USA > Massachusetts > Biographical history of Massachussetts; biographies and autobiographies of the leading men in the state, 1911, vol 7 > Part 24
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JOSEPH VAN NESS
of it, and from 1890 to 1896 when the Shoe Machinery Trust Com- pany was formed his business was confined largely to the placing of advertising contracts for the multifarious kinds of machines which had part in the manufacture of boots and shoes.
One day while negotiating an advertising contract for a shoe thread concern, the idea occurred to him: "Why not establish some medium whereby the superintendents and foremen of shoe manufactories may get together, compare notes, suggest ideas, try out new plans, and thereby promote increased efficiency in the whole industry ?" This project received a great impulse when the forma- tion of the United Shoe Machinery Company, wiped out in great measure the need of shoe machinery advertising contracts.
With considerable difficulty he persuaded a friend to lend him a list of the foremen and superintendents of shoe manufactories whom he wished to reach. With this list in hand his project took the definite shape in his mind of a technical shoe trade journal which should discuss the best methods of manufacture, of factory management and of dealing with employees. It should also be an advertising medium through which dealers in all sorts of shoe man- ufacturing sundries might reach their clientele-a journal which should be put into the hands of every foreman and superintendent as well as of every owner and employer of shoe labor-a journal whose writers and contributors should be the practical men, the experts of the shoe industry. This was an entirely original idea with Mr. Van Ness-it being the first technical shoe trade paper ever pub- lished. A prospectus setting forth the aims and possibilities of the projected technical journal called forth such hearty encourage- ment from all classes interested in shoe manufacturing that Mr. Van Ness proceeded at once to plan the issue of such a periodical. The date of the first issue was October 20, 1896. In it were contribu- tions from foremen, from expert operatives and others on methods, processes and results in the shoe industry, with questions and an- swers on problems affecting the industry. The journal, named the Superintendent and Foreman, met with enthusiastic endorsement from the very first. At the end of its first year it had four times the circulation of any other journal of the leather industry in the world. It was a pronounced financial success. It was published in Eng- lish and German and reached every country on the globe where shoes are made. It earned and merited the sobriquet often given it of the "Little School Master in the Art of Shoemaking." It was an industrial journal of the highest order and increased in popularity from year to year. In August, 1899, Mr. Van Ness gathered together at Lake Sunapee the superintendents and fore- men about Boston and suggested the formation of an association
JOSEPH VAN NESS
-to be known as the Superintendents' and Foremen's Associa- tion, which was established and now is in existence throughout Amer- ica and England. Social and business plans being completed, May 4, 1904, the first meeting of the Superintendents' and Foremen's Association was held at Revere House, Boston.
Mr. Van Ness was very ambitious for his periodical and had many large things planned for it which he did not live to carry through. He was first to suggest the establishment of Technical Shoe Schools and used his journal to create interest along that line which has recently been considered by State Boards of Education. He died July 8, 1901, in the fifty-second year of his age.
October 4, 1892, Joseph Van Ness was married to Sarah, daughter of John and Eliza Powel Gittings Bowman. Her father was of Puritan stock on his mother's side and of Cavalier stock on the father's side, Francis Bowman being the first Royal Magistrate appointed by the King in 1720; her mother a direct descendant of Captain William Powell, one of the earliest settlers of Jamestown, Virginia, and member of the "First Legislative Assembly in Amer- ica," 1619.
Joseph Van Ness was a scholar, a clear thinker and writer, a suc- cessful business man. He was devoted to his ideals, faithful to every duty and obligation of life. He was no ordinary man from whatever standpoint considered. He was essentially kind and char- itable.
He aspired to no public office. In politics he was a Democrat. He helped organize the Cornell Club of New England. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity of Illinois University, of the Appalachian Mountain Club and of the Megantic Fish and Game Club. He was fond of tennis, of horseback riding and of horti- culture.
He said little about religion but his life was true. He was fond of quoting Tennyson :
"We have but faith, we cannot know, For knowledge is of things we see; And yet we trust-it comes from Thee A beam in darkness; let it grow."
He expressed his life motto thus :-
"Not happiness but duty done is the greatest good that life may bring. Even death, and whatever there may be beyond it, can bring no sweeter bliss than comes to him who is conscious of hav- ing done his duty to his fellowman."
HENRY MELVILLE WHITNEY
H ENRY MELVILLE WHITNEY was born in the town of Conway, Franklin County, Massachusetts, October 22, 1839. He inherited much of his enterprising public spirit, his intelligent capacity for business, and unusual tact for managing men and affairs, from his father, General James Scollay Whitney, who kept an old-fashioned country store, where the good people of the town met to discuss and settle the great questions of the time. These influences had much to do in shaping the career of Henry, while the beautiful character of his mother, Lucinda (Collins) Whit- ney, threw about him the charm of a happy home.
The early education of Henry M. Whitney was limited to the public schools of his native town and one year at the Williston Sem- inary, Easthampton, where he was accompanied by William C. Whitney, a younger brother, who was later Secretary of the Navy under President Cleveland. After his brief time at Williston, he went to work in his father's store and later he served as clerk in the Conway Bank for three years, and in these ways began to lay foundations for his business career. He spent two years in the Bank of Redemption, and some time as a clerk in the naval agent's office, and later in the shipping business in New York City. In 1866 he took the Boston agency of the Metropolitan Steamship Company, and became president of the company in 1879.
Mr. Whitney foresaw the magnificent possibilities of that part of Brookline which borders Boston, and, in the spring of 1886, in- vested quite extensively in land along Beacon Street in that town. He confidentially interested a number of his intimate and wealthy friends in his plans and asked them to join him. Having confidence in Mr. Whitney's integrity, wisdom, and tact, they accepted his proposition and formed the syndicate now known as the West End Land Company.
As a result of their efforts one can now see a most attractive boulevard skirted with beautiful residences and apartment houses. To bring this property into closer touch with the city, Mr. Whitney organized the West End Street Railway, running a line eight miles long out Beacon Street and connecting Brookline with Boston.
A few months after this line had been completed the subject of Street Blockades began to claim the attention of the public. At that time the following lines centered in the city: the Metropolitan, the Cambridge, the West End, the South Boston, and the Consoli- dated (Middlesex and Highland). The feeling soon prevailed that the clashing of these individual interests must come to an end. Mr. Whitney and the business men associated with him became con- vinced that consolidation was the only way out of the difficulty. Such a plan was arranged and agreed to by the various roads. At a meeting of the new corporation in September, 1887, Mr. Whitney
HENRY MELVILLE WHITNEY
attracted the interest of all concerned by his clear statement of what the new movement meant for the city and for the future. He believed that affairs could be so administered as to bring satis- faction to stockholders and employees alike, and that the comfort and happiness of the people would be conserved by the consolidation as they could not be conserved under separate corporations.
In 1887 Mr. Whitney went to Richmond, Virginia, to study the merits of the electric railway in that city which was attracting much attention. He came back impressed with the fact that electricity was the coming power and he decided to give it a trial. As a result, an electric line was opened in 1888 from Park Square in Boston to Oak Square in Brighton, a part of it being operated by an under- ground circuit and the remainder by the trolley system. The next February a line of twenty motor cars was inaugurated from Bow- doin Square, Boston, to Harvard Square, Cambridge, by the Thom- son-Houston Electric Company. This was so successful that, six months later, Mr. Whitney gave an order for six hundred additional motors.
Thus began the great electric system which the people of Boston hold in such high esteem. The leadership of Mr. Whitney was felt in a marked way all through the development of this system, but other business interests demanded his attention, and he retired from the presidency of the West End Company in September, 1893. His able management had won for him universal admiration and a large reputation. He has been president and director of the Rhode Island Coal Company, the American Asbestos Company, and the Boston and Gloucester Steamboat Company, vice-president of the Real Estate and Auction Board, and trustee of the West End Land Com- pany. He organized the New England Gas and Coke Company, now the Massachusetts Gas Company. He was a strong advocate of reciprocity with Canada.
Mr. Whitney has a look of decision and firmness, tempered with courtesy and kindness. He is outspoken in his opinions and quick in his actions. Socially he is more a good listener than a good talker, but in public he is an impressive speaker and always commands attention. He is well-known as a generous man, and not a few people to-day owe their success in life to his kind assistance in time of need.
"True to his friendships, appreciative of all efforts that tend to uplift humanity, and ever ready to assist them, he enjoys the universal respect of the community."
Mr. Whitney was married October 3, 1878, to Miss Margaret Foster Green, of Brookline, which has been their home. They have one son and four daughters. The summer home of the family is at Cohasset.
JAMES SCOLLAY WHITNEY
H IGH ideals and indomitable energy characterized the life of James Scollay Whitney. Though he was a Jacksonian Democrat and therefore belonged to what was in his time the minority party, it did not hinder the popular appreciation of Mr. Whitney's splendid qualities. He was again and again se- lected for responsible positions, and never once did he betray the trust that was imposed in him. When he organized a corpora- tion for public business it was considered a privilege to serve with him. He was a business man of the most commendable type.
Mr. Whitney was born in South Deerfield, Massachusetts, May 19, 1811, of a splendid family stock. He was a descendant of John Whitney, one of the leaders of the English Puritans who set- tled in Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1635. He was related, also, to John Whitney of Harvard, Massachusetts, a Brigadier General in the Revolutionary Army.
He was educated in the schools of his native town where his father, Stephen Whitney, was a prominent merchant and manu- facturer. He succeeded his father in business and shortly after removed to Conway, Massachusetts, where he engaged in manu- facturing. His public devotion, his enterprising spirit, and his tactful management of men and affairs made him naturally a leader among men.
He was the town clerk of Conway for nine consecutive years beginning with 1843, and gave up the position only to represent the district in the Massachusetts Legislature from 1851-1854. In 1851 he was also appointed Sheriff of Franklin County and two years later was elected to the convention that revised the State Constitution. Here he was conspicuous for his usefulness, his broad intelligence, and wide experience.
In 1854 he was appointed Superintendent of the United States Arsenal at Springfield, Massachusetts, a position that he held for six years. He was a delegate to the National Democratic Conven- tion in 1856 that nominated James Buchanan for the Presidency. In 1860 he was appointed Collector of the Port of Boston. This position he held for a year, for the Republicans soon came into power.
On his removal from the collectorship, Mr. Whitney engaged in business in Boston and soon became identified with enterprises
JAMES SCOLLAY WHITNEY
of large importance. Among these was the organization of the Metropolitan Steamship Lines with which the name of Whitney has been identified for many years. It was the first of the "out- side lines" from Boston to New York. He was also President of the Boston Water Power Company, and largely instrumental in the laying out of the Fenway and the connecting system of Parks. No matter how large his business interests were, Mr. Whit- ney always found time to be a good citizen. In 1872 he was elected to the Massachusetts Senate from the First Norfolk District. In 1876 he was chosen President of the State Democratic Convention that nominated John Quincy Adams for Governor. Two years later he presided over the Democratic Convention that met in Faneuil Hall and nominated Josiah G. Abbott for Governor. As this would indicate, he was high in the councils of his party and never failed to exercise a beneficial influence in the affairs of the State and nation.
He was married to Miss Lucinda Collins and four daughters and two sons survived him. Henry Melville Whitney's name will always he associated with the development of Boston's transportation sys- tem and other public enterprises. Hon. William C. Whitney of New York was Secretary of the Navy under President Cleveland and was a leader of the New York Democracy.
The title of Brigadier-General by which Mr. Whitney was known through most of his life was derived from his election and commission to the Brigadier-Generalship of the Second Brigade of the Massachusetts Militia when he was but twenty-four years of age.
General Whitney died in Boston, October 24, 1878, greatly be- loved and deeply mourned by his many friends.
Himself a man among men, he always won the esteem and re- gard of those, whatever their rank or distinction, with whom he came in contact. In the course of his long and busy life he met and knew many distinguished men. In his business relations he was noted for his sagacity, soundness of judgment, and courage. Few men were more interesting to meet and know. He had a wealth of reminiscence and his observations were those of a man of intellect and refinement who marked well what passed before him. His various enterprises were prosecuted without fear of fail- ure and, wherever others grew timid, his self-reliance never deserted him. He left behind him a memory of good deeds and a high char- acter.
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W.b. witry
WILLIAM COLLINS WHITNEY
W ILLIAM COLLINS WHITNEY was born in Conway, Massachusetts, July 5, 1841. He died at New York City, February 2, 1904. He was the son of Gen. James Scollay and Lucinda (Collins) Whitney. His ancestral line traces back to John Whitney, born near London, England, in 1589, who in turn was descended from worthy stock dating back nearly to the time of the Conquest. John Whitney was well educated and, after serving an apprenticeship, became in due time a member of the hon- orable Merchant Tailors' Company, and identified with the Puritans. He left England with his wife Eleanor and five sons, in 1635, and settled in Watertown, Massachusetts, where he became one of the most prominent and influential citizens. Among the many worthy descendants of John Whitney was Brigadier-General Josiah Whitney of Harvard, Massachusetts, who performed effective military service in the War of the Revolution, as well as civil serv- ice for his native State and his country.
In his childhood and youth, William Collins Whitney formed a taste for roaming in the woods of Conway and for the most se- lect reading. He had the usual tasks which fall to a boy to per- form in a home in the country. He was trained with a loving mother's care in matters moral and spiritual, and his attention was directed to the reading of history and biography, of which he was always fond. He was educated in the public schools of Conway, Williston Seminary at East Hampton, Massachusetts, and at Yale College, from which he graduated in 1863, and then studied law at Harvard in 1864. He was honored by Yale with the degree of LL.D. in 1888.
Immediately after his graduation he entered upon a most suc- cessful law practice in New York City. He entered upon his po- litical life in 1871, in organizing the Young Men's Democratic Club in New York City. In the following year he was chosen Inspector of Schools, and the county leader in the Democratic party. In 1875 he became corporation counsel for the city of New York, in which capacity he inaugurated many needed reforms, and elimi- nated many abuses. In this work he saved the city millions of dollars, besides greatly reducing expenses. These sweeping and
WILLIAM COLLINS WHITNEY
laudable reforms established a prestige for him which doubtless paved the way for his appointment in 1885 as Secretary of the Navy by President Cleveland. In this important position he was given full powers to exercise the genius for efficiency of which he was possessed. He found everything connected with the naval department at a low ebb, and greatly in need of reorganization. He addressed himself at once to this task and to the building up of a naval power able to command respect abroad. His untiring energy was such, that in the short space of four years he laid the foundation of a navy now third in the world for effectiveness. For this achievement, the name of William Collins Whitney will be immortalized in American naval annals. He retired at the close of the first Cleveland administration in 1889.
The following quotation is from a speech delivered by Senator Preston B. Plumb of Kansas, on February 12, 1889, in which he paid a deserving tribute to Mr. Whitney :
"I am glad to say in the closing hours of Mr. Whitney's ad- ministration that the affairs of his department have been well ad- ministered. They have not only been well administered in the sense that everything has been honestly and faithfully done, but there has been a stimulus given, so far as it could be done by ex- ecutive direction, to the production of the best types of ships and the highest form of manufacture, and more than all that, to the encouragement of the inventive genius of our people and to the performance of all possible work, not in navy yards, where they might be most surely made the instrument of political strength, but in private ship yards and manufactories to the effect that we have got to-day enlisted in this good work of building the Amer- ican navy, not only the Navy Department backed by Congress, but we have got the keen competition of American manufacturers and the inventive genius of all our people, so that we may not only confidently expect the best results, but great improvement each year. I am glad to say that during the past four years, the navy department has been administered in a practical, level-headed, ju- dicious way, and the result is such that I am prepared to believe and to say that within the next ten years we shall have the best navy in the world."
Mr. Whitney was a leading worker in the National Democratic Convention in 1892, and proved his fitness and skill as a politician in the successful nomination of Mr. Cleveland for the Presidency, to which office he was elected.
WILLIAM COLLINS WHITNEY
Mr. Whitney was married in 1869 to Flora Payne, daughter of Senator Henry B. Payne from Ohio. Their home in Washing- ton was one of the best appointed in the city and was a popular so- cial center.
While Mr. Whitney owed much to heredity, he was also in- debted to the influences of early environment for the shaping of his career. He began life in an ideal home, had the benefit of an academic and collegiate education, was fortunate in his early com- panionship; he was wisely guided in his private studies, and gained great advantage in his contact with notable men in active life. He made good use of his talents in every station which was given him, and bequeathed to posterity a name of which every American can well be proud.
After Mr. Whitney's death, ex-President Grover Cleveland said of him:
"As I think of him, my mind, passing beyond recent years, dwells upon the days of my association with him in high official duty, and recalls the time when I had the opportunity to enjoy his unreserved intimacy and friendly companionship.
"Our relations have never changed, but the exigencies of life have forbidden recent close intercourse.
"Mr. Whitney had more calm, forceful efficiency than any man I ever knew. In work that interested him he actually seemed to court difficulties and to find pleasure and exhilaration in overcom- ing them.
"His conquest over the obstacles he encountered in undertak- ing to build up our navy afforded him greater delight than the con- templation of the great results he achieved in his department of the government.
"His judgment was quick, clear, and astonishingly accurate, and when it was called into action his mental poise was so complete that neither passion nor irritation could lead it astray.
"While I remember all this with admiration and affection, I re- call with more tender sentiment Mr. Whitney's devotion to his friends, his extreme consideration for all with whom he came into contact, his thoughtfulness for the ease and comfort of others, his ready impulse to help those who needed help.
"I mourn the death of a friend of whom it can be truthfully said that in his character were combined mental traits of a high or- der and loving qualities of heart that linked him to his friends with hooks of steel."
GEORGE BROWNING WILBUR
T HE life of George Browning Wilbur is typical of the suc- cessful American of the early part of the last century. His father, Williams Wilbur, was a carpenter, whose marked characteristics were honesty, industry, and ambition. In those three traits lay the key to the situation. The man who possessed them was born on the 25th of November, 1791, and lived to the great age of ninety-eight years, seeing many of his ambitions real- ized in his son. He was a descendant of one Samuel Wildbore, who came with his wife from England and was made "freeman of Boston" on the fourth of March, 1634.
Williams Wilbur married Rebecca Browning, and when their son was born January 13, 1820, they gave him the name of George Browning. The family was at the time living in Hubbardston, Massachusetts. It was a rural community and the boy loved the. out-of-door life and grew sturdy and strong of body and soul in the simple, hard life of a country boy with plenty of work ex- pected from him. His schooling was of the most meagre descrip- tion, confined to a few months each year in the district school, sup- plemented by a course at a business college in later life. He learned his father's trade of carpenter.
Like most boys who go far in life, his mother was the strong influence which moulded his character, intellectually, morally, and spiritually. School, early companionship, private study, and the contact of men in active life, all contributed their share to make him strong and self reliant; a man with the power to plan largely and to get his plans carried out.
In 1859 he entered into partnership with Jonas G. Clark in the furniture business. Those were the days when California set- tlements were growing like weeds and the demands for household necessities far outstripped the supply. These men saw the op- portunity and began shipping their furniture to California where it could be sold to advantage. The profits made were enormous and the poor boy became a rich man.
At that time, the roads across the continent were few and Mr. Wilbur saw that there was great need of railroad facilities to de- velop the Southern section of the great Western country. He was willing to risk his own fortune in this new venture. Before long, he had succeeded in interesting Mr. Thomas Nickerson and other Boston men in his plan for a new, transcontinental railroad to
Bed. Ar Millar
GEORGE BROWNING WILBUR
follow the line of the old Santa Fe trail, on which Indians and settlers had for years been traversing the hot deserts of the South. The result of his labors allows many to-day to travel in luxury across the regions which took so heavy a toll of life when the trail guided the prairie schooner to California. For these men built the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fé Railroad, 1870 to 1872.
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