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 53
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ter upon mortgages. This tax fell hardest upon persons of small means, and feeling keenly its injustice Mr. Bloss felt it his duty to resist payment, his case being made a test case of the legality of the tax. It was carried to the Supreme Court of the State of New York and a decision rendered in favor of Mr. Bloss. The Leg- islature of the State overthrew the de- cision of the court by the passage of an act, legalizing the tax, but leaving the tax to be settled by a board of apportion- ment, which was given power to remit all or any part of the taxes imposed. Dur- ing this long contest, Mr. Bloss refused to obey the orders of the court, or to answer any questions which might com- mit him to the payment of a personal tax. Although such action rendered him liable to fine and imprisonment, he maintained his position in spite of the legal penalties which, however, were never enforced. His action in this matter was rendered as a public service and by his friends was regarded as a valuable, public-spirited action. Mr. Bloss, however, is an ardent advocate of a national income tax and was on the lecture platform advocating that form of raising revenue even before William Jennings Bryan made it a tenet of his faith. He was the first man in this country to advocate an income tax which should bear equally upon every man and woman of legal age in exact proportion to their ability. In addition to his lectures on the subject, he has contributed many articles to the Metropolitan press favor- ing such a tax, also the local and western newspapers and to the foreign press.
Mr. Bloss was one of the originators of the Labor Lyceum which inaugurated the series of Sunday afternoon debates in the Common Council chamber on subjects of public policy, a series of debates which awakened a deep interest. He was one of the founders and first member of the Political Equality Club, and by voice and
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pen and by personal interest has aided the cause of Equal Suffrage for many years. He was a close friend of Susan B. An- thony, the great suffragist, and her trusted adviser. When the famous Eng- lish militant suffragist leader, Emeline Pankhurst, came to the United States, Mr. Bloss arranged for her coming to Rochester at his own expense, and later gave Rochester an opportunity to see her. And later, he also brought to this city E. Syivia Pankhurst, her daughter, this be- ing their first visit to the United States. In the battle for equal suffrage in Eng- land as well as in the United States he has taken an active part, aiding by cor- respondence and other valuable ways. For eighteen years he has served as vice- president of the Rochester Humane So- ciety, has frequently addressed State and National conventions of the society, and has been unintermittent in his efforts to promote and increase the usefulness of this society for the prevention of all forms of cruelty.
He is a member and ex-president of the William Clough Bloss Society, composed of one hundred male and female descend- ants of early settlers of Brighton, Mon- roe county, New York. The society holds an annual meeting and banquet, the date selected being January 19, the birthday of William Clough Bloss, after whom the society is named.
The finer talent possessed by Mr. Bloss shows through every line of the poem of which he is the author, "The Morning Breath of June," a beautifully illustrated poem, dedicated to the New York City Fresh Air Fund, published by A. New- man Lockwood in 1884. Since 1863 he has been a member of the First Presby- terian Church of Rochester and has ever exerted his influence on the side of re- form, progress and moral uplift. To his study of men and economics, Mr. Bloss adds the culture of travel and judicious
reading. In 1896 he made a tour of the world, returning with enlarged visions and broadened outlook. He is held in high esteem as a business man, while his genial personality and cultured mind have gained him the friendship of a wide circle of warm friends.
Mr. Bloss married (first) in 1888, Mary Glen Hooker, who died in 1890, daughter of Henry E. Hooker, leaving an infant daughter, Mary Glen Bloss, now Mrs. Roger S. Vail, Highland Park, Illinois. He married (second) Ella Welch, of Port Hope, Canada. They are the parents of three sons, William C., Joseph B. (2), and Henry W. The family home is at No. 334 Oxford street.
A sister of Hon. William Clough Bloss, Celestia Angenette Bloss, was the author of a popular school text book, largely used in the schools throughout the United States, published in 1845. She was also the principal of Clover Street Seminary, a famous co-educational school of her day.
BAKER, Hugh Potter, L
Master of Forestry, Doctor of Economics.
As dean of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University, Dr. Baker has reached eminent position in a profession to which too little importance has been attached in this country. Through the work of such men and the increasing necessity for conserving our national re- sources it is at last receiving at least part of the consideration its importance de- mands. Dr. Baker prepared thoroughly for the practice of forestry in college, at home and abroad, receiving his degree of Master of Forestry from Yale University and Doctor of Economics from the Uni- versity of Munich, Germany. For ten years he was continuously in the service of the National Division of Forestry, which later became the United States Forest Service, his examinations and in-
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vestigations covering the public lands in different sections of the West. Since 1912 he has been dean of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse Univer- sity and is an authority deferred to by forestry experts. He is a young man emi- nent in a youthful profession, is thor- oughly devoted to his chosen work and filled with zeal and enthusiasm commen- surate with the knowledge gained through careful study and long experience in the field. He is not a theorist, but is intense- ly practical, advances no propositions not established on proven demonstrated fact.
Dr. Baker is a descendant of Alexander Baker, who arrived from England at Bos- ton on the ship "Elizabeth and Ann" in 1635 with his wife Elizabeth. They lived for a time at Gloucester, Massachusetts, but later moved to Boston, where he died in 1688. Alexander and Elizabeth Baker married in 1632 and were the parents of eleven children, the line of descent being through Joshua, the sixth child.
Joshua Baker was born April 30, 1642, died December 27, 1717. About 1670 he moved to New London, Connecticut, and about 1702 to Woodbury, Connecticut. He married, September 13, 1674, Hannah, widow of Tristam Minter, who bore him nine children, of whom John was the fourth.
John Baker was born December 24, 1681, and died in 1750. He was a resident of Woodbury. The Christian name of his first wife was Comfort, his second Sarah, their surnames unknown. His daughter Mary married, March II, 1735, Joseph Allen, and was the mother of Colonel Ethan Allen of Revolutionary fame. The line of descent continues through his fourth son, Remember.
Remember Baker was born February 22, 17II, at Woodbury, Connecticut, died June 1, 1737. He moved to Arlington, Vermont, where he died aged twenty-six years. His wife, Tamar (Warner) Baker,
was an aunt of Colonel Seth Warner, one of the "Green Mountain Boys" of the Revolution, who was so closely associ- ated with other Warners and the Allens in Vermont early history. He left an only son, Remember (2), who was born shortly after his father's death.
Captain Remember (2) Baker was born in Woodbury, Connecticut, in June, 1737, and was killed by the Indians in August, 1775. As a mere boy he signalized him- self in the Colonial wars, enlisted first on September II, 1755, and later in the Revo- lutionary War commanded the little band of Green Mountain Volunteers, which captured Crown Point from the British on May 12, 1775, two days after the cap- ture of Ticonderoga by Colonel Allen, and who finally met his death at the early age of thirty-eight in a skirmish with the Indians on Lake Champlain a few months later in the same year. At the age of six- teen he enlisted as a private in a company of provincial troops designed for the in- vasion of Canada. In 1757 his company was stationed at Fort William Henry, at the head of Lake George, and during that year participated in the battles which re- sulted disastrously to the provincial troops. In 1758 he enlisted a second time in the expedition of General Abercrombie in his attempted invasion of Canada, and was a non-commissioned officer in Colo- nel Wooster's regiment, from Connecti- cut. The command consisting of 9,000 provincials and 7,000 British regulars, who moved in four divisions toward Ti- conderoga. In front of the right center division, a little band of one hundred men under command of Major Putnam, ac- companied by Lord Howe, advanced to reconnoiter the movements of the enemy. Young Baker was one of this party. They were surprised by a party of five hundred of the enemy. At the first exchange of shots, Lord Howe fell mortally wounded, Putnam and Baker and their brave men,
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with the fury of tigers, cut their way through the French ranks, charged them in the rear, and being reinforced killed three hundred of the enemy and captured one hundred and forty-three prisoners. "The intrepid courage of young Baker on this occasion gained him much applause in the army," but the renewed display of his bravery two days later, during the desperate fighting in the general engage- ment which followed, gained him no less honor. He received honorable mention in the report of the general command- ing. Remember Baker remained in the service until the close of the year 1759. The stirring events of this campaign gave him some well-earned experience of soldier life and that character for heroic bravery which he never after belied. At the close of 1759, he left the army and set- led in Arlington, Vermont, Ethan and Ira Allen, who had previously settled there, were his cousins, their mother being a sister of young Baker's father. He was for a number of years associated with Ethan Allen in the long and bitter con- troversy over the title of the settlers of Vermont to their land, held under a grant from New Hampshire, a company of New York speculators claiming the lands under a grant procured by fraud from the King of England. The settlers organized to defend their homes. Ethan Allen was, by common consent, chosen colonel and Remember Baker was elected captain of one of the five companies. He rendered valuable service to the settlers and won their respect and admiration for his cool- ness, bravery and good judgment. A re- ward was offered by the Governor of New York for the capture of Ethan Allen, Re- member Baker and two others, designated "ring leaders." Baker was on March 22, 1772, captured by a band of New Yorkers, very cruelly wounded, and was being hurried away to Albany by his captors,
when Ethan Allen and a company of set- lers pursued them on horseback, released Baker and returned him to his family. Ethan Allen, in a letter written to the New York authorities, gave a most graphic account of this transaction (Vol- ume I, "Vermont Historical Gazetteer," p. 124). The contest between the Ver- mont settlers and the New York claim- ants continued until it was suddenly arrested by the more absorbing events of the Revolution. Baker was one of the first, on the opening of that great contest, to enter the lists of the patriots. Two days before the capture of Ticonderoga, a mes- senger arrived at Colchester, where Baker had made his home, from Ethan Allen, with orders to Baker to come with his company and cooperate with Captain Warner in the capture of Crown Point. Baker at once called his company to- gether, went up the lake in boats, and on his way met and captured two boats that were escaping from Crown Point. He hastened on and he and Warner appeared before Crown Point at about the same time. The garrison, having but few men, surrendered. This was May 12, 1775, two days after Ticonderoga was captured by Ethan Allen. But the tragic end of Baker's checkered life was now near at hand. He had accompanied Allen to St. Johns at the time he took possession of that place, but soon returned to Crown Point, where he remained in charge until the arrival of Colonel Hinman's regiment. General Montgomery assumed command of the garrison and Captain Baker was detailed by Montgomery, in August, 1775, with a party of men, to go down the lake and watch the movements of the enemy. When he arrived about four miles south of the Isle Aux Naix, it being in the night, he landed in a bay and ran his boat up a small creek to secrete it. Early in the morning he passed around with his
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men to a small point beyond his boat to reconnoiter. He sat down upon the point to sharpen his flint and just then he noticed that some Indians had gotten pos- session of his boat and were approaching the point where he lay, on their way north. He placed his men behind trees, with orders not to fire until he did, and as the Indians came near, he hailed them and ordered them to return the boat or he would fire upon them, but they re- fused. He then took to a tree, raised his musket, but the flint he had sharpened hitched onto the pan and his firelock missed. Instantly one of the savages fired upon him, the shot took effect in his head and he instantly expired. The Indians made their escape with the boat, and Baker's men retreated to Crown Point. After a short time the Indians re- turned, plundered the body, cut off Baker's head, raised it upon a pole and carried it in triumph to St. Johns, where the British officers, out of humanity, bought it from the savages and buried it, and also sent to the point and buried the body. Nor did the wily savage who shot Baker long survive his triumph, for in October following he too was killed by some American soldiers, and Baker's powderhorn, with his name engraved upon it, taken from him. The trophy was presented by Captain Hutchins, into whose possession it came, to Colonel Seth Warner, Baker's old companion-in- arms, to hand over to Baker's son, as a token of rememberance of his brave and esteemed father. His was the first death of an inhabitant of Colchester, and the first life sacrificed in the cause of the Revolution in the northern military de- partments. On July 9, 1909, a monument was dedicated to Captain Remember Baker and Colonel Seth Warner on Isle La Motte by the patriotic women of Ver- mont. The eventful life of Captain Baker
has been utilized by many writers of historic fiction, notably "The Green Mountain Boys," "The Green Mountain Heroes," and others of a similar char- acter. He married, April 3, 1760, Desire Hurlbert, daughter of Consider and Pa- tience (Hawley) Hurlbert. They were the parents of an only child, Ozi.
Ozi Baker, who died in 1794-95, was a civil engineer and a Revolutionary soldier. He enlisted, March 31, 1778; was ser- geant in Colonel Seth Warner's regiment in 1780; was with General Anthony Wayne on his western expedition against the Indians; was one of the engineers who supervised the erection of Fort Wayne; was at Niagara Falls a short time prior to his death which occurred while yet in the military service of his country. His exploits when a lad of twelve in the defense of his father against an armed band of New Yorkers who were seeking to kidnap him as previously nar- rated, and the prominent part he took in gathering the settlers for the rescue party have been made the principal incidents in a very entertaining historical novel, "With Ethan Allen at Ticonderoga," by W. Bert Foster, the name, however, changed and the incidents much garbled. Ozi Baker married (first) Lucy Hard, daughter of Captain James and Hester (Booth) Hard, her father reputed to have been a devoted loyalist, well know in the early history of Northern Vermont. He married (second) Hetty Darling. Their eldest son, Re- member Baker, served in the War of 1812 as a non-commissioned officer of cavalry, later settled in Genesee county, Western New York. The line of descent is through Luther Alexander, second son of Ozi Baker and his first wife, Lucy (Hard) Baker.
Luther Alexander Baker was born at St. Albans, Vermont, November 23, 1787, died October 12, 1863. He served as a
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soldier in the War of 1812, and in 1817 located with his brother Remember in the Genesee Valley of Western New York, then a wilderness. He married, February 6, 1817, Mercy Stannard, born at Georgia, Vermont, October 29, 1794, died June 14, 1856, daughter of Joseph Stannard, died August 30, 1826, a soldier of the Revolution, and his wife, Phoebe (Denison) Stannard, of Saybrook, Con- necticut, who married in 1754, died Octo- ber II, 1838, surviving her husband twelve years after a married life of seven- ty-two years. Luther A. and Mercy (Stannard) Baker were the parents of nine children, the youngest, Joseph Stan- nard Baker, the next in direct line of de- scent and father of Hugh Potter Baker.
Major Joseph Stannard Baker was born March 21, 1838, at Stafford, Genesee county, New York, died May 17, 1912, a resident of St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. He was educated at Oberlin College and Wisconsin University He was a veteran of the Civil War, serving the entire four years of that conflict, ranking as major and for two years in command of the First District of Columbia Cavalry, the colonel of the regiment (who was his cousin), General L. C. Baker, Chief of the United States Detective Service, be- ing on detached duty. For forty years after the war Major Baker was engaged in lumber and land business in Northern Wisconsin, a capable, successful man of affairs. Major Baker married (first) September 21, 1868, Alice Potter, born at Maple Ridge, New York, August 28, 1844, died November 26, 1883, daughter of James Addison Potter and his wife, Mary Denio (Aitkin) Potter, granddaughter of Ezra Stiles, president of Yale College. He married (second) Mary L. Brown. Major Baker by his first wife, Alice (Pot- ter) Baker, had six sons: I. Ray Stan- nard, a distinguished litterateur, editor
and author and for many years associate editor of the "American Magazine," now doing most of his writing under the name of David Grayson. 2. Charles Fuller, a famous scientist, entomologist and au- thor, now teaching in the University of the Philippines. 3. Harry Denio, a banker and business man of St. Croix Falls, Wis- consin. 4. Clarence Dwight, of Des Moines, Iowa, deceased. 5. Hugh Potter, of further mention. 6. James Fred, now director of Forest Investigation in the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse. Major Baker by his second wife, Mary L. (Brown) Baker, had four chil- dren: Winifred, Florence, Joseph Stan- nard and Oscar Roland.
Hugh Potter Baker was born at St. Croix Falls, Polk county, Wisconsin, Jan- uary 2, 1878, fifth son of Major Joseph Stannard Baker. After completing pub- lic school courses of study, he taught for two years in the North Woods of Wiscon- sin, then spent a year, 1894-95, in study at Macalester College, St. Paul, Min- nesota. He is a graduate of the Michigan Agricultural College, Lansing, Michigan, B. S., 1901 ; Yale University, M. F. (Mas- ter of Forestry), 1904; University of Munich, Germany, D. Oec. (Doctor of Economics), 1910.
In 1901, after completing his course at the Michigan Agricultural College, Mr. Baker entered the government service in the Division of Forestry of the Depart- ment of Agriculture, continuing in the service for ten years, examining public. lands and carrying forward investigative work for the service in Central Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, New Mexico, Wash- ington and Oregon. During that period he pursued courses of special study at Yale and Munich, and was Associate Professor of Forestry at Iowa State Col- lege, 1904-07, and Professor of Forestry, Pennsylvania State College, 1907-12.
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Since 1912 he has been dean of the New York State College of Forestry at Syra- cuse University.
Dr. Baker is a member of the Board of Geographic Names of the State of New New York; fellow of the American As- sociation for the Advancement of Sci- ence; fellow of the Royal Geographic Society of England; member of the American Geographical Society, Geo- graphical Society of Philadelphia, Geo- graphiscen Gesellschaft in Munich, Ger- many, American Civic Association, So- ciety of American Foresters, American Academy of Political and Social Science and the Archaeological Institute of Amer- ica. Through the patriotic service of his ancestors, Captain Remember Baker and others, he gained membership in the So- ciety of Colonial Wars and in the Sons of the American Revolution. His fraternity is Phi Delta Theta, and he is a thirty-sec- ond degree Mason of the Ancient Ac- cepted Scottish Rite. His clubs are the Yale and City of New York City, the Uni- versity, and City of Syracuse. He is a member of the Park Presbyterian Church of Syracuse, and in political faith a Re- publican by birth and inclination, but Progressive in attitude though not in as- sociation.
Dr. Baker married, December 27 1904, at Saginaw, Michigan, Fleta Paddock, born July 20, 1879, fourth child of Stephen Tappan and Aurelia (Butler) Paddock, of Three Oaks, Michigan. They are the parents of three children: Carolyn, born January 1, 1906; Stephen Paddock, August 22, 1908; Clarence Potter, September 15, 1910.
HUBBELL, Walter Sage, Lawyer, Man of Affairs.
V
Now in the full prime of his splendid powers, Mr. Hubbell from safe heights of professional eminence can review a life of
great activity at the bar, in business, pub- lic service and philanthropy, during which personal gain has ever been subordinated to private honor and the public good. With a full realization of the truth of Abraham Lincoln's classic utterance, "There is something better than making a living-making a life," he has labored energetically and forcefully, not only to win personal success, but to make his life a source of benefit to his fellow man and to assist others in making the most of their lives. Genial, courteous, always approachable, with an appreciation for the humor of life, he is popular in his wide circle of friends with whom his social nature impels the close association of fraternity and club. By his brethren of the bar he is held in high esteem, that feeling having been manifested in many ways, especially in their choice of him as president of the Rochester Bar Associ- ation. The laity have shown their appre- ciation by elevation to official position in institution and corporation, while the voters of the city have ratified general sentiment by his election to the State Legislature. An eloquent and entertain- ing public speaker, he has many calls upon his powers in that direction, while the depth of his logic, strength of his argument, clear, forcible and eloquent presentation holds the closest attention of judges and juries.
Paternally, Mr. Hubbell descends from an ancient Connecticut family, members of whom in army and legislative body aided in forming the colony, winning in- dependence and in the creation of the Commonwealth. His descent is also traced to Governor William Bradford and the coming of the "Mayflower." A branch of the Hubbells settled in Saratoga coun- ty, New York, in which county Charles Hubbell, father of Walter Sage Hubbell, was born at Ballston Springs. In later life he came to Rochester where he was
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a banker for several years, going hence to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was a bank cashier until ill health compelled him to resign. In Keokuk, Iowa, he regained his health, there remaining until 1871. The last thirty-two years of his life were spent in San Diego, California, where he died in 1903, aged eighty-five years. He married Anna M. Sage, who died while on a visit to Rochester in 1882, daughter of Orin Sage, a shoe manufacturer of Rochester. They were the parents of five children.
Walter Sage Hubbell was born in Cin- cinnati, Ohio, December 24, 1850. He spent the first sixteen years of his life in that city and in Keokuk, Iowa, then re- turned to Rochester, New York, ever afterward to be the scene of his life ac- tivities. He obtained his early and pre- paratory training in the public schools of Keokuk; returned to Rochester in 1866 and soon afterward entered the college department of the University of Roches- ter, pursuing the classical course until graduated Master of Arts, class of 1871. He was then twenty years of age and with his own future to provide for. He selected the profession of law and in due course of time passed through all the pre- paratory phases, studying under the emi- nent lawyer and jurist, George F. Dan- forth, being admitted to practice at the Monroe county bar on January 1, 1876. That centennial year of the Nation's in- dependence witnessed the beginning of his own independent career and the forty years which since have intervened have been years of wonderful progress for the then young man, now the veteran lawyer. Mr. Hubbell began private practice, Jan- uary 1, 1877, continuing ever as he began, a general practitioner. He won quick recognition at the bar and has attained
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