USA > New York > Westchester County > Biographical history of Westchester County, New York, Volume II > Part 45
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Charles Nassau Wells, son of Edward Wells, was born December 22, 1864, and is one of the leading attorneys of Peekskill, having already won for himself an eminent position at the bar. He is a good judge of law, and, what is of almost equal importance, a good judge of men; and it is this quality, together with his ability as a speaker, that has given him marked success. He has been prominently identified with the interests of Peekskill since 1892, at which time he began practice here. Throughness charac- terizes all his efforts, and he conducts all business with a strict regard to a high standard of professional ethics.
RUDOLF EICKEMEYER, JR.
In 1854 the business of manufacturing hat machinery was established in Yonkers by George Osterheld, a brother of Henry Osterheld, who was sub- sequently a member of the firm of Osterheld & Eickemeyer. In 1854 Rudolf Eickemeyer, who became the widely known inventor, removed to Yonkers
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and was associated with Mr. Osterheld. About 1854 the Otis Elevator Works were established in Yonkers. (More extended reference to this industry is made on another page of this volume.) In 1855 George B. Skin- ner began the manufacture of sewing-machine silk in Yonkers, on the east side of the Nepperhan, in a stone building which had been erected a year or two before for a cotton factory.
Another Yonkers inventor, Rudolf Eickemeyer, Sr., was born October 18, 1831, in the village of Altenbamberg, in Rhenish Bavaria, his father being an officer of the forestry department of the kingdom of Bavaria. His grandfather, who, at the time of his death, was chief of the forestry depart- ment of the province, had been in early life a colonel of engineers in the French army, and his great-grandfather had been an engineer in the service of the archbishop of Mainz and professor of mathematics in the University of Mainz during its existence. His family came originally from Duderstadt, in Hanover, and his great-grandfather was the first Eickemeyer in Mainz, where he resided as early as 1753, and where his grand-uncle, Rudolf, was born, a well-known hydraulic and mechanical engineer, whose writings show him to have been well informed in all branches of engineering science, and possessed of considerable inventive skill in suggestions to improve fire-arms and vessels with defensive armor. All the Eickemeyers were born draughtsmen, and he began to make pictures long before he could write, and the same trait was dominant in his children, and in theirs. Mr. Eickemeyer had a love for mechanical pursuits from his earliest recollections, and as a boy was always. busy making wagons and building miniature mills on a small stream which was near his home. When thirteen years of age he was sent to the real school at Kaiserslautern, and later on to Darmstadt. All mathematical and scientific studies were easy to him, but languages and grammatical studies were the bane of his existence; and, although English was one of the lan- guages taught, when he landed in New York, on the 22d of November, 1850, he could not speak a dozen English words.
In 1849 the rebellion came to a head in Germany, and he, with a num- ber of schoolmates, joined the rebel army under August Willich (who became a brigadier-general in our late civil war), and the well-known veteran of the Union army, Franz Sigel. After the close of the rebellion, life in Germany was made so unpleasant for the young revolutionist by the government that he determined to emigrate. Mr. Eickemeyer, with his schoolmate, fellow rebel and lifelong friend, George Osterheld, therefore came to this country. They made their way to Buffalo, New York, and, not finding any employ- ment in the shops, started on foot for Dunkirk, where work was obtainable on the New York & Erie Railroad. They remained there until spring, returning then to Buffalo, where they found employment in the steam engine.
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works, which was then one of the largest machine shops in the west. There they remained until the fall of 1853, when they returned to New York. During the winter of 1853 and the summer of 1854 Mr. Eickemeyer was employed as draughtsman in an office in New York, and his first patented invention was the result of this employment. He had a great deal of shad- ing to do in drawing, so invented an instrument enabling him to draw parallel lines with precision and ease. This was patented, and later on he started a shop and manufactured them. Mr. Eickemeyer started in business with Mr. Osterheld on September 10, 1854, with the expectation of doing general machine work and repairs in the different factories.
Yonkers was the leading center of the wool-hat industry, and being con- tinuously employed in these factories he soon found opportunities to suggest improvements in the machinery employed. His first attempt was to fold the edges of the leather bands which were used as substitutes for the ribbons of the so-called " Ledger " hat then in fashion. The demand for these bands was so great that it was impossible for the manufacturers to obtain them at any price. The little machine he invented would fold and emboss fifty of these bands while a boy or girl could fold one. It was a great success, and, simple as it was, it formed the foundation of the leather-folding machines now in use to-day in every hat factory. His next venture was a sewing machine to sew the sweat-linings into hats. This was patented in 1859, and sewed the sweats with an overhand stitch substantially the same as is now used in all button-hole machines. He manufactured and sold some hundreds of these machines, which remained in use until superseded by others which he introduced in 1863. In the meantime he had been experimenting to find a substitute for the laborious method of stretching and blocking hats then used. This problem was solved when he invented the ribbon and recessed stretching cone, and jointly with his partner, George Osterheld, built the wool-hat blocking machine. These inventions revolutionized this part of the manufacture of hats all over the world. Later on he substituted an automatic machine for those in general use in this country. About the time when blocking-machines came into use, pouncing-machines also made their appearance, and he introduced a number of improved machines. For fur hats of a certain style the pouncing-machine was found to be unsuited, and it was necessary to find a substitute to prepare the hat body, which is a conical form, by what the trade called shaving. The long hair which is always present in the fur has to be removed, but not cut off, as the term shaving would imply. The hair is drawn out of the body with a sharp knife held at a certain angle. Mr. Eickemeyer was obliged to learn to shave a hat by hand, and after he had mastered the trade designed a machine which surpassed all expectations. Other branches of hatting also received his
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attention, and improvements have been introduced, some to a greater, some to a less, extent. During all these years his partner, George Osterheld, attended to business affairs, and he was left free to devote his time to inventing and improving machinery, and while he made hatting the main object of his investigations, he tried his hand in other lines.
The Clipper Mower and Reaper Company had an establishment in this city, which gave him an opportunity to test another device, a differential gear to produce the reciprocating motion of the cutter bar. The first machine built in 1870 proved the correctness of the device and some hundreds were built during the next few years. In 1876 the Otis Brothers exhibited it at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, and after a field trial the machine proved itself the lightest draught mower of its class. Thousands of machines of this type, known as the Champion, have since been manufactured and are used all over the world. When Mr. Bell astonished the world with his tele- phone, and Mr. Edison startled it with the phonograph, he began some experiments in electricity, not at first with a view toward doing anything in this line, but simply as a recreation and to understand the principles upon which these instruments acted, all of his knowledge of electricty dating back to the time when he attended school, and was more ancient history than science. To come up to the present he had to begin at the beginning and make sure of his ground, and his bent to improve kept him busy. He finally invented what is considered the most practical form of dynamo machine made, and has proven its excellency in its use as a generator and as a motor, and in the latter capacity, among other things, it has proved a great success in running elevators, Messrs. Otis Brothers having adopted it for use with their hoisting machinery in preference to other motors in the market. The introduction of his machinery had the usual effect. Infringers appropriated it and he had to apply to the courts for redress. He found that a record of the time when his inventions and experiments were made would be valuable, and in July, 1866, he began to keep a written record of his work, which record now fills about twelve volumes of about four hundred pages each.
He was one of the commissioners of the water board since the works were started, and at the time of his death was serving his fifth term of five years, and his tenth year as president of the board, having been re-appointed every time unanimously by a Democratic board of aldermen although he was a Republican. Nearly twenty-two years ago he was elected a member of the board of education of one of the school districts and was a member of that board and of the board of education of the consolidated schools, with the exception of two years, until his death. From 1858 to 1865 he was a mem- ber of the volunteer fire department, and from 1860 to 1867 a member of the national guard; and during Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania, in 1863, he
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served some thirty days in Fort McHenry. He was a director of the First National Bank of this city from 1878 to 1895. In matters affecting the improvement of the city, Mr. Eickemeyer gave an ardent and intelligent sup- port, and his private charities were many, his generous nature finding its greatest pleasure in helping his fellow men. He died at Washington, D. C., after a brief illness, on January 23, 1895.
Mr. Eickemeyer was married to Miss Mary T. Tarbell, of Dover, Maine, on July 21, 1856.
WILLIAM G. SHRIVE.
No business has come more rapidly to the front in the past decade than that of the manufacture and sale of bicycles. Throughout the civilized world the " wheel " is found, and even in far-off India and Japan it is replac- ing the methods of travel which have been in vogue for centuries. Its almost universal adoption places it among the foremost inventions of the nineteenth century, and as it contributes to both health and pleasure it will probably remain the favorite vehicle for the young and vigorous for many years to come. The sale of the bicycle has reached astounding proportions, and every small hamlet boasts of at least a repair and supply shop. One of the most thoroughly equipped establishments in this line of business, in the Empire state outside of New York city, is that conducted by William Glenn Shrive, of Yonkers, who deals in all kinds of bicycles and sporting goods. He is one of the representative business men of the place, occupying a most enviable position in commercial circles, and his reliability and enterprise have secured to him a large and constantly increasing trade.
Mr. Shrive is a native of Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred in Equinunk, Wayne county, September 20, 1862. His paternal grandfather, Glenn Shrive, was born at Kitring, Northamptonshire, England, a son of Luke Shrive, who was in the postal service in the government employ. He had four children, -Glenn, George, Ethel and Anna. Glenn Shrive was a dry-goods merchant and a local preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married Phobe Odell, who died in early womanhood, while his death occurred when he was in his fifty-eighth year. The children were: Alfred, Phœbe and Anna, who died in childhood; and Eliza, who married Benjamin Cheney and for thirty years has been engaged in missionary labors in Peter- meritzburg, South Africa. Mr. and Mrs. Cheney have two living children: John G., who is engaged in prospecting in the gold and diamond fields of South Africa; and a son who is the editor and publisher of the Port Natal Daily Witness, a sixteen-page paper.
On the maternal side the ancestry of our subject can be traced back to John Warren, who served his country in the war of the Revolution and was
William G. Shrive.
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a minister of the gospel at Mount Carmel, Putnam county, New York. His son, Rev. John Warren, Jr., was the grandfather of W. G. Shrive. For twenty-one years he was the pastor of a Baptist church in Putnam county, and besides he was something of an agriculturist. He married Dezire Grant, a second cousin of General Grant, and two of their sons, Levi and Hiram Warren, were surgeons in the great general's army during the civil war. The former, Dr. Levi Warren, as he was subsequently known, won distinc- tion in the medical profession, and Hiram, who was a graduate of Colgate University, of New York, became a successful teacher, preacher and physi- cian. The other members of the family were John, who was pastor of a church at Easton, Connecticut, for many years; David, Euphemia, Olive, Ann and Elizabeth. The father of these children departed this life at Dan- bury, Connecticut, where he had attained the advanced age of eighty-two, while the mother died when in her seventy-third year.
Rev. John George Shrive, father of oursubject, was born at Kitring, Eng- land, November 5, 1830, and in 1854 came to the United States, locating in Ulster county, New York. He received his education in the schools of his native land and in a biblical institute at Concord, New Hampshire, now con- nected with the Boston University. He was graduated in 1860, but even as a student preached in the vicinity of the college to some extent, and later occu- pied pulpits for a quarter of a century. For a score of years he was connected with the Methodist Episcopal denomination, serving congregations at Con- cord, New Hampshire; Equinunk, Pennsylvania; South Yonkers and Dover Plains, New York; Fairfield, Connecticut; and Croton Lake, Carthage Land- ing, Crawford and Newburg, New York. While at the last named place, on account of changing views on religious doctrines, he joined the Baptist church, and for a number of years labored faithfully at Elizabeth, New Jersey; Nyack and Lake Mahopac, New York, and at the Warburton Avenue church, of Yonkers, New York, where he was the assistant pastor. Subsequently he did missionary work in New York city. Then, owing to failing health, he aban- doned the active work of the ministry, but his interest has never flagged, and since he gave up regular pastoral work he has been instrumental in building two churches, one at Ridgefield Park and the other at Ridgewood. Both of these congregations now employ regular ministers and are strong and flour- ishing churches. Occasionally he supplies a pulpit for some of his ministe- rial friends, and now, in the evening of life, he may look back along the way he has traveled and feel certain that "well done, good and faithful servant " will be his welcome plaudit from that Master whom he has so conscientiously served.
The marriage of this worthy man took place April 2, 1858, the lady of his choice being Miss Maria Ann Warren, a daughter of the Rev. John 56
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Warren. They became the parents of three children: William G., Maggie Burke, who died at the age of fourteen years; and George G., who is super- intendent of Bradstreet's Commercial Agency at Newark, New Jersey, and resides at Rutherford, that state. The parents are both living and are much beloved by every one.
William G. Shrive was educated in Siglar Institute, of Newburg, New York, and in Pingree's School at Elizabeth, New Jersey, being graduated in the last named in 1878. He then came to Yonkers with his father and in 1880 became connected with the printing business of this city. Two years later he founded the Yonkers Free Press, a four-page, seven-column journal, which he conducted for two years and then sold. During the three succeed- ing years he was the steward of the Merchants' Dining Rooms, in New York city, and later he spent seven years in the employ of the Bank of the State of New York. On the expiration of that period he began dealing in bicycles and has since added sporting goods, until his present complete stock is valued at upward of fourteen thousand dollars. His place of business is at No. 21 North Broadway, where the two basements are utilized as a repair shop, and he also is the proprietor of Shrive's Riding Academy, at Nos. 25, 27 and 29 North Broadway. In the various departments of his extensive busi- ness a dozen persons are employed. He is the local agent for the leading high-grade wheels in the market, and all varieties of sporting and athletic goods, cameras, and other accessories of the modern tourist and pleasure- seeker. He has an excellent knowledge of photography and makes a business of developing pictures for amateur photographers. Everything which he undertakes is well done, and success has come to him as the result of genuine merit and enterprise.
For some six years Mr. Shrive was a member of the Twenty-second Regiment of State Militia, served in the Brooklyn and Buffalo riots and now belongs to the Twenty-second Regiment Veteran Association. He also served in the fire department as a member of the Lady Washington Hose Company, and now is a member of the Exempt Firemen's Association. Moreover, he is identified with Palisade Lodge, No. 571, I. O. O. F .; Pali- sade Boat Club; the Yonkers Bicycle Club and the Baptist church.
The home relations of Mr. Shrive are very pleasant. He was married October 18, 1892, to Miss Nettie Vail Worth, who was born at Carmel, New York, July 6, 1871, a daughter of Benjamin and Lucretia (Vail) Worth, the father an extensive builder and contractor. Mrs. Shrive is a descendant of Stephen Hopkins, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Mr. and Mrs. Shrive have one charming little daughter, Lillian Worth by name. They have many sincere friends and are welcomed in the best social circles of Yonkers and elsewhere.
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JOHN F. MILLS.
The well-known and popular superintendent and vice-president of Abend- roth Brothers' Eagle Iron Works, John F. Mills, of Port Chester, New York, was born on the 9th of October, 1843, in Jersey City, New Jersey, and is a representative of one of the old and highly esteemed families of that state. The progenitor of the family in America was a native of England, and on crossing the Atlantic he located near Jamaica, Long Island, New York. The great grandfather of our subject, however, was born in New Jersey, where he spent his entire life. The grandfather, John Mills, was also a native of New Jersey, and there engaged in farming until life's labors were ended. He aided his country as a soldier of the war of 1812, and the old gun which he used in the service is now in possession of our subject. The father, Benjamin Mills, was a native of Westfield, New Jersey, and for many years he extensively engaged in the manufacture of oakum in that state, where he died at the age of eighty-three. He was a very successful business man and the prosperity which crowned his efforts was due entirely to his own enterprise, industry and perseverance, and he started out in life for himself empty-handed. For some time he was connected with the Prov- idence Institution Savings Bank. Politically, he was first a Whig and later a Republican. He married Miss Lizzie Walker, who was born October 11, 1799, at the corner of Thirtieth street and Tenth avenue, New York city, of German parentage, and was left an orphan when quite young. She was a consistent Christian woman, a member of the Methodist church, and was an invalid for several years, death coming to her relief in 1859. She was the mother of seven children, four of whom are still living, namely: Sarah Ann, wife of Frederick Bonghamper; Louisa, wife of Henry Trumper; Augustus R., a resident of Jersey City, where he is serving as clerk; and John F., the subject of this review. Those deceased are Washington, Morti- mer and Sister Jane. On his grandmother Mills' (Anna Denman) side Mr. Mills is a descendant of Christopher Denman, of Cranford, New Jersey, who served as a private in Captain Benjamin Laing's Company, First Regi- ment Essex County (New Jersey) militia, in the war of the Revolution. From this branch he became a member of the Sons of the Revolution.
The boyhood and youth of John F. Mills were passed at home, and his education was received in the schools of Jersey City, New Jersey, and And- over, Massachusetts. In 1862, at the age of nineteen years, he came to Port Chester, New York, and as office boy entered the employ of the firm of which he is now vice-president and superintendent. Having inherited his father's business ability he gradually worked his way upward until he reached his present responsible position. In 1876 he was made superintendent and
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treasurer of the iron works, serving as such until appointed vice-president on the 9th of March, 1898. The thoroughness and persistency with which he applied himself while mastering the business has characterized his entire career, and has been supplemented by careful attention to detail and by hon- orable, straightforward effort, that has gained him a most excellent and envi- able reputation. For about four years he served as cashier of the Savings Bank of Port Chester, and is now first vice-president of that bank. He has been a director of the First National Bank for several years, vice-presi- dent of the Port Chester Water Company, and was one of the original stock- holders of the Port Chester Athletic Association; but the greater part of his time and attention has been devoted to the business of the Abendroth Broth- ers' Eagle Iron Works, which is one of the largest institutions of the kind in the state, employing several hundred workmen in manufacturing stoves, grates, steam heaters, etc.
Mr. Mills married Miss Maria F., daughter of William P. Abendroth, who was the founder and president of the works, and whose sketch appears on another page of this volume. Four children have been born to them: William, who is now serving as secretary of the corporation; John F., Jr., who also is connected with the business; Benjamin, who is connected with the shipping department; and Frank M., who is attending college.
Politically, Mr. Mills is an independent Democrat, has served as president of the board of education several years and as town auditor for a time. He is very popular in Masonic circles, being a member of Mamaro Lodge, No. 653, F. & A. M., of Port Chester; Mount Vernon Chapter, No. 228, R. A. M., and Bethlehem Commandery, No. 53, K. T. In social circles he and his- wife occupy an enviable position, and both hold membership in the Episco- pal church, in which Mr. Mills has served as vestryman for thirty years and. warden for five or six years.
WILLIAM P. ABENDROTH.
The life history of this gentleman is somewhat similar to that of many of the great men who have made and established American commerce and Ameri- can progress everywhere. The story of his early life if told in detail would form a narrative that could not fail to interest and hold the attention of every youth of the day who has the energy to succeed and the sterling integrity upon which to build a great business and establish a name as enduring as the eternal rocks that line the shores of our homes. There is nothing of the romantic in the life of Mr. Abendroth, but there is that firm purpose, that sterling tenacity to succeed, that honest, upright perseverance that knows no such word as fail. He belonged to that gifted race whose frugality and sin-
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gleness of purpose has brought them foremost in the scale of valor and prowess in the world.
Mr. Abendroth was born in Germany, December 18, 1818, and in 1832 came to New York with his parents; but after a short stay in the metropolis he went to Albany, where he began an apprenticeship in the foundry of Dr. Eliphalet Nott, remaining there two years, during which time he attended night school. When Dr. Nott went to New York city in 1834 and started the Novelty Iron Works, Mr. Abendroth accompanied him, completing his appren- ticeship in 1836. He then worked as a journeyman in the foundry of Bart- lett Bent in Jersey City until 1839, when he declined the position of foreman of that establishment, and with the hopes of securing something better he went to New Orleans. After a short period of recreation and labor in the Crescent City he went up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to Cincinnati and later to St. Louis, working for a while in both cities. At the end of a year, however, he returned to the east, and for three months was employed in the foundry of George E. Waring, in Stamford, Connecticut. He then came to Port Chester, New York, and formed a partnership with Philip Rollhaus, lay- ing the foundation of the great firm and mammoth foundry now known as Abendroth Brothers' Eagle Iron works, established in 1840. Business was begun on a small scale, and for a few years the efforts of the ambitious founders were somewhat circumscribed; but when the confidence of the com- mercial world was secured the path to prosperity was an easy one. Among the first to notice and appreciate the material advancement of the self-reliant young apprentice of a few years previous was Mr. Bent, who offered financial aid to the young founders. In 1845 Mr. Rollhaus retired from the firm and Augustus and John Abendroth, brothers of our subject, were admitted. The former died in 1881, and shortly afterward John D. Fraser, our subject's son- in-law, became interested in the business. John Abendroth retired in 1874. In 1876 the firm was changed to a stock company, Mr. Abendroth being elected president and remaining such up to the time of his death. While he had much to attend to in the management of the great plant, he yet found ample time to devote to the welfare of the community. He assisted in organ- izing the First National Bank in 1863, and served as one of its directors until called from this life. In 1865 he was instrumental in securing the charter for the organization of the Port Chester Savings Bank, and with other leading men laid the foundation of one of the most solid and substantial institutions in the country, a worthy monument to the sturdy, enterprising official who served as its first president, and laid down his stewardship only when stern death demanded it. He was also instrumental in.organizing the Port Chester Mutual Loan & Building Association in 1852-3; was a charter member of the fire company which became known as Putnam Engine, now Putnam
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