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 44
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of energy and determination fell upon his son and in him the resolute spirit of the father survives.
John A. Bernhard was born in Roches- ter, New York, August 5, 1859, and his years, fifty-eight, have been spent in his native city. After graduation from Rochester Free Academy in 1879, he be- gan the study of law, and in 1882 was admitted to the bar. He at once began practice in Rochester, having a partner for the first half year, and since the dis- solution of that partnership, practicing alone. His practice, general in character, is conducted in all State and Federal courts of the district, his offices at No. 236 Powers Building. He has a large and well established practice, both as an adviser and an advocate. He is a man of quick invention, but does not depend upon the inspiration of the moment, never appearing in court without the most care- ful preparation and no matter upon which feature of the case develops the higher importance he is fortified against surprise and is equally ready to attack. He is a member of the Rochester bar, highly es- teemed by his professional brethren as a man learned in the law, skillful in its application, and strictly ethical in his methods of practice.
He has since academy days been closely allied with fraternity and secret orders, and is one of the old volunteer firemen of the city, now a member of the Veteran Exempt Firemen's Association. He was one of the founders of the Pi Phi frater- nity of the Free Academy in 1878, and has been a member of the Masonic order since 1889, belonging to Germania Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons. In Scottish Rite Masonry he has attained the thirty- two degrees of Rochester Consistory, and is a noble of Damascus Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a mem- ber of the Independent Order of For- esters and of the Knights of the Macca-
bees. He is a man of genial, social nature, winning many friends and ever retaining them. In political faith he is a Republican.
Mr. Bernhard married, May 14, 1884, Minnie E. Hertel, of Rochester. They have two sons, Robert A., now city super- intendent of play grounds and recreation, and Frank E. The family home is at No. 1387 Dewey avenue.
SWEET, John Edson, Scientist, Inventor.
Whether the elements of success in life are innate attributes of the individual, or whether they are quickened by a process of circumstantial development, it is impossible to clearly determine. Yet the study of a successful life is none the less profitable by reason of the existence of this uncertainty, and in the majority of cases it is found that exceptional abil- ity was the real secret of the preeminence which many envied. The career of John Edson Sweet furnishes an example of what may be accomplished with but few of the advantages of favoring circum- stances, when one is endowed with ambi- tion, ability and untiring energy. The Sweet family has been resident in Amer- ica since the early Colonial days, the direct American ancestors being John and Mary Sweet, who settled at Salem, Massachusetts, in 1631. Many of the family have won fame as inventors.
Horace Sweet, father of Professor John Edson Sweet, was a son of Timothy and Eunice (Woodworth) Sweet, was born April 1, 1796, and died at Pompey, New York, August 4, 1858. He was a prosper- ous farmer in Onondaga county, of pro- gressive ideas, and assisted materially in the development of the section. He mar- ried, November 20, 1817, Candace Avery, daughter of Punderson Avery, and had children : Clarence H., Helen L., Anson
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Avery, Homer D. L., Wheaton B., Wil- liam A., John Edson and Ann E.
Professor John Edson Sweet was born in Pompey, Onondaga county, New York, October 21, 1832. Until the age of fifteen years he attended the public schools, where his mechanical ability was noted at an early day. He readily found means to help himself over any mechani- cal difficulty which any situation pre- sented, as an instance of which may be given the fact of his construction of a small violin, and learning to play a num- ber of old-time melodies upon it, in the course of a few weeks. In 1850 he was apprenticed to John Pinkerton, a car- penter and joiner, and the money he earned was carefully put aside to pay for needful tools, among these being the sec- ond set of socket firmer chisels ever made, one of these still being in his pos- session. Having obtained a subordinate position in the office of Elijah T. Hayden, one of the ablest architects of Syracuse, he obtained an excellent knowledge of this line of business as it was carried on at that time, and for a period of ten years was chiefly employed in making construc- tion drawings for buildings. He then be- came office boy for C. O. Holyoke, a dis- ciple of Ruskin, and under this preceptor- ship he studied for one winter, during which he profited in large measure. Be- coming convinced that success lay for him in mechanical fields, Mr. Sweet pursued his studies and work in that direction, and received the first premium in a national competition held by "The Rural New Yorker," after which he wrote many articles on architectural matters, and was recognized as an authority.
At the time of the outbreak of the Civil War, Mr. Sweet was engaged in his pro- fessional duties at Selma, Alabama, and he soon returned to Onondaga county, New York. He became a pattern maker
and draughtsman in the railroad shops in Syracuse, and in the summer 1862 vis- ited the London Exhibition, where he continued his studies and investigations. During the latter part of the year he was a draughtsman in the international patent office of Hazeltine, Lake & Com- pany. Subsequently he again went abroad as draughtsman for the Patent Nut & Bolt Company, of Birmingham, England, in order to superintend the con- struction of machines for the manufac- ture of nails, Mr. Sweet being the pat- entee of this machine, which was financed by the Birmingham company. While abroad he contributed articles of a tech- nical nature to "Engineering," a journal published in London. Upon his return to Syracuse in 1864, Mr. Sweet became associated with Sweet, Barnes & Com- pany, designing many machines, tools and appliances, and introduced some of the features which still mark his designs. He invented a machine which paved the way for the introduction of the linotype machines now so commonly used. This machine, which was exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1867, was later pre- sented to Cornell University. He spent some months in Paris, and upon his re- turn to Syracuse he was again actively connected with Sweet, Barnes & Com- pany, and from 1871 to 1873 was mainly engaged in bridge building for Howard Soule, of Syracuse. His mind, however, was constantly busied with inventive plans of various kinds, and in the fall and winter of 1872 he made the plans and patterns, and completed the greater part of the work on the first Straight-Line steam engine. His contributions to the English paper, "Engineering," were also continued, and were published under the title of "Mechanical Refinements."
Professor Sweet was one of the fore -. most pioneers in college work in mechani-
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cal lines, and for the six years commenc- ing in 1873, was connected with Cornell University. The manufacture and intro- duction of the Whitworth surface plates and straight-edges were largely due to the Cornell shop under his management, and the first standard measuring machine made in this country was made and is now stored in the Cornell shop. In speak- ing of this John Richards testified that its method of correcting the error of the screw is the only one known that is com- mercially practicable. The equally im- portant problem of neutralizing the effect of wear was solved in an equally success- ful way, but has not come so uniformly into use. Professor Sweet was the pio- neer in promoting this measuring ma- chine, which he hoped to make the foun- dation of a system of standard gauges, and it was not until some years later that his example in this was followed. The first Gramme dynamo produced in this country was also built in the Cornell shop, and the second straight-line engine. These, with other products of the shop, were exhibited at the Centennial Expo- sition. This straight-line engine, now so well known throughout the world, em- bodied what was then the novel combina- tion-a balanced valve, a shifting eccen- tric and a shaft governor. This has be- come the accepted type of high-speed engine, and the Centennial engine may well be considered the first of the kind. Professor Sweet accomplished all this with the aid of his students, no other labor being employed in the shop. He worked under disadvantages, for up to that time it was largely believed that edu- cation was a matter of mental training and discipline and he received compara- tively little encouragement for the prac- tical work he was doing along mechanical lines. However, the value of his service has stood the test of time, and methods which he employed for construction are
now in general use in all such institu- tions. John Richards, in speaking of his work in connection with Cornell, said in a lecture before the students of Leland Stanford University that "Professor Sweet is one of the most successful teachers of constructive engineering that this or any other country can boast."
Not receiving the encouragement he desired at Cornell University, however, Professor Sweet resigned and returned to Syracuse, where he continued his experi- mentation with the original Straight-Line Engine and, obtaining what appeared the maximum of simplicity and perfection of action in the governor, he commenced the building of the engine, becoming president and general manager of the Straight-Line Engine Company, which was organized for manufacturing pur- poses. The business was established on a small scale, but the value of the engine has been demonstrated and recognized so universally that its growth necessitated the construction of new works, which were erected according to plans made by Professor Sweet in 1890. Many new methods have been introduced since the company was organized, and these, to- gether with the style of manufacture and other improvements, have been exten- sively adopted by other engine builders. The direct result of the superior skill and ability of Professor Sweet is seen in an improved system of steam distribution, the value of which is universally acknowl- edged. A number of new machines have been constructed after his designs, includ- ing a traversing machine which has be- come standard. He has also invented numberless devices for furthering the construction of the engine and insuring more perfect results. Mr. Sweet is con- sidered an authority in all matters of this kind, and inventors in Syracuse and else- where have frequently sought his coun- sel, which is freely and generously given.
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He never makes a secret of the operations of his factory, but freely invites all, and has inscribed over the entrance "Visitors Always Welcome." He has believed in in- creasing his store of knowledge by study- ing the works and results accomplished by others, and his chief desire in life is not the accumulation of wealth, but to let others benefit by the results he has achieved.
Professor Sweet was one of the found- ers of the American Society of Mechani- cal Engineers, the Engine Builders' As- sociation of the United States, the Tech- nology Club, and the Metal Trades and Founders' Association of Syracuse. The American Society of Mechanical Engi- neers has a membership of more than three thousand of the leading mechanical engineers of the country. Mr. Sweet was its third president and is now one of the sixteen honorary members, only seven being from this country, and among these are Carnegie, Edison and Westing- house. He was the first president of the Engine Builders' Association and the Technology Club ; is a life member of the Onondaga Historical Association; was one of the judges of the Chicago World's Fair, and has been employed by the gov- ernment as an expert. In 1913 Syracuse University conferred upon Professor Sweet the degree of Doctor of Engineer- ing,.an honor held by only eight people in the United States. In December, 1914, he was given the John Fritz Medal for scientific and engineering achieve- ments. Eight of these medals have been awarded, and among the recipients were John Fritz, Lord Kelvin, Edison, West- inghouse and Bell.
Professor Sweet married (first) in No- vember, 1870, Caroline V. Hawthorne, who died May 12, 1887. He married (second) in 1889, Irene A. Clark, who died August 24, 1914.
BENTLEY, Sardius Delancey,
Attorney-at-Law.
Although brought up on a Chautauqua county farm amid most pleasant sur- roundings, Mr. Bentley's ambition from youth was for the profession of law, an ambition he achieved at the age of twenty-nine years, when in 1872 he began the study of law in Rochester. Admitted in 1875, he at once began practice at Rochester and from that time his career has been one of signal success. His career at the bar has been one of honor, while his social, frank, genial nature has won him a large circle of friends other than those attracted by his legal attain- ment. He has devoted himself closely to his profession and has won a place in the foremost ranks. This has been done by careful, conscientious work in the pre- paration of cases, a logical, strong and dignified presentation and his constant endeavor to leave no loophole in his de- fense. A client who entrusts his case to Mr. Bentley is assured that no effort will be withheld to bring his case to success- ful issue, and although the most intricate cases have been committed to him, he has met all demands and been success- ful in a large majority of his cases. He is a son of Alexander and Lavantia Mary (Norton) Bentley, his father a farmer of the towns of Busti and Ellicott, New York. The father died in 1895.
Sardius D. Bentley was born at the homestead in Busti, there passed his youth and his early manhood save the years spent in institute and university. From the district public school he passed in succession to Jamestown Academy, Randolph Academy, now Chamberlain Institute, and the University of Roches- ter. He completed classical study at the university and received his Bachelor's degree, class of 1870. He then taught
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school for two years, finally reaching the road leading to the goal of his ambition in 1872.
In that year he began the study of law in Rochester, and at the October term of court in 1875, after passing the required examinations, he was admitted to the Monroe county bar. Forty-one years have since intervened and to-day he is the seasoned veteran who has won his laurels in many a legal conflict. Not always has he been returned the victor, but whether successful or not every bat- tle has been fought with all the force of his learning, skill and courage, and he numbers his warmest friends among those with whom he has most strongly contended in legal encounters. During his earlier years of practice he was asso- ciated with William F. Cogswell as part- ner, later and until 1893 as a member of the firm of Cogswell, Bentley & Cogswell. Since 1893 he has practiced alone, his office at No. 60 Trust Building. His practice extends to all State and Federal courts of the district, and since Decem- ber, 1885, he has been authorized to prac- tice in the United States Supreme Court. He does not confine himself to any spe- cial line, but with a broad and compre- hensive knowledge of the law conducts a general practice. He is a member of the Rochester Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association, highly re- garded by his brethren of these bodies. He is a member of the Masonic order and of the college fraternities, Psi Up- silon and Phi Beta Kappa.
HARGATHER, Rev. Mathias J., Clergyman.
In 1878 Father Hargather was ordained to the priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church, his course of training for holy orders having been long and all embrac-
ing. He was then a young man of twenty-three years. In 1903, on the cele- bration of his Silver Jubilee, as a gift from the congregation of St. Michael's Church, Rochester, of which he had then been pastor seven years, a chime of thir- teen beiis was installed in the tower of St. Michael's, along with a beautiful tower clock and in the church a new pipe organ was placed. Thirteen years have since elapsed and the bells toll out their message of invitation, the clock marks the hours as they pass, and the organ in solemn measure accompanies the sacred offices which Father Har- gather yet performs as pastor, after a continuous service of twenty years. They have been years of intellectual growth and religious fervor for the devoted priest and of quickened spiritual life and ma- terial prosperity for the parish.
Father Hargather is the second perma- nent pastor of St. Michael's, and it was his third charge. He had eight years pre- vious experience in charge of the churches at Greece and Coldwater, and there dis- played the sterling, priestly qualities and the business ability which led to his ap- pointment as pastor of St. Michael's to succeed Rev. Fridolin Pascalar, the first permanent pastor, whose ill health caused him to retire. He had also organized and placed upon a sound basis a new parish, St. Francis Xavier, and there ministered eight years. For twenty years he has guided the destinies of St. Michael's, and under his care every department of church and parish work has prospered. Success- ful in carrying through every plan and improvement undertaken, one in particu- lar stands as a worthy monument to his zeal, St. Michael's school, one of the largest and most modernly equipped buildings in the city. He is universally respected regardless of nationality or creed, while his own people are devotedly
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attached to him. He is a native son of Rochester, and it is a matter of special pleasure to him that it is his lot to min- ister among those who have been his friends from youth.
Mathias J. Hargather was born in Rochester, New York, in 1855, and ob- tained his early education in the parochial school of SS. Peter and Paul. He next attended the Academy of the Christian Brothers, and after graduation began his studies in divinity as from boyhood he had been destined for the priesthood. His early theological studies were pursued at St. Francis de Sales College, Milwaukee, and continued as St. Joseph's Provincial Seminary, Troy, New York. After com- pleting his studies he returned to Roches- ter, and as a deacon accompanied Rt. Rev. B. J. McQuaid on his first canonical visitation of his diocese. During this period he taught plain chant Latin and German at St. Andrew's Seminary. He was ordained a priest on St. Michael's Day, September 29, 1878, and performed his first office as assistant priest at St. Patrick's Cathedral, and as chaplain to St. Mary's Hospital and St. Mary's Or- phan Boys' Asylum, also attending a mis- sion at Naples, Ontario county, New York. Early in the year 1880 he was placed over the churches at Greece and Coldwater, Monroe county, New York, and there remained eight years. He there performed a vast amount of labor and was particularly efficient in the upbuilding of good parochial schools, teaching for two years in the little school at Greece.
In 1888 a new German parish was pro- jected in the northeastern part of Rochester, the choice of the Rt. Rev. Bishop for organizer falling to Father Hargather. He was sent out to what was then known as the Wakelee Farm and during the next eight years organized St. Francis Xavier's parish, built a church,
school and hall and performed the service which marks St. Francis Xavier's parish as a monument to his zeal, energy and devotion. In April, 1896, he succeeded Rev. Fridolin Pascalar as pastor of St. Michael's, in Rochester, a parish which he has since continuously served with abund- ant results. One of the interesting events in his history as a priest was the cele- bration of his Silver Jubilee, St. Michael's and his brethren of the clergy uniting in making it an occasion of great pleasure to Father Hargather, and of permanent benefit to the church. The celebration terminated on the evening of September 29, 1903, where in beautiful St. Michael's Church Bishop McQuaid preached an elo- quent sermon, and Father Hargather cele- brated solemn high mass, attended by one hundred priests of the diocese and a large congregation drawn from all parts of the city. Soon the Silver Jubilee of his pas- torate of St. Michael's will be further cause for the rejoicing of his parish and great as will be the splendor and joy of that occasion it will but faintly reflect the love, reverence and admiration the parish has for the good priest who has so faith- fully served them.
TAYLOR, Zachary P., Lawyer, Educator, Publisher.
A man of broad culture Mr. Taylor's capacity has been fully tested in many fields, and in his long and active life has won success because he merited it, not through fortuitous circumstance. By na- ture he is genial and social, never too en- grossed in his own work not to be inter- ested in the affairs and welfare of others. Those who know him prize his friendship and appreciate his sound judgment. He has held to high ideals in his profession, working ever along lines of progress, recognizing the fact that advancement in
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any field depends upon the ability to do things well and as the years have pro- gressed he has won substantial success. As an author and publisher he has en- riched the literature of his profession with many volumes of citations and reports, while as a lawyer he commands the re- spect and esteem of not only his own bar but of the thousands who know him through his law publications. As an edu- cator he held high rank, was principal of the West and Central High Schools of Cleveland, from 1876 to 1883, and as prin- cipal of the Rochester Free Academy he won reputation as one of the leading men of that profession in his native State. Since 1886, when he resigned that prin- cipalship, he has devoted himself wholly to the law as practitioner, author and publisher. Now in the evening of life he is actively "in the harness" and bears his years most wonderfully. Length of years is his heritage, however, both his father and mother being in the eighties and his grandmother in her ninties ere they laid down the burdens and joys of life. They were thrifty, sub- stantial farming people, the family home being at Clarendon, Oneida county, New York, about two and a half miles from Holley.
Zachary P. Taylor was born at Rome, Oneida county, New York, February 28, 1846. At the age of four years he was taken by his parents to their new home, a farm at Clarendon. There he attended the public schools and was his father's assistant until attaining the age of sixteen years. He then renounced farm life and in pursuance of plans for an education en- tered Brockport Collegiate Institute, later known as Brockport State Normal School, then under the principalship of Malcolm J. McVicar. The young man applied him- self diligently to completing two years' work in Latin in one year in addition to
his regular course in Greek and other studies. After leaving the institute he taught four months at Sweden Center, near Brockport, then for three months served as teacher in the high school at Fort Wayne, Indiana.
In the fall of 1865 he entered the Uni- versity of Rochester and during two years of his university course taught Latin and Greek in the Rochester Collegiate Insti- tute. He was graduated from the uni- versity with the degree of A. B., class of 1869, and three years later received from his alma mater the degree of A. M. After graduation he spent two and a half years as vice-principal of the Central High School, Buffalo, New York, teaching the classics in addition to his duties as vice- principal. The following one and a half years were spent at Central High School, Cleveland, Ohio, in a similar position, resigning to complete his law studies begun in Buffalo under the direction of Wadsworth White, of the Erie county bar. He took a course at the law school after resigning his position in Cleveland, and after passing the required examina- tion was admitted to the bar in 1872.
Mr. Taylor did not begin practice in his native State but at the Indiana bar, locat- ing at Fort Wayne where he was associ- ated with Judge Joseph Breckenridge, counsel for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in Indiana. He remained in Fort Wayne two years, engaged in suc- cessful practice, but his health failing he returned to Cleveland, Ohio, and accepted the offer of his old position in the Cleve- land High School. Until 1883 he was connected with the Cleveland schools, be- coming well-known and highly regarded as one of the ablest educators of the State. While on a visit to Rochester, New York, in July, 1883, he yielded to the importunities of the trustees of the Rochester Free Academy to accept the
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