  to  his  country. 

John  Seneca  Crouse  married  Hannah 
Dawes  Kettell,  November  20,  1862, 
daughter  of  George  Frederick  and  Lucre- 
tia  (Hawley)  Kettell.  They  were  the 
parents  of  three  children:  Frances  Eliza, 
born  September  24,  1866;  John  Kettell, 
born  October  12,  1869,  died  September  18, 
1917;  Lucy  Dawes,  born  October  2,  1874, 
married  Rev.  Charles  S.  Champlin,  of 
Baldwinsville,  New  York,  October  22, 
1902,  and  has  one  son,  Charles  Dawes 
Champlin,  born  August  5,  1903. 


BLAKELY,  Julius  Warren, 
Fbysician. 

The  surname  "Blakely"  is  a  local,  or 
place,  name,  meaning  "of  Blakesley,"  a 
parish  in  Northamptonshire,  four  miles 
from  Towcester,  England,  and  is  of 
ancient  origin.  The  name  has  been  vari- 
ously spelled,  the  more  common  variants 
being  Blacksley,  Blakeslee,  and  Blakely. 
The  family  became  represented  in  Ameri- 
ca at  an  early  date,  and  to-day  one  of  the 
prominent  bearers  of  this  ancient  patro- 
nym  is  Dr.  Julius  Warren  Blakely,  a 
well  known  and  prominent  physician  of 
Highland,  Ulster  County,  New  York. 
(I)  John  Blakely  appears  to  be  the 
44 


J 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ancestor  of  the  line  herein  considered. 
He,  however,  may  not  have  been  the 
immigrant  ancestor,  for  the  first  date 
pertaining  to  him  is  1812,  and  thus  it  is 
more  than  likely  that  he  was  of  the  sec- 
ond, third,  of  fourth  generation  descended 
from  the  American  progenitor.  Connecti- 
cut was  the  home  of  the  early  Blakelys, 
and  from  this  State,  in  1812,  did  John 
Blakely  and  a  Mr.  Hunt  remove  to  the 
town  of  Otego,  New  York.  Here  he  be- 
came very  prominent  in  civic  aflfairs,  and 
for  many  years  served  as  justice  of  the 
peace.  To  him  was  born  a  son,  Heman, 
of  whom  forward. 

(II)  Heman  Blakely,  son  of  John 
Blakely,  was  born,  lived  and  died  at 
Otego,  New  York.  He  spent  his  long  life 
as  an  agriculturist.  He  was  the  father  of 
David,  of  whom  forward. 

(III)  David  Blakely,  son  of  Heman 
Blakely,  was  born  at  Otego,  New  York, 
and  here  lived  and  died.  He  also  was  a 
farmer,  respected  and  influential  in  the 
community.  To  him  was  born  a  son, 
John,  of  whom  forward. 

(IV)  John  Blakely,  son  of  David 
Blakely,  was  born  at  Otego,  New  York. 
He  continued  in  agricultural  pursuits  as 
his  forefathers  had  done  before  him.  He 
married  Lydia  D.  Cutler,  a  direct 
descendant  of  the  Vermont  Putnams  of 
Revolutionary  War  fame.  John  and 
Lydia  D.  (Cutler)  Blakely  were  the 
parents  of  four  children,  as  follows:  i. 
Almon  D.,  of  whom  forward.  2.  Emma, 
married  William  Fowler,  of  Otego.  3. 
Myra,  married  Edward  Peckham,  of  Guil- 
ford, New  York.  4.  Helen,  married 
Charles  H.  Stebbins,  of  Unadilla,  New 
York. 

(V)  Dr.  Almon  D.  Blakely,  only  son  of 
John  and  Lydia  D.  (Cutler)  Blakely, 
was  born  at  Unadilla,  New  York,  April 
17,  1848,  and  died  at  Syracuse,  New  York, 

N.T. — 8 — 10 


in  the  year  1917.  He  received  his  early 
education  in  the  public  schools  of  Una- 
dilla, following  which  he  entered  and  was 
graduated  from  the  Unadilla  Academy. 
He  then  matriculated  at  the  Medical  Col- 
lege of  Syracuse  University,  Syracuse, 
New  York,  and  Medical  Department  of 
the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  with  the 
class  of  1880,  receiving  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine.  Immediately  upon 
the  completion  of  his  medical  studies  he 
removed  to  Milford,  New  York,  and 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  chosen  pro- 
fession, continuing  in  practice  here  with 
ever-increasing  success  from  1880  to  1918 
— a  period  of  nearly  four  decades.  Dur- 
ing the  latter  year  he  retired  from  active 
professional  life  and  returned  to  the  city 
in  whose  college  he  had  acquired  his 
knowledge  of  medicine.  Here  in  Syra- 
cuse he  spent  his  remaining  years,  his 
death  occurring  August  24,  1917. 

Almon  D.  Blakely  was  married  March 
15,  1870,  at  Unadilla,  New  York,  to  Julia 
Bronson,  a  daughter  of  Warren  Bronson, 
a  resident  of  Unadilla.  To  Dr.  Almon  D. 
and  Julia  (Bronson)  Blakely  was  born 
one  son,  Julius  Warren,  of  whom  for- 
ward. 

(VI)  Julius  Warren  Blakely,  only  son 
of  Dr.  Almon  D.  and  Julia  (Bronson) 
Blakely,  was  born  at  Unadilla,  New  York, 
June  ID,  1874,  and  was  destined  to  choose 
the  same  career  as  did  his  honored  father, 
and  to  follow  in  his  professional  footsteps. 
To-day  Julius  Warren  Blakely,  M.  D.  is 
one  of  the  foremost  medical  practitioners 
of  Ulster  County,  New  York,  and  due  to 
inherited  instinct,  great  ability  and  effici- 
ency, and  a  rigid  adherence  to  a  high 
medical  code  of  ethics,  he  has  builded  for 
himself  a  monument  of  public  esteem  and 
love  over  which  he  may  well  be  proud. 
At    the    present   time    (1924)    he   is    still 


145 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


ministering  to  the  needs  of  a  large  client- 
age, and  is  constantly  and  consistently- 
adding  to  his  prestige  in  this  greatest  of 
all  humanitarian  fields  of  endeavor. 

Julius  Warren  Blakely  obtained  his 
early  education  in  the  district  schools  of 
Unadilla,  following  which,  as  his  father 
had  done  before  him,  he  entered  and  was 
graduated  from  the  Unadilla  Academy. 
Having  been  reared  in  the  atmosphere 
and  surrounded  since  babyhood  by  the 
influences  of  well  doing  among  the  sick 
and  needy,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  the  youth  should  choose  his  father's 
profession  for  his  life's  work.  He  en- 
gaged upon  the  medical  studies  in  the 
Albany  Medical  College,  from  which  he 
was  graduated  with  the  class  of  1896, 
with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine. 
Upon  his  actual  admission  into  the  great 
medical  fraternity  he  at  once  went  to  Mil- 
ford,  New  York,  where  his  father  was 
practicing  medicine,  and  under  the  experi- 
enced guidance  of  his  father  he  engaged 
actively  in  his  chosen  profession.  He 
remained  in  Milford  for  three  years,  and 
in  1889  he  removed  to  Sidney,  New  York, 
where  he  was  most  successfully  engaged 
in  practice  until  1905,  at  which  time  he 
removed  to  Highland,  Ulster  County, 
New  York.  Here  he  has  since  remained, 
and  by  his  sincerity,  ability,  and  by  his 
achievements  he  has  won  a  name  par 
excellence  for  himself  in  local  medical 
circles.  In  1918  he  relinquished  his  prac- 
tice temporarily  in  order  to  take  a  post- 
graduate course  at  the  Bellevue  Hospital 
in  New  York  City.  Dr.  Blakely  is  phy- 
sician to  the  Sacred  Heart  Orphan  Asy- 
lum, West  Park,  New  York ;  Physician 
to  the  Raymond  Riordan  School,  High- 
land, New  York;  is  attending  physician 
at  Vassar  Brothers  Hospital,  Poughkeep- 
sie.  New  York ;  and  has  served  as  health 
officer  of  the  town  of  Highland  for  nearly 
a    decade.      Outside   of   his   professional 


activities,  he  is  the  president  of  the  Ulster 
Gas  &  Oil  Company,  Incorporated,  of 
Highland. 

Politically,  Dr.  Blakely  is  a  staunch 
Republican,  being  an  ardent  advocate  and 
supporter  of  the  principles  of  Republican- 
ism. His  religious  affiliation  is  given  to 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Ulster  County  Medical  Associ- 
ation ;  Poughkeepsie  Academy  of  Medi- 
cine ;  Phi  Sigma  Kappa,  College  frater- 
nity; Deputy  District  Grand  Master  of 
the  Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows 
of  the  Ulster  District,  member  of  the 
order  since  1897,  and  founder  in  1909  of 
Sunshine  Lodge,  No.  929,  Independent 
Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  of  Highland,  New 
York. 

Dr.  Julius  Warren  Blakely  was  mar- 
ried (first)  at  Middlefield,  New  York, 
January  25,  1899,  to  Grace  R.  Herin,  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  and  Lora  (Van  Hen- 
sen)  Herin,  residents  of  Middlefield,  New 
York.  Of  this  union  there  were  two  chil- 
dren, as  follows:  i.  Emma  Eloise,  born 
October  29,  1904,  died  at  the  age  of  thir- 
teen. 2.  John  Charles,  born  January  10, 
1907.  Dr.  Blakely  was  married  (second) 
September  21,  1913,  at  Highland,  New 
York,  to  Florence  M.  Clearwater,  a 
daughter  of  John  J.  and  Emma  (Barnes) 
Clearwater,  natives  of  Highland,  who 
come  of  old  Dutch  ancestry.  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Blakely  are  prominent  in  both  the 
social  and  religious  circles  of  their  com- 
munity, and  they  lend  their  support  to 
every  worthy  movement  of  a  charitable 
public  welfare,  or  civic  advancement 
nature. 


HOFFMAN,  Charles  Beekman, 

Merchant,  Manufacturer,  Financier. 

In  the  fourth  generation  of  descent 
from  Conrad  Hoffman,  Charles  Beekman 
Hoffman  was   born  at  Red  Hook,  New 


146 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


York,  June  9,  1855,  died  January  22,  1821, 
son  of  Benjamin  B.  and  Adeline  (Fan- 
cher)  Hoffman,  and  he,  as  was  his  son, 
Charles  B.,  after  him,  was  president  of 
the  Red  Hook  National  Bank.  The  son 
was  also  prominent  as  a  merchant  and 
manufacturer.  He  was  a  helpful  and 
actively  influential  member  of  several 
organizations  for  the  promotion  of  wor- 
thy objects  in  his  native  county  and  town. 
The  prestige  attaching  to  the  family  name 
for  honorable  dealing,  uprightness  of 
character  and  strict  integrity  in  financial 
and  business  affairs  was  most  closely 
guarded  and  maintained  by  this  worthy 
son  of  a  worthy  ancestor. 

George  C.  Hoffman,  grandfather  of 
Charles  Beekman  Hoffman,  was  a  farmer 
and  butcher  in  Red  Hook.  He  married, 
June  7,  1807,  Lydia  Beekman  for  his  first 
wife,  and  after  her  death  he  married 
Maria  Waldorf.  Of  these  two  unions 
there  were  twelve  children :  Gitty  Eliza- 
beth, Rebecca,  Helen  S.,  Sarah  A.,  Lydia 
C,  Benjamin  B.,  father  of  Charles  Beek- 
man; Marjorie  L.,  John  W.,  George  L., 
Edward  M.,  J.  Robert  and  Regina  E. 

Benjamin  B.  Hoffman,  father  of  Charles 
Beekman  Hoffman,  was  born  at  Red 
Hook,  March  25,  1821,  died  May  19,  1901. 
He  was  a  prominent  citizen  of  his  town 
and  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Hoffman  & 
Company,  manufacturers  of  tobacco  and 
cigars.  He  carried  on  an  extensive  busi- 
ness throughout  the  Hudson  River  Valley 
region,  and  was  widely  known  and  deeply 
interested  in  business  and  financial  affairs. 
For  many  years  previous  to  his  death  he 
was  president  of  the  Red  Hook  National 
Bank.  He  married.  May  8,  1843,  Adeline 
Fancher,  of  Fishkill,  New  York.,  born 
March  25,  1824,  died  March  8,  1896,  and 
they  had  children:  Mary  M.,  Laura  A., 
Louis  F.,  Emma  J.,  Edith  E.,  Charles 
Beekman,  Kitty  F.  and  Ida. 

147 


Charles  Beekman  Hoffman  was  edu- 
cated in  the  district  schools  of  his  native 
community,  at  De  Garmo  Institute, 
Rhinebeck,  New  York,  and  at  Claverack 
Academy,  Claverack,  New  York.  His 
first  business  association  was  in  a  general 
store  in  Red  Hook,  later  taking  a  position 
in  the  department  store  of  Luckey,  Piatt 
&  Company,  Poughkeepsie,  New  York, 
where,  because  of  failing  health,  he  re- 
mained only  a  short  time.  He  then  went 
to  his  father's  farm  at  Red  Hook,  and  in 
a  few  years  entered  the  employ  of  the 
Hoffman  Tobacco  Company  at  Red 
Hook.  He  soon  was  made  a  member  of 
the  firm,  and  continued  in  that  capacity 
until  about  five  years  prior  to  his  death, 
when  he  withdrew  from  connection  with 
the  company.  On  the  death  of  his  father, 
Benjamin  B.  Hoffman,  in  1901,  the  latter 
was  succeeded  in  the  presidency  of  the 
Red  Hook  National  Bank  by  John  N. 
Lewis,  and  on  the  latter's  death  a  few 
years  afterward,  Charles  Beekman  Hoff- 
man was  elected  president,  which  office 
he  held  until  his  death  in  1921.  Mr.  Hoff- 
man was  also  a  trustee  of  the  Rhinebeck 
Savings  Bank,  a  member  of  the  Dutchess 
County  Agricultural  Society,  Dutchess 
County  Historical  Society,  the  Dutchess 
County  Society,  and  was  an  active  and 
helpful  member  of  St.  Paul's  Evangelical 
Church. 

Mr.  Hoffman  married,  October  27,  1880, 
Fannie  Allendorf,  daughter  of  Alfred  and 
Catherine  A.  (Shook)  Allendorf,  of  Red 
Hook.  She  is  of  Revolutionary  ancestry 
and  descended  from  early  settlers  of 
Dutchess  County.  Children  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Charles  Beekman  Hoffman:  i. 
Bessie  C,  married  Allan  Scott,  of  New 
York  City,  October  9,  1909,  and  they  are 
the  parents  of  Malcolm  Scott,  born  July 
19,  1910.  2.  Edith  Marjorie,  married 
Lorenzo  M.  Armstrong,  of  New  Haven, 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Connecticut,  and  has  three  children, 
Lorenzo  M.,  Jr.,  born  March  22,  1917, 
Marjorie  M.,  and  John,  born  July  13,  1924. 
3.  May,  died  in  infancy.  4.  Katherine 
Allendorf,  married  Harry  R.  Roman,  of 
Cedarhurst,  Long  Island,  and  they  are 
the  parents  of  a  daughter,  Marjorie 
Homan. 


FURLONG,  Frank  Carmine, 
Physician,   Surgeon. 

Brought  to  this  country  from  Italy 
when  an  infant  by  his  mother,  reared 
with  scrupulous  care  and  generous  affec- 
tion bestowed  by  his  stepmother,  trained 
for  the  medical  profession  in  university 
and  hospital,  Frank  Carmine  Furlong, 
M.  D.,  has  worked  his  way  up  into  the 
prominent  physician  class  in  Dutchess 
County,  New  York,  and  merits  also  the 
esteem  in  which  he  is  held  in  his  home 
community,  Poughkeepsie,  in  which  city 
and  the  vicinity  his  practice  largely  cen- 
ters. Hard  work  persistently  concen- 
trated upon  his  life  calling  and  the 
results  of  the  motherly  devotion  affection- 
ately manifested  by  his  father's  second 
wife  were  the  chief  contributing  elements 
to  the  forward  strides  made  by  this  young 
physician. 

Anthony  Furlong,  when  he  emigrated 
to  this  country  from  Italy  in  1890,  left 
his  young  wife  in  the  homeland  until  such 
time  as  he  should  be  able  to  receive  them 
in  a  home  of  their  own.  When  he  landed 
on  the  shores  of  the  United  States,  the 
father  of  the  future  Dr.  Furlong  knew 
little  or  nothing  of  the  English  language. 
When  the  court  officials  asked  him  his 
name,  he  gave  it  correctly,  Ferlona,  but 
his  speech  was  so  broken  that  the  officials 
imderstood  him  to  have  said  "Furlong" 
and  thus  his  name  went  into  the  record, 
and  thus  ever  since  it  has  been  known, 
it  having  been  with  facility  adopted  by  the 


family.  Therefore  he  who  otherwise 
would  have  been  known  as  Dr.  Ferlona 
has  gone  further  in  name  and  has  lived  up 
to  the  same  with  an  enviable  reputation. 
Anthony  Furlong,  immediately  after  pas- 
sing through  the  immigration  station, 
settled  in  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  hav- 
ing come  to  this  country  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  opportunities  of  education  and 
the  betterment  of  himself  and  his  family. 
His  wife,  Vincenza  Juliano  Furlong,  who 
was  left  by  her  husband  in  Italy,  he  hav- 
ing preceded  her  to  this  country  by  seve- 
ral months,  brought  with  her  their  infant 
son,  Frank  Carmine,  who  was  born  in 
Postiglione,  Province  of  Salerno,  Italy, 
June  24,  1890,  and  mother  and  son  joined 
husband  and  father  at  Poughkeepsie. 
The  family  lived  in  Poughkeepsie  seven 
years,  and  then  removed  to  Highland, 
Ulster  County,  New  York,  where  he 
worked  as  laborer.  His  wife,  Vincenza 
Juliano  Furlong,  died  November  2,  1897. 
He  married  (second)  Mary  Marcigliano, 
to  whom  Dr.  Furlong  is  deeply  indebted 
for  her  having  taken  the  place  of  mother 
in  the  best  sense  of  the  word,  and  having 
reared  him  as  if  he  had  been  her  own  son. 
Anthony  Furlong  died  in  Highland,  April 
3.  1921. 

Frank  Carmine  Furlong,  when  the 
family  lived  in  Poughkeepsie,  attended 
St.  Peter's  Boys  Parochial  School  in  that 
city,  and  on  the  family's  removal  to  High- 
land he  entered  the  high  school  of  that 
town,  whence  he  was  graduated  in  the 
class  of  1910.  Possessing  an  industrious 
nature,  he  worked  at  various  employment 
during  his  school  days.  In  the  fall  of 
1910,  having  determined  to  take  up  the 
study  of  medicine,  he  entered  the  Albany 
Medical  College  of  Union  University, 
from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the  class 
of  1914  with  the  degree  of  M.  D.,  secre- 
tary of  his  class. 

Dr.  Furlong  served  one  year  as  interne 


148 


C^_  1/ u^^^^i^^^-^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


at  Albany  (New  York)  Hospital,  and 
then  removed  to  New  York  City  to  take 
charge  of  the  hospital  at  Blackwell's 
Island  Workhouse  under  the  direction  of 
Commissioner  Katherine  Davis,  at  that 
time  the  only  woman  commissioner  in 
New  York.  In  May,  1916,  Dr.  P'urlong 
removed  to  Poughkeepsie,  where  he  be- 
gan his  professional  career  of  Physician 
and  surgeon  and  as  a  general  practitioner. 

Dr.  Furlong  is  first  assistant  surgeon 
to  the  chief  of  staff  of  St.  Francis'  Hos- 
pital and  attending  physician  of  Bowne 
Memorial  Hospital.  In  1919  he  was 
appointed  by  the  Poughkeepsie  Board  of 
Charities  as  physician  to  the  City  Home. 
He  was  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Health 
as  physician  to  the  Parochial  School  for 
four  years.  Dr.  Furlong  is  a  member  of 
the  American  Medical  Association,  New- 
York  State  Medical  Society,  Dutchess  and 
Putnam  Counties  Medical  Society, 
Poughkeepsie  Academy  of  Medicine.  He 
holds  membership  in  Poughkeepsie 
Lodge,  No.  275,  Benevolent  and  Protect- 
ive Order  of  Elks  ;  Poughkeepsie  Council, 
Knights  of  Columbus ;  the  Sons  of  Italy, 
of  which  he  is  District  Deputy  for  Dutch- 
ess County,  having  been  appointed  by  the 
Grand  Lodge,  and  is  a  trustee  of  Our 
Lady  of  Mount  Carmel  Church,  Pough- 
keepsie. 

Dr.  Furlong  married,  July  31,  1916, 
Carmela  Mauro,  of  Gloversville,  New 
York,  who  was  graduated  from  the  New 
Paltz  State  Normal  School,  and  at  the 
time  of  her  marriage  was  a  teacher  at  the 
Gloversville  (New  York)  High  School. 
She  is  the  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Cathe- 
rine Mauro,  of  Gloversville. 


17 

GRANT.  Edwin  V.. 

Representative  Business  Man. 

The  late  Edwin  V.  Grant,  who  for  many 

years  was  one  of  Poughkeepsie's  promi- 


nent business  men,  and  widely  known 
throughout  the  Hudson  River  Valley  as 
the  chief  executive  of  one  of  the  repre- 
sentative paint  and  wall  paper  concerns 
in  Dutchess  County,  was  of  Scotch 
extraction,  his  parents  having  been 
natives  of  the  land  of  "hill  and  heather." 
The  patronymic  "Grant."  which  first 
came  into  use  in  the  early  part  of  the 
eleventh  century  during  the  surname 
epoch,  is  a  variation  of  le  grand,  mean- 
ing great  or  large.  It  was  applied  to 
men  of  great  stature,  of  big  and  broad 
proportions.  Thus  Richard,  if  he  hap- 
pened to  be  a  man  of  gigantic  physique, 
would  become  Richard  le  Grand.  Le 
Grand,  due  to  colloquialism,  gradually 
changed  to  "le  Graunte,"  "le  Graunt,"  "le 
Grant,"  and  finally.  "Grant."  This  sur- 
name was  especially  popular  in  Scotland, 
probably  due  to  the  fact  that  the  early 
clans  bred  men  of  great  strength  and  size. 
Families  bearing  the  name  Grant  have 
become  greatly  ramified  throughout  Scot- 
land, especially  in  and  around  Edinburgh, 
whence  came  Mr.  Grant's  father.  The 
ancient  armorial  bearings  of  the  Scottish 
clans  of  Grant  are  as  follows  : 

Arms — Gules,  three  antique  crowns  or,  within  a 
bordure  ermine;  on  a  canton  of  the  second,  a  demi 
otter,  proper. 

Crest — A  Hercule's  head  couped  side  fa.,  cd.  lu  r, 
lion's  skin,  all  proper. 

William  Grant,  father  of  EJsiin  V. 
Grant,  was  born  in  Edinburgh,  "r.cotiano. 
and  reared  there.  He  married  Susan 
Palmer,  and  they  immigrated  to  this 
country,  settling  in  New  York  City, 
where  Mr.  Grant  engaged  in  the  paint 
and  wall  paper  business.  The  venture 
was  a  success  from  the  very  start,  and 
some  years  later  he  removed  to  Ossining, 
New  York,  where  he  engaged  in  the  same 
line  of  endeavor  with  his  eldest  son,  Ells- 
worth, who   later  succeeded  him   in  the 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


management  of  the  concern.  The  senior 
Mr.  Grant  was  a  far-seeing  and  unusually 
keen  business  man,  and  became  the  owner 
of  a  considerable  amount  of  real  estate 
in  New  York  City.  William  Grant  and 
his  wife  were  the  parents  of  seven  chil- 
dren, of  whom  Edwin  V.  was  the  second 
youngest  child. 

Edwin  V.  Grant  was  born  in  Ossining, 
New  York,  February  14,  1871,  and  died 
in  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  July  4,  1924. 
His  early  education  was  received  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  birthplace,  following 
which  he  attended  and  was  graduated 
from  the  Mt.  Pleasant  Military  Academy 
and  Odell  College,  both  of  Ossining,  New 
York.  About  the  year  1894,  Edwin  V. 
Grant  came  to  Poughkeepsie,  and  with 
his  cousin,  U.  S.  Grant,  took  over  the 
interests  of  his  brother,  who  was  engaged 
in  the  paint  and  wall  paper  business, 
under  the  firm  name  of  E.  V.  &  U.  Grant. 
Later  he  took  over  the  interests  of  his 
partner,  his  cousin  who  had  retired,  and 
from  that  time  on  until  his  death  he  con- 
tinued the  business  alone  with  great  suc- 
cess. Edwin  V.  Grant  was  a  keen  busi- 
ness man,  possessing  those  prime  requi- 
sites to  any  successful  business  endeavor  : 
ability,  efficiency,  attention  to  details, 
unlimited  energy,  and  last  but  not  least, 
integrity  and  honesty  so  welded  into  his 
strict  code  of  business  ethics  that  his 
reputation  for  probity  was  well  and  wide- 
ly known.  Mrs.  Grant  had  been  associ- 
ated in  the  enterprise  with  her  husband 
for  a  number  of  years,  and  together  they 
built  up  a  business  second  to  none  in  this 
section.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Grant  had  always 
travelled  extensively,  and  they  contem- 
plated a  trip  to  Europe  when  the  hand  of 
death  stilled  for  all  time  the  activities  of 
Mr.  Grant.  He  was  a  sincere  member  of 
the  Washington  Street  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  of  Poughkeepsie,  and  a  con- 
sistent contributor  to  its  support. 


Edwin  V.  Grant  was  married  in  Ossin- 
ing, New  York,  August  22,  1899,  to  Ada 
S.  Smith,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  H.  and 
Mary  Ann  (Grosvenor)  Smith,  residents 
of  Pomfret,  Connecticut.  Mrs.  Grant,  on 
the  maternal  side,  comes  from  Revolu- 
tionary War  stock,  the  Grosvenors  having 
been  prominent  in  New  England  history 
from  the  early  Colonial  days  down  to  the 
present  time.  Ada  S.  (Smith)  Grant  sur- 
vives her  husband,  whose  death  removed 
from  Dutchess  County  a  well  known  and 
highly  respected  citizen,  and  one  of  the 
foremost  business  men. 


WOOD,  James  W.,/ 

Well-Knonrn  Druggist. 

Seeking  and  fulfilling  the  best  of  his 
life's  opportunities,  in  the  domain  of  his 
wide  business  experience,  and  in  the  even 
larger  social  world  in  which  he  bore  so 
prominent  and  acceptable  a  part  in  his 
native  city  of  Poughkeepsie,  James  W. 
Wood,  maintained  an  influential  and 
meritorious  position  both  for  personal 
enterprise  and  talent.  He  set  a  high  esti- 
mate upon  worth  and  character  in  all  of 
life's  affairs,  and  his  scores  of  friends  bear 
witness  that  he  held  closely  to  such  esti- 
mate in  his  own  individuality,  the  mould 
of  honorable  and  faithful  living  being  that 
in  which  his  purposes  and  dealings  were 
cast.  Not  alone  in  Poughkeepsie  and  its 
surroundings  was  he  known  and  esteemed, 
but  throughout  the  Hudson  River  Valley 
his  friendships  and  acquaintances  were 
numberless.  His  management  and  direc- 
tion of  the  extensive  drug  store  business 
that  had  continued  for  years  was  of  such 
an  excellent  character  that  his  name  and 
business  were  synonymous  with  integrity 
and  substantiality.  A  man  endowed  with 
mental  gifts  and  the  graces  of  humor  and 
of  histrionic  talents,  his  popularity  was 
150 


^^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


unfailing.  He  was  a  «on  of  James  G.  and 
Sarah  (Waring)  Wood. 

James  G.  Wood  was  born  in  Dutchess 
County,  New  York.  Early  in  life  he  en- 
gaged in  the  drug  business,  and  in  1859 
he  came  into  possession  of  the  druja^  store 
at  No.  288  Main  Street.  Poughkeepsie, 
which  had  been  conducted  by  Elias  Tri- 
vett  and  Henry  Titamer,  the  firm  being 
well  known  and  carrying  on  an  extensive 
business.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wood  we#e  the 
parents  of  two  children :  James  W.,  of 
whom  further;  and  Charlotte,  a  writer  of 
considerable  note,  who  married  Edward 
Morse,  the  son  of  Samuel  F.  B.  Morse, 
inventor  of  the  telegraph,  and  who  for 
years  lived  in  the  town  of  Poughkeepsie. 

Jame.s  W .  Wood  wjts  iKjrn  at  Pough- 
keepsie, August  I,  1863.  He  received 
his  preliminary  education  in  the  Bishop 
Private  School  at  his  birthplace ;  he  had 
prepared  to  matriculate  at  \y.illiams  Col- 
lege, Williamstown,  Massachusetts,  when 
the  death  of  his  father  caused  him  to  make 
a  change  in  his  former  plans,  and  he 
applied  himself  to  learning  the  business 
of  druggist.  In  1899,  Mr.  Wood  associ- 
ated himself  with  William  J.  Bolton, 
under  the  firm  name  of  Wood  &  Bolton, 
that .  partnership  existing  twelve  years. 
In  191 1,  Mr.  Wood  assumed  the  respon.M- 
bilities  of  the  business,  and  so  conducted 
it  until  his  death.  Under  his  capable 
management  it  became  one  of  the  most 
widely  known  chug  stores,  happily  quali- 
fied by  the  popular  terms  "old  and  reli- 
able" throughout  the  Hudson  River 
Valley. 

No  one  was  ever  given  a  more  cordial 
welcome  in  the  social  life  of  Poughkeep- 
sie. At  the  time  of  his  death,  Mr.  Wood 
was  a  member  of  the  Amrita  and  Dutch- 
ess Golf  and  Country  clubs,  and  of  both 
organizations  he  had  been  a  member  of 
long  standing,  and  he  was  one  of  iheir 


most  ardent  worker.s  Por  yrni  -  rl.*ii.  hi 
was  a  member  of  the  .Ajx-'keepsinj;  Boat 
Club,  and  of  the  Poughkeepsie  Tennis 
Club,  though  he  had  retired  (rom  both 
some  years  previously.  In  the  .-HK.iat  o»ri:!c« 
of  the  city  he  had  earned  ,in  c\ct  llent 
reputation  as  an  actor,  iarc'-iy  ?l.;  .Mi.'i-. 
his  unstinted  cooperatioi!  w.  Uu:  am:*icur 
theatrical  productions  that  <vt:ri-  stag-cri 
by  various  organiisttiiin.*^  d  «,>.ich  }•'•  was 
a  member.  A  man  of  rare  taV <it.  hf-  ».ji« 
invariably  a  chefri«^  pe;  •  .ru,:'rv  if  -t- 
work  that  he  nnd 

Mr.     Wood     r.:  : 
Electa  Myers,  a    1. 

Mary  (Allen)  Myers,  both  native.^)  v  t 
Whitehall,  New  York,  where  Mr.  .Mytt^ 
was  a  successful  merchant  and  conducte-J 
a  country  store.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wood 
were  the  parents  of  two  children :  James 
Waring,  who  died  when  he  was  fourteen 
years  of  age :  and  Margaret  Allen,  who 
married  Robert  C.  Powell,  of  Providence, 
Rhode  Island,  their  children  being  Nancy 
and  James  Powell. 

James  W.  Wood  died  July  12,  1924,  a 
man  of  excellent  character,  and  who  pos- 
sessed that  kind  of  personality,  agreeable 
and  optimistic,  that  makes  of  every 
acquaintance  a  friend.  He  highly  merited 
the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  through- 
out this  .section,  and  his  death  was  regret- 
ted by  a  host  of  friends.  Truthfully  has 
it  been  said  of  him  that  he  left  behind  a 
good  example  of  honorable  and  faithful 
dealing,  and  memories  of  the  most  j.-ieas- 
ing  and  enduring  sort. 


VON  TILING,  Johannes  H.  M.  A., 

PhysioiaD. 

A  native  of  Riga,  Russia,  educated  in 
the  schools  of  that  city  and  Lubeck, 
Germany,  and  the  Universities  of  Goet- 
tingen  and  Bonn,  now  a  naturalized  citi- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


zen  of  the  United  States,  formerly  assist- 
ant surgeon  at  Vassar  Brothers  Hospital, 
Dr.  Johannes  H.  M.  A.  von  Tiling  pract- 
ices his  profession  of  internal  medicine  at 
Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  and  is  a  valued 
contributor  to  magazines  and  other  peri- 
odicals on  a  variety  of  medical  subjects. 
Dr.  von  Tiling  comes  from  a  long  line  of 
professional  and  literary  men,  and  is  the 
third  son  of  Professor  Wilhelm  August 
von  Tiling,  a  native  of  Mitau,  Russia, 
where  he  was  born  in  1844,  and  died  in 
Germany,  in  January,  1924.  He  was  an 
educator,  and  occupied  the  chair  of  pro- 
fessor of  Greek  and  Latin  at  Riga.  In 
1888  he  removed  with  his  family  to 
Lubeck,  Germany,  where  he  became  a 
German-Lutheran  clergyman  and  held 
pastorates  there  and  in  that  vicinity  until 
1912,  when  he  retired  from  the  ministry. 
Professor  von  Tiling  married  Marie 
Kupfer,  and  they  were  the  parents  of 
twelve  children. 

Dr.  von  Tiling  was  born  in  Riga,  Rus- 
sia, August  28,  1875,  and  was  educated  in 
the  gymnasiums  of  Riga  and  Lubeck,  at 
Schul-Pforta  and  Goslar  and  the  universi- 
ties of  Goettingen  and  Bonn ;  and  was 
graduated  from  Bonn  in  the  class  of  1901 
with  the  degree  of  M.  D.  He  was  assist- 
ant surgeon  at  Bonn  for  two  years,  and 
in  1903  he  was  induced  to  come  to  this 
country  by  Dr.  Howard  A.  Kelly,  the  emi- 
nent Professor  of  Gynecology  at  Johns 
Hopkins  University,  Baltimore,  Mary- 
land, and  became  an  assistant  to  Dr. 
Kelley.  Dr.  von  Tiling,  in  1903,  removed 
to  Poughkeepsie,  New  York,  where  he 
was  appointed  assistant  surgeon  at  the 
Vassar  Brothers  Hospital,  remaining  in 
that  position  until  January,  1906,  when 
he  established  an  office  of  his  own  and 
entered  upon  the  practice  of  internal 
medicine,  which  he  continues  to  follow. 
His  articles  on  medical  subjects  in  vari- 


ous periodicals  of  worth  have  attracted  no 
little  attention  on  the  part  of  the  profes- 
sion. In  1909  Dr.  von  Tiling,  having 
determined  to  make  this  country  his  per- 
manent home,  became  a  naturalized  citi- 
zen of  the  United  States.  His  residence 
is  at  No.  278  Mill  Street,  Poughkeepsie, 
New  York,  and  he  maintains  a  summer 
residence  at  Cliff  Island,  Portland,  Maine. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  American  Medical 
Society,  New  York  Academy  of  Medi- 
cine, American  Congress  on  Internal 
Medicine,  and  the  Poughkeepsie  Academy 
of  Medicine.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
medical  staff  of  St.  Francis'  Hospital, 
Poughkeepsie.  His  clubs  are  the  Port- 
land Yacht,  Dutchess  County  Golf  and 
Country  and  Amrita. 

Dr.  von  Tiling  married  January  16, 
1904,  Sarah  F.  R.  Morrison,  of  Wake- 
field, England.  They  are  the  parents  of 
a  daughter,  Johanna  E.  R.,  who  was  edu- 
cated at  the  Emma  Willard  School,  Troy, 
New  York. 


HAYT,  Ralph  Augustus, 

Physician,   Surgeon. 

Having  the  honor  to  have  descended 
from  Simeon  Hayt,  immigrant  English 
ancestor,  who  settled  in  Charlestown, 
Massachusetts,  in  1629,  was  admitted  a 
freeman  of  the  city  of  Boston,  May  18, 
1631,  said  to  be  the  earliest  record  of  any 
man  so  constituted  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic,  Dr.  Ralph  Augustus  Hayt,  of 
Fishkill,  New  York,  also  has  in  his  lineage 
Walter  Hayt,  son  of  Simeon  Hayt,  the 
founder  of  the  Hayt  family  name  in 
America,  who  was  a  member  of  the  Con- 
necticut General  Assembly  in  1667 ;  Ste- 
phen Hayt,  who  fought  in  the  French 
wars  on  the  side  of  England,  born  in  1730, 
died  in  1770;  and  John  Hayt,  a  soldier  of 
the  American  Revolution,  whose  service 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


only  lasted  for  six  months  as  he  was  made 
prisoner  by  the  British. 

Born  in  Fishkill,  November  ii,  1877, 
son  of  William  B.  and  Ella  J.  Hayt,  Ralph 
Augustus  Hayt  attended  the  elementary 
schools  of  his  native  village,  afterward 
entering  Claverack  College  and  Hudson 
River  Institute,  Claverack,  New  York, 
1893-95,  and  then  entered  Cornell  Uni- 
versity, where  he  took  special  studies  in 
1895-96.  Early  in  his  student  days  he 
selected  the  medical  profession,  and  in 
pursuit  of  his  ideal  he  entered  the  College 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  Columbia 
University,  taking  the  four  years'  course, 
1896-1900,  and  was  awarded  his  diploma 
with  the  degree  of  M.  D.  Dr.  Hayt 
obtained  his  practical  experience  in  medi- 
cine and  surgery  while  serving  as  interne 
at  St.  Catherine's  Hospital,  Brooklyn, 
New  York,  1900-02.  As  showing  the  high 
standing  to  which  Dr.  Hayt  has  attained 
in  his  profession,  he  is  attending  surgeon 
of  the  Highland  Hospital,  Beacon,  New 
York;  attending  surgeon  of  the  United 
States  Veterans'  Hospital,  Castle  Point, 
New  York;  consulting  surgeon  of  the 
Matteawan  State  Hospital  for  the  Crimi- 
nal Insane,  Beacon,  New  York.  Dr.  Hayt 
rendered  valued  service  to  the  State  of 
New  York  as  coroner  of  Dutchess 
County,  1912-14. 

While  he  yet  was  a  medical  student  at 
Columbia  University  the  Spanish-Ameri- 
can War  broke  out,  1898,  but  Dr.  Hayt, 
with  true  patriotic  devotion,  allowed  the 
call  of  the  President  to  invade  his  course 
of  study  and  he  interrupted  it  with 
answer  to  the  service  of  his  country  in 
its  successful  attempt  to  liberate  Cuba 
from  the  Spanish  yoke.  He  became  a 
member  of  the  Hospital  Corps  of  the  First 
Division,  Second  Army  Corps,  and  in 
that  period  of  service  he  also  gained  much 
of  experience  that  was  of  great  benefit  to 
him  as  a  student  of  medicine  and  surgery. 


Dr.  Hayt  is  a  member  of  the  college 
fraternities.  Phi  Sigma  Kappa  and  Theta 
Nu  Epsilon,  of  the  American  Medical 
Association,  New  York  State  Medical 
Association,  Dutchess  County  Medical 
Association,  and  the  Newburgh  Bay 
Medical  Association.  He  is  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Poughkeepsie  Club,  Golf  and 
Country  Club,  Southern  Dutchess 
Country  Club  of  Beacon,  Poughkeepsie 
Automobile  Club,  and  Kiwanis  Club  of 
Beacon.  He  is  a  communicant  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church. 

Dr.  Hayt  married,  at  Newark,  New 
Jersey,  September  15,  1919,  Catherine 
McGeehan,  daughter  of  John  J.  and 
Catherine  McGeehan,  her  father  being  a 
pioneer  lumberman  of  Wisconsin. 


ROBERTS,  Charles  Anthony, 
State  Inspector. 

For  over  twenty  years  Charles  Anthony 
Roberts,  of  Windsor,  has  been  identified 
with  the  public  service  of  the  common- 
wealth of  New  York  in  the  Department 
of  Agriculture  in  a  position  in  which  the 
requirements  of  office  are  exact  knowl- 
edge and  proved  ability.  Modern  con- 
ditions of  life  have  brought  in  their  train 
difficult  problems  in  the  preparation  and 
distribution  of  food  materials,  and  scien- 
tific regulation  has  resulted.  Mr.  Roberts 
is  one  of  the  State  officials  whose  time 
and  labor  are  directed  toward  the  safe- 
guarding of  the  health  and  welfare  of  the 
people  within  and  beyond  the  borders  of 
the  State,  and  his  record  during  many 
years  in  his  department  is  one  of  faithful 
efficiency  resulting  in  a  notable  contribu- 
tion to  the  public  welfare. 

Charles  Anthony  Roberts  was  born  in 
Clifford,  Susquehanna  County,  Pennsyl- 
vania, on  December  21,  1867,  shortly  after 
his  father,  Eli  Worden  Roberts,  had 
joined  the  now  historical  Gold  Rush  to 


153 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


California.  Eli  W.  Roberts,  who  was  a 
farmer  and  inn-keeper  of  Clifford,  was  a 
native  of  Delaware  County,  New  York 
State,  and  a  son  of  Anthony  and  Deborah 
(Fish)  Roberts.  He  went  out  to  Cali- 
fornia when  the  gold  fever  was  at  its  peak, 
going  by  boat  "around  the  Horn."  He 
remained  in  the  West  for  several  years, 
prospecting  for  gold  dust  in  the  far 
reaches  of  the  mountain  valleys,  staking 
out  promising  claims  which  now  and  then 
"panned  out"  successfully,  alternating 
between  moderate  wealth  and  compara- 
tive want,  and  undergoing  all  the  hard- 
ships and  perils  peculiar  to  those  pioneer- 
ing days.  After  a  few  years  had  passed, 
having  made  a  small  fortune,  he  returned 
East  and  moved  his  family  to  Windsor, 
Broome  County,  New  York,  where  he 
purchased  a  large  farm  upon  which  he  set- 
tled his  family.  But  the  call  of  the 
Golden  West  was  too  strong,  and  he  re- 
turned to  California  where  he  subse- 
quently lost  his  fortune  in  "grub-staking" 
unsuccessful  prospectors.  His  experi- 
ences were  varied  and  exciting.  He  lived 
for  a  time  in  a  lonely  cabin  which  he  had 
built  high  up  in  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
his  only  friend  an  old  Indian  who  was 
given  systematically  to  pilfering  from  his 
scanty  supply  of  corn-meal,  tea  and  sugar. 
At  one  time  he  was  chased  by  a  bear, 
one  of  whose  cubs  he  had  picked  up  to 
admire,  and  barely  escaped  with  his  life. 
Having  retrieved  a  small  part  of  his  lost 
fortune  he  returned  home  and  spent  his 
remaining  days  in  Windsor,  New  York. 
An  unusually  fine  collection  of  gold  nug- 
gets which  he  had  mined  is  now  in  the 
possession  of  a  daughter,  Mrs.  Maud 
Cooke;  while  a  large  signet  ring,  which 
he  had  had  made  from  an  especially  large 
nugget,  was  inherited  by  a  grandson.  Eli 
Worden  Roberts  married  Mary  Abigail 
Cramer,  and  they  were  the  parents  of  the 


following  children:  i.  Charles  Anthony, 
of  whom  this  biographical  review.  2. 
Jessie,  died  unmarried.  3.  Maud,  became 
the  wife  of  George  Cooke.  4.  Mary,  mar- 
ried Charles  Depew.  5.  Georgia,  now 
Government  Librarian  at  Santo  Domingo, 
attached  to  the  Rockefeller  foundation. 
6.  and  7.  Twins,  who  died  in  infancy. 

Charles  Anthony  Roberts,  eldest  of  the 
seven  children  of  Eli  Worden  and  Mary 
Abigail  (Cramer)  Roberts,  and  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  eighth  generation  of  the 
old  New  England  family  of  that  name, 
spent  his  early  days  in  Clifford,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  while  yet  a  boy  removed  to 
Windsor,  New  York,  where  he  assumed 
full  charge  of  the  family  farm  while  his 
father  was  in  California.  His  education 
was  received  in  the  local  district-schools, 
following  which  he  attended  the  Old 
Windsor  Academy,  at  that  time  one  of 
the  most  famous  educational  institutions 
in  the  State.  Meanwhile,  he  continued 
the  management  of  the  farm  and  upon 
the  completion  of  his  scholastic  work  he 
entered  the  employ  of  the  Coburn  Whip 
Factory,  in  Windsor.  When  the  family 
homestead  was  destroyed  by  fire  he  re- 
moved with  his  young  wife  into  the  vil- 
lage proper,  and  subsequently  became  the 
proprietor  of  a  grocery  store,  with  which 
business  he  was  identified  for  several 
years. 

In  February,  1904,  he  accepted  a  posi- 
tion with  the  State  of  New  York  as  agent 
in  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  In 
1906  he  became  a  member  of  the  New 
York  State  Civil  Service  and  continued 
his  work  as  pure  food  agent  for  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  enforcing  the 
provisions  of  the  State  and  Federal  Pure 
Food  Laws.  About  the  year  1920  he  was 
made  Inspector  in  the  Dairy  and  Food 
Bureau,  Department  of  Agriculture, 
which    position    he    still    holds     (1925). 


154 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Much  of  his  work  is  in  the  inspection  of 
food  stuflfs,  milk  and  its  by-products, 
seeds  and  feeds,  and  sanitary  conditions, 
and  in  making  these  commodities  and 
conditions  to  conform  to  legal  require- 
ments. His  record  as  pure  food  inspector 
during  the  last  twenty-one  years  speaks 
for  itself,  and  gives  irrefutable  proof  of 
his  ability,  energy,  and  absolute  probity. 

Politically,  Mr.  Roberts  is  a  staunch 
Republican,  as  was  his  father  before  him, 
and  as  also  are  his  four  sons.  He  has 
always  maintained  a  deep  interest  in  the 
progress  and  advancement  of  his  home 
town,  having  served  as  village  clerk  for 
several  years,  and  as  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Education  for  seven  years. 
Fraternally,  Mr.  Roberts  has  carried  on  a 
family  tradition  by  affiliating  himself  with 
the  ancient  Masonic  Fraternity,  being  a 
member  of  Windsor  Lodge,  No.  442, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  and  Otse- 
ningo  Chapter,  Royal  Arch  Masons,  of 
Binghamton,  New  York.  He  is  like- 
wise a  member  of  Windsor  Chapter,  No. 
190,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  of  which 
he  was  Worthy  Patron  for  two  years. 
He  also  holds  membership  in  the  S.  P. 
Quick  Volunteer  Hose  Company,  No.  I, 
and  in  the  Windsor  Rod  and  Gun  Club. 
He  and  the  members  of  his  family  attend 
the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
Windsor,  of  which  body  Mr.  Roberts  has 
been  a  steward  for  many  years. 

Charles  Anthony  Roberts  was  married 
in  Windsor,  New  York,  September  24, 
1891,  by  the  Rev.  Benjamin  P.  Ripley,  to 
Mary  Agnes  Gilbert,  born  September  25, 
1873,  the  second  daughter  of  John  Bush 
and  Emma  Amelia  (Watrous)  Gilbert. 
Her  father  was  born  March  5,  1846,  and 
died  March  8,  1925;  while  her  mother, 
who  was  born  August  24,  1847,  is  still 
living  at  her  home  in  Windsor  (1925). 
Charles  Anthony  and  Mary  Agnes   (Gil- 


bert) Roberts  are  the  parents  of  the  fol- 
lowing children:  i.  Benjamin  Worden, 
born  May  4,  1892 ;  married,  June  28,  1917, 
to  Frances  Marie  Meves,  and  is  now  chief 
chemist  for  the  firm  of  Meves  &  Gregg, 
of  Philadelphia.  2.  Walter  Charles,  born 
April  21,  1895,  at  present  connected  in 
editorial  capacity  with  the  Lewis  Histori- 
cal Publishing  Company  of  New  York 
City.  3.  Frank  Adrian,  born  April  18, 
1897;  "ow  associated  with  the  Glens  Falls 
Insurance  Company,  of  Glens  Falls,  New 
York.  4.  Howard  William,  born  Novem- 
ber 12,  1899,  died  November  10,  1900.  5. 
Helen  Agnes,  born  August  26,  1901 ;  is 
attending  (1925)  the  Curtis  Institute  of 
Music,  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania.  6. 
John  Carol,  born  June  19,  1906,  an  under- 
graduate at  Syracuse  University.  Mr. 
Roberts  has  sent  his  four  sons  to  Syra- 
cuse University,  and  two  of  them,  Walter 
C.  and  Frank  A.,  served  with  the  Army 
and  Marine  forces,  respectively,  during 
the  World  War.  The  family  home, 
"Robertshurst,"  is  maintained  at  Wind- 
sor, New  York. 


GANNON,  Frank  Stanislaus,  Jr., 

Lawyer. 

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  operator. 


[55 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


in  which  he  continued  from  1868  to 
1870.  Following  this  he  was  with  the 
Midland  Railroad,  now  the  New  York, 
Susquehanna  and  Western,  a  part  of  the 
Erie  system,  serving  in  various  capaci- 
ties of  clerk,  terminal  agent,  and  train 
dispatcher,  from  1870  to  1875,  and  later, 
until  1881,  master  of  transportation  on 
the  Long  Island  Railroad.  In  the  latter 
year  he  was  supervisor  of  trains  on  the 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railroad,  and  from 
1881  to  1886  general  superintendent  of 
the  New  York  City  and  Northern  Rail- 
road. From  1886  to  1894  he  was  general 
superintendent,  and  from  1894  to  1896 
general  manager  of  the  Staten  Island 
Transit  Railway.  From  1893  to  1896 
he  was  president  of  that  railroad,  and 
from  1900  to  1906  general  superintendent 
of  the  New  York  Division  of  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Railway.  He  was  sub- 
sequently third  vice-president  and  gen- 
eral manager  of  the  Southern  Railway, 
president  and  director  of  the  Norfolk  and 
Southern  Railroad  in  1909 ;  president  of 
the  Montana,  Wyoming  and  Southern 
Railroad;  Virginia  and  Carolina  Coast 
Railroad,  Atlantic  and  North  Carolina 
Railroad ;  Pamlico,  Oriental  and  Western 
Railroad.  He  served  as  a  director  of  the 
New  York  City  Railway,  Broadway  and 
Seventh  Avenue  Railroad,  Forty-Second 
Street  and  Grand  Street  Ferry  Railroad, 
Fulton  Street  Railroad,  Thirty-Fourth 
Street  Crosstown  Railway,  Twenty-Third 
Street  Railway,  Twenty-Eighth  and 
Twenty-Ninth  Street  Crosstown  Rail- 
roads. He  was  also  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  became  the  parents  of  a  large  fam- 
ily of  sons :  Frank  Stanislaus,  Jr.,  John  W., 
James  A.,  Gregory,  Edward,  Albert, 
Robert  and  Benedictine. 


Frank  Stanislaus  Gannon,  Jr.,  was  born 
December  i6,  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  and  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  Mur- 
phy, Curry,  and  Gannon.  After  one  year 
the  senior  partner  withdrew  and  the  firm 
became  Gannon  and  Curry,  and  in  1907 
was  formed  a  new  law  partnership  under 
the  style  of  Gannon,  Seirbert  and  Riggs. 
This  association  has  enjoyed  a  liberal 
share  of  the  law  practice  of  the  metropo- 
lis. Mr.  Gannon  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, 
Richmond  Country  Club,  Staten  Island 
Cricket  Club,  Catholic  Club,  Westchester 
Golf  Club  and  the  Mummers,  and  of  the 
Xavier  Alumni  Association,  Xavier 
Sodality,  and  Friendly  Sons  of  St. 
Patrick. 

He  married,  April  5,  1910,  Frances, 
daughter  of  Michael  Foley,  of  New 
Jersey,  and  they  are  the  parents  of  the 
following  children:  Frank  Stanislaus  (3), 
born  July,  1912,  at  St.  George,  Staten 
Island,  and  Marietta,  born  August,  1913, 
in  Livingston,  Staten  Island.  The  home 
of  the  family  is  now  on  Bard  Avenue, 
Livingston,  Staten  Island. 


X56 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


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  affairs  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.  Thus  the  organization 
which  Mr.  Nettleton  leads  possesses  the 
prestige  and  influence  attainable  only 
through  years  of  service  to  a  community. 

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  affairs  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  gradu- 
ated 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  a  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, 

57 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  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  Official. 

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 
de^  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 
unqualified  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 
capacity,  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 
191 5,  serving  that  company  as  vice-presi- 
dent. 


158 


J 


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,  1915,  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  Masons ;  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. 


STONE,  Charles  Luke,^ 

Lawyer,  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,  1510;  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  Whip- 
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,  1 701,  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 
N  Y— Vol  iv_n 


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  Supreme  Court. 

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 


161 


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  Pythias, 
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,  Beal  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:  Pais  ce  que  dots  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 


162 


Ci^v**^/  Cii><J^V^4,^L__ 


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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,  bom  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  9,  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  from 
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    Iiawyer. 

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  1812,  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 


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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  littend  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. 
^^e^y  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 


165 


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 
charmingly  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  Bluffs,  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 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


be   given  than   by   quoting  from   a   local 
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  Affairi. 

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 


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  ofifer  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,  175 1.  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  10,  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 
69 


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. 


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 


4-^.c^ki<£Lx)fl^ 


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  Homoeopathic  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  Homoeo- 
pathic Department  of  the  University  of 
Michigan  ;  president  of  Rochester  District 
Alumni  Association,  University  of  Michi- 
gan ;  an  honorary  member  of  the  Homoeo- 
pathic Medical  Society  of  the  State  of 
Michigan  ;  and  a  member  of  the  American 
Institute  of  Homoeopathy.  He  was  also 
chairman  of  the  legislative  committee  ap- 
pointed by  the  State  Homoeopathic  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 
Homoeopathic  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 ;  consulting  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 


[71 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


"Homoeopathic  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,  New  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  hir,  worx 
which  has  been  rewarded  by  success,  so 
that  he  ranks  with  the  ableit  representa 


tives  of  the  medical  fraternity  in  the  State 
of  New  York. 


GARVAN,  Francis  Patrick, 

tawyer,   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  ofiBce  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  ofifice  Mr. 
Garvan  became  a  member  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  afifairs  since  the  time  of 
Thomas  Jefferson. 

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, 

Basiness  Man. 

Identified   with   the   business   interests 
of  Syracuse  since  1896,  I\Ir.  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  Am 
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  AUyn  in  February, 
1658,  and  lived  at  Groton  until  about 
1720,  then  moved  to  Preston,  where  he 
made  his  home  with  a  daughter,  Mar- 
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  tjiat  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  thia 
man  and  the  only  break  in  his  Camiil 
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  pripr  to  his  death  represented 
that  church  in  Syracuse  Presbytery.    For 


cz5,,S,>^^_^5r^^  ^"^A— 


CYCLOPEDIA  or 


;i:,,,..  j^..  .-  ..^  -.  .    .    cr  of  the  town 

of  Solvay.  and  foi  f»ar)y  y£-ars  was  con- 
nected with  the  inat)>;f;\crure  of  Solar  Salt 
in  Syracuse.  ChJldr'.r.  z>i  Colonel  James 
M.  and  Helen  (Hopkins)  Gere:  Helen 
Eliza,  bt>rn  June  lO,  1858,  graduated  from 
Syracuse  Uni^•ersity,  Bachelor  of  Philos- 
ophy, class  of  1 881,  now  a  teacher  of 
science ;  William  Anson,  born  September 
3,  i860,  married  Caroline  Munro,  June  4, 
1890;  James  Brewster,  of  further  men- 
tion ;  Mary  Emmcline,  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  bcc<.mie  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  Creddes  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,  be 
December  25,  1903. 


K .  . 

law  in  V 
died  Ma;. 
eight  year^ 
in   which   he 
Presbyterian, 
churches   unilv 
service  on  ihf 
his    funeral. 
Maria  (Tibbit- 
in  Syracuse  oi>   .  v,. 
married  Nathan  R.  ' 
ber  27,  1847.    She  wr<     : 
and  Rebecca  Tibbits,  ^\hu  . 
tiers    in    Syracuse,    where 
March  31,  1909,  at  the  age  oi  oi^  ■  ;      -  ■-. 
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  Snel!  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,  aVo"! 
1818.  lopo'  bpfnro  th«r  sd'-'»*nt.<^f  r»''r  . ;'"' 


CHAPMAN,  Levi  Snell, 

lAwyer,  Mnn  of  AMmXn,  l^fK^* 

Levi  Snell  Chapin.in  au.--  b  >' 
etteville,  Onondaga  county,  Ne .' 
October  15,  1865.    His  fatlicr  w  : 


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 
fam.ily  are  to  be  found  in  Connecticut  at 


176 


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  James  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 
1913,  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 


n 


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  vvork,  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, 

Iiawyer,  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. 
His  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,  i"  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  Tyringham 
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,  i^  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  officer 
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- 
79 


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  ainia  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-igoi)  ; 
"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  Cl^ss  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. 

Iiawyer,  I.aw  Instructor. 

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 
sfgners  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, 
1715,  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  aflFairs,  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,  in  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, 

Mannf acturer,  Man  of  Affairs. 

There  is  genuine  satisfaction  in  telling 
Mr.  Smith's  life  story,  for  it  is  a  record  of 
worthy   effort,   generously   recompensed. 


182 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  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,  Jeffer- 
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  III.,  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  Dicu  mon  appuy  (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 


liam,  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 
perfected  the  conditions  under  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  ^"d  1S98.  He,  as  rapidly 
as  the  Masonic  law  permits,  took  the 
chapter,    council,    and    commandery    de- 


184 


'Uy\ 


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  he  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  conwnis- 
sion  of  appeals  of  the  Grand  Lodge  in 
1905,  1906,  and  1907  and  since  nx>o  has 
been  representative  of  the  iJrand  L<y<lge, 
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 
Rtte  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  Con.^istory, 
which  conferred  all  degi^ees  including  the 
thirty-second.  Sovereign  F'rinces  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  custudian 
of  the  work  he  has  sought  to  keep  closely 
to  them.  Where  mcth'xls  only  were  in- 
A'olved  he  has  sanctioned  and  suggested 
ritualistic  innovation,  thereby  beautify- 
ing and  strengthening  the  work.  Through 


the  exercise  of  his  imbounded  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  appointmejit  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  Ch.'imber  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 
,a!ert,  progressive,  creative  American 
business  man,  a  type  of  the  men  who  have 
made  this  country  famous. 

Mr.  Smith  married,  May  17,  1883, 
Jean,  daughter  of  John  A.  Dawson,  of 
-Ausable  Forks,  New  York.-  Children: 
James  Hungerford,  Anna  Dawson,  Flor- 
ence, died  in  infancy;  Jay  El\v<^^^  1  ■■•- 
and  Helen  Hungerford. 


18.S 


HALE.  George  David, 

Edncator,   Man   o<   AjSaira. 

Professor  George  David  Hale  was  born 
in  Adams,  Jef?erson  county,  New  York, 
March  27,  1844.    His  parents  were  Abner 


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  Jefferson 
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  Master  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  eflfort  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 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPPIY 


culture  and  moral  progress.  He  has 
given  many  years  uf  an  active  and  useful 
life  to  the  cause  ot  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,   Profeiaional  Inatrnctor. 

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  St.ites  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  .\ssociation,  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  L^niversity  Social 
Sentiment,  and  the  Billy  Sunday  Club,  and 
of  the  session  of  the  Park  Central  Presby- 
terran  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 ;  LTniversity  Club,  Practitioners' 
Club,  Clinical  Gub,  Automobile  Club. 

Dr.  Price  married,  January  19,  1888, 
Nettie  B.  Reese  and  has  five  children :  J. 
Reese,  Emilj'  H.,  Letitia  E.,  Willis  H., 
and  G.  Taylor,  2nd. 


SMITH,  Ray  Burdick, 

Lawyer,  Anther  of  Salutary  I.«|[isIst.ton. 

In  every  branch  of  activity  it  i.-^  the  Tew 
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  genera!  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, 


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  to 
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  affecting  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  affairs  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. 


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,  Jnriat. 

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 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  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 
&  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 
afl^airs  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  hominee  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. 


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  Vann  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  17,  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  afifairs, 
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 
acquired   through   their   own    eflforts. 


be 


Of  this  class  of  men,  Mr.  Brayton  is  an 
excellent  representative. 

Eli  C.  Brayton,  his  father,  was  born 
in  Washington  county.  New  York,  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. 


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  com,e  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. 


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  new  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,e  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 
Wells  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 


Y-Vol  IV_13 


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- 
da}'. 

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. 
Kemp  &  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-  <:^^^M..^e.^c^ 


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 
May  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  lor  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,  foresigljt  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  wds  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.  'n  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 


I 


i 


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 
196 


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  offered,  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 
1915.  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.  He  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 
197 


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  Tully  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,  1900;  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,  1715,  in  Canterbury,  owned 
a  farm  near  Mansfield  Center,  Connecti- 
cut, where  he  was  deacon  of  the  church 
and  prominent  in  civil  affairs.  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 


liXCYCLOrEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


30,  1813,  in  Lebanon,  read  law  in  Buffalo, 
New  York,  and  graduated  from  the  law 
school  of  Marshall  College  in  1839.  I" 
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  plaitily  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,  1881,  in  Omaha,  now  the  wife  of  Karl 
G.  Roebling,  of  Trenton,  New  Jersey. 


RILL,  Willard  A., 

Iiawyer,  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 


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 
aflfairs  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 
ofifers  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  Instructor. 

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  in 
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  Ward,  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. 


tntt«[, 

8  o!  service 
which  in- 
Civil  War, 
^iii  now  a 


West  Point, 
It  is  scarcely 
le,  reared  in 
wonment  as 
reached  his 
rag  times  as 
'ling  the 


it  Point  Mill- 
ears,  and  was 
iam,  who  held 
.  Oi 
Lieu- 
ard,  a  voluii- 
ih:  who 


in  senice; 
d.  was  with 
itd  at  the  close 
and  disease 
n\Vard,Jr.i 
ipdier-Gentfal 
an  attack  oi 


he  disease. 


and 


n  years. 

Ward  re- 

ireiol  pKp»"' 

ItheL*'' 

West  Point, 


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 ; 
Alarch  13,  1865,  he  was  brevetted  captain 
for  gallant  and  meritorious  service  dur- 
ing the  war,  and  was  recommended,  April 
2^,  1866,  by  General  James  H.  Wilson,  his 
(.ommanding  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  anl 
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  operr 
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.  WasoN, 
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 
to  be, 


n  be  complied  with,  I  have  the  honor 

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  10  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  staflf  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  DeWolfe,  married  Edwin 
Allen  Stebbins,  of  Rochester;  Katherine 
Alott,  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.  He  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  graphicalh 
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  ofi^  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.  Moody, 
Secretary. 

Navy  Department. 
Washington,  June  9-  I904- 
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  April  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)     William  H.  Moody, 
Secretary. 

In  1910  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  do 


undoubtedly  t 
reported  at  the 
saved  in  the  m 
closed   upon   hi 


Young  Ward 


MERCER,  Alfred,  M.  D., 

Physician,  Philanthropist. 

Alfred  Mercer,  M.  D.,  late  of  Syracuse, 
New  York,  a  son  of  William  Mercer,  who 
died  in  England  in  185 1,  and  his  wife, 
Mary  (Dobell)  Mercer,  who  died  in  Eng- 
land in  1863,  was  born  in  High  Halden, 
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  offered  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- 


I 


UXfi^it'  'hiau.^ 


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 
early  experiences.  He  traveled  by  boat 
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  Medical  College 
to  Syracuse,  in  1872,  when  it  became 
a  department  of  Syracuse  University,  he 
was  made  a  member  of  the  faculty,  in 
which  he  long  occupied  the  chaJr  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  sur- 
geon, to  the  Hospital  of  the  House  of  the 
Good  Shepherd.  He  was  president  of  the 
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  m.ember  of,  and  held  various  ofificial  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. 


Dr.  Mercer  was  a  conscientious,  kind 
and  self-sacrificing  practitioner  and 
student,  cheerfully  doing  no  little  of  hij 
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 
with  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  successful 
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 
periodical  literature  of  his  profession. 

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. 
When  Dr.  Mercer  died,  it  appeared  as  if 
a  personal  loss  had  come  to  many  a  resi- 
dent in  the  city.  The  expressions  of  grief 
were  sincere  and  heartfelt. 

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 


205 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Fund,  the  interest  qf  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. 

Hr.  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  Syracuse. 
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  Dobell, 
who  died  in  1884,  in  his  twenty-sixth 
year;  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.  Heft'ron, 
which  a])peared  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.  Clifford  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  Aledicine.  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  1886  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  staff  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 


comjnittees  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- 
em,y  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  diflfraction  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  versus  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,  Educator. 

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 
postm,aster  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-Vol  IV-14 


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 
Watertown  "Daily  Times  and  Reformer." 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Educa- 
tion of  Watertown  from,  1875  to  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 
209 


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  ofifice  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  Buffalo 
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,  of  the  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  (Alerriman)  Baldwin,  of  Water- 
town.  Seven  children  have  been  added 
to  his  household,  four  sons  and  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- 
fantry. 


HILL,  David  Jayne, 

Edncator,  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"  (i888j  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  ofifices  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  LIugo  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"  (1915),  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 
Henrv'  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- 
13 


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  185 1,  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,  including  vital  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 
efforts,  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- 


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  eifec- 
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 


216 


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  affairs;  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 
efforts ;  on  the  "Trial  by  Jury"  before  the 
American  Bar  Association  (1898);  on 
Leverett  Saltonstall  (Boston,  189S) ;  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  sufifrage,  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  still 
fresh  In  the  minds  of  surviving:  members  of  the 
convention.  Toward  the  end  of  the  session,  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 

tinguished  leader  of  the  minority,  the  Hon.  John 
M.  Bowers,  arose  and  said:  "Mr.  Presfdent,  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  dehate  the 
resolution;  we  all  want  to  debate  it."  "That  is 
precisely  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  sufifering,  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 
efifected  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.  Blieckeburg,  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,  1 85 1,  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 


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,  ^"d  at 
once  directed  his  special  attention  to 
police  affairs,  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  185 1  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,  1861,  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- 
mej'er  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  office  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, 

NY-VolIV-15  2: 


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  affection, 
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 
thirdchild,  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 


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,  1856,  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,  he  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 


227 


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.  Colonel  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. 


228 


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. 
He  was  its  first  president,  personally 
raised  the  first  year's  salary  of  the  gen- 
era! 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  oflf  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  Armam,ents  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, 

Attorney-at-I.aw,  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,  Suflfolk  county, 
England,  whose  pedigree  can  be  traced 
back  with  the  aid  of  Parish  Registers  and 
an  ancient  Bible  to  John  Clarke,  of  Wes- 
thorpe, Suflfolk  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. 


230 


> 


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  Mr.  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  afJairs  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  iust  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.) 

^^'hile  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. 


231 


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  causrht 


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,  Octcn 
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 
they  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  habeas 
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 
men. 


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  e.xceedingly  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  originaHty  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.  IS,  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  inteUigible  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 


236 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


clearness,  so  simple  as  to  render  a  dictionary  un- 
necessary, and  yet  so  complete  and  profoimd  as 
to  invade  the  depth  of  a  science  on  which  many 
of  our  law  givers  are  painfully  ignorant.  *  *  » 
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  26,  1898:  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  fixed  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,  1898:  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 


pro  and  contra  are  set  forth  with  sufticient  fair- 
ness and,  we  venture  to  think,  more  than  sufticient 
fulness. 

From  "The  Athenaeum,"  No.  3695,  August  20, 
1898:  "The  Science  of  Law  and  Law  Making," 
by  Mr.  R.  Floyd  Clarke  (MacraiUan  &  Co.), 
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 
difticulties  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.  5O76,  September  21,  1898:  The  latest  discus- 
sion of  the  whole  subject  of  codification  is  to 
be  fotmd  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,  1898 :  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.  16,23s :  *  *  *  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.  xx.\iv. 
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. 

Munroc  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 


23.9 


KNCYCLOPEDI 


desires  a  more  definitt  cotictption  of  the  ways  in 
which  law  comes  int(  exis-uiicv  The  method  oi 
concrete  illustration  is  pcrivi^s  pushed  to  an  ex 
treme;  the  layman  may  be  induced  io  read  a  cast 
or  two,  and  even  a  statute  oi  two,  but  he  is 
hardly  likely  to  peruse  with  care  extracts  from  ,<. 
digest  or  the  table  of  contents  of  a  code. 

As  regards  the  treatment  of  the  special  question 
of  codification,  the  book  has  great  merits.  Tht 
author  really  makes  it  possible  for  a  layman  to 
see,  as  few  lawyers  really  see,  what  is  meant  bv 
the  "fle.\ibilily"  of  case  law.  When  he  says  (p 
255)  that  "the  case  law  deals  with  the  aotuai 
phenomena,  while  the  code  law  deals  with  human 
abstractions  from  the  phenomena  as  !hc  counters 
for  its  reasoning."  he  has  really  gone  to  the 
bottom  of  the  question. 

From  "Law  Notes,"  Northport,  New  Yi'ta, 
January,  1900:  »  *  »  w^  ^J,,  „  4  i.n,.w 
whether  the  author  has  had  previous  fXivrt'-nce 
in  literary  work,  but  his  boiik  slu>Vo  ik.-  signs  of 
the  prentice  hand.  One  may  open  it  at  any  page, 
and  reading  a  sentence,  his  attention  and  interest 
are  fixed  at  once.     *     ♦     • 

f n  the  short  space  of  this,  notice  we  can  give  no 
adequate  idea  of  the  charth  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  fart  that  our  author,  like 
Buckle,  ramsacks  the  whole  realm  of  human 
knowledge  in  ardent  search  for  analopie.?  that 
will  support  hi.-i  argumff        ■     '   '  >     ,'.,., 

too. 

Hon.  John  J.  Dillon  writt-?  ct  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  paires  .-^re 
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. 


:  ■:  -.I ?man, 

fbyaioian,  Snrgeou. 

:  t  Reman  Ely,  one  of  ihe  most 

physicians  of  New  York  City. 

November  22,  i860,  in  Elyria, 
•     .ij      ihs  ancestor,  Nathaniel  Ely,  was 
:>,  i.i  m  England,  doubtless  at  TentenlcTi. 
i.  ounty   Keut.    in    i6o6,    and 
common  school  education,  a 
by  the  records  left  behit'.l  ]\\ 
to  America,  it  is  thuui.;:  tiie 

bark  "Elizabeth."  '"-or  '  ;iiu. 

with   his   wife    l-l  i,d   a 

^lau^i-t^■r        ;i  :ias- 

sei:;;.;    ;:.-;    hiu    ; ..    Kohf.n 

Day,  appears,  ami  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 
bom  probably  at  Hartford,  or  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts,  and  died  March  19.  1692. 
He  removed  to  Springfield  with  his  par- 
ents and  married  there,  OrxcA>€T  iS.  1659, 
Mary,  youngest  -hiM  i-f  (vobfM  iJAV. 
Their  sixteen  children  vverr  all  born  in 
Springfield.  Deacon  John  Ely,  son  of 
Samuel  and  Mary  (Day)  Ejy.  was  born 
Ja.niiary  28,  1678,  at  Spring''  '  and  died 
it   West    Springfield,  jar  t;^.'^. 

.'.    married  Mercy  Bli* 
!  r!^if,'»i  John  (2)  Ely, 
bcr   ^    .-J7.  at  West  '^ 
there  M  iN   -^2.  1754. 
ber     t;;      ,;m^     F- 
Longrmca.'low,    ' 
March  29,  177' 
sigTi  John   1 .'  .y. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  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  Ville,  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.  Mr.  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  1816  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  ofifice,  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  ^nd  from  that 
time  has  been  connected  with  it  as  direc- 
tor, vice-president  and  president.  It  be- 
came in  1883  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    & 


240 


WTBather-NY 


^^^^^^^^■^^ 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Michigan  Southern  Railway,  then  known 
as  the  Junction  Railroad,  from  Cleveland 
to  Toledo.  From  i><70  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  count}',  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-Voi  iv-16  24 


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,  ^iaude  Louise 
Merchant,  born  at  Rutland  Illinois, 
daughter  of  George  Eugen",  and  Frances 
(Sherburne)  Merchant.  Children;  Regi- 
nald Merchant,  born  August  ro.  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  str.dvitvr  in 
Columbia  Law  School. 


MILLER,  Charles  Ransom, 

Journaliat. 

Charles  Ransom  Miller,  editor  of  the 
'New  York  Time?"  one  of  thr  !f>!td5ng 
newspapers  of  ih'  -end- 

ant  of  an  old    •  an- 

cestor, Thomas  .,    Bis- 

hops Stortford  i  .stortford), 

England,  had  by  .  .;;ct.  daugh- 

ter of  Thomas  Jor  j.-^.:  ..>,  on  children. 
John  Miller,  of  Stc>r:f..-ii.  s.>n  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-Jardfeikie,  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, 
1 701,  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  23,  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, 
1815,  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,  ^t  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  he 
was  on  the  editorial  staff  of  the  "Republi- 
can," at  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  and 


242 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


rose  to  the  position  of  city  editor  of  that 
newspaper.  In  July,  1875,  he  became  a 
member  of  the  stafif  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  1881  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  fit  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,  1883,  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  City. 


MUNGER,  George  Grover, 
Lawyer. 

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 
Arts,  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 
ofTered  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. 
Munger  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  efTort 
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  Middle  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  Hinmai* 
came  to  America  in  1650  and  is  the  ances- 
tor  of  all   of   the    name   in   this   country 


244 


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  th 
denomination  whose  ministry  his  honored 
father  graced,  and  he  serves  Centenar}- 
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., 

Kanufactarer,   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  igo8 
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,  Sr.,  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  tc 
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 


'ctester 


^^/VA-       ^' 


BUXiRAIh 


branches.  He  adupiccl  the  lorri;. 
of  working  in  different  shops, 
coming  familiar  with  all  kinds 
chines,  how  they  were  built  and  how  tbc\ 
were  operated  under  varied  conditions. 
This,  with  his  constant  fludy.  marked 
natural  inventive  genius  and  constructive 
ability,  laid  the  foundation  for  his  future 
success  as  inventor  and  designer  of  ma- 
chinery and  executive  and  f^-r  h'*  high 
position  in  the  mechanic.-.' 
he  entered  the  empU.y 
Manufacturing  Conii-ai;.; 
machinist,  that  firm  ihos 
four  men  in  the  ma<.hiiii. 
a  limited  business.  He  suoa  idsuacea  tu 
the  position  of  foreman,  and  within  a  year 
and  one-half  after  his  entrance  was  made 
superintendent  o*  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  Schaflfer 
Manufacturing  Company,  becoming  vice- 
president  and  manager  of  the  new  com- 
pany. In  1908  he  was  elected  president, 
but  shortly  afterward  dispo.sed  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  Schaflfer  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 


nauoii.-..      ■    ;    ; 
Rochester    !  lirt    \  ,,>',i.  .■;: 
of  Malta.     In  pulhus  iic  i.-   . 
but  takes  little  active  part  in  puL«i'. 
He  is  one  of  the  world's  valued  ^^ 
and  the  results  of  his  labors  have  a^i.'  -  ; 
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.  AdeJe,  Gladys,  wife  of 
Frank  Stolte ;  Mildred,  and  Lucille. 

PEI.LETREAT;,  Wiliiam  S., 

OcmMtlAjfiar.,  Aatlqv«rlaA. 

The  antt'-.  -'■  of  this  family  were 
Hugurno'.  -  ••■ !  ■•  fled  from  France  on  the 
revocatior:  o'-  ihe  Edict'  of  Nantes.  The 
first  in  Amcrita  were  Jean  Pelletreau  and 
his  wile  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  effort  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. 

William  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 


1   ^^^V^Hi 

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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


should    serve    to    encourage    and    inspire      year,  after  which  it  became  necessary  for 


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  aide 
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, 

Prominent    Mannfactnrer. 

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 


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  Mr.  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,  and  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 


Ch^t^^^l,^^C^<^<:^^~^ 


EX'CYCLOPEDIA  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,  1912. 


MELDRAM,  John  Charles, 
Attormey-at-I.aw. 

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 
many  years  engaged  in  the  public  service 
as  deputy  sheriff;  United  States  deputy 
marshal ;  under  sherifT,  sheriff  and  court 


crier.    He  married  Sarah  la.  ..- 
who  died  in  February,  1899,  dari; 
William  W.  Willard,  who  died 
senior  member  of  the  jewelry  firm  .ji  '.•.  . 
lard  &  Hawley,  of  Syracuse. 

John  Charles  Meldram.  .son  of  J  >hii 
James  and  Sarah  Lavina  (Willard)  Mil- 
dram,  was  born  in  Syracuse,  New  Yoik. 
July  20,  1856.  After  completing  the  pul- 
lie  school  courses  in  grammar  and  Ingii 
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  (878.  He  was  at 
once  admitted  to  the.  Onond'jga  bar  and 
began  practice  in  Syracuse  pra."tic3lly 
alone  until  1884.  US'  ^hen  formed  a  iavv 
jjartnership  with  the  late  William  Jame>. 
that  association  continuing  until  i88c).  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  As.sociatio;- 

He  married  in  Syracu.se.  in  July,  1881, 
Nellie  E..  daughter  of  Griffith  Nelson  and 
Emily  A.  (Costrllo)  Griffith.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Meldram  have  four  children :  Frank 
John,  born  Noverriber  10.  1882;  Leo 
Griffith.  April  2<,'.  t888;  Marjorie,  De- 
cember 16.  *8^i  Vmily  Lavina,  March 
10.  1893- 

EDWARDS,  Oliver  Murray, 

Mannfactiirer,  Inventor. 

The  Edwards  family,  represented  In  the 
present  generation  by  Oliver  M  Edwards, 
inventor  and  manufacturer,  of  Svr.tc«s<r, 
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 
i8c6  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  verj'  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- 
252 


''■  Johns- 
■'^itotlie 
•cliildren 
■■  Eleazer 

:  Daniel 
■■k  was 
April  17, 
■'■:,  where 

■ember 
•  :■  years 


-- 


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  official  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,  Eort  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,  1896;  Helen 
Louise,  born  December  8,  i8g8. 


NICHOLS,  Erwin  George, 

Attorney-at-Lair. 

"The  name  Nichols  (an  abbreviation 
of  Nicholas)  is  of  purely  patrician 
origin,    having    been    invented    by    the 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Alexandre-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  vk^hich  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. 

Air.  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 
th^i  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- 
est-^ and  retired,  being  sixty-four  years  of 
age.  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  cour.?c  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. 
Morey,  Jr. 

John  Everts  Morey,  Jr.,  was  born  in 
Rochester,  New  York,  November  22, 
1856.  He  has  spent  his  life  in  his  nal've 
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  family. 

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. 


256 


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ENCYCLOPEDIA  OE  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  1882  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. 


But  it  was  not  to  business  affairs  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  ofifice 
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  ofifice 
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  affair;  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,  1915,  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, 
1915.  He  was  strongly  urged  to  accept 
the  nomination  for  mayor  of  the  city  in 
the     fall     of     1915,     but     he     resolutely 


N  Y-Vol  lV-17 


257 


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  bijciness 
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  affairs.  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  \^'heel  Company.  His  active  official 
connection  with  the  works  then  ceased, 
but  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 
he  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  1915.  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  office  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  efforts  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  affairs  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,  Iiawyer,  Uectnrer. 

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  1669 
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  Bufifalo,  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 


'-^jjt^^yCMU^^I^i^: 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGR 


surgeon-;;  he  staff  of  Gov- 

ernor Hci  York  State.     He 

married    1  ;  Montgomery,    of 

distinguished  jncci-iij.. 

Howard  TownJ-cnd  Wosher,  son  of  Dr. 
Jacob  S.  and  Emma  S.  (Montgomery) 
Moslier  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- 
em.y,  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  memoer 
of  the  faculty  of  Union  College,  instructor 
in  French  in  the  modern  language  depart- 
ment five  years.  j8'/2-97.  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  (1916J. 
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  tak«n  an  active  part 
in  public  aflfairs.  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  *  ;r<»^»ber  of  Psi  Upsilon  fra- 
ternity, r<  'hamber  of  Com- 
merce, R  'ic  Club,  Univer- 
sity Club  J  !  -.f.fl  of  the  i'r-ii- 
estant  Episcopal 


faui 'y 

LEONARD,  Geoi 
Tlamndtr,  SI" 

While    yet  in    • 
began    his 
banker,  cor> 
of  twenty-'  - 
thirty  yeai- 
resigned    ai; 
Salt  Springs  .N.it; 
He  won  for  him^ 
and  high  reputatiu 

and  upon  his  record  as  a  banker  his  i-: 
might  securely  rest.     But  that  wn^    ' 
one  of  his  lines  of  busiii' 
in  a  call  of  the  roll  01 

prises  it  will  be  found  '.' 

them  he  was  one  of  th«  orga; 

of    the    incorporators    .ind    c 

officials.     His   doir, 

the  foundation  stc  ■. 

energy,  force  and  a......  .  ..,  ... 

ness   instinct   was    keen,    his 

sound  and  men  wore    ..il'irp 

where  he  led.     H' 

far-seeing,  yet  jj»  ■ 

protf.  '       ■    ■ 

takii 

striri 

thro,.' 

upon 

gent  - 

(I: 

1651,  and 

1652.  and  V 
lished    the 
ci^!o^v.     !■■ 


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  rendersi 
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  tmder  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 
Comm.ittee,  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  EHsha 
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 


<^  jf/f/ay  •  ■    1 .    0/'y/'/<rr^ 


nicnT  I't  ;■ 
of  the  Oi 
and    widely 
factof"   in   the    .. 
cuse. 

Mr.  Hyde  is  a  m-  ■:■•■  /  -^  t  i 
Chib,  the  Chamber  <.>f  Comnn 
Lotos  Club  of  New  York  C;: 
been    9    co-worker    with    nv 
citizens  in    movetni?rf«  ♦■»v 
building     of     r; 
politics  he  is  a  1 
interest   in    the    ^„„,  ..   ;, 
ciples  which  he  l>elieves    b 
good  government.    He  was  i'' 
missipner  of  jurors  in  Syrsiciv 
that  office  for  six  years,     i: 
his  third  five-year  term  ■.     •    : 
Syracuse   Public   Libv 
for    many    years    vio 
Historical  Society,  also  ci  the  Syracuse 
Museum  of  Fine  ArtV,  of  which  he  is  a 
charter  member.    He  belongs  to  the  ?ilay 
Memorial    (Unitarian)     Church,   and    is 
greatly  interested  in  charities,  to  whidi 
he  has  been  a  liberal    contributor.     -Mr, 
Hyde  during  his  lifetime  has  been  a  taaii 
of   literary   tastes   and   has   accumubie,! 
one  of  the  finest  private  libraries  in   five 
city,  containing  many  rare  volume-  -r'.i'l 
being  especially  strong  in  early  ninr-trv;,*'^ 
century  English  literature  and  in  h.^  :k 
pertaining  to  the  history  and  literiilur-:  ■• 
Greece.    A  unique  feature  of  this  lit  r.r- 
is  the  collection  of  Emersoniana,  r^v.^r 
ing  nearly  five  hundred  bound  %• 
in  several  languages,  which  togeth; 
many  pamphlets. ,  autograph   lett«  • 
other  items  of  interest  probably  fi  : 
complete  a  collection  of  works  reL. 
Emerson  and   his    writings   as   m 
found  anywhere.    His  life  has  been 
acterized  by  a  resolute  purpose  ai;' 
in  his  career  he  became  imbued  - 
laudable   ambition   to  master  each    : — 
that  was  assigned  him  and    progressed 


man  Magee,  and  W  a^hiin/^ot1  i 
ent  of  several  nc-v  •■•••■ -^  ■  "• 
A.,  Uotn  in  1891. 

CURTICE.  Edgax  N., 

The  financial  and  commercial  history 

of  New  YorV  '^^  ;i      v   hUI  be  incomplete 

and  unaati'^'  't  a  personal  and 

somewhat  tion    of    those 

who.se  lives  .".  •   ..••.en  clo.sely  with 

its  industrial  and  linaTic'?*!  development. 

\ '■■•.en  a  man  or  select   number  of  men 

=;et  in  motion  the  machinery  of  busi- 

'.vhich  materializes  into  a  thousand 

•   of  practical  utility,  or  where  they 

-  arvcd  out  a  fortune  or  a  name  from 

•mmon  possibilities  open  for  com- 

•n  to  all,  there  is  a  public  desire, 

'■-'.  should  be  gr.-itified,  to  see  the  men 

irly  as  a  portrait  and  a  word  artist 

Liint  them  and  examine  the  elements 

.  :...nd  and  the  n:    r::  .-^   •K^^  ; -.  whsch 

such  results  have 


26; 


m 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  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  Franklin  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 
land  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 ofifices.  It  is  essentially  a  Roches- 
ter concern.  This  immense  enterprise 
pays  out  annually  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,  meat  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  Avas  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.,  i 

Lawyer,  Public  Official. 

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 
m,en  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 


268 


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  Air.  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^r,  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 
181 2,  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)  Widener,  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  afifairs,  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  BIOGRAPHY 


the  faculty  for  honest  work,  a  faculty 
which  has  won  him  professional  fame  and, 
combined  with  business  ability  and  sa- 
gacityand  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  "off  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- 


;;^^-:y^j7'^^^^^^^i^^ 


■  fA  OF  BIOGRAPHV 


Castile  schools,  ClaincssilU-  Scm 
Albany  Normal  College,  quali.^ 
teacher.  After  graduation  from  \^^!i:\:i: 
she  taught  for  three  years,  then  began  the 
carrying  out  of  a  long  formed  amfjition. 
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 
staff  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  effort  extending  over  a 
period  of  ten  years,  ere  "hope  ended  in 
fruition." 

Miss  Sherman  married,  June,  1898, 
Wentworth  G.  Ricker,  born  in  tlit  State 


'•'  Maine,  and  for  sf 
the  Ricker  Ma;. 
erhead  tracking- 
.Vo.  239  North  Wit 
Mr.  Ricker  is  one  o! 
crgetic  and  success; 
line  of  manufactur< 
one.  He  is  a  men' 
Baptist  Church.  In  !.<> 
Republican. 


FARMER,  William  Sidney, 

As   judge   of   the    Mnn. 
Syracuse,  ^^  illiain  ."^i  i 
tinuing  a  career  in 
his  native  Sta<e  wiOi  ; 

and  with  the  dignity,  zeai  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 
simplicity  and  impartiality,  but  his  actual 
contact  with  everyone  is  based  on  that  be 
lief  in  human  brotherhood,  so  frcfiner^tb 
met  with,  and  which  makes  him  .1 
magistrate.    Rich  and  poor  alike 
with  by  him  on  a  plane  of  simple    ■ 
and  with  a  dignity  and  courtesy  ' 
only  the  outward  aspect  of  gr'  ."t 
courage  and  a  far  reaching' 
ness.     The  Farmer  famih 
dent  in  the  State  of  N    ■• 
ber  of  generations,  i' 
ing  been  one  of  the  i 
I^wrence  county,   s-- 
residence  in  the  to^v 

Seymour  M  '": 
Farmer,  was  ■. 
quently  remc' 
number  of  y(  . 
ness  as  a  mf  < 
held  the.'- 
was  a  n 

ri.:d    /\    . 


27 


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- 

N  Y-Vol  IV-18  273 


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 
name  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 


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 most  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  Women's  Chris- 
tian Association  of  Gloversville  and  has 
during  all  that  period  served  as  a  mem- 
ber of  its  board  of  directors  and  oflf  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  different  paths  and  is 
effective  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 
accom.plishing  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 
l^rief  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  efiforts  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  model  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  afifairs  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 
perform.ed  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 
-6 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  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.  For  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  affiliated  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 
Fourth  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 


277 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


county  court  house,  serving  until  its  com- 
pletion in  1896,  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  185 1  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 
RulifTson.  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  Ruliffson-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  Rulififson,  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  effort  —  executive,  iron- 
master, railroad  and  canal  builder,  con- 
structor of  public  works,  financier,  capi- 
talist—  ever  and  always  a  man  of  big 
affairs.  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  effects  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 
affairs;  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- 


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  Autorrtobile 
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., 
Lawyer,  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, 


:  lawyer 

-  "i  tlii 

-  -lands 
■■  oi  his 
::  oi  tile 
very  ac- 
:cige  oi 
■;;  tieliai 

and  in 
:  and  en- 
;Htaiice 
:  and  lie 
■::ei;to 


>voods 


'^NlSOfi.  Howard  P  .  M.  A.,  LL.  D., 

i  awr,«p.  Professional  lastmetor. 

riss  of  citizens  should  be  so  well 

i   for  public  life  as  the  lawyers, 

ming  for  the  bar  fitting  them  for 

•>r  executing  the    laws,  and    in 

'  I    the   principles   of  government. 

K   of  the  legal  profession  is  to 

■    t(i  harmonize,  to  regulate,  to 

■  liriinister  those  rules  and  prin- 

nderlie    and    permeate    all 

"1  society  and  control  the 

-^  of  man.    As  thus  viewed 

lo  the  legal  profession  a 

.  ;^nnot  but  be  reflected  in 

:«.  hfe  ot  th«r  true  lawyer  who,  conscious 


^u.cbo   oi    his   profession   and 
the  pursuit  of  his  purpose,  em- 
'u    richness  of  learning,  the  pro- 
ciiic.ss  of  wisdom,  the  firmness  of  in- 
•-.'.y  and  the  purity  of  morals,  together 
■'.  rhe  graces  of  modesty,  courtesy  and 
'r'Ticral  amenities  of  life. 
I'.vard  P.  Denison,  of  Syracuse,  New 
■:.  w  hose  reputation  as  a  patent  lawyer 
ori'.i  wide,  is  certainly  a  type  of  this 
-  'jirs  of  lawyers,  and  as  such  he  stands 
iuiiong  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 
h:vr  hccn  entrusted  to  his  care  and  he 
he  is  fully  conpetent  to 
f  problems  of  jurispru- 
t.-:      -Hition.      His 
'es   him   to 
.'  n  the  prin- 
..;pks    ci    jiiiisjjriitit.niA     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, 


282 


iiii. 


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- 
ton 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  Chnrchman. 

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  been  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,  ^nd  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  affairs  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  Jefferys,  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: 
Margaret  Jefferys,  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  (Jefferys), 

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  Jefferys, 
a  civil  engineer  of  Philadelphia,  and  his 
wife,  Elizabeth  (Miller)  Jefferys. 

Marie  Elizabeth  Jefferys  was  born  in 
Liege,  Belgium,  February  16,  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  BIOGRAniY 


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, 
Authoress. 

The  eldest  daughter  of  Henry  Lee  and 
Marie  Elizabeth  (Jeflferys)  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, 

Lawyer,  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 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  (• 


"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.  Mc(  ilynn, 
county  judge  arid  surrogate  ol  the  county 
to  fill  a  vacancy.  Since  1903  he  ha.s  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.  !(f*.v»  VwrtNM, 

Frank     .  t  :■ 
attorney  o>  S 
Bradford,  V  p  i  . 
ancestor.  \\  i'^ 
Kent,   l-rv->  - 
and  w  (- 
Massa.-i. 
adniiU' 
was  \\  :■ 


I).  -  ■ 

fiftv-iour  _)Car>,  tioui  whicii  wt  !««;!.  U..iS 
he  was  born  in  1(103.  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  u 
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  W8«  oro 
of  the  founders  and  proprietors  cf  T- 
hill,  Massachusetts,  whither  he  .% 
brother  John  removed  fr<-m  '"harl? 
He  held  variou.'i  town  .»fiivt:^.     i' 
ried    (first)   Mnry    S»-tl>*-,    .>v! 
in    idt'i 
Thorn:. 

Thon 

Hannah    (lo. 

Decemhor  : 

Fcbru;'  ■ 

(jfficer 

hill   N^ 

was  el>  ■ 

of  whir  • 

constituicii  .:.    < 

married,  Ma> 

daughter      oi      -wi.<-   ..-.       ..t..      xy\,Mihd 

(Cloucrh.;    Pajje,  graodk^AUghter  of  John 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  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 
Decemljer  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 


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 
1 90S.  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-I/aw. 

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  vs.  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 


292 


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, 
Lanpyer. 

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,  establish- 
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,  Nev.' 
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 


293 


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  eflforts  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,  Plelen  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 


294 


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- 
tory, 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, 
liavr-yer. 

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 


295 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


was  especially  active  in  the  professions      Lauterbach   &  Johnson.     In  addition  to 


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, 


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 
1896,  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 


296 


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  Sej'mour  L'Amoreaux  is  de- 
scended from  Huguenot  ancestors,  who 
came  to  America  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 
'97 


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- 
iter,  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 


(    Our\^^^c:^^   f      ^£?c<3'/CiylyVA 


NCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Twelfth  W'jrci  <■{<  was  educated  in 
public  and  high  .-^chfiols  of  Rochester. 
Deciding  upon  the  }>rofeasion  of  law,  he 
pursued  an  extended  course  of  study 
under  the  direction  of  William  Butler 
Crittenden  and  in  i8<)5.  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  stafi".  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  hip  native 
city  is  most  gratifying  to  the  recipient  of 
the  honor,  for  those  by  whom  the  appoint- 
ment was  conferred  have  knv>wn  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 
jappointed  corporation  counsel  by  Mayor 


Hiram  B.  Edgertun.  Marv!-  1",  n 
;s  a  member  of  Oa-  .N' ■ 
-Association  and  Xhc  ': 
sociation  and  standi-  h 
of  his  professional  h; . 
member  of  the  Geneseo 
Knights  of  Columbus. 

Mr.    Cunningham    married 
Elonore   MacKearnin,  of   Buftal' 
children  :    Benjamin  B.,  Jr.,  and  F. 


He 

Har 


THACHER.  Thomas, 

Attomey. 

Thomas  Thacher,  a  prominent  prac- 
ticing attorney  of  New  York  City,  is  s 
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  oi  New  Sarum,  Wiltshire,  in 
1622.  Because  of  his  dissension  from  the 
usages  of  the  Established  English  church, 
he  wqs  mnch  harassed  by  the  spiritual 
'     .  •:  tided  to  emigrate  to  New 

'<■  he  might  enjoy  greater 

;.;m.    The  death  of  his  wife 

about  tnift  time  altered  his  determination, 
:i!i«i  he  did  not  remove.  He  was  born  in 
i5"'S.  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  excusetl  fmm 
reading  certain  directions  of  the  vicar 
general,  which  he  said  were  again.st  hi.> 
conscience.  He  further  stated ;  "I  never 
neglected  the  onler  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 '^  Day  at  three  of  the  clock  ye  XI 
■'■  ■'    •  ■■  ••      '-'•'  ••■■■. — ■  tnove  his 

T'homas 


c-irs  old  ht'  embarked 

'      li    .lis    uncle,     Knthonx 

arrived  in   New    i'ngland, 

Ht  lived  in  the  family  of 

litnuie-si  ■  haunc^y,  who  was  afterward 

).)rt-«ideai  of  Harvard  College   i.nd  under 


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  stafif.  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 
iappointed  corporation  counsel  by  Mayor 
Hiram  B.  Edgerton,  March  15,  1916.  He 
fs  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 


pent  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 
ofiice  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.,  ^ 

Iiawyer. 

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 


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  offices  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.,       ^ 
LavryeT, 

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 
Hfe  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 


:-e!i;it 
:,  Yet 
::wilie 


r.  ambi- 
,  The 
!  Amer- 
.:>.  tbe 
J  Join 
.^alem, 
oi  tk 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


n  energy  ;md  detfrmination  fell  upon  his 
.  ;i  and  in  him  the  resolute  spirit  of  the 
:   rher  survives. 

John  A.  Bcrnhard  was  born  in  Roches- 

:ir    \'r",v  Yr;H-    ,'■> iigust  5,   1 859,  and  his 

.e  been  spent  in  his 

graduation     from 

.  ...Jtmy  in  1879,  he  be- 

>A  law,  and  in   1882  was 

'    f      lie  at  once  began 

-    lutving  a  partner 

itiid  since  the  dis- 

■:  >ii;;i.,!i    m    rra;    jjarrnership,    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  i.';  a  man 

of  quick  invention,  but  does  not  <\":js-;:i[ 

;  pon  the  inspiration  of  the  mome- 

I]  pearing  in  court  without  ^hc  rvc 

ful  preparatior.  ^  '  ;  ' 

feature  of  th'  ightr 

importance  he       .  .  >,  urprise 

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 
;'llied  with  fraternity  and  secret  orders, 
'.nd  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  -iB78, -and- 
las  been  a  member  of  the  .Masonic  order 
since  18S9.  belonging  to  Germania  Lodge, 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons.  In  Scottish 
Rite  Masonry  he  has  attained  the  thirty- 
t  ,vo  degrees  of  Rochester  Consistory,  and 
i  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  imjwssible  to  clearly  determine.  Yet 
;'rn  i:i,;,-  of  a  successful  life  is  none  the 
ble  by  reason  of  the  existence 
i certainty,  and  in  the  majority 
■;  i::uvf<;  It  is  found  that  exceptional  abil- 
ity was  the  real  secret  oi  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  Svrtet;  Ws  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 


304 


Jahyyi    t.  Jvu-Cj^^. 


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, 
twho  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 


307 


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  Hargather  was  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 beils  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. 

Rlathias  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  18S0  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. 
Michael'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  vj 

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  afifairs  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  1886,  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  Bufifalo  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  offer  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 


XCYCLOri" 


position  of  jjr;:i.  n... 
and  from  the  iiii\  xe> 
close  of  the  school  > 
filled  that  position. 


that   institi! 
of  1883  unii' 

in  1886  ht 
1886  he  wa.-. 


mitted  to  the  Monroe  county  bar  an^ 
steadily  pursued  his  profession  unti 
present  time  (1916)  practicing  in  all 
and  Federal  courts  of  the  distrit  • 
a  member  of  the  local  and  stati 
ciations.  very  popular  with  hi- 
and  highly  esteemed  by  all 

In    1890   Mr.    Taylor   purii-'. 
tions  of  Ilun"  in  fifty  •  t !— • 
the    Supreme    Court    Tu 
"Citations  of  the  Xew 
ous  Reports";   in  igoi 
New  York  Court  ci  .■*•, 
in    1902  the   New    Vor 
vision  Report":   in  ii».> 
tions  of   New  York   S:- 
ports";  in  1906a  new  sent?  1' 
Citations    of    the    New  .  Y'ori; 
Appeals,"  also  Supreme  C<>ur 
cellaneous    reports       Subsi.'.n 
Taylor,    at    the    request    rf 
lawyers,  published  a  ^enert! 
to   the    above    menO'Wt^d     '  • 
Common  Law,  ("   . 
Reports,  as  well 
and  Penal  Code--, 
Laws.    Some  idea  of  tlu  :      . 
lal^or  performed  by  Mr 
and    publisher    of   these     >    • 
gained   from   the   fact  thai 
over  eight  hundred  and  ten  tl- 
tions. 

Mr.  Tavlor  married.  December 


lie   de- 

b.  the 

i«v 

;   Uj  the 

^ 

:!ter  he 

' 

.     iveese- 

v.')iirph. 

.  .irs.  he 

fiteiitl'vr 

Weeds, 

Conway      • 

■  ill-  d  to 

..  d  finn 

.-■■niith. 

:■  ^leva- 

1,  Kei»»s/ 

le  Court 

rhe  firm  ■; 

.  .unched 

Effie,     daughter 
Rochester.    The 
children:    Morti'w  • 
bert  R.,  married  i 
New  York,  in  ."m 
Marion,  married    /  u 
in    November.    I0i<;. 
member  of  theAlph; 
Phi   Beta  Kappa  fra 


of-    Hiram     Davi- 
are  the  parents  of  four 


■.■■■■■  ■   ;iie  most  f;i  ■  ■'■'•■^ 

\\y  esi.ibii^hed  pri.- 
tjTf v.^  \.;!y  rapidly,  t-  ~ 

idvanrcment  being  due  to  tiie  inu.ativr 
ability  of  the  junior  partner.  As  nu!<-h  of 
its  business  came  before  the  couns  ot 
New  York  City,  in  f8of).  the  tirni  of 
."^mith,  Conway  K-  Wted  was  formed  t;> 

onduct   busines .    in   that   city,   and   the 


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, 

Liawyer,  Iiientenant-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 


311 


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  efforts  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,  ^ 

Iia^ryer,   Iiifararian. 

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  tlie  State.  Actual  court  room 
practice  has  not  appealed  to  Mr.  Taylor 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


resident  of  the  city  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 

15 


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,    Laivyer,    Musical    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 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Engineering  >ociety  and  the  American 
"-'ociety  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  D^amas- 
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,    liawyer,   Muaioal    Critic. 

Edwin  Francis  Hyde,  a  banker  of  New 
York. City,,  well  known  in  the  legal  pro- 
fession in  this  city,  also  in  musical  circles, 
:  nd   perhaps   the  best   known   American 
•  .  ■!  ■■  ;.n!~;':i'  vircVs  of  Europe,  in  which 
1  a  profound  inter- 
I'Ure  in  the  esteem 
~  a  de- 
family, 
,      hod    for 
lalent  ana  high   morai  prmciple,  charac- 
teristics  which   distinguish   the  present- 
day  members. 

The  Hydes  w-ere  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- 
r.-iiher  to  two  queens  in  the  Engli.sh  suc- 
cession, Mary,  the  second,  and  Anne.  The 
ilyde  descendants  in  America  were 
trong  in  great  men,  among  whom  were: 
on.  Matthew  Griswold,  chief  justice 
.id  governor  of  Connecticut;  Hon.  John 
.vl.  Niles,  United  States  senator  and  post- 
master-general in  Van  Buren's  adminis- 
1  ration;  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,  v.'here  he  was  one  of  the  origi- 
nal proprietors,  frequently  held  office, 
and  died  Ja^mar)'  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,  J^"^  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  '^,  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 


<^9^. 


n^c^^y^-^^-^     ^'h^dU^ 


V^. 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


dans ;  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.,        I 
Attorney-at-Iiaw. 

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 


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. 


319 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


TOOKE,  Charles  Wesley, 

liaxrjeT,  Anthor. 

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 
irom  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 


Ao^ch^i.,^itf(y^:r(iXt^ 


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., 

Educator,  Historian,  IMpIomat. 

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  faJl 
of  T849,  wherein  he  was  a  member  of  the 
Sigm.i  Phi  fraternity,  (before  which  he  de- 
livered the  address  at  its  summer  conven- 
tion at  University  of  Vermont  in  i860)  ;  but 
tran.sf  erred  to  Yale,  where  he  was  affiliated 
with  the  Psi  Upsilon  (junior  society)  and 
"322"  or  Skull  and  Bones  (senior),  being 
graduated  in  1853,  espe<;ially  distinguished 
in  history  and  belles  letl-ris,  being  an  editor 
of  the  "Yale  Literary  Magazine"  and  tak- 
ing the  first-  Clark  prize  for  English  dis- 
putation and  the  De  Forest  gold  m£dal, 
for  the  best  English  composition  united 
with  the'  best  declamation,  esteemed  the 
most  shining  award  the  college  can 
bestow,  his  subject  being  the  'Diplom^trc, 
History  of  Modern  Tiiies,^^  Jjo;gsibJy  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  emineiU  in  public  life. 

Dr.  White  pursued  post-graduate  studies 
at  the  Sorbonne,  the  college  de  France 
and  the  University  of  Bvrlin  (1853-54) 
and  was  attache  of  the  United  States 
Legation  at  the  Russian  court  (1854-55). 
Returning  to  America  he  proseoited  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  VN'hitr 
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  Tuiasu- 
(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  jn  1863  Dr.  White  resigned  his 
chair  iB^'Micnjga«>  University,  regained 
his- legal  residence  in  Syracuse  and  made 
an  extended  tour  in  Europe,  publishing. 


N  Y— Vol  IV— 21 


321 


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., 

Educator,  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 

N  Y-Vol  IV-21  321 


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. 


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 


held  the  position  of  secretary  of  the  Xew 
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, 

Attorney-at-Latr. 

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  z's.  Sher- 
lock ;  Peterson  vs.  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., 

Mannfactnrer. 

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, 
1 85 1,  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  affairs,  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 


326 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  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. 


WESTERVELT,  Zenas  Freeman,  - 
Fonnder    and    Head    of    the    Western    New 
Tork   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,  1816, 
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,  Ivansas,  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 


327 


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'  sem.inary.  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 
sulTering  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., 

Iiawyer. 

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  years  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- 


330 


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  offered 
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 


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,   Fnblic    OfiBoial. 

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  1831,  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 


I  Grocery 


/C:      ^^t^:.tA:^^i,^C^j^^f^i^^..^>^^^ 


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  sttU  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 
rrominence,  his  disposition  prefers  the 
quiet  walks  of  life,  home  and  friends  con- 
i^tituting  his  greatest  enjoyments. 

.^  Republican  in  politics,  Mr.  Knapp 
has  ever  taken  active  interest  in  public 
affairs.  l>ut  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 
qood  citizenship.  He  is  a  Mason  of  high 
I'.egree,  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, 
Ivnights  of  Pythias.  For  two  years  he 
was  president  of  the  Rochester  Carpen- 
ters' Association. 

Mr.  Knapp  married,  in  1894,  Mary  E., 
(laughter  of  Joseph  Graham,  of  Corning, 
New  York.  Their  children  are :  Emma  J. 
.-ind  Mildred  H. 


HAMILTON,  R.  Andrew, 
Retired    BnslneH   Man,   Pablio   OflBeial. 

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- 
doVed  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  1831,  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.  253  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^  /^^'<^<iki^lzc^j^^f^^i*^^,^>^t^^::^^ 


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. 
Goff  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. 

Mr.  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  tim.e  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.  Pie  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,  he  was  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  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Adams,  Rhode  Island,  and  was  attached 
to  a  light  battery.  He  resigned  from  the 
army  October  i,  1890,  to  take  effect  April 
1,  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.  He  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.  He  was 
married,  at  Garrison-on-Hudson,  New 
York,  September  5,  1S89,  to  Elma  Smythe 
(Preston)  \^an  Voorhis,  widow  of  Arthur 
Van  Voorhis. 


ALEXANDER,  De  Alva  S.,  ^ 

Lawyer,   Legislator,   Anthor. 

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 


1652  and,  in  the  seventh  from  David 
Alexander  who,  migrating  from  Ulster, 
Ireland,  settled  at  Harpsvvell,  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.  Therfc- 
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- 


337 


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  maintaining  a 
lively  interest  in  politics.  In  1S81,  upon 
the  recommendation  of  Senator  Benja- 
min Harrison,  always  .Viexander'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.  Pie 
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.  Witli 
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 
himself  with  clean  politics. 

The  rare  opportunities  for  knowing 
public  men,  presented  to  him  soon  after 


338 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


leaving  college  and  continuing  for  forty 
years,  with  his  close  and  discriminating 
study  of  political  annals,  afforded  him 
abundant  material  as  a  political  historian. 
He  began  the  preparation  of  his  great 
work  (the  term  is  used  advisedly)  the 
"Political  History  of  New  York,"  while 
still  in  Congress,  two  volumes  of  which 
were  published  in  1906  and  a  third  190^. 
It  is  a  work  remarkable  for  the  extent 
and  accuracy  of  its  knowledge,  its  insight 
of  the  motives  actuating  its  dramatis  pcr- 
sonae  (so  to  speak),  its  conscientious  im- 
partiality, its  vivid  descriptions,  compari- 
sons and  side  allusions  and  with  perhaps, 
as  its  most  striking  feature,  its  peerless 
"pen  portraits."  In  style  it  is  peculiarly 
fascinating,  clear  as  a  bell,  brilliant  as  a 
gem.  It  was  widely  acclaimed  by  the  re- 
viewers, the  "Nation"  and  the  "Philadel- 
phia Ledger,"  both  deservedly  authorita- 
tive, pronounced  in  the  commendatory 
estimates.  Alexander  has  recently  pub- 
lished a  companion  work  to  the  "New 
York  History"  entitled  the  "History  and 
Procedure  of  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives," of  which  the  "New  York  Sun" 
says : 

The  arrangement  is  logical;  organization  of 
the  House,  the  history  of  the  speakership, 
sketches  of  a  long  series  of  party  whips  and 
floor  leaders,  the  development  of  committee 
work  and  of  the  House  rules;  an  account  of 
great  debates,  and  sketches  of  great  debaters, 
impeachment  practices  and  a  chapter  on  the 
"President  and  the  House."  Mr.  Alexander's 
chapter  on  the  Speakership,  brilliant  as  it  is,  is  not 
exceptional,  but  representative  among  his  chap- 
ters. Those  on  committees,  on  rules  of  the 
House,  on  quorum,  on  debate  and  debates  and 
on  contested  elections,  are  written  with  the 
understanding  and  the  impartial  judgment  of 
one  who  has  been  through  the  mill  and  now 
looks  back  with  calm  detachment  upon  the  scene 
of  his  former  labors.  The  book  is  full  of  Con- 
gressional lore,  a  delightful  and  valuable  record 
of  men  and  measures. 

Dr.  Alexander  is  a  member  of  the 
BuiTalo  and  University  clubs,  of  West- 


minster Presbyterian  Church  (how  near- 
ly related  to  the  famous  Presbyterian 
Alexanders  of  Princeton  the  writer  is  not 
informed),  a  member  of  the  Sons  of  the 
American  Revolution,  vice-president  of 
the  New  York  State  Historical  Associ- 
ation, a  member  of  Chapin  Post,  No.  2, 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  a  thir- 
ty-second degree  Mason.  He  has  in 
contemplation  a  fourth  volume  of  the 
"Political  History,"  and  is  busy  with  his 
pen  and  among  his  books,  in  his  Buffalo 
home  (31  North  street),  serene  in  his  de- 
clining years.  He  married  (first)  Alice, 
daughter  of  Jonas  and  Almira  Hull  Col- 
by, of  Henniker,  New  Hampshire,  Sep- 
tember 14,  1871  ;  and  (second)  Anne  Lu- 
cille Bliss,  daughter  of  David  Gerlach  and 
Mary  Fiero,  of  Buffalo,  New  York,  De- 
cember 28,  1893. 


FITCH,  Charles  E., 

liawyer.    Journalist,    Educator. 

While  Charles  Elliott  Fitch,  of  Syra- 
cuse, during  a  long  and  unusually  active 
life,  has  held  various  important  official 
positions,  and  always  with  ability  and 
fidelity,  his  chief  distinction  is  in  the  field 
of  letters.  With  the  exception  of  Dr. 
Ellis  H.  Roberts,  of  Utica,  he  is  the  sole 
survivor  of  that  remarkable  group  of 
"writing  editors"  who  made  a  deep  im- 
pression upon  the  public  affairs  of  the 
State  of  New  York  in  the  years  following 
the  Civil  War.  In  the  metropolis,  Gree- 
ley of  the  "Tribune"  and  Raymond  of  the 
"Times"  were  both  in  the  last  decade  of 
their  service.  From  1867  Dana  was  bril- 
liantly identified  with  the  "Sun,"  and 
Bryant  was  yet  at  the  head  of  the  "Even- 
ing Post."  Weed,  of  the  Albany  "Jour- 
nal," had  but  lately  ended  his  newspaper 
activities.  In  the  interior,  a  school  of 
trenchant  and  aggressive  journalists  em- 
braced Roberts  of  the  Utica  "Herald," 
Francis  of  the  Troy  "Times,"  Carroll  E. 


339 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Smith  of  the  Syracuse  "Journal,"  Warren 
of  the  Buflfalo  "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 
1851  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 
Tilassachusetts ;  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 
Union  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 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  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,  1861 ;  "Union  and  Liberty,"  at 
New  Bern,  N.  C,  July  4,  1865;  "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  Association,  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  "JournaHsm,"  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, 
18S9;  "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, 
1898;  Historical  address  at  semi-centennial  of 
Genesee  county,  Batavia,  1902;  "Regents'  Ex- 
aminations," at  University  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  b)'  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, i8^'2,  resigning  therefrom  in  1898; 
elected  member  of  Williams  Chapter,  Phi 
Beta  Kappa,  1883;  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, 1S90;  received  honorary  degree  of  L. 
H.  D.  from  Hamilton  College,  1895 :  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  Williams  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 
Watt?,  chaplain.  United  States  army. 
Fenwick  Y.  Hedley, 
Managing  Editor. 


FASSETT,  Jacob  Sloat, 

Lawyer,  X,egislator,  Capitalist. 

Jacob  Sloat  Fassett  was  born  in  El- 
mira.  New  York,  November  13,  1853,  son 
of  Newton  Pomeroy  and  Martha  Ellen 
(Sloat)  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  orator)',  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  ahnn  mater.  After  giadu- 
ation  he  determined  upon  the  law  as  his 
j.-rofession  and  accordingly  studied  in  the 
office  of  Smith,  Robertson  &  Fassett  (his 
father),  at  Elmira.  He  vv^as  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  States.  In  1S78,  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 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  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. Fie  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- 
versity laureated  him  with  the  degree  of 
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, 

L(a"wyep   and  Jurist, 

William  James  Wallace  was  born  in 
Syracuse,  April  14,  1837,  the  son  of  E. 
Fuller  and  Lydia  Wheelwright  Wallace, 


who  removed  from  Massachusetts  to 
Syracuse  shortly  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  from  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 
of  the  examining  committee  was  Roscoe 
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, 
1S58,  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  techvi- 
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  thr 
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  Bufifalo,  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  he 
performed  a  large  part  of  his  judicial 
duties  at  these  cities.  In  1882  Judge  Sam- 
uel Blatchford,  who  was  then  a  circtr' 
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 
office  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  comino'i 
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  ^"^  1^9^ 
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  hom.e  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  Jam^s 
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  aftec- 
tion  rarely  tendered  upon  a  similar  occa- 
sion.   Thus  Justice  Lurton,  of  the  United 


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- 


States  Supreme  Court,  upon  Judge  Wal-     Harly  felicitous  diction,  embraced  exalted 


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 


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  feel  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 


EXXYCLOPEDIA  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 
years. 


WILLIAMS,  Sherman, 

Educator,   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 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BlOGRArHY 


from  all  sections  of  the  land  and  from  all 
classes  of  teachers  were  enrolled  therein. 
One  year  nearly  seven  hundred  teachers ' 
were  present,  representing  thirty-eight 
States  and  territories,  Mexico,  Canada 
and  the  West  Indies.  He  was  for  years 
a  member  of  the  committee  appointed  by 
the  State  Council  of  Superintendents  to 
secure  the  enactment  of  a  compulsory 
education  law,  taking  an  active  part  in  its 
investigations  and  deliberatioiis  and  mak- 
ing valuable  suggestions  which'  subse- 
quently received  legislative  sanction.  He 
was  also  largely  instrumental  in  securing 
the  act  providing  for  the  establishment  of 
kindergarten  schools. 

In  1899,  he  was  appointed  a  conductor 
of  teachers'  institutes,  and,  for  the  ensu- 
ing decade,  was  thus  engaged.  -As  a  con- 
ductor he  was  eminently  successful. 
With  competent  teachers  and  instructive 
lecturer's  scheduled  upon  his  programs, 
himself  indulged  in  little  theorizing,  in 
his  periods,  but  drew  for  his  points 
mainly  upon  his  experience  as  a  teacher, 
deahng  with  reading  and  the  creating  of 
a  taste  for  good  reading,  arithmetic  and 
the  development  of  the  habit  of  accuracy  ; 
English  and  the  ability  to  speak  briefly, 
logically  and  forcefully ;  history  and  how 
it  should  be  taught  and  for  what  pur- 
pose;  and  school  management.  It  may 
be  added  pertinently  that  his  stately  pres- 
ence and  authoritative  mien  were  not 
without  influence  in  the  conduct  and  con- 
trol of  his  audiences.  Since  January  i, 
1912,  Dr.  Williams  has  been  chief  of  the 
Division  of  School  Libraries,  an  impor- 
tant position,  congenial  to  his  taste.  Dr. 
Williams's  favorite  study,  as  already  inti- 
mated, has  been  that  of  history — particu- 
larly that  of  his  own  State — and  in  this 
line  he  has  published  a  number  of  books, 
primarily  intended  for  supplementary 
reading  in  the  schools,  but,  precise  in  in- 
formation and  couched  in  a  perspicuous 
and  pleasing   style,  they  have  attracted 


the  attention  of  students  and  readers  gen- 
erally and  have  wide  and  remunerative 
circulation.  Among  these  are  "Selections 
for  Memorizing," with  L.C.Foster  (1890) 
and  'Choice  Literature"  (1906),  both  in- 
telligent compilations ;  and  he  is  the 
author  of  "Some  Successful  Americans" 
(1904),  "Stories  from  Early  New  York 
History"  (Colonial,  1912),  and  "New 
York's  Part  in  Hi.story"  (1915),  his  most 
ambitious  production.  Dr.  Williams  is  a 
charter  member  of  the  New  York  State 
Historical  Society,  and  to  him  its  remark- 
able growth  and  abundant  activities  are 
largely  due.  He  has  been  a  trustee  from 
the  start ;  was  for  a  number  of  years  a 
vice-president  and  is  now  (1916)  serving 
his  second  term  as  president  efficiently 
and  acceptably. 

In  each  community,  in  which  he  has  re- 
-•■-ided — notably  in  Glens  Falls,  his  long- 
est habitation — he  has  been  a  public- 
spirited  citizen,  identified  with  its  social, 
literary  and  religious  life,  its  institutions 
and  its  well-being.  He  has  been,  among 
other  things,  trustee  of  the  Crandall 
estate,  and  of  the  Crandall  Free  Library, 
and  he  organized  the  Building  and  Loan 
Association,  being  a  director  thereof  so 
long  as  he  remained  in  Glens  Falls.  In 
religion  he  is  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
communion.  In  politics  he  has  ever  been 
an  earnest  Republican,  not  hesitating, 
however,  to  combat  all  wrong-doing 
which  has  been  perpetrated  in  its  name, 
and  independent  in  his  action  when  in- 
dependence was  demanded,  candid  in  his 
speech  and  bold,  even  severe,  in  his  criti- 
cism of  evil  policies  and  corrupt  leader- 
ship. He  now  resides  at  290  West  Law- 
rence street,  Albany. 


SYMONDS,  Charles  S., 

Banker. 


Charles  Stanley  Symonds,  prominent  as 
financier.  State  and  city  official  and  littera- 


349 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


from  all  sections  of  the  land  and  from  all 
classes  of  teachers  were  enrolled  therein. 
One  year  nearly  seven  hundred  teachers 
were  present,  representing  thirty-eight 
States  and  territories,  Mexico,  Canada 
and  the  West  Indies.  He  was  for  years 
a  member  of  the  committee  appointed  by 
the  State  Council  of  Superintendents  to 
secure  the  enactment  of  a  compulsory 
education  law,  taking  an  active  part  in  its 
investigations  and  deliberations  and  mak- 
ing valuable  suggestions  which  subse- 
quently received  legislative  sanction.  He 
was  also  largely  instrumental  in  securing 
the  act  providing  for  the  establishment  of 
kindergarten  schools. 

In  1899,  he  was  appointed  a  conductor 
of  teachers'  institutes,  and,  for  the  ensu- 
ing decade,  was  thus  engaged.  As  a  con- 
ductor he  was  eminently  successful. 
With  competent  teachers  and  instructive 
lecturers  scheduled  upon  his  programs, 
himself  indulged  in  little  theorizing,  in 
his  periods,  but  drew  for  his  points 
mainly  upon  his  experience  as  a  teacher, 
dealing  with  reading  and  the  creating  of 
a  taste  for  good  reading,  arithmetic  and 
the  development  of  the  habit  of  accuracy  ; 
English  and  the  ability  to  speak  briefly, 
logically  and  forcefully :  history  and  how 
it  should  be  taught  and  for  what  pur- 
pose ;  and  school  management.  It  may 
be  added  pertinently  that  his  stately  pres- 
ence and  authoritative  mien  were  not 
without  influence  in  the  conduct  and  con- 
trol of  his  audiences.  Since  January  i, 
1912,  Dr.  Williams  has  been  chief  of  the 
Division  of  School  Libraries,  an  impor- 
tant position,  congenial  to  his  taste.  Dr. 
Williams's  favorite  study,  as  already  inti- 
mated, has  been  that  of  history — particu- 
larly that  of  his  own  State— and  in  this 
line  he  has  published  a  number  of  books, 
primarily  intended  for  supplementary 
reading  in  the  schools,  but,  precise  in  in- 
formation and  couched  in  a  perspicuous 
and  pleasing  style,  they  have  attracted 


the  attention  of  students  and  readers  gen- 
erally and  have  wide  and  remunerative 
circulation.  Among  these  are  "Selections 
for  Memorizing,"  with  L.  C.  Foster  (1890) 
and  "Choice  Literature"  (1906),  both  in- 
telligent compilations ;  and  he  is  the 
author  of  "Some  Successful  Americans" 
(1904),  "Stories  from  Early  New  York 
History"  (Colonial,  1912),  and  "New 
York's  Part  in  History"  (1915),  his  most 
ambitious  production.  Dr.  Williams  is  a 
charter  member  of  the  New  York  State 
Historical  Society,  and  to  him  its  remark- 
able growth  and  abundant  activities  are 
largely  due.  He  has  been  a  trustee  from 
the  start ;  was  for  a  number  of  years  a 
vice-president  and  is  now  (1916)  serving 
his  second  term  as  president  efficiently 
and  acceptably. 

In  each  community,  in  which  he  has  re- 
sided— notably  in  Glens  Falls,  his  long- 
est habitation — he  has  been  a  public- 
spirited  citizen,  identified  with  its  social, 
literary  and  religious  life,  its  institutions 
and  its  well-being.  He  has  been,  among 
other  things,  trustee  of  the  Crandall 
estate,  and  of  the  Crandall  Free  Library, 
and  he  organized  the  Building  and  Loan 
Association,  being  a  director  thereof  so 
long  as  he  remained  in  Glens  Falls.  In 
religion  he  is  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
communion.  In  politics  he  has  ever  been 
an  earnest  Republican,  not  hesitating, 
however,  to  combat  all  wrong-doing 
which  has  been  perpetrated  in  its  name, 
and  independent  in  his  action  when  in- 
dependence was  demanded,  candid  in  his 
speech  and  bold,  even  severe,  in  his  criti- 
cism of  evil  policies  and  corrupt  leader- 
ship. He  now  resides  at  290  West  Law- 
rence street,  Albany. 


SYMONDS,  Charles  S., 

Banker. 

Charles  Stanley  Symonds,  prominent  as 
financier,  State  and  city  official  and  littera- 


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.  He  is  a  director  in 
the  International  Heater  Company  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- 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  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,  1880, 
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 
oflices  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.  Burgess,  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  v^^as  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  Brick 
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  Brown, 

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  m,ember  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  afifairs  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 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


monly  befalls  when  he  came  to  grapple 
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 


others  for  Congress  in  the  year  when  the 
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  Mr.  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  Democratic  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 
humble  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., 
Iiegislator,  Scholar,  Waterivay  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  pronounced  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) ;  and  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 
ser\'ice.  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  Buffalo;  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  Buffalo.  His  clubs  are  the 
University  of  Buffalo,  the  Hobby  and  the 
Franco-American  of  New  York. 


KINNE,  E.  Olin,  M.  D., 

Physician,  Hospital  0£acial. 

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  1651,  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 


ENXYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


earlier  than  1651,  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  1769  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 
finding  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. 

Pie  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  20,  1888.  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. 

K- 

CLEMENT,  Frank  H., 

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.  Mr. 
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  county.  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- 
fined. 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. 

y^ 

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  Brighton  Cemetery.  His  death  oc- 
curred April  i8,  1863. 

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,  ^nd  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 


3CG 


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 
filled  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,  171 7.  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,  March  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,  171 1,  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  Mountain  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  claiming  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  efitect  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     and  author  and  for  many  years  associate 


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 
afifairs.  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 


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.  Clairence  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  bom  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  Mason  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, 

Iiawyer,   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 


NDEX 


ADDENDA  AND  ERRATA 


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  (mainly  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,  1909).  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  of 
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,  Adoniram  J.,  286  Marguerite  P.,  102 

John  B.,  286  Mary,  102 

Louise  M.,  287  Mary  J.  R.,  98 

Adriance  (Adrianse),  Abraham,  98  Rem,  98 

Abraham,  Jr.,  98  William  A.,  98 

Ada  F.,  100  Albro,  Edna  C,  139 

Albert,  98  Theodora,  139 

Francis  H.,  98  Thomas,  138 

Harris  E.,  98  William  C,  138 

Isaac  R.  (I.  Reynolds),  99  Zeno,  138 

John,  98  Alexander,  Alice,  339 

John  E.,  102  Anne  L.,  339 

John  P.,  97,  98  De  Alva  S.,  337 

John  P.  (2),  loi  Stanwood,  337 
377 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Andrews,  Charles  H.,  103 
Helen  G.,  105 
Minnie  M.,   104 
Robert,  103 
Robert  C,  104 
Robert  W.,  Dr.,  102,  103 

Baker,  Alexander,  368 

neta,  372 

Hugh  P.,  367,  371 

John,  368 

Joseph  S.,  371 

Joshua,  368 

Luther  A.,  370 

Ozi,  370 

Remember,  368 
Baldwin,  Evelyn,  Dr.,  317,  318 

William,  318 
Barculo,  Cornelia  A.,  63 

George,  62 

Harmanus,  62 

Seward,  61,  62 
Barnard,  Emily  B.,  36 

Frederic,  36 

Frederic,  Capt.,  34 

Joseph  F.,  Hon.,  34,  35 

Thomas,  34 
Bechtold,  Charles  B.,  263 

Henry,  263 
Belden,  Alvin  J.,  280 

Augusta,  282 

Augustus  C,  281 
Bellows,  Anna  M.,  272,  273,  274 

Edwin  P.,  275 
Benson,  Amos,  126 

Charles  A.,  126 

Elihu,  125 

Harold  A.,  Dr.,   125,   126 

Helen  I.,  127 

Isaac,  125 

Job,  125 

John,  125 
Bentley,  Alexander,  307 

Sardius  D.,  307 
Bernhard,  Adam,  303 

Frank  E.,  304 


John  A.,  303,  304 

Minnie  E.,  304 

Robert  A.,  304 
Blakely,  Almon  D.,  Dr.,  145 

David,  145 

Florence  M.,  146 

Grace  R.,  146 

Heman,  145 

John,  144,  145 

Julius  W.,  Dr.,   144,   145 
Bloss,  Celestia  A.,  367 

Ella,  367 

Joseph,  365 

Joseph  B.,  365,  366 

Mary,  366 

Mary  G.,  367 

William  C,  365 
Brayton  ancestry,   193 

Clarence  E.,  Lt.,  195 

Eli  C,  192 

Harriet  E.,   195 

Warren  C,  192,   193 
Browning,  Alfred  P.,  319 

Clarence  J.,  319 

Harriet  S.,  319 

John,  Dr.,  319 
Buckley,  Thomas  E.,  248 

William  A.,  248 
Bullock,  Jonathan,  95,  96,  97 

Richard,  95 

Samuel,  95 

Seth,  95 

Tabitha,  96,  97 
Butler,  Henry  L.,  28 

Kate,  30 

Nicholas  M.,  28 

Susanna  E.,  30 

Campbell,  Daniel,  52 

George  D.,  Hon.,  51,  52 

Henry  A.,  52 

Mildred,  55 
Cannon,  Andries   (Andrew),  76 

Ann  E.,  yj 

Arnout,  76 

Arnout,  Jr.,  76 


378 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Emily  J.,  -jl 

Howard  A.,  "]•] 

John,  76 

Pelton,  75,  TJ 

Peter,  76 
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 
Choate,  Caroline  D.,  221 

Francis,  216 

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,   161,  230 

Charles  J.,  161 

Charles  J.,  Jr.,   162 

John,  230,  231 

Joseph,  232 

Lemuel  C,  233 

M.  Belle,  162 

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,  Cornelia  F.,  60,  63 

Frederic  H.,  61 

John,  58 

Joseph  M.,  Dr.,  57,  59,  63 

Josiah,  58 

Manning,  60 

Moses,  58 

Nehemiah,  59 

Nora,  61 
Cody,  Joseph,  96 

Joseph,  Jr.,  96 

Mary,  97 
Conway,  John,  311 

Thomas  F.,  311 
Cronk    (Krankhuyt  -  Krankheyt  -  Cronk- 
hite),  Herrich,  141 

James  M.,  Dr.,  141,  142 

Martin  L.,   142 

Nellie,  143 

Samuel,  142 

Sybout  H.,  141 
Crouse,  Frances  E.,  144 

Hannah  D.,  144 

Jacob,  144 

John,  144 

John  S.,  143,  144 
Cunningham,  Benjamin  B.,  298 

Elonore,  299 

Michael,  298 
Curtice,  Ebenezer,  266 

Edgar  N.,  265,  266,  267 

Lucy  E.,  268 

Mark,  266 

DuBois,  James  F.  (J.  Fletcher),  127,  128 

Joseph,   127 

Josiah  C,  127 

Marianna,  128 
Denison,  Bessie  E.,  284 

Howard  P.,  282,  283 

Le  Roy  W.,  283 
Depew  (Dupuis),  Abraham,  23 

Chauncey  M.,  Hon.,  21,  22,  23 


379 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Chauncey  M.,  Jr.,  25 
Elise,  25 
Francois,  22 
Hendrikus  (Henry),  23 
Isaac,  23 
May,  25 
William,  22 
Dickinson,  Alfred  L.,  330 
Emma,  331 
Pomeroy  M.,  330 
Pomeroy  P.,  329,  330 

Edwards  ancestry,  252 
Amy,  253 

Daniel,  252 

Daniel  M.,  252 

Eleazer  W.,  252 
John,  252 

Josephine  A.,  253 

Oliver  M.,  251,  253 

Talmage,  251 
Elseffer,  Delia  E.,  135 

Emma,  136 

Harriet  E.,  136 

Jacob  W.,  135 

John,  135 

John  H.,  136 
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 
Everett,  Elizabeth,  87,  92 

Emily  J.,  89 


John,  87,  92 
John,  Jr.,  88 
Marvin  N.,  86,  88,  93 
Viola  De  E.,  89,  93 
Everitt,  Ada,  90 
Catherine,  90 
Walter  R.,  89 

Farmer,  Jonathan,  271 

Ruth,  272 

Seymour  M.,  271 

William  S.,  271,  272 
Fassett,  Jacob  S.,  343 

Nevrton  P.,  343 
Fish,  Grace,  72 

Hamilton   (i),  69,  70 

Hamilton  (2),  69,  71 

Hamilton   (3),  69,  72 

Jonathan,  69 

Nathan,  69 

Nicholas,  Col.,  69 

Samuel,  69 
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 
Furlong,  Anthony,  148 

Carmela,  149 

Frank  C,  Dr.,  148 
380 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Gannon,  Frances,  156 

Frank  S.,  155 

Frank  S.,  Jr.,  155,  156 

John,  155 
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 
Goff,  Clara  B.,  335 

Comfort,  333 

Frank  M.,  333,  334 

Henry  H.,  334 

Robert,  333 

Roswell,  334 

Squire,  333 
Grant,  Ada  S.,  150 

Edwin  v.,  149,   150 

William,  149 
Greene,  Alamanzo  (Amaza)  J.,  82 

Charles,  82 

Ethel,  83 

Frederick  H.,  (F.  Howell),  Dr.,  80,  83 

Ira  W.,  278 

James,  82 

John,  81,  278 

John  W.,  Dr.,  82 

Myron  W.,  278,  279 

Nancy  L.,  280 

Nathan,  278 

Rathburn,  82 

Wardwell,  82 
Guernsey,  Emmeline,  106 

Ezekiel,  Dr.,  105 

Homer  W.,   106 

John,  105 

Joseph,  105 

Louis  G.,  106 

Marianna,   106 


Raymond  G.,  106 
Stephen  G.,  105 
Stephen  G.   (2),  105 

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 
Hargather,  Mathias  J.,  Rev.,  308,  309 
Harrington,  James  T..  Dr.,  106,  107,  \og 

John,  107 

Lavina  C,  108,  109 

Lewis  W.,  107 

Robert,  106 

Stephen,  107 

Thomas  W.,  107 
Havemeyer,  Alice  A.,  230 

John  C,  222,  225 

Sarah  A.,  225 

William,  222 

William  F.,  222 
Hayt,  Catherine,  153 

John,   152 

Ralph  A.,  152,   153 

Simeon,   152 

Stephen,  152 

Walter,  152 

William  B.,  153 
Hill,  Daniel  T.,  Rev.,  211 

David  J.,  211 

Dyer,  357 

Henry  W.,  357 

Isaac,  211 

Juliet  L.,  213 
Hillis,  Annie  L.,  27 

Newell  D.,  Rev.,  26 

Richard  D.,  27 
Hobart,  Henry  L.,  284,  285 

James  T.,  284 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Margaret  J.,  286 

Marie  E.,  285 
Hoffman,  Benjamin  B.,  147 

Charles  B.,  146,  147 

Conrad,   146 

Fannie,  147 

George  C,  147 
Holmes,  Daniel,  164 

Mary  J.,  165 
Hubbell,  Charles,  372 

Leora  A.,  373 

Walter  S.,  372,  373 
Hughes,  Charles  E.,  Hon.,  3 
Hull,  Carrie  L.,  57 

Charles  A.,  57 

Charles  W.,  55 

J.  Frank,  Hon.,  55,  56 

John,  55 

John  F.,  55 

John  F.   (J.  Franklin),  57 

Joseph,  Rev.,  55 

Lucinda  R.,  57 

Ruth  C,  57 

Stanley  G.,  57 

Tedeman,  55 

Tristam,  Capt.,  55 
Hyde  ancestry,  265,  316 

Anne  P.,  265 

Charles  S.,  265 

Dana  C,  265 

Edwin,  317 

Edwin  F.,  316,  317 

Elisha  H.,  264 

Erastus,  316 

Henry  N.,  Rev.,  265 

James,  Capt.,  316 

John  S.,  264 

Marie  E.,  317 

Nelson  C,  265 

Salem,  264 

William,  316 

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 

Kingston,  George,  113 

John  G.,  113 

Marguerite  L.,  114 

Walter  W.,  112,  113 
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 
Lane,  Charles  E.,  Dr.,  131,  132 

Cornelius,  131 

Edward,   131 

George  E.,  Dr.,  132 

Gysbert,  131 

Hattie  A.,  132 

Inez  J.,  133 

Jacob,  131 

John  G.,  131 

Mathias,  131 
Lasher  (Loescher),  Conrad,  129 

George  J.,  130 


382 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Irving,  128,  130 

John  M.,  129 

Mark,  129 

May  B.,  131 

Robert  W.,  129 

Sabastian,   129 
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 

Lelia  C,  93 

Rollin,  93 
Leonard,  Alexander,  263 

Elizabeth  D.,  262 

George  A.,  262 

George  B.,  261,  262 

James,  261 

John  A.,  262 

Thomas  D.,  262 
Long^vorth,  Alice  L.,   19 

Nicholas,  19 
Low,  Abiel  A.,  5 

Annie,  7 

Seth,  5 
Lown,  Augusta,  123 

Clarence,   122 

David,  122 

David  M.,  122 

Frank  B.,   122 

Robert  B.,  122 

Mapes,  Bertha  P.,  85 

Stephen,  Dr.,  84 

Stephen  S.,  84,  85 
Marshall,  Levi  T.,  271 

Thomas,  273 
Mathews,  Florence  H.,  168 

John  A.,   167 

William  J.,   167 


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 
Miller,  Benjamin,  242 

Charles  R.,  241,  242 

Elijah,  242 

Elijah  T.,  242 

Frances  A.,  243 

John,  241,  242 

Thomas,  241,  242 
Moffit,  Aaron  C,  66 

Albert  R.,  Dr.,  66,  67 

Ella,  67 

Fred  H.,  67 

William,  66 
Morey,  Alice  R.,  255 

John  E.,  254,  255 
Morris,  Alice  A.,  182 

Dwight,   181 

Eleazer,   181 

James,   181 

Robert  C,  181,  182 

Thomas,  181 
Morton,  Anna  L.,  32 

Daniel  O.,  Rev..  30 

George,  30 

Levi  P.,  30 

Lucy,  32 
Mosher,  Howard  T.,  260,  261 

Hugh,  260 

Jacob  S.,  Dr.,  260 

Mary  J.,  261 
Munger,  Ada  M.,  245 

Estelle,  244 

George  D.,  245 

George  G.,  243,  245 

James,  243 

Nicholas,  243 

Reuben  D.,  Rev.,  243 


383 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Nesbitt,  David,  133 

Edward  J.,  Dr.,  134 

Fitz  James,  133 

Louise  J.,  134 
Nettleton,  Albert  E.,  157 

Edward,  157 
Neumann,  Florence,  49 

Theodore,  Dr.,  49 
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 

Oburg,  Bebe,  92,  94 

Elon  M.,  93 

Nina  M.,  93 

Oscar,  92,  94 

Peter,  92 

Victor  F.,  93 
Odell,  Benjamin  B.,  Hon.,  27 

Benjamin  B.,  Jr.,  27 

Estelle,  28 

Linda,  28 
Otis,  Amanda  M.,  278 

Annie  S.,   121 

Catherine,  121 

David  G.,  277 

Henry,  120 

James,  119 

John,  276 

John  C,  Dr.,  119,  120 

John  H.,  120 

John  H.,  Sr.,   121 


Louise  N.,  121 
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 
Owsley,  Charles  F.,  85 

Gertrude,  86 

Henry  F.,  Dr.,  85 

William  M..  85 

Parker,  Alton  B.,  20 

Amelia  D.,  21 

John,  20 

John  B.,  20 

Mary  L.,  21 
Patterson,  Alfred,  325 

Benjamin,  325 
Peckham  (de  Peckham),  Alva  G.,  39 

Alva  L.,  Dr.,  37,  39 

Clement,  38 

Edward,  38 

Elizabeth  H.,  41 

Giles,  38 

Giles  H.,  39 

Henry,  38 

Hugo,  Z7 

Job,  38 

John,  38 

John,  Sir,  37 

Jonathan,  38 

Margaret,  41 

Mary  W.,  40 

William,  37 

William  H.,  39,  41 
Pelletreau,  William  S.,  247 
Perkins  ancestry,  170 

Benjamin  C,  170 

Charles  L.,  170 

David,  169 

Edward  E.,  32 

Edward  R.,  34 


384 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


John,  169 

Charles  A.,  153,  154 

Jonathan  L.,  169 

Eli  W.,  153,  154 

Mary  D.,  34 

Elizabeth,  214 

Robert  P.,  i^,  170 

Ellis  H.,  213 

Thomas,  169 

Frank  A.,  155 

Timothy,   169 

Helen  A.,  155 

Pierce,  Charles  L.,  302, 

303 

John  C,  155 

Grace,  303 

Mary  A.,  155 

John  D.,  303 

Walter  C,  155 

Pilgrim,  Charles  W.,  Dr.,  47,  48 

.  Watkin,  213 

Florence  M.,  49 

Roosevelt  (Van  Roosevelt),  Alice  H 

Roe  C,  48 

Archibald,  19 

Poole,  Charles  A.,  314 

Claes  M.,  8 

Harry  O.,  313,  314 

Cornelius  Van  S.,  8 

Joseph  H.,  314 

Edith  K.,  19 

Nanette  R.,  314 

Jacobus  (James  L.),  8 

Price,  George  M.,  Dr., 

187 

Johannes,  8 

Nettie  B.,  187 

Kermit,   19 
Nicholas,  8 

Reynolds,  Clarence  J.,  : 

E17.  118 

Quintin,  19 

Dorothy,  119 

Theodore  (i),  8 

Francis,  41,  117 

Theodore  (2),  Col.,  7,  8,  9 

Harris  S.,  44 

Theodore  (3),  19 

Harryette  L.,  44 

Ryon,  Annie  I.,  112 

James,  41,  42,  117 

George  L.,  iii 

John,  41,  117 

George  P.,  in 

Louisa,  43 

Walter  G.,  Dr.,  in,  112 

Marguerite  B.,  118 

Martha,  44 

Seaman,  Ambrose,  67 

Martha  M.,  44 

Cora  U.  L.,  68 

May  L.,  43 

George,  67,  68 

Paul  I.,  118 

John,  Capt.,  67 

Peter,  41,  117 

Nathaniel,  67 

William,  42,  117 

Nelson,  68 

William  T.,  41,  43 

Samuel,  67 

William  W.,  42,  H7 

Schmeer  ancestry,  249 

Ricker,  Marcena,  Dr.,  270 

Charles  F.,  250 

Wentworth  G.,  271 

George  J.,  250 

Rill,  Adrian  L.,  199 

Henry,  249 

Lillian  G.,  200 

Henry  P.,  250 

Willard  A.,  199 

Julia,  250 

Rivenburgh,  Florence, 

138 

Philip,  249 

Jacob  N.,  137 

William  N.,  250 

John  H.,  137 

Skinner  ancestry,  209 

Willard  T.,  Dr.,  136, 

137 

Albert  M.,  211 

Roberts,  Benjamin  W., 

155 

Avery,  209 

385 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Charles  R.,  209 
Charles  R.,  Jr.,  211 
Elizabeth,  210 
Harold  B.,  211 
Smith  ancestry,  182 
Daniel,  183 
Edwin  E.,  123 
Everitt  K.,  123 
Henry,  188 
Jay  H.,  182,  184 
Jean,  185 
Mildred,  124 
Nellie  K.,  190 
Ray  B.,  187,  188 
Samuel,  183 
Scott  L.,  Dr.,  123,  124 
Silas,  183 
William  H.,  188 
William  P.,   183 
Willis,  188 
Willis  R.,  190 
Spoor,  Abraham,  79 
Helen  B.,  80 
Jacob,  79 
Jacob  J.,  79 
Jan  W.,  78 
Johannis,  78,  79 

John  J.,  79 

Lloyd  E.,  78,  80 
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,  Alvah,  289 

Augustus  H.,  289 

Charles  A.,  291 

Harriet  L.,  290 

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.  35° 
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,  Rev.,  299 
Thomas  A.,  300 
Tooke,  Charles  W.,  320 
Sarah  L.,  321 
Wesley  F.,  320 
Totten,  Elma  S.,  337 

James,  Gen.,  335 

John  R.,  Capt.,  335,  336 
Troy,  Frances  D.,  51 

Helen  T.,  51 

Matilda  A.,  51 

Peter,  50 

Peter  F.,  51 

Peter  H.,  49,  50 
Tuthill,  Cornelia  de  I.,  75 

Henry,  73 

John,  73 

Josephine  C,  75 

Robert  K.,  Dr.,  72,  74 

Samuel.  Dr.,  72,  74 

Van  Kleeck,  Albert,  109 
Baltus,  109 
Baltus  B.,  109,  III 
Frank,  109,  no 

386 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 


Peter,  109 

Peter  B.,  109 

Sarah  P.,  11 1 

Teunis,  109 
von    Tiling,    Johannes    H.    M.    A.,    Dr. 
151.  152 

Sarah  F.  R.,   152 

Wilhelm  A.,  Prof.,  152 
Vail,  Elias,  108 

Elias  C,  109 

Elias  D.,  108 

George,  108 

Gertrude  B.,  109 

Isaac,  108 

Moses,  108 

Willard  C.,  108 
Vann,  Florence,   192 

Irving  D.,  192 

Irving  G.,  190,   191 

Samuel,  190 

Samuel  R.,  191 

Walker,  Amasa,  90 

Charles  P.  B.,  Sir,  90 

Francis  A.,  91 

John,  91 

Lydia,  91 
Wallace,  Alice  H.,  348 

E.  Fuller,  345 

Josephine.  348 

William  J.,  345 
Ward  ancestry,  200 

Bryan,  200 

John  M.,  203 

Katharine  L.,  202 

Katherine  M.,  203 

Matthew  H.,  200 

Philip  R.,  202 

Thomas,  Gen.,  200 

Thomas,  Jr.,  203 
Warfield,  Alexander,  291 

Frederic  P.,  291,  292 

Lindsey  D.,  291 

Myron  F.,  292 

Richard,  291 


Weaver,  Christina,  115 
Fred  B.,  Dr.,   114,   116 
Norman,   115 

Peter  A.,  115 
Webb,  Anne  P.,  46 

Henry  W.,  45,  46 
John  G.,  44,  45 

Leila  H.,  47 

W.  Seward,  Dr.,  46 
Webster,  Edward,  352 

Florence  A.,  354 

John  B.,  354 

Roy  C,  352 

Uri,  352 
Wellman,  Abbie  D.,  93 

Barnabas,  93,  94,  96 

Barnabas,  Capt.,  93 

Charles,  93 

Pamela,  94,  96 

Thomas,  93 

William,  93 
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 
Widener,  Anna  L.,  270 

Henry,  269 

Howard  H.,  268,  269 

Kinney  A.,  269 
Wilbur    (Wildbore-Wilbor),   Daniel   W., 
Hon.,  64,  65 

Esek,  65 

Jeptha,  65 

Jeptha  S.,  65 


387 


Mary  G.,  66 
Samuel,  64,  65 
William,  65 
Williams,  Eva,  141 
H.  St.  John.,  Dr., 
James  F.,  140 
James  R,  Jr.,  140 
Justin  C,  348 
Robert,  Capt.,  348 
Sherman,  348 


ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  BIOGRAPHY 

Winkworth,  Edwin  D 
John  W.,  250 
Prudence  M.,  251 

Wood,  Electa,  151 
39>  140  James  G.,  151 

James  W.,  150,  151 

Woodburn,  Delia  R.,  258 
George,  256 
Hiram  H.,  256,  257 
Naphtali,  256 


250 


2990 


1