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 pre?minent in their own and many other states. V.6 > Part 22
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While he yet was a medical student at Columbia University the Spanish-Ameri- can War broke out, 1898, but Dr. Hayt, with true patriotic devotion, allowed the call of the President to invade his course of study and he interrupted it with answer to the service of his country in its successful attempt to liberate Cuba from the Spanish yoke. He became a member of the Hospital Corps of the First Division, Second Army Corps, and in that period of service he also gained much of experience that was of great benefit to him as a student of medicine and surgery.
Dr. Hayt is a member of the college fraternities, Phi Sigma Kappa and Theta Nu Epsilon, of the American Medical Association, New York State Medical Association, Dutchess County Medical Association, and the Newburgh Bay Medical Association. He is also a mem- ber of the Poughkeepsie Club, Golf and Country Club, Southern Dutchess Country Club of Beacon, Poughkeepsie Automobile Club, and Kiwanis Club of Beacon. He is a communicant of the Dutch Reformed Church.
Dr. Hayt married, at Newark, New Jersey, September 15, 1919, Catherine McGeehan, daughter of John J. and Catherine McGeehan, her father being a pioneer lumberman of Wisconsin.
ROBERTS, Charles Anthony, State Inspector.
For over twenty years Charles Anthony Roberts, of Windsor, has been identified with the public service of the common- wealth of New York in the Department of Agriculture in a position in which the requirements of office are exact knowl- edge and proved ability. Modern con- ditions of life have brought in their train difficult problems in the preparation and distribution of food materials, and scien- tific regulation has resulted. Mr. Roberts is one of the State officials whose time and labor are directed toward the safe- guarding of the health and welfare of the people within and beyond the borders of the State, and his record during many years in his department is one of faithful efficiency resulting in a notable contribu- tion to the public welfare.
Charles Anthony Roberts was born in Clifford, Susquehanna County, Pennsyl- vania, on December 21, 1867, shortly after his father, Eli Worden Roberts, had joined the now historical Gold Rush to
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California. Eli W. Roberts, who was a farmer and inn-keeper of Clifford, was a native of Delaware County, New York State, and a son of Anthony and Deborah (Fish) Roberts. He went out to Cali- fornia when the gold fever was at its peak, going by boat "around the Horn." He remained in the West for several years, prospecting for gold dust in the far reaches of the mountain valleys, staking out promising claims which now and then "panned out" successfully, alternating between moderate wealth and compara- tive want, and undergoing all the hard- ships and perils peculiar to those pioneer- ing days. After a few years had passed, having made a small fortune, he returned East and moved his family to Windsor, Broome County, New York, where he purchased a large farm upon which he set- tled his family. But the call of the Golden West was too strong, and he re- turned to California where he subse- quently lost his fortune in "grub-staking" unsuccessful prospectors. His experi- ences were varied and exciting. He lived for a time in a lonely cabin which he had built high up in the Rocky Mountains, his only friend an old Indian who was given systematically to pilfering from his scanty supply of corn-meal, tea and sugar. At one time he was chased by a bear, one of whose cubs he had picked up to admire, and barely escaped with his life. Having retrieved a small part of his lost fortune he returned home and spent his remaining days in Windsor, New York. An unusually fine collection of gold nug- gets which he had mined is now in the possession of a daughter, Mrs. Maud Cooke; while a large signet ring, which he had had made from an especially large nugget, was inherited by a grandson. Eli Worden Roberts married Mary Abigail Cramer, and they were the parents of the
following children : 1. Charles Anthony, of whom this biographical review. 2. Jessie, died unmarried. 3. Maud, became the wife of George Cooke. 4. Mary, mar- ried Charles Depew. 5. Georgia, now Government Librarian at Santo Domingo, attached to the Rockefeller foundation. 6. and 7. Twins, who died in infancy.
Charles Anthony Roberts, eldest of the seven children of Eli Worden and Mary Abigail (Cramer) Roberts, and a repre- sentative of the eighth generation of the old New England family of that name, spent his early days in Clifford, Pennsyl- vania, and while yet a boy removed to Windsor, New York, where he assumed full charge of the family farm while his father was in California. His education was received in the local district-schools, following which he attended the Old Windsor Academy, at that time one of the most famous educational institutions in the State. Meanwhile, he continued the management of the farm and upon the completion of his scholastic work he entered the employ of the Coburn Whip Factory, in Windsor. When the family homestead was destroyed by fire he re- moved with his young wife into the vil- lage proper, and subsequently became the proprietor of a grocery store, with which business he was identified for several years.
In February, 1904, he accepted a posi- tion with the State of New York as agent in the Department of Agriculture. In 1906 he became a member of the New York State Civil Service and continued his work as pure food agent for the De- partment of Agriculture, enforcing the provisions of the State and Federal Pure Food Laws. About the year 1920 he was made Inspector in the Dairy and Food Bureau, Department of Agriculture, which position he still holds (1925).
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Much of his work is in the inspection of food stuffs, milk and its by-products, seeds and feeds, and sanitary conditions, and in making these commodities and conditions to conform to legal require- ments. His record as pure food inspector during the last twenty-one years speaks for itself, and gives irrefutable proof of his ability, energy, and absolute probity.
Politically, Mr. Roberts is a staunch Republican, as was his father before him, and as also are his four sons. He has always maintained a deep interest in the progress and advancement of his home town, having served as village clerk for several years, and as a member of the Board of Education for seven years. Fraternally, Mr. Roberts has carried on a family tradition by affiliating himself with the ancient Masonic Fraternity, being a member of Windsor Lodge, No. 442, Free and Accepted Masons, and Otse- ningo Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of Binghamton, New York. He is like- wise a member of Windsor Chapter, No. 190, Order of the Eastern Star, of which he was Worthy Patron for two years. He also holds membership in the S. P. Quick Volunteer Hose Company, No. I, and in the Windsor Rod and Gun Club. He and the members of his family attend the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Windsor, of which body Mr. Roberts has been a steward for many years.
Charles Anthony Roberts was married in Windsor, New York, September 24, 1891, by the Rev. Benjamin P. Ripley, to Mary Agnes Gilbert, born September 25, 1873, the second daughter of John Bush and Emma Amelia (Watrous) Gilbert. Her father was born March 5, 1846, and died March 8, 1925; while her mother, who was born August 24, 1847, is still living at her home in Windsor (1925). Charles Anthony and Mary Agnes (Gil-
bert) Roberts are the parents of the fol- lowing children: 1. Benjamin Worden, born May 4, 1892 ; married, June 28, 1917, to Frances Marie Meves, and is now chief chemist for the firm of Meves & Gregg, of Philadelphia. 2. Walter Charles, born April 21, 1895, at present connected in editorial capacity with the Lewis Histori- cal Publishing Company of New York City. 3. Frank Adrian, born April 18, 1897; now associated with the Glens Falls Insurance Company, of Glens Falls, New York. 4. Howard William, born Novem- ber 12, 1899, died November 10, 1900. 5. Helen Agnes, born August 26, 1901; is attending (1925) the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 6. John Carol, born June 19, 1906, an under- graduate at Syracuse University. Mr. Roberts has sent his four sons to Syra- cuse University, and two of them, Walter C. and Frank A., served with the Army and Marine forces, respectively, during the World War. The family home, "Robertshurst," is maintained at Wind- sor, New York.
GANNON, Frank Stanislaus, Jr., Lawyer.
Frank S. Gannon, Jr., one of the suc- cessful lawyers of New York City, has made his way to an eminent position at the bar, through native ability, reinforced by studious application. He is a grand- son of John and Mary (Clancy) Gannon, of Irish birth, who established themselves in Spring Valley, New York, in the early part of the nineteenth century. His father, Frank Stanislaus Gannon, was born September 16, 1851, at Spring Val- ley, and educated in the public schools of Port Jervis, New York. At the age of seventeen years he entered the service of the Erie Railroad as a telegraph operator,
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in which he continued from 1868 to 1870. Following this he was with the Midland Railroad, now the New York, Susquehanna and Western, a part of the Erie system, serving in various capaci- ties of clerk, terminal agent, and train dispatcher, from 1870 to 1875, and later, until 1881, master of transportation on the Long Island Railroad. In the latter year he was supervisor of trains on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and from 1881 to 1886 general superintendent of the New York City and Northern Rail- road. From 1886 to 1894 he was general superintendent, and from 1894 to 1896 general manager of the Staten Island Transit Railway. From 1893 to 1896 he was president of that railroad, and from 1900 to 1906 general superintendent of the New York Division of the Balti- more and Ohio Railway. He was sub- sequently third vice-president and gen- eral manager of the Southern Railway, president and director of the Norfolk and Southern Railroad in 1909; president of the Montana, Wyoming and Southern Railroad; Virginia and Carolina Coast Railroad, Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad ; Pamlico, Oriental and Western Railroad. He served as a director of the New York City Railway, Broadway and Seventh Avenue Railroad, Forty-Second Street and Grand Street Ferry Railroad, Fulton Street Railroad, Thirty-Fourth Street Crosstown Railway, Twenty-Third Street Railway, Twenty-Eighth and Twenty-Ninth Street Crosstown Rail- roads. He was also a director of the Metropolitan Securities Company and the Immigrant Industrial Savings Bank, of New York. He married, in Jersey City, September 24, 1874, Marietta Burrows. They became the parents of a large fam- ily of sons : Frank Stanislaus, Jr., John W., James A., Gregory, Edward, Albert, Robert and Benedictine.
Frank Stanislaus Gannon, Jr., was born December 16, 1877, in Long Island City, and in youth was a student of public schools of New York. Entering St. Francis Xavier College of New York he was graduated Bachelor of Arts 1898, Master of Arts 1899. In 1900 he gradu- ated from the New York Law School with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and was at once admitted to the bar. He gained a legal experience in the offices of Tracy, Boardman and Platt, of New York City, where he continued three years, at the end of which period he be- came a member of the law firm of Mur- phy, Curry, and Gannon. After one year the senior partner withdrew and the firm became Gannon and Curry, and in 1907 was formed a new law partnership under the style of Gannon, Seirbert and Riggs. This association has enjoyed a liberal share of the law practice of the metropo- lis. Mr. Gannon is a member of the Roman Catholic Church, with his family, and is independent of party dictation in political action. He is a member of the American Bar Association, New York Bar Association, and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, of the Lawyers' Club of New York City, Richmond Country Club, Staten Island Cricket Club, Catholic Club, Westchester Golf Club and the Mummers, and of the Xavier Alumni Association, Xavier Sodality, and Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.
He married, April 5, 1910, Frances, daughter of Michael Foley, of New Jersey, and they are the parents of the following children : Frank Stanislaus (3), born July, 1912, at St. George, Staten Island, and Marietta, born August, 1913, in Livingston, Staten Island. The home of the family is now on Bard Avenne, Livingston, Staten Island.
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NETTLETON, Albert E., Manufacturer, Financier.
The city of Syracuse, New York, is justly celebrated as a manufacturing cen- ter, and the business of manufacturing shoes is one of its most important indus- tries. Prominently identified with this particular branch of manufacture is Al- bert E. Nettleton, who is regarded as one of the conservative business men of the city, progressive and modern in all that he undertakes to do. The social and political affairs of the city are given their fair share of his attention, and he is an unostentatious yet generous patron of any plan that is afoot to better the cause of humanity. Thus the organization which Mr. Nettleton leads possesses the prestige and influence attainable only through years of service to a community.
For the greater part of a century, the name of Nettleton has been associated with the shoe trade in the State of New York. Edward Nettleton established one of the first boot and shoe stores in the village of Fulton, New York, about 1837, and personally and successfully con- ducted this until his death in 1864, when his sons, Franklin E. and Samuel W., succeeded him and conducted affairs ac- cording to the most approved methods, and they in turn were succeeded by their brother, Augustus C. Nettleton.
Albert E. Nettleton, son of Edward Nettleton, was born in Fulton, Oswego County, New York, October 29, 1850. His early education was acquired in the public schools of that section, and this he later supplemented by attendance at the Falley Seminary, in Fulton, being gradu- ated from this institution in the class of 1869. Upon the completion of his studies, he found employment in the business of his brother, Augustus C. Nettleton, who had succeeded his two older brothers, and
in 1872 Albert E. Nettleton succeeded his brother, Augustus C., purchasing the business from him. In 1875 he also established a shoe store in Cazenovia, New York, which he conducted until 1881, and from 1881 to 1884 he also con- ducted a shoe store in Lyons, New York. In 1879 he came to Syracuse, and there purchased a boot and shoe factory of James R. Barrett, and later formed a partnership with W. A. Hill, this firm conducting business under the style of A. E. Nettleton & Company. By purchas- ing the interests of his associates, Mr. Nettleton became the sole owner of the concern, making a specialty of the manu- facture of men's shoes, for which his plant earned a well merited reputation. He employed upwards of six hundred hands, and the products of the factory go to all parts of the world, finding a ready sale. Only the best materials are used, in pro- portion to the cost of the finished product, and only the best work done. His aim was to build up a reputation and business on the actual value and merit of his product, and this he accomplished most successfully.
But the manufacture of shoes is not the only enterprise with which Mr. Net- tleton is closely connected. He was elected president of the Fulton Paper Company in November, 1893; is presi- dent of the C. A. Whelan Company ; sec- ond vice-president of the Great Lakes Steamship Company; trustee of Onon- daga County Savings Bank; director of the National Bank of Syracuse; director of the Syracuse Trust Company ; director of the Empire Savings and Loan Associ- ation, elected in April, 1892, and director of the Paragon Plaster Company, becom- ing a member of its board of directors at its organization in 1888. Mr. Nettleton has shown marked ability as a financier,
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his counsel and advice being frequently sought and always followed.
Mr. Nettleton is deeply interested in the public welfare, and uses his utmost influence to better existing conditions in every way that lies in his power, succeed- ing well in his efforts. His life history most happily illustrates what may be attained by faithful and continued effort in carrying out an honest purpose. Un- tiring activity and energy are prominent factors in the success he has achieved, and his example is well worthy of emula- tion by the youth of the present day. He is scrupulously honorable in all his under- takings with mankind, and bears a repu- tation for public and private integrity sec- ond to no man. He is sociable and genial in disposition, and has a wide circle of friends.
OWEN, Charles Sumner, Business Man, Public Official.
It was an immortal saying of a great citizen of the State of New York and a great American that "A public office is a public trust." That sentiment has taken deep root in American politics and there are men in office to-day who so regard public office, as it was so regarded by many before President Cleveland voiced the truth. Such a man is Charles Sumner Owen, who as supervisor, commissioner of public safety of Rochester and sheriff of Monroe County, has shown a devotion to official duty that has won him the unqualified confidence of the public. With devotion, efficiency has gone hand in hand, and while his term as sheriff has not yet expired, his record as commis- sioner of safety was one marked with such an advance in the efficiency of that department of municipal government that Rochester holds his name in grateful re- membrance. Since 1894 Sheriff Owen has been connected with the business in- dent.
terests of his native city, beginning as office boy, and is now vice-president of the Chapin-Owen Company, dealers in auto supplies, motor engines, and sports- man's goods. He holds high position in the Masonic order and is a most worthy exponent in his daily walk of the best tenets of that ancient institution. His rise to public favor and the success he has attained are not due to a lucky turn of Fortune's wheel, but to his own strong personality, his keen powers of observa- tion, his clear mind, his energy, his cour- age, his unblemished integrity, and his manly life. He is a true son of the Em- pire State, son of Wilbur F. and Mary Ellen (Brady) Owen, both born in New York, his father having spent almost his entire life in Rochester, where for many years he has been associated with the firm of Smith, Beir & Gormley, jobbers of dry goods.
Charles Sumner Owen was born in Rochester, January 7, 1869, second in a family of six children. He attended pub- lic school until fifteen years of age, then became a wage earner, entering the em- ploy of Sargent & Greenleaf, lock manu- facturers, as office boy. Two years later he went with May Brothers in a higher capacity, and about 1887 with Moore & Beir, clothing manufacturers. He rapid- ly advanced in rank with the last named firm, his efficiency and ability being fully recognized and amply rewarded. In 1903 the firm of Moore & Beir became a corpo- ration, Mr. Owen being chosen the first vice-president. He continued an impor- tant factor in the management and suc- cess of the company until 1909, when he became commissioner of public safety for the city of Rochester. Since that time he has devoted himself to the public service of city and county, becoming, however, a member of the Chapin-Owen Company in 1915, serving that company as vice-presi-
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Since becoming a voter Sheriff Owen has been an active Republican. On Feb- ruary 1, 1903, he was appointed a member of the board of supervisors of Monroe county, to fill out the unexpired term of Willis K. Gillette. At the next regular election he was the Republican candidate for that office from the Third Ward of the city of Rochester, was elected, and served with such acceptance that in 1905 he was reelected. On January 1, 1907, he was chosen chairman of the board, serv- ing in that position until the end of his term of office. On January 1, 1908, he was appointed commissioner of public safety, a responsible position in which he demonstrated his full power of organiza- tion, his firm grasp of municipal con- ditions, and his ability to cope with weighty problems of administration. He brought system, order and reliability out of inferior conditions and gave to Roches- ter an administration of the Department of Public Safety such as it had never known. In 1914 he was the Republican nominee and the successful contender for the office of sheriff of Monroe county. He assumed the duties of that position, January 1, 1915, and his discharge of the obligations of the sheriff's office is on the same high plane of prompt, thorough and conscientious service that has character- ized his official as well as his business career.
In the Masonic order Mr. Owen has ever been active, his official career being highly honorable and an evidence of his standing in the esteem of his brethren. He is past master of Valley Lodge, No. 109, Free and Accepted Masons; past high priest of Hamilton Chapter, No. 62, Royal Arch Masons; Sir Knight of Mon- roe Commandery, Knights Templar, and a Noble of Damascus Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He has been connected with the Masonic Temple Association from its in-
ception, serving as a director, and is an ex-president of the Masonic Club. He is also a member of the Rochester Club.
Sheriff Owen married, April 18, 1882, Delphine A. Cragg, of Rochester, and has a daughter, Dorothy Cragg Owen.
STONE, Charles Luke, Lawyer, Referee in Bankruptcy.
Charles Luke Stone is descended from a very ancient family, whose name ap- pears to have been derived from a place of residence. The early Ardleigh records speak of William Att Stone, which indi- cates that his name arose from his resi- dence, near some important rock, perhaps a land mark. Symond Stone, the earliest known ancestor of this branch of the Stone family, made a will on May 12, 1506, the record of which is on the parish records of Much Bromley, England. The will was proved February 10, 1510; he bequeathed to his son Walter his tene- ment in Ardleigh, and as Ardleigh is in the immediate vicinity of Much Bromley, it would appear that this first Symond was a descendant of the William at the Stone, mentioned above. In a court roll of 1465, in the reign of Edward IV., refer- ence is made to three fields called Stone- land. David Stone, son of Symond Stone, lived also at Much Bromley, County Es- sex, England, early in the sixteenth cen- tury. Symond (2) Stone, son of David Stone, also lived at Much Bromley. His wife's name was Agnes. David (2) Stone, son of Symond (2) or Simon Stone, was born, lived and died at Much Bromley. He had wife Ursula. It has been posi- tively proved that he, and not Rev. Timo- thy Stone, as formerly supposed, was the father of the two American immigrants, Gregory and Simon, next mentioned.
Simon Stone, son of David (2) Stone, was the immigrant ancestor of this branch of the family in America. He was born
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in Much Bromley, County Essex, Eng- land, where he was baptized February 9, 1585-86. Before 1624 he and his wife moved to Boxted, a few miles from Much Bromley, and from Boxted he and his family are believed to have come to this country. On April 15, 1636, the father, aged fifty ; mother, aged thirty-eight ; and five children, embarked from London on the ship "Increase," Robert Lee, master, for New England, after receiving permis- sion from the government to leave Eng- land for America. They settled first in Watertown, Massachusetts, having forty acres of land along the banks of the Charles river, south of the present Mount Auburn Cemetery; it is believed that a part of his farm is now covered by the cemetery. Simon Stone was admitted a freeman, May 25, 1636, with his brother, Gregory, who emigrated at the same time. He was selectman from 1637 to 1656, and was a deacon of the church for many years. One of the pear trees planted by him is said to have borne fruit for two hundred and fifty years, and was still vigorous in 1899. Mr. Stone became a prominent real estate owner, and ac- cording to tradition built a large old- fashioned house, colonial in style, which served as a home for his descendants for six generations, but was finally destroyed by fire. He married (first) August 5, 1616, Joan or Joana Clark, daughter of William Clark, and their two eldest chil- dren were baptized in Bromley, England, the others being born in Boxted. He married (second) about 1654, Sarah Lumpkin, widow of Richard Lumpkin, of Ipswich, Massachusetts. She also came from Boxted, County Essex, England, and left a will dated March 25, 1663. Simon Stone died in Watertown, Septem- ber 22, 1665. Children by first wife: Frances, baptized January 20, 1619; Mary, October 1, 1621, died young ; Ann, born 1624; Simon, mentioned below ;
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