USA > New York > Broome County > Biographical review : this volume contains biographical sketches of the leading citizens of Broome County, New York. > Part 36
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R. A. S. COOK, V.S., was born near Toronto, Canada, March 29, 1848, son of Jonathan and Mary (Bigham) Cook. He was born on the farm which was his mother's birthplace. Ilis maternal grand- father, Andrew Bigham, was a Canadian set- tler, emigrating to Canada from the north of Ireland. He was a linen weaver by trade, and succeeded so well in his business that he was able to make for himself a fine home.
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His wife was a Miss Shepherd. Jonathan Cook, his son, and father of Dr. Cook, was born in County Suffolk, England, and came to this country with his father at the age of thir- teen, settling in Canada about 1830. Ile was reared to agricultural pursuits, and also dealt in farm implements. He died when over sixty years of age. The mother died in 1893, at the age of seventy. They were both mem- hers of the Wesleyan Methodist church.
After the subject of this sketch had re- ceived his education in the common schools of his town, he remained for some time with his father in business. When about twenty years of age, he decided on becoming a veter- inary surgeon, and entered the Ontario Veter- inary College at Toronto, Canada, from which he was graduated December 22, 1872. Ile located in Binghamton, N. Y., in January, 1873, and has conducted the Binghamton Horse Infirmary in the rear of No. 145 Water Street for the past twenty-one years. He was the first graduated surgeon of his profession in Binghamton, and has now a large practice, not only in the city, but throughout the coun - try districts. Dr. Cook is the owner of some valuable trotting stock, and on the old home- stead farm in Canada, which he owns with his brother, has about a dozen fine breeding mares. lle is quite extensively engaged in raising racing stock, and has in all about twenty-eight head of trotters and runners, including Kitty Frazier, who has a record of 2.21}, and Harry Cardinal, 2.274. Among six or seven other promising colts, he has a pair of three year and a pair of four year olds,
of which great expectations are formed. Dr. Cook employs a corps of experienced trainers, and the records of his horses are among the best. Ile is also contractor for cleaning the streets of Binghamton; and so well is the work done that the city is known far and wide as the Parlor City. He is a member of the Improved Order of Red Men, and also of the Iron llall.
Dr. Cook married Miss Nettie Merritt, of Jamestown, N. Y. ; and this estimable lady has made hosts of friends since her residence in Binghamton. In his profession the Doc- tor's skill is unquestioned, and his personal qualities have won for him the high regard of all his acquaintance.
OBERT S. PARSONS, attorney and counsellor-at-law of the firm of Per- kins & Parsons, is a gentleman of high standing in the legal profession, and an honored resident of the city of Binghamton. Ile was born at Whitney's Point, Broome County, N. Y., May 8, 1867, son of Joseph S. and Mary A. (Hubbard) Parsons, the former of whom was also a native of Broome County. His father, Colonel Lorenzo Par- sons, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was one of the pioneers of the county, his' title being earned by services in the War of 1812. Joseph S. Parsons was reared and edu- cated in Broome County, and was later en- gaged in Steuben County as an extensive dealer in lumber. He removed again to Broome County, where he resided on his farm
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until his death, which occurred February 28, 1804. Ile had been Supervisor of his town for several years, and took an active part in town and county matters, being a representa- tive man in his part of the State. llis wife was a member of an old and respected family of Broome County. They had five children who arrived at maturity, namely : Edward W., who was for some years engaged in the live- stock business in the West, but now resides at Whitney's Point, N. Y .; Alma H., wife of John L. Beach, of Alfred Centre, Allegany County, N. Y .; Robert S. : Clara W., wife of William E. Amsbury, of Port Dickinson, N. Y. ; and Fannie, recently deceased.
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Robert S. Parsons received his carly edu- cation in the district school at Whitney's Point, and was graduated from the academy at that place in 1886. He then entered Cornell University Law School, where he prepared himself for the practice of his chosen profes- sion, and was graduated with high honors with the class of 1889. Ile spent one year in the office of Messrs. Millard & Stewart, of Binghamton, N. Y., and was admitted to the bar May 1, 1890, having passed his examina- tion at the general term held in Syracuse, N. Y. Opening an office in" Binghamton, he practised by himself for a short time, but later formed a partnership with Harry C. Per- kins, Esq., under the firm name of Perkins & Parsons, which connection has continued to the present time. As a member of this firm, Mr. Parsons gained an enviable reputation by the skilful management of the Foote murder trial, a famous case which will long be re-
membered by the people in this part of the State. The firm was not called into the case until at a late stage of its progress; and, although they received no compensation in a financial way, they conducted the case in so masterly a manner as to gain the applause of the entire legal fraternity, not only of Bing- hamton, but of many of the large cities throughout the State. Mr. Parsons gives full attention to general law practice, and, al- though a young man, has already attained a high degree of success in his chosen calling. Mr. Parsons joined the Masonic fraternity at Whitney's l'oint, N. Y., when but a little over twenty-one years of age, and is a member of Otseningo Lodge, A. F. & A. M., being at the present time Junior Warden. Hle is also a member of Phi Delta Phi, Conklin Chapter. While not being in any sense an office-seeker, Mr. Parsons takes pleasure in active politics, especially in local affairs, as a means of advancing the interests of his adopted city. He is a decided Republican in his views, and works actively for the interests of his party. Ile is a scholarly gentleman, a useful citizen, and one of the most respected residents of Binghamton.
DWARD M. TIERNEY. This gentle- man, who is a partner of Mr. John W. Kennedy (under the firm name of Kennedy & Tierney), is one of the owners and proprietors of the Arlington Hotel of Binghamton, N. Y. Ile was born in Susquehanna, l'a., November 11, 1858. His parents were John and Mary
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(Ryan) Tierney; and his father was one of the pioneers of Susquehanna, having located there long before the Erie Railroad was built through that section, and engaged in the grocery business, which he continued until his death in February, 1874. He was a native of County Clare, Ireland, and emi- grated to Pennsylvania when a young man. He was a prominent citizen of his town, served as a member of the Common Council, and held other local offices to the satisfaction of the public and to his own credit.
Edward M. Tierney was but fifteen years old when his father died. From his earliest years he was a bright student, and learned quickly, soon finishing the course of study in the public schools of Susquehanna. Ile also evinced a talent for literary pursuits, and per- fected his education more by his connection with the various newspapers for which he wrote than from any special educational ad- vantages received while at school. For many years he wrote for the old Susquehanna Ga- sette, and his contributions to the press from time to time elicited many compliments. After leaving school, he engaged for a while as clerk in a grocery store, having first learned the business with his father, and later was connected with various hotels throughout the country as clerk. When he reached the age of twenty-one years, he went into the mercan- tile business in his native town, and contin- ued it until the year 1885, when he formed a copartnership with Mr. T. J. Brosnan, of New York City, under the firm name of Brosnan & Tierney, and went to Rockaway
Beach, L.I., and there leased the famous old Seaside House. For two seasons the hotel was conducted successfully under their man- agement, when Mr. Tierney sold his interest to his partner, Mr. Brosnan. He then came to Binghamton in the spring of 1887, and with Mr. J. W. Kennedy purchased the pres- ent site of the Arlington Hotel, on the corner of Chenango and Lewis Streets; and, con- cluding it was an admirable location, they not only conceived, but developed the idea of erecting the splendid hotel which now stands there as a fitting monument to their business sagacity and enterprise.
The formal opening of the Arlington Hotel occurred April 24, 1888. It is an elegant structure, four stories high, with eighty-five feet front on Chenango Street, and one hun- dred and fifteen feet front on Lewis Street; and, as it is situated near the railroad depots, it stands on the very threshold of Bingham- ton's commercial centre, and is an ornament. and credit to the city. It is provided with every modern convenience for the comfort and entertainment of guests. It contains one hun- dred and twenty sleeping-rooms, all of which are handsomely and luxuriously furnished. The office, reading-room, dining-room, bar, billiard-room, and barber-shop are located on . the ground floor, are elegantly finished in antique oak, and are decorated in an attractive and cheerful manner. Equipped, as it is, with electric light, steam heat, elevator, and fire escapes, this hotel has gained a reputation in its class second to none in the State of New York.
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Messrs. Kennedy & Tierney are not only proprietors, but owners of this magnificent building, which cost them over one hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Tierney is especially interested in hotel associations, and is a strong advocate of the necessity of such organizations among hotel-keepers. He is particularly interested in the New York State llotel Association, the membership of which is over eight hundred, comprising the leading and representative hotel-keepers in the State. This Association has been potential in ad- vancing the interests of its members, both in a social and legislative way. Mr. Tierney was an active worker in this Association for over five years, when he was elected its First Vice-President at Syracuse, N. Y., in Sep- tember, 1892. Ile was elected President of the Association at the sixth annual conven- tion, held at Saratoga, N. Y., August 8, 1893, and is now holding that office. Ile is also First Vice-President of the National Hotel Keepers' Association of the United States, having been elected to that office by the unan- imous choice of the fourth annual convention, which was held at Denver, Col., on May 9, 1894. He is also a member of the Hotel Men's Mutual Benefit Association of the United States. As a tribute to Mr. Tier- ney's energy and enterprise, the Board of Trade of Binghamton, N.Y., paid him the compliment of electing him President of the Board in January, 1894. This mark of dis- tinction shows a deserved compliment to Mr. Tierney's executive ability, for he was chosen from a membership of over two hundred of the
representative business and professional men of Binghamton. He was elected President of Branch No. 164, C. M. B. A., of the Grand Council of the State of New York, in Decem- ber, 1893, and now holds that office. He is a member of the Wamsutta Tribe of Red Men, and also an active and enthusiastic Elk, being a member of Binghamton Lodge, No. 70, Independent Order of Elks.
Mr. Tierney was married to Miss Nellie E. Ilogan, daughter of Michael and Mary Hogan, of Susquehanna, l'a., December 30, 1879. The result of their happy union is two lovely children, M. Genevieve and Ed- win M.
Mr. Tierney is a consistent and loyal Dem- ocrat, and takes great interest in the politics of his party. While he has never been a can- didate for any public office, yet he believes that the highest duty of every citizen should be to interest himself in the political affairs of our government, to the end "that a public office should be a public trust." The city of Binghamton is fortunate in having such enter- prising and progressive men as Messrs. Ken- nedy & Tierney elect to make their home there and establish such a public enterprise as the Arlington Hotel has proved to be since its opening.
ILES W. HOTCHKISS. There are a few men, now no longer living except as an inspiring memory, without whom no true history of Broome County could be written. To omit mention of them would be like describing the physical geography of the
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county by simply giving its boundary lines. These are the men who made the history of the county long before it was written; who moulded its social, professional, and political life; who gave it vitality, action, and color; who left the mark of their influence upon it, as deep and imperishable as the mark of the Susquehanna on its way to the sea; and like that noble river, through their name and fame, the fame of Broome County was borne far beyond its borders, blessing and inspiring by their influence, words, and example, and beating like a great pulse into the very heart of the national life.
Among the names of these men and stand- ing well at the front is the name of Giles WV. Hotchkiss. He was born at Windsor, Broome County, October 25, 1815. The ac- cident of birth did not make him a pioneer. Neither wealth nor circumstance gave him a minute's start in the race of life. What he was and what he won were the result of inher- ited qualities and of his own unaided efforts. le was endowed with a knightly disposition, . but he won the knightly title. He inherited. a strong, incisive intellect; hut he fitted it to do battle with and win victories from in- tellectual giants. As a law student, as a law interpreter or pleader, as a law prosecutor or defender, and later on as a law maker, the conspicuous and notable thing was the high quality of his mental training, as shown in the simplicity and directness of his methods, his quick, broad grasp of situations, and such a strong, accurate sense of right that his mind was deep and broad enough casily to
make room for the full sweep and swing of all the balances of justice.
Mr. Hotchkiss was in a large sense a self- made and a self-educated man. He attended the common schools of his native town; and for some time he was a student at Windsor Academy and at Oxford Academy, then one of the best academic schools in the State, but his mental equipment and training were mainly obtained by private study. The schools merely blazed the way to the mines of knowledge, and gave him a hint of his own resources. While still pursuing his general studies and "burning the candle at both ends" -for the morning sun often dimmed, his candle before he put it out -he com- menced the study of law with F. G. Wheeler, Esq., of Windsor. He afterward removed to Binghamton, and completed his law studies in the office of the Hon. B. N. Loomis. IIe was admitted to practice in the Court of Com- mon Pleas in November, 1837, and in the Supreme Court in January, 1840. He en- gaged in the practice of his profession in Binghamton, and soon exhibited such com- manding qualities that for fully forty years he was an acknowledged leader at 'the Broome County bar, which then numbered among its members some of the ablest lawyers and most. brilliant advocates in the State. Even in the early part of his practice his reputation throughout the county was such that, when he appeared outside of Binghamton in the trial of causes, there was a practical suspension of business by the villagers and farmers to listen to his incisive sarcasm, his adroit
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examination of witnesses, and the general masterful management of his case.
Early in his professional practice Mr. Hotchkiss formed a partnership with the late Lewis Seymour, Esq., which continued for many years; and they admitted the Hon. Ransom Balcom into business with them, under the firm name of Hotchkiss, Seymour & Balcom, until Judge Balcom was elected to the Supreme Court bench. The partnership with Mr. Seymour, which included investments in real estate, continued until Mr. Seymour's death; and Mr. Hotchkiss afterward formed a partnership with the Ion. S. C. Millard, under the name of Hotchkiss & Millard, which was terminated by Mr. Hotchkiss's death.
On the 24th of March, 1842, Mr. Hotch- kiss was married to Bessie R. Knapp, a daughter of Dr. Colby Knapp and a sister of Mrs. Daniel S. Dickinson. Their children were: Bessie Virginia, now Mrs. Charles M. Dickinson; Cyrus F .; Lucy; and Henry. Of these, Mrs. Dickinson alone survives. Lucy and Henry died in infancy ; and Cyrus F. was taken in the full strength and pride of early manhood, in March, 1878. Mrs. Hotchkiss, who was a woman of singularly beautiful and noble character, died March 6, 1852. Mr. Hotchkiss never remarried, and his recognition of her influence and devotion to her memory were as touching and impres- sive as anything in the pages of romance.
For some years prior to the Civil War Mr. llotchkiss took an active interest in politics, and was soon recognized as a distinct political force. His deep convictions and strong indi-
viduality were impressed upon every cause he espoused. Ile was one of the fathers of the Republican party, a delegate to the conven- tion that nominated President Lincoln; and in 1862 he was himself nominated and elected to represent the Broome District in Congress. He was re-elected in 1864, and again in 1868. In all the most trying years of the war and the delicate period of reconstruction he was one of the aggressive leaders of the dominant party in Congress. The dark hours of that struggle bore no terrors for him. When others faltered, he was as firm as a rock. When others counselled peace upon almost any terms, he insisted that death was better than dishonor, that the Union must be preserved at any cost, and that no peace could be permanent that did not right the wrongs and eradicate the causes that led to the war. Once only his strong heart failed: he could not bear to vote to send other men to the front while he remained in safety. Though in frail health, he resolved to resign, and enlist for service in the field. In some way his plans were carried to President Lincoln. He sent for Mr. Hotchkiss, and impressed upon him the importance of his remaining at his post, that the greatest danger then con- fronting the administration was the timidity and weakness of some of its friends, and that no resolute man like Mr. Hotchkiss could be spared in Congress at that critical time. Other friends urged the same view, and he was persuaded to serve out his term. The President's opinion of Mr. Hotchkiss's impor- tance in Congress was not overestimated.
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The Union forces were meeting with defeat on land and on sea, New York had elected a Democratic Governor, murmurs of discontent were borne to Congress on every Northern breeze; and, but for strong men like Stevens, Wade, Morton, Carpenter, Blaine, Conkling, Hotchkiss, and a few others, it would have been easy to stampede Congress into any dis- honorable compromise that carried a guaran- tee of peace.
Among the associates of Mr. Hotchkiss in his first Congressional term was the late Sen- ator Conkling. Singularly alike in their straightforward disposition, unflinching cour- age, and aggressive temperament, they soon became the warmest of friends, and acted in harmony upon every question. In the cele- brated Fry investigation Mr. Hotchkiss was Senator Conkling's attorney, his close adviser on all important legislation; and in the radi- cal measures of that eventful period the two men were always shoulder to shoulder, up- holding the hands of the administration, and maintaining the advanced views which it is' now conceded were essential to an honorable and permanent peace. At the close of Mr. Ilotchkiss's service in Congress he returned to his law practice in Binghamton, and prose- cuted it with unabated vigor and success. Some of his best and most brilliant work was done in the later years of his life. Political honors -the United States Attorneyship for the Southern District of New York, the life position of United States Judge for the Northern District of New York, and later the Circuit Judgeship for the Southern District -
were pressed upon him by President Grant and Senator Conkling; but all these he stead- ily declined.
In November, 1877, soon after the close of an important trial in which he displayed more than his usual force and brilliancy, he was stricken with a paralytic shock. He lingered in a partially disabled condition until July 5, 1878, when he passed peacefully away.
As a lawyer in the best and highest sense, Mr. Hotchkiss will always hold in the history of this county a commanding position. A few others have been more familiar with the technical decisions of the courts, but as an equity lawyer he had no superior. He grasped instinctively the equities of a case. As an advocate, also, judged by the standards of comparison we use to measure men, he had no superior. His ability to tangle up a dis- honest witness, tie him hand and foot, and then fling him before a jury, has hardly been equalled by any one. His ready wit, hi's rasping sarcasm, his terrible denunciation of wrong and trickery, and his homely and pa- thetic eloquence in behalf of the wronged or unfortunate had a powerful effect upon the average jury. Yet he never used his great abilities and his high commission merely to punish or to persecute. He never set the machinery of the courts in motion except to expose and right a wrong or to maintain some vested right, and he never undertook a defence which he did not believe in upon its merits.
There was one side of Mr. Hotchkiss's char- acter but little known, and of which it would not be proper to speak now but for the fact
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that the ears always suspicious of praise, lest it be flattery, are now alike indifferent to both censure and praise. Like all great nat- ures, he held firmly and guarded closely his affections and his inner life. He was not a sunny and genial man except to those who were admitted into close relations with him. He took the world at its word. He recog- nized its selfishness and hollowness, that life was a battle; and, with the spirit of the sol- dier of Bingen, who " let them take whate'er they would, but kept his father's sword," he fought his way to the front, erect and manly, instead of fawning and cringing and crawling there on his knees. And yet, under a severe and sometimes frowning exterior, was as gentle and sympathetic a heart as ever beat in a woman's breast. In his own home "he took the helmet from his brow, and laid it down " with more than Hector's gentleness: he was father, mother, companion, and friend to his motherless children; and no tenderness was thought undignified or unworthy to soothe a childish grief or fear. It was like the seed of a lily taking root and springing from the heart of an oak. Among the eloquent trib- utes paid to him when he died, the oldest editor in Binghamton, who had known him long and well, wrote, among other things, these words : -
"""There's one thing yet, there's two things yet, That every man should know,- He never, never failed a friend, And never feared a foe.'
We will say of him without qualification that a more generous-hearted man we never knew.
He was the truest of all men to his friends. He was as gentle as a girl, he was as kind as a woman and as genial as a school-boy; but he was as firm as a rock and as courageous as a lion."
The tribute to Mr. Hotchkiss here put in words is the judgment of his contemporaries. Close contact and long acquaintance with the man had not magnified the elements of his greatness, and yet that greatness was recog- nized by every one who knew him. Sixteen years have passed now since with marks of universal respect and sympathy he was borne to his grave. Looking at his character now with a larger vision, with a wider knowledge of life and other men, how grandly it stands the test of time! It is like the full-orbed sun, that casts a longer and deeper shadow the farther it is away. It is one of those strong, upright, unselfish, and noble charac- ters which should ever be upheld as an inspi- ration and example to men.
We cannot more fittingly close this sketch than by quoting from the stone that marks his last resting-place the following lines, written by one who respected and loved him because he knew him intimately : -
" He is not dead : a soul that draws Its sense of right from God's own laws, A heart that's faithful, true, and just To every friend, to every trust, Can never moulder into dust."
LIZABETH CORWIN, M.D., a resident homeopathic physician and surgeon of Binghamton, N. Y., has been engaged in the
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active practice of her profession in this city since 1887, having her residence and office at No. 104 Main Street. She was born at Middletown, N. Y., July 10, 1852, a daughter of James II. and Emma (Hawkins) Corwin. Her father was by occupation a farmer, and a descendant from some of the very early set- tlers of Orange County, New York, who went to that country when it was a wilderness and without inhabitants to any extent, the wolves and wild beasts of the forest roaming at will, and when the county was without roads, the trails from place to place being indicated by blazed trees. Here it was those sturdy pio- neers commenced to make a home, cutting down the trees of the forest, burning the wood, and saving the ashes for potash, thus clearing little by little the land for culti- vation.
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