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 28
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Judge Vann married, October 11, 1870, Florence Dillaye, only daughter of the late Henry A. Dillaye, of Syracuse. To this union there have been born: Flor- ence Dillaye, July 31, 1871, who married Albert P. Fowler, a member of the law firm of Fowler, Vann & Paine; Irving Dillaye, a member of the above mentioned firm, who was born September 17, 1875.
BRAYTON, Warren C., Financier, Enterprising Citizen.
When, in the course of a few years, the scope of a business grows from a moder- ate beginning to a large amount annually, it argues that there must be a very cap- able leading spirit in control of its affairs, and it is of such a man, Warren C. Bray- ton, of Syracuse, New York, that this sketch treats. Faithfulness to duty and strict adherence to a fixed purpose in life will do more to advance a man's interests than wealth, influence or advantageous circumstances. The successful men of the day are those who have planned their own advancement and have accomplished it in spite of many obstacles, and at the same time with a certainty that may only be acquired through their own efforts. Of this class of men, Mr. Brayton is an excellent representative.
Eli C. Brayton, his father, was born in Washington county, New York, in 1814, and died in Syracuse, New York, in 1895. He was of English descent, and engaged in agricultural pursuits through- out the active years of his life. He mar- ried Maria Barrell, also a native of Washington county, New York. She died in Syracuse, New York, in 1893. Their two children were Warren C. Brayton and Pierce B. Brayton. Pierce B. Brayton was a resident of Syracuse for many years and well known. Later on, he took up his residence in Geneva, Nebraska. He passed away in 1907.
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Warren C. Brayton was born in Hart- ford, Washington county, New York, February 5, 1840, and there acquired his education in the district schools. Brought up on the farm, he assisted his father in its cultivation, at the same time acquiring a great deal of experience in this line which was to be of assistance to him later on. However, farm labors were not great- ly to the taste of Mr. Brayton, and July 9, 1857, found him in Syracuse, whither he had come in order to find more con- genial employment. He opened a rail- road ticket office as the agent of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad Company, and several other lines, and in 1865 was joined in this enterprise by his brother. Their unfailing courtesy and unflagging interest in behalf of the travel- ing public brought them a very large business. They succeeded particularly in obtaining a large share of the western travel. This agency was conducted suc- cessfully for more than a quarter of a century. When the New York Central, Lake Shore & Michigan Southern de- creased the number of emigrant trains, as travel to the west diminished, the receipts of Messrs. Brayton Brothers suffered in proportion and Mr. Warren C. Brayton accepted the position of dis- trict passenger agent of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern railroad. He was also affiliated with the passenger depart- ment of the West Shore road, which was then completed and had just gone into operation. When the West Shore be- came a part of the New York Central system, he became general agent for the passenger department of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad, and was instrumental in building up a large passenger business for this railroad. His previous connections with other lines made him one of the best known men in Central New York.
Mr. Brayton had long cherished cer- tain theories and ideas on farming gen- erally and the breeding of cattle prin- cipally, and in the meantime acquired a farm of two hundred and fifty acres in the town of DeWitt. In 1878 he estab- lished this property as an experimental farm, giving it close attention and con- ducting it on a rather scientific plan, and he achieved a success well known to his neighbors in that vicinity at the time. To this farm came the first students in charge of Professor I. T. Roberts from the new established agricultural depart- ment at Cornell University. Mr. Bray- ton's methods had attracted considerable attention; consequently, there was a great deal of interest when the univer- sity recognized this experimental farm. It might be added that this was chiefly due to the plans made by Mr. Brayton to improve the milk production of the native cattle. Mr. Brayton contended that the Holstein cattle were the best milch cows. This was not admitted at the time but has since been conceded. Mr. Brayton was one of the promoters of the Holstein-Friesian Breeders Asso- ciation. Mr. Brayton was treasurer of this association for a great many years and is still a member and takes an active interest in the work. About this time, the farmers had a great deal of difficulty in disposing of the milk. Mr. Brayton, in conjunction with others, founded the Onondaga County Milk Association, and which was to be a great force in the profitable marketing of milk, the improv- ing of the quality and the establishing of standards.
In 1878, Mr. Brayton, acting with Austin B. Avery, Cyrus D. Avery, John Wells and others, promoted the Onon- daga County Fair. The idea was devel- oped while these gentlemen were return- ing from the Fulton County Fair. They
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encountered considerable difficulty at first, especially in financing the project, and at one time it appeared as if the project might fall through because of the finances. Then Mr. Brayton became treasurer and was actually responsible for the financing of the association that put the idea through. The first fair was a splendid success in spite of the many pre- dictions that it would be a failure. The success of the Onondaga County Fair here made possible the bringing to Syra- cuse of the State Fair as it is known to- day.
In 1902 Mr. Brayton was offered the position of general manager of the Kemp & Burpee Manufacturing Company. He accepted it, and resigned his office with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad, a position which he had held for a long time. In the meanwhile he had retired from farming after achiev- ing a splendid success. The Kemp & Burpee Manufacturing Company was established and incorporated in 1878 on a small scale and commenced the manu- facture of a fertilizer spreader, the first implement of this kind ever put on the market. This company had many re- verses at first and considerable difficulty in protecting their patents. Shortly after Mr. Brayton assumed charge of this com- pany's affairs, they began to prosper. He guided the company through some particularly trying times and later on through a very successful era. In the meanwhile he became president of the company ; put into effect his systematic management and progressive methods, and so increased the demand for the out- put of the concern that the means of supplying the demand were taxed to the fullest extent. New factory buildings were erected and also a large office build- ing. It is the opinion of competent farmers that this machine is one of the
most important ever invented for agri- cultural purposes. It affords a means of rapidly restoring the richness to soil which has become impoverished by the constant production of crops. Thus, through very fine ability, Mr. Brayton achieved one of his greatest successes. Kemp & Burpee Manufacturing Com- pany, together with its foundry and its Canadian plant, finally became part of Deere & Company, Moline, Illinois.
After the purchase of the Kemp & Burpee Manufacturing Company and its kindred interests by the "Deere" syndi- cate, Mr. Brayton retired from active business, giving some time, however, to other corporations on whose board of directors he was serving and devoted himself to the Industrial Building which he built in 1889. This was a six-story building of improved construction and made suitable for light manufacturing. This building has housed a great many industries in their infancy and at the present time is occupied by several who require all of the facilities of a large plant but do not require as much room.
In 1910 Mr. Brayton was impressed with the need in Syracuse, New York, for additional banking facilities. He, to- gether with others, organized the City Bank. Mr. Brayton was the first vice- president and at the present time he is president of the institution. The success of this bank from the start is well known. It is seldom that a new banking institu- tion attains so much success in such a short time. It is not to be wondered at, however, when one considers that a group of men who have been successful in their individual lines of business are behind an undertaking of this kind. The City Bank commenced with a capital of $200,000, rapidly accumulating a surplus, and later the capital stock was increased to half a million. This amount, together with the
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surplus, gives Syracuse a bank with assets of over three-quarters of a million dollars. As president of this bank, Mr. Brayton has given a great deal of time to the working out of the success of its policies.
In politics, Mr. Brayton has been a life- long Republican, a force in the party, but he has never held public office. He pre- fers the quiet methods and is rarely found in the activities of a political campaign although his advice is sought and his opinion carries a great deal of weight. His religious membership is with the May Memorial Unitarian Church, in whose interest both he and his wife have been most active and helpful workers. Their beautiful home is at No. 509 West Onondaga street, on grounds purchased by Mr. Brayton in 1883.
Mr. Brayton married, February 15, 1865, Harriet Elizabeth Duncan, who died June 17, 1914, after forty-nine years of married life. Their children are : Alice M., who passed away in 1875 ; Lieu- tenant Clarence E., who died in the Span- ish-American War; Mildred E., married to Floyd R. Todd, of Moline, Illinois ; and Helen Josephine, married to Harry F. Butler, of Buffalo, New York, now a resident of Syracuse.
Mr. Brayton is filled with civic pride for Syracuse; has worked hard for its success as a manufacturing center and is keenly interested in its beauty and its efficient city government. There are in Syracuse to-day few men better known and who enjoy a greater reputation for judgment, foresight and integrity than Warren C. Brayton.
FRENCH, Edmund Leavenworth, Chemist, Manufacturer.
From various strains of New England ancestry, Mr. French has derived the qualities of perseverance, industry and
fine discrimination which have brought to him success in the business world. His American progenitor was Stephen French, who was made a freeman, May 14, 1634, in Dorchester, Massachusetts, was representative in 1638, and died in July, 1679. His wife Mary died April 6, 1655. He had a second wife who died in 1657. His son, Stephen French, resided in Weymouth, Massachusetts, where he married, January 19, 1660, Han- nah Whitman, born August 24, 1641, daughter of Jonathan Whitman. Their second son, Samuel French, was born May 5, 1668, in Weymouth, and settled in Stratford, now Bridgeport, Connec- ticut, about 1694, becoming prominent as a public officer, sergeant in the Colonial militia, received in the church in March, 1698, and died in 1732. He married, about 1696, Abigail, daughter of Richard Hubbell, who came from Wales and re- sided in New Haven and Fairfield, Con- necticut. They were the parents of Samuel (2) French, born about 1697, who married Mary, daughter of Benja- min and Rebecca (Phippeny) Sherman, born February 24, 1697. Their son, Samuel (3) French, born about 1717, married, June 2, 1736, Elizabeth, daugh- ter of Nehemiah Loring, and widow of Samuel Clark. They were the parents of Samuel (4) French, born March 9, 1739, in Stratford, settled in Amenia, Dutchess county, New York, about 1773. With his son, Samuel French, and a con- siderable colony of Stratford people, he was instrumental in establishing the colony of Manchester in Vermont. They were ardent churchmen and officers in the Episcopal church, and although Ben- nington and Manchester furnished many intensely loyal men to the Revolution the Frenches undoubtedly were reluctant to show open hostility to the English cause and church, as none of the line appears to
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have served with the Revolutionary army. Joshua French, son of Samuel (5) French, left Vermont with his son, Rev. Mans- field French, in 1836, and settled near Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Rev. Mansfield French was appointed hospital chaplain of United States Volunteers, July 10, 1862 ; accepted the appointment, July 29, 1862; was sta- tioned at Beaufort, North Carolina, New York City, and Washington, D. C., and was honorably discharged on August 4, 1865. The records of the adjutant-gen- eral's office at Washington also show that he was again mustered into the United States service, October 28, 1865, at Wash- ington, as chaplain of the One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Regiment, United States Colored Infantry, and served on duty in the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands at New York City, Charleston, South Carolina, and Wash- ington, D. C., until honorably discharged as chaplain, January 1, 1868, on account of his services being no longer required. For the succeeding two months, however, January I to February 29, 1868, he served as civilian agent of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands in South Carolina. He left the Episcopal church for the more liberal Methodist church and became a circuit rider, evangelist and educator, prominent in the early history of Ohio. He was interested in the founding of Kenyon College, Marietta College and Wilber-
force College. Later, becoming an ardent Abolitionist, he wrote and spoke in that cause. He spent considerable time in Washington and frequently talked with President Lincoln, endeavor- ing to convince him that he as President was called of God to free the slaves. On the paternal side Mr. French is descended from Elijah Rose, a soldier of the Revo- lution and member of Colonel Moseley's regiment from Granville, Massachusetts.
On the maternal side Mr. French is de- scended from many families notable in Colonial history. Among these is the Brewster family, the line going back to Rev. Nathaniel Brewster, a graduate in the first class of Harvard College, and, according to family tradition, a grandson of Elder William Brewster of the "May- flower." Mr. French's mother was Eliza- beth Hull Smith, a direct descendant of Captain Isaac Smith, a Revolutionary officer of Derby, Connecticut, whose son, Isaac, Jr., at the age of sixteen years, with his mother, Elizabeth Hull Smith, rend- ered signal service in saving the stores of the Continental army from the British. His mother was also directly descended from the Revolutionary officer, Captain Joseph Hull, grandfather of Commodore Isaac Hull of the United States frigate "Constitution," and father of General William Hull of the War of 1812. Mr. French is descended from Captain Gideon Leavenworth who, with his four sons, served in the Revolution, the youngest son, Edmund Leavenworth, great-great- grandfather of Mr. French, and for whom he is named, having entered the service as his father's camp servant at the age of eleven years. Mr. French is descended on his mother's side from Colonel Ebe- nezer Johnson, who served valiantly in the Indian and Colonial wars ; from Roger Ludlow, a Colonial lieutenant-governor of Connecticut; from Stephen Hopkins, a "Mayflower" pilgrim ; from John Bron- son, a soldier of the Pequot Indian War ; from Isaac Johnson, a Revolutionary soldier of Derby, Connecticut ; from Ser- geant Edward Riggs, an officer in the Pequot War, and father of Captain Samuel Riggs, a Colonial officer; from Abraham Bassett, a Revolutionary soldier from Derby, Connecticut ; from Obadiah Wheeler, a lieutenant in the Colonial forces at Milford, Connecticut; from
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Thomas Clark, mate of the "Mayflower ;" from Ensign Martin Winchell, of Wind- sor, Connecticut, a Colonial and Revolu- tionary soldier; and from Captain Wil- liam French, founder of a separate family of that name, who came to America in the ship "Defence" in 1635 and settled at Billerica, Massachusetts.
Edmund Leavenworth French was born October 12, 1870, in New York City, and was eight years of age when he re- moved to Syracuse, where his home has been down to the present time. He at- tended the public schools of that city, graduating from the high school in 1888, and entered Syracuse University with the class of 1892, becoming a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He spent two years, 1891 to 1893, at the Royal Schools of Mines, Freiberg, Saxony, Germany, making a special study of the metallurgy and chemistry of iron and steel. On his return to Syracuse he took the first employment offered, which was in newspaper work, and spent four years successively as a proofreader on the Syra- cuse "Journal," reporter on the Syracuse "Post," and telegraph editor and assist- ant city editor of the Syracuse "Stand- ard." He was also Syracuse correspond- ent for the New York "Sun," and gave promise of a brilliant career in journal- ism. In 1897 an opportunity offered to engaged in the profession for which he had fitted himself in study abroad, and he became chemist for the Sanderson Brothers Steel Company of Syracuse, with which he continued for several years. In 1902 he was made manager of the experimental department of the Crucible Steel Company of America, and three years later became sales manager of the same corporation, in its Syracuse branch. The Sanderson Brothers Works had become a part of the Crucible Steel Company of America, and in 1908 Mr.
French was made manager of this estab- lishment, becoming a director of the Crucible Steel Company of America in 1915. Thus, in a period of eighteen years, he rose from a comparatively sub- ordinate position in the steel manufac- ture to one of considerable prominence and responsibility. He is interested in other business interests in Syracuse, in- cluding the Trust & Deposit Company of Onondaga, of which he is a director; is president of the Orange Publishing Com- pany and a director of the Railway Roller Bearing Company of Syracuse. In 1914, in recognition of his work in metallurgy, he received from Syracuse University the degree of Doctor of Science. For two years, 1914 and 1915, he was a member of the Iron and Steel Standards committee of the Society of Automobile Engineers, and has been actively identified with various important advances in the art of steel making, especially in connection with special steels for automobile purposes. Mr. French is identified with numerous clubs and social organizations, including the University Club, of Syracuse ; is vice- president of the Technology Club of that city ; director of the Onondaga Country Club ; trustee of Syracuse University, be- ing secretary of the executive committee of the board; a member of the Iron and Steel Institute of Great Britain, and hon- orary member of Phi Beta Kappa, Syra- cuse. He is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution; of the Citizens' Club of Syracuse ; Central City Lodge, No. 305, Free and Accepted Masons ; Chamber of Commerce; member of the official board of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of that city; Hunting and Fishing Club of the Nine Lakes (Northern Quebec), and a charter mem- ber of the Billy Sunday Business Men's Club of Syracuse. His greatest pleasure and recreation are found in fishing, and
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every summer he visits Canada to indulge in his favorite sport. He is an expert fly fisherman, and does not indulge in any other form of this sport. He has a sum- mer residence at Tully Lake Park, New York.
He married. September 23, 1896, Frances Cooper Smith, of Oswego, and they have children: Grace Mansfield, born 1897; Helen Cooper, 1899; Frances Elizabeth, 1900; Sarah Douglas, 1910; Edmund Leavenworth, Jr., 1912.
ESTABROOK, Henry Dodge, Lawyer.
Henry Dodge Estabrook brings to the practice of his profession a judicial mind, well cultivated, and with faculties inher- ited from worthy ancestors, whose name he has honored. The name of Estabrook is an old one in this country, coming from Middlesex county, England, to New England, in 1660. Joseph Estabrook, the founder of the family, entered Harvard College immediately after his arrival in New England, and graduated in 1664. Soon afterward he was ordained as a colleague of Rev. Edward Bulkeley, of Concord, Massachusetts, whom he suc- ceeded on the latter's death, in 1696. He continued pastor until his death, Septem- ber 16, 1711. Such was his character as a plain, remarkable and persuasive preacher, and a kind friend of his flock, that he was generally known as "The Apostle." He refused invitations to pre- side over churches in Boston and else- where, his only outside service being that of chaplain of the Massachusetts Legislature. He married, May 20, 1668, at Watertown, Mary, daughter of Cap- tain Hugh Mason, the Indian fighter, and his wife Esther. She was born December 18, 1640, and was the mother of six chil- dren. The third son, Samuel Estabrook,
born June 7, 1764, in Concord, graduated from Harvard College in 1696, was assist- ant to his father, and was ordained first pastor of the church at Canterbury, Con- necticut, June 13, 1711, and there served until his death, June 26, 1727. In 1718 he preached the election sermon before the Massachusetts Legislature. He mar- ried, March 3, 1713, Rebecca Hobart (same family as Hubbard), daughter of Rev. Nehemiah and Sarah (Jackson) Hobart, of Newton, Massachusetts, granddaughter of Rev. Peter Hobart, of Hingham. She survived him six months. Their eldest child, Nehemiah Estabrook, born April 1, 1715, in Canterbury, owned a farm near Mansfield Center, Connecti- cut, where he was deacon of the church and prominent in civil affairs. After 1770 he removed to Lebanon, New Hampshire. He married (second) October 18, 1744, Abigail, daughter of Deacon Experience Porter. She died at Mansfield, December 7, 1770. Their second son, Experience Estabrook, was born June 3, 1751, in Mansfield, graduated from Dartmouth College in 1776, and received the degree of Doctor of Divinity. For several years he labored as a Congregational clergy- man in Western New York, and was sub- sequently successively pastor at Thorn- ton, Francestown and Meriden, New Hampshire, and died at Bath, in that State, in February, 1799. He married Jedidah Willey, of a New Hampshire family. Their eldest son, Seth Willey Estabrook, born 1785, was a farmer and miller in Alden, Erie county, New York, where he died in 1840. He married, April 19, 1812, at Lebanon, New Hampshire, Hannah, daughter of Moses and Hannah (Alden) Hebard, a descendant of John Alden of the "Mayflower." The town of Alden in New York was named for Han- nah Alden. The eldest son of Seth W. Estabrook, Experience, was born April
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30, 1813, in Lebanon, read law in Buffalo, New York, and graduated from the law school of Marshall College in 1839. In 1840 he began to practice law in Geneva, Wisconsin, and he was a delegate to the Second Constitutional Convention which framed the organic law under which that State was admitted to the Union in 1848. In 1851 he was a representative in the State Legislature, and was Attorney- General of the State in 1852. Soon after he removed to the territory of Nebraska, where he was United States District Attorney from 1854 to 1859, and was a leading lawyer of Omaha until his death. He married, April 15, 1844, in the town of Walworth, Walworth county, Wis- consin, Caroline Augusta Maxwell, daughter of Colonel James Maxwell, born August 17, 1823, in Tioga, Pennsylvania. Their daughter, Caroline Augusta Esta- brook, became the wife of Robert C. Clowry, long identified with the Western Union Telegraph Company in Omaha, later in Chicago, and finally president of the company, with headquarters in New York. The only son is the subject of the following biography.
Henry Dodge Estabrook was born October 23, 1854, in Alden, New York, and was an infant when his parents settled in Omaha, Nebraska. There he was educated in the public schools, and graduated from the law department of Washington University in 1875. For twenty-one years thereafter he engaged in the practice of law at Omaha, and in 1896 removed to Chicago, where he con- tinued in practice until 1902, as a member of the firm of Lowden, Estabrook & Davis, and then located in New York City, where after serving for many years as solicitor to the Western Union Telegraph Com- pany he became a member of the law firm of Noble, Estabrook & McHarg.
Mr. Estabrook is a member of the New York State Bar Association, and the American Bar Association, and is iden- tified with numerous clubs, including the Union League, Lawyers, Lotos, Metro- politan, Republican, Automobile Club of America, Ardley and Sleepy Hollow. His affiliation with the Union League and Republican clubs plainly indicates his political association with the Republican party. His home is in Tarrytown, New York.
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