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 52
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has written many other articles and de- livered scores of addresses on canal and waterway matters in New York; and has in preparation a work on "Waterway Ac- tivities in the State of New York" that is designed to be the most comprehensive work on the subject ever produced. For five years or more Senator Hill has been president of the New York State Water- ways Association, a voluntary organiza- tion, comprising engineers and other sci- entists and representatives from various commercial and business bodies, which meets annually for the consideration of water and waterway matters of general public interest, including the seaboard, as well as the artificial courses and inland lakes and rivers. Next year, the associ- ation purposes to celebrate at the con- vention in Rome the one hundredth anni- versary of the beginning of canal con- struction in the State, for it was there that ground was broken for the origina! Erie Canal, July 4, 1817.
He made a tour of inspection of the waterways of western Europe in 1905 and has a large collection of the works of writers, publicists and governmental de- partments on this subject. Senator Hill is a director of the National River and Harbor Congress.
As secretary of the New York State Champlain Commission, he gave much time to formulating plans for the celebra- tion, preparing the program, supervising most of the addresses and writing the his- tory associated with the event. The rec- ords alone required research into archives to put into correct form hundreds of In- dian, French and other names, places and occurrences, which have been too care- lessly mentioned by many historians. The Senator's researches render the narra- tive, comprising two large volumes, en- tirely trustworthy. In recognition of this the President of France and the Council, in 1913, conferred knighthood
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upon him in the National Legion of Hon- or. He was one of the contributors to the Bibliophile edition of the "Odes and Episodes of Horace," of whose works he has many valuable volumes. He has written many historical addresses, some of which have appeared in the publica- tions of the Buffalo Historical Society, of which he has been president since 1910. He is a citizen of high ideals, as evidenced by his varied activities and productions, all bearing the finish of rare culture.
Senator Hill is a member of the First Congregational Church of Buffalo; of the American Bar, the Bibliophile So- ciety of Boston, several historical asso- ciations; a member of the Knights of Pythias, and one of the tribunes of its Grand Lodge; and a member of the Lake Erie Commandery, Knights Templar (York Rite) and of the Consistory of the Scottish Rite, thirty-second degree of the Masonic order, and of the Phi Beta Kap- pa Society of Buffalo. His clubs are the University of Buffalo, the Hobby and the Franco-American of New York.
KINNE, E. Olin, M. D., Y Physician, Hospital Official.
Dr. E. Olin Kinne, highly regarded phy- sician of Syracuse, New York, in which city he has practiced for considerably more than a generation, was born in De Witt, Onondaga county, New York, July 25, 1852, son of Elbridge and Sophronia (Young) Kinne. Elbridge Kinne was one of the pioneers of Onondaga county, New York, and his ancestors were among the earliest of colonial families of the Massa- chusetts Colony of the seventeenth cen- tury. The Kinne family history is part of the history of this nation, in its early Colonial days of development.
The progenitor of the Kinne-Kinney family in America was Henry Kinne, son
of Sir Thomas Kinne (or Kine), an Eng- lish knight of royal favor, and possessed of considerable landed estate in Lan- cashire, England. He is reputed to have owned the land whereon now stands the important manufacturing city of Man- chester, England. Appleton's "Cyclopedia of American Biography" records that a Sir Thomas Kinney came to this country "before the Revolution" to explore the mineral resources of New Jersey, but this probably has reference to a generation of the titled house subsequent to that headed by Sir Thomas Kinne (or Kine), father of Henry Kinne, the original American an- cestor of the family.
Henry Kinne, who probably was a younger son of Sir Thomas Kinne (Kine), was born in England in 1624, and no further information as to his movements appears in the annals of the family until the recording of his emigration from Hol- land to America in 1651, or earlier. Why he should have emigrated from England to Holland, or when, does not appear, though it is feasible to suppose that it had some connection with governmental pressure, because of his religious convic- tions. That he was an adherent of the Independent Church of England, which was actively opposed to the Romanizing of the established Church of England, is somewhat substantiated by his ultimate emigration to America and to the Massa- chusetts Colony, which was composed al- most exclusively of members of that church. However, State chronicles record that "Henry Kinne served in King Philip's war, and was a prosperous farmer, active in town and church affairs." He settled at Salem, Massachusetts, with his wife, Anna, and in that settlement their eight children were born, the date of birth of their first-born being shown in the rec- ords as January, 1651, so that apparently Henry Kinne's landing in America was
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earlier than 1651, unless his marriage occurred in Holland before his emigra- tion.
The Kinne family has, in the many gen- erations from that of Henry Kinne, the progenitor, to the present, spread to al- most all parts of the United States, and its many members, during the various na- tional periods of unrest experienced in the centuries of evolution, have creditably shown their national spirit. Many have been soldiers of distinction ; many have been of political prominence; some have gained eminence in the church, while others have acquired influence in the vari- cus other civil walks of life. Bishop Aaron Kinne, a clergyman of much emi- nence, born at Norwich, Connecticut, Sep- tember 24, 1744, graduate of Yale Univer- sity, 1765, had an unusually diversified life. In the early years following his ordi- nation, he was a missionary to the Oneida Indians, a particularly hazardous labor. In 1769 he was elected bishop at Groton, Connecticut, where he remained until 1798, in this period passing through many ex- citing episodes, one at Fort Griswold, where he was chaplain to the American forces during the investment of the for- tress by British and Indians in 1781, and was present at the massacre of September 6, 1781, when Colonel Ledyard was killed, and the fort taken by the British and In- dians, led by Benedict Arnold. Especially is Bishop Aaron Kinne famed for his liter- ary productions, and theological writings, among his published works being: "The Sonship of Christ;" "A Display of Scrip- ture Prophecies" (1813) ; "Explanation of the Types, Prophecies, Revelation, Etc." (1814), and an "Essay on the New Heaven and Earth" (1821).
Then, the Kinne-Kinney family in- cludes the late William B. Kinney, a journalist of note, who in 1851 was ap- pointed United States Minister to Sar- dinia, and who was a friend of Kossuth,
the eminent Hungarian exile. Another Kinne of note was Justice La Vega George Kinne, candidate for Governor of the State of Iowa during the administra- tion of President Garfield, and later ap- pointed Chief Justice of Iowa.
And, Cyrus Kinne, great-grandfather of Dr. E. Olin Kinne, of Syracuse, New York, who served with the American army throughout the Revolutionary War, so that, all in all, the Kinne family has played no unimportant part in the making of American history.
Dr. E. Olin Kinne passed his early years of elementary education in the dis- trict school of his native place, De Witt, Onondaga county, New York, and later attended the Syracuse public schools, re- ceiving also private tuition, preparatory to his entrance into Syracuse University, whereat he commenced advanced aca- demic studies in 1872. Four years later he graduated from the unversity, gaining the distinctive degree of Bachelor of Phi- losophy. Having determined the direc- tion of his future activity, and being de- sirous of acquiring an expert knowledge of the science of medicine without loss of time, E. Olin Kinne proceeded to the Uni- versity of Michigan very shortly after having obtained his degree at Syracuse in 1876, and there devoted his thoughts and time exclusively to professional studies, successfully graduating in 1878, and be- coming thereby the possessor of the uni- versity's degree of Doctor of Medicine, which entitled him to practice the profes- sion at his pleasure thereafter.
Returning to Syracuse, New York, Dr. Kinne determined to obtain his final aca- demic degree, and accordingly reëntered Syracuse University, for a post-graduate course, and the following year (1879) gained his Mastership of Philosophy degree. Meanwhile, he had undertaken additional post-graduate medical study and research, and after having received his final degree
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at Syracuse, was anxious to settle into ac- tive general practice of his profession, with which object he, in 1879, traveled ex- tensively in the Southern States. Not finding a favorable location in the South, Dr. Kinne returned to Syracuse, and hav- ing, at that time, an inclination to make himself especially proficient in one line of medical science before entering upon the ties and varied duties of a general prac- titioner, he began a special research into the causes and treatment of diseases of the eye and ear, which intricate studies occupied his whole time for two years. Then he went into the State of New Jer- sey, and for about a year practiced at Paterson, returning to Syracuse in May, 1882, and immediately opened an office in Syracuse for general homoeopathic prac- tice, which he has continued with ever-in- ceasing honor and prestige until the present (1916). After a brief period, dur- ing which he clearly demonstrated his skill as a diagnostician of the perplexing physical ailments of the human frame, and an expert familiarity with the anti- dotes to the diseases of man, Dr. Kinne's practice steadily developed to its present wide and lucrative proportions.
He has likewise in his practice and study of medicine acquired the esteem of his confreres in medicine, and has been brought into affiliation with many profes- sional associations, the main objects of which organizations are the interchange of professional experiences and observa- tions, for the furtherance of the under- standing of medical science, and the amelioration of suffering. Dr. Kinne holds membership in the American In- stitute of Homoeopathy; the New York State Homoeopathic Medical Society ; the Onondaga County Homoeopathic Medical Society ; and the Medical-Chirurgical So- ciety of Central New York. His standing among homoeopathic physicians is obvi- ous in the fact of his having been elected
to the presidency of the American Asso- ciation of Medical Examiners, and, locally, by his official connection as consulting physician with the Homoeopathic Hos- pital, Syracuse, New York.
Dr. Kinne's fraternal inclinations have found expression in his association with many fraternal and social orders; he wears the Phi Beta Kappa key ; has many chairs, titles, and other fraternal distinc- tions to his credit; and bearing in mind the diversified and multitudinous profes- sional claims made upon the time of a successful general medical practitioner, Dr. Kinne has well observed his fraternal obligations. He has never, however, in- terested himself actively in political work.
On November 1, 1881, Dr. Kinne mar- ried Ella M. Potter, of Utica, New York. Six children were born to the marriage, but unfortunately three died in infancy. The three surviving children are: Marion E., born August 23, 1882; Elbridge P .. born August 6, 1886; and Carleton H., born April 20, 1888. The daughter has manifested high intellectual powers; was a graduate of Syracuse University, 1905, afterwards studying two years in France and Germany ; and she is now supervising instructor of German in the schools of Elizabeth, New Jersey.
As a scion of an old Colonial house, Dr. Kinne naturally holds highly in esteem his privilege and admittance to member- ship in the "Sons of the American Revo- lution," his right to inclusion coming from ancestors of at least three different lines- from Cyrus Kinne, John Young and Jere- miah Jackson, all of whom served their country loyally in the struggle for inde- pendence.
CLEMENT, Frank H., Man of Affairs.
It was not until he was twenty-eight that Frank H. Clement, of Rochester, per-
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manently established in the business with which he has been connected for forty years, a business now an important branch of the American Wood Working Machinery Company, Mr. Clement its chief of construction. But the year fol- lowing the completion of his studies until the beginning of his real life work were well spent and he acquired a broad experi- ence in lines which later were to intimate- ly affect the business he founded and de- veloped to a point which attracted the covetous attention of a large company. Fifty-three years ago, 1863, Mr. Clement came to Rochester inexperienced in prac- tical business, but a young man of educa- tion with a talent for draughting and en- gineering. That talent was developed in the employ of others but circumstances finally brought about a complete change in his life and an humble start was made in 1871 by the establishment of a small jobbing machine shop in Rochester. From that year his business life has flowed in an unbroken current within the confines of that same business, but so broadened and expanded that it is hard to believe it sprang from so small a beginning. Mr. Clement did not inherit, he did not suc- ceed another, but he built from the very foundation, and is one of the men of to- day who can rejoice in the fact that he has been a strong factor in the upbuilding of a prosperous city.
The Clements of this branch date in Monroe county, New York, from 1824. when Harris Clement came, but they trace lineal descent to James Clement, a Scotch-Irishman, who came to New Eng- land in 1730 and settled at Lancaster, Massachusetts. From James Clement sprang Harris Clement, son of John and Polly (Richardson) Clement, of Peter- sham, Massachusetts. Harris Clement was born at Petersham in 1801, died in Rochester, New York, May 13, 1873. On both the paternal and the maternal sides
he was descended from Revolutionary sires, the maternal side bearing the family name Harris. In 1824 he settled in Clark- son, Monroe county, New York, where he was a merchant for several years. He then moved to Parma, New York, and in 1864 to Rochester where he served for three years as deputy collector of the in- ternal revenue. He was a leader of the Republican party in the county, and while living at Parma served several times as supervisor, elected without opposition. He married Clarissa Tilden Pond, of Knoxboro, Oneida county, New York, who survived him exactly six years, pass- ing away on the anniversary of her hus- band's death in 1879. They were the parents of two sons, Theodore T., and Frank H., to whom this review is dedi- cated.
Frank H. Clement was born in Parma, Monroe county, New York, June 26, 1843, his birthplace the homestead farm on the Ridge road. There his youth was passed and the foundation of his character laid under the watchful care of his honored father and mother. He attended the dis- trict public school until its advantages were exhausted, then continued his studies at Parma Academy and Rochester Colle- giate Institute. He taught in the district schools for two years after completing his own school years, but kept up his own studies, being especially interested in me- chanical drawing and engineering.
In 1863 he permanently became a resi- dent of Rochester and began his business career with the steam engine building firm of D. A. Woodbury & Co. He re- mained with that company five years, ac- quiring expert knowledge of machine building and became foreman of a depart- ment. He also was a capable, talented draughtsman and possessed a valuable stock of information concerning ma- chinery, its designing and its construc- tion. In 1868 he accepted appointment as
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inspector of steam boilers for the twenty- eighth New York district, but only re- tained that post one year, resigning to become a partner of W. S. Loughbor- ough, and until Mr. Clement's health failed they conducted business as patent solicitors.
His failure of health brought a com- plete change in the plan and he decided he must abjure office work and lead a more active life. In 1871 he formed a partnership with Thomas L. Turner and as Turner & Clement they opened a small shop for machine jobbing of every kind, no job too small to be considered worthy of their attention. Their patronage grew and for six years the partnership con- tined. Mr. Turner then wishing to retire Mr. Clement purchased his interest and continued alone. The little shop became unable to meet the demands made upon it and as quarters were enlarged new lines of business were introduced. The manu- facture of wood working machines was added and within a few years various ma- chines in that line were being made, the demand coming from manufacturers of furniture, from pattern makers, carriage builders, car builders and other concerns using wood working machinery. In 1890 the brick plant on Lyell avenue adjoining the Erie canal was erected and the line of manufacture greatly broadened. Up to this time Mr. Clement had been sole owner and proprietor of the business, but in 1891 the responsibility became too great for one man and additional help was secured through incorporation of the Frank H. Clement Company, Mr. Clement president and manager.
Until the foundation of the corporation in 1891 Mr. Clement had been the me- chanical head of the business as well as its executive manager, the machines being built from his designs, some of them from his own patents, and had in addition to supervising their construction personally
attended to office details and correspond- ence. The amount of work he was en- abled to accomplish tells the story of his energy and capacity better than words. The company's catalogue of 1892-93 shows that he was manufacturing seventy different wood working machines that were being shipped to all parts of the United States and to foreign lands. With incorporation relief came and the various departments were placed under the care of the proper officials, Mr. Clement, however, remaining executive head and manager of the plant, the largest of its kind in the State. The Frank H. Clement Company continued a most successful career until 1897 when it was absorbed by the Ameri- can Wood Working Machinery Company, and is operated as a branch of that com- pany, Mr. Clement still a potent factor in the management and success, ranking as chief of construction.
He is a lifelong member of the Presby- terian church, his membership for twenty- two years having been with the Brick Church congregation. In 1884 he became one of the founders of the North Church congregation, his name appearing on the list of charter members. He is a ruling elder and from its foundation has been a strong pillar of support. In political faith he is a Republican. A man of warm heart and generous impulse, he has many friends, some of them dating back to his early Rochester days, now half a century past. He has borne his full share of the "bur- dens and heat of the day" and now in the evening of life the lengthening shadows warn him that "old age is an incurable disease." But the years have stolen no fire from his mind and but little vigor from the body, and "age a mature mellow- ness doth set upon the green promise of youthful heat."
Mr. Clement married (first) in 1866, Harriet E. Fielden, daughter of Armi- stead Fielden, of Brockport, New York.
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Mrs. Clement died in 1880; two of her children are yet living and residing in Rochester: Benjamin Harris Clement and Mary Genevieve Clement, residing at home. Mr. Clement married (second) in 1882, Lovisa S. Knapp, of Farmington, Pennsylvania, who prior to her marriage was a teacher in Rochester schools. The family home is No. 46 Lorimer street, Rochester.
BLOSS, William C. and Joseph B., Active Factors in Public Affairs.
Originally from Massachusetts the Bloss family located in Monroe county, New York, in 1816, the early settlers be- ing Joseph Bloss, a Revolutionary soldier, and his son, William Clough Bloss, grand- father and father of Joseph Blossom Bloss, of Rochester. The old brick tavern on East avenue, Brighton, near the railroad, still standing, was built by William Clough Bloss, who conducted it as a hotel for several years. With the onrush of the first temperance wave which swept over the United States he experienced a change of heart, emptied his stock of liquor into the canal, sold his hotel and moved to Rochester, where his son, Joseph Blossom Bloss, was born. These three generations have left a deep impress upon their times, and the life work of the last named has equalled in importance that of his honored father, William Clough Bloss, than which no higher compliment can be paid him.
Joseph Bloss, the grandfather, marched to the war with his mother's blessings and her injunction ringing in his ears: "Joe, don't get shot in the back." He was a brave soldier and to him was entrusted the duty of carrying to General Wash- ington the news of Major Andre's capture. He came to Monroe county, New York, with his family in 1816 and died in Brigh- ton, near Rochester, in 1838.
His son, William Clough Bloss, was born in West Stockbridge, Massachu- setts, January 19, 1795. After locating in Rochester he became an ardent temper- ance advocate, represented a Rochester district in the New York Legislature and was one of the strong anti-slavery men of his day. He served during the sessions of 1845-46-47, and while a legislator offered the following amendment to the State Constitution : "Resolved, That no other proof, test or qualification shall be required of or from persons of color in relation to their exercise of the right of suffrage, than is in this constitution re- quired of or from white persons." This resolution was introduced in 1845, and was the first effort in New York State to award the colored man the ballot.
In 1838, he published the second anti- slavery paper printed in the United States, "The Rights of Man," and in the presi- dential campaign of 1856 published and circulated a map illustrating the aggres- sions of the slave power, the Southern States being shown in black and the Northern States in white. The map was widely circulated and when found in Southern mails was ordered destroyed. A copy of this valuable historical docu- ment is on file at the Rochester Historical Society, presented by Porter Farley, and a copy is owned by Harvard College do- nated by Charles Sumner, the statesman.
In addition to his valuable work for the cause of abolition, William Clough Bloss gave himself with equal enthusiasm to the cause of temperance. His home on East avenue was a hospital for the re- pentant and struggling inebriate and there the helping hand was extended in true friendship, not alone to the slave of drink but to the black slave fleeing to a haven of refuge in Canada, for the Bloss home was a station on the "underground rail- road." His deeds are recorded in bronze
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upon a monument erected to his memory in Brighton Cemetery. His death oc- curred April 18, 1863.
Mr. Bloss married Mary Blossom, a daughter of Captain Ezra Blossom, an officer of the Revolution and an early set- tler of Monroe county, New York. Cap- tain Blossom at one time owned a tract of land extending from the centre of the village of Brighton to South Goodman street in the city of Rochester.
Joseph Blossom Bloss, son of William Clough and Mary (Blossom) Bloss, was born in Rochester, New York, November 22, 1839. He obtained his early education in public school No. 14, Rochester, and Clover Street Seminary, Brighton, begin- ning his business life as errand boy in a grocery store. From that time until his retirement in 1896, Mr. Bloss was actively and successfully engaged in commercial life. He became a member of the firm of G. C. Buell & Company in 1868, a busi- ness established in 1844, and for twenty- eight years, until his retirement, was prominently connected therewith and ac- tive in its management. He was one of the contributing factors to the commer- cial greatness of his native city, and in public affairs has held with the ad- vanced thinkers on questions of political economy.
He followed in the footsteps of his hon- ored father and affiliated with the Repub- lican party, giving close and earnest study to the questions and issues of the day. His investigations have led him to the adoption of some of the tenets of Social- ism and few men have so intimate a knowledge of the great sociological, eco- nomic and political questions as he. His views have been arrived at through deep and careful study and he is ardent in their support. In 1902 he came promi- nently into the public eye by his resist- ance of an unequal and exorbitant per- sonal tax imposed by the city of Roches-
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