USA > New York > Warren County > Queensbury > History and biography of Washington county and the town of Queensbury, New York > Part 44
USA > New York > Washington County > History and biography of Washington county and the town of Queensbury, New York > Part 44
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The upper portion of the altar is devoted to the New Testament. It is built of polished oak, hand carved, and it rises to a height of twenty feet. There are three elevations, the taller one in the middle, the other two at the ends. The base of the center tower forms the tabernacle, which is built of steel and brass, and weighs seven hundred pounds. In reality it is a small safe, with top and bottom locks, and thoroughly fire proof. The exterior of the doors are very handsome, as they consist of two angels in bas-relief, the polished brass giving a rich effect. In a niche above stands the large crucifix, and in the niche above that is the figure of the patron saint of the church, Saint Alphonsus. The smaller towers on either side are uniform in style with the center one. The one on the left forms a niche for Saint Joseph, and the one on the right for Saint John the Baptist. The space between the three
towers forms two niches on either side, in which are placed statues of the four evangel- ists. Over these niches stand two seraphim. The altar is flanked on either side by two high pedestals of oak, on which stand two large seraphim, each supporting candelabra. At either end of the altar are two oak columns, on which stand ornamental brass candelabra. On the top of the two partitions separating the side altars stand two large candelabra of hand- some design, with a novel arrangement for burning the candles in globes of a rich rose tint. The side walls of the sanctuary are ornamented with two large guardian angels, spear in hand, and by two smaller ones ex- pressive of adoration. There are thirty-six electric lights on and around the altars, all of which will be shaded with ground glass. The wood-work is from original designs of Father Ethier, arranged and elaborated by Architect E. B. Potter.
The church of Alphonsus was founded in 1842, and the Rev. Father Ethier is the fifth resident pastor. He was naturalized and be- came a citizen of this country in 1888, at White- hall.
N ATHAN E. PACKER, superintendent of the Sandy Hill Iron & Brass Works, and one of the enterprising and popular citi- zens of that village, is a native of the town of Providence, Saratoga county, New York, where he was born December 9, 1837. His parents are Nathan and Eliza(Cadman) Packer, the former a native of Vermont, and the lat- ter born and reared in Saratoga county. The family is of English extraction, and was planted in America at an early day by three brothers of the name, who came from England and settled in Vermont. In that State Ben- jamin Packer, paternal grandfather of the sub- ject of this sketch, was a carpenter and builder by occupation, and served as a soldier in the war of 1812. In 1829 he removed to Sara- toga county, New York, and settled in the town of Providence, where he resided until a
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short time previous to the Civil war. He then removed to Starke county, Illinois, where he died in 1883, at the advanced age of ninety years. He married Mary Johnson, and reared a family of seven children, one of his sons being Nathan Packer (father), who was born in Vermont in 1814, and when seventeen years of age came with his parents to Saratoga county, where he has resided ever since. While yet a young man he learned the trade of mill- wright, and has devoted nearly all his active life to that business. He was a superior work- man and became widely known, though in recent years, on account of age, he has been compelled to abandon all active labor. He resides in the town of Providence, and is now in the eighty-first year of his age. Politically he is a republican, and in religious faith a Christian. His wife, Eliza Cadman, is a daugh- ter of George Cadman, a member of the Chris- tian church, and is now in her seventieth year. To them was born a family of eight children, five sons and three daughters.
Nathan E. Packer was reared in the town of Providence, Saratoga county, and obtained a good English education in the public schools of that town. After leaving school he learned the trade of millwright with his father, and worked at that occupation until 1868. In that year Mr. Packer came to Sandy Hill, where he has resided ever since, and learning the trade of machinist, he worked at that business for a period of ten years. He then purchased an interest in the Sandy Hill Iron & Brass works, of this place, and was a partner in that enterprise for five years, after which he dis- posed of his interests and accepted the post of superintendent of these works, a position he has acceptably filled from that time to the present. This concern is now owned by F. M. Van Wormer and R. C. Tefft, of Sandy Hill, and in their sketches, elsewhere in this volume, may be found a description of these important works.
On August 1, 1860, Mr. Packer was united in marriage to Sarah J. Mariliew, a daughter
of James Marihew, a prosperous farmer of the town of Providence, Saratoga county, New York. To Mr. and Mrs. Packer were born three children, two sons and a daughter : James William, Marietta and Frank H.
In political sentiment Mr. Packer is an ar- dent republican, and has filled the office of village trustee of Sandy Hill for two terms. He now occupies a handsome residence on Main street, which he erected in 1893.
EDWARD HERBERT BEMIS, the
distinguished oculist of Glens Falls, whose remarkable ability in his field of labor and wonderful energy have made a deep impression upon the medical surgery and science of the day.
He is a son of Enoch and Abigail (Bugbee) Bemis, and was born in the village of Bethel, Vermont, March 4, 1849. Enoch Bemis, was a native of Marlsboro, New Hampshire, and died at Bethel in 1868, at the age of fifty- eight years. He was a farmer by occupation, a republican in politics and a member of the Baptist church. Johnathan Bemis (grand- father) was also born at Marlsboro, where he died at the same age as his son, fifty-eight years. The Bemis family originally came from England, the founder of the family in America being among the earliest settlers in this country. The mother of the subject of this sketch be- longed to an old and honorable Vermont family, and was born at Bethel, that state, where she died in 1873, aged fifty-three years.
Dr. Edward H. Bemis, was principally reared at Marlsboro, New Hampshire, where he received his education in the public schools. Leaving school he began business as an opti- cian ; the experience he received in this line of work and through his natural adaptability and aptitude, led him to assiduously apply himself to the special study of the eye and its diseases.
Relinquishing his work as an optician, he went to New York city, where he became a
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upil under Dr. Rowland B. Gray, specialist of National reputation and president of the Long Island Medical society. Dr. Bemis re- mained with him for one year, and in 1872 he located at Glens Falls, where he has continu- ously labored in treating diseases of the eye.
Here his efforts have been crowned with one success after another, until his reputation as an eye specialist has become confined to no particular section of the eastern and New England States. For a number of years after locating in this village, Dr. Bemis would spend his summers attending to his patients at Glens Falls and the winters in Florida; excepting, however, some six summers spent in the practice of his profession at Utica, New York ; but since 1887, he has given his entire time to his immense practice at home. In 1893, he began the construction of a large sanitarium on Glen street, to which has just been completed an annex to accommodate his rapidly increasing business. On March 7, 1894, Dr. Bemis purchased the old Sherman mansion, where he resides with his family, and is one of the most pleasant homes in the vil- lage.
His practice amounts to about thirty thous- and dollars annually, and in addition to his home office, he has established and controls, through assistants, branch offices in the cities of Boston and New York, which he him- self occasionally visits. The remedies used by Dr. Bemis in the treatment of eyes are en- tirely his own inventions, which absorb and remove cataracts from the eye without the use of the knife. Cases which have been pro- nounced positively incurable by others, have, after coming under Dr. Bemis' observation and treatment, been permanently cured. The names and testimonials of those who have left his institution cured, we have not the space on these pages to give. In 1872 he was united in marriage to Marion E. French, of Burlington, Vermont. To their union have been born six children : Myrtle, Edward, Etta May, Mattie E., Jennie and Avedna L. 20
DR. B. J. CLARK, who is claimed to
have originated, in 1808, the first tem- perance organization of the United States, was a son of Ithamar and Sarah (Simonds) Clark, and was born January 4, 1778, at Northamp- ton, Massachusetts. He read medicine with Dr. Gibbs, and afterward with Dr. Lemuel Wicker, of Easton, Washington county, and located at Moreau, in Saratoga county, in I799. For forty years he practiced over a wide field in Saratoga and Warren counties. Dr. Clark served as a member of the assembly and was a presidential elector in 1848.
Dr. Clark was energetic and active in his profession, and led in many of the reforma- tory movements of his day. He secured the incorporation of the first county medical society in the State, and in April, 1808, origi- nated the first temperance organization in this country. Dr. Clark died at Glens Falls, Sep- tember 20, 1866.
C HARLES H. LOTRACE, manager of the Whitehall row-boat manufactory, and whose reputation as an artistic and skillful builder of row - boats and canoes extends throughout the New England and northern States, is a son of James and Hannah (Green- ough) Lotrace, and a native of Castleton, Ver- mont, where he was born October 13, 1830. The family is of French extraction, as indica- ted by the name, and its first representative in America was Joseph Lotrace, paternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, who left his native France in the latter half of the eighteenth century to settle in Upper Canada. There he reared his family and passed the re- mainder of his life, dying at his home in that province when lacking only two years of being a centenarian. One of his sons was James Lotrace (father), who was born in Canada in 1805, and when twenty years of age, in 1825, left that country and came to the United States. Shortly afterward he settled at Castle- ton, Vermont, where he resided until 1835.
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In that year he removed to Schuylerville, Sa- ratoga county, New York, and continued to make that village his home until his death in 1847, when well advanced in the forty-second year of his age. He was a blacksmith by oc- cupation, a democrat in American politics, and a member of the Roman Catholic church. In 1827 he married Hannah Greenough, a native of New Hampshire, and a daughter of Robert Greenough. She died in 1832 at the age of thirty-two years, and leaving behind her two children : Louise Helen and Charles H., both living.
Charles H. Lotrace was reared at Schuyler- ville, Saratoga county, this State, until he had attained his eighteenth year, and received his education in the public schools of that place. At the age of eighteen he came to Argyle to learn the trade of blacksmith with Benjamin Carswell, and having mastered it in every de- tail, continued to work at that occupation for a third of a century. He followed the trade in various places until 1854, when he finally settled in the village at Whitehall. Here he continued the blacksmith business successfully until 1883, when he engaged in building row- boats, cat-boats and canoes. In this enter- prise he met with immediate and most gratify- ing success. His boats may now be found on the principal waters from Maine to Chicago, and are especially numerous along the Hud- son river and the lakes of northern New York. He manufactures a superior row-boat, which has already won deserved reputation wherever it has been introduced, and is always guaran- teed by the manufacturer to be "the best in the market for the money." As a consequence his trade is constantly increasing and is be- coming large and lucrative.
On November 29, 1854, Mr. Lotrace was united in marriage with Anna E. Lacca, a daughter of Ira and Charlotte Lacca, of the village of Whitehall. To them was born a family of three daughters : Minnie, Lillian and A. Lula. In politics Mr. Lotrace is a demo- crat, and has served as inspector of elections
and game constable, which latter office he is . now holding. He is a member of the Epis- copal church of Whitehall, in whose choir he has sung for a number of years, and takes an active part in supporting the various social and religious interests of his denomination. He is also a member of Phœnix Lodge, No. 96, Free and Accepted Masons, of Whitehall.
H ON. ASA FITCH, M. D., one of the most distinguished physicians of Wash- ington county, was a son of Dr. Peletiah Fitch, and was born at Groton, Connecticut, Novem- ber 10, 1765. The Fitches are one of the old Anglo-Saxon families of England, that came to that country from Germany in the days of Hengist and Horsa. The family record in England extends back without a break for four centuries. In 1638, a widow Fitch with five sons came from Braintree, England, and set -- tled in Connecticut. One of these sons, Rev. James Fitch, founded the city of Norwich, where he was pastor of the first church for thirty-six years. His second son, Samuel, married Mary Brewster, a great-granddaughter of Elder Brewster, of the Mayflower Pilgrim band. Their ninth child was Jabez Fitch, the father of Dr. Peletiah Fitch, of Salem. The youngest of Dr. Peletiah Fitch's six sons was Dr. Asa Fitch, the subject of this brief sketch. Dr. Asa. Fitch received his early education from his father, and at sixteen years of age served nine months as sergeant of a company doing duty on the northern frontier against British invasions from Canada. After the close of the Revolution, he read medicine suc- cessively with his father and with Dr. Philip Smith, of Easton. In 1788 Dr. Fitch com- menced the practice of his profession at Du- anesburg, and three years later wedded Abigail Martin, daughter of Adam Martin. Four years after his marriage he purchased his father-in-law's mills and property at Fitch's Point, where he resided until his death, which occurred August 24, 1843. Dr. Fitch received
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the honorary degree of M. I). from the regents of the university during the latter part of liis life. He had one of the largest medical libraries of his day, and was instrumental in obtaining the incorporation of the State and County Medical societies of New York. Dr. Asa Fitch was a Presbyterian and a high de- gree Mason, and served as a justice of the peace, judge of the county court, and a mem- ber of congress, being one of the congress- men who voted against the declaration of war against England in 1812.
JOHN GILROY, a leading young lawyer of Granville, a member of the law firm of Seeley & Gilroy, who for a number of years has served as a justice of the peace in this village, is a son of John and Catharine (Law- ler) Gilroy, and was born March 22, 1864, at Richfield Springs, Otsego county, New York. His father and mother are both natives of Ire- land, the former born in County Longford and the latter in County Carlow. At the age of twenty-one and still unmarried, John Gilroy (father) came to the United States and settled in Otsego county, New York. He now resides at Richfield Springs, that county, in the fifty- ninth year of his age. He is a farmer by oc- cupation, a democrat in politics and a member of the Catholic church. In 1863 he enlisted in the 2d New York heavy artillery and served as a member of that organization until the close of the war, after which he resumed farm- ing and has devoted the remainder of his life to agricultural pursuits. In 1860 he married Catharine Lawler, a daughter of Patrick and Ellen Lawler, who had come to America from County Carlow about 1857. To them was born a family of eight children, three sons and five daughters. Mrs. Gilroy is also a member of the Catholic church, and is now in the fifty- fourth year of her age.
John Gilroy was reared on his father's farm at Richfield Springs, Otsego county, and ob- tained his elementary education in the public .
schools, after which he took a course of train- ing in the Union school at Cooperstown, that county. Leaving school lic became a clerk in a leading dry goods house at Richfield Springs, where he remained until 1886. In that year he came to Washington county and accepted a clerkship in one of the dry goods stores at Granville, which position he occupied until 1888. He then engaged in the general insur- ance business in this village, and was thus employed until the spring of 1892. In 1888 he had begun reading law, in the office of John S. Warren, of Granville, and completed his legal studies with Jurden E. Seeley, also of this village. In September, 1892, Mr. Gilroy was admitted to the bar of Washington county and immediately became a partner with Mr. Seeley, under the firm name of Seeley & Gilroy. He has been in the active practice of law ever since, and the firm has a large and constantly increasing business. Mr. Gilroy has already won an enviable reputation at the bar, and stands high as a citizen and as an intelligent, cultivated gentleman. In politics Mr. Gilroy is an ardent and active democrat. He has long taken a deep interest in political affairs, and for several years has been treasurer of the Washington County Democratic committee. In 1889 he was elected to the responsible po- sition of justice of the peace, and is now serv- ing his second term in that office. Being well acquainted with the principles of law and en- dowed with the judicial cast of mind, he has discharged the duties of the position with ability and in a manner acceptable to the gen- eral public.
In religion Mr. Gilroy adheres to the faith in which he was reared, and is a member of the Granville Catholic church.
H ON. ENOCH HUNTINGDON ROSEKRANS, LL. D., a justice of the supreme court of the State of New York from 1855 until 1871, was the son of Benjamin and Esther Rosekrans, and was born at Water-
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ford, New York, October 16, 1808. He was graduated with honors from Union college in 1826, read law with his uncle, Judge Samuel D. Huntingdon, and was admitted to the bar in 1829. He came to Glens Falls in 1831, and the next year after his marriage to Caroline Beach, was admitted as a counsellor and re- ceived the appointment of supreme court com- missioner and master in chancery. In 1855 he was elevated to a justiceship in the supreme court of the State, and at the close of his term was re-elected, serving in all two terms of eight years each. Prominent at the bar and able on the bench, Judge Rosekrans ranked high as a lawyer and a jurist.
J OHN HALL, of the banking firm of John Hall & Co., comes of a worthy ancestry, and some of the members of his family were prominent in the early settlement of New England. He is one of the substantial and representative business men of Fort Ann and the county, and is a son of Ira and Rachel (Thompson) Hall. He was born in the town of Fort Ann, Washington county, New York, March 19, 1833. John Hall traces an honor- able ancestry back nine generations to John and Bethia Hall, who came in 1630, from Coventry, Warwickshire, England, and settled at Charlestown, Massachusetts, where they were among the founders of the first church in Boston. About ten years later they re- moved to Yarmouth, on Cape Cod. Their son, Benjamin, was the father of Capt. William, whose son Theophilus married Ruth Sergeant. Their son Nathaniel married Mary Storrs, and was the father of Nathaniel, jr., who wedded Mehitabel Storrs, and settled in Leb- anon, New Hampshire, where their son, Dr. Ira Hall (grandfather) was born, December 20, 1772. Dr. Hall was graduated from Dart- mouth college in 1793, and in the same year became a resident of Granville, this county, where he died in 1816. Dr. Hall was a large landholder, and on December 17, 1795, mar-
ried Rebecca Parker, who was born in 1777 and died in 1847. Of their seven sons, one was Ira Hall, the father of the subject of this sketch. Ira Hall was born March 17, 1798, and about 1820 came to Fort Ann, where he died August 29, 1868, in the seventy-first year of his age. He was a clothier, then a leading business, and gave employment to a number of hands. Mr. Hall was a Presbyterian and Henry Clay whig, and in 1819 wedded Rachel Thompson, daughter of Judah and Mary (Harris) Thompson, and a granddaughter of Caleb Thompson, latter of Dutchess county, New York. Mrs. Hall was born in 1799 and died in 1875. Mr. and Mrs. Hall reared a family of six children : Edward, Horace, Si- las, Lyman, John, and Abigail.
John Hall was reared in his native town, and after receiving a practical English edu- cation in the common schools, left the farm to engage in the general mercantile business at Fort Ann. He continued successfully in that line until 1873, when he embarked in banking, founding the banking house of John Hall & Co., at Fort Ann, where he has built up a large and prosperous banking business. He is considered a sound and able financier. For many years he was interested in the purchase and sale of western lands and securities.
In 1858 Mr. Hall married Nancy E. Hop- kins, daughter of Robert and Ann Hopkins, and a granddaughter of Robert Hopkins, sr., who was captured at Fort Ann during the Revolutionary war, and after being held pris- oner in Canada, was exchanged and re- turned to his farm in Fort Ann. In politics Mr. Hall has always been an active and influ- ential republican, and while not desirous of political preferment has served in several village, town and county offices. He is a member of Mt. Hope Masonic Lodge, No. 260, Fort Edward Masonic Chapter, and Wash- ington Masonic Commandery, No. 33, Sara- toga Springs. John Hall's family, it has been said by one well acquainted with the history of the county, that "In all the long list of
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this Hall family, we find none extremely poor, nor one not prompt in all payments or who failed to pay every debt in full. This con- servatism in financial matters has come to be a family trait, of which they are justly proud."
DOCTOR DANIEL C. FARR, of the old Glens Falls academy, was born in Ashby, Middlesex county, Massachusetts, March 31, 1847, and is a son of Marshall and Lois (Wheeler) Farr. Marshall Farr was a na- tive of Chesterfield, New Hampshire, and re- sided at Ashby for over thirty years ; from thence, in 1868, he went to Bedford, Massa- chusetts, where he died in 1874, aged sixty- eight years. He was a farmer by occupation, but retired from all active business after his removal to Bedford. A democrat up to the breaking out of the war, when he voted for Lincoln, becoming quite active in politics, fill- ing many of the town offices and serving as delegate to many conventions. His father was Capt. Isaac Farr, a native of Chesterfield, New Hampshire, and a captain in the war of the Revolution. His death occurred in 1810, at his native place, of Chesterfield.
The Farrs are of Welch extraction, the family being planted in America by three brothers, who came over from Wales and were among the early settlers of Massachusetts. Capt. Alpha Farr, who distinguished himself in the Baltimore riots, and Brig-Gen. Everts W. Farr, who was for a number of years a member of congress from New Hampshire, belonged to the same family of Farrs as the subject of this sketch.
Mrs. Farr, nee Wheeler, was born at Acton, Middlesex county, Massachusetts, and died at Fort Edward, New York, in 1877, in the sixty- second year of her age. She was a daughter of Nathan Wheeler, of the old and well known family of Wheelers of Middlesex county, Mas- sachusetts, and a relative of William A. Wheeler, who was vice-president of the United States.
Nathan Wheeler wedded Catharine Wether- bee, who was a native of Acton, and a daugh- ter of Edward Wetherbee, who belonged to an old and influential family of Acton.
Doctor Daniel C. Farr grew to manhood in his native village, where he prepared himself for college by attending the academy of Ashby, and afterward the Lawrence academy, at Gro- ton, Massachusetts. In September, 1868, he entered Williams college, from which institu- tion he was graduated in 1872. He came to New York, and for a short time taught in the Collegiate institute at Fort Edward, when he accepted an invitation to take charge of the public schools of that village, in which capa- city he labored for five years, up to 1877. In the fall of that year he opened a private school, known as the Island Grove school, of Fort Edward. He conducted this school for two years, when on account of impaired health he left his school in charge of an assistant, and in the spring of 1878 took charge of the Glens Falls academy. This institution is one of the best known institutions in the State of New York. Doctor Farr has conducted this school most successfully ever since, and has seen over a hundred of his scholars enter some of the leading colleges of the land : Harvard, Yale, Wesleyan, Williams, Dartmouth, Smith, Vas- sar, College of Physicians and Surgeons, in New York, Cornell university and Law school, Albany Law school, Bryn Mawr, Princeton. The location of this academy is one of the finest and most healthy in the village and the building itself is one of the most beautiful and best arranged found in northern New York. Doctor Farr's aim is to keep it up in the line of progress with the most progressive schools of the country. The school contains one of the finest libraries north of Albany, the students having free access to it.
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