Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 125

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452

USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations > Part 125

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"WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 13, 1872. " Hon. Jno. F. Smyth, P. M., Albany, " I have succeeded in the passage of my bill in the House for $350,000 for a Government build- ing, the City of Albany to procure a site. ".Yours truly, "ELI PERRY."

The satisfaction of the citizens of Albany at the success of Mr. Perry's efforts was unbounded. Men of all parties sent him their warm congratula- tions, and the general sentiment was that he de- served every praise. The Albany Argus, in an editorial headed by the above dispatch, said: " Mr. Perry has certainly earned the thanks of our citizens for his energy in urging upon the attention of Congress the necessity of a Government building here. It is the first bill of the kind reported this session, and though it met with some little opposi- tion, on the ground that it was opening the door to similar appropriations for other localities, it finally passed the house without division." An- other Albany journal, in announcing the passage of the bill, said: " Mr. Perry has done in a month what all our former Congressmen failed to do for thirty years." On the 2d of June, 1874, the House of Representatives having under discussion a bill providing for the construction of the Girls' Reform School in the District of Columbia, toward which the National Government had been asked to apply the Conscience Fund, the district authorities agreeing to furnish the site, Mr. Perry delivered a speech in favor of the measure, showing in his remarks that Congress was not called upon to do more than its bounden duty in making an appro- priation for the carrying out of this measure, which was called for by every honorable and philan- thropic sentiment, and adducing as a precedent for this application of a special fund in charge of the Government, but not covered into the Treasury, the employment, for the erection of the National Soldiers' Home, of the unexpended sum (amount- ing to $118,000) of the contributions levied upon Mexican cities during the War with Mexico. Mr. Perry was a man of large business capacity, and had been prominently identified for many years with several of the most important corporations in Albany. Among these were the Albany City Bank,

549

HARMON PUMPELLY.

of which he had been a Director twenty-five years, and was, at the time of his death, Vice-President; the Albany City Savings Bank, of which he was also Vice-President; and the Mutual Insurance Company, with which he had been connected as a Director since its incorporation, and of which he was President. He was also a Director of the Al- bany Gas Company, and one of the Inspectors of the Penitentiary. He was a man of fixed principles and strongly marked character, and always identi- fied himself with the masses of the people, whose best interests he at all times warmly supported and championed. His death was universally lamented in Albany, and wherever he was known.

HARMON PUMPELLY.

The late Harmon Pumpelly was born August 1, 1795, in Salisbury, Conn. His father, John Pumpelly, was of English descent, and occupied a prominent social and business position in the State in which he lived. Mr. Pumpelly was one of four brothers, all of whom were among the most influ- ential of the early inhabitants of Owego, N. Y. Their Christian names were James, Charles, Will- iam and Harmon. The latter survived his three brothers. At the date of the settlement of his fam- ily in Owego he was only six years old. He early learned to rely upon his own resources, and with- out education, except what he gathered from a constantly interrupted reading of books, he set out in the battle of life with an equipment in which sturdy energy and indomitable perseverance more than compensated for any lack of educational train- ing. He was an omniverous reader, and from every book he read he gleaned some useful know !- edge and laid it by in memory's storehouse for future use. Among other accomplishments of a practical kind he gained a knowledge of surveying. Long before he had reached his majority he had begun to lay the foundation of that competence which he afterward amassed. Together with his brothers, he dealt in lumber and cattle, always showing great business tact, and not unfrequently clearing large sums in his transactions. Subse- quently he became the accredited agent of a lot of New York land owners, and by the sale of farm and other lands in the southern tier of New York County, still further increased his fortune. In 1841 Mr. Pumpelly removed to Albany, and resided in that city thereafter until his death. After that date he never engaged actively in business, but identified himself prominently with several well- known Albany institutions, the great prosperity of which was due in no small degree to his wise busi- ness management, clear foresight and sound coun- sel-for in business affairs he was quick, exact and always reliable. He was successful in nearly all that he undertook, and preserved all his mental facul- ties to the very last day of his life; and up to with- in a few days of his death he had always enjoyed excellent health, for he had been endowed by na- ture with a wonderfully vigorous constitution, and though always active and energetic, and capable of a vast amount of continuous mental labor, he

never permitted himself to abuse nature's gifts, but adhered to a systematic course of physical exercise. A great lover of good horses, and an accomplished equestrian, he undoubtedly prolonged his life sev- eral years by his daily habit of horseback riding. He never lost his love of books, and, notwithstand- ing his diminishing eyesight, was a constant reader until his fatal illness. He came of a family re- markable for longevity, his father and grandfather having lived to upwards of ninety years of age. He died, after only a few days' illness, September 28, 1882, in his eighty-eighth year. He was then President of three important corporations: the Al- bany Gaslight Company, the Albany Savings Bank, and the Albany Insurance Company. At a meet- ing of the Directors of the Albany Gaslight Com- pany held soon after his death, the following resolu- tions were passed:

" Resolved, That this Board learns with pro- found regret of the death of Harmon Pumpelly, who, for the last thirty-six years, has been the President of the Board and chief manager of the affairs of the company. Mr. Pumpelly was a man of marked business capacity, of excellent judgment, of stern integrity, and of great fidelity to his trust as connected with this company. The prosperity of the company is greatly due to him, and the Board feel the loss of his counsel and long experience. Mr. Pumpelly had not only the respect and confi- dence of the Board, but the friendship and person- al regard of all its members, and although his great age advised them that this event could not long be postponed, yet its coming saddens their hearts. They sympathize with his bereaved widow and the rest of his family, and feel that they have some share with them in the grief occasioned by his death.

" Resolved, That the Secretary communicate the foregoing resolution as expressive of the feelings of this Board.

"H. H. MARTIN, Vice-President. "S. W. WHITNEY, Secretary."

Similar resolutions were passed by the other cor- porations with which Mr. Pumpelly was identified. He never engaged actively in politics, but never- theless in his younger days took a lively interest in all political movements. He was originally an old-fashioned Whig, but became a Republican upon the organization of that party, and acted with it during the balance of his life. For many years he had been a communicant of St. Peter's Church, and for a considerable time before his death served that organization as Senior Warden. He was al- ways munificent in his gifts to the church. At a meeting of the vestry of St. Peter's Church to take action touching the death of Mr. Pumpelly, the fol- lowing minutes and resolutions were adopted:

"The death of Harmon Pumpelly, Senior Warden of St. Peter's Church, removes from the vestry its head. So long and so lovingly had he lived and labored among us, that his death takes him away ripe and ready for the harvest. His even temper, his great sagacity, his unyielding fidelity, and his genial manner, made him at once a wise counselor,

550

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

ALITTLE:

Av. Dr. Read

a discreet leader and a charming companion. He loved the church and contributed liberally toward its support. Though a man of strong will and positive opinion, he was broad and charitable to- ward those with whom he differed in deed or doctrine. He left us the record of a life unsullied. In character a true Christian gentleman, we shall miss him as we miss a loving brother, and we mingle our sorrow with that of the dear wife and loving children, bereaved as they are bereaved.

" Resolved, That we will attend the funeral in a body and wear the usual badge of mourning.

" Resolved, That these minutes and resolution be published in the daily papers, and a copy sent to the family of the deceased by the Rector.

"W. W. BATTERSHALL, Rector. "JOHN S. PERRY, Clerk."

Mr. Pumpelly was twice married. His first wife was Miss Delphine Drake, daughter of the late Hon. John R. Drake, by whom he had two children, Mrs. James Kidd, of Albany, and Mrs. John Meredith Read, whose husband was recently American Minister at Athens and who now resides in Paris. It was after the death of his first wife that he removed to Albany. In 1841 he married Miss Maria Brinckerhoff, of Albany. a lady be- longing to one of the oldest and most distinguished families of the State, who survives him. He had no children by his second marriage. Even in his old age he was remarkably youthful in his feelings,

and fond of having young people about himn. Socially, few men were more captivating or knew better how to entertain. About two weeks pre- vious to his death, the first symptoms of what proved to be a fatal illness made themselves man- ifest in an affection of the heart. For several days his family and friends were prepared for the in- evitable termination of his malady, and by the ministrations of affectionate devotion they did all in human power to render painless the end which they beheld approaching all too rapidly, and which came peacefully, and without a pang, amid that unconsciousness with which kindly nature often comes to the relief of flickering humanity. His funeral was largely attended at St. Peter's Church, on Sunday, October 1, 1882. His lot was

" An old age serene and bright And lovely as a Lapland night."

MATTHEW H. READ.

The late Matthew H. Read was born in New Haven, Conn., on the zd of September, 1804. His father was Matthew Read, son of Matthew Read, of Attlebero, Conn .; his mother, Lydia Hotchkiss, daughter of Silas Hotchkiss, of New Haven. His early education was limited, and he began his active business life as a clerk in the store of his father in New Haven, developing into a hard-working, faithful and sagacious business man. Until 1840, when he removed to Albany, he was a

551

HON. JOHN TWEDDLE.

resident of New Haven, and was more or less prom- inently connected with various important interests in that city, He was a Lieutenant, and, dating from May, 1832, ranked as Captain in the Gov- ernor's Foot Guards, and was honorably discharged from service in 1833.

Upon taking up his residence in Albany, he em- barked in the flour and grain commission trade. Once established, he bent his energies to the task, which he successfully accomplished, of making the business one of the most extensive of its kind in the country. His New England acquaintance served him so well, that he was a large shipper to Eastern ports; owned a line of schooners; and at one time supplied almost the whole of New Eng- land through his house.

The business was at one time carried on under the firm name and style of Read & Rawls, and later under that of Matthew H. Read & Son, Mr. Read's eldest son, Robert, having been taken into partnership on the retirement of Mr. Rawls.

Mr. Read served as President of the Board of Trade of the City of Albany, and was interested in the leading financial corporations of the city. In- deed, of some of them he was one of the originators and incorporators. He was one of the incorpora- tors of the First National Bank, and at the time of his death had been its President during a period of fourteen years. He was an incorporator and one of the Trustees of the National Savings Bank, and he was also one of the organizers and directors of the Commerce Insurance Company, and a member of the executive committee of that corporation.

About twenty-five years ago, having amassed a comfortable competence, and being desirous of spending his remaining years in the peaceful retire- ment of his home, he withdrew permanently from commerce and was retired from business, except as the corporations named claimed his counsel and advice from time to time. In religion he was a Congregationalist, and in politics a Republican. But he was as unostentatious in the one as in the other. Political life had no charm for him. His mind was of too quiet a mold for active partisan- ship, but his interest in the prominent issues of the day was keen and intelligent. He was married early in life, and a family, consisting of his wife, his sons, Robert, William, Matthew and Daniel P., and three daughters, survive him. His death occurred September 7, 1883, at his residence, No. 60 Willett street.

HON. JOHN TWEDDLE.

There are monuments more enduring than mar- ble, which are seen and known of all men, and whose inscriptions are intuitively realized, not read. Such monuments are reared by men who pass busy, useful and blameless lives-lives whose imprint is upon the communities in which they live, and whose influence shall be recognized long after shaft of granite shall have crumbled away to fade from view, no more to mark the resting-place of a man that has lived and died. Such a monument was built up unconsciously and unosentationsly by the late

John Tweddle, whose death was a public bereave- ment, and whose memory has grown bright through an interval of nearly a decade since he passed from earth to be seen no more of men.

Mr. Tweddle was born at Temple Sowerby, County of Westmoreland, England, February 14, 1798, and died in Albany, March 9, 1875, in his seventy-eighth year. Orphaned by the death of his father when he was only nine years old, he was early thrown on his own resources, and while yet a mere lad entered earnestly upon the stern battle of life. He became an apprentice to a wheelwright in Carlisle, County of Cumberland, England, where the remnant of his father's family then lived, his mother having remar- ried. He was employed at his trade, which yielded him but a meager living in his native land, until he had grown to manhood. As he approached his majority, the determination grew stronger and stronger within him to seek greater prosperity in America. He was without means, but was enabled to realize his desire by the loan of {20, which he secured from his step-father. It will be interesting to note here that this was the only borrowed money he handled during his whole life, and was repaid with interest out of his first earnings in the United States.

An ocean voyage was then (1819) a more serious matter than now. Seven weeks were consumed in the passage. Young Tweddle disembarked at Phil- adelphia, which was then a much more formidable rival of New York than it has been during the last third of a century. No opening presenting itself to him there, he soon went to West Chester, Pa., with the intention of securing work at his trade as a journeyman.

The advantages of opening a wheelwright shop on his own account were manifest to him, and the opportunity was not wanting. He was soon estab- lished in business on a limited scale, though his establishment comprehended a forge and he had a blacksmith in his employ. He prospered, and after a time found himself in possession of a limited capital.

A brewery was for sale in West Chester on ad- vantageous terms, and he concluded to buy it and change his business for another promising larger and more rapid profits. The young man's self- reliance was now strikingly illustrated. He was not a brewer. He knew nothing of the craft, but he bought the brewery and learned the trade in it under the tutelage of his own employees. He be- came master of it; but before that was foreman of the brewery, perfecting his skill as a brewer, and at the same time protecting his interests as propri- etor by a judicious oversight of his entire business. He made money quite rapidly for a time, and counted himself worth $20,000 at least. But West Chester was not destined to be the scene of his fi- nancial triumphs. Reverses came, and everything was swept away. Its brewing interests had then made the City of Albany well known to the entire fraternity of brewers. Thither John Tweddle turned his steps, with the hope of retrieving his broken fortunes. It will be a surprise to many

552

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

Ins. Fredille

who read this, to learn that he came to Albany $7,000 in debt, though with sufficient ready funds to begin business on a limited scale; but, placing dependence on his good health as much as any- thing, he started upon a career which placed his name upon the list of Albany's most persevering and successful business men. In 1847 he rented the malt-house of John Taylor, and thus launched propitiously upon the broad, uncertain sea of enter- prise. His business qualifications were of a high order, circumstances were not unfavorable, and he succeeded where other men failed. His success was all the more remarkable, in that it was not marred by losses, for every year during his connec- tion with the brewing interest he realized a profit; sometimes it was small, but it was always a balance on the right side. His business assumed such proportions, that for years he had two large malt- houses in Albany and two in New York.

As a citizen, the influence of Mr. Tweddle was widely felt. He was for many years actively and intimately connected with the commercial interests of Albany. A man of spotless personal integrity, he was singularly faithful in the discharge of cor- porate trusts. From the date of the organization of the Merchants' Bank in 1853, until his death twenty-two years later, he was its President, and its success was in no small degree attributable to his sagacity, integrity, energy and admirable manage-

ment. He occupied prominent positions in va- rious civic organizations. As President of St. George's Society, he retained a strong bond of sympathy with all resident citizens of English na- tivity, and by his example and counsel aided them to freely and fully enter into the spirit of all good American institutions. He was also one of the original, and later one of the most active and in- fluential, members of the Albany Board of Trade, and through his connection therewith, his counsels were made effective upon the commercial pros- perity of the city.

In various parts of the city are many visible and tangible evidences of Mr. Tweddle's enterprise and liberality, and, above all, of his love for Albany and its people. The Tweddle chimes of St. Peter's Church recall his name to nearly a hundred thou- sand citizens, though they were the gifts, after his death, of members of his family. The massive tower from which their voices issue forth, stands as an en- during memento of his beneficence. Tweddle Hall was long the most convenient and accessible as- sembling place of Albanians, and on its site now stands the Tweddle Building, the most sightly, beautiful, commodious and elegantly-finished busi- ness structure in Albany.

In his social and domestic relations, Mr. Twed- dle was conspicuous for his urbanity of manner and his devotion to his friends. His confidence, per-

Adam Yan Cellen

553

HON. ADAM VAN ALLEN.

haps not easily won, was rarely alienated or shaken when once secured. He was kind and affectionate as a husband and father, genial as a friend and as- sociate, and always safe as a counselor. The foundation of his worldly success was his unques- tioned and unquestionable purity of character. He took no active part in politics, but he was firmly grounded in the principles of the faith of the Re- publican party. Only once was his name publicly mentioned in connection with any official position. That was in 1864, when he was chosen a Presiden- tial elector, and thus became one of those who placed the lamented Lincoln in the Presidential chair for his second, short, and fatal term of service. During the rebellion he was a liberal giver in support of the Union cause, and was interested in every question the solution of which, through peaceful discussion or the arbitrament of the battle- field, promised weal or woe to our country. He was three times married: first to Sarah Dent, of Carlisle, England; second to Clara Maria Pulling, daughter of Dr. Pulling, of Amsterdam, N. Y .; and third to Miss Frances M. Warren, a descendant of the old and patriotic Warren family, of New Eng- land. His widow and six children survive him.

Mr. Tweddle's benevolence is a subject which deserves more extended treatment than can be given it. In fact it seems to be impossible to do it sim- ple justice. It was too unostentatious to be known of all men to anything like the half of its bountiful extent. The few public benefactions he made were regarded by him with less of satisfaction than the many private ones, which proved him a friend indeed to the poor and deserving. His spirit was an essentially liberal and helpful one, and the in- stances in which he aided his fellow-men to help themselves were almost numberless.

Speaking of the "tower, and the chimes which give it voice," of St. Peter's Church, the Rector, Rev. W. W. Battershall, has beautifully said: “I wish here, however, in behalf of the parish, to ex- press our appreciation of the munificence which has secured the long-delayed completion of this beautiful House of God. It is an illustrious exam- ple of the reproductive power of a good deed. I know not whether John Tweddle expected that his dying gift would bear such instantaneous and gen- erous fruitage. I know, however, that it was thor- oughly characteristic of the man, thoroughly in accord with his habit of broad and unselfish good- doing, to make those whom he loved sharers in his deeds of benevolence. And I to-day cannot resist the impulse to utter for you, and as your voice, our gratitude to Almighty God that, simultaneous with the walls of our Sunday School and Parish Build- ing, shall arise the majestic proportions of that tower which shall crown this edifice with a coronet of blossoming stone, and shall stand beside this broad avenue of traffic and politics through the fu- ture years as a tribute to the glory of Christ and the memorial of one who loved this church, and who for many years of a worthy life worshiped at its altar. "

Of the congregation of St. Peter's, Mr. Tweddle had for many years been a member, and during

most of the time he had served the parish as Ves- tryman, and latterly as Warden. He had formerly been actively connected with St. Paul's Church when its place of worship was in the building on South Pearl street, where the Opera House now stands. His death cast a gloom over the entire congregation of St. Peter's, and the large circle of his acquaintances, both in social and business life, lost a friend who had ever been true and trust- worthy. He had lived a good, pure and useful life-a life which had made his fellow-men better for his existence-and he died, past the allotted age, as die those who pass into eternity full of trust in the promises of the Saviour of the world.

HON. ADAM VAN ALLEN.

Among the oldest and most highly respected families of Albany County are those of Van Allen and Winne, both of that Dutch stock of New York which has furnished the most conspicuous exam- ples, in successive generations, of all those qualities which constitute true manhood and insure success- ful careers to their possessors. The first of the family of Van Allen in America came from Hol- land about 1640, and located in New Scotland, Albany County. There Garret W. Van Allen was born August 1, 1790, and died May 13, 1851. His wife, Hannah Winne, was born October 20, 1793, and died March 8, 1874.

Adam Van Allen, one of the sons of Garret W. and Hannah (Winne) Van Allen, was born in New Scotland September, 20, 1813, and died in Al- bany August 11, 1884. Born and reared on his father's farm, he early acquired those principles which combined to render him very successful in a business life upon which he entered, poor and friendless, at a very early age, after a very meager schooling, under the tutelage of Harman Van Huy- sen, in one of the earlier public schools of his native town-a schooling which terminated when he was only twelve years old. The succeeding six months he passed at Athens, Greene County, where he was an inmate of the household of his uncle, Peter Winne. Returning to Albany County, he secured employment as a clerk in the store of George Crawford, at the southwest corner of South Pearl street and Lydius street (now Madison avenue), Albany, where he remained three years, at $60 per annum. During this time he had demonstrated his fine natural aptitude for business, and, incred- ible as it may appear, saved a small sum of money from his scanty earnings. Mr. Crawford now ad- mitted him to a partnership in the business, which existed four years when Mr. Van Allen desiring to withdraw, sold his interest to his former employer for $500. In May, 1835, he opened a dry goods store at the corner of South Pearl street and Hud- son avenue. In 1837 he took his brother, Conrad Van Allen, as an assistant, and subsequently as a partner; and after four years' successful trade, sold the business to him outright, retiring permanently from mercantile life.

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Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 125

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co. Number of Pages: 1452

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452