USA > New York > Broome County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Broome County, New York. > Part 18
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gan, who was born at Richfield Springs, N. Y. They are both members of the Tabernacle (Methodist Episcopal) Church.
Rollin W. Meeker was educated in the publie and high schools of Binghamton, and finished under private tuition. In September of 1888 he entered the office of the Hon. Ed- mund O'Connor, and read law with him until admitted by examination at the general term of court held at Binghamton February 5, 1892, being just of age. He began practis- ing law in the same office in which he had studied, and is in general practice, but prin- cipally engaged in litigated cases and trials before jury. He has been associated with Senator O'Connor in several notable cases, and is fast making a fine reputation. Mr. Rollin W. Meeker is Treasurer of Columbian Manufacturing Company, Secretary of Bing- hamton Woollen Company, a member of Chemical Fire Company, and in social life belongs to the Binghamton Club. Mr. Meeker is also on the Executive Committee of the Republican League of the Second Ward, and is Secretary of the Second Ward Repub- lican Club. He is active in Masonic affairs, being a member both of the Chapter and Com- mandery of Binghamton.
This young man is, as were his ancestors, a strong supporter of the Methodist Episcopal religion, and attends the Tabernacle Church of Binghamton. With his talents, and the great promise he has given so far such splen- did evidence of, there is no doubt of his making his mark among the highest legal luminaries of Broome County.
HARLES F. MOORE, a farmer and market gardener of the town of Bing- hamton, N.Y., was born at the family homestead, October 2, 1831. When the present city of Binghamton was but a small hamlet, familiarly known as "Chenang l"'int," Solomon Moore, the grandfather of Charles, after a journey through the wilder- ness from his native State, Vermont, in the year 1787 settled at the "P'int," where he remained for some time, and then purchased, through General Whitney, from Mr. Bingham, the productive farm of ninety acres on which his grandsons now reside. The only im- provement made on the place was where a little land had been cultivated by the Indians to raise corn ; and it was still almost all tim- bered when he built his log block-house near where the present residence of his grandson, John P. Moore, stands. Here Mr. Moore spent the rest of his life, dying in December of 1816. He married Miss Submit Murdock, of Vermont; and they reared four sons, namely: Beeby, who first settled near St. Joseph, Pa., and later near Rayville; Lark, who lived near Friendville; Solomon, who resided in Afton, N.Y., till his death in middle age; and John, who was born, lived, and died on the homestead.
John Moore was born February 10, 1797, and was educated in the village school, hav- ing the best educational facilities there afforded in those primitive times. He early manifested a taste for agriculture; and, be- coming heir to the farm after his father's death, he applied himself entirely to its man-
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agement, and brought the land into an excel- lent and productive state of cultivation. He was a dutiful son, and took care of his aged mother, who died at his home in 1846. John Moore married Miss Loretta Chamberlain, daughter of Judge William Chamberlain, who came to Broome from Dutchess County, New York, in the year 1799. Judge Chamberlain was appointed Justice of the l'eace in 1802, was Sheriff of the county in 1817, and after- ward held the office of Judge of Broome County for a number of years. He was a prominent factor in the politics of Broome County, and a man of keen intelligence and good judgment. Mr. and Mrs. John Moore reared four children, as follows: William C., a resident of New York City; Jane, Mrs. Lewis Baird, who died in 1879; Charles F. and John P., residing on a part of the old homestead in Binghamton. The father died January 1, 1878, and his wife January 17, 1860, at the home of her son, John P. Moore. The father and mother were members of the Episcopal church, in which Mr. Moore was a Warden and Vestryman for a number of years. He was possessed of great energy and ambi- tion, and, while a public-spirited citizen, was never an aspirant for political office.
Charles F. Moore received his education in the district schools, and afterward attended the academy at Binghamton, which then stood on the site where the County Clerk's office now stands, in the rear of the Court House. This institution of learning was founded in 1842, and became the Alma Mater of the majority of the best citizens of Binghamton.
In its advanced methods of education it may be considered to have been the pioneer of the present admirable high-school system of the city. Residing always on the old homestead, Charles assisted his father in the work of the farm. For some years this farm had been devoted to the culture of tobacco, which was a profitable crop; but after a time Charles and his father, finding that there was ready sale in Binghamton for fresh vegetables, gave up tobacco culture, and turned their attention to the raising of every variety of choice vegeta- ble, so that now Mr. Moore has one of the largest and best paying gardens in the State.
At twenty-four years of age Mr. Charles F. Moore married Miss Lydia A., daughter of David B. West. She was a native of New Jersey, and died seven years after her mar- riage, leaving one son, William A. Moore, now a prominent and successful physician of Binghamton. Her mother's maiden name was Gray. Mr. Moore married for his second wife Miss Margaret Bloomingdale, of Guilder- land, Albany County, N. Y., daughter of Adam and Alida La Grange Bloomingdale. . Their two children are Loretta and Charles H.
Mr. Moore is a member of the Knights of ". Honor, Lodge No. 571, of Binghamton. Hle ." is an ardent supporter of the Republican: party, and has always been deeply interested in its welfare. He is a member of the Epis- copal church, and with his family atttends the Church of the Good Shepherd, of which he is the Treasurer and Warden. The family of Mr. Moore have been intimately connected with the progress of Binghamton since the
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first building of a little cluster of dwellings on the banks of the Chenango River; and he can point with a just pride to the present beautiful city of Binghamton as the home of his forefathers, who were its pioneer set- tlers. Steadfast in their religious principles, they have done much toward the advancement of the Episcopal faith in the city, and, as honorable and upright citizens, have made a good record in the annals of Binghamton.
OHN J. IRVING, attorney-at-law, al- though not yet thirty years of age, has already made for himself an enviable name, and attained an honored position in the legal fraternity of Binghamton, N. Y. Mr. Irving was born at Susquehanna, Pa., Novem- ber 29, 1864, son of Nicholas and Hannah (Murphy) Irving. His mother was a native of Piermont, N.Y.
Nicholas Irving was for over thirty years foreman in the boiler-shops of the New York, Lake Erie & Western Railroad Company of that place. From Cork, Ireland, where he was born about the year 1830, at sixteen years of age, he came, friendless and alone, to a strange land, seeking work. He settled first at Piermont, N. Y., which was then the principal headquarters for the shops of the Erie Railroad, and there learned the trade of a mechanic. When the shops were removed to Susquehanna, Pa., he followed them, and held the position of foreman until he retired from active work. Ile lives now at Oakland, which is opposite the town of Susquehanna,
and has been an honored Trustee of the vil- lage. His wife was born at Piermont, N. Y. They have raised a family of ten children.
The clever young man whose name heads this sketch pursued his studies at the common school and the academy of Susquehanna, and also attended the conservatory of literature kept by Professor Bryant. Here he remained for two years, and then entered the Erie shops, at the age of fourteen, to learn the trade of boiler-maker, working there for four years. He next went to Oil City, l'a., to take the position of foreman of the Oil City Boiler Works; and in 1882 from there to Albany, N. Y., where he was employed in the Delaware & Hudson shops; then to Roanoke, Va., where he was assistant foreman of the Roanoke Machine Works until 1884, when he made up his mind definitely to study law. He entered the office of Scoville & DeWitt in Binghamton, N. Y., and studied there until May, 1889, when he was admitted to the bar at the general term of court held in Syracuse, N. Y., and after that located his office in Binghamton for the practice of his profession.
Mr. Irving was elected Supervisor for the Ninth Ward in 1889, re-elected in 1890 for the Tenth Ward, and in 1891-92 to represent the two wards consolidated, and again in 1893 was elected for the Tenth Ward. His clec- tion from the Ninth Ward, which is pre-emi- nently Republican, while he is an active Democrat, proves this gentleman's popularity.
In 1892 Mr. Irving was the candidate of his party for the office of District Attorney ; and, though defeated, he received a handsome
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complimentary vote. He has represented his party as a delegate to various conventions. During all the time of his office as Super- visor he has been a member of the Equaliza- tion Committee in the Board. He is also Secretary of the Examining and Supervising Board of Plumbers and Plumbing of Bingham- ton. He is a Trustee of Crystal Hose, No. I, and a prominent member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Mr. Irving adheres faithfully to the religion of his ancestors, belonging to the Roman Catholic Parish of St. Mary's. Familiar with the world of books and the world of work, at home in busi- ness, in politics, or the social circle, he has a good stock of available information and mother wit, and has on several occasions been listened to with pleasure in graceful and brilliant speeches.
ILLIAM F. HANEY. This gentle- man, although born in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, traces his ancestry to the Emerald Island, the land of poetry and song and the birthplace of the most gifted men of any country. His grandfather, Will- iam, and father, John, were born in Ireland ; and they came to the United States, making the journey in the slow and perilous style of the early days, by sailing-vessels. The ocean greyhounds of to-day were then not even dreamed of ; and a six weeks' voyage, often accompanied with untold sufferings and pri- vations, was nothing uncommon.
The grandfather had been a linen merchant
in the old country, and also by trade a weaver, but, after coming to America, followed farm- ing as a vocation. He first purchased a tract of land in Bradford County, and the primitive log house which he built was his first habita- tion ; and the next step was to clear the heav- ily timbered land and start his farm. By his untiring energy he soon had a fine residence and farm buildings erected, and lived to a hale, hearty age, enjoying the fruits of his labor and industry, dying full of honors and the respect of the community at the age of eighty-six years. He was a man of excellent education, genial disposition, and temperate habits, and deserved in every respect the high estimation in which he was held.
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The father, John, received a fine education in Ireland, and before emigrating to this country was married to Miss Nancy Irwin, of County Cavan. He was twenty-six years of age when he arrived in America, and after two years' residence with his father went to Rondout, N. Y., where he remained only a short time, going then to a northern county, residing there six years, occupied in farming, after which time he went to Susquehanna County, where he purchased a farm, and still resides there, an active man of seventy-four years.
The father and mother had nine children born to, them, as follows: Nancy A., de- ceased; William F .; David J. ; Margaret J. ; John A .; Robert J .; Mary E .; Amy L .; and Edwin R. The mother still lives.
Our subject, William F. Ilaney, was born September 14, 1847, and until the age of six-
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teen enjoyed the benefits of the excellent dis- trict schools of his native town, which, if not as extensive in course of study as the present schools, still gave him a thorough and prac- tical foundation, and was of infinite value to him in his later years in his struggles with the world.
His school-days being over, he entered upon farm work, hiring out at eleven dollars per month, and was for four years in the employ- ment of a Mr. Sherwood in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania. From there he moved to Washington County, and remained two years with Mr. McCollum.
In 1873 he chose for his partner in life Miss Jennie Hillis, of Rushville, Pa., and commenced his happy domestic life on a farm in Susquehanna County. He remained on this place for three years, and then engaged in the mercantile business at Rushville, Pa. ; but the old longing for the delightful inde- pendence of a farmer's life was too strong for him to resist, and, after one year keeping a store, he again took up farming in the same town, and for ten years successfully conducted it, finally accepting his present position as general superintendent of the farms of Mr. E. W. Conklin. These comprise an area of fifty acres in one, and one hundred and fifty in another. Mr. Haney has three men con- stantly working under him; and, besides at- tending to the products of these places, they make a specialty of dairying, and send the milk of fifty cows to the Binghamton Dairy Association.
Mr. Haney has been more than blessed in |
his journey through life by having for his wife a lady who, in every sense of the word, has been a sustaining help to him. Cheerful and patient in adversity, joyful and sympa- thizing in his prosperity, she has shared alike his sorrows and pleasures with an equable mind and temperament. A Christian woman in the fullest acceptation of the term, her life has been full of good deeds and worthy exam- ple; and, whether in church or social circles, she is deservedly popular and respected.
The family circle of Mr. and Mrs. Haney has been very happily gifted in their two daughters, the Misses Eva and Anna. Eva is a member of the graduating class of 1894 of the Binghamton High School, and is a young lady of rare culture and attainments.
Of the sisters and brothers of Mr. Haney whom we have already named, Margaret J. married H. A. Ross, of Stevensville, Brad- ford County, Pa. ; Robert J. married Miss Theresa Allen, of Orwell, Pa. ; David J. mar- ried Miss Minnie Pickett, of Rush, Pa., and their two children are Amy and Daisy; John A. married a Miss Ollie Hillis, of Rush, Pa. - they have one child, Rena; Mary E. mar- ried William M. Hillis, a real estate agent of Duluth, Minn. ; Amy L. is Mrs. Morris Cole- man, of Rush, Pa. ; and Edwin R., the young- est, is unmarried, and lives with his father in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.
Our subject and his wife are prominent members of' the West Presbyterian Church of Binghamton, N. Y. ; and he has served accep- tably as a teacher in the Sunday-school. Mr. llaney is Trustee of the school district in
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which he lives. His upright and blameless life has won for him the respect of all who know him; and his quiet, unostentatious man- ner, without wealth or strong personal influ- ence, has gained him an honorable position in the community.
For many years the Republican party found in him an ardent supporter, but his earnest and intelligent convictions on the temperance question has made him a powerful advocate for the cause of Prohibition.
Mr. Hancy has a frank, open, and delight- ful manner, with a smile and a kind word for all. For every fault he finds a palliative excuse, and for every good deed a generous and noble word of commendation. He is de- servedly respected and honored among the people of his section.
ALENTINE HEERMANN, M.D., who came to Binghamton on the 15th of April, 1893, brings to his practice here a fine education, which has been supplemented by years of professional experience in Ger- many, France, and the United States. ITe has been a close student of prophylactics and therapeutics in different countries and in various languages, and has thus become ac- quainted with the best known methods for the prevention of disease as well as the remedy. ITe has also an intuitive perception and skill, reaching beyond the acquired learning of the schools, which probably comes from heredi- tary influences, his grandfather and his father both having been eminent physicians.
His grandfather, Dr. Lewis Heermann, a native of New Orleans, was appointed Sur- geon's Mate in the United States Navy in 1802. Ile was with Lieutenant Stephen Decatur at the time of the burning of the "Philadelphia " in the harbor of Tripoli, February 16, 1804, and was promoted to be Surgeon on November 27 of that year. The ancestry of this family may be traced to the carly settlement of the country, before there was any city of New York, one of the Doc- tor's progenitors having been a member of the municipal council of New Amsterdam. Dr. Lewis Heermann died on May 19, 1833, leav- ing a widow and five sons, Charles Frederick, the father of our subject, being one of them.
Mrs. Heermann took the family and trav- elled abroad for several years, during which time Charles F. was placed in school at Geneva. He was naturally inclined to the study of medicine, and went to Heidelberg, that he might receive the best of instruction; but, being unexpectedly called to the United States to attend to business matters of impor- tance, he took his degree at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. After two years of additional study and investigation of the different schools of medicine he concluded that the art of healing was in great measure founded on resemblances, thus reaching the same decision as did Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, and becoming a homeopathist. Subsequently he was Professor of Physiology in the Hahne- mann College of Philadelphia. In 1865 he went to Baltimore, Md., where he was en- gaged in general practice for some years.
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CHARLES ORSON ROOT
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The family in the mean time, remained abroad, and he was accustomed to make an- nual trips to visit them. On one of these occasions he was invited by a physician in Paris to take his practice. He accordingly removed to that city in April, 1870, where he has since remained. He was married in 1850 to Miss Eliza Buerck, of Heidelberg; and to them have been born four children, namely: Clifford, who lives in Europe; Charles; Valentine; and Lolita, wife of Major von Tempsky, of the Imperial Guard of Germany.
Dr. Valentine Heermann was born at Mann- heim, Germany, October 24, 1855, during a foreign tour of the family, and came to the United States when six months old. He attended school a short time in Philadelphia, and during the Civil War, or a part of it, was in Germany at school, where he learned the German language. He returned to Philadel- phia in 1865, and soon after removed to Balti- more. From 1870 to 1879 he was in Paris, France, perfecting his education, speaking and writing in the French language. Re- turning to the United States, he entered Hahnemann College of Philadelphia for a three years' course, graduating in 1882. He went again to Paris, and from there went to Labne in Schleswig-Holstein, where he had charge of sixteen villages. In 1885, being called back to Paris on account of his father's deafness, he continued there in practice as his father's assistant for four years. Again crossing the Atlantic in 1889, he went to the city of Washington, D.C., remaining there
cighteen months, and then, going to Balti- more, Md., where he continued in practice till about a year ago, when he came to Bing- hamton, as above stated.
HARLES ORSON ROOT, present Secretary of the Binghamton Railroad Company, was born at Chenango Forks, Broome County, N. Y., January 31, 1830, son of William R. Root, who came to Broome County with his father, an old Revo- lutionary soldier. The first of the family came to this country in 1640, and settled in Farmington, Conn.
William Root, father of William R. Root, was born in Great Barrington, Berkshire County, Mass., March 15, 1759, and enlisted in the Revolutionary Army in the year 1776, serving six months; enlisted a second time in January, 1777, serving three months at Ti- conderoga, under General Anthony Wayne; enlisted for the third time, May 26, 1777, for three years; and in 1780 again enlisted for nine months, being honorably discharged in . 1781. He was in the battle at White Plains in 1776, under Washington, and in 1777 in the battle at Saratoga, under General Gates against Burgoyne; next at the battle of Mon- mouth in 1778, under Washington; and in 1779 at the storming of Stony Point, under General Wayne, where he led a platoon of eighteen picked men into the fort in the midst of the greatest carnage. In a very few minutes after this daring decd the fort was taken. Soon after the Revolution William
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Root went to Chenango County, New York, and settled for a while in Coventry, going from there to Greene, where he spent the rest of his life. ,
William R. Root was a blacksmith by trade, but followed merchandising as a store- keeper at Chenango Forks until 1848, when he bought a farm one and a half miles from that village, where he resided until the last two years of his life, which he spent in Bing- hamton .. ITe was Constable at Chenango Forks, and was Inspector of Elections in the old town of Port Crane. He married Miss Clarina King, of Sempronius, Cayuga County, N. Y., daughter of Charles King, an old pio- neer farmer of that place. She was a relig- ious woman, Baptist in faith. Their only child was Charles Orson, the subject of the present sketch. By Mr. Root's second mar- riage, to a Miss Mix, there were five children born, of whom two are living, Horace D. and Ann Elizabeth.
Charles Orson was educated in the district schools of Chenango Forks, and at sixteen years of age went into his father's store as clerk, remaining thus engaged until the re- tirement of his father in 1848, after which he carried on the business alone. On July 28, IS51, he started to California, being attracted to that place by the wonderful stories of fort- unes made in the gold mines. He was six weeks making the trip, going via Panama, and on his arrival went to mining in Cala- veras County, near Mokelumne Hill. For one year he worked there, but afterward obtained the clerkship in the employ of his uncle,
Stephen R. King, who was in the lumber business in San Francisco. He left San Francisco March 20, 1854, arriving at his home on April 12 following, and commenced business with Mr. Daniel Lowell, the firm name being Lowell & Root, at Chenango Forks. They kept a general country store; and the partnership continued for six years, when Mr. Lowell retired, and the new firm became Rogers & Root, which continued until the fall of 1861. At this time Mr. Root was elected Clerk of Broome County, and in the fall of 1864 was re-elected, each term being for three years. At the expiration of the second term, January 1, 1868, Mr. Root started a general hardware establish- ment, with stoves, tinware, gas-fitting and plumbing, under the firm name of Mason, Root & Co., in the city of Binghamton, N. Y. This partnership continued for seven years, when Mr. Root disposed of his interest, and in November of that year went into the insur- ance business with J. P. Morgan, the firm being known as C. O. Root & Co. While in the insurance business, he was also interested in the present sewage system of the city of Binghamton, having had several large con- tracts awarded him by the city authorities. Mr. Root remained in business with Mr. .. Morgan until January 1, 1892, when he be- came the Secretary of the Binghamton Street Railroad system. Among the various under- takings of Mr. Root, it may be mentioned that he built the Binghamton Awning and Tent Company's building. He has served acceptably as Alderman of the old Third
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Ward, and also as Supervisor for the same part of the city. Before removing to Bing- hamton, he was Town Clerk of Barker, in Broome County, holding the office for six years, and was then elected to the Clerkship of the whole county.
On May 20, 1854, at Chenango Forks, Mr. Charles Orson Root was married to Miss Sally A. Doane. She was a native of Amenia, Dutchess County. Three daughters were born to this marriage, namely: Lillian, wife of William T. Race, a physician of Kearney, Neb. ; Aline May, married to Mr. Edwin S. Truesdell, of the firm of McTighe & Truesdell, wholesale grocers of Bingham- ton ; and Nellie E., living with her parents at their pleasant home, No. 276 Front Street. Mr. and Mrs. Root are members of the First Presbyterian Church.
Mr. Root bears a high reputation as a pro- gressive and enterprising citizen of Bingham- ton, having filled many positions of trust and importance. In his present situation he is well employed in improving and in advancing the interests of the street railways, which are doing so much to promote the growth and extension of the city. Should Mr. Root desire to join the New York Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, he would have no difficulty, in view of the long- continued, patriotic services of his grandsire, in establishing his claim to membership.
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