USA > New York > Biographical sketches of the state officers and members of the legislature of the state of New York in 1862 and '63 > Part 17
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Dr. Bostwick has belonged to various political parties, but has never been so closely identified with any one of them as to become prominent. On the occasion of the Union movement, which embraced all party men and no party men, he very properly, and naturally, united with it; and from the peculiarity of his antecedents- claimed by none as a partisan- he was very appro-
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priately designated as a candidate for the Assembly, as one who would command votes from all organizations- having heretofore acted with all. The result proved the wisdom of the selection, as he was entirely successful.
He is an active member of the House-watchful and observant of everything that is passing, and ready to interpose objections, or suggest amendments that he deemed proper. Quick of perception he readily dis- covers defects, and his sagacity and good sense as readily prompts the remedy. He seldom speaks on any subject other than by few explanatory remarks, giving his views succinctly and with more advantage to the public, than by the delivery of an elaborate speech. Brevity is the soul of wit; and with the Doctor the truth and aptness of the proverb is fully verified.
The Doctor manages his religious matters on the same principle that guides his political course -he belongs to or attends all denominations. When he knocks at the gate, hereafter, Peter will undoubtedly admit him, as none can dispute his creed or faith.
WILLIAM H. BRAND.
MR. BRAND is a native of Brookfield, Madison county, N. Y., of Scotch descent, although his immediate ancestors came from the State of Rhode Island. He was educated at the Whitestown Seminary, and for some time followed the occupation of a farmer. At present he hails from Leon- ardsville, where he is engaged as agent and book-keeper.
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He has been twice elected to the Assembly, on the last occasion receiving a majority of fifteen hundred over his Democratic competitor. He served during the session of 1862, on the Committee on Charitable and Religious Socie- ties. He is a Republican of the strictest sect; an earnest opponent of the institution of slavery, and one of those who demand the suppression of the rebellion and the mainte- nance of the Government at any cost, regarding Northern Democrats and Southern traitors as alike enemies of their country.
In 1846 Mr. Brand married Miss Sarah Ann Robinson, and his religious views is in accordance with those of the Baptist denomination.
JOSEPH BREED.
MR. BREED was originally from the Green Mountain State, as might easily be inferred from his stalwart appearance, and was born in 1811, in Windham county. He is descended from the genuine Yankee stock. His parents, who are now dead, were both residents of Breedshill, Massachusetts, where his father, Henry G. Breed, was born.
Mr. Breed received a limited education, and came to New York about thirty-five years ago. He took up his residence in Onondaga Valley, where he has since chiefly resided, and where, during the past seven years, he has been successfully engaged in milling. He had previously, however, been engaged in contracting and farming. He has held various town offices, including that of Supervisor,
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which he occupied two years, and was elected to the Assembly as a Union Republican by upwards of a thousand majority. In politics, he was originally a Clay Whig, and is now a Republican of the more Conservative stamp. He has always been found faithful to his party, and was one of the very last Republicans who went over to the support of Mr. Callicot for Speaker at the organization of the House. Although seldom essaying to make a speech, he is diligent and faithful in the discharge of his legislative duties, and has shown himself a good representative.
Mr. Breed was married in 1837, to Miss Letetia Lew- rence, and attends the Dutch Reformed Church.
IRA BROCKETT.
MR. BROCKETT is one of the most personable, if not pre- possessing gentlemen in the House. He is about medium in height, with an elegantly formed body ; a well developed head, thickly coated with soft black hair; brilliant black eyes, of intelligent expression ; and a pleasant, agreeable, good- natured countenance, which imparts a charm to his inter- course with men that but few possess. To this is added a rare combination of all the essential attributes of a perfect gentleman, which makes him friends of all with whom he comes in contact, and has rendered him one of the most popular men in his section of the State.
Mr. Brockett was born in 1814, in Galway, Saratoga county, N. Y., where he has always resided, and where he is largely engaged in the mercantile trade. His parents,
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who were natives of Connecticut, were among the earliest settlers of that place, and his father became distinguished as the most scientific agriculturalist in that section of the State. His son, the subject of this sketch, received a limited education, and while yet a mere lad became a clerk in the store of Gen. Earl Stimpson. He still retains all the active business habits he then acquired, and is now one of the shrewdest and most successful merchants in the county of Saratoga.
Mr. Brockett was formerly a Whig; an ardent admirer and supporter of Clay and Webster, and always adhered firmly to the political principles inculcated by those distin- guished men. Upon the dissolution, however, of the Whig party, in 1856, he became an active supporter of the princi- ples and policy of the Democatic party, believing such a course eminently National and desiring to secure to the South all their just rights under the Constitution. Still, he has never been prominent as a politician, or rather as an office-holder, confining himself almost entirely to his duties as a strict business man. The first office he ever held was that of Trustee of the village of Galway, from which he ascended, in 1860, to the more dignified position of Supervisor, and continuing his flight, finally, in 1863, alighted in the Capi- tol of the State. As a legislator he is quiet and unostenta- tious in everything he does ; is always promptly at his post in the discharge of his duties ; and wields an influence in the House which always tells, for weal or for woe, upon the destiny of any measure coming before that body for its action.
Although a man of strong, old-fashioned conservative principles, possessing an intense hatred of fanaticism in any
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form, Mr. Brockett, at the breaking out of the rebellion, was, probably, the most active man in his county in raising volunteers, being the first in his town to advertise additional bounties to volunteers, and contributed largely of his time and means to the accomplishment of that end. He is utterly opposed, however, it is understood, to the present emancipation policy of the Federal Administration, and desires a thorough prosecution of the war alone for the restoration of the Union as it was, and the preservation of the Constitution as it is.
Mr. Brockett was married some twenty years ago to Miss Mary, daughter of Dr. Nathan Thompson, brother of the late Judge Thompson, one of the ablest jurists of Saratoga county. She is a lady of superior worth and intelligence, and, with her husband, attends the Presbyterian Church.
WILLIAM BROWN.
MR. BROWN is a native of the town of Ogden, Mon- roe county, N. Y., where he was born on the 3d of No- vember, 1809. He is of English descent. His father, William B. Brown, who was a distinguished man in his day, holding the position of Judge and Member of As- sembly, died in 1851, at the age of seventy, and his mother, whose maiden name was Rachel Wiley, died in 1842, at the age of sixty-five.
Mr. Brown was educated in the common schools of his native place, and has passed his life chiefly as a far- mer. He has held the offices of Justice of the Peace
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and Supervisor, the former four years and the latter two years, and was elected to the Assembly as a straight Republican candidate by upwards of six hundred ma- jority. He was also Canal Superintendent two years, and Commissioner of the Monroe County Penitentiary some three years. His politics were formerly of the Whig school, but at the disorganization of that party he became a Republican, still holding firmly to the prin- ciples and policy of that party. He is a firm and con- sistent Member of the House, and although not boister- ous in the discharge of his duties, exhibits a good deal of representative ability.
Mr. Brown was married in 1831, to Miss Claresse M. Webster, and attends the Presbyterian Church. His social qualities are of a high order, and he is personally quite popular among his legislative associates.
WILLIAM BROOKS.
This gentleman is a native of Otsego county, of Dutch and English descent. He was educated in the common and select schools of his native place, and trained from early life to the business of a merchant - a business in which he is still engaged.
For several years he was town clerk, and in 1862 Su- pervisor of his town. He was formerly an old line Whig, but some twelve years since united with the De- mocracy and is now numbered among the most adaman- tine Hardshells of his party. He is sincere and earnest
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in his political convictions, and stands by them as immov- able as a rock. His opposition to the measures of the Administration is open and avowed, his sentiments being in unison with those of Vallandigham of Ohio, and Fer- nando Wood, of New York.
Mr. Brooks is quiet and unassuming in his personal bearing, yet possessing qualities of such an agreeable and genial nature, that he invariably commands the friendship and good will of all with whom he comes in contact. Though rarely, if ever, indulging in debate, the quiet influence of his character is felt and respected in the House.
In 1836 he was married to Miss Hettie M. Morse, and to use his own words, " attends the Universalist Church, of course."
JOHN CHICKERING.
MR. CHICKERING was born in Worcester county, Massachusetts, and is fifty-two years of age. He is sup- posed to be descended from Puritan stock. His edu- cational advantages were confined chiefly to the free schools of New England, and he has passed most of his life as a farmer. He was elected to the House as a straight Republican, but has been remarkably quiet in the discharge of his duties since the opening of the ses- sion. More than this the author has wholly failed to ascertain concerning him.
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CORNELIUS A. CHURCH.
MR. CHURCH is about the only man in the House who lost his equilibrium during the contest for Speaker, exclaim- ing, on one occasion, when trembling like Belshazzar, at the sight of the handwriting on the wall-"Stand firm, I am d-d mad !"
He was a Member of the Assembly in 1862, serving on the Committee on Colleges, Academies, and Common Schools, and was then regarded as a third-rate man in that body. Ridiculous, however, as it is, he seems to be some- what more exalted this session, a good many of his Repub- lican friends looking up to him as one of the leaders of the party in the House. It is entirely due many of his politi- cal associates, however, to say that they are very far better calculated to occupy the position of a leader of the party upon the floor of that body, than our worthy friend from Otsego.
Mr. Church is a native of Bainbridge, Chenango county, N. Y., and is forty-five years of age. He received an ordi- nary English education, and is a tanner and currier, in which business he has passed most of his life. He is a Republican of the strictest sect, and believes in a thorough prosecution of the war upon the basis enunciated in the President's Emancipation Proclamation. His ability as a speaker is far below mediocrity, and he rarely attempts to address the House, his ambition not unfrequently rendering him exceedingly unhappy in consequence of his inability to do so. Rarely has his District sent a man to the Legisla- ture so little calculated to take care of its real interests at the State Capitol.
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ELIZUR CLARK.
MR. CLARK is one of the most quiet, though straightfor- ward, consistent, substantial, well-meaning men in the House. There is nothing at all showy or ostentatious in his composition, but the sound judgment and good com- mon sense which he possesses in no ordinary degree, renders him a valuable man and a safe legislator.
Mr. Clark is a native of Say Brook, Middlesex county, Vermont, and is fifty-five years of age. He is probably of English descent. His father, Beaumont Clark, died some years ago, at the age of ninety ; and his mother, whose maiden name was Nabbe Spencer, at the age of seventy- eight-both in Jackson county, Mich. He received an ordinary business education in the free schools of New England, and in 1823 located at Salina, Onondaga county, where he is now engaged in the lumber trade and the manufacture of coarse salt. He held the office of Super- visor in 1856; has been Commissioner of Excise since 1857; and was elected to the Assembly over the Hon. Elias W. Leavenworth, one of the strongest men in his dis- trict. The first vote he ever cast was for Andrew Jackson, in 1828, and he has always since then been a stern, unwav- ering Democrat of the National Conservative stamp. Although ever ready to sustain the National Administra- tion in a vigorous prosecution of the war for the restoration of the Union, he is thoroughly hostile to the policy recently inaugurated by the Emancipation Proclamation, believing it calculated, if not designed, to contribute more than anything else to a speedy and permanent dissolution of the Union.
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Mr. Clark is one of the most agreeable and gentlemanly Members of the Legislature, and almost invariably makes friends of all with whom he comes in contact.
THADDEUS W. COLLINS.
MR. COLLINS was born in the town of Rose, Wayne county, N. Y., on the 15th of April, 1830. His ances- try is of English origin. His paternal grandfather was a native of Vermont, and his father, Stephen Collins, was born in Wayne county where he still resides, at the age of sixty-one. His mother, whose maiden name was Clarissa Wilson, is a native of Connecticut, and is also still living, at the age of fifty-nine.
Mr. Collins has had excellent educational advantages. In 1855 he graduated at Genesee College, and in the year 1857 at the Law Department of the University of Albany. Soon after graduating at the latter institution he commenced the practice of law in the town of Wol- cott, Wayne county, which he still pursues at that place.
Politically, he was formerly a Whig, and is now a Republican. In 1860 he was elected Supervisor of the town of Wolcott. He is rather a modest man; and does not push himself forward, yet is evidently not de- void of a laudable ambition to rise. He attends closely to his legislative duties and though not a silent member, speaks but seldom. His personal appearance does not give a favorable impression of him, but acquaintance proves him to be better than he looks. During the ses-
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sion he has been an attentive student of legislative mat- ters, and has gained a knowledge of them which he will undoubtedly use for his own benefit.
Mr. Collins was married on the 18th of November, 1858, to Miss Lavina A. Wood, and attends the Baptist Church.
ANSON G. CONGER.
The town of Danby, situated on the eastern border of the Green Mountain State, was the birthplace of Mr. Conger, who is one of those energetic, self-reliant, self-made men of whom we are so justly proud. He belongs to a family of Quakers, his father, Noah Conger, having been a preacher in that denomination.
Mr. Conger was brought up on a farm, enjoying during the winter months the advantages of a common school education, and while a young man occasionally taught a district school himself. In 1845, at the age of thirty- three, he removed to the town of Collins, Erie county, where he has ever since resided. There he entered upon the business of buying and selling lands and negotiating loans, and possessing a speculative turn of mind, to- gether with a sound judgment, soon succeeded in accu- mulating a handsome fortune. Satisfied with the profits of his earlier labors and speculations, he not long since closed up his business affairs, and now lives in retire- ment.
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Mr. Conger was originally a Whig, and was elected to the present House as a straight Republican. For three years he was Supervisor of his town. In 1845 he married Miss Portia White, and is an attendant upon the Methodist Church. He is a gentleman of intelli- gence and solidity of character, and looks back to his pecuniary success in life with self-complacent satisfaction.
EZRA CORNELL.
MR. CORNELL was born in Westchester, Westchester county, N.Y., in 1807. His father was from Bristol coun- ty, Mass., whence he removed to Columbia county, N.Y., in 1802, and was married in 1806 to a daughter of Cap- tain Reuben Barnard, of Nantucket, who had then re- cently emigrated to Columbia county with his family. Soon after their marriage his parents removed to West- chester. His mother died in 1858, at the age of seventy years ; and his father is still living at the advanced age of ninety-two. The family of Mr. Cornell have always borne a high reputation for honesty, sobriety, and in- dustry.
Mr. Cornell's education was obtained at brief inter- vals in district schools in Westchester, Bergen county, N. J., and De Ruyter, Madison county, N. Y. At the last-named place he, with a younger brother, obtained his schooling under the tuition of Colonel T. C. Nye on the following terms: The two boys, aged seven- teen and eighteen respectively, agreed to chop and
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fix for planting four acres of heavy beech and maple timber land after school was out, on condition of receiv- ing three months' schooling. This task they accom- plished between the 15th of March and the 15th of May, 1825, and four acres of good corn was raised on the ground that season, it having been chopped, burned, logged, cleared, fenced and planted in that space of time. Thus the two boys secured their education and graduated with honor-a noble example for boys of the present day.
Mr. Cornell possesses great mechanical genius, and quickly comprehends the mysteries of art. When he was eighteen years old, the summer after he left the De Ruyter school, his father engaged a carpenter, to build a shop, and he was required to assist in doing the work. His task was to bore for mortises, with a two-inch auger; and he was set to work with the expectation, on the part of his father, that, after a brief trial, he would back out. But backing out was not in his nature-he never put his hand to the plow and looked back; his desire was to learn, and he went ahead with that pur- pose only in view, closely observing the movements of the "Boss," who laid out the work, and studying the " scratches " that he made. By the second day he had mastered the mystery of the " square rule," and under- stood the principle that governed it, and before the day had closed he detected an error in the laying out. He modestly called the attention of the "Boss " to the matter, but received a torrent of abuse for his pains, and narrowly escaped a whipping from his father for his presumption. It turned out, however, that he was
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right, and the "Boss" sullenly caved in. The next season young Cornell engaged to build a two-story frame house, of large size, and he went to work single- handed and alone. He framed the building by " square rule;" and, notwithstanding the timber was scattered about in all directions, part of it in the woods, and part on the spot where it was to be used, the frame came to its place without an error, and was pronounced by old workmen the best in town.
Having established his reputation as a mechanic, Mr. Cornell embarked in the business of building, and in 1828 settled in Ithaca, Tompkins county. Here he was employed by the late J. S. Beebe, Esq., in repairing a mill ; and so well pleased was that gentleman with his workmanship and enterprise that he gave him the entire charge of his milling business, in which he continued from 1830 to 1840. During the time he was with Mr. Beebe he built a large flouring mill, with eight run of stones, which was an entire success, and was pronounced the best ever erected in the county. In 1840 he turned his attention to farming, with great success, taking the county premium several years for crops of one hundred bushels or more of shelled corn per acre. His farming business is now of considerable magnitude, and is mostly managed by his sons. He has two farms of three hundred acres each, and a stock of thorough-bred cattle that cost him $10,000.
In 1843 Mr. Cornell became acquainted with F. O. J. Smith, Esq., the celebrated Telegraph manager, at whose suggestion he engaged in the business. He soon in- vented a machine for laying wire in tubes sunk in the
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ground, which worked admirably ; but Professor Morse subsequently discovered that the insulation of the wire was not sufficient to work in the ground, and the machine was abandoned. About this time Congress appropriated $30,000 to build a line from Washington to Baltimore; and the success of his machine having established his character, he was appointed Assistant Superintendent of the Telegraph by the Hon. J. C. Spencer, Secretary of the Treasury. On the completion of the line in May, 1844, the Whig National Convention then holding its session in Baltimore, he announced the nomination of Henry Clay for President, to the aston- ished citizens of Washington; and a month later, he reported the proceedings of the Democratic Convention which nominated James K. Polk for the same office. A few months working of this line, however, proved the insufficiency of Morse's instruments for telegraphing on lines of any considerable length, and Mr. Cornell turned his attention to the subject in the hope of remedying their defects. He succeeded perfectly, and the instru- ments now in use, known as the Morse instruments, were the production of his inventive genius.
In 1846 Mr. Cornell superintended the construction of the Telegraph line from New York to Philadelphia, and the same year that from New York to Albany. In 1847 he built the line from Troy to Montreal, and from Buffalo to Milwaukie. Since then he has been engaged in building, working and managing telegraph lines, the last three years of which his time has been divided, more or less, with his farm at Ithaca.
Mr. Cornell was a Whig in politics, and adhered to
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his party until the organization of the Republicans, which party he joined. He never held office until he was elected Member of the Assembly, and never sought political distinction. He is the President of the Ameri- can Telegraph Company, and in 1862 was President of the State Agricultural Society. He is a useful legisla- tor, active and attentive to his business, and wasting no time in Buncombe speeches.
Mr. Cornell was married in March, 1841, to Miss Mary Ann, daughter of Benjamin Wood, of Dryden, Tompkins county. His parents were Quakers, and he rather inclines that way; but he attends all churches, and aids all denominations as circumstances seem to require. Though his early education was deficient, his native talents, energy and perseverance, and his large intercourse with the world, has enabled him to gather an invaluable fund of knowledge and an acquaintance with language, that will put to shame many who have had greater advantages.
ROBERT W. COURTNEY.
MR. COURTNEY is one of the most unpretending and gentlemanly men in the House. He is just as nature made him - plain, simple, straightforward, and per- fectly independent, and wields an influence in the deli- berations of that body which is seldom safely disre- garded.
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He is a native of the town of Sidney, Delaware county, N. Y., and is forty-five years of age. He was reared on a farm, receiving a limited common English education, and has, thus far, devoted his life chiefly to agricultural pursuits. Politically, he is a Republican of the more conservative stamp, but obeys party discipline only so far as it enables him to subserve the interests of his constituents and the general welfare of the State. But few men in the House are better qualified for a representative position, and but few of his legislative associates will pass the ordeal of the present session so entirely free of the taint of all manner of official cor- ruption as will Mr. Courtney.
ALVAH E. CRUTTENDEN.
MR. CRUTTENDEN was born in Le Roy, Genesee county, N. Y., and is forty-eight years of age. His ancestors were among the earliest settlers of Massachu- setts. He received a common school education, and was brought up on a farm, which has always been his chief occupation. Originally, he belonged to the Whig party, but since the abandonment of its organization he has been an unyielding Republican, and was elected to the Assembly as such on a Union ticket. He was, also, a Member of the House in 1862, where he served on the Committee on Canals and the Committee for the Erection and Division of Towns and Counties. He is
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