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 15
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Frederick Rowland Hazard, second son of Rowland and Margaret Anne (Rood) Hazard, was born June 14, 1858, in Peace- dale, where his early years were spent, and in 1881 graduated from Brown Uni-
versity, Providence. Following his grad- uation he spent two years in the woolen mills of his native town, and in the fall of 1883 entered the employ of the Solvay Process Company, of Syracuse, of which his father had been president since its founding. In September of that year he sailed for Europe to investigate the pro- cesses of manufacture of soda products. For nine months he pursued his investi- gations in the works of Solvay & Com- pany at Dombasle, France. In May of the following year he returned to Amer- ica, and entered upon his duties as assist- ant treasurer of the Solvay Process Com- pany, of Syracuse, one of the greatest in- dustries of that progressive city. In June, 1887, he was promoted to the office of treasurer, and continued in that capacity to 1898, with residence in Syracuse. He was made president following the death of his father. Since their organization he has been treasurer of the Tully Pipe Line and Split Rock Cable Road companies, and was also president of the Syracuse Athletic Association until it was dis- banded in 1902. He was elected the first president of Solvay Village, a Syracuse suburb, upon its establishment, May 15, 1904, and is active in various enterprises which are contributing to the growth and eminence of Syracuse. He is a prominent member of the Citizens' Club, enjoys the friendship and esteem of the residents of his home city, and is ever ready to further any undertaking calculated to promote the moral, social and pecuniary welfare of the community.
He married, May 29, 1886, Dora G. Sedgwick, daughter of the late Charles B. Sedgwick, of Syracuse. Their home is at "Upland Farm," and they have chil- dren : Dorothy, born May 21, 1887; Sarah Sedgwick, August 2, 1889; Katherine, November 7, 1890; Frederick Rowland, December 6, 1891.
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WILES, Ben,
Teacher, Lawyer, Journalist.
A student of two universities, a teacher, member of the Onondaga county bar since 1910, prominent in politics as a cam- paign orator and manager, a candidate for mayor of the city of Syracuse, a news- paper and magazine editor, corporation counsel, exposer of graft, head of a fam- ily and just thirty years of age, consti- tutes the outlines only of Mr. Wiles' career to date. Should corresponding activity be manifested during the coming thirty years the duty of the chronicler of 1945 will be a pleasant but an arduous one. Fourteen of his years have been spent in Syracuse and most of the achievement outlined has been com- pressed into that period. He is very popular in the city, particularly so in offi- cialdom and in the neighborhood of his home in the Seventeenth Ward, a section of suburban type, where people know their neighbors, and "drop in" from pure interest in each other.
Ben Wiles was born at Vanhornesville, Herkimer county, New York, January 3, 1886, son of John Milton and Ida M. (Young) Wiles, and a descendant of Dutch and German ancestry. John Mil- ton Wiles, who was a prominent citizen of Herkimer county, New York, died in 1913 at the age of fifty-six. His wife is a daughter of Lewis G. Young, a well- known Democratic politician of Herki- mer county, and a descendant of the early Dutch stock of the Mohawk Valley. He obtained his early and preparatory edu- cation in the district public schools, at Richfield Springs High School, spent a year at Colgate University, then came to Syracuse, entering the Law School of the University, was graduated Bachelor of Laws, and admitted to the bar in 1910. During his university course he taught
in the night schools and took a deep in- terest in the Boys' Club, an interest that has never abated.
In 1911 he was attorney for the comp- troller in inheritance tax matters in Herkimer county, was owner and editor of the Herkimer "Democrat," published at Herkimer, New York, and in 1912 was manager of the "Craftsman," a magazine published in New York City. In 1913 he became a member of the law firm, Godelle, Harding & Wiles, of Syracuse, and in 1914 organized the law firm of Wiles, Neily & Nichols, his present partnership. In 1914 he was appointed assistant cor- poration counsel of Syracuse by Mayor Louis Will. He is one of the younger lights of the Onondaga bar and is meet- ing with unusual success in his profes- sion, specializing in municipal and cor- poration law.
Mr. Wiles has been active in politics ever since becoming a voter. As editor of the Herkimer "Democrat," he wielded a strong influence in county affairs, was twice chosen chairman of Democratic county conventions, and as a campaign orator contributed largely to party suc- cess in several campaigns. He bore a very prominent part in the municipal cam- paign of 1913, his tireless work, his tact- ful, forcible, eloquent speeches and per- sonal work contributing to a marked de- gree in the election of Louis Will for mayor, by a small plurality after a heated canvass. In 1915 he was nominee of the Citizens' and the Democratic parties for mayor. He gained prominence in the county by his exposure of graft and offi- cial delinquency in the erection of the Onondaga County Tuberculosis Sana- torium. He is possessed of an intense public spirit and is deeply concerned in the betterment of public conditions. Per- sonal political ambition does not impel him in his public life, but rather the de-
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sire to lend a hand in upbuilding a better Syracuse. He loves the excitement of a campaign and considers it "most inter- esting" no matter who wins.
Mr. Wiles takes life very seriously, is a close and keen student, and loves the knotty problems the law and municipal government present, and is devoted to his home and family. He is a member of the Order of Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the University, Citizens' and City clubs, and the Phi Kappa Psi and Phi Delta Phi, col- lege fraternities. He is greatly interested in athletic games.
Mr. Wiles married, October 19, 19II, Barbara Stickley, daughter of Gustav Stickley, a furniture manufacture, founder in Syracuse of the Craftsman Shops. They have three children : Barbara, Edith and John.
KING, Melvin LaVern, Architect.
There are few portions of the world which combine so large a share of natural beauty with so romantic a history as that part of New York State which might properly be called the Iroquois country. Here are innumerable lakes ranging from the little woodland water to those mon- sters of the species, Ontario and Erie, which bound the district to the north and west ; here also are countless streams and rivers, lovely vales and majestic moun- tains, the shattered fragments of the old, primeval wilderness; and hung over all the romance of those anamolous peoples, praised by some, cursed by others, but wondered at by all, who together made up the "Five Nations," the "Great League." From the most centrally situ- ated and the most powerful, at least nu- merically, of these, in which the strange figure of Hiawatha appeared and began his errand of conversation and organiza-
tion, from the great Onondaga Nation, has come the name of a county of modern New York in which the past and present may be said to meet. In the name itself the State celebrates its early history and the mythical legendary period preceding it, but in the condition of the country as it exists to-day the modern American spirit of progress may be seen on every hand.
In this most interesting region there was born on December 7, 1868, in the rural township of LaFayette, Melvin La- Vern King, a son of Russell G. and Mal- vina (Abbott) King, and the member of a very old family, his ancestors being traceable for many generations both on this and the other side of the ocean. In the direct line his descent runs back to the Kings of London who settled in Northampton, Massachusetts, about the year 1660, and includes the names of Paul King and Paul King, Jr., both soldiers in the Revolution, enlisting from Chester- field, Massachusetts, the younger of which two men afterwards settled in Onondaga county, New York, about 1798. On his mother's side of the house also, Mr. King is descended from fine old stock, a direct ancestor, George Abbott, settling in Andover, Massachusetts, in the seventeenth century, and later Ab- botts being among the pioneers in Onon- daga county. With the marriage of Mr. King's grandfather, Asahel King, to Maria Green, the Kings became related to a house which traces its ancestry to the eleventh century. The history of the Greens is full of stirring incident all the way from old Sir Alexander DeGreen De- Boketon, who received his title from the hands of King John of England in the year 1202 and was himself the great- grandson of one of the nobles in the train of William the Conqueror at Hastings in 1066, to modern times. It includes the names of many most worthy gentlemen
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and through various marriages connects the members of the family with many of the greatest names in England and the Continent and among others with that of Hugh Capet, king of France; Robert the Strong, duke of France ; the Earl of Win- chester, who signed the Magna Charta; Lord Chief Justice Drayton of England and many others.
Melvin LaVern King passed the first fourteen years of his life on his father's farm near the village of LaFayette, where he was born. These years he spent in the customary occupations of childhood, chief among which was the gaining of his edu- cation, which he did, so far as the pre- liminary portion of it was concerned, at the local schools. In the year 1882, when he had arrived at the age of fourteen, however, he was sent to Syracuse, there to complete his studies. Mr. King dis- played considerable artistic taste as a youth, and, this, together with much apti- tude for technical engineering subjects impelled him to take up architecture as a profession. Accordingly in the year 1886, at the age of eighteen years, he entered the office of James H. Kirby, an archi- tect of Syracuse, in the capacity of draughtsman. He had not mistaken his talent and soon began to show much abil- ity in his work. There was at that time practicing architecture in Syracuse, a Mr. Archemedes Russell, who was recognized as standing at the head of his profession and did a large business in that region. Mr. King entered Mr. Russell's office, thus beginning an association that was to last for years and only end with the elder man's death. It was in 1889 that Mr. King entered the new office and for seventeen years he continued as a draughtsman until, in 1906, the latter admitted him to partnership under the firm name of Rus- sell & King. Mr. Russell's death in 1915 closed this partnership, and since that
time Mr. King has continued the busi- ness alone. The reputation and success of this business so far from diminishing since the days when they were first won by Mr. Russell have increased rather, and with this increase the skill and ability of Mr. King has had much to do. He has continued the standards of efficiency, probity and artistic excellence estab- lished by his predecessor and is to-day regarded as one of the most able and suc- cessful architects in the city. Among the recent examples of his art should be enumerated a large mercantile building in Albany, the men's dormitory building at the Onondaga County Home, St. Mat- thew's Church at East Syracuse, as well as other important work in his home city and in Rochester and many other nearby cities and towns. This will give some idea of the distance to which Mr. King's reputation has spread, and the size of the business conducted by him.
On June 28, 1892, Mr. King was united in marriage with Gertrude Edith Gridley, of Syracuse, and to them have been born six children, as follows: Mable, who mar- ried Mr. Schuyler Baum, of Syracuse ; Russell J., Helen M., Harry A., Ruth G., and Melvin L., Jr.
Mr. King is a man of the most sterling character and strong personality. The reputation he has won in his part of the State is a well deserved one, the outcome of his own worthy efforts. He is still a young man and it seems probable but at the beginning of a career already bril- liant, and which may lead him no one can say whither. One thing at least is certain, however, that he already repre- sents an important influence for good in the community which, with greater op- portunities, such as advancing years bring, is bound to increase and eventually place his name among those most hon- ored and loved in the community.
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COBB, D. Raymond,
Lawyer.
The profession of the law, when clothed with its true dignity and purity and strength, must rank first among the call- ings of men, for law rules the universe. The work of the legal profession is to formulate, to harmonize, to regulate, to adjust, to administer those rules and prin- ciples that underlie and permeate all gov- ernment and society, and control the varied relations of man. As thus viewed there attaches to the legal profession a nobleness that cannot but be reflected in the life of the true lawyer who, conscious of the greatness of his profession and honest in the pursuit of his purpose, em- braces the richness of learning, the pro- foundness of wisdom, the firmness of in- tegrity and the purity of morals, together with the graces of modesty, courtesy and the general amenities of life. D. Ray- mond Cobb, of Syracuse, New York, is certainly a type of this class of lawyers, and as such he ranks among the most eminent members of the State bar. He has inherited many of the sterling traits which characterized his ancestry who emigrated to New England prior to the Revolution. Among the noted names of his forbears we find: Raymond, Hunt- ington, Peck, Hyde, Joslyn, Quincy, Hartshorn, Burleigh, Rockwell and Greenleaf. Some of his Revolutionary ancestors were: Ebenezer Hartshorn, Amos Raymond, Captain Thomas Hyde and Captain Eleazer Huntington.
Dr. Aurelius Howard Cobb, father of D. Raymond Cobb, was born in Wind- ham, Vermont, in 1843, and departed this life in Ulysses, Potter county, Pennsyl- vania, in 1914. He was active in defence of the rights of the Union, becoming a member of the First New York Dragoons, as a volunteer non-commissioned officer, and was in active service more than three
years. He married Louise Raymond, daughter of Deacon Joel Raymond, of the Massachusetts family of that name, and they had children: D. Raymond and Aurelia.
D. Raymond Cobb was born at Bing- ham, Potter county, Pennsylvania, May 16, 1871. After a preparatory training he entered the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, from which he was graduated in the spring of 1888. He then matriculated at the University of Syracuse, from which institution he was graduated in the spring of 1892, the degree of Bachelor of Philos- ophy being conferred upon him. While there he was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity and was later awarded the key of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Follow- ing his graduation from the university, he commenced reading law in the office of Edgar N. Wilson, at Syracuse, New York, and with the exception of a comparatively short period of study spent at the School of Law of Cornell University, remained with Mr. Wilson until he was admitted to the bar in 1895. He then became asso- ciated in a partnership with Mr. Wilson, and although the name of the firm has undergone a number of changes in the course of time, the association of these two men has remained uninterrupted up to the present time, when they are prac- ticing under the firm name of Wilson, Cobb & Ryan. Mr. Cobb takes a great interest in political affairs, is ever ready to support his position by intelligent argument, and is accustomed to address- ing public assemblies upon the issues of the day. In politics he is a Republican. He was employed as special counsel for the city of Syracuse in 1907, in its investi- gation of the Lighting Company ; in 1915 he was elected a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention, and served as a member of the committees on judiciary, privileges and elections, and at the conclusion of the work was made
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a member of the special committee of five on time and manner of submission of the constitution. He is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Syracuse, and also of a large number of clubs and other associations.
Mr. Cobb married, April 16, 1895, Kath- arine Miller, daughter of Riley V. Miller, of Syracuse. The children who have blessed this union are: Raymond Miller, born November 30, 1897; Helen Hunt- ington, October 13, 1899; Katharine Tyrell, September 10, 1901. The home of Mr. and Mrs. Cobb is the center of a cultured circle and their friends are nu- merous. Mr. Cobb is a man of broad public spirit, deeply interested in every- thing pertaining to the general welfare and to progress along material, social, moral and intellectual lines. He is honored and respected in all classes of society, inspires personal friendship of unusual strength, and all who know him have the highest admiration for his good qualities of heart and mind.
EDGERTON, Hiram H., Contracting Builder, Public Official.
The popular verdict expressed at the polls does not always signify a wise choice, but the public seldom repeats a mistake made in their estimate of a man and his fitness to rule over them. Hence a reëlection is more highly valued than the first choice, a third term, speaks of well proven qualities, and a fourth and fifth election is an endorsement few ever receive. This is the endorsement, how- ever, that Rochester has given her chief executive, Hiram H. Edgerton, and is the highest praise she can bestow. Roches- ter does not lack for able men to fill the chair, but the unsullied character Mr. Ed- gerton bears, the confidence his public and private life has inspired, and the
manner in which he has fulfilled his obli- gations as chief executive of the city so won the electorate that all serious thought of a successor was precluded.
His father, Ralph H. Edgerton, born at Port Henry, on Lake Champlain, in 1821, was but fourteen years of age when he first located in Rochester, then a small but thriving town. He continued his resi- dence in Rochester, with the exception of a few years, until his death in 1867, build- ing up and conducting an extensive lum- ber business.
Hiram H. Edgerton, son of Ralph H. and Octavia C. Edgerton, was born at Belfast, Allegany county, New York, April 19, 1847. He completed a high school course in Rochester, then became his father's assistant in the lumber busi- ness, continuing until the latter's death in 1867. The son then became head of the business and successfully conducted it until 1880. In that year he disposed of the lumber yard and since has devoted himself to a building contracting busi- ness, a business made profitable by the rapid growth of Rochester and its enor- mous demands upon the contractors for public and private improvements. Mr. Edgerton rose to a high rank as a con- tractor and there stand to his credit in Rochester forty churches and church buildings alone, public library buildings, and hundreds of private residences, many of them palatial in their proportions and fittings, also many of the great office, mer- cantile and factory buildings. Just, lib- eral, and eminently fair with his work- men, it is his proud boast that he has never had a strike among them, and that he holds their confidence, respect and good will. In his relations with capital he has won the same high standing, and his name upon a contract is considered a guarantee of fair dealing and good work- manship. He has been for years a mem-
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ber of the Builders' Exchange, of which he is an ex-president, and is a director of the National Association of Builders.
A Republican in politics, he has always been loyal to the party, not through nar- row partisanship, but through a strong belief that his party stands for the best interests of the country. He served as a member of the Board of Education from 1872 until 1876 and during two years of his service was president of the board. He was president of the commission hav- ing in charge the construction of the East Side Sewer, the commission under Mr. Edgerton's careful guidance returning to the city an appreciable portion of the million dollars appropriated for the work. When the White Charter went into effect, January 1, 1900, reorganizing Rochester's municipal government, Mr. Edgerton be- came presiding officer of the Common Council, continuing in that office through successive reëlections for eight years, leading the head of the ticket at each of the four elections. By virtue of his office he was a member of the Board of Esti- mate and Apportionment, the chief exec- utive board of the city government, pre- paring the tax budget, inaugurating all municipal improvements and municipal reforms. In this connection Mr. Edger- ton rendered invaluable service to the city and strongly entrenched himself in public esteem. In 1907 he was elected mayor of Rochester, his first election being in response to a popular demand for a straightforward business adminis- tration. At the end of his term his record demanded that he be continued for an- other term of two years; then a third, then a fourth term, and now a fifth term, by largest majority ever received, was the insistent demand of the city and it was so ordered at the polls.
To recite the benefits Rochester has re- ceived during Mayor Edgerton's eight years as chief executive is not possible in
this place. Among the more notable are these: The city government has been reorganized and the recent report of the New York Bureau of Municipal Research declares that "Rochester, out of the fifty- three cities examined, is the best gov- erned;" the public library and its branches have been established; Exposi- tion Park and the Rochester Exposition Company organized; the Municipal Mu- seum founded; the park system and play grounds enlarged and improved, the addi- tion of play grounds lessening truancy and adding to school efficiency. Good schools, pure water, and adequate sew- age disposal have been the administration slogans, and in these respects Rochester is the peer of any city.
Mayor Edgerton is a member of Frank R. Lawrence Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons; Hamilton Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Monroe Commandery, Knights Templar, also a member of the Shrine, Grotto, etc., and the Benevolent and Pro- tective Order of Elks. His clubs are the Genesee Valley, Masonic and Rochester.
He married, in 1868, Medora De Witt, of Henrietta, New York. Children : Edna, wife of Henry Lambert, of Rochester ; Elizabeth, wife of Benjamin T. Rood- house, of Chicago.
POWELL, Edward Alexander, Leader in Community Affairs.
The man of genuine business ability, the man whose judgment is never warped, whose foresight is never clouded, and whose integrity is incorruptible, the man whose discretion is unfailing and whose honor is unquestioned, is the man who, whatever may be his place in life, is in- dispensable. He is a man to be trusted and looked up to as a leader, and his fear- lessness in defense of his honest convic- tions awakens the respect of even those who oppose him. Ready to meet any obli-
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gations of life with the confidence and courage which come of rare personal abil- ity, right conceptions of things, and an habitual regard for what is best in the exercise of human activities, Edward Alexander Powell, of Syracuse, New York, is a man, take him for all in all, that the town may well claim with pride as one of her leading and most enlight- ened citizens. The name of Powell is of Welsh origin and was originally Ap Howell, being gradually contracted to Powell. The early seat of the family was at Breckonch, South Wales, where the town of Breconshire is now located. It has been largely represented in the pro- fessions, but most of its bearers have been engaged in agriculture. Wherever found, people of this name are noted for their industry, thrift, and kind and oblig- ing dispositions.
The founder of this branch of the fam- ily in the United States was Watkin Powell, who with his son Watkin (2) and daughter-in-law Rebecca (Adams) Pow- ell came from near Breckonch, South Wales, in 1801, settling near Utica, New York. Watkin Powell, the elder, died there in 1802 and was buried near his home. Watkin (2) Powell continued his residence there until after the death of his wife, Rebecca (Adams) Powell, in 1814, and his second marriage to Mrs. Nichols in 1815. They then in 1816 moved with their family to Shadeland, Pennsyl- vania, where both husband and wife died in 1850.
Howell Powell, fourth son of Watkin Powell, was born near Utica, New York, March 1I, 1804, died February 1I, 1873. At the age of twelve years he was taken to Pennsylvania by his parents and there obtained an education, gained a practical knowledge of all agricultural matters, and became a famous stock breeder and farmer. In public life he also achieved prominence, was one of the leaders in his
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