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 48
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He was very charitable, giving liberally to the church and philanthropy. Nine children were born to Henry and Mar- garet (Macguire) Conway, two of whom yet are living: Henry L. and Elizabeth. The children were: John, William J., Margaret, Sarah, Mary, Henry L., Eliza- beth, Patrick, and another that died in childhood.
John Conway, his eldest son, was very much like his father, quiet and retiring in disposition but very energetic and ca- pable. He was associated with his father in the cooperage plant and with his brother, Henry L., founded a grocery business which they successfully con- ducted for fifteen years. In 1890 John and Henry L. Conway began the tobacco business that they jointly conducted until John's death, July 16, 1914. Henry L. then became sole proprietor and yet con- ducts the business which has ever been a prosperous one. John Conway never married, said he "did not have time." He was also very charitable and aided many poor emigrants to obtain homes. Henry L. and his sister Elizabeth reside at the old homestead in the ninth ward. The changes of the past half century are no- where more apparent than in that ward, formerly undeveloped and owned almost entirely by Henry Conway.
MORRIS, Thomas, Jr., Business Man.
The business annals of Yonkers show the names of many men distinguished in different callings and as citizens worthy of all possible respect. Conspicuous among these names which now belong to the past is that of the late Thomas Morris, Jr., proprietor of the well-known Morris Iron Works. Although Mr. Mor- ris is now no longer seen in the places where he was so long a familiar presence
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the influence of his strong personality is by the Republican party, Mr. Morris still felt in various departments of the city's life.
Thomas Morris, Sr., father of Thomas Morris, Jr., was born in England and emigrated to the United States, settling in Yonkers, where he opened a small shop. By dint of industry and native ability he caused this insignificant place to expand into the Morris Iron Works and built up a business which he was able to bequeath in a flourishing condition to his son and namesake.
Thomas Morris, Jr., was born in Yon- kers, and received his early education in the public schools of his native city, also attending St. Mary's Parochial School. When he had reached the age of sixteen his course of study was abruptly termi- nated. Mr. Morris, Sr., had taken his elder son into the business and when the young man died Thomas was taken out of school by his father in order that he might fill the vacancy caused by the death of his brother. The sequel amply justified the father in his action. Thomas Morris, from the day that he became associated with the business, proved that he was in his true sphere. His fidelity and diligence rendered him valuable from the begin- ning, and as his talents developed he be- came in very truth his father's right hand. His father gave to him the business dur- ing his life, and the next fifteen years were years of wonderful prosperity. Mr. Morris, by his far-sighted, capable manage- ment, greatly enlarged the scope of the business, bringing the whole establish- ment up to a high standard of efficiency. In October, 1912, he was forced to retire by reason of ill health, but the business is now successfully conducted by his widow and son
While giving his vote and influence to the support of the principles advocated
never took any active part in the affairs of the organization. In charitable and philanthropic work he was most cordially interested, contributing both of his time and means to enterprises which he deem- ed worthy. The extent of his private benefactions will never be fully known, so much did he shrink from all that savored of publicity or ostentation. He was exalted ruler of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and a grand knight of the Knights of Columbus, also belonging to the City Club and the Pali- sade Boat Club. He was a member of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church.
The appearance of a man like Thomas Morris is, perhaps, best described by re- counting his actions and endeavoring to give some idea of his disposition and per- sonality, for the reason that his dominant traits of character were reflected in his countenance and plainly manifested in his frank, dignified and cordial manner. It might truly be said of him that he looked the man he was.
Mr. Morris married, in October, 1892, in Mount Vernon, Annie, daughter of Patrick and Mary Tynan, and they be- came the parents of two children: Wil- liam T., who in association with his mother now takes charge of his father's business; and Marie, attending an art school in New York City. Mr. Morris had the happiness to secure for his life- companion a woman who possessed, in addition to the domestic virtues, a degree of business acumen rarely found in mem- bers of her sex. Of this she has given evidence in her widowhood by the wise and skillful manner in which, with the assistance of her son, she has conducted the business of which her husband was so long the able and sagacious head. Mr. Morris loved home and family above all
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else on earth and although a man of so- cial temperament was never so happy as in the domestic circle.
Ere he had reached the half-century milestone this good and useful man was summoned from the scene of his labors, passing away March 15, 1913, at the age of forty-seven years. All his life he had possessed, in constantly increasing meas- ure, the sincere respect and cordial liking of his community. The deep affliction of his widow and children was shared by his father, Thomas Morris, and three sisters, the Misses Mary, Jane and Elizabeth Morris, who were left to mourn the loss of an affectionate son and brother.
Thomas Morris, Jr., was a type of man not soon forgotten. His was an individu- ality which stamped itself upon the mem- ory of every one who was in any way associated with him. In all the relations of life he set an example worthy of emula- tion. As a business man his ability was coupled with incorruptible honesty; as citizen he sought only the public good ; as friend and neighbor he was thoughtful, kind and genial; and what he was in his family none can say except those who knew him in the sacred relationships of the household. Such men are of blessed memory.
TURNBULL, Daniel, Active in Community Affairs.
Daniel Turnbull was a worthy and true representative of the type of men who start in life with only the consciousness of a latent creative ability within them as a foundation and incentive on which to build their careers. It is these men who, through sheer force of ability, power and perseverance, are found at the heads of the country's great enterprises, guiding them onward to ultimate success, initiat- ing on their course the beginnings of the
greatness of the future. They are the reserve fund of what is colloquially known as "big business," and in a large proportion are men who have worked through every step of their upward climb- ing. Their achievement is the result of their own toil, mental always and in some cases manual.
Daniel Turnbull was born August 21, 1861, in New Castle-on-the-Tyne, Eng- land, the son of Adam and Sarah (Don- nelly) Turnbull. He was educated in his home city at a private school, and at the age of twenty-two years came to Ameri- ca on a visit to some friends. He re- turned to England after a few months, and a year later returned to America with the intention of entering business. Mr. Turn- bull was then twenty-three years old, and made his first home on Long Island. Shortly afterwards he secured employ- ment in the United States Iron Foundry, filling the position of comparatively minor importance which offered him his initial chance for success. He remained with the United States Iron Foundry for four years, upon the expiration of which time he became identified with the Kings County Iron Foundry Company, gradu- ally working himself up through every stage of the work into the position of manager and employer. At the time of his death which occurred on March 12, 1915, he was vice-president of the Kings County Iron Foundry Company, which is one of the largest enterprises of its kind in the city and State. The position en- tailed vast responsibility and demanded of its incumbent ability and intellect of a high order. His thorough knowledge of all the conditions of the business itself. and those under which the men worked, proved an important factor in the success of his management of those duties which fell to him, and during the entire time of his vice-presidency, which covered a
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period of twenty-four years, the success of the whole business was markedly fur- thered by his efforts. Mr. Turnbull was a man who because of his magnetic person- ality had friends in all walks of life, among his employees, among those whom he met in business, and those whom he met socially. He was a member of the Reliance Masonic Lodge, The Commerce Club, the Good Ground Country Club, the Weight Club, and attended with his family the Church of the Nativity, in Brooklyn.
On August 1, 1885, Mr. Turnbull was married to Christine Bechtold, daughter of George and Margaret Bechtold. Their children are : Daniel Gale, George Adams, Mary Lillian Martin, Alice Elizabeth, Sarah, Robert Bruce, Elizabeth, Mar- guerite. Mrs. Turnbull survives her hus- band and still resides in Flatbush.
Mr. Turnbull's life was exemplary in its intimate details as it was in business. The high standards of honor and conduct which he applied to his life in his home he likewise carried into his relations outside of it, thereby causing in his death a void in two circles as large as they were far- reaching and different.
SEARLES, Orson, Naval Veteran of Civil War.
There is nothing in this world, however great its intrinsic value, which has not that value increased by the power of con- trast. This is a truism in art and, al- though less generally recognized, is equal- ly a fact in every department of life. Thus, for example, it is true in the case of those personal graces of character that we value so greatly in our friends, and which never show to such excellent advantage as when in contrast with the more rugged and austere virtues, just as half the charm of apple blossoms is due to the gnarled
branch upon which they blow. Such was the character of the late Orson Searles, of Yonkers, New York, whose death on September 2, 1914, was a very real loss to the entire community. With him the graces that quickly win friends for us were not missing, and gained a double effectiveness from their budding, as it were, upon the almost Puritanic honesty and earnestness that formed the basis of his nature.
Orson Searles was born December 29, 1845, at Ossining, New York, a son of Isaac and Eliza Jane Searles, of that place. He grew to manhood in his native town and there received his education, attending the old Broadway School for the purpose. The Civil War broke out while he was still a schoolboy and too young to enlist, but his ambition to take part in the great struggle was very strong and when he had reached the age of nineteen years he ran away from home and enlisted in the United States navy. The war had not ceased at that time and he saw considerable active service, not- ably at Galveston Bay and other parts of the Gulf waters. When hostilities finally ceased he was honorably dis- charged from the service on July II, 1865, from the United States gunboat "Ouas- co." Returning to Ossining, Mr. Searles secured employment as a gardener and continued in that occupation until his re- moval to Yonkers with his entire family. In Yonkers he was given the position of janitor in the Annex of School No. 2 and held that position for a period of five years or until his failing health compelled him to withdraw from all active work. Mr. Searles was a conspicuous figure in the general life of both Ossining and Yonkers, especially in social and club cir- cles. He was a member of Kitching Post, Grand Army of the Republic, and was prominent in the work of his veteran
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comrades. In the matter of religion, he was a staunch Methodist and liberally supported the work of the church.
Orson Searles was twice married. His first wife was Margaret Hitchcock, of Yorktown, New York, and to them were born two children : Henry and Frederick, both of whom survive their father. After the death of his first wife, Mr. Searles married, August 14, 1897, Sarah J. Cra- ven, of Yonkers, a daughter of George and Jane Craven, of that place. To them one daughter, Elsie, was born, who with her mother survives Mr. Searles and makes her home in Yonkers at the present time.
Lives that really count in the affairs of a community are rare and it is not by any means the case that the most conspicu- ous are the most influential. Patient, per- sistent effort, though its fruit is often quite invisible even to those who actually benefit by it, is always effective and, though its reward, as the world measures rewards, is meagre enough, yet its actual result is certain and the inward satisfac- tion on the part of one who can look back upon a task well done outweighs any recognition that the world can give. So it was in the case of Mr. Searles whose character was of such a kind that it could not fail to exert a potent influence for good wherever it came into contact with his fellow men. The friends that he made he kept and he left at his death a host of them to sorrow for his loss and to insure that his memory remain green for many years.
ALLEN, John B., Leader Among Men.
There are two or three periods in the history of the United States so full of the stir of great events, so full of that atmos- phere that surrounds men who are en-
gaged in momentous affairs, that they cast a sort of glamour of romance over all the figures who participated in the life of the times, so that we have but to know that such a man was identified promi- nently therewith in order to feel a keen interest in his career. One of these periods was that late colonial time when the irresistible spirit of freedom was abroad so potently in the land and which ended only with the complete emancipa- tion of the colonies through the Revolu- tion and their consolidation into the great Union which has since become the type of republicanism for the world. Another period is that in which the integrity of that same Union was in peril and the spirit of freedom was again threatened, though not in our own but in the persons of our weaker brothers, a period which culminated in the dreadful Civil War in which, at the expense of endless life and wealth, these ideals were finally vindi- cated. When in addition to the glamour of the time there is added the charm of a really vivid personality, we have the elements of the highest interest. These elements are all contained in a high de- gree in the life and career of John B. Allen, late of Mount Vernon, New York. whose death there on August 11, 1910, at the age of ninety-five years, removed from the community one of the most prominent of its citizens, and who during the course of his long life participated in some of the most stirring chapters of our history.
John B. Allen was born February 8, 1815, in New Jersey. His family was one that had long occupied a prominent posi- tion in the community, his great-uncle be- ing the famous Ethan Allen of the Revo- lution. Mr. Allen was educated in the district schools of New Jersey, and after leaving school he went from Trenton to New York City on foot. He then entered the hotel business at the old Holt's Hotel
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in lower Manhattan. Then he secured a position as a clerk in a grocery store and continued in the grocery business. He later owned a grocery business and lived in Greenwich village. But it was not so much in this realm of activity that he made his reputation as a man of affairs, but in politics, where he distinguished himself highly during the troublous years before the Civil War. He was identified with the Republican party almost from its first organization and his fortunes shared in the rapid rise to prominence of the party. He held a number of impor- tant elective and appointive offices and in all of them performed an invaluable serv- ice to his constituents, his party and the community-at-large. In the year 1860 he was sent as a delegate to the Republican National Convention from New York and it was there that, in a certain sense, the destiny of the whole people was affected by his action. He had had the courage to join the newly formed Republican party, casting aside the older political associ- ations, and he now had the much greater courage to break with that party, or rather with its leaders, and institute a movement which proved the greatest pos- sible benefit to it and the salvation of the great Union, whose citizen he was. There was probably but one man in the country at that time who could have guided the ship of state in safety through the terrible storm that was on the point of breaking, and that was the man who actually did hold the helm with a grasp so firm that he has become one of the giant figures of the ages. Abraham Lincoln was the man to whom the most foresighted looked for leadership among the gathering difficul- ties, but Abraham Lincoln was not in favor with the powers that be. In the convention itself there was much vacilla- tion and talk of compromise, when Mr. Allen, breaking with his colleagues, de-
clared himself in favor of Lincoln's candi- dacy and thus started the landslide that resulted in his nomination. How fate would have worked out the problems of that epoch had this not occurred it is, of course, impossible to say, and doubtless Abraham Lincoln would have ultimately reached the place for which his mighty powers fitted him, yet who can say with what delays and with what further perils to the Nation. Another service rendered by Mr. Allen to his country was his work in exposing the fraud of a fellow New Yorker in attempting to cheat the govern- ment in the sale to it of large numbers of cattle for the army.
John B. Allen married Harriet Hunter, of Tarrytown. To Mr. and Mrs. Allen were born seven children, six boys and one girl, of whom four are deceased. The three that survive are as follows: George, now a resident of Boston, where he is engaged in the rattan furniture business ; Levi, a resident of New York, where he is now retired; and Mary Louise, now Mrs. J. Homer Travis, of Mount Vernon. The marriage of Mrs. Travis occurred on January 27, 1864, Mr. Travis being the son of Leonard and Maria A. (Harris) Travis, old and highly honored residents of Seneca county, New York. It was with this daughter, Mrs. Travis, that Mr. Allen lived during the latter part of his life, in the charming home at No. 153 W. Second street, Mount Vernon.
MATHEWSON, Everett Irving, Hotel Proprietor, Philanthropist.
A man's reputation is the property of the world. The laws of nature have for- bidden isolation. Every human being submits to the controlling influence of others, or as a master wields a power for good or evil on the masses of mankind. There can be no impropriety in justly
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scanning the acts of any man as they affect his public, social and business rela- tions. If he be honest and successful in his chosen field of endeavor, investigation will brighten his fame and point the path along which others may follow with like success. In presenting to the readers of this volume the history of the late Ever- ett Irving Mathewson we record an ac- count of a life that has been honorable, useful and successful. As a descendant of Revolutionary ancestors, he was true to the traditions of his race, and in his life as a business man he exemplified most worthily the traits of his soldierly fore- fathers, wisdom in decision, promptness in action, courage and coolness in times of trial, and unwavering allegiance to strict principles and high ideals.
Everett Irving Mathewson, son of Syria Wilbur and Anna Elizabeth (Hill) Mathewson, was born in East Greenwich, Rhode Island, November 2, 1865. He re- ceived his education in the schools of East Greenwich, which course of study pre- pared him for his active business career, which was begun by him in association with his father, Syria Wilbur Mathew- son, Sr., and his brother, Syria Wilbur Mathewson, Jr., in the hotel business, in which occupation they were eminently successful, conducting a house noted for its excellent equipment, attractive appear- ance and excellent cuisine, catering to only the best class of the traveling public who appreciated fully the efforts put forth for their comfort and entertainment. The naturally fine administrative ability of Everett I. Mathewson was developed by exercise and he was an active factor in the success of the enterprise. The New Mathewson Hotel, located at Narragan- sett Pier, Rhode Island, is widely known and highly appreciated, and none among the many who, during the season, were guests at this hostelry will ever forget
its admirable management or the genial personality of its proprietors, and it is safe to say that the number of its friends included every one who had ever enjoyed its hospitality. The winter home of Mr. Everett I. Mathewson, during the latter years of his life, was at Mount Vernon, New York, where he was held in the highest esteem as one of the most valued citizens of that place. He was a Republi- can in politics, and his interest in all that made for reform was earnest and helpful. His participation in philanthropic work constituted one of his favorite forms of activity, he contributing liberally to every worthy project for the betterment of mankind. He was a member and vestry- man of Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church, being also enrolled in its Men's Club, which he served in the capacity of president for several years. He also held membership in the Sons of the Revolu- tion and the Hotel Men's Association.
Mr. Mathewson married, January 27, 1892, in New York City, Mabel Halley Hawthorne, daughter of Edmund Halley and Julia Ann (Hawthorne) Benson, of New York City. Mr. and Mrs. Mathew- son were the parents of one daughter, Edith Benson, born in 1893, married, in 1913, William S. Budworth, Jr., of Mount Vernon, New York. On the paternal side Mr. Budworth comes of English and French lineage, and on the maternal side traces his descent from Charles Cotes- worth Pinckney, who uttered the im- mortal words: "Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute !" Mr. Mathew- son's marriage was the cornerstone of his happiness, his wife being a college-bred woman and devoted to home and its duties and combining force of character with sweetness of disposition.
Syria Wilbur Mathewson, father of Everett Irving Mathewson, was of East Greenwich, Rhode Island, and was en-
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gaged in the hotel business, at first on his own account, and later in association with his two sons, who, after the death of the senior Mr. Mathewson, in 1904, took charge of the establishment, as above recorded. Syria W. Mathewson married Anna Elizabeth Hill, a direct descendant of Caleb Hill, of Revolutionary fame. The Hill homestead at East Greenwich was built during the Colonial period and served as a military headquarters during the War for Independence. Mr. and Mrs. Mathewson were the parents of the fol- lowing children: Everett Irving, of this review; Syria Wilbur, of Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island; Thomas G., of East Greenwich, Rhode Island; and Ida Bur- gess, who became the wife of John J. Benson, of Narragansett Pier, Rhode Island.
Narragansett Pier and Mount Vernon were almost simultaneously saddened by the announcement of the death of Everett I. Mathewson, which occurred at his summer home, January 1I, 1916, in the prime of life and in the full maturity of all his powers. Mourned by members of every class in the community he closed his successful and honorable career. This brief resumè of Mr. Mathewson's many spheres of activity proved the broadness of his mental vision, and whether con- sidered as business man, churchman, offi- cial business associate or clubman, he was found to be a man true to himself and true to his fellow men.
GUION, Alfred Beck, Financier.
Success, particularly success in busi- ness, is a thing that never fails to interest us, the chief reason being, of course, that we are all hoping to achieve it ourselves. There is no rule for its accomplishment other than that somewhat trite counsel to be honest and courageous, a thing that
we can all see for ourselves in the careers of successful men. As near as we can come to a rule, perhaps, is to say that those men who do not wait but who seek out opportunity and, to use a sporting term, "catch it on the fly," are the ones who get along in the world. Such has cer- tainly been the case with Alfred Beck Guion, whose death in Mount Vernon on March 2, 1899, at the age of forty-five years, was a loss to that community.
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