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 40
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Rhode Island, to which line belongs Gen- eral Nathaniel Greene, hero of the War of the Revolution and contemporary with General George Washington.
John Greene, of Quidnessett, Rhode Island, was fifteenth in descent from Lord Alexander de Greene de Boketon, who received his titles and estates A. D. 1202, head and founder of the "Greene line;" ninth in descent from Sir Henry Greene, Lord Chief Justice of England, who died in 1370; and on the "Capeteian line" was twenty-fifth in descent from Robert the Strong, made Duke de France in A. D. 861; twenty-second from King Hugo Capet; and nineteenth from Hugh de Vermandois, the great crusader. In the Revolutionary War Samuel Greene, of Rhode Island, sent eight sons into the war, a record no one else ever equalled, and Joseph Greene, of New York, volun- teer, twelve years old, was the youngest soldier of the same war. The Greene family, so closely identified with the early history of Rhode Island, have enjoyed more State and civic honors than any other family within her borders, there being more Greenes in the State than any other name whatever and extending over a period of nearly three hundred years of American history not one has been found to have ever been convicted of crime and not one who was a drunkard. The Greene coat-of-arms, with the motto, Nec Timeo, Nec Sperno, consists of three bucks trip- pant on an azure field, as it was borne by the founder of the line. The crescent, a mark of cadency, denoting the line of a second son, is used by all the Warwick and Quidnessett Greenes.
Ira W. Greene, father of Myron W. Greene, was a native of Monroe county, New York, born at Greene's Corners, now Mann's Corners, in the township of Rush, on May 2, 1832. He was a man of dis- tinguished presence and commanding in-
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fluence in politics, although never aspir- ing to or accepting office. For twenty- five years he was superintendent of the Sunday school and president of the board of trustees of the Rush Methodist Epis- copal Church, his father, Nathan Greene, having settled on a farm in this county in 1804. For many years Ira W. Greene carried on business as a farmer and dealer in live stock, coal and produce, and was in the Eagel Bank of Rochester, New York, from 1851 to 1853, which later merged into the Traders' National Bank. He was also propagator and grower of choice field seeds and figured for many years as a respected and worthy resident of this county, being at the time of his death, which occurred on June 22, 1905, one of the oldest native sons of the coun- ty. On the distaff side Myron W. Greene is also a descendant from an old pioneer family of Western New York. His mother, who bore the maiden name of Hester Ann Ruliffson, was born in Henri- etta, Monroe county, daughter of Isaac Ruliffson. She died in April of 1866. The father was twice married and by his first wife had three children, two sons and one daughter, and by his second wife he had two sons and one daughter.
Myron W. Greene was born in district No. 6, in the township of Rush, Monroe county, New York, November 26, 1864. Provided with good educational privi- leges he was graduated from the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary at Lima, New York, in the class of 1887 and became a mem- ber of the Genesee Lyceum Society. He became an active member and is now president of the board of trustees of this society. He is treasurer of the Alumni Gymnasium Association of the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary and further retains his interest in the seminary by maintain- ing a scholarship prize and prize for pub- lic speaking to members of the Lyceum
Society. As a student in the Syracuse University, which he entered in 1887, he pursued a scientific course and was can- didate for the degree of Bachelor of Science in the class of 1891. In 1888 he entered Williams College, Massachusetts, in the class of 1890. His broad intellec- tual culture well qualified him for an im- portant position in the business world, and following the completion of his edu- cation he entered the Bank of Honeoye Falls, Monroe county, New York, where he remained until 1892, when he became connected with the Rochester Trust & Safe Deposit Company, with which he remained until 1899, when he established a business on his own account for the conduct of a private banking and invest- ment business. He deals in government and municipal bonds, and has gained for himself a reputation as a financier of keen discernment and sound judgment.
Mr. Greene is a member of the Invest- ment Bankers' Association of America, the Zeta Psi (College) Fraternity of North America, of which he was grand officer in 1909-1910. During his term of office he visited practically every college of importance in the United States and Canada, delivering numerous public ad- dresses, and presiding at the International Convention held in San Francisco in 1910. He has been president of the Zeta Psi Alumni Association of Rochester, New York, since the date of its organiza- tion in 1905; vice-president of Williams College Alumni Association of Rochester, New York, 1913-14-15; vice-president of Greene Family Association, 1913-14-15; president of Ruliffson-Wells Family As- sociation, 1914-15. He also belongs to the Frank R. Lawrence Lodge, No. 797, Free and Accepted Masons, and Hamil- ton Chapter, No. 62, Royal Arch Masons. He is a worthy representative of an hon- ored family, patriotic in his devotion to
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American interests, and loyal in his sup- port of those measures and movements which he deems beneficial to the city, government or nation.
On April 27, 1900, Mr. Greene was mar- ried to Nancy Laura Lancaster, of Lead- ville, Colorado. She was born in Lara- mie, Wyoming, February 22, 1877, daugh- ter of George W. Lancaster. Unto this marriage have been born the following named: Lancaster Myron, born Febru- ary 21, 1901 ; Norvin Ruliffson, born Sep- tember 13, 1902 ; Zeta Priscilla, born March 2, 1904; Nathan Ira, born March 6, 1906; and Myron Wesley (2nd), born Novem- ber 1, 19II.
BELDEN, Alvin Jackson, Man of Large Affairs.
The true measure of Alvin Jackson Belden, of Syracuse, New York, is clearly indicated by the designations he succes- sively earned as he passed along the road of commercial effort - executive, iron- master, railroad and canal builder, con- structor of public works, financier, capi- talist -ever and always a man of big affairs. Greatness cannot emanate from pettiness, neither can broad comprehen- sion meet narrow perspective. The life of Alvin Jackson Belden has been occu- pied with accomplishments of magnitude, in the main the outcome of his own in- dividual ability and application, but to some extent, perhaps, due to heredity.
The ancestral records of the Belden family cover many distinguished lives, Alvin Jackson Belden being in direct lineal descent from Sir Francis Baildon, whowas knighted at the coronation of James I., and whose son, Richard Belden, in 1638 emigrated from England, landing in due course on American soil, and settling in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Tracing still farther back, it appears that Belden
is a place name, and the family of ancient English origin. Bayldon, or Baildon Common, is a chapelry in the West Riding of Yorkshire; Baildon was in the Angle kingdom of Diera, A. D. 550, whence came the immortal youths seen by Gregory at Rome, and it has been the seat of the Baildon-Bayldon-Baylden-Bel- ding-Belden family since the time of King John. Baildon Hall is still in a good state of preservation. The hall was built sometime during the fifteenth century, and alterations were effected in 1660 by Francis Baildon, cousin of Richard Bel- den.
The patronymic has during the cen- turies been variously written, Baildon, Bayldon, Bayldonn, Baylden, Belding, and Belden being some of the variations. Richard Belden, the progenitor of the family in America, signed his name to the oath of allegiance to the crown, March 26, 1613, Richard Bayldonn-carrying the extra "n," though on his arrival in Ameri- ca his name was written into records, pre- sumably at his direction, as Richard Bayl- den. He died at Wethersfield, Connecti- cut, in 1655, and among the effects men- tioned in his will was rapier, or gentle- man's sword, a weapon for which he could have found small use in Wethers- field, and was doubtless a relic of his early days, indicating his aristocratic line- age.
In the annals of the Belden family of the many generations between that of Richard Belden, of Wethersfield, and the present are contained many records of honorable connection with, and partici- pation in, national, civic and commercial affairs ; many Beldens were soldiers, one of particular historic interest to the family having been Elisha Belden who served the State and Nation during three wars, including the Revolutionary War of 1775 ; another, Elisha, son of the aforemen-
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tioned namesake, was a noted builder of sailing vessels for foreign trade in the early part of the nineteenth century ; other members of the family have been of Judiciary, the Legislature, House of Congress, et cetera. An uncle of Mr. Alvin Jackson Belden was the Hon. James Jerome Belden, whose successful execution of many mammoth public works within the State of New York and other parts of the country brought him conspicuously before the "public eye" of the Nation. He was twice honored by election to the mayoral chair of the city of Syracuse, and for three terms sat in the Legislative House of the Nation.
Enough has been written in the fore- going to indicate the possibility that his heredity had some bearing on the capac- ity of Alvin Jackson Belden to handle affairs of magnitude and moment; and certainly an example was prominently before him during the greater part of his life-in the achievements of his father, Augustus Cadill Belden, a business man of considerable note; but chief credit for the present standing of Alvin Jackson Belden in financial and industrial circles is due to Alvin Jackson Belden, who from his very initiation into commercial affairs indicated the quality within him.
Born in Pompey, Onondaga county, New York, October 10, 1848, son of Au- gustus Cadill and Rozelia (Jackson) Bel- den, Alvin Jackson Belden commenced his education in the schools of Geddes, later proceeding to the Walnut Hill Academy at Geneva, New York, from which academic institution he graduated in 1866. Electing to follow a business life rather than a professional career, influ- enced in his decision maybe by the char- acteristic which later became so strongly evident in him, i. e., his broadness of view on all questions, he applied himself with energy to his initial industrial oc- cupation which had connection with the
iron business of the Onondaga Iron Com- pany, manufacturers of pig iron. His ex- ecutive ability quickly advanced him to posts of much responsibility, and he re- mained secretary and treasurer of the Onondaga Iron Company for many years, in fact until 1881, when he resigned to undertake the organization of the Phoenix Foundry & Machine Company, of which corporation Mr. Belden assumed direc- tion in his capacity as secretary-treasurer. About ten years later he decided to in- terest himself actively in the business of railroad and public works contracting, and this sphere of activity being abso- lutely in harmony with his disposition, his success was rapid and considerable. In a short space of time he was part owner of three huge contracting com- panies whose operations had assumed immense proportions, successfully and simultaneously undertaking contracts for important national, state and other pub- lic works of great magnitude in various parts of the United States. One of the companies executed three large contracts for sewer building in Boston, and also carried out the Erie Canal contract, a project the cost of completing which totalled to nine million dollars. Mr. Bel- den was also one of the principals of the Rapid Transit Company, of Syracuse, this company doing considerable business within the State of New York. Through- out his active business life, Mr. Belden has demonstrated his capacity for great things. One biographer wrote of him: "As an organizer and promoter, he occu- pied a position of distinction in business circles, and in all his ventures met with success which results from capable man- agement, keen foresight, and sound judg- ment." And the best evidence of his ability lies in the position he to-day holds among the leading "men of affairs" of the Empire State.
Mr. Belden is a member of the First
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Presbyterian Church of Syracuse, and liberal in his support thereof; in fact is the donor of many more contributions to religious and charitable institutions than appear on the public records, a large pro- portion of his benefactions remaining un- announced in accordance with his wish. He holds membership in the Citizen's Club, the Century Club, the Onondaga Club, and the Country Club, all of Syra- cuse. He also belongs to the Transporta- tion Club of New York, and to the New York City Branch of the Automobile Club of America. His political allegiance is given to the Republican party.
On September 10, 1862, Mr. Belden was married to Augusta, daughter of Isaac R. and Susan (Case) Pharis, of Syracuse.
Now, having retired from active par- ticipation in matters of business, outside those bearing direct relation to his con- siderable vested interests, Mr. Belden is able to, and does, give much time to the enjoyment of a pleasure in which he could not indulge during the busy periods of his life-he is an enthusiastic sports- man and is often seen in the north woods of the Adirondacks.
DENISON, Howard P., M. A., LL. D., Lawyer, Professional Instructor.
No class of citizens should be so well prepared for public life as the lawyers, their training for the bar fitting them for framing or executing the laws, and in these lie the principles of government. The work of the legal profession is to formulate, to harmonize, to regulate, to adjust, to administer those rules and prin- ciples that underlie and permeate all government and society and control the varied relations of man. As thus viewed there attaches to the legal profession a nobleness that cannot but be reflected in the life of the true lawyer who, conscious
of the greatness of his profession and honest in the pursuit of his purpose, em- braces the richness of learning, the pro- foundness of wisdom, the firmness of in- tegrity and the purity of morals, together with the graces of modesty, courtesy and the general amenities of life.
Howard P. Denison, of Syracuse, New York, whose reputation as a patent lawyer is world wide, is certainly a type of this class of lawyers, and as such he stands among the most eminent members of his profession. In every department of the law he is well versed, having a very ac- curate and comprehensive knowledge of the principles of jurisprudence, but he has made a specialty of patent law, and in this line has won a, most desirable and en- viable position. Cases of great importance have been entrusted to his care and he has shown that he is fully conpetent to handle the intricate problems of jurispru- dence involved in their solution. His keenly analytical mind enables him to apply to the point in litigation the prin- ciples of jurisprudence bearing most closely upon it, citing authority and pre- cedents until the strength of his case is clearly seen. He is a scion of several old families. His paternal grandmother was a member of the Klock family of Holland descent, the original representative of the name in America building the Klock fort at St. Johnsville, New York, in 1750. In the maternal line he is descended from the Bensons, who sailed from England in 1692 and became residents of Newport, Rhode Island, Where the family and its descendants resided for several genera- tions. His great-great-grandfather, Wil- liam Benson, was a Baptist clergyman, holding many important pulpits in New England ; he died in 1818 and is buried at Pomfret, Connecticut. His great-uncle, John Benson, a pronounced abolitionist and intimately associated with his cousin,
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William Lloyd Garrison, and Wendell Phillips, was the first manufacturer of silk at Paterson, New Jersey, establish- ing that industry in the year 1844. Mr. Denison resided with Mr. Benson in 1868.
Howard P. Denison, son of Le Roy W. Denison, was born in Parish, Oswego county, New York, May 28, 1859. His childhood and earlier youthful years were spent in Euclid, New York, where he acquired his elementary education. He continued his studies at Cazenovia Acad- emy, which he entered in 1876, remained there two years, then entered Greenwich Academy, at East Greenwich, Rhode Island, and there prepared for college during the next two years. After his graduation from Greenwich Academy in 1880, he was for a period of two years engaged in filling the position of principal of a grammar school at Portland, Con- necticut, and, having matriculated at Wesleyan University in 1881, with the class of 1885, he there completed his classical education. Following this he traveled abroad for a time, taking up his residence in Syracuse, New York, upon his return, and has been closely identified with the interests of that city since that time. After a thorough and comprehen- sive preparation, he was admitted to the bar at Syracuse in 1887. His studies in this direction were partly pursued in the office of the Hon. Charles H. Duell, later Commissioner of Patents, and judge of United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, with whom he formed a connection in 1886 as manag- ing clerk. A partnership was entered into with the late Cornelius W. Smith in 1888, this association being continued with the greatest harmony and success until the death of Mr. Smith in 1899, since which time Mr. Denison has practiced alone. Patent law is one of the most
difficult branches of the legal profession, requiring a most extended general knowl- edge along all lines of enterprise and progress in the business and scientific lines. No man was better qualified for the conduct of this important branch of litigation than Mr. Denison. The number of patents he has taken out runs into the thousands, these including some of the largest patent and trade-mark cases ever brought before the United States courts. At Detroit he argued the famous Harrow cases before the United States courts for the defendants, the Eureka Mower Com- pany, in an action brought by the Na- tional Harrow Trust. The case involved the question of infringement in over seventy cases brought upon the same patent in New York, West Virginia and Michigan. So thoroughly was the court convinced at the close of his argument that there was no infringement that the cases were all decided for the defendants and the bill-of-complaint dismissed.
The press at that time said: "It is quite unusual for a court to dismiss a bill in a patent case at the close of the argu- ment. It is only done in rare cases where the court is convinced that it is absolutely right in the decision." Perhaps no better indication of the ability and well de- veloped talents of Mr. Denison can be given than by quoting from one of the Supreme Court justices of the state, who, in writing to President Roosevelt recom- mending the appointment of Mr. Denison for the position of judge of the United States District Court, said: "He posseses splendid abilities, great legal learning, especially in the law patents, and in patent litigation ; he is a man of integrity, is the soul of honor, is an ardent and in- fluential Republican, is always loyal to his friends, possesses a judicial tempera- ment and is a man of untiring industry and energy. I believe that he is in every
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essential remarkably qualified for the dis- charge of the duties of that office." The "Mercantile and Financial Times," in com- menting upon his candidacy said: "Mr. Denison has successfully practiced this branch of his profession for fifteen years and is the lecturer on patent law in the Law College of the Syracuse University. Of this qualification, therefore, for the position with which his name is men- tioned there can be no question, and in the event of his appointment he would acquit himself in a manner to justify his high reputation for ability and the confi- dence reposed in him. In view of these facts and others which we could mention were it necessary to know we are but echoing popular sentiment when we say it is sincerely hoped Mr. Denison will receive the appointment."
As a lecturer on Patent Law in the Law College of Syracuse University, Mr. Denison has earned well merited com- mendation for many years, and he is the founder of and maintains the Denison Declamation prizes in that institution. The degree of Master of Arts was con- ferred in 1905 upon him by Wesleyan University, of Middletown, Connecticut, and also by Iowa Wesleyan University, at Mount Pleasant, Iowa, in 1900, and Syracuse University conferred upon him in 1915 the degree of LL. D. This latter degree affords him great gratification for the reason that it was conferred by the university of his home city, under whose shadows he has lived for twenty-five years.
Mr. Denison has a beautiful country estate at Skaneateles, New York, where he spends with his family a large portion of each year. He is a member of the "Tri- lon Fish and Game Club" of Canada. He was elected a trustee of Cazenovia Semi- nary in October, 1900. His fraternal affili- ation is not an extensive one, the demands
of his professional work precluding this, and is limited to membership in the Alpha Delta Phi college fraternity. His pro- fessional membership is with the Ameri- can Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association.
Mr. Denison married, October 14, 1886, Bessie E. Hildreth, of Herkimer, New York, a daughter of the late Henan J. Hildreth, and a descendant of one of the oldest families of Herkimer county. Three children have blessed this union, one daughter, Marian H., and two sons, H. Hildreth and Winthrop W. The daugh- ter (recently deceased ) became the wife of Eugene A. Thompson, who is associated with Mr. Denison in his law practice. He has two granddaughters: Mary Jane Thompson and Marian Denison Thomp- san. The son, H. Hildreth, died in 1908. Winthrop Will is a student at Lawrence- ville School, New Jersey.
HOBART, Henry Lee, Merchant and Churchman.
For thirty-four years Mr. Hobart was successfully engaged in business in New York City, as head of Henry L. Hobart & Company, but on January 1, 1914, he retired from active business pursuits and has since devoted himself to those insti- tutions of philanthropy and the church with which he had long taken more than a passive interest. Those thirty-four years do not cover entirely the period of his business activity, since prior to 1880 he had been variously connected with the business world. He is a son of James Thomas and Anne (Newell) Hobart, who were prominent in the State of Massa- chusetts, where they resided. They trace their line of descent from Edmund Ho- bart, who settled in Hingham, Massa- chusetts, in 1633. Another descendant of this ancestor was John Henry Hobart,
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rector of Trinity Church and bishop of New York.
Henry Lee Hobart was born in Cin- cinnati, Ohio, July 26, 1845, and is now (1916) approaching the seventy-first anni- versary of his birth. His early youth was spent in this city, but in 1857 he came to New York City and there completed his studies at the "Free Academy," now known as the College of the City of New York, a member of the class of 1866, but not a graduate. Upon leaving college he engaged in business, and became one of the solid, conservative merchants of New York City. In 1880 he founded the firm of Henry L. Hobart & Company, dealers in sugar, molasses and rice, and until his retirement, January 1, 1914, was the hon- ored head of that well known house. Al- though yielding to no citizen in loyalty or interest, Mr. Hobart has taken no part in public affairs beyond the per- formance of the duties devolving upon all alike, never accepting nor desiring public office. His chief interest has been in Trinity Church and her activities and in the various philanthropies particularly appealing to his generous, sympathetic nature, and in these he bears a promi- nent part.
He became a member of Trinity parish in 1895 and has since been one of her faithful, useful sons. He is also a mem- ber of The Trinity Church Association, and the Diocesan Missionary Committee ; a vice-president of the New York Bible and Common Prayer Book Society ; trus- tee of the Seaman's Church Institute, of the Sheltering Arms, and of the New York Training School for Deaconesses ; secretary of the Cathedral League, and a vestryman of St. Luke's Church at East- hampton, Long Island, his summer home. He holds membership in The Pilgrims', the Union League, Church and Independ- ent clubs of New York, the Maidstone
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