Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 142

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 142

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LANSING MERCHANT,

Vice-President of the National Exchange Bank of Albany, and one of the best-known business men in the city, was born in Greenwich, Washington County, N. Y., April 16, 1804, a son of Eliakim and Charity (Birge) Merchant. His father was born in 1771, and acquired the trade of a mill- wright while yet a young man. He built many mills, and was engaged upon other similar work over quite an extensive area. Removing from Nine Partners, Dutchess County, to Greenwich, Washington County, he there married and made his home.

Lansing Merch aut

Das H. Ostromm

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COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.

Lansing Merchant attended the common schools in vogue in his neighborhood at the time, until he was ten years old, with much regularity. From that time on, until he was fifteen, he attended only in the winter. In April, 1822, he came to Albany and became a clerk in the general store of S. & R. Merchant, on Washington avenue, and remained in that capacity until 1826, when, in partnership with Seth Crapo, who had previously acquired an interest in the business, he succeeded his former employers. From 1828 to 1833 he was a clerk in the store of Levi Phillips, on Broadway. In the year last mentioned the firm of L. & W. Merchant was formed, Lansing Merchant and his brother Walter being the partners, and opened a grocery and provision store on Division street near the Dock. Nine years later the business was removed to the corner store, contiguous to the Dock, where it was continued successfully until 1871, when the brothers Merchant retired from business.

Mr. Merchant possesses in a large degree those sterling qualities which mark the successful and respected business man. He early won a reputa- tion for probtiy which brought him the confidence of all classes The enterprise with which he was so long identified took high rank among the mer- cantile establishments of Albany, and Mr. Mer- chant became identified with the leading interests of the city. In 1865 he became a Director in the National Albany Exchange Bank (now the National Exchange Bank of Albany), and for some years past has been its Vice-President; and he is also a Trustee of the Exchange Savings Bank, one of the most popular and trustworthy institutions of its kind in the city. He has been a prominent mem- ber of the Board of Trade of the City of Albany since its organization.

In January, 1835, Mr. Merchant married Miss S. M. Ives, daughter of the late Ambrose Ives, of Herkimer County, N. Y. Politically he is a Re- publican, having graduated naturally into that party from the ranks of the old Whig organization. In theology he is an adherent to the Unitarian faith, and has been a regular attendant upon such services of that denomination as have been from time to time held in Albany, and no one deplores more than he, the fact that there are no stated meet- ings of Unitarians in the city.

JAMES H. OSBORN.

James HI. Osborn, a son of Jeremiah and Eliz- abeth (Coburn) Osborn, was born in Albany, June 17, 1817. His parents had come to Albany from New Haven, and his father was a merchant in the city, with a store on Broadway, from 1808 to 1820, when he removed to Olean, N. Y., when he engaged in the lumber business, in which he continued until his death in 1822. After settling his estate the family returned to Albany, where the subject of this notice has since lived. Mr. Osborn was educated in private schools, spending the last two years of his school life at the old Lancasterian school on Eagle street, on the site of the present medical college.

At the age of fourteen he entered the store of C. W. Bender, at the coner of Pearl and Madison avenues, as a clerk. He was bright and active, and took naturally to mercantile life, and his ad- vancement was so rapid that, in 1837, with the aid of Mr. Bender, who had become his firm friend, he began business for himself, opening a general store on a street corner opposite to that where he had begun with Mr. Bender. Previous to this, Mr. Bender had moved further up the street, and young Osborn had been for some time in charge of his store, thus familiarizing himself with the management as well as the details of mer- cantile operations. He was industrious, honor- able and careful, as well as pushing and energetic, and he prospered, continuing in trade in Albany almost uninterruptedly until 1880, when he re- tired. During some years of this period he had as a partner Mr. James R. Hadley. After his removal from his original location, he was located until 1868 at the corner of Pearl and Westerlo streets, where he bought property, in 1860, and built a store, disposing of which, he located at No. 8 State street, and there remained until his retire- ment. Mr. Osborn was in trade in Albany during a period which brought many changes with its pass- ing years. The old general stores, something like the country stores of the present day, gave place to stores which were distinctively dry goods or grocery stores. He became well and widely known in the grocery trade, and, abandoning that in 1868, he embarked in the produce trade, in which he continued until 1880, since which time he has lived in retirement from active business, but has made some profitable investments in real estate in different parts of the city.

In 1842 Mr. Osborn was married to Miss Chris- tina Van Rensselaer, of Albany, who lived about forty years thereafter, bearing him three daughters, `of whom two are living, Mrs. William N. S. San- ders, of Albany, and Mrs. Dr. Charles Devendorf, of Detroit, Mich. In October, 1883, he was again married to Mrs. Eliza Bailey, of Albany. Mr. Osborn has long been a communicant of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, and has been a member of the vestry since 1858. A few years ago he was chosen warden to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Mr. C. W. Bender, the friend of his early days. Formerly a Whig, Mr. Osborn has been a Republican from the inception of that party, but while he has carefully watched the progress of events and felt a deep interest in our national wel- fare, his tastes have not inclined him to take part in political life, and he has never accepted any public office.

WILLIAM B. SCOTT.

This gentleman is a well-known resident and real estate dealer in Albany. He was born in Albany, April 19, 1812, a son of William and Nancy (Beatty) Scott. He had few educational or other worldly advantages, and was obliged to un- dertake the battle of life for himself at an early age. He was employed as a clerk and otherwise until

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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

JAMES A. WILSON.

1836, when he engaged in the grocery trade on Canal street. In 1844 he bought a grocery store at the corner of Swan and Second streets, where he continued business until his retirement in 1872. In the meantime he had begun to deal in real es- tate, and since then has invested largely in different parts of the city, notably on Arbor hill and at West Albany.

In 1838, Mr. Scott married Mrs. Catharine L. Chapman, daughter of Samuel Harbeck, of Albany. She died in 1876, leaving a daughter, now an in- mate of her father's home. Formerly a Whig, Mr. Scott became a Republican upon the rise of the latter party. He has interested himself in local as well as State and national affairs, and has four times been a member of the Board of Supervisors of Albany County, and represented the Eighth (now the Twelfth) Ward of Albany in the Board of Aldermen several times. He is a self-made man, and is in excellent standing both as a business man and a citizen. He resides at No. 7 Hall place.

JAMES A. WILSON.

Of several former prominent business men of Albany who have pased away during the past twenty years, none are better remembered than James Alexander Wilson, whose name has been perpetu- ated in that of one of the streets of the city, named in his honor. He was a son of Joseph Annan and Maria (Fonda) Wilson, and was born in Albany, December 8, 1807. He chose a business career

and became prominent in connection with various important interests of Albany and vicinity. He was long known as the senior member of the firm of Wilson & Badgley (later Wilson & Monteith) wholesale grocers, and at different times he held, among other important trusts, those of Director of the Bank of Albany, of the Albany Mutual Insur- ance Company, and of the Albany Plank Road Company, and was the first President of the Albany and Rutland Railroad Company, and President of the Board of Trustees of the Home Lawn Associa- tion. He was a man of great enterprise and un- impeachable integrity, a true friend and a good citizen. His death occured June 5, 1872. One of his daughters is Mrs. Daniel S. Lathrop, another Mrs. Clinton Ten Eyck, both well known in Albany.

DANIEL WEIDMAN.

This prominent citizen of Albany was born in Berne, Albany County, N. Y., November 21, 1815. Jacob Weidman, his great-grandfather, came from Switzerland, arriving in this country with a party of German emigrants who settled in the Schoharie Valley. He was one of the first settlers and farmers in the County of Albany. He followed the stream called Fox Creek, which empties into Schoharie Creek near the old stone church in Schoharie Valley, and located at a fall or rapids which he named Berne, after his native city in Switzerland. He built the first house in Berne, and also a saw- mill near the rapids, and subsequently erected a

Daniel Weidman

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COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.

flouring mill. The place was long known as Weidman's Mills. Here he took up tracts of land, some of which were held under a lease from Stephen Van Rennselaer, and others under the title of a settler. Mr. Weidman's mother was a Schell, whose father came from Germany at an early date and settled in this vicinity. He was among the patriots of those early days who resorted to the old stone fort, now stone church, during the Indian raids of the Revolution. Daniel Weidman's early years were passed near the village of Berne, where he attended the public schools until ten years of age, when his father, Felix Weidman, died at the age of forty, leaving a widow and seven children. The subject of this notice was the fourth, and being the eldest son, was called on to work in order to meet the requirements of a well-stocked farm under a good state of cultivation. Determined not to let the farm suffer, he worked with a will, energy, and judgment that surprised his neighbors. At the age of fifteen-his mother having again married, and his sisters being also married-the farm was let and he was released from the responsibility he had so well sustained up to that time. He then started ont on his own account, and obtained a clerkship in a county store at a place called West Berne, about four miles distant from his native vil- · lage, where he remained about a year, and then, removing to Albany, obtained a situation in a general store kept by Peter Van Wormer, located in Pine street, which in those days was an impor- tant business thoroughfare. Here he remained two years, and was next employed in the carpet and dry goods store of T. W. Ford & Son, in the Museum Building, corner of Broadway and State street, where he remained for three years. Wish- ing to improve his education, he went back to the country and attended Knoxville Academy for six months, and then entered the Gallupville Academy in the town of Schoharie. The principal of this latter school was a celebrated Scotch professor, named William McLaren, and is especially remem- bered by Mr. Weidman as a good and able pre- ceptor and a most excellent man. Leaving school, Mr. Weidman went to New York City and ob- tained a situation in a dry goods store in Grand street, where he remained nine months. In the meantime an uncle of his wrote and urged him to return to Gallupville and join him in business there, which he did, and was thus engaged for the ensuing six years, when, selling his interest to his uncle, he returned to Albany, and, with the mod- erate amount of capital which he had accumulated, went into the general grocery and provision busi- ness in a new store at No. 6 Hudson street, now Hudson avenue. He occupied this store for two years, and about 1845 removed to No. 10 State street, the principal locality for the grocery busi- ness in those days. There he remained until 1862, when he removed to Broadway, in a large store running from Broadway to Dean street, which he occupied as a tenant for three years, and then pur- chased the property, which he still occupies, con- ducting a wholesale grocery and tea business, and supplying a large portion of the retail trade in this

portion of the State. In 1839 Mr. Weidman mar- ried Elmina E. Walden, by whom he had four children, only one of whom is now living. Miss Walden was descended from the De Waldens, who originally came from France to England, and fig- ured conspicuously in early English history. Her family came from England and first settled in this country at Mystic, Conn. Mr. Weidman's second and present wife was the widow of William A. Gil- bert, of Adams, Jefferson County, N. Y., and her maiden name was Scott. His son, George Domin- ick Weidman, was born June 29, 1842, and en- tered the Union Army at the age of nineteen years, with his father's consent, in response to the first call of President Lincoln for 75,000 men. He served three years and seven months in the South- ern campaigns. Entering the army as Orderly- Sergeant, he returned as Brevet-Major of Volunteers, with an honorable discharge on account of phys- ical disability, having served through the struggles incident to the capture of Port Hudson and the various battles of the lower Mississippi, and the Louisiana campaigns under General Banks and Butler. Later he connected himself with the N. Y. S. N. G., and became Captain of Company F, 10th Regiment, and subsequently Colonel of the Grant Battalion of Albany, which gave General Grant a notable reception in January, 1881. Upon his return from the war he was admitted to a partnership in his father's business, in which he took an active part until his death, which occurred March 17, 1883. He was deeply regretted by peo- ple of all classes, and the general feeling of the citizens of Albany is thus expressed in a memorial adopted by one of the military organizations of which he was a member:

"At a meeting of the Albany Burgesses Corps, held at their armory on Monday, March 19, 1883, the Commandant having announced the death of George D. Weidman, the following memorial was presented and unanimously adopted by a rising vote :

"Comrades ! Again the muffled drums are beating and the sad cadences of a soldier's requiem summon us to take the last farewell of a comrade. vanished forever from our midst. Frequent and severe as the conscriptions for the ranks of death have of late been from amongst us, none has caused us greater surprise or more profound sor- row than the final leave-taking of our friend, com- panion and fellow-burgess, Captain George D. Weidman.

"Fate's final sentence met him in the prime of life, yet not before, in all the parts where duty called him, in peace and in war, in business and in social life, his performances of their various charges had entitled him to an honorable dis- charge, and bound to him and his memory forever a circle of warm-hearted supporters during life, a host of sympathizing friends in death. Our mem- ories will keep the inventory of his many virtues, and, above all, of his generous charities, which, ' done by stealth, he blushed to find them fame.'

"To those near and dear ones upon whom the blow falls heaviest, we extent our heart-felt sym-

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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

pathy in this hour of darkness to their hopes, and we will pay our last tribute of respect, with becom- ing rites, at the honored soldier's grave.

"GALEN R. HITT,

"ANDREW HAMILTON,

" JAMES A. SCHATTUCK,

" HENRY W. TROWBRIDGE,

" JAMES KYTE,

' Committee.

" Attest :

" WALTER DICKSON,

" President.

"CHARLES E. WOLF,

" Secretary."

Mr. Daniel Weidman has long been known in this section of the State, not only as a sound and substantial business man who has kept clear of embarrassment during all the financial troubles incident to the war and its after-consequences, but also as a firm and staunch supporter of the Union, ever ready to give his money and influence in the times when friends were needed and disaster threat- ened. A self-made man in the fullest sense, he appreciates his country and its institutions, and is thoroughly loyal and patriotic in all that implies the progress and glory of the Republic and the preservation of the Union.

PRODUCE, FLOUR, FEED AND SALT.

The produce, flour and feed dealers to a consid- erable degree are coincident with grocery dealers. In the earliest period of the commercial history of the city, every grocer was, in some degree, a prod- uce dealer. The leading produce merchants of Albany during the forepart of this century were Sylvanus P. Jermain, John Douw, William & Clark Durant, William & John Newton, Willard Walker & Elisha Pratt, all merchants of high commercial standing in their day. William Du- rant died in Albany in 1845. At one time he was Trustee of the Albany Savings Bank. Clark Du- rant died in 1873. He was prominent in financial affairs, and the first President of the Board of Trade.

The principal produce dealers at present in Al- bany are Henry T. Bradt, 22 Hudson street; George W. Hawes, 19 Hudson avenue; William M. Hussey, 348 and 350 Broadway; J. B Jump, 22 Hudson avenue; Martin & Frost, 375 Broadway; William Rattoone & Co., 62 State street; Smith & Wood, 399 Broadway; E. M. Tinkham, 78 Beaver; Franklin D. Tower, Museum Building; Water- man & Bennett, 333 Broadway; Henry R. Wright, 328 Broadway.

Robert Geer, wholesale dealer in salt, flour and feed, on the Pier opposite State street, has been proprietor of his present business since 1863, hav- ing succeeded to the business established by T. Y. Avery in 1860. He occupies six four story build- ings on the Pier, Nos. 109, 110, 111, 112, 114 and 115. His trade is entirely wholesale, handling 10,000 to 12,000 tons of salt per annum. Mr. Geer is one of the leading merchants of Albany,

and variously identified with its civil as well as its financial affairs. He was President of the Board of Trade in 1884, and is at present President of the New York State Relief Association, New York Masonic Relief Association, Supervisor Fourteenth Ward 1881 to 1885, and Trustee of the Home Savings Bank. In 1885 he was the Republican candidate for State Senator.

Among the flour and grain merchants deserving of mention are Peter J. Flinn, 860 Broadway, who commenced business in 1858 at 846 Broadway; Ames & Co., 317 Broadway; Barber & Bennett, 316 Broadway ; Bouton & Geer ; William L. Clute, 385 Broadway; William Cumming, 199 Washington avenue; William J. Davis, 320 Broad- way; Durant & Co., 475 Broadway; William H. Falke, 844 and 846 Broadway; L. J. Hopkins, Bassett, corner Franklin; Loucks & Beck, 315 Broadway; Proseus & Rowley, 10 State; John T. Rielly & Bro., 264 Lark; Henry Russell, 322 Broadway; B. B. Sanders & Co., 343 Broadway; Schiffer & Co., Garden; Isaac Stevens, 5 Hudson avenue; John H. Trowbridge, 14 Hudson avenue.

Salt is sold generally by grocers; but the mer- chants who make a specialty of this product be- sides Robert Greer, are I. A. Chapman, 9 and 1I State; Mather Bros., 12 State; Prosens & Rowley, IO State; and F. Wooster & Co., 352 Broadway and 121 Pier.

STUART McKISSICK

was born in Saco, Me., November 27, 1807. In 1816, while he was yet a mere lad, his parents emigrated to Onondaga County, then almost a wilderness. Here he remained until past twenty- five years of age, when he engaged in running a boat for a Detroit transportation line, and was so employed about three years, during which he gained a thorough knowledge of the business. In 1837 he came to Troy in the employ of the same line, and, after a year's experience in that city, re- moved to Albany, and established a transportation and produce commission business, which was suc- cessfully conducted by him till 1861, when he re- linquished it to become a partner with Mr. E. P. Durant in the flour trade. During a portion of the period of his engagement in the transportation business and produce trade, Mr. Abram Kirk was his partner. The firm of Durant & McKissick was dissolved in 1865, and, after a retirement of two years, Mr. McKissick resumed the produce busi- ness, in which he continued until 1873, when the failure of his health hastened his permanent retire- ment. He died August 29, 1882, leaving a wife, three daughters and a son.

In all his life Mr. McKissick accepted but one political position, and in that instance the office sought the man and not the man the office. By an Act passed by the Legislature of the State of New York, April 7, 1866, entitled "An Act to Create a Board of Public Instruction in the City of Albany; to Establish Free Schools therein; and Amendatory of the Several Acts Relating to the District Schools of that City," he was appointed a

Mikessick.

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COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF ALBANY.

member of that Board, and while identified there- with, he zealously advocated the building of the present High School, believing such an institution was a necessity. During his long business career he several times held the office of President of the Board of Trade of the City of Albany, and it is in- dicative of the esteem in which he was held by all classes of business men, that whenever he would allow himself to stand as a candidate before the Board, he was invariably elected, no matter by what faction he was put forward. At a meeting of the Board of Trade, held on Thursday morning, August 31, 1882, the following report was adopted. It is quoted both as recounting some of the par- ticulars of his connection with the Board of Trade, and as showing the esteem in which he was held by his former associates.

" The members of the Board of Trade have heard with sorrow of the death of Stuart McKissick, one of its oldest members. The name of Mr. Mc- Kissick appears as an active member of the Board in the year 1849. He was elected President in 1863, and was a Delegate to one of the conven- tions of the National Board of Trade.

" Mr. McKissick was a member of the Canal Convention of 1868, and frequently served on the important committees of the Board of Trade. In recognition of these important services, and of his standing as a citizen and merchant, we do herewith give expression to our sorrow and pay just tribute to his memory.

"In this event, which sooner or later comes to all, we recognize that inscrutable Providence whose power and right it is to do with us as seemeth to Him good, and that His works are true and right- eous altogether.

"In the long and honorable career of our asso- ciate and friend, standing in prominence as a merchant, his dealings have been marked by sin- gular probity, his counsel always wise, his judg- ment broad and enlightened.

"As a private citizen and in the social walks of life, he has ever commanded the respect and esteem of all, and throughout a wide circle of friends and neighbors he was most beloved by those who knew him best.

" We extend to his bereaved family our deep sym- pathy in their affliction, and commend them to the care of Him who doeth all things well; therefore

"Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be entered on the minutes of the Board and a copy be transmitted to the family of the deceased.

"A. EVERTSEN, "E. A. DURANT, "W. LACY,"

Committee."

Mr. McKissick was at one time a Director of the National Albany Exchange Bank, and at the time of his death he was a Trustee of the Albany Exchange Savings Bank. At a meeting of the Trustees of the last mentioned institution, soon after the death of Mr. McKissick, the following resolution was passed:

"The death of Stuart McKissick, which oc- curred on the 29th of August last, removes a wor- thy and valued member of our Board.

" Mr. McKissick had spent the larger part of his life in Albany, where he had established a character for probity and upright dealing as a mer- chant, and for genial and generous kindliness as a man. He was a man of careful and deliberate judgment, and his conclusions were usually sound. He was, therefore, a reliable and safe adviser. In all his intercourse with his fellows he exhibited the courtesy and gentleness of a friendly and Christian spirit. We mourn his loss as that of a faithful and honorable associate, whose memory will be held by us in cherished esteem.

" Resolved, That as members of this Board of Trustees we sincerely sympathize with the widow and bereaved family of our deceased brother; and pray that the same fatherly hand which has inflicted the blow may also afford the needed consolation."

Mr. McKissick was connected with the First and Fourth Presbyterian Churches of Albany, and at his death was an Elder of the first mentioned church, which he had attended for more than twenty years. The following is a copy of a me- morial of Mr. McKissick entered upon the minutes of the session of the First Presbyterian Church.

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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 142

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