USA > New York > Steuben County > A history of Steuben County, New York, and its people, Vol. II > Part 45
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STEUBEN SANITARIUM, HORNELL, N. Y.
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LELLE
EL
Elvaction
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he was matriculated in the Cincinnati Medical College, from which excellent institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1876, duly receiving his well-earned degree of Doctor of Medicine. Immediately after his graduation he initiated his active practice of the profession at Arkport, Steuben county, and here he built up a large and representative patronage, gaining precedence as the ablest physician and surgeon in the county. In 1883 he pursued a post- graduate course requiring several months' work, in New York city. Thereafter he continued his practice in Arkport until 1892, when he sold his home and drug store and removed to Buffalo. After a few months' practice there he became chief of staff of Sterlingworth Sanitarium, filling this position with utmost ability for one year. In October, 1893, he went to London, England, and spent some time at the Brompton Hospital for diseases of the chest, also taking a course in bacteriology and microscopy at Kings Col- lege. Extending his travels to the continent he visited the various hospitals and the Pasteur Institute of the French capital, and then proceeded to Germany, stopping for a time at the celebrated Sani- tarium for Tuberculosis at Honiff on the Rhine. He then went to Berlin to investigate the methods of the Koch institute and to visit the hospitals of the German capital. Not being.able to get the work he desired, he went to Vienna, remaining for some months, taking special courses in medical and surgical subjects. At the meeting of the International Medical Congress held in Rome, he was made a member of that great body. Returning to the United States he toured the country from the Atlantic to the Pacific, studying its climatology in its relation to tuberculosis. In November, 1894, he was proffered and accepted the superintendency of the Steuben Sanitarium at Hornell, which position he has filled to the present time, as previously noted. There has been scarcely a year that he has not been in Europe, where he has combined medical work with pleasure, and there are but few cities on the other side of the At- lantic with which he is not familiar, particularly with their hos- pitals. Having crossed the ocean sixteen times, he feels quite as much at home in one part of the world as another, and he has introduced into the Steuben Sanitarium whatever he has found to be of benefit to suffering humanity. In the winter of 1910 he spent some time in Spain and Portugal, afterward going to Bad Nauheim, Germany, the celebrated resort for the care of those suffering from heart diseases. Here he remained some weeks studying their physi- cal and hydrotherapeutic methods, which he had introduced in his work fifteen years ago and with which he has been so successful. The Doctor does no medical or surgical work outside the Sani- tarium, excepting in consultation with his professional friends, who are many, throughout western New York and northern Pennsyl- vania.
When the Doctor assumed charge of the Steuben Sanitarium this institution boasted but one patient; now it is one of the best equipped and most admirably conducted medical and surgical insti-
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tutions in the country, filled with patients not only from different states, but from foreign countries as well. The foregoing record concerning the Doctor's studies and preparation for his profession is ample voucher of his ability and his success has been on a parity with his well-directed endeavors.
In a professional way Dr. Walker is a valued and appreciative member of the Hornell Medical and Surgical Association, of which he was at one time president; the Keuka Lake Medical and Surgical Association, of which he is also an ex-president; the Steuben County Medical Society and the New York State Medical Society; and the American Medical Association. He is also an honorary member of many other medical bodies. In the time honored Masonic fraternity he has passed through the circle of York Rite Masonry, holding membership in Steuben Chapter, No. 101, and DeMolay Com- mandery No. 22, Knights Templars, besides which he is also a member of Ismalia Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, at Buffalo.
In both politics and religion the Doctor is exceedingly liberal, but he is a firm believer in righteousness and whatever tends toward the upbuilding of society and the general welfare of the community. He is very fond of art and music and is something of a student of both. His extensive travel has given him an opportunity to enjoy much in these directions, as he is familiar with almost every part of the globe. He has never been married, except to his profession. of which he is very fond.
HENRY P. WILCOX .- One of the representative citizens and progressive business men of his native county is the present efficient and popular postmaster of the village of Cohocton, which has been his home from the time of his nativity and in which he is success- fully engaged in the lumber and produce business, the while he has served continuously as postmaster since 1900.
Henry Plato Wilcox was born in Cohocton on the 3d of June, 1870, and is a son of Albert H. and Fannie (Parmenter) Wilcox, representatives of families whose names have been prominently identified with the history of this section of the state since the pioneer days. Albert Hopkins Wilcox was born in Springwater township, Livingston county, New York, on the 9th of February, 1844, and the old homestead farm was not far distant from the Steuben county line. He was a son of David H. Wilcox, who moved to Livingston county from Homer, Cortland county, in an early day and established his home in Springwater township, where lie purchased land and where he also engaged in the operation of flour and saw mills, having also a mill at Slab City and one in Perry township. In 1850 he established his home in Cohocton, where he purchased a grist mill, which he continued to operate until 1867, besides which he also owned and operated a saw mill which he here
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established in 1856. He sold his mill properties in 1867 and his death occurred in June of the following year, when he was of venerable age. He was a man of ability and sterling character and did much to advance the civic and material prosperity of the county. He united with the Republican party at the time of its organization and he served seven terms as supervisor of his township. He wielded much influence in connection with public affairs of a local order and was a citizen to whom was ever accorded the fullest measure of confidence and regard. He was the prime factor in affecting the organization of the Cohocton Universalist church, and both he and his wife were most zealous members of the same. He was affiliated with Liberty Lodge, No. 510, Free and Accepted Masons, and also with the Cohocton lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He married Miss Delia A. Hopkins, of Spring- water township, Livingston county, and they became the parents of nine children. -
Albert H. Wilcox was a lad of six years at the time when the family moved to Cohocton, where he was reared to maturity and where he duly availed himself of the privileges afforded in the common schools. As a youth he was associated with his father's varied business activities and in 1868, when twenty-four years of age, he became manager and superintendent of the business of Thomas Warner, of Cohocton. He thus continued until 1882, in which year he removed to Kanona, this county, where he was asso- ciated with a partner in the lumber business until 1885. In 1883 he had become a member of the lumber firm of Warner, Turner & Wilcox, which conducted operations at Elmira, New York, and in Pennsylvania. In 1886 he returned to Cohocton and here engaged in the lumber, shingle and coal business, both wholesale and retail, and in addition to these interests he here became the owner of a well equipped planing mill. With these lines of business he is still actively identified and he has gained precedence as one of the most aggressive and influential business men of this part of the county, besides which he has been influential in public affairs and has an impregnable hold upon popular confidence and csteem. He is a zealous supporter of the principles and policies for which the Re- publican party stands sponsor, and in 1891-2 he served as supervisor of his township. He was a member of the first board of water commissioners of Cohocton and was its president for two years, and since 1892 he has been president of the Cohocton Dime Loan Association.
In 1864 was solemnized the marriage of Albert H. Wilcox to Miss Fannie Parmenter, who was born and reared in this state. Mr. Wilcox, of this review, has a brother and sister living: Edmund Parmenter Wilcox, who is a member of the United States navy and who is now in charge of the navy recruiting station in New York city, and Helen, who is the wife of James C. Barber, a suc- cessful contractor and builder in the city of Rochester.
To the public schools of Cohocton Henry P. Wilcox is in-
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debted for his early educational discipline, which was supplemented by a course of two terms in a business college in the city of Elmira. In 1886 he became associated with his father in the lumber, coal, produce and building-material business, and this alliance has sinee been continued, under the firm name of A. H. Wilcox & Son. He is also the owner of valuable farm property in Steuben county, besides real estate in Cohoeton.
In polities Mr. Wilcox has given an unwavering allegiance to the cause of the Republican party, and he has given effective service in the promotion of its interests in his native county. In 1900 he was appointed postmaster of Cohocton, and of this office he has since continued ineumbent. He has made many improvements in the local service and his administration has met with uniform com- mendation. Mr. Wilcox is affiliated with Liberty Lodge, No. 510, Free and Accepted Masons, and is thus a representative of the third generation of the family to be identified with this lodge, in which he has passed various official chairs. He is also a member of the Modern Woodmen of America.
Mr. Wileox married Jennie L. Allen, who was born in Avoea township, this county, on the 15th of February, 1872, and who is a daughter of William and Mary Catherine (Foults) Allen, the former of whom died on his homestead farm in Avoca township in 1876, and the latter of whom now resides in the home of her daugh- ter, Mrs. Wilcox. The father was a valiant soldier of the Union in the Civil war. Mr. and Mrs. Wilcox became the parents of three children, one of whom, Louise, died in infancy ; Allen Albert, who was born August 19, 1894, and Lester Edward, who was born October 16, 1903, are both attending the public schools.
DAVID TRAVIS DARRIN was born at Elmira, New York, July 4, 1823, and removed with his parents while still young to Barring- ton, Yates county, New York. His father, Ira Darrin, was a native of Hillsdale, Columbia county, New York. He removed to Elmira, where he was married to Margaret Knapp, daughter of Jabez Knapp, a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and resided at Chester, Orange county, New York.
Daniel Darrin, the father of Ira Darrin, was a native of New Britain, Connecticut, and served under General Putnam in the war of the Revolution. Jabez Knapp was a descendant of Nicholas Knapp, who came to America with John Winthrop in 1630 and set- tled at Watertown, Massachusetts. Daniel Darrin was a descendant of Ephraim Darrin (Darwin), residing at Gilford, Connecticut, in 1640.
David T. Darrin received his education in the country schools of Yates county and at Starkey Seminary at Eddytown, in that county. On March 26, 1848, he married Mary Jane Matthews, also a grad- uate of Starkey Seminary. In 1853 Mr. Darrin removed with his wife and son Delmar to the village of Addison, Steuben county,
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where he engaged in the manufacture of wagons continuously thereafter until his death, January 30, 1897.
From earliest boyhood Mr. Darrin was interested in all matters pertaining to religious and educational life and to the great public questions of his day. He was one of the founders of the Church of the Redeemer at Addison and served as vestryinan and warden of the church for upwards of forty-three years, and the affection and respect in which he was held by all who knew him testify con- vincingly to the sincerity and earnestness of his religious beliefs. He engaged actively in organizing the Addison Free Academy, one of the first schools organized in the state under the New Union Free School Act, and thereafter as a member of his district School Board and as a trustee of the Board of Education of the village of Addison he devoted himself earnestly and intelligently to the im- provement of the schools of the village for more than twenty-five years.
Mr. Darrin became a member of the Republican party at the time of its organization and remained a consistent and earnest sup- porter of its principles and devoted himself to its welfare through- out his life. During the Civil war he, with Josiah Curtis and Row- land Griswold, were constituted a committee to raise the quota of soldiers required to be furnished by the town of Addison. At the conclusion of their services the governor complimented them and the town of Addison by saying "that in the matter of filling his quota it certainly was the banner town of the state."
Mr. Darrin's wife died March 30, 1891. They left three sons, Delmar Matthew Darrin, David Herbert Darrin and Ira G. Darrin, sketches in regard to whom appear below.
DELMAR M. DARRIN was born in the town of Barrington, Yates county, New York, June 6, 1849, and is the son of David T. and Mary Jane (Matthews) Darrin. In 1853 the family removed to Addison, Steuben county, where Mr. Darrin received his early education and prepared for college in the then famous Addison Academy. He graduated in the first class at Cornell University, in the year 1872. At the conclusion of his college course he engaged in the study of law with Col. John W. Dininny, one of the leading lawyers of Steuben county, and was admitted to the practice of law in 1875. Since his admission to the bar Mr. Darrin has continu- ously practiced law at Addison and in the city of Corning, where since 1902 he has maintained offices in association with his son, Hugh Webster Darrin, under the firm name of Darrin & Darrin.
Mr. Darrin has always been interested in religious and educa- tional affairs. As a vestryman and warden of the Church of the Redeemer in his home town he has devoted the best of his abilities to the promotion of the welfare of the church. As a member of the Board of Education for a period of over twenty-three years, as clerk, trustee and president, and since the year 1893 as trustee of the Addison Public Library and as president of the Library
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Board, he has manifested the keenest interest in all matters relating to the educational welfare of the community. An earnest Republi- can in politics, he has throughout his life devoted himself to the promotion of its principles and welfare. For many years he served as corporation counsel of the village of Addison, and since 1901 he has been referee in bankruptcy in his district.
On June 26, 1876, Mr. Darrin married Miss Mary Hill Dawson, of Plainfield, New Jersey, a daughter of John W. Hill and adopted daughter of her uncle, Charles C. Dawson.
IRA G. DARRIN was born in the village of Addison, Steuben county, on the 5th day of August, 1858, and is a son of David T. Darrin and Mary Jane (Matthews) Darrin. In the fall of 1879 Mr. Darrin entered Columbia College Law School and was admitted to the bar December 12th of the same year.
In 1881 Mr. Darrin commenced the practice of his profession at Bolliver, Allegany county, New York, where he remained until the fall of 1884, when he removed his office to Corning, Steuben county. In 1886 he removed to the city of New York and has since continued the practice of law in that city. Mr. Darrin was elected and served a term as district attorney of Queens county, from January 1, 1906, to December 31, 1908. A Republican in politics, he has for many years taken an active interest in its welfare.
Mr. Darrin is a member of the Association of the Bar of the State of New York, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, the Queens County Bar Association and, of course, of the Steuben Society of the City of New York.
Mr. Darrin's wife was Mary S. Davies, daughter of James Davies and Angeline, his wife, of Durhamville, Oneida county, New York, to whom he was married in July, 1886.
DAVID H. DARRIN was born in the village of Addison, Steuben county, April 22, 1867, and is a son of David T. and Mary Jane (Matthews) Darrin. In 1885, at the age of eighteen years, he en- tered upon a mechanical and electrical apprenticeship at the city of Elmira, Chemung county, and later removed to the city of Buf- falo and engaged in the same line of business until 1895, at which time he removed to the city of New York and engaged in the manu- facture of elevators and automatic electrical controllers. Mr. Dar- rin has been exceptionally successful as a mechanical and electrical engineer, to which profession he devotes his entire energy. While an ardent Republican in politics, he has never engaged in the active work of the party.
Mr. Darrin is a member of the New York Electrical Society, General Society of Mechanical Engineers and Tradesmen, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and of the Engineers' Club of the city of New York. He is also a member of the Hen- drick Hudson Yacht Club.
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JUDGE ALMON WHITNEY BURRELL, of Canisteo, former district attorney of Steuben county and present county judge, is, to speak with all due conservativeness, one of the most prominent and highly esteemed of the citizens not alone of the town fortunate enough to claim his residence but also of the county in whose affairs he plays a leading role. Since his admission to the bar in 1894 he has enjoyed splendid standing as a lawyer, which eventually found unmistakable expression in his elevation to the county bench, and it has been his to serve his county and state with distinction as a public man and as a private citizen. He is a representative of old and honored families of New England, that cradle of so much of our national history, and he is descended from the same stock as some of the most admira- ble and interesting of our American heroes and patriots, notable among these being Colonel Ethan Allen.
Mr. Burrell is a native son of the state, the place of his nativity having been Angelica, Allegany county, and its date October 15, 1865. His father is Alphonse H. Burrell, lawyer and district attor- ney of Steuben county, and the maiden name of the mother was Sarah C. Allen. This worthy couple gave to the state four good citizens, Mr. Burrell having three brothers-Fred, Marshall M. and Marcellus E. It has been the pleasant fate of the family not to suf- fer disintegration, and the father and four sons all reside in Canis- teo. The mother, a woman worthy of all honor and admiration, died December 27, 1900. As mentioned in the preceding paragraph, Mr. Burrell is descended on the paternal side from the same stock as Ethan Allen, who was his great-great-grandmother's brother, while on the maternal side he comes from good, hardy American stock, his ancestors having been men of fine actions and high principles. In the subject one is reminded that, "Mental and moral capital are treasures invested for us by our forefathers. Nature takes the grandsire's ability and puts it out at compound interest for the grandson."
Alphonse H. Burrell, father of the subject, and his wife, moved to Canisteo from Angelica, Allegany county, in the latter part of 1866, and the step was an important one, for here the family resi- dence has ever since been maintained. The father is still living, in his eighty-fifth year, sound and well-preserved both mentally and physically and daily engaging in the practice of the law, to which profession he has since his youth been an ornament. Mr. Burrell was only about a year old when his parents made their change of residence. As soon as his years were sufficient he began his attend- ance in the public schools and he subsequently entered Canisteo Academy, from which institution he was gradnated with the class of 1884, when nineteen years of age. Like Oliver Twist, hungering for more, he subsequently matriculated in the Genesee Wesleyan Semi- nary, at Lima, New York, and was graduated in 1887 from its classi- cal department. He was led very naturally to take up the law from the fact that his father was a lawyer and that he helped more or. less in his office, and his first step after leaving the portals of the
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Genesee Wesleyan Seminary was to attack his Blackstone as a general attacks a hostile entrenchment, pursuing his studies in his father's office at Canisteo. He was already familiar to some extent with legal matters, for he had frequently acted in the capacity of a clerk for his father, indeed fairly growing up in an atmosphere of the law, and even as a youth having legal terms at his tongue's end. An uncle was also an active practitioner at the bar and, as in many similar cases, a fondness and predilection for the profession seems to have been inherent.
Very successful in his preparatory studies, Judge Burrell was admitted to the bar in 1894, at Buffalo, New York, and ever since that time he has been actively engaged in the practice of the law at Canisteo, where he has built up a large and loyal clientele, being associated with his father under the firm name of A. H. & A. W. Burrell. A remarkably good equipment has easily won for him high repute and professional success, and he ever meets grave ques- tions with perfect valor and incomparable ability. Inspiring the confidence of all with whom he comes in contact and what is more important, retaining it against all events, he is one to whom the community which knows him best looks as the proper incumbent of public office. His career as a public servant has been varied, for he was elected justice of the peace in 1887, while a law student. He served as village attorney of Canisteo for several years, and in November, 1900, distinctive mark of the strong hold he had gained upon popular esteem in the community was given in his election as district attorney of Steuben county, and his re-election in 1903 for a second term was in eloquent testimony of the satisfactory character of his services. He served until May 1, 1906, at which time he was appointed Steuben county judge by Governor Higgins, there being a vacancy in that office succeeding Judge William W. Clark, who had been appointed to the supreme court bench. Mr. Burrell, upon being notified of his appointment, immediately resigned as district attorney, and wiring his resignation to the governor, his appoint- inent was at- once confirmed by the senate and he entered upon his duties as judge of the county court. In the fall of 1906 Judge Burrell, having already "given a taste of his quality," was nomi- nated and elected county judge for a full term of six years from January 1, 1907, and is now serving that term, the renown of his wisdom and ability having spread far beyond the confines of Steu- ben county. He gives the best of himself to every duty and while district attorney he was frequently complimented upon the able manner in which he prepared his cases before the grand jury and at the trial court.
Politically Mr. Burrell is an ardent Republican, coming from a family which has ever endorsed that political faith. He is familiar with the articles of its faith, from his youth having poured over the pages of its history and found inspiration in all of its high traditions. In fact, he has championed Republican principles on the stump in every campaign since he became of age. He is a prac-
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tical orator schooled in the principles of platform address, rich and fluent of speech and possessing the rare ability to baptize himself in his subject and to carry bis audience with him to each climax. In addition to his many other distinctions, Judge Burrell is one of the most prominent of Steuben county Masons. He is a member of Morning Star Lodge, No. 65, F. & A. M., of Canisteo, New York; of Steuben Chapter, No. 101, R. A. M., of Hornell, New York; DeMolay Commandery, No. 22, Knights Templars, of Hornell, New York; and he is a Thirty-second degree Mason, being a member of Corning Consistory, of Corning, New York. His other fraternal relations extend to Mountain Lodge, No. 503, Independent Order of Odd Fellows; and Canisteo Tent, Knights of the Tented Maccabees. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church of Canisteo and for many years was secretary of the Sunday-school. Ever in the forefront of any movement calculated to bring benefit to the com- munity at large, he was active in the organization of the public library at Canisteo, known as the Wimodaughsien Free Library. Judge Burrell was the first president of the board of trustees, which office he still holds, having been re-elected from time to time by the Wimodaughsien Ladies' Club, whose members were the sponsors for the new library and selected its board of trustees. It was they who furnished the funds necessary for its maintenance, although a part of this responsibility has now been assumed by the village of Canisteo.
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