USA > New York > Encyclopedia of biography of New York, a life record of men and women whose sterling character and energy and industry have made them preeminent in their own and many other states, Vol. 2 > Part 14
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martial preparation are in the air, the ship builder's hammer is industriously welding the bolt, and arsenals are testing armor plates, your Petitioner, apprehensive for the future, feels that delays are dangerous, and it urgently recommends that action be taken at once by you to compass the realization of the dream of good men in every period of the world's history, when nations shall learn war no more and en- lightened reason shall fight the only battle fought among the children of men.
And Your Petitioner Will Ever Pray.
Attested in behalf of the New York State Bar Association at the Capitol in the City of Albany, N. Y., April 16th, 1896.
ED. G. WHITAKER, President. L. B. PROCTOR, Secretary.
Copies of this memorial were sent to a number of foreign governments and to prominent people throughout the world, including the Czar of Russia. In 1899, when the Czar of Russia issued his call for a disarmament conference, to be held at The Hague, the New York State Bar Association called another meeting, and Mr. Jones, as chairman of a special com- mittee, was appointed to draw up resolu- tions relative to the subjects to be dis- cussed by the proposed conference. The fact was at once recognized that dis- armament alone was an impracticable course, and that the first step toward universal peace must be the establish- ment of an international court to which all nations might turn. The memorial which was drawn up in pursuance of this idea was substantially the same as that prepared in 1896, above referred to. Copies of it were sent by the State De- partment of the United States govern- ment to the delegates at the first Hague Conference, where it became known as the "American Plan." The organization of the Hague Court was largely the result of the influence of this memorial upon that conference. At first there was much opposition to any such scheme, particu- larly on the part of Germany, but the plan won and so the first step was taken
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toward the ultimate goal of universal peace. Numerous nations have taken their disputes to this court for settlement. Mr. Jones joined the Masonic order while residing in Washington, was a member of Valley Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and of Monroe Commandery, Knights Templar, of Rochester; the American, New York State and Roches- ter Bar associations ; Mohonk Lake Peace Conference; Bibliophile Society of Bos- ton; Society of the Genesee; American Peace Society, and Independent Order of Good Templars. He was a delegate, in 1904, from the New York State Bar Asso- ciation to the International Congress of Lawyers and Jurists, at St. Louis.
Mr. Jones married, July 5, 1871, Ger- trude M. Nicholls, at Buffalo, New York, a woman of fine mental caliber, which proved of great worth to her gifted hus- band. One of their children died in infancy, the others are: Gertrude Min- nie, W. Martin, Jr., and Abram Nicholls. W. Martin, Jr., born December 20, 1874, attended School No. 15, Professor Hale's preparatory school, Mechanics' Institute and University of Rochester, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1899. He studied law with his father, and was admitted to the bar in 1901. He practiced law and engaged in mining business. He is a member of Rochester, New York State, and American Bar associations ; Company A (Eighth Separate Company), Third Infantry, National Guard, State of New York ; American Society for Judicial Settlement of International Disputes. Abram Nicholls, born January 1I, 1886, attended schools Nos. 11 and 15, East High, University of Rochester, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1909. He studied law with his brother, and was admitted to the bar in 1911, and has prac- ticed ever since. He is a member of the Rochester Bar Association, Young Men's Christian Association and Dante Alighieri.
HARRIS, James,
Representative Citizen, Public Official.
Honored and respected by all, there was no man who occupied a more enviable position in all circles than the late James Harris, of Fairport, Monroe county, New York. Success is determined by one's ability to recognize opportunity and to pursue it with a resolute, unflagging energy. Success results from continued labor, and the man who accomplishes his purpose usually becomes an important factor in the business circles of the com- munity with which he is identified. Through his energy, progressiveness and executive ability, the late James Harris attained a leading place among the repre- sentative men of his community and his well spent and honorable life commanded the admiration of all who knew him, either personally or by reputation.
William Harris, Sr., his grandfather, descended from an honorable Scotch an- cestry, whose sterling characteristics have been transmitted to their descend- ants in rich measure, became a leader in public thought and action in the com- munity in which he lived. He emigrated to America in 1802, and established his first home in Montgomery county, in a Scotch settlement founded by Sir Wil- liam Johnson. He married Mary Kil- patrick, a native of the highlands of Scot- land, whose ancestry can be traced to the days of Wallace and Bruce.
William Harris, Jr., eldest son of Wil- liam and Mary (Kilpatrick) Harris, was eighteen years of age when he came to this country with his parents. A very short time after his marriage he removed to the Genesee country, his wife's father and family coming with them. They were leaders in this community from its earliest days. Mr. Harris organized the first school in that section and taught it in 1810, and the early intellectual develop-
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ment of the country rested chiefly on his shoulders. Later he removed to a farm in Penfield, on which he resided until his death in December, 1842. He was a Pres- byterian in religious faith, a Whig in political opinion, and was considered a wise counselor by all who knew him. A contemporary biographer has said of him:
Endowed with the attributes of a fine nature and gifted with an unusual amount of intellec- tual ability, he was a man of rare judgment, of deep penetration and of great energy.
Mr. Harris married, in April, 1806, Sallie Shoecraft, eldest daughter of John Shoecraft, a patriot of the Revolutionary War, who enlisted from Ulster county, New York, and served under General Washington. At the conclusion of this struggle he married, in Washington county, New York, Betsey McKee, of Scotch parentage, whose family had been prominent in the settlement of that part of the State, but who later removed to Fulton county. When they removed with Mr. Harris, they all settled at what is now Webster, Monroe county. Mr. Shoecraft and his two sons were members of the State militia during the War of 1812. Mr. and Mrs. Harris had eleven children, of whom the eldest, a son, died in early manhood, and the youngest, a daughter, died in infancy. The others were : Mary K., married Abner O. Osborn; Betsey M., married John M. Watson; Sallie, married Albert Ray- mond; William, a farmer, became the owner of the old homestead, and died there in September, 1886; Martha, mar- ried Hiram W. Allen ; George F .; Robert ; James, of whom further; Peter, also an agriculturist.
James Harris, son of William and Sallie (Shoecraft) Harris, was born in Webster, New York, July 7, 1821, and died at Fairport, New York, March 6, 1911, after
a gradual failing of about a year. He was an apt pupil at the district schools in the vicinity of his home, and for two terms attended the sessions of a select school in the village of Penfield. Under the able guidance of his father his educa- tion was continued at home, after leaving school, by means of well selected reading and diversified study. At the age of nineteen years, Mr. Harris was well fitted to enter upon the profession of teaching, and during the next seven years he taught in a district school during the winter months, his summers being spent in assisting his father in the cultivation of the latter's farm. That he was re- garded as a man of understanding and ability even in his earlier years is evi- denced by the fact of his being chosen 1 fill the office of justice of the peace whe' he was but twenty-one years of age, and was the incumbent of this office four years. The cause of education had ever appealed to him very strongly, and he was subsequently chosen as town super- intendent of schools, and as town clerk. He was one of the incorporators of the old Penfield Seminary in 1857, and served as one of its trustees during the entire period of its existence. When this insti- tution had outlived its usefulness, he was appointed a member of the committee to procure the passage of a legislative act authorizing the sale of the property to the Penfield graded school. In 1843 Gov- ernor William C. Bouck appointed Mr. Harris as captain of a uniformed company of militia, attached to the Fifty-second Regiment, later being advanced to the rank of major. With all the demands which these public offices made upon Mr. Harris, he yet found time, in 1850, to establish a general mercantile business, which he conducted with a large amount of success until 1857. At not infrequent intervals he was called upon to act as administrator of numerous estates, and
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he was a commissioner in the distribu- tion of lands. As an agriculturist Mr. Harris was eminently successful, and was the owner of valuable farm property in various sections. He took up his resi- dence on the old homestead farm, east of the village of Penfield, April 1, 1866, and resided there until his removal to Fairport in 1904. Even after taking up his residence there he was accustomed to superintend the management of his farms, his son, Charles L., having the active management of them.
In the political life of the town Mr. Harris was also a prominent figure. Originally a Whig, he affiliated with the Republican party upon its formation, and always took a keen interest in the public affairs of the community. In 1853 he was elected supervisor of Penfield by one of the largest majorities ever accorded a candidate, and was honored by reëlection to this office fifteen times during the fol- lowing twenty-two years, an enviable record. While the office was at no time a sinecure, during the Civil War period it brought with it additional responsibilities for its incumbent, which were met by Mr. Harris in a masterly manner. Firm in his support of the Union, he did all he could to promote its interests. Not long after the fall of Fort Sumter a special tow. meeting was called for the purpose of adopting suitable measures and appoint- ing a Committee of Public Safety, Mr. Harris being chosen as one of the three members of this committee. He served in this capacity until again elected to the office of supervisor in the spring of 1864, when the business of the committee was entrusted entirely to his discretion and so continued until the end of the recon- struction period which followed the close of the war. In the discharge of these important and arduous duties he mani- fested executive ability of a high order,
keen foresight, a thorough understanding of the situation, and an intense loyalty to the best interests of the county. With the cooperation of many of the leading citizens of the community, he filled the town's quota without a single inhabitant being drafted, save a few who were drafted early in the war during the act conferring option of service or a pay- ment of three hundred dollars each. His method was a purely business transaction. The call had been for one-year men and the town offered a bounty of five hundred dollars to each volunteer. Realizing that men could be had for three years without increasing the bounties if the bonds were converted into cash, he wisely discrimi- nated in favor of the longer term of en- listment, raised the necessary money and filled the quota with three-year men to the number of sixty-three, and bonds were issued to the amount of thirty-one thousand five hundred dollars, and when the war closed the State of New York, under the law equalizing bounties, paid back nearly two-thirds of this sum, or about twenty thousand dollars to the town. As a member of the board and chairman of its finance committee he was largely instrumental in promoting the law which changed the system formerly pur- sued in the county treasurer's office to its present status, involving not only the disposition of public moneys but of returned taxes as well. As he was the first treasurer elected after the passage of this law, he put it into operation during his three years' term, which commenced, October 1, 1876. After the close of this term of office he never again consented to hold public office, although frequently solicited to do so. For many years he was a member of the Baptist church, and a regular attendant at its services. He was a member of the Monroe County Historical Society, and a charter member
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of the Association of Supervisors and Ex- Supervisors of Monroe County, and was unanimously elected as its president, Au- gust 7, 1895.
Mr. Harris married (first) December I, 1847, Martha M. Pope, who died Janu- ary I, 1880, a daughter of William Pope, of Penfield. He married (second) Feb- ruary 21, 1883, Mrs. Horace P. Lewis, a widow, and daughter of Charles Lacey, formerly of Poughkeepsie, New York. Children by first marriage: James Dar- win, a farmer at Fairport; Robert, born in 1856, died in 1887; Mary K .; George H., junior member of the law firm of Werner & Harris, of Rochester, and w married Hattie Higbie, of Penfield, and has children : Donald, Duncan, and Adair. By the second marriage there were chil- dren: Charles Lacey, who was gradu- ated from the University of Rochester, now resides on home farm in Penfield; Angie K., who was graduated from the Fairport High School in the training class, taught in the Honeoye Falls schools, and then in a Fairport school; became the wife of L. Waynebaumer.
O'CONNOR, Joseph, Journalist, Essayist, Poet.
American journalism has attained the dignity of a profession, the "fourth estate," recognized, by the talent and consecration enlisted in its service, as on a par with the other three known as "the learned professions." It is safe to say that there are scores of writers on the press to-day who in style and substance will not suffer by comparison with the dis- tinguished English essayists of the eight- eenth century; but their multiplicity diminishes their eminence. The plain has been lifted to the peaks; the individual is lost in the crowd. Ego rex, dominant in journalism for three-quarters of a cen-
tury, has abdicated his throne, whether for good or for ill, it is not presumed here to determine. It is the paper now that speaks, not the man behind it. Freneau, Leggett, Bryant and Webb, Croswell, Weed and Prentice, Greeley, Raymond, Dana, Curtis and their compeers have dis- appeared and few are they who have suc- ceeded to their chairs. These few, it were, perhaps, invidious to mention ; but in their circle Joseph O'Connor unques- tionably belongs, although the large part of his work was done on the provincial, rather than the metropolitan press.
Joseph O'Connor, of Celtic lineage, of the sept of the O'Connors of Offaly, the son of Joseph and Mary (Finlay) O'Con- nor, was born at Tribes Hill, Montgomery county, New York, December 17, 1841. His father was a man of scholarly tastes, but endowed with only a small portion of worldly wealth. He died at West Ber. gen in 1854 from injuries received in saving a friend from being thrown before a locomotive by a frightened horse. The family then moved to Rochester, where Joseph entered school, and having pre- pared for college and received a scholar- ship, studied at the University of Roches- ter and was graduated in 1863.
Some desultory newspaper work was followed by a short term in a stone-yard, where he learned his father's trade, stone- cutting, probably in uncertainty as to his future course. It was a mere episode, but one to which he afterward looked back as a valuable experience. This was followed by a year or two of service as teacher of Latin in the high school, during which time he studied law and was admitted to the bar. He had just opened an office, however, when to oblige a friend he acted as reporter on the Rochester "Democrat" in his friend's absence; and thus began what proved to be his life-work. Shortly after he was made editor-in-chief ; but his
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fundamental proclivities were of the Jef- fersonian school, and he was therefore restive on the staff of a Republican sheet. He remained, however, with the "Demo- crat" until 1873. In that year he became editor of the Indianapolis "Sentinel," a noteworthy Democratic journal of large State influence, with which he remained until 1875, when he became associate editor of the New York "World" under Manton Marble, forming one of the bril- liant group that made the "World" famous, acting, for a time, as the "World's" Washington correspondent. In 1879 he left the "World," going as associate editor to the Buffalo "Courier" when David Gray, that accomplished writer, of poetic soul, was editor-in-chief. Three years later, upon the retirement of David Gray, he was promoted to the editor's chair, resigning in 1885. It is an open secret that his resignation was induced by his inability to approve the administration or the personality of Grover Cleveland, his judgment of whom, whether well or ill-conceived, was an honest one. In 1886 he was called to edit the Rochester "Post-Express," then an independent journal, and for ten years filled the position with power and bril- liancy. In 1896 the paper was resolved into a Republican organ, and Mr. O'Con- nor at once severed his connection there- with, refusing as always to become the protagonist of any party, reserving his privilege to write as he believed. On his retirement from this editorship it was said of him that he had done more than any other man to elevate the tone of Rochester journalism. That was true ; he was courteous, sympathetic, just, con- scientious, cultured ; he uniformly aimed to do the best for the community; he always sought to recommend to the atten- tion of his readers whatsoever made for purity and goodness, and he put into the work of the day as much literary finish
and original thought as great capacity and great effort might furnish ; his profes- sional motives squared with his upright character.
After a year as editor of the Buffalo "Enquirer," Mr. O'Connor returned to Rochester and in 1898 began writing for the "Post-Express" a column under the title "The Rochesterian," which he con- tinued until his death. It was signed with his initials, being understood, there- fore, as the expression of his own opin- ions, for which he alone was responsible. During this time he wrote also extended reviews of important books for the same paper and for the New York "Times." Two volumes of selections from his news- paper work and his other writings were published in 1911 with the title of "The Rochesterian."
Beside his newspaper work Mr. O'Con- nor was an occasional contributor to magazines on any subject that interested him. He was an undisputed authority on Civil War history and contributed to Appleton's "Encyclopedia of Amer- ican Biography." During the first Mc- Kinley administration, he was urged by his friends for the post of minister to the Netherlands, but did not press the ap- pointment.
As a poet, he had an unusual gift of sympathetic expression, and at the earn- est solicitation of his friends published a volume of his verse. He wrote the "Ode," at the celebration of New York Day at the World's Columbian Exposition, and the "Commemorative Ode" read on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the British evacuation of Fort Niagara, this being one of his most charming com- positions.
He had a genius for helpfulness and in no way did he express it more than toward the younger members of his profession. He was ever ready to respond to a plea for help, and from the vast storehouse
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of knowledge was ready and even eager to give. Yet he was so modest that he would again and again excuse himself from speaking in public, though all were eager to hear the man with whose written speech they were so familiar. He lived most unostentatiously and made no effort to impress the public with his attain- ments, loving scholarship for scholar- ship's sake. His last appearance in public was at the annual roastfest of the Roches- ter Newswriter's Club at which he was the guest of honor. His speech, the event of the evening, was one in which he spoke clearly, forcibly and feelingly of what he thought a newspaper should be. One of his marked characteristics was a keen sense of humor. He possessed an in- exhaustible fund of anecdotes and was a charming story teller. His humor was without sting, free from sarcasm, but sparkling and always spontaneous. He died suddenly, as he would have wished, while sitting in his chair, at his home in Frank street, Rochester, October 9, 1908.
He married, November 26, 1877, Evan- geline, daughter of Reuben and Almira (Alexander) Johnson, and sister of Ros- siter Johnson, the encyclopedist and his lifelong friend. She survives him with one daughter. Mrs. O'Connor graduated at the Rochester Free Academy, and pur- sued literary studies in conjunction with her husband. She has translated Flamini's "History of Italian Literature," also other books from the German and Italian, and is the author of "Index to Hawthorne's Works (with sketch of his life) ;" "Index to Works of Shakespeare," "Famous Names in Fiction," and has contributed largely to encyclopedias.
Mr. O'Connor was a member of the Delta Upsilon, Greek letter fraternity, and one of the original board of trustees that erected the chapter house in Strat- hallan Park. He was also a member of the Genesee Valley and Rochester Whist,
social clubs, and of the Fortnightly, Pun- dit and Browning, literary clubs, before whom he read many papers. At the risk of something of repetition, the present writer ventures to append the personal note that he wrote in the "Post-Express" at the time of Mr. O'Connor's death :
In the death of Joseph O'Connor, a brilliant light in letters has been extinguished For many years it has been radiant in verse, in scho- larship, and in journalism. Many gifts were his. He had the soul of a poet, receptive of all that was best in art and literature, expressive in his fair and stately measures. His memory was singularly acute, retentive and serviceable-a mine of wealth from which he freely drew. He ranged the entire field of letters, familiar alike with the masters of the Elizabethan and Vic- torian ages. He knew the bye-ways, as well as the broad ways, of English thought, and was well acquainted with the paths which the classic and the later European authors pursued, and was an accomplished linguist. His knowledge was wide, various and precise. Choosing jour- nalism as his profession, he dedicated to it exact information of his country's history, its states- men and heroes, a keen perception of its political and social needs, a constant sympathy with purity and wisdom in the conduct of its affairs, and a style in writing remarkable for lucidity, coherence and strength. He emphasized his abhorrence of all that was mean and debasing in words that stung and slew. Cleaving to all that was upright and true, his words were brave and inspiring-exalting journalism. More than all, was his absolute fealty to his convictions, from which neither flattery nor menace could deflect him and which, more than once, cost him position and apparently preferment. His sincerity was rock-ribbed in his nature and commanded a respect and wielded an influ- ence rarely accorded to one of his calling. Thus equipped he became one of the lead- ing journalists of the land, to whom his asso- ciates deferred and whom the community ac- claimed. His literary essays were of the most charming character. His appreciations and criticisms were erudite, searching and exhaus- tive. In them were gems that sparkled and an exquisite finish that revealed his artistic quality. Had he confined himself to literature, it is possi- ble that he might have had larger repute, but he could not have had larger usefulness. In conversation, with his copious stores of learning,
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he was essentially fascinating. Nights with him were ambrosial; I recall many such. It is some- times hard to reflect that a journalist writes as in sand, and that the advancing waves obliterate his tracings, but Joseph O'Connor did so much to enlighten and elevate his day that one may hope that much which he said may endure, that his grace and skill and force may still abide. We, who knew him well, grieve that he has gone, that hand-clasp and heart-talk with him have ceased, but we rejoice that he labored so earnestly and achieved so greatly, and led us along so many ways that were instructful, delightful and ennobling.
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