USA > New York > Broome County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Broome County, New York. > Part 17
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The school privileges of young Abel Ben- nett were confined to two winter terms in a private school kept by his cousin, the Rev. Henry Robertson. But he was of a studious nature, and improved every opportunity of acquiring useful knowledge, storing his mind from the best books that came within his reach. At the age of sixteen he went to work hauling logs to the mill for his father, using oxen and horses, and thus passed the whole winter. At eighteen years of age he began teaming the sawed lumber from the mill to the Delaware River, fifteen miles distant, near Deposit, whence it was rafted to the Phil- adelphia markets. It was at this time that a circumstance occurred which gave a remark- able exhibition of his presence of mind and physical strength. Fully one hundred thou- sand feet of lumber had been taken to the river and prepared for rafting. A "January thaw " was threatened; and Abel and his cousin Rufus, who were in charge of the float, anxiously watched the river, fearing that the ice would break, and that the consequent freshet would scatter the lumber, which had been piled by the sleigh or sledge load in different places. Just before settling them- selves for the night, the young men went for a final look at the river, and found to their amazement that it had risen suddenly, and that there was danger of the ice-floes sweep- ing their cargo away. The practical mind of Abel instantly suggested that, if the lumber was made into a heavy barricade, the current would have no effect upon it. Quickly fol- lowing the idea, he sprang into the chilling
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stream, and for hours worked standing in ice- cold water, reaching some of the time almost to his armpits, and finally succeeded in piling the lumber into a solid mass, which success- fully resisted the force of the flood. This readiness of resource and evidence of courage and unfaltering will was so satisfactory to his father and uncle that they gave him entire charge of the sale of their lumber, where he again proved himself a financier so keen and quick-witted as to raise their profits higher than they had ever before made. And thus it was all through his life in every enterprise he undertook, the same calm and cool judgment, inventive genius, sobriety, and unostentatious manner gaining for him the confidence and reliance of all with whom he was connected.
In 1840 Mr. Bennett engaged as a clerk in a general store at Wilkesbarre, Pa., owned by Messrs. Johnson & Lathrop. Here he re- mained until the following spring, when he became interested with Mr. Johnson in a coal company at Pittston, Pa. It was here that Mr. Bennett's practical talents were of the highest service. He was the first to conceive the plan of having the coal raised by eleva- tors, and there is no doubt that the idea origi- nated with him. It was at this place that Mr. Bennett laid the foundation for his future large fortune. By reason of the hard times and the tariff agitation the iron mills were in a precarious condition; and, as the coal com- pany depended on their patronage in a great measure, Mr. Bennett brought all his energies to bear, and, by selling to them at five per cent. less for cash payments and giving his
notes, secured money enough to Hoat the com- pany, and finally, by buying up all the other interests, became the owner of the Pennsyl- vania Coal Company, which to-day is in exist- ence with a capital of two hundred thousand dollars. When he purchased this mine and the land around, he sold lots to merchants, who saw that it was a promising location; and thus commenced the town of Pittston. From these lots Mr. Bennett and his father-in-law and partner, Mr. J. W. Johnson, realized a handsome profit. Mr. Johnson was a half- brother of Mr. Bennett's mother, and, having always taken a great interest in his nephew, had aided him in speculations, which Mr. Bennett reciprocated by taking Mr. Johnson in as equal partner in the sales of the land, which netted them one hundred and twenty- five thousand dollars over all expenses. Little did Mr. Bennett and his partner dream, when they sunk the shaft of that mine, that the future cities of Scranton and Pittston would be the result of their enterprise.
In May of 1848 Mr. Bennett removed to New York City, and became a partner in the firm of Lathrop, Luddington & Co. This great company, known throughout the United States, of which Mr. Bennett and Mr. John- son were special partners, occupied three large stores on Broadway, where their sales aggregated in a single year eleven million dollars. When this firm became involved by the financial depression following the war, Messrs. Luddington & Bennett, by paying sixty cents on the dollar, bought the stock and assets, giving their notes for about nine
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hundred thousand dollars, which were all paid within the time specified. Mr. Bennett never realized entirely on these advances, but se- cured some fine Western lands, which are constantly growing in value.
In 1847 Mr. Abel Bennett was married to Miss Adelaide Johnson, the eldest daughter of Mr. James W. Johnson, who was his friend and partner, and resided at that time in Pitts- ton. After the death of Mr. Johnson his widow made her home in an elegant mansion on the Riverside Drive in Binghamton, N. Y., where she died in 1892. She was a woman of rare intelligence and benevolence; and to her charity the Old Ladies' Home at Fairview, a suburb of Binghamton, is indebted for its existence. Mrs. Adelaide J. Bennett died December 13, 1854, leaving one child, Helen, wife of the Hon. S. C. Millard, a distin- guished lawyer of Binghamton, who repre- sented his district in Congress as a member of the House of Representatives for two years. On February 19, 1857, Mr. Bennett married for his second wife Miss Eugenia Griffith Lathrop, daughter of William Lathrop, of Al- bany (deceased), and niece of the late R. D. Lathrop, of the dry-goods firm in New York City of which Mr. Bennett was a partner. To this marriage were born two sons: Charles Pearson, on May 27, 1858; and Fred., August 4, 1860. Charles resides on the ex- tensive ranch in Iowa which was left to him by his father, and Fred lives at the beautiful home on College Hill purchased by his father in 1859.
Mr. Bennett invested largely in real estate
in the city of Binghamton, buying a great deal of land on Washington Street, where he erected the large business block known as the Bennett Block; and in 1877 he built the fine structure known as the Hotel Bennett, the plans of which were drawn by I. G. Perry, the Superintendent of the State Capitol at Al- bany. In September of 1863 the First Na- tional Bank of Binghamton was organized; and February 27, 1864, it went into operation with Mr. Bennett as President. In the year 1867 Binghamton obtained a city charter ; and Mr. Bennett, although a Republican, received an election almost unanimous, all parties combining to vote for him for their first Mayor. He displayed the same ability and success in municipal affairs as had followed him in commercial ones; and his administra- tion was wise, conservative, and popular.
But the greatest and most distinguishing trait of Mr. Bennett was his public spirit and his practical benevolence. Up to 1869 the indigent poor and orphan children of the .county had been herded in the common alms- house, where they were associated with the most corrupt outcasts of society. In conjunc- tion with Dr. Orton and other philanthropic citizens, Mr. Bennett founded the Susque- hanna Valley Home, which was chartered March 15, 1869, for the purpose of affording "a Christian home and suitable instruction for destitute children, and to secure their adoption into families of respectability and benevolence." The Home had temporary quarters at first at Place College in Bingham- ton; but in 1871 a State appropriation of
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twenty thousand dollars enabled the purchase of the present llome, situated on the banks of the Susquehanna River. Mr. Bennett, from its very first inception, manifested the most lively interest, and in advice, counsel, and pecuniary aid contributed much toward over- coming the difficulties attending the founding of a new institution. He was President of the Board of Managers for many years, and his watchful care and fatherly interest greatly assisted in carrying on this noble work. Un- ostentatious, kindly and plain in his manner, Mr. Bennett was as unpretentious as the most humble man in his employ. His hand was ever ready and open to the cause of the needy, and his active philanthropy was as much re- marked as his business enterprise.
Mrs. Eugenia (Lathrop) Bennett was a lady well known for her noble generosity and munificent charities. Her name was pro- verbial among the poor as their refuge and benefactress in all trouble, and her memory to-day is recorded in their hearts more endur- ingly than on any tablet of bronze or marble. Her death occurred December 24, 1886; and a touching circumstance showing her provi- dent thought and care for her dear friends and her beloved poor was made known in looking over her effects, where were found ticketed and labelled her Christmas gifts for every one. She was an active member of the First Pres- byterian Church, and illustrated in her life the sincerity of her religious faith. The Sus- quehanna Valley Home found no truer friend than this good woman, who ably co-operated with her husband in this humane work of
caring for the orphaned little ones. After the death of his wife Mr. Bennett visibly de- clined in health, and died June 11, 1889, at Glen Haven, N. Y., a resort for invalids, whither he had gone in hopes of regaining his strength. Ife died peacefully and resigned, attended in his last hours by the loving min- istrations of his devoted daughter, Mrs. S. C. Millard. His grave is in beautiful Spring Forest Cemetery, Binghamton. Of Mr. Ben- nett may be truly said, "Vita enim mortuo- rum in memoria vivorum est posita"; for he survives in the remembrance and veneration of the people of the city he so helped to beautify, and in the hearts of the helpless waifs to whom he was such a benefactor.
The steel - engraved portrait of the Hon. Abel Bennett herewith presented is an invalu- able supplement to this biographical sketch, as serving to perpetuate the features of this true-hearted philanthropist, whose charity was not in words alone, but in fitting deeds
"Of kindness and of love."
UGHI GARNETT PULLEN, D.D.S., is a prominent and successful dentist of Binghamton, N. Y., resident in this city since 1886. Dr. Pullen was born in Devonshire, England, in 1859, and came to this country when but fifteen years of age with his parents, who settled near Toronto, Canada.
Hugh Pullen, Sr., the father of Dr. Pullen, was a Captain in the English Navy. All the older male members of the Pullen family be-
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longed to the navy, as do most of those resid- ing in England to-day. The Doctor had an uncle, William Pullen, who was an Admiral. Captain Pullen saw 'twenty-seven years of active service under the British ensign, and, when he retired, emigrated with his family to Canada, where he remained until his death. His wife was Mary S. Skinley. She was also a native of Devonshire, England, and now resides in Toronto.
When eleven years of age, young Pullen was sent to the royal naval school at New- cross, England, near London, where he com- pleted his literary education, this school being for sons of officers, with a view to their join- ing the English navy. Instead of embracing his hereditary calling and becoming a mid- shipman in her Majesty's service, the lad came with his parents to America, as above mentioned, and in due course of time adopted a profession that was neither nautical nor bel- ligerent.
After pursuing a course of study in den- tistry, he located himself at Winona, Minn., where he practised for two years. He then spent two years more at the Philadelphia Col- lege, at which he was graduated in the class of 1884. Soon after he settled in Bingham- ton, N. Y., where he has built up a large practice, attending strictly and faithfully to his business, and patronized by the best people of the city of his adoption.
Dr. Pullen is a gentleman of fine presence, genial and cordial, and a favorite in the high- est circles of Binghamton society. lle mar- ried Miss Ernestine Clapp, daughter of Cyrus
S. Clapp, Esq., of Binghamton, and grand- daughter of John Clapp, who was an old and distinguished citizen of this city. The wed- ding occurred June 9, 1887; and the recep- tion was one of the most elegant and brilliant social functions ever held. in Binghamton. Dr. and Mrs. Pullen have one child, Ernes- tine. They are members of Christ (Episco- pal) Church, and reside in a tasteful home on Arthur Street in Binghamton, where they entertain with cordial and generous hospital- ity. The Doctor is a member of the Bing- hamton and Dobson Clubs, the two leading social clubs of the city. He votes the Re- publican ticket.
HEODORE GREEN, a veteran of the Civil War, now a farmer of the town of Fenton, has occupied his present home- stead since 1888, and makes agriculture his business, although he has learned the trades of carpenter and wagon-maker. He was born in the town of Chenango in 1844, a son of Alvah Green, who was born at the same place, February 22, 1812.
The father of Alvah was also a farmer, and came from Connecticut to New York when a young man, settling in Broome County, near what is now the city of Binghamton, and could at that time have purchased the ground where the Court House now stands for three dollars per acre. lle preferred the hills for settlement, calculating that the upland was the best for wheat ; and that product was con- sidered of much importance. He had five
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sons and one daughter, all of whom are now gone but the youngest, William M., now over seventy years old, and living at Port Dickin- son. Grandfather Green was for a time en- gaged with his son Benjamin in keeping a , general store at Binghamton. Alvah Green married Catharine Conklin, of this county, her people having come from Connecticut in an carly day. She is now seventy-six years old, and lives at Kirkwood. She is the mother of seven children, only two of whom are now living, Theodore and Stephen G., who lives at Kirkwood.
Theodore Green, when twenty-one years old, enlisted in the army, and went forth to the defence of his country. He belonged to Com- pany E of the One Hundred and Thirty- seventh New York Volunteer Infantry, and served till the close of the war, having been in the service a little less than one year. He escaped injury from the missiles of war, but was compelled to succumb to the results of exposure and army life, being for some time confined in the hospital. He was afflicted with inflammation of the eyes, from the ef- fects of which he has never fully recovered. He was brought up on the farm, and had a fair opportunity to attend school until the time of his enlistment. lle was married when twenty-one, on June 22, 18644, just before entering the army, to Flora Blatchley, of Windsor, a daughter of George Blatchley. About five years ago he bought for sixteen hundred dollars his present farm, which is located in the south-west corner of the town of Barker and near Castle Creek. Mr.
Green's first wife died during the fall of 1884, leaving three children, having buried two infant daughters. The living arc: George B., twenty-six years old, residing in Binghamton; Annie E., wife of Mr. Merse- rau, a shoe merchant of Windsor; and Willie, aged thirteen. Mr. Green was again married, in 1889, to Anna Ross. By this latter union there is one child, Lillie May, two years old. Mr. and Mrs. Green are Methodists, and take an interest in the welfare of that church and in the cause of Christianity.
ILLIAM F. YOUNG, a prosperous manufacturer and tradesman, enjoys the distinction of being, with possibly a single exception, the only man who has been continuously at the head of his business for over forty years in the city of Binghamton, N. Y. Mr. Young was born in Würtemberg, Germany, December 10, 1821, son of John Henry and Louise (Fisher) Young. He was carly left an orphan, his father dying when he was but three years old, and his mother when he was but six years. Owing to the excellent system of education in Germany, he received the best school advantages there until the age of fifteen years, when he emigrated to New York City, where his uncle, Christian Speidel, resided.
Those were the days when the father or the guardian of the family had the right to decide what the boys should do, and the laws of apprenticeship were in full force. William was therefore bound out as an apprentice to
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John Waydell, on Dover Street, New York City, to learn the cooper's trade. There he served until 1842, when, having reached the age of twenty-one, he went as a cooper on a whaling voyage, shipping in the bark "Mary Frazer " bound to the North and South Pacific Oceans, going by way of Cape Horn. He was four years on this trip, weighing anchor at New Bedford, Mass., April 17, 1842, and dropping it again in the same harbor April 15, 1846. During that time they had visited the South American coast and Sandwich Islands for wood and water about every six months, generally remaining at those places from two to four weeks. On his return to New York he stayed until December, working for his old employer, and then went to Cuba, where he opened a shop of his own at Nue- vitas, in which he made sugar and molasses hogsheads, building up quite a trade, employ- ing a great many men.
He left Cuba in July, 1850, and reached Binghamton, N. Y., in September of the same year, intending to go to California. Speak- ing Spanish well, and knowing all about the craft of sailing, he was well fitted to go out as a pioncer into the gold regions; but through the influence and advice of friends he concluded to settle in Binghamton, where he has remained ever since. The city was then but a village, and not a cooper among its inhabitants. So he embraced the splendid opportunity offered him, bought land, and built himself a shop. ITis first purchase was on the corner of Susquehanna and State Streets, but soon afterward he bought the
land where Weed's tannery now stands on Washington Street.
The canal then went along the whole of State Street, and down Washington to the river at the place where his office and works are now located. He sold the land on the corner of Washington and Susquehanna Streets about 1872. In 1865, having bought the point between Water and Washington Streets, which was then all swamp, he filled it in, and has made the ground on which he has his plant, consisting of office, shop, and store-rooms, his works being carried on by steam power. Until 1870 he had a large trade in his line of manufactures with the West Indies, shipping his goods by way of canal and ocean, and doing mainly a whole- sale business as long as lumber lasted in his vicinity and the methods of shipping were unchanged. He also dealt in coopers' sup- plies, selling to the trade around him, and in New York State as well as Pennsylvania, buying stock by carloads from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Indiana, and selling to others who could not buy large lots. He manufact- ured extensively pork barrels and butter tubs and firkins for dairy work.
Mr. Young started out in life with indeed a very small capital, for on the day his ap- prenticeship ceased his employer presented him with the munificent sum of one dollar; but he had a good trade and a stout heart, and these were sufficient to insure him a fortune. Ilis employer was, however, a friend to him in giving him financial backing, and made his .
visits to New York pleasant and profitable.
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For ten years Mr. Young was City Assessor, which office he conducted to the entire satis- faction of the community and with honor to himself, positively declining at the end of those years another nomination. He was an old member of the hand fire-engine company, and now belongs to the Exempt Firemen's Association.
Mr. Young was married in Newark, N. J., May 4, 1851, to Miss Caroline B. Munder, who was of German birth. They have four children, namely: Emma, wife of Francis McCarthy, of Filson, Douglas County, Ill .; Caroline, Mrs. L. A. IIard, of Candor, N.Y .; William H., of Binghamton; and Louisa, wife of H. II. Roberts, of Davenport, Ia., Principal of the high school of that place. Mr. Young has been a member of the First Presbyterian Church for over thirty-five years, and is a ruling elder and member of the session. He is a large holder of real estate, owning several houses on Washington and Water Streets adjoining his shop, and has a fine residence and other rented property on Isbell Street, all of which he has made by his own energy and strict attention to his business. He is a fine Christian man, broad and liberal, and among the most respected and esteemed citizens of Binghamton, having made for himself an honorable record in his forty years' residence in this city.
FORGE N. KEATOR, hotel-keeper at Hawleyton, in the town of Bingham- ton, Broome County, was born in New Jersey,
June 30, 1840. His father, Peter Keator, was born in Kingston, Ulster County, N. Y., where he was educated in the district schools, and afterward took up the occupation of farm- ing. Later he removed to Sussex County, New Jersey, and remained there many years, finally settling in Birchrunville, Pa., where he died. He married Miss Julia Ann Cort- right, a native of Sussex County, New Jersey. Eight children were born to their marriage, as follows: Westbrook; Joseph; Isaiah; Lydia, Mrs. Jerome Burr; Achsa, Mrs. Decker; Elizabeth; and Gilbert and George. The mother died in New Jersey.
George N. Keator, after completing his education in the district schools, remained at home until his twenty-first year, when he went to Port Jervis, N. Y., and started for himself in the hotel business, which he fol- lowed for nine years, going from there to Birchrunville, Pa., where he engaged in farm- ing with his brother. He stayed at that place until his marriage, in 1856, when he removed to his present home in the town of Bingham- ton, N. Y., buying what was then known as the Gage Hotel, and kept by Theodore Gage. The building even then was considered an old one, but he resided in it for some years. Mr. Keator has lately built his present fine struct- ure, and conducts a regular hotel business here.
Mr. Keator was married in 1856 to Miss Augusta, daughter of John W. Dodge, of Pennsylvania. Their family circle has been blessed with five children: Eugene I .; Etta A .; George N., Jr .; William B .; and Au-
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gusta D. On April 22, 1890, the daughter Etta was married to Henry Harding, of New Milford, l'a. Mr. Harding, who belongs to the Order of Odd Fellows, No. 207, of New Milford, conducts a harness-making business in Hawleyton.
Mr. Keator is a veteran of the Civil War, having enlisted in 1862 in the Fifteenth New Jersey Regiment. Hle first entered for three months, and was discharged, and then re-en- listed in the Fifty-second Pennsylvania Regi- ment for three months, and participated in many battles, among them Fair Oaks, Seven Pines, Chickahominy, and others. Ile was fortunate in escaping unharmed from these engagements, and returning to his home with an honorable discharge. He is deeply inter- ested in the cause of the veterans, and is a member of the Grand Army l'ost of Ilawley- ton, N. Y. The Keator family all attend the Methodist church, and are warm supporters of that faith. Mr. Keator is a representative man of his town, ever favoring whatever is for the improvement and elevation of society, and has proved himself always a loyal and true citizen of his country.
OLLIN W. MEEKER, a rising and popular attorney of Binghamton, N. Y., was born December 25, 1870, son of Eli S. and Samantha L. (Mor- gan) Mecker. His paternal grandfather, Samuel Meeker, a native of Massachusetts, when a young man settled at Quaker Lake, Pa., where the homestead still stands. As
was common in many of the carly settlements of this country, a portion of this farm was marked off and enclosed as a family cemetery. The great number of tombstones therein bearing the name and attesting the virtues of the Meeker family proves that they were of more than ordinary importance in that neigh- borhood.
Mr. Samuel Meeker married Miss Sarah Finch, of Susquehanna County, who still lives, aged eighty-five years. IIe died in February, 1892, at the age of eighty-six. At the time of his coming to Quaker Lake he bought new land and improved the farm, sub- sequently going to Hawleyton, l'a. He was of old l'uritan ancestry, and a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church, often walking several miles to attend divine ser- vice.
Eli S., son of Samuel and Sarah (Finch) Meeker, was born near Hawleyton in 1833. When he was twenty-one years old, he engaged in the lumber business, making his home at Ilawleyton. In 1881 he came to Bingham- ton, N. Y., and entered into partnership with WVaring S. Weed, the firm being known as W. S. Weed & Co., wholesale dealers in lum- ber in Western Pennsylvania, and retailing blinds, sash, doors, etc., in Binghamton. : While in Hawleyton, Mr. Meeker was a Supervisor and School Commissioner. In Binghamton he has served as Alderman of the Second Ward for two terms. Ile is the Presi- cent of the Columbian Manufacturing Com- pany, and is one of the Commissioners of Ross Park. He married Samantha L. Mor-
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