Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 137

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 137

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Samuel Lyman Munson attended the district school of liis neighborhood, assisting, betimes, in the farm work, until, at the age of twelve, he was sent to Williston Seminary, at East Hampton, Mass., where he was a student during the succeed- ing three years. At the age of fifteen he entered a large dry goods house in Boston, where, during the next two years, he learned the elements of business and placed himself in the way of substantial ab- vancement; but his health, never robust, failed perceptibly during his confinement, and, obliged to relinquish his position on that account, he re- turned home and resumed his old, health-giving farm life. Thus passed a year greatly to his phys- ical benefit. He then engaged himself to Messrs. Wick & Strong, manufacturers of clothing, in Al- bany, to undertake the development of their busi- ness in the West. Four years later, in 1867, with Messrs. J. A. Richardson and L. R. Dwight, two young men of Albany, he embarked in the manu- facture of linen collars. Without experience, and with limited means, the partners did not make the venture a success, and they severed their relations at the expiration of two years, when Mr. Munson reorganized the business and continued it alone. Its history has been one of constant growth and uniform success. Its requirements having neces- sitated frequent removals to larger and still larger quarters; in 1884, foreseeing that for the same reason another removal would soon be necessary, Mr. Munson purchased the old Hudson avenue Church, which he will remodel into an immense factory, where will be located permanently an es- tablishment which, beginning a few years ago with only two sewing machines, now numbers its em- ployees by hundreds, and distributes its wares through the trade in nearly every town from Boston to San Francisco.

607

MANUFACTURING INTERESTS OF ALBANY.

In 1868, Mr. Munson married Susan B., daugh- ter of Lemuel J. Hopkins, of Albany, and has three sons and two daughters. Retiring in his habits, and spending among his books most of the time not necessarily devoted to his large and in- creasing business, he yet takes a lively interest in public affairs, and is identified with the principal literary, Masonic, athletic, and social organizations of the city. He is also a Trustee of the Home Savings Bank. Yet a comparatively young man, and endowed with business ability of an uncom- mon order, and possessing the confidence of the commercial community in a marked degree; full of energy and perseverance; he seems destined to achieve very high rank among the business men and manufacturers of the capital city.

STEAM DYEING AND SCOURING.

The application of aniline dyes twenty-five years ago to dyeing processes, marked an important era. Previous to this time, coloring matter was expen- sive, and not so easily applied as those now in universal usc.

The oldest dye-works for the cleansing and dye- ing of fabrics, etc., in this city, is the one now owned by Messrs. Robert F. and William D. Mac- farlane, 24 Norton street, who have branches at 80 Hudson avenue and 40 Orange street. This was founded, in 1830, by Robert Martin at No. 20 of the same street. He was succeeded in 1840 by William Giffen, who conducted the business for ten years, when Peter Leddy became owner, and continued as such until 1855, the year of his death. His widow, Elizabeth, then assumed control, sell- ing out, in 1864, to Robert Macfarlane, the father of the present proprietors.

Robert Macfarlane died in Brooklyn, December 21, 1883, from paralysis. He was born in Ruther- glen, near Glasgow, Scotland, on St. George's Day, 1815. Having learned the art of dyeing at his father's establishment in Paisley, Scotland, he came to America when a boy, and settled in Albany in 1840. He was a close student and graceful writer. In 1842 he gained the Young Men's Association prize medal for his excellent essay on the Life and Character of General Anthony Wayne. He first became known as a writer for the press in a series of articles on scientific subjects contained in a magazine called the Mechanics' Mirror, published, in partnership with the late Joel Munsell, in 1846. In 1847 he was called to the editorial chair of the Scientific American in New York, and was con- nected with that paper for seventeen years, during which time it acquired a world-wide reputation for ability and accuracy. During this time he was much sought as a lecturer on scientific subjects. He published a work on the steam engine, and a hand-book for dyers and practical chemists, both of which passed through many editions. About twenty-five years ago he returned to Albany, and bought out a dyeing establishment, which is under his name at the present time, though for the last twelve years his sons, Robert F. and William D. Macfarlane, have had entire charge of the busi-

ness. His life was eminently pure and free from reproach. Retiring from active business about twelve years ago, he revisited his native land, and while there contributed a series of interesting let- ters, which were published in the Scottish Ameri- can Journal, attracting much attention.

Mr. Macfarlane was a member of the Albany Institute for many years, and President of the St. Andrew's Society of Albany. He was a consistent Christian man, of a gentle and noble spirit, for over fifty years a member of the Presbyterian Church and Sabbath-school Teacher and Superin- tendent.

William Giffen was one of the pioneers in this business in Albany, upwards of 60 years ago. He ·became eminently successful in it for a number of years, and retired after having accumulated a com- petency. He was succeeded by his daughter, Mrs. John McDuffie. She has a thorough practical knowledge of the business in its most minute de- tails, and has been very successful financially. She still conducts the business, as owner and proprie- tress, at 37 Beaver street. Her trade is rapidly in- creasing, and she has a number of branch offices in this city and the adjoining counties. Mrs. McDuffie originally introduced steam-power in the dyeing and scouring business.

LUMBER. GILBERT HUNTER

was born in Pittstown, Rensselaer County, N. Y., October 20, 1818. His parents, Robert and Ziptha Anderson Hunter, were both of Scotch descent, and among the earliest settlers of the northern part of Rensselaer County, having removed from Westchester County soon after the close of the Rev- olution.

His childhood and youth were spent upon the family homestead, near which place, in Millertown, N. Y., he subsequently learned the trade of car- riage-making. When about 21 years of age he re- moved to Valley Falls, and began on his own ac- count the business of manufacturing carriages and sleighs. He followed this business for about eight years, then abandoned it and removed to Albany, which, during the remainder of his life, with but one or two interruptions, was his residence.

His first venture at Albany was in connection with an important contract on the Hudson River Railroad, then being constructed from Albany to New York. He was subsequently engaged in the manufacture of lumber at Potsdam, St. Lawrence County ; also in Oneida County; and, lastly, at Jacksonville, Fla., where, in the years 1876 and 1877, in company with his eldest son, Dexter Hunter, he established the extensive saw-mill busi- ness to which the latter succeeded after his death.

In the year 1865 he began the lumber trade in Albany, and in company with Mr. Dexter Hunter continued this business until his death, which oc- curred at Jacksonville, Fla., June 29, 1881, at 63 years of age. Mr. Hunter was thrice married, and there survives him his widow, Mrs. Josephine R.

608

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

Hunter, four sons, Dexter, Gilbert, Paul, and Royal Hunter. He had three brothers, John, Robert, and Harvey Hunter, the last named being the only one surviving him, and who is now engaged in the lumber trade at Albany. Early in life Mr. Hunter connected himself with the Methodist Church at Valley Falls, and throughout the period of his residence in that village contributed to the utmost of his ability, in time and money, to the support of that organization. Upon removing to Albany he united with the Hudson Avenue Methodist Church. About the year 1866 he severed his con- nection with this church, and united with the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Albany. This re- lationship continued until his death. In business Mr. Hunter was a thoroughly honest, straightfor- ward man, of more than ordinary foresight and enterprise. He did not follow in the wake of other men, but originated almost every business venture with which he was ever connected. Striking boldly out in paths not trodden by others, with a faith that never wavered and a courage that never failed, no matter how unpropitious the outlook, he carried most of his enterprises to a successful issue. Em- ploying, as he did in the last years of his life, several hundred men of different nationalities and almost every grade, from the skilled mechanic to the humblest day laborer, he made it a rule to ac- quaint himself personally with every employee. And while, on the one hand, exacting the most faithful service from each, on the other, he took a personal interest in the welfare of all, giving them kindly advice and substantial assistance in every time of need. By his men he was universally respected; and the most touching tributes that have since his death been contributed to his mem- ory were, in notable instances, those uttered by these employees.

In all social relations Mr. Hunter was all that any man could be. A kind husband and father, and absolutely true to every requirement of social life, he was possessed of a generous nature, a sanguine temperament, and a modest and retiring disposition.

While he preferred the seclusion of his own home to the allurements of public life, he never failed to take an active interest in all matters of public con- cern, or to cast his vote and exert his influence as his conscience dictated; or to aid, to the extent of his means, every worthy charity.

Throughout his life his physical strength and mental faculties were absorbed in the successful prosecution of his business. His religion was to him the symbol and ideal of all that was sacred, pure and true, while his family always held the first place in his heart, as the place of all others where piety and every virtue should manifest themselves.

According to the census retur: s of 1860, there were in the county 594 manufacturing establish- ments, with an aggregate capital of $9,534,079, which employed 8,032 males and 3,671 females, and produced a value of $16,585,025 annually. This, however, included the large cotton and woolen mills and hosiery and other factories of

Watervliet and Cohoes. Deducting them, it would leave for the City of Albany 337 establishments, with an aggregate capital of $5,501, 119, employing 4,084 males and 2,516 females, and producing a value of $9, 586, 314 annually.

The principal manufacturers, as shown by the census of 1860, are given below. This statement is only approximately correct on account of errors in census taking :

MANUFACTURES.

No. of

Establishments.

Capital.

Male Hands.

Female Hands.

Value of

Products.

Agricultural Implements.

$85,000

102

$214,060

Alcohol

260,000

€o

950,000

Bricks

127,500

202

106,600

Brooms

22,300

159

57,664

Cabinet-ware, Chairs and Bed- steads.

243,250

287

363,050

Carriages

97,400

222

211,740

Cigars

67,200

200

221,008

Clothing

326,500

459

855

713,912

Coffee and Spice Mills.

40,000

51,500

Cotton Goods.

1,400,800

612

940

1,937,500

Drain Tile

26,000

35,000

Edge Tools

231,000

320

269,200

Fire-brick.

50,000

Flour aod Meal

357,700

823,170

Hats.

73,000

281,200

Hosiery.

802,000

365

1,295

I,C99,905

Iron-founding.

20,000

44,900

Leather.

40,700

65,611

Linseed Oil.

40,000

70,000

Machinery and Steam Engines .. Malting

510,300

561,000

Paper

62,000

5,300

76, 100

Pianos

120,450

152

126,400

Planed Lumber.

140,000

237

861,075

Saddlery and Harness

30,100

83,700

Soap and Candles

32,800

110,485

Stove Founding.

1,013,000

840

1,038,700

Woolen Goods and Hosiery.

964,000

582

1,421

1,515,180

641,000

24I

804,211

Malt Liquors

175,000

182

205,200

67,494

Patent Medicines.

According to the census of 1880, the employ- ment of a portion of the inhabitants of Albany was as follows : Apprentices, 266; bakers, 352; bankers and brokers, 105; barbers, 207; black- smiths, 370; boarding-house keepers, 52; book- binders, 136; boot and shoe-makers, 1, 217; brewers and maltsters, 208; brick-makers, 82; butchers, 323; cabinet-makers, 195; carpenters, 1, 127; carriage and car-makers, 101; cigar-makers, 424; clerks and book-keepers in manufactories, 62; clerks in stores, 2,362; clerks and copyists, 171; clergymen, 94; commercial travelers, ped- dlers, etc., 547; coopers, 113; cotton and wool mill operatives, 16; dentists, 22; domestics, 2,993; draymen and hackmen, 731; employees in manu- factories not specified, 216; engineers and fire- men, 337; factory operatives not specified, 40; farmers, 67; farm laborers, 74; fish and oystermen, 6; gardeners, 176; Government officials, 441; harness-makers, 95; hotel and restaurant keepers and employees, 441; in express companies, 51; in railroad companies, 750; iron and steel, 932; insurance, 111; jewelers, 84; journalists, 61; laborers, 4, 130; laundry employees, 258; lawyers, 211; leather, 79; livery-stable keepers and em- ployees, 129; lumbermen, 9; machinists, 383; masons and stone-cutters, 965; manufacturers,

billet. Hunter

COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.

609

266; millers, 12; miners, 2; musicians and music- teachers, 148; on street railroads, 39; painters, 553; paper-mill operatives, 101; physicians, 181; plumbers and gas-fitters, 153; printers, 513; saloon keepers, 434; saw-mill operatives, 39; ship carpen.

ters, 31; steamboats, canals, etc., 204; stock raisers and drovers, 20; tailors, dressmakers and milliners, 2,003; telegraph companies, 85; teachers, 448; traders and dealers, 1,889; tinners, 142; and wheelwrights, 29.

COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.

T `HE interests of the industries of Agriculture, Manufactures and Trade are too closely com- mingled in practical life to admit of well-defined separation. Production calls for consumption; consumption calls for production. The trader is the agent for both the producer and consumer. They are all mutually related. Often the same parties produce and sell and consume. All over-produc- tion beyond the wants of the consumer goes to the trader to exchange or to sell. In a city like Albany there are few tradesmen who confine themselves to one class of goods, and few makers who do not trade with any buyer who is ready to purchase. Hence the difficulty of making our classification a sharp one. We endeavor to transmit, on the historic page, the names of the chief men in manufactures and trade, so far as we can, in our limited time and space, gather them. They have done much to make our city what it is, and their names should live and be held in honor.

Previous to the Revolution, the trade of Albany consisted principally in furs. The extent, character and value of this trade have been described under the head of "The Beaver and the Fur Trade." It remains to give a general idea of the commercial interests of the city from that date to the present.

About 1780, adventurers, led by hopes of wealth, began to flock to this natural entrepot of trade. Up to this date the trade of Albany had been restricted by the illiberal policy of the Dutch, who looked with jealous eyes upon all progressive foreigners. At the outbreak of hostilities between this country and England, enterprising residents were quick to see the advantages which the place afforded for supplying the American armies with provisions; and during the Revolution they took advantage of this trade, which grew to immense proportions and more than compensated for the loss of the fur trade. In winter the farmers of the surrounding regions brought their grain to the city and sold it to the merchants. During this period Albany grew to be a large grain center, from which a good share of the provisions used by the Ameri- can army were received. After the close of the war, immense houses for storing grain were built, in which it was stored until the opening of navigation in the spring, when it was transported to New York.

The best idea of the extent of the commerce of Albany from 1780 to 1800, is gained from the observation of intelligent writers at this date.

"About 1781," says a local writer, "not more than seventy, at the utmost calculation, shops and stores were kept in this city, nor had we manufactories of any kind, but depended on im- portation for every manufactured article." And to show the rapid increase in trade seven or eight years after, he says. "Now we behold Market and State streets crowded with stores, and rents in those streets enhanced to such a degree as to put houses out of the reach of inconsiderable traders." In- deed, for ten or fifteen years after the Revolution, Albany made rapid strides in its commercial af- fairs, and perhaps, according to the population of the city, made more real progress than at any one period of its history. February 8, 1794, was a not- able day for trade. The Gazette of that day says: "On a moderate estimate, it is presumed the pur- chases and sales of produce and merchandise ex- ceeded $50,000. Of the article of wheat, between 25 and 30,000 bushels were brought to this mar- ket; a quantity far exceeding the receipts of any one day since the settlement of this country. The price of wheat rose during the day from 7s. 7d. to 8s., or the highest price between this and the first of March. The last mode of purchase is truly novel and must be convincing to the farmer that the merchants of this city are too independent to form combinations."

Count Liancourt, who visited Albany in 1795, says in regard to trade : "The trade of Albany is chiefly carried on with the produce of the Mohawk country, and extends eastward as far as agriculture and cultivated lands expand. The State of Ver- mont and a part of New Hampshire furnish many articles of trade, and the exports chiefly consist in timber and lumber of every sort and description, potatoes, potash and pearl ashes, all species of grain, lastly, in manufactured articles. These articles are most of them transported to Albany in winter on sledges, housed by the merchants, and by them successively transmitted to New York, where they are either sold for bills on England or exchanged for English goods, which are in return sent from Albany to the provinces, whence the articles for transportation were drawn. *

* The trade of Albany is carried on in ninety vessels, forty-five of which belong to the inhabitants of the town, and the rest to New York or other places."

At this time no Albany ships went directly from this port to Europe, and yet provisions were sent thither from Albany. Liancourt marveled at this

610

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

lack of enterprise on the part of Albany ship- owners, which deprived the merchants of Albany of a considerable profit, and threw it into the hands of the New York ship-owners, who made voyages to England, Holland, and other countries.

In the winter of 1795, the tide of emigration to- ward the western part of the State, through Albany, reached proportions of considerable magnitude, and furnished no small revenue to the city. In one day a citizen of Albany counted five hundred sleighs laden with families of emigrants and their family goods, going through the city.

Albany contained in 1796 one hundred and thirty one stores- almost double the number sixteen years previously - and sixty-eight store- houses.

During the War of 1812, Albany was one of the principal places from which Government supplies were obtained for the army. The transportation of these goods from Albany to Buffalo costs from $20.00 to $30.00 per ton. It was estimated that 9,000 tons were shipped from this port alone, the profits upon which were enjoyed almost entirely by Albany merchants and shippers.

Spafford's Gazetteer for 1813, makes this note as to trade in Albany : "Situated on one of the finest rivers in the world, at a distance of two hundred miles from the ocean, whose tide it enjoys; with an uninterupted sloop navigation; and in the center of an extensive and fertile country, of which it be- comes the natural mart, Albany carries on an immense trade already, and seems destined to be- come one of the greatest inland towns in America. * *

* Of the shipping belonging to Albany I am not precisely informed, but, agreeable to informa- tion derived from the dock-master, there are fifty Albany sloops that pay wharfage by the year ; sixty belonging to Troy, Lansingburgh and Waterford; twenty-six from Tarrytown and New York; seventy from New Jersey and the Eastern states, including twenty schooners, in all two hundred and six; and about one hundred and fifty from different places have paid wharfage by the day, being engaged in different kinds of trade, during the season of 1812, making a total of three hundred and fifty-six. The quantity of wheat purchased annually in Albany is immensely great; and good judges have estima- ted it at near a million bushels. Other grain, and every article of the agricultural and other common products, nearly in the same proportion, swell the aggregate exports from this city to an enormous amount."

At this date the great road of intercourse be- tween the Eastern States and the Western Country centered at Albany. More teams visited Albany than any other place in the country. This na- turally had an important effect upon its trade. In 1826 it was claimed that 150,000 travelers passed through Albany. In 1822 the construction of the Erie Canal being then in rapid progress to com- pletion, the freight by land carriage between Utica and Albany was greatly increased. It is said that one mercantile house paid upwards of $2, 000 for a single day's transportation. A traveler passing west had the curiosity to count the number of

wagons which he met on the road between Sche- nectady and Utica, and found them to exceed 350 loaded with flour, from 12 to 14 barrels each, mak- ing the quantity transported by land in one day to exceed 4,300 barrels. The quantity transported by water was supposed to be still greater.

The completion of the canal had a wonderful effect upon the commercial welfare of the city, con- trary to the opinion of many unprogressive men of that day, who firmly argued that "Clinton's Ditch" would prove the ruin of Albany! In 1826 there had been an increase of 2,000 boats since 1824. During the former year it was claimed that five millions of dollars' worth of goods were sold by not more than fifty houses.

The following table shows the increase in the amount of produce and merchandise arriving at Albany by way of the canal in two years, from 1832 to 1834:

1834.

Domestic spirits

1832. 21,285

20,839 bbls.

1,274

hhds.

Boards and Scantlings. . Timber.

55,569

104,145 "

Flour.

422,695

795, 182 bbls.

Provisions.

21,274

20,864

Salt.

23, 117 19,070 bush.

Wheat

145,960

233,574

Coarse grain.

208,943

490,880

No. of boats arrived and cleared

14,300

18,550

No. of tons

109,300

156,804

It will be noticed that the increase in the great- est articles of merchandise-lumber in its various shape, and flour and grain -is from 70 to 100 per cent. This table is given to show the rapid growth of the trade in Albany at this period. In the one article of lumber, Albany occupied a fore- most position in the United States, a position it still holds. About this same date there were twenty-five regular trading vessels between Albany and Boston, which, it was estimated, brought to Albany about 25,000 quintals of codfish during the season, and about 25,000 barrels of mackerel, be- sides large quantities of merchandise which passed up the canal or stopped for a market here. These vessels took from Albany to Boston, in return, about 75,000 barrels of flour each season, together with large quantities of grain. The indirect trade between Boston and Albany, which was transhipped at New York, was also great. A number of vessels were also engaged in carrying on a coasting trade between Albany and the seaport towns of New England. In 1821 only 41 vessels visited Albany from eastern ports; in 1824 the number was 59; in 1827 it had increased to 123.

Between 1830 and 1840, Albany's commercial prosperity was augmented in a remarkable degree by railroads. The opening of internal canals fur- nished a highway from the Hudson to the lakes of the West, and by them to the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, and the Gulf of Mexico. But this important thoroughfare could be used only a portion of the year, and while it did much to increase the pop- ulation and wealth of the city, it was not till the completion of the railroad that Albany can be said to have assumed much commercial impor-

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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 137

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