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 45
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55
our temporary hospital which unavoidably was under fire, but he attended faithfully to his severe duties, and I beg to mention this officer with particular commendation. His example is but too rare most unfortunately." (See Series I, Vol. XIX, Part I, Reports of War of Rebel- lion).
I remained with the Thirty-third, which was a two-year regiment, until it was mustered out. Later I was commissioned assistant surgeon of the Sixth New York Cavalry and after a few months was made surgeon of the Ninth New York Cavalry, with which regiment I remained until the close of the Rebellion. For some time many of my army friends, who knew of my perilous position in this battle, as well as other occasions equally trying, have urged me to apply for the Medal of Honor, as they believed me entitled to it. I have hesitated, partially because of the difficulty of obtaining evidence-the colonel, the lieutenant-colonel, the major and most of the captains and other officers of the regiment being dead-and largely because it might be urged that the position for a medical officer during a battle was in the rear and in a place of safety, rather than in actual battle and exposed to danger. All this I well understand, but in answer I want to say that my regiment was ordered into this fight immediately on arriv- ing on the battlefield, and in the absence of orders and with the best intentions I followed and happily in no other position could I have rendered equally as good service, for I am con- fident that by my action many lives were saved. When advised to go to the rear and to a place of safety, I could possibly have done so, and all would have credited me with doing my duty, but I believed a great opportunity was at hand to render a marked service at a critical junction, even though my life might be forfeit. I took the chances and humbly believe the service was ren- dered, and if I am entitled to the medal, it is for this act and this alone.
From the time he was entitled to cast a vote, Dr. Curran had given his active sup- port to the interests of the Republican party, and so marked were his abilities that he was honored with a number of offices of public trust and responsibility. He served as a school commissioner in 1876; a member of the Board of Park Commissioners in 1888, being one of the earliest members of this body; he was
309
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
elected to represent his section in the State Legislature in 1891, and the follow- ing year was elected mayor of Rochester. In business affairs Dr. Curran was also well and favorably known. He conducted for many years, a drug store at Main street west and North Fitzhugh street. In 1865 he associated himself in a business partnership with his "brother in arms," Major George W. Goler, and the concern was from that time known under the name of Curran & Goler. For a long time Dr. Curran had also been connected with the New York & Kentucky Company. His religious affiliations were with St. Pat- rick's Cathedral Parish, of which he was one of the oldest members, and was actively identified with the first rental of pews in that church. He was an active member and vigorous supporter of many religious organizations and the interest he took never flagged. His fraternal membership was with Marshall Post, Grand Army of the Republic.
Dr. Curran married (first) Mary Anne Rogers. who died in 1875; he married (second) in 1882, Katherine Winifred Whalen. By the first marriage there were four daughters, and by the second, one son, who all survive their father: Mrs. Frank J. Hone, Mrs. Richard J. Decker, Mrs. Emma C. Smith, Monica N., Cyril J., who is with the prominent law firm of Hornblower, Miller, Potter & Earl, of New York City. He is also survived by two brothers and two sisters: Rev. Dan- iel Curran, of Indianapolis, Indiana ; Rev. Charles Curran, of New Albany, Indiana ; Mrs. Mary Tobin, of Seneca Falls, New York; Mrs. Kate Southwick, of Parsons, Kansas. Many were the letters of con- dolence received by the family from emi- nent people all over the country, and large the space devoted to editorial men- tion of Dr. Curran in the columns of the daily press, but the limits of this article
will permit of but one extract, this being from the Rochester "Evening Times," which said in part :
Dr. Curran was a man of quiet and refined tastes, devoted to his friends and loyal to the best interests of the community in which he lived. He was ambitious for the success of good things, and placed the welfare of others above his own advancement. He was a lover of good books and a student of the best literature. He was exceptionally well informed and possessed a constant wealth of incident and anecdote which was a source of delight to those of his intimate acquaintanceship. He served as surgeon during the four years of the Civil War, and his services to his country during that trying period were of the greatest value. In all the relationships of life he measured up to the highest standards, and left the impress of a fine and well rounded char- acter upon the times in which he lived. He viewed life with the calm security of one who possessed a well trained and well balanced mind, and contributed to the comfort and happiness of those about him. And he will be remembered as one who lived his life with a fine regard for others and a high sense of his responsibilities.
PASS, James,
Manufacturer, Authority on Ceramics.
James Pass was a son of Richard Pass, a pottery manufacturer, located in the heart of the pottery district of England. In 1863 Richard Pass brought his family to America, and for a time lived in Cin- cinnati, Ohio. After the close of the Civil War he removed to Trenton, New Jersey, and in 1875 to Syracuse, New York, where he was superintendent of the Onondaga Pottery Company. This posi- tion he continued to fill until his death in 1884. His wife's maiden name was Anne Greatbach, also a native of England, who died in Syracuse in 1895.
James Pass was born June 1, 1856, in Burslem, Staffordshire, England, and was seven years of age when he came with his parents to this country. His educa- tion was principally acquired in the com-
310
Janustas
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
mon schools of Trenton, New Jersey, and when quite young he was apprenticed to a pottery manufacturer of Trenton, serv- ing there under the superintendency of his father until he removed to Syracuse. In 1877-78 he pursued a special course in chemistry, under Professor Brown, of Syracuse University, to aid him in the pottery business. Following this he was appointed foreman of the Onondaga Pot- tery Company, under his father, who was superintendent, the establishment em- ploying at that time fifty persons. Mr. Pass continued as foreman until 1881, after which he spent three years in the West. Returning to Syracuse in 1884, he became general superintendent of the Onondaga Pottery Company, succeeding his father, and in 1891 was made general manager, later becoming president. Un- der his direction the business of the Onondaga Pottery Company increased until it now employs seven hundred per- sons. The product originally was earth- enware, but Mr. Pass developed what is called "Syracuse china," now the princi- pal output of the company, and known all over the United States and in foreign lands. Immediately after his permanent settlement at Syracuse, in 1884, Mr. Pass began experimenting in the manufacture of china, and a few years later com- menced its manufacture. The splendid Syracuse china of to-day is the outcome of alternate defeats and victories, which attended his labors and experiments, in his effort to prove to the world that the American potter could make china. In 1890 Mr. Pass formed a partnership with A. P. Seymour and began the manufac- ture of porcelain for electric insulation. During the first year the business was confined to making porcelain for large electrical companies. Later they estab- lished a line of electrical supplies of their own, which was placed on the market.
Of a scientific turn of mind, the greater part of Mr. Pass' spare time was devoted to study, particularly along lines con- cerned with his business interests. His business career was remarkably success- ful.
Mr. Pass was one of the charter mem- bers of the American Ceramic Society, and his indefatigable efforts and re- searches commanded the attention of pot- ters both here and abroad. He was presi- dent of the United States Potters' Asso- ciation in 1896 and 1897, and for several years was a member of the art and design committee of that organization. He died at his residence on Avery avenue, Syra- cuse, October 31, 1913. In his death the pottery industry of America has suffered a severe loss, not only because of his prominence as president and general man- ager of the Onondaga Pottery Company, but because of the influence he exercised on American ceramics. To obtain a true estimate of this influence, one has but to consider the conditions of the potting art in this country previous to the com- mencement of his labors. Mr. Pass was a member of the Century Club, Syracuse Country Club, Citizens' Club, the Syra- cuse section of the American Chemical Society and the Engineers' Club of New York City. He was president of Pass & Seymour Company, Inc., manufacturers of electrical porcelain, and a director of the First National Bank. In 1890 he mar- ried Adelaide M. Salisbury, of Syracuse, who survives him, with three children, Eleanor S., Richard H. and James S.
The editorial columns of the Syracuse "Post Standard" of November 1, 1913, said :
A CAPTAIN OF INDUSTRY.
Syracuse has not become the great industrial center because great industries have located here, but because small industries have grown, through the energy and business ability of the
31I
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
men who established them, into great and pros- perous ones. There is no more striking exam- ple of steady and deserved growth than the Onondaga Pottery; and the man responsible for its success has been James Pass. It has been due to his sound judgment, to his exceptional knowledge of pottery trade and manufacture and to his unremitting attention to business that his factory has become one of the greatest in the city, one of the largest employers of labor, one of the largest shippers, and that the product of that factory finds a market in all nations. Syra- cuse china is sold to-day wherever men trade in the finest products of the potter's science and art. James Pass was not widely known in this community. But he was known among the busi- ness men of this community as a man of integ- rity, of ability and of rare judgment, as a con- genial companion and a good citizen.
BEACH, Otis Seth, Business Man, Public Official.
From the time of his graduation from Owego Free Academy in 1878 until his death in 1915, Mr. Beach was closely identified with the business interests of Owego, New York, as clerk, partner and sole proprietor of Beach & Parmalee, druggists. Constant and devoted to his business, that was, however, but one item in a career of extraordinary usefulness and activity. He was one of the best known fraternal men of the State; one of the oldest active members of the Owego Fire Department and a public official hon- ored and trusted. His character was ex- emplary and his reputation for integrity above the slightest reproach. In busi- ness, in politics, in public service and in his home the sterling attributes of the man were ever manifest. Kind, sympa- thetic, genial, energetic and generous, he drew men to him and ever retained their respect and confidence.
Mr. Beach was a descendant of John Beach, first on record in New Haven Colony in 1643. He and wife Mary were the parents of ten children, the line of descent through Nathaniel, the third son.
Nathaniel Beach, son of John and Mary Beach, was born in Stratford, Connecti- cut, in 1662, and died in 1747. He mar- ried, in 1686, Sarah Porter, who bore him ten children.
Israel Beach, sixth son of Nathaniel and Sarah (Porter) Beach, was born in Strat- ford, May 3, 1707, and died there in 1793. He was a soldier of the French War, 1758-59, the powder horn he carried through the invasion of Canada being yet preserved in the family. He cleared the "Bear Swamp" farm, on which he built a house in 1735, this farm yet being owned by descendants. He married, July I, 1731, Hannah Burrit, who bore him seven sons and daughters.
Nathaniel Beach (named for his Grand- father Beach), eldest son of Israel and Hannah (Burrit) Beach, was born in Stratford, July 30, 1735, and there met accidental death, February 27, 1818. Like his father he was a carpenter and lived on the "Bear Swamp" farm. He married, March 22, 1758, Patience Peet, who be- came the mother of six children.
Nathan Beach, second son of Nathaniel and Patience (Peet) Beach, was born in Stratford in 1770, and in 1816, after hav- ing resided in Easton, Connecticut, moved to Liberty, Sullivan county, New York, where both he and his wife died leaving five children.
Nathan (2) Beach, son of Nathan (1) Beach, was born April 17, 1800, during the family residence at Easton, and died January 6, 1888, in Owego, New York. From the age of sixteen years he resided with his parents in Liberty; moved to Unadilla, Otsego county, about 1837, and in 1838 settled in the town of Owego, Tioga county. He was by occupation a farmer, very religious in his nature, an earnest Bible student. He married (first) at Liberty, Anna Hoover, (second) Olive Ingersoll. He had four children by his first wife.
312
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHIY
William A. Beach, eldest son of Nathan (2) Beach and his first wife, Anna (Hoo- ver) Beach, was born at Liberty, New York, October 30, 1823, and died in Owe- go, May 10, 1892. He was a millwright and stationary engineer operating in Al- legheny county, Pennsylvania, and in the West prior to his settlement in the town of Owego, where he engaged in farming. He married, in 1853, Helen Frances Grif- fin, who bore him two sons, Arthur Na- than Alfred and Otis Seth Beach.
Otis Seth Beach, son of William A. and Helen Frances (Griffin) Beach, was born at the home farm near Gaskill Corners, town of Owego, Tioga county, New York, February 24, 1860, died in the city of Owego, at his home, No. 65 Church street, October 5, 1915. In 1875 his parents moved to the village of Owego that their sons might have better educational ad- vantages and for the next three years Otis S. attended Owego Free Academy, sup- plementing the previous courses taken in the public schools of Gaskill Corners. In 1878 he entered the employ of the drug firm of Charles K. Lincoln & Son, located at the corner of North avenue and Main street, their place of business known as the "Central Drug Store." He continued a clerk until 1882, then in association with A. W. Parmalee purchased the busi- ness, operating until about 1894 as Beach & Parmalee. He then bought his part- ner's interest and continued in success- ful business until his death. He was an efficient, capable business man, highly esteemed in mercantile and financial cir- cles as a man whose word and honor was held inviolate.
The public service rendered by Mr. Beach was varied and valuable. He was an ardent Democrat in a strongly Repub- lican town, but only once was he de- feated at the polls, so great was his popu- larity among the voters, irrespective of
party. In 1891 he was elected supervisor, also in 1907 and 1909. In the November election, 1910, he was elected assembly- man by 496 votes, the normal Republican majority being then about 1,400 in Tioga county. At the ensuing legislative ses- sion he joined the opposition to the elec- tion of William F. Sheehan as United States senator, and during that long and memorable contest stood firmly against the caucus nominee, finally defeating him and electing a compromise candidate, Judge James A. O'Gorman. In 1911 Mr. Beach was a candidate to succeed himself but encountered an adverse majority of 200. In 1912 he was the Democratic can- didate for county clerk, carrying the county by 274 majority. He continued in that office until his death, and as in every other trust confided to him was faithful and efficient, winning alike the respect, confidence and commendation of both political friends and foes by his de- votion to duty and his independence of action. In 1904 he was president of the Owego Business Men's Association, and ever afterward a director; for several years he was a member of the Owego Board of Health; had been village trus- tee ; was a member of the board of com- missioners of Evergreen Cemetery, in fact in all Owego's commercial or social prog- ress he bore a helpful part. Mr. Beach always took an active part in the affairs of the Owego Fire Department, had been a member of Defiance Hook and Ladder Company No. 5 since 1881 and its treas- urer since 1884. He was foreman of the company in 1886 and was older in years of membership than any other member of the company. In 1889 and 1890 he was chief engineer of the Owego Fire Depart- ment.
In the fraternal orders, Mr. Beach held not only high official positions in the vari- ous bodies, but was firmly intrenched in
313
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
the loving esteem of his brethren. He held all degrees in York and Scottish Rite Masonry up to and including the thirty- second degree. He was a past master of Friendship Lodge, No. 153, Free and Ac- cepted Masons; past high priest of New Jerusalem Chapter, No. 47, Royal Arch Masons; past eminent commander of Malta Commandery, No. 21, Knights Templar, his record in the commandery being most remarkable. He was an officer of that body-which meets every two weeks-for eight years, passing all the chairs and during that time missed but one meeting and that through absence from Owego on business to a distant part of the State. In Scottish Rite he be- longed to the various bodies of Otseningo Consistory, holding thirty-two degrees, and was a noble of Kalurah Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Bingham- ton. He was past sachem of Ahwaga Tribe, No. 40, Improved Order of Red Men ; member of Regal Lodge, No. 863, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of Owego Lodge, No. 1039, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
Thus his life was passed, "spending and being spent" in the service of his fel- low men. Bearing in mind his great popularity, the scenes at his last sad rites were not surprising. It is worthy of com- ment that although not a member of the bar, official action was taken by the Tioga County Court and by the Supreme Court upon his death. The County Court ad- journed for the day, while in the Supreme Court members of the bar of Tioga coun- ty paid eloquent tribute to his memory. The Supreme Court adjourned during the funeral hours. Judge George F. Andrews, of the County Court, at a meeting of the Tioga County Bar spoke eloquently of Mr. Beach as a citizen, as a man and of his efficiency as clerk of Tioga county. District Attorney Frank Beck, Frank L.
Howard, of Waverly; Frank A. Darrow, Martin S. Lynch and Justice Davis of the Supreme Court all joined in tributes of respect. Martin S. Lynch spoke of him as his friend from boyhood when they lived upon adjoining farms, went to the same public school and were fellow stu- dents at the academy. He testified, "Otis Beach was always considerate of others and obliging, yet he had that firmness which is rare in a man of his nature. His popularity did not grow through adver- tisement but quietness. His popularity came throught strict attendance to what- ever he had in hand to do. He gave strict attention to business and had that rare quality of never speaking disparagingly of another." Mr. Darrow spoke of him as one of the most popular men in the coun- ty, "honest, courteous, eminently fair and square in all his acts."
Business was entirely suspended in Owego during the hour his funeral serv- ices were being held in the First Presby- terian Union Church where the body lay in state for an hour preceding the serv- ices. Malta Commandery, Knights Tem- plar, were in charge of the services at Evergreen Cemetery, in the presence of the members of Friendship Lodge of Free Masons, Owego Lodge of Elks, Defiance Hook and Ladder Company and other fire organizations. Nearly every member of the Tioga county bar, led by Judge An- drews, and all of the foregoing bodies at- tended as organizations and a vast assem- blage of friends and acquaintances came from every town in the county or vicinity. At the grave to which he was borne by Templars, in full uniform, the beautiful impressive Templar service for the dead was given in full, while at the religious service at the church a Masonic quartette sang "Abide With Me" and "Silent Night." Greater honor was never paid any man in Owego than was accorded
314
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Otis Seth Beach by the friends of his youth and entire life, his business associ- ates and his brethren.
Mr. Beach married, October 26, 1892, Lena M. Writer, of Owego, daughter of Gabriel M. and Hannah (Cable) Writer, who survives him with two children: Harold Franklin, a young man of twenty- one, and Jeannette Helen, two years younger.
CARROLL, Daniel W., Business Man, Public Official.
There is a great difference in men. As a man rises from the commonplace, from the rank and file, the void left in the com- munity by his death is in direct propor- tion as he was more or less indispensable to its civic interests. The death of the average, though it brings its complement of sorrow and suffering to a few, causes no pause in the activity of the world-at- large, no awed and reverent stand-still in which takes place, perhaps for the first time adequately, a reckoning of the value of the life just passed. But at the gather- ing to his fathers of a man of prominence, a leader among men, the world halts in its mad onrush and indulges in a quiet study of cause and effect. Nothing is more exacting than the great American public, it demands the best; but, when it finds superior worth, praise is more often than not bestowed with profusion, more valued because truly deserved. The sin- cere and widespread grief which followed the death of Daniel Walter Carroll in Yonkers, on January 1, 1915, is convinc- ing evidence of the great and irreplaceable loss which the civic, business and social life of the city in which he was so un- deniably and deservedly prominent, sus- tained.
of the eleven children of Michael and Elizabeth (Ryan) Carroll, natives respec- tively of Ireland and Canada. Mr. Car- roll was a graduate of the grammar and high schools of Troy. In 1889 he came to Yonkers, and for three years served in the capacity of clerk in the Benjamin Franklin Transportation Company. He then went back to Troy and took over the management of a grocery business which his father had previously started. Mr. Carroll remained in Troy for five years coming back to Yonkers at the expiration of that period. Continuing in the same business, he opened at the corner of Elm and Oak streets a grocery store which he maintained for three years, during which time he was gradually becoming identi- fied with public interests and a figure to be reckoned with in Democratic politics.
From this time onward, Mr. Carroll was always active in politics of the higher calibre which have as an end the greatest good of the public life which they control. His high purpose and unimpeachable integrity were recognized, and he was elected a member of the Democratic city committee. No greater test of his reli- ability and ability can be found than the fact that he remained secretary of this committee from 1904 until the time of his death in 1915. In 1906 Mr. Carroll was appointed a member of the board of as- sessors, which position his father had held before him. It is not very often true that the occupant of an appointive office is the choice of the majority of the people. Where the power of filling an office is vested in the chief executive of a munici- pality of the size of Yonkers, the force of public opinion cannot be made sufficiently strong to have a deciding weight, nor can its power be made to be felt in any appre- ciable degree over the occupant of an office in which it was not the creative
Daniel Walter Carroll was born in Troy, New York, on April 13, 1870, one agent. No matter how painstaking and
315
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
judicious the choice of the executive may be, it rarely concurs entirely with the choice of the people. When the office of assessor became elective through popular legislation Mr. Carroll was elected with an overwhelming majority to that post of trust. No greater tribute to his stand- ing in the estimation of his fellow citizens could possibly have been given him. His term in office as assessor began on Janu- ary 1, 1908; in 1911 he was reëlected, and in January, 1912, entered upon a term which would have expired in December of the year of his death.
Aside from his high standing in the official affairs of the city government, he was one of its most popular men, readily making friends of every man and woman whom he met. Because of his genius for making and keeping friends, Mr. Carroll was much sought socially. His relations with his colleagues in official life, as is not very often the case, were intimate and pleasant to an unusual degree, and his friends in the world of his work were cor- dially received in his home. Mr. Carroll was a thoroughly hard working official, devoting his best strength and energy to his labor for the city. He was acceded to be beyond a doubt an expert in real estate values and assessments. As one thor- oughly conversant with all departments of municipal government, his advice was sought on wellnigh all questions of public importance. Mr. Carroll was most in- fluential, if not the most influential man in the Democratic organization of the city, and a most important member of the inner circle of Democratic politics.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.