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 34
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Dr. Draper was elected State Superin- tendent of Schools in 1886, serving until 1892, his choice being almost universally opposed by school men on the ground that he was a politician. He was, and he remained one until the day of his death, but partisan politics never entered into the great department over which he pre- sided. After two terms of service as State Superintendent of Public Instruc- tion he was succeeded by a Democrat, but he had cast his lot permanently with educational workers. He was then elected superintendent of schools at Cleveland, Ohio, which office he held from 1892 to 1894. In the latter year he was chosen president of the University of Illinois. In both of these positions he made an envia- ble record. In 1898 he was elected first superintendent of schools in Greater New York, but declined. When the unifica- tion of the school systems of New York took place he was called back to his native State to administer educational affairs, and spent the remainder of his life at this work. He was elected by the Legislature in 1904, and in 1910 was re- elected for life by the Board of Regents. While engaged in educational work Dr. Draper spoke on many educational prob- lems and in many States, and he wrote largely and effectively. Beyond question he was the ablest educational adminis- trator of his time, and probably the ablest
our country has produced. He held many official educational offices. He was presi- dent of the superintendents' section of the National Educational Association from 1889 to 1891, and presided at these meet- ings with rare skill and efficiency. He was president of the North Central Asso- ciation of Colleges and Secondary Schools in 1903-04. In 1898 he was made a mem- ber of the Board of United States Indian Commissioners, and was chairman at the time of his death. Dr. Draper loved his State intensely, as he loved his country, and he had the greatest faith in the char- acter and the endurance of both. He was an optimist, and had small patience with a man who was disposed to look upon the dark side of things. He was interested in history, and was a member and a trustee of the New York State Historical Asso- ciation, and read several papers at its meetings. He was also a member of the State Historical societies of Illinois and of Wisconsin, as well as of the Chicago Historical Society. He loved, respected and honored his State, and felt it was without an equal among the Common- wealths of our Union. In the course of a controversy with Mr. Martin, of Massa- chusetts, in regard to the matter of pri- macy in educational work, he made use of this expression: "New York made his- tory, but Massachusetts wrote it."
It is a matter of interest to know that the magnificent educational building stands on the same site as that occupied by the humble boyhood home of Dr. Draper.
Dr. Draper was a speaker with no spe- cial graces, yet one who held and influ- enced his audiences because of his hon- esty, his earnestness, and his clearness of ยท thought and expression. His educational work may be summarized as follows: He removed the public schools of the State from the influence of partisan politics. He provided uniform examinations for teach-
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ers' licenses. He secured the recognition of the fact that the schools were State and not local institutions. He secured the enactment of laws designed to insure the appointment of efficient supervising offi- cers for rural schools. He secured the passage of a law providing for three thou- sand State scholarships in the approved colleges of the State. It was chiefly through his influence and efforts that the Educational Department is housed in the finest building in the world devoted to that purpose. He received the degree of Doctor of Laws from Colgate (1889), Co- lumbia (1903), and the University of Illi- nois (1905). He received an award at the Paris Exposition (1900) for a monograph on the "Organization and Administration of the American School System," and a gold medal and one of two grand prizes given at the St. Louis Exposition (1904) for collaborating two or more exhibits and for unusual services in educational ad- ministration.
The life of Dr. Draper should be an in- spiration to all boys and young men who have ideals and ambitions. He was a poor boy. He had no special educational opportunities. He had good native abil- ity, but was in no sense a genius. He made his way through persistent hard work. He earned his success. He was not vacillating. He stood for the right as he saw it, let the result be what it might. He detested dishonest, mean, cowardly men, and men who were always yielding to difficulties. On one occasion when talking to a school official who was mak- ing excuses for not doing his duty he said: "I have no faith in a man who is always seeing a lion in the way. I pin my faith to the man who, when he meets an obstacle will find a way over it, around it, through it or under it." This was Dr. Draper's own spirit, the spirit that con- tributed so largely to his success.
The magnificent educational building at Albany will be a lasting monument to Dr. Draper. The State scholarships that he was successful in securing will for all time secure to thousands of boys and girls a college education, and many of these could never have hoped for a lib- eral education but for these scholarships. Not only will thousands secure these scholarships, but many more thousands will accomplish much more in life than they otherwise would have done, because of these scholarships. They will cause a general uplift in the educational work of the State. In this act alone Dr. Draper has rendered the State he loved so dearly an invaluable service.
SHERMAN WILLIAMS.
CULVER, Oliver,
Pioneer of Brighton.
Coming from the town of Orwell, Ver- mont, a section rich in historical associa- tions, Oliver Culver made local history in the town of Brighton, now a part of the city of Rochester. John Lusk, the pio- neer settler, came to Brighton first in 1787 and then returned to his Massachusetts home, carrying wonderful stories of the resources of the Genesee valley. Through his influence and the favorable reports he took back to New England, several fam- ilies followed his example when he re- turned and became a permanent settle1 in Brighton, among them Oliver Culver, who came in 1791.
He at once secured land and began clearing a farm, he and Solomon Hatch having a saw mill running on Allyn's creek as early as 1806. His farm was just east of Brighton village, and when in 1810 the population of the afterward created town of Brighton had reached two thousand eight hundred, he, in ad- dition to his farm and saw mill, engaged
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in business with Judge Tryon and trans- ported many boatloads of goods to the infant settlements in the then "Far West." He operated perhaps the first distillery in the town, having one located near his tavern west of Brighton village, and one north of his residence.
When the Erie canal was completed through the eastern part of the county in 1822, Oliver Culver built and put in the canal at Brighton the first packet boat of that region, and the fourth to operate on the canal anywhere. When the old town- ship of Smallwood was divided on March 25, 1814, and its territory organized into two distinct towns, Brighton and Pitts- ford, he was elected at the first town meeting held in Brighton in 1814, the first supervisor of the new town, serving two years. He was again elected in 1838, serv- ing three years, and again elected in 1844. He continued his boat building for sev- eral years, with two others being the leaders in that industry, and during their earlier years (1812-1815) the little settle- ment was a busy locality, much lake navi- gation having its beginning there.
Oliver Culver was well born, and was one of the important men of the new set- tlement. He was a son of William, Cul- ver, who was a soldier of the Revolution, and was a brother of John Culver, whom he persuaded to come to Monroe county and purchase a tract of one hundred and fifty acres, now included within the cor- porate limits of Rochester, between Good- man and Barrington streets on East ave- nue. John Culver made a horseback jour- ney to see his purchase in 1810, but soon returned to Vermont. In 1812 he again came to Rochester and permanently located on his farm.
McQUAID, Bernard J., Prelate, Educator, Philanthropist.
To have achieved fame in one direction is conceded to be an enviable condition by
the majority of human beings, but in the late Rt. Rev. Bernard J. McQuaid, first bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester, New York, we had a man who attained eminence as minister, educator and philanthropist. In every one of these fields he was undoubtedly successful, and in every instance he labored for the best interests of humanity, with never a thought of self-aggrandizement. His courage and fearlessness, his personal self-sacrifice, his executive ability and foresight, are well-nigh unparalleled. It is difficult to estimate the value of such services as Bishop McQuaid rendered the cause of religion and humanity. It is not alone by what he did that results must be measured, but by the influence his ad- mirable life has had upon others. Many of the younger clergy who were his asso- ciates sought his counsel, which never failed them, and his sympathetic and fatherly advice helped to spread the noble doctrine which his entire life exemplified. Tender and loving, his heart was filled with good will toward all humanity.
Bishop Bernard John McQuaid was born in New York City, December 15, 1823, and died at the Episcopal residence on Frank street, Rochester, New York, Janu- ary 18, 1909. His last illness had been of a number of weeks' duration, and yet the announcement of his death was an un- expected shock to the thousands of peo- ple who had learned to love and appre- ciate him, and who had hoped against hope for his recovery. The early years of his life were spent in New Jersey, and it was at the home of his father that the Catholics of that State held their first re- ligious service. At the age of fourteen years he was sent to Canada, and for some years was a student in a classical school at Chambly. Upon his return to New York he commenced the study of theology at St. John's College, Fordham, from which he was graduated in due
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course of time. He was ordained to the priesthood in the old Mott Street Cathe- dral, New York City, January 16, 1848. He was at once assigned to the Parish of Madison, New Jersey, which covered many square miles, some of them closely settled. Energetic and conscientious, he made a point of visiting personally every family in his parish, and as many of these journeys were made on foot and the dis- tances great, he was obliged to stay at the houses of his parishioners overnight, and thus gained an insight into the family life of those under his charge which he could have obtained in no other manner. It was through his efforts that the Roman Catholic churches at Morristown, Mend- ham and Springfield, New Jersey, now among the most prosperous in the State, were organized. The results he achieved were of so satisfactory a nature that, when the Diocese of Newark was created and James Roosevelt Bayley, D. D., was made Roman Catholic bishop of New Jersey, young Father McQuaid was called to the rectorship of the cathedral, before six years had expired after his ordination. The energy of the man, his interest and abil- ity, and his faith in education, are clearly shown by what he accomplished while attached to St. Patrick's Cathedral, New- ark. He planned, and saw that his plans were properly carried out, a college for young men, a college for young women, a society for young men and an Order of Sisters. These are respectively: Seton Hall College, St. Elizabeth's College, the Young Men's Catholic Association of Newark and the Order of Sisters of St. Joseph. In 1866 Father McQuaid was made vicar-general of the Newark cathe- dral and performed the duties of this office in addition to those of president of and professor in Seton Hall College.
Quaid was nominated the first bishop, and was consecrated to the episcopate in St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York City, July 12, 1868, by Archbishop McCloskey, later the first American cardinal, assisted by Bishop Bayley, of Newark. He found the parochial schools and orphanages of his diocese in a very unsatisfactory state and at once sent for some of the sisters of the Order of St. Joseph, the educational order which he had established. It was his aim to have a parochial school in every parish, and he accomplished this. Feeling the need for still better equip- ment for the teachers, he founded the Nazareth Normal School, which holds a charter given by the University of the State of New York. He delivered many lectures at this institution on the question of the education of the masses from the Roman Catholic point of view, these arti- cles being later collected and published in a volume entitled "Christian Free Schools." The importance of this work was recognized throughout church. In the letter of Pope Pius X. to Bishop Mc- Quaid, dated June 25, 1908, the Holy Father said: "We know that while you diligently discharge the duties of a good pastor, you have always given special care to the education of the young and especially those intended for the priest- hood. And this, assuredly, is a thing so great that there is nothing of more im- portance to the State." Bishop McQuaid desired to have about him a considerable number of priests who were natives of his diocese, men who had been trained in accordance with his own ideas of the priesthood, because he believed that hav- ing breathed from their birth the atmos- phere in which they were working for the glory of God, they would be able to accomplish results impossible to priests reared in other environments. To this
When the creation of the Diocese of Rochester was announced Father Mc- end, in September, 1870, within the
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shadow of the cathedral, St. Andrew's Preparatory Seminary was opened. Bishop McQuaid's educational ambitions culmi- nated in the founding of St. Bernard's Seminary in Rochester. This project had been on his mind when he first entered upon diocesan work. He commenced to husband his resources as early as 1875, and was so well prepared when he broached this project to the priests of the diocese that their enthusiastic support was at once secured. He personally superintended the construction of this in- stitution from the laying of the corner- stone in March, 1891, to the dedication of the new Hall of Theology in August, 1908. It is a fitting monument to his memory.
The circle of personal friends and ap- preciative and admiring acquaintances of Bishop McQuaid was an exceptionally wide one. He was somewhat retiring in his disposition, but his uniformly agree- able manner, his keen appreciation of character and motive, his abiding and in- tense interest in the welfare of the people of the city in which he was prominent for so many years, endeared him to tens of thousands of his fellow citizens. Strict in his ecclesiasticism, he was yet charitable regarding the views of others, and his circle of friends and acquaintances was not bound by lines of creed, party or sta- tion in life. He was one of the few promi- nent men of whom it could be said that his acquaintances were invariably his friends. His charity, while not obtrusive, was broad and far-reaching, and it took the form of mentally and morally uplift- ing its objects, while not neglecting their immediate physical necessities. Whoever experienced the pleasure of meeting Bishop McQuaid at his home will never forget his unvarying courtesy. He was ever ready with useful advice, and guests never departed from his presence without
the sense of having come within a strong, uplifting influence. It is not alone as a distinguished prelate, a faithful pastor and a broad-minded citizen, that Bishop McQuaid will long be remembered, for not only throughout the city, but in the remotest corner of the Diocese of Roches- ter, his memory will be cherished as that of a personal friend.
The last public occasion on which Bishop McQuaid was present was at the dedication of the Hall of Theology of St. Bernard's Seminary. His physical condi- tion would not permit participation in the exercises until the close of the banquet, when he was brought into the banquet hall in a wheeled chair. On behalf of the priests of the diocese, Bishop Hickey pre- sented a check to be used in founding a professorship at St. Bernard's. As Bishop McQuaid rose to respond, his voice failed for a moment, but he soon regained his self-possession, spoke for about fifteen minutes, and then suddenly collapsed and fell back in his chair unconscious. So critical was his condition that it was not until the late fall that it was possible to remove him to his home on Frank street, the Episcopal residence. He never re- covered from this illness. The funeral of Bishop McQuaid attracted the largest crowd that had ever assembled in the city on such an occasion. The people com- menced to gather early in the morning at the doors of the cathedral, although the services did not take place until ten o'clock. Archbishop Farley, of New York, celebrated the mass and chanted the prayers for the dead, assisted by Father McQuaid, of Philadelphia, a cousin of Bishop McQuaid, and Rev. M. J. Nolan, of St. Bernard's Seminary. The funeral sermon was preached by Rev. Phillips B. McDevitt, superintendent of the parochial schools of the Archdiocese of Philadel- phia.
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Bishop McQuaid's work in Rochester covered a period of more than forty years, and during those years he was identified with all of the great civic movements which have made for the betterment of the city. At an early date he became, in association with the late Dr. E. M. Moore, an advocate of a great park system for Rochester. At the time of his death he was an active member of the park board, with which he had been connected sev- eral years. In many other vital civic mat- ters Bishop McQuaid's influence was con- stantly, although unostentatiously, ex- erted for the benefit of the people among whom he lived and labored for the greater part of a half century.
A special meeting of the park board was held for the purpose of acting on the death of Bishop McQuaid, who had been a member of the board twenty-one years. It was decided that the board attend the funeral in a body, and that it also visit the cathedral in a body while the remains were lying there in state. A tribute was paid to the memory of the bishop and the following resolutions adopted :
Resolved, That in the death of Right Rev- erend Bernard J. McQuaid, D. D., Bishop of Rochester, the Board of Park Commissioners has lost a member who, from the date of his appointment by Act of Legislature, in 1888, has steadily shown an active interest in the creation, maintenance and development of our Park Sys- tem.
From the first he favored the purchase of all the lands that were acquired for park purposes, and boldly stood for what he deemed the best interests of the city when any citizens were greatly opposed to the creation of public parks. Without his powerful influence for the park project, the City of Rochester to-day might be without its great Park System. During all the twenty-one years that he held the office of park commissioner, he was a constant attendant at the meetings of the Board and took a strong interest in the consideration of all its policies. It would be difficult to estimate the immense value of the Bishop's services rendered in the
interest of our system of parks. We are sure that his rare business ability and the great respect and admiration in which he was held, added greatly to the dignity and efficiency of the Park Commission.
Resolved, That a page of our records be set apart on which shall be recorded the above expressed sentiments, and that a copy of the same be sent to the Episcopal residence.
SCRANTOM, Hamlet,
First Permanent Settler of Rochester.
In the days when Rochester existed only in the optimistic mind of Colonel Nathaniel Rochester, Hamlet Scrantom, who had come from Durham, Connecti- cut, and settled at Geneseo, and seemed a desirable citizen, was persuaded by Henry Skinner, also of Geneseo, to settle on the lot Mr. Skinner had purchased from Colo- nel Rochester. That lot, now the site of the Powers Block, the third lot sold by Colonel Rochester, to whom the title finally passed November 20, 1811, was sold to Mr. Skinner for two hundred dol- lars-a much higher price than the first two lots brought. This was due to the fact that it was on the "new State road," and on the corner of Buffalo street-as that part of the new road was called- (now Main street) and Carroll (now State street). In order to induce Mr. Scrantom to come to Rochester, Mr. Skinner offered to build him a house, an offer which was accepted. The house, more properly a log cabin, was well built and roofed with slabs from the Enos Stone saw mill on the east side of the river, and was suffi- ciently large to accommodate the Scran- tom family. The building was com- pleted in May, 1812, and was at once occupied by its intended tenants, Hamlet Scrantom thus becoming the first perma- nent settler and the house the first erected in Rochester, that name having been de- cided upon by the proprietors.
Hamlet Scrantom had a large family.
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One of the sons of this first family, Ed- win Scrantom, a prolific writer for the press in adult life, preserved through his writings much of the history of those early times. Another son, Hamlet D. Scrantom, was mayor of Rochester in 1860. Another member of the family, who came in 1812, became a prominent miller, and was the father of I. Gridley Scrantom, of Rochester, vice-president of the Hayden Company. Many of the name still reside in the city, to which came in its earliest days their honored grandsire and great-grandsire, Hamlet Scrantom, the first permanent settler of the city.
PECK, Everard,
Representative Citizen.
Everard Peck was born at Berlin, Con- necticut, November 6, 1791, and died at Rochester, New York, February 9, 1854. Having gone to Hartford, Connecticut, at the age of seventeen, he learned there the book binder's trade, and, having com- pleted his apprenticeship, went from there to Albany, New York, where he plied his vocation for a few years. Not succeeding as well as he had hoped, he came to Rochester in 1816, bringing with him the implements of his calling and a small stock of books. Many of the in- cidents of his life are given in the follow- ing extract from an article in one of the daily papers at the time of his death :
Seeing, through the discomforts and rudeness of the settlement, indications which promised a prosperous future, he set up the double business of book selling and book binding. Being pros- perous in business he enlarged his facilities by opening a printing office and commencing, in 1818, the publication of the "Rochester Tele- graph," a weekly journal. He afterward erected a paper mill, which he operated with great suc- cess until it was burned. Mr. Peck left the book business in 1831. After three or four years, in which he was out of health-so that, for recov- ery, he was obliged to spend one or two win- ters in Florida and Cuba-he engaged in the
banking business and was connected successively with the Bank of Orleans, the Rochester City Bank and the Commercial Bank of Rochester, being the vice-president of the last named insti- tution at the time of his death. Immediately on taking up his residence here Mr. Peck gave his warm support to the infant charitable and reli- gious enterprises of the place, and from that time to this has been the devoted friend of all such institutions. To public office he did not aspire, but labors for the poor, the suffering and the orphan he never shunned. The successful establishment of the University of Rochester was in a large measure owing to his exertions in its behalf. The friends of the institution accorded to him merited praise, and they will ever respect his memory. Up to the time of his death he was a member of its board of trus- tees. He was one of the zealous promoters and founders of the Rochester Orphan Asylum. Our citizens have been accustomed to rely upon his judgment in all matters of moment pertaining to the common weal, and he always exhibited a sagacity and solicitude for the welfare of the people which entitled him to the public confi- dence.
He was thrice married-in 1820, to Chloe Por- ter, who died in 1830; in 1836, to Martha Farley, who died in 1851; in 1852, to Mrs. Alice Bacon Walker, who survives him .*
For more than two years past Mr. Peck has been suffering from a pulmonary complaint, and he spent the winter of 1852-53 in the Bermudas, but without obtaining relief from the disease. He has, since his return, been secluded in the sick room, gradually declining until he expired, surrounded by his wife and all his surviving children.
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