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Youngest of the sons of Ansel Avery Gates, John W., was destined to be the most important, best known member of the Gates family. At Turner Junction, where his boyhood days were passed and where he went to the public school, he first attracted attention as a diligent youth; at the Naperville Academy he made excellent progress in his studies, and always he was commended as a duti- ful son. Even at the age when most boys are described as thoughtless, he was busi- ness-like, purposeful. He arrived at ma- turity early. Before he was nineteen, he not only had engaged in business for him- self, but also he had courted and married Dellora Roxana, daughter of Edward and Martha E. Baker. In the selection of a life partner he was wise and fortunate. He realized it. In choosing associates, not many have been more discerning than John W. Gates. Nor did he ever forget to make adequate return for assistance rendered at any time during his eventful career.
Gifted with ability to see ahead, willing to take risks because he trusted his own judgment, a worker, a strategist, a finan- cier, John W. Gates outclimbed others to the heights of success, chiefly because he had the larger vision and the greater cour- age. He showed how competent he could be, while he was yet a boy. Money, earned by performing laborious tasks on neighboring farms, enabled him to buy a half interest in a threshing outfit. Suc- cessful in his first investment, he quickly availed himself of the next opportunity.
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At the age of eighteen, he sold his interest in the threshing machine and bought a small hardware business at Turner Junc- tion. The shrewd young store-keeper, brought in contact with barbed wire, at once saw possibilities that others then failed to see. Acquaintance with Isaac L. Ellwood, who, with Joseph F. Glidden, had just begun to manufacture barbed wire presented a chance that John W. Gates eagerly grasped. Realizing almost before anyone else did how useful barbed wire fencing would be to the cattlemen of the West and Southwest, he traveled through the country introducing and sell- ing the new fence material.
Success, such as he achieved as a sales- man would have satisfied most men. But he wasn't content to be a salesman, merely. The manufacturing end of the barbed wire business now appealed to him. He commenced to make barbed wire in St. Louis and made good from the very outset. He progressed so prosper- ously that, in a short time, a consolidation was effected with Clifford & Edenborn and the big plant resulting was known as the St. Louis Wire Mill. One big factory, however busy, failed to keep him oc- cupied. He bought and built more wire mills. These properties and their acces- sories were comprised in the Consolidated Steel & Wire Company. Previously re- stricted to the manufacture of barbed wire he enlarged his enterprises and in- cluded in the industries he and his associ- ates controlled all kinds of wire and wire products. The merger of these great in- terests became the American Steel and Wire Company. Mr. Gates was chairman of the executive committee of the Ameri- can Steel & Wire Company. When the company that controlled the bulk of American wire production was acquired by the United States Steel Corporation, Mr. Gates exchanged many of his steel secur- ities for cash and employed his money
elsewhere. As a special partner in his son's banking and commission house (Harris, Gates & Company, 1902-04, and Charles G. Gates & Company, 1904-07, called the "House of Twelve Partners") he was regarded as one of the most power- ful men who contended for the mastery of the stock market. Those that heretofore had been supreme, couldn't intimidate him. He fought financial battles success- fully with the best of them. His ability as a speculator and his command of mil- lions prevented him from ever being over- come. One exploit of his that Wall street never will forget, was the coup by which he obtained control of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad in 1902. Yet withal his great achievements were constructive rather than speculative. He was the prime mover in the organization of the United States Realty and Improvement Company. The assistance of Mr. Gates made possible the construction of the Plaza Hotel and the great Hippodrome, New York's most capacious and spectacu- lar playhouse. He organized the Texas Company and created in the petroleum districts of the Southwest a competing company able to withstand Standard Oil. Interested in the Kansas City Southern Railroad, he studied the development of Southeastern Texas. He was instrumen- tal in having Port Arthur made a port of entry. His representations, despite the fiercest opposition, brought about the im- provement of the harbor and other water- ways adjacent to Port Arthur. He rein- vested millions in the Tennessee Coal Iron and Railroad Company and in the Republic Iron & Steel Company, two con- cerns that were strong competitors of the Steel Trust. He sold his holdings in Tennessee Coal & Iron when that big company was purchased by the United States Steel Corporation. His interest in Republic Iron & Steel he held firmly until his death. Stricken with a complication
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of ailments, in Paris, where he had gone NEARING, Lucius Alexander, for his annual vacation, Mr. Gates died on Eminent Dentist. August 9, 19II.
Judged according to his achievements and character, John W. Gates was one of the great men produced in an epoch of millionairs. Few of his contemporaries had his breadth of view. Independent, strong, quick to act, audacious, tenacious, generous, he never feared to meet a mighty opponent nor sought to crush the weak. When he first became prosperous, his first thought was to make suitable provision for the comfort of his parents. At St. Charles, Illinois, he erected for them a beautiful home, supplied with every luxury they might desire.
His affection for his brother, Gilbert W., caused him to have the search for Alexander Jester persistently continued for over thirty years. For his only son, Charles Gilbert, he entertained great hopes and some of his hardest financial battles were fought to ensure the young man's prestige. His virtues were of a rugged order, his charities, large, numer- ous and unadvertised. Of his many benefi- cences, only two were accorded publicity with the consent of Mr. Gates. They were the Port Arthur College and the Mary Gates Hospital founded in memory of his mother. Politically, Mr. Gates was always affiliated with the Republi- can party; his church connections were Methodist; the clubs to which he be- longed were: Lawyer's Club, Railroad Club of New York, Auto Club of America, Chicago Athletic Association, Whitehall Club, Whist Club, Tolleston Club of Chi- cago, The Chicago Club, Manhattan Club, New York Club, Boston Club of New Orleans, Atlantic Yacht Club, Country Club of Westchester County, Columbia Yacht Club, Calumet Club, Chicago, Coney Island Jockey Club, Brooklyn Jockey Club.
Although a man nearing life's prime when he located in Syracuse, Dr. Nearing practiced his profession in that city for nearly half a century of his eighty-five years. He came of a long lived race, his father living to be eighty-four, his brother and sisters also living to advanced ages. His early life was spent on the home farm at Pompey Hill, but he found he pos- sessed a natural aptitude for working with tools and abandoned the farm for a trade, then from a trade advanced to a profession. His magnificent constitution and invariable good health which carried him far into the ranks of octegenarians he attributed to the years spent in out-of- door work on the farm, and in the build- ing operations with which he was con- nected. He was deeply interested in the welfare of his adopted city, ranked high in his profession, was honorable and loyal in his citizenship and was held in high esteem in his community. The Nearings came to Onondaga county, New York, from Connecticut, Dr. Nearing's father coming in 1800, and locating with his brother on a two hundred acre tract at Pompey Hill, which they personally cleared of timber and brought under cul- tivation.
Lucius Alexander Nearing was born at Pompey, Onondaga county, New York, December 10, 1824, died in Syracuse, New York, April 6, 1910. He attended the public schools in winter months, but from an early age worked as his father's farm assistant until attaining his majority. He was a natural mechanic and fond of work- ing with most any kind of tools. As soon as he was legally free from parental re- straint he abandoned farm work and learned the carpenter's trade with a Pompey builder. He worked for several
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years at this trade during the summer months, becoming a skilled workman and eventually a contractor and builder. Dur- ing the winter months, when outside building operations were discontinued, he worked at cabinet and joiner work with Mr. Morley, the village undertaker and cabinet maker. In 1851 he married and moved to Rochester, New York, there entering the employ of C. J. Hayden, cabinet maker and furniture dealer and mayor of Rochester, who was a brother of Dr. Nearing's wife.
He did not long continue at his trade in Rochester for after deciding he was better qualified for other things he deter- mined to become a dentist. He studied with Dr. A. J. Morgan, of Rochester, and after attaining a sufficient degree of pro- ficiency returned to Pompey and began practicing dentistry among his old friends. He continued in Pompey until 1863, when he decided his skill and knowledge could be employed to better advantage in a larger place. He selected Syracuse as a location, rented and fitted up offices and in 1863 began practice. He won public favor and for forty-seven years continu- ously practiced his profession in that city. He enjoyed perfect health, and in full possession of all his faculties he min- istered to the needs of his clientele until his last illness, three weeks prior to his death. For several years his son, Dr. George Edward Nearing, had been asso- ciated with him in practice. His half a century in the dental profession began when dentistry was hardly regarded as a profession, the medical profession doing extracting and little other dental work be- ing attempted outside of the great cities. Dr. Nearing's natural deftness with tools made him easily master of the dentist's instruments and as the demand for better dental work spread, the mechanical part of his profession was quickly acquired. He grew with the years, kept pace with N Y-Vol III-10
all dental advance and was always in the van of professional progress.
Dr. Nearing was one of the founders of Central Church Disciples of Christ and for many years was one of its honored elders. He met every demand made upon him as a professional man, citizen, or neigh- bor, and held the unvarying respect of all who knew him. He devoted himself closely to his profession, mingling little in political affairs, but was deeply in- terested in all public questions and keenly alive to his responsibilities as a citizen.
Dr. Nearing married, in 1851, Mary A. Hayden, sister of Mr. Hayden, for many years a leading furniture dealer of Syra- cuse. He left two children: George Ed- ward Nearing, D. D. S., associated with his father in practice and his successor, and a daughter, Mrs. Jennie E. Mosher. Mrs. Nearing survived her husband but a short time, her death occurring October 24, 19II, aged eighty-four years.
SMITH, Franklin,
Journalist and Editorial Writer.
For many years a worker in the jour- nalistic field and an editorial writer of national fame, the late Franklin Smith, of Rochester, was above and beyond the general conception of a journalist. From early manhood he was a deep student of economics and sociology and the strongest of American writers on these subjects, his articles being eagerly sought for by the leading reviews, many of them also ap- pearing in pamphlet form. In his early career he became a devoted student of Herbert Spencer, and he was soon one of the most intelligent and lucid expounders of Mr. Spencer's philosophy. But he was an evolutionist of the advanced school and scorned the misinterpretation of his master which made brutality the main element in development and left the al- truistic forces out of account. In a re-
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view of "First Principles." some two years prior to his death, Mr. Smith gave a popular exposition of what evolution really is. In an autograph letter to him, the aged and distinguished philosopher pronounced it the best popular exposition of the principles of evolution that had appeared in the press of England or America since the first publication of his works, half a century ago.
The most striking thing about Mr. Smith was the intensity of his individual- ity. He was an advocate of "individual- ism in philosophy" and his overmastering impulse was loyalty to his mission as a man. He felt that he was put on earth to think out great problems conscienti- ously, make his thought known, act on it, and abide by what he conceived to be the truth, no matter how the current of popular opinion ran. He believed his personality to be in the nature of a divine trust, not to be betrayed by surrender to mere conventionalities, but to be asserted as an influence in the life about him. No man took more to heart any tendency in society or the nation toward what he be- lieved folly or wrong. Public evil touched him as it touches few men. As a jour- nalist his inclination was toward that school that sets opinions above news and that considers it the mission of the news- paper to instruct rather than to amuse. He studied a great theme carefully and he sought to lead rather than to follow the impulses of a community. He was a man of high ideals, and of a serious cast of mind, although there were many flashes of humor in his conversation. He re- spected the opinions of others and in his discussions sought truth not controversy. The welfare of his fellow-men was ever nearest his heart, and through education and moral training he ceaselessly strove for the uplift of humanity.
He believed in the practical application of the Golden Rule. Strict integrity,
absolute fairness and unselfishness were to him simple and common-place rules of conduct, whether of the individual or the nation. His political system had for its basis the maxim that the least possible government is the best possible govern- ment; he believed that the more the fol- lowers of industrial pursuits were left to themselves the more they contributed to the welfare of their fellows. The chief, if not the only functions of government, were the preservation of order and en- forcement of justice. He believed that benefit to the individual should be in pro- portion to individual merit. He insisted, therefore, that every man should have a free field for his activities, and that the government should not interfere with this principle by conferring special favors upon anyone. It pained him to see the strong and powerful commit aggressions upon the weak and helpless. Against such aggressions he waged a relentless war during his entire life. His supreme faith in humanity led him to appeal to the better natures of his readers and hearers, and he hopefully looked forward to the time when war should be no more and mankind should dwell together in peace, all energies being devoted, not to the destruction but to the upbuilding of the entire race. His cheerful confidence in the ultimate triumph of all that was good was a constant inspiration. In his private life he was kind, loyal, lovable, tender-hearted, and honest-minded, a sincere friend of humanity, a real lover and benefactor of the race, and modestly, devotedly, conscientiously, he spent his entire life usefully in behalf of his fellow- men.
Franklin Smith was born in South Granville, Washington county, New York, October 3, 1853, the son of Pascal C. and Ann P. Smith, and was a grandson of Dr. Horace Smith, who practiced medicine during the middle of the last century for
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nearly fifty years in South Granville and the neighboring country. Franklin Smith obtained his early education in the dis- trict school of South Granville, the Union school in West Pawlet and the academy at Poultney, Vermont. Before he was ten years of age he discovered in his grandfather's library an edition of Rol- lin's "History of Greece" that he devoured with avidity. From that time he became an indefatigable reader and student of history, political economy, sociology and philosophy. Until the age of sixteen years he worked upon a farm in the summer and attended school in the winter. In the summer of 1871, while at work in South Granville, he conceived the idea of attend- ing Cornell University at Ithaca, New York, and through the assistance of friends, Mr. Ezra Bullock and Mr. John Baker, he went to Ithaca in September of that year, and entered the university in the class of 1875. In order to obtain the money for his college course, he worked upon the university farm the first year, and the two succeeding years he worked in the university printing office, having previously learned the art of setting type in Granville. While at college he devoted as many hours as possible aside from his regular studies and work to reading in the university library. During his senior year he became the secretary of President White, a position he occupied until he graduated, and during that time he de- veloped a taste for literary work, in which in later years he so distinguished himself. Also during his senior year he did a large amount of special work, and was awarded a prize for an essay that he prepared on "The Vernacular Literature of the Middle Ages in its Relation to Romanism." Al- though poorly prepared when he entered the university, handicapped by the lack of funds, and compelled as he was to main- tain himself by his own exertions, he was graduated with high honors. He was
chosen as one of the commencement ora- tors, the subject of his oration being "Rousseau as a Philosopher of the French Revolution." He had the novel distinc- tion of having expended the least amount for his college course of any member of his class. He then threw himself into literary work with all the energy and perseverance he possessed, and to his wonderful energy and indomitable per- severance was due his rapid and perma- nent advancement in the field of journal- ism. The helpful mind of President White stimulated his researches and in the latter's private library many were the hours of delightful reading and conversa- tion by master and pupil. The friendship thus founded ever endured.
After his graduation from Cornell, Mr. Smith went to Rochester, New York, and became a reporter on the "Democrat and Chronicle," and shortly afterward was promoted to the position of night editor and then associate editor. For ten years he remained with that paper, writing editorials that challenged the attention not only of the Rochester community but also of the press throughout the country, much of his work being attrib- uted to the editor-in-chief of that paper. In 1886 he became the first editor-in-chief of the "Cosmopolitan Magazine," and re- mained with it until the change in owner- ship two years later. He then became one of the editorial writers on the New York "Evening Post," and remained there several years, and in 1892 returned to Rochester to accept the managing editorship of the "Union and Advertiser." He remained in that city from that time until his death, being connected as editor with the Rochester "Herald" and "Post- Express." As a writer, he may have had many equals, but he surely had few superiors. His sentences were never in- volved; they were short, crisp and in- cisive. The editorials that he prepared
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from day to day were well considered, and were written with the utmost care and precision. During this period he wrote a vast amount touching upon cur- rent events, and upon political, financial, economic and sociological questions. For a number of years prior to his death he wrote for a number of monthly maga- zines, and among his essays, many of which were published in the "Popular Science Monthly," are the following: "A Fiction of Political Metaphysics;" "An Object Lesson in Social Reform;" "The Despotism of Democracy;" "The Real Problems of Democracy;" "Signs of De- cadence in the United States ;" "An Apos- tate Democracy;" "A State Official on Excessive Taxation ;" "Reversions in Modern Industrial Life ;" "Politics as a Form of Civil War;" and "Peace as a Factor in Social and Political Reform." These essays are models of a clear, accur- ate, and vigorous literary style. He was himself his most severe critic, and his published articles, therefore, did not reach the press until they had undergone, at his hands, a most painstaking revision. Mr. Smith intended to publish his essays in book form, but the work was inter- rupted by his untimely death. Singular as it may seem Mr. Smith developed no marked taste or aptitude for literary work until his senior year in college. His early ambition was to study medicine. His grandfather and an uncle on his father's side had been physicians, and it seemed to him that by heredity and natural tastes, he was adapted to per- petuate that profession in his family. But circumstances prevented the realiza- tion of this ambition.
Mr. Smith possessed a striking and attractive personality. He impressed one as a profound student and scholar. His presence commanded attention in any assemblage of men, and he made friends wherever he went, who became firmly
attached to him by reason of his strong personality, and his kind, generous and sympathetic disposition. He was a most entertaining conversationalist, pos- sessing a vast fund of information that he had acquired in his newspaper work and by constant and careful reading and investigation. But what was of more importance, he had thoroughly digested all the information that he had thus acquired. He was slow in reaching con- clusions, and reached them only after thorough investigation and profound thought ; he was at all times prepared to defend the opinions that he had thus formed against the attacks of anyone. Nevertheless, he had great respect for the opinions of others, but he insisted that those opinions should be based upon something that appealed to reason.
Mr. Smith married, in 1884, Emma E. Horne, of Rochester, a woman of marked ability, who survives him. Mr. Smith died at his home in Rochester, Novem- ber 5, 1903. His work was well done and unselfish. His reputation was un- tarnished. He died highly respected and esteemed by all who knew him, and his friends missed his personality and his master mind. The community in which he lived and made his influence for good felt sustained an irreparable loss. What better tribute can a man have, and what better record can he leave behind?
PARKER, Charles Edward, LL. D., Lawyer, Eminent Jurist.
There are but few members of the present New York bar who practiced be- fore Judge John Mason Parker and but few who have not practiced before his son, Judge Charles Edward Parker. There were many points of similarity in the careers of these two illustrious sons of the Empire State. Both achieved great fame as able jurists; both were justices
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of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; both had long experiences as trial and law judges ; both had fine legal minds stored with a wealth of legal knowledge and both were devoted to the scrupulous discharge of their exalted duties. The elder Parker sat on the bench of the Su- preme Court for a period of sixteen years, six of which he was a justice of the gen- eral term of the Supreme Court, a position practically identified with that held by his son, except that the latter had been the presiding judge of the Appellate Court.
Judge John Mason Parker died in 1873, aged sixty-eight years, being a justice of the general term at the time of his death. He was a member of the Chemung county bar for several years, and from 1858 until 1859 represented his district in Congress. In the fall of 1859 he was elected a justice of the Supreme Court and after several years on the circuit was designated by Governor Hoffman a justice of the gen- eral term. He served for six years on the appeal bench, until his death.
Charles Edward Parker, the son, for nearly a score of years was a justice of the Supreme Court of New York and for more than half of that time the presiding justice of the Appellate division, third department. He reached the constitu- tional age limit of seventy years, and in 1906 retired, leaving the bench with a record as a jurist unsurpassed for judg- ment, fairness and legal learning. He retired to his beautiful home in Owego enjoying the confidence and respect of his associates on the bench, his brethren of the bar, and of litigants whose cases he heard. The farewell proceedings at Albany exemplified the affection and honor in which he was held by his breth- ren of the bench. At that time the judges of the Appellate division paid him affectionate and well deserved tribute and all hearts were touched at the official parting. A former member of the court,
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