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. 3 > Part 11
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Dr. Honsinger married, October 9, 1900, Evalina Vernon, born in Rome, Italy, August 9, 1876, daughter of Dean and Emily (Barker) Vernon. They are the parents of five children: Evalina Frances, born February 21, 1902; Leroy Vernon, born September 5, 1906; Helen
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B., born December 1, 1908; Fredericka W., born April 21, 1913; and Abram Barker, born February 14, 1915. Both Dr. Honsinger and his wife are members of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Syracuse. While Dr. Honsinger has attained prominence in his profession. he has gained popularity in social circles and has won the firm friendship of all with whom he has been brought in contact in his home life.
GOODELLE, William Prevost, Lawyer, Publicist.
Hon. William Prevost Goodelle, one of the most distinguished members of the New York bar, whose eloquence, com- bined with his logic and his comprehen- sive knowledge of the principles of juris- prudence, has gained him preëminence as a representative of the legal profession, was born in Tully, Onondaga county, New York, May 25, 1838, a son of Aaron B. and Eleanor (Prevost) Goodelle.
His father followed general agricultural pursuits, and .he boyhood and youth of his son, William Prevost, were spent on the old homestead, during which time he attended the district schools. He readily mastered the branches taught in these, was a student in Homer Academy for one year, and later entered Cazenovia Seminary, where he was one of the only two students to take a five years' course in that institution. He left it in 1860, and in the spring of 1861 matriculated as a sophomore at Dartmouth College, from which he was graduated with the highest honors in the class of 1863. He then accepted the proffered position of prin- cipal in an academy at Moravia, New York, but at the close of the school year resigned from this office in order to take up the study of law, which he did in the office, and under the preceptorship, of L. H. and F. Hiscock, of Syracuse. His ex-
cellent reputation as an educator, how- ever, led to his selection as principal of the Onondaga Valley Academy and, yielding to urgent solicitation, he became the incumbent of this office, which he retained two years, during which time the institution profited largely by his administration of affairs. His leisure time during this period was devoted to the study of law, which he again took up in the office of L. H. and F. Hiscock, with whom he continued for an entire year after his admission to the bar in October, 1868. He then established himself in independent practice, which he pursued successfully three years, making a mark for himself by his brilliant advocacy of the cases entrusted to him. He was then chosen district attorney of Onondaga county. He was one of the most fearless, the most able and successful officers to have held that position in the county. His election was at a time when the district attorneys were given one term only. He was called into cases by his successors on many occasions. He acted in forty odd capital cases, either prose- cuting or defending the person accused of murder and on trial for his life. After three years spent in the faithful dis- charge of the responsible duties of this office, he resumed his legal practice, in which he made continued advance- ment until he had attained a position equaled by few, and surpassed by none, of the leading members of the bar of New York State. He had been a member of several firms, many of them disintegrated by the accession of some of the members to the judicial bench. He is now (1915) the head of the firm, of Goodelle & Harding. After his retire- ment from the office of district attorney the New York Central Railroad Company, attracted by his brilliant record, retained him as general criminal counsel and attor- ney. His field of labor extended from
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Buffalo to Albany, and he served in this capacity until appointed a member of the State Board of Law Examiners in 1894. While well versed in every department of the law, and while he has an enviable record in civil proceedings, he has become especially noted in the practice of criminal law. Hundreds of law breakers have been brought to punishment through his efforts. There is scarcely a county in the State, and certainly none along the line of the Central railroad, where he is not well known as a lawyer, and where his eloquent voice has not been heard in behalf of peace and security from crime. So effective were his efforts in this direc- tion that it is a well known and freely acknowledged fact, that crimes against the railroad company within Mr. Good- elle's jurisdiction had almost completely ceased at the time he severed his relations with the company.
livery, not only the jury, but the entire audience gave that attention which demonstrated the power of the learned counsel's eloquence and the strength of his argument. Mr. Goodelle often rose to heights of impassioned eloquence. He forgot his associates ; he forgot the audi- ence hanging upon his words; he forgot all but his case and the jury. His presen- tation of the people's evidence was per- fect. Taken altogether, the effort of Mr. Goodelle in its plain statement of the work the people had to perform, in its minute tracing of the testimony, in its final welding of the circumstantial and direct evidence into an unbroken chain and fastening the same about the prisoner, formed one of the most masterly efforts ever made at the bar of the county. Perhaps no better indication of Mr. Goodelle's ability can be given than by quoting from the press, which is the mirror of public opinion. In defense of Mary J. Holmes, charged with poisoning her husband, the trial lasted six weeks and resulted in an acquittal. A prominent paper said of this :
He has won notable forensic successes when opposed to some of the strongest counsel for the State, and his name figures prominently on the pages of the judicial history of New York. Among the early important criminal cases with which he was connected was the prose- The last tick of the parting day was almost simultaneous with the final words of an argu- ment for the prisoner which had consumed seven hours. The counselor's face bore the plain evi- dence of the mental and physical strain to which he put himself. A masterly effort had been expected from Mr. Goodelle, whose acumen and learning are a source of pride to the bar of this county. Never in the criminal history of Onon- daga county was a more comprehensive defense made of human life. Mr. Goodelle's impassioned style of oratory put into graceful language his logical deductions from an investigation of the case as viewed from the side of the defense. Every point was covered, one by one, but at no time was there a break in the continuity of the argument. It was probably the longest argu- ment ever offered in the Court of Justice in Syra- cuse. cution of Owen Lindsay, charged with the murder of Francis Colvin, in 1874. For the first time in the history of juris- prudence he brought into the case the point of determining the difference be- tween stains made by human blood and those made by the blood of other animals. His conduct of the case showed untiring research, patient investigation and gen- eral legal ability, and awakened the high- est commendation of the bench and bar throughout New York, as well as that of the laity. There was much favorable comment in the press, one of the local papers saying: "Mr. Goodelle's address to the jury was a most fitting close to his untiring labors as a public officer That Mr. Goodelle has become known of Onondaga county." During the de- as one of the ablest lawyers of the State
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is indicated by the fact that he has been frequently called to conduct both civil and criminal cases in various counties of New York. Few lawyers have made a more lasting impression on the bar of the State, both for legal ability of a high order, and for the sterling personal characteristics which have impressed themselves on the community. A member of a family con- spicuous for strong intellect, indomitable courage and energy, his force of character and natural qualifications have over- come all obstacles, and he has written his name upon the keystone of the legal arch. In fact, he has been one of the most con- spicuous figures in the history of the jurisprudence of the State during the past five decades. He has argued many cases, and lost few. No one better knows the necessity for thorough preparation, and no one more industriously prepares his cases than he. His handling of them is always comprehensive and accurate ; his analysis of the facts is clear and exhaus- tive; he sees without effort the relation and dependence of the facts, and so groups them as to enable him to throw their combined force upon the point they had to prove.
Mr. Goodelle is a stalwart Republican, but not a politician. While he is not without that personal ambition which is an important element in the capable con- duct of official duties, he yet regards the pursuits of private life as abundantly worthy of his best efforts, and has con- centrated his time, energy and talents upon his profession. He has, however, addressed the public on many occasions in discussion of the issues and questions before the people, and never fails to im- press his auditors by the strength, truth and force of his argument. His public addresses, however, have not been con- fined to political questions. In fact, it is a matter of surprise that one of his ability as a lawyer has had time to so thoroughly
familiarize himself with the great variety of questions that he has discussed from the public platform. He has been an omnivorous reader, has had the ability to coordinate the knowledge gained from various sources, drawing his deductions and forming his conclusions in the same logical and discriminating manner that characterizes his professional work.
Almost the only public position he has filled, aside from the one already men- tioned, was that of a member of the Constitutional Convention, and that was in the direct path of his profession, in the framing of the organic laws of the State. This convention was in 1894, and Mr. Goodelle, who was one of the five dele- gates-at-large from Western New York, was appointed by President Choate, chair- man of the committee on suffrage, num- bering among its members men of na- tional repute. His position in this con- nection was, next to that of speakership, perhaps the most conspicuous in the convention, and only the highest merit and capability could have led to his selec- tion to this honor. He was also second on the committee on the powers and duties of the legislature, and was promi- nent in almost all of the proposed amend- ments, and early became one of the leaders of the convention. It was in this committee that the subject of giving women equal suffrage was discussed. There was no question before the con- vention, nor has there ever been one in the history of the State for years, that has created such wide-spread interest. Mr. Goodelle gave to the question the utmost attention, and his opinions and the course he followed were the result of profound thought, wide investigations and thorough understanding of the sub- ject. Possessing a natural chivalry to- ward women, and a never-failing cour- tesy, he has never believed that the right of suffrage could result in good of any
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kind and least of all to woman herself. The debate on the subject before the convention was closed by Mr. Goodelle in what has been termed the "greatest and most successful effort of his life, both as an exhibition of eloquent and wonder- ful oratory and as an argumentative and logical display." The "Troy Times" voiced the general opinion in the follow- ing :
The argument of Mr. Goodelle is exhaustive. It covers the whole ground of objections. And is so grounded in common sense and so grandly sustains the chivalrous, sentimental sentiment and conception of woman's true relation to soci- ety and the State, that it may be pronounced unanswerable. Sophistry may assail it and per- sonal ambition decry it, but as a just and accu- rate presentation of woman's cause, a summary of her rights, achieved through the steady advance of civilization, the high position which has been accorded her because of the recognized and steadily growing importance of her posi- tion in the State, it is complete.
The address was pronounced by lead- ing members of the convention "the most classical and finished that was made before the body." Mr. Goodelle received many congratulatory letters and tele- grams from people prominent throughout New York, upon his speech on this oc- casion. He took an active part in the framing of the new laws, and was the champion of many other progressive measures and much needed amendments during the progress of this convention, and was an influential factor in molding the policy of State.
Prior to 1894 applicants for admission to the bar appeared before an examining committee in each judicial district, and for several years Mr. Goodelle had been a member of this committee in his district. At the date mentioned above, pursuant to an act of the Legislature, a State Board of Law Examiners was appointed by the Court of Appeals, with full and absolute authority to accept or reject
applicants for admission to the bar from any part of the State. Mr. Goodelle was appointed a member of this board, was chosen its president, and is still the in- cumbent of this office. During his activ- ity, despite the strict standard of exami- nations set in this State, more than six- teen thousand applicants have received their permits from the board to practice law. It was recently estimated that fifty per cent. of the practicing lawyers of New York gained admission to the bar during the administration of Mr. Goodelle as president of the examiners. He was president of the Onondaga County Bar Association for twelve years, and then declined further service in this office. Recently he was elected referee by the State Bar Association to settle all dis- putes between members. In February, 1905, Mr. Goodelle was appointed by the State Bar Association as its counsel and representative to prosecute charges against Warren B. Hooker, justice of the Supreme Court, for his removal from office for malfeasance. The preliminary investigations of the charges before the Assembly Judiciary Committee (required under the constitution) took about four weeks. The Assembly Committee su- stained the informal charges. Formal charges were then preferred to the Senate with the recommendation that Mr. Hooker be put on trial upon the charges. Mr. Goodelle appeared as counsel for the State Bar Association at the trial before the Senate and Assembly. The trial lasted about three weeks and resulted in a respectable majority voting for the re- moval, but the required affirmative two- thirds vote for removal was not obtained. Mr. Goodelle bore the brunt of the con- test with the same force and ability which attended the discharge of the other important duties which had been en- trusted to him. In January, 1906, he was appointed by the State Bar Association
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to represent the Fifth Judicial District on a committee of the association to lend its efforts in securing the nomination and election of worthy candidates for justices of the Supreme Court throughout the State, and to prevent unworthy candi- dates from, being elected or selected, which position he still holds. Upon the death of Dean Huffcut in 1907, at the time private counsel to Governor Hughes, Mr. Goodelle was appointed by President Choate of the association, as chairman of the State grievance committee, to fill the vacancy caused by the death. At the next January meeting of the association, he was reëlected as a member of the griev- ance committee, and again designated as its chairman. It may be said that this committee is by far the most important of the committees of the association, and one on which heavy responsibilities de- volve. It acts at all times independently, and mainly from the direction and advice of its chairman. Its efforts and purpose are to elevate and maintain not only the moral standard of the members of the profession throughout the State, but of the judiciary as well, as evidenced in the Hooker case, which was under the charge of the grievance committee.
In January, 1907, the Bar Association directed the appointment of a committee to consider abuses in the profession and to report at its January meeting, 1908. Mr. Goodelle was appointed from this district with many eminent associates in the profession. The report of that com- mittee having been unanimously adopted by the association, the same committee was reappointed to force to passage the proposed amendments, of which Mr. Goodelle has personal charge.
Mr. Goodelle married, September 8, 1869, Marian H. Averill, of Baldwinsville, New York, who died in April, 1901, leav- ing an only child, Una Mae. The family is very prominent socially, and the doors
of their beautiful and hospitable home on James street are always open to their many friends. He is endowed with the ability of putting aside absolutely all his professional problems when he enters upon the social side of his career, this happy faculty indicating his thoroughly well balanced mind. Equipped by nature with high intellectual qualities, to which are added the discipline and embellish- ments of culture, his is a most attractive personality. Well versed in the learning of his profession, and with a deep knowl- edge of human nature and the springs of human conduct, with great shrewdness, sagacity and extraordinary tact, he is in the courts an advocate of great power and influence. Both judges and juries always listen to him with attention and deep interest.
GANNON, Frank Stanislaus, Jr.,
Lawyer.
Frank S. Gannon, Jr., one of the suc- cessful lawyers of New York City, has made his way to an eminent position at the bar, through native ability, reinforced by studious application. He is a grand- son of John and Mary (Clancy) Gannon, of Irish birth, who established themselves in Spring Valley, New York, in the early part of the nineteenth century. His father, Frank Stanislaus Gannon, was born September 16, 1851, at Spring Val- ley, and educated in the public schools of Port Jervis, New York. At the age of seventeen years he entered the service of the Erie railroad as a telegraph oper- ator, in which he continued from, 1868 to 1870. Following this he was with the Midland railroad, now the New York, Susquehanna & Western, a part of the Erie system, serving in the various capa- cities of clerk, terminal agent and train dispatcher, from 1870 to 1875, and later, until 1881, master of transportation on
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the Long Island railroad. In the latter year he was supervisor of trains on the Baltimore & Ohio railroad, and from 1881 to 1886 general superintendent of the New York City & Northern railroad. From 1886 to 1894 he was general super- intendent, and from 1894 to 1896 general manager of the Staten Island Transit railway. From 1893 to 1896 he was presi- dent of that railroad, and from 1900 to 1906 general superintendent of the New York division of the Baltimore & Ohio railway. He was subsequently third vice-president and general manager of the Southern railway ; president and director of the Norfolk & Southern railroad in 1909; president of the Montana, Wyom- ing & Southern railroad ; Virginia & Caro- lina Coast railroad, Atlantic & North Carolina railroad, Pamlico, Oriental & Western railroad. He is a director of the New York City railway, Broadway & Seventh Avenue railroad, Forty-second Street & Grand Street Ferry railroad, Fulton Street railroad, Thirty-fourth Street Crosstown railway, Twenty-third Street railway, Twenty-eighth & Twenty- ninth Street Crosstown railroad. He is a director of the Metropolitan Securities Company, and the Immigrant Industrial Savings Bank of New York. He married, in Jersey City, September 24, 1874, Marietta Burrows. They are the parents of a large family of sons: Frank Stanis- laus, John W., James A., Gregory, Ed- ward, Albert, Robert and Benedictine.
Frank Stanislaus Gannon, Jr., was born December 16, 1877, in Long Island City, and in youth was a student of public schools of New York. Entering St. Francis Xavier College of New York, he was graduated Bachelor of Arts 1898, Master of Arts 1899. In 1900 he gradu- ated from the New York Law School with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and was at once admitted to the bar. He gained a legal experience in the offices
of Tracy, Boardman & Platt, of New York City, where he continued three years, at the end of which period he be- came a member of the law firm of Murphy, Curry & Gannon. After one year the senior partner withdrew, and the firm became Gannon & Curry, and in 1907 was formed a new law partnership under the style of Gannon, Seirbert & Riggs. This association has enjoyed a liberal share of the law practice of the metropolis. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church, with his family, and is independent of party dictation in political action. He is a member of the American Bar Association, New York Bar Association, and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, of the Lawyers' Club of New York City, Rich- mond Country Club, Staten Island Cricket Club, Catholic Club, Westchester Golf Club and the Mummers, and of the Xavier Alumni Association, Xavier So- dality, and Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.
He married, April 5, 1910, Frances, daughter of Michael Foley, of New Jer- sey, and they are the parents of two chil- dren: Frank Stanislaus (3), born July, 1912, at St. George, Staten Island, and Marietta, born August, 1913, in Living- ston, Staten Island. The home of the family is now on Bard avenue, Living- ston, Staten Island.
CHASE, Austin C., Man of Affairs.
The phenomenal growth of many American cities is due, in large measure, to the enterprise and intense energy of a comparatively small number of men. To them is due the inception of work that employs thousands, and the organization and continuance of those great combina- tions which set industry to work on the vast material resources of the country. In their imagination first take shape
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those movements which are the steps of progress, and many of the developments along the higher levels of human achievement are made possible by the immensity of the flood of business at the present day. Of such men, whose acts have been written large over their home town, Austin C. Chase may be considered typical.
Austin C. Chase, who at the present time (1915), although eighty-one years old, is in his usual health and spirits, actively engaged in business, serving as trustee and advisor of the Chase Motor Truck Company. He was born in the town of Whitefield, New Hampshire, November 16, 1834. He attended the common schools of the neighborhood, and when seventeen years of age, being am- bitious and resolute, he went to Boston, Massachusetts, to learn the trade of piano maker, and when twenty-one years of age removed to Syracuse, New York, where he began the sale and manufacture of musical instruments, which business he continued for thirty years, in connec- tion with many other lines of thought and work. He was an extensive builder, having erected large blocks and very many dwellings, and he also developed one of the finest tracts in Syracuse for first-class residential purposes, on Univer- sity Hill. He has also been an extensive farmer, owning the old homestead at Whitefield, New Hampshire, where he spends his summers, and on which he has made extensive improvements, and he is also the owner of one of the finest farms in Onondaga county, New York, com- prising six hundred and fifty acres, whereon is to be found the finest thor- oughbred stock. In July, 1882, he was elected president of the Chilled Plow Company, when that institution was in very straightened circumstances and its affairs in an unsatisfactory condition, and under his management it was placed on
a firm footing, paid very satisfactory dividends and its business was largely increased. In addition to this position of trust, Mr. Chase was appointed trustee and advisor of the Chase Motor Truck Company, trustee and vice-president of the Syracuse Savings Bank, president of the Lakeside Boulevard Association, president of the Homoeopathic Hospital, trustee of the Onondaga Orphan Asy- lum, trustee of St. Joseph's Hospital, trustee of the New York State Experi- ment Station, superintendent of the State Fair, treasurer and member of the executive board of the New York State Agricultural Society, member of the executive committee of the New York State Board of Trade, chairman of the finance committee of the Bureau of Labor and Charities, member of the Chamber of Commerce of New York State, member of the Republican Club of New York City, supervisor of the Sixth Ward in 1875, but resigned in 1880 to accept the position of postmaster of Syracuse, in which capacity he served for almost nine years ; and inspector of rifle practice, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, on the Sixth Division Staff, New York State National Guard. From childhood Mr. Chase was a devotee at the shrine of music, and no one has ever done more- few as much-to raise the standard or educate the general public to a better appreciation of that which is best and most elevating in this line, giving freely of his time and money to make it possible for the music-loving public to listen to the works of the great masters. Mr. Chase is a man of genial attributes and kindly ways, and throughout his entire career has had the general good of the community ever at heart.
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