USA > New York > Cayuga County > History of Cayuga County, New York > Part 28
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THROOP, GEORGE B. Born in Johnstown, Montgomery County, N. Y., in 1793; came to Auburn in 1815; read law in the office of his brother, Enos T. Throop; admitted to the bar and formed a co-partnership with Samuel D. Lockwood, which continued until 1819; postmaster 1815 to 1823; state senator from 1828 to 1831 inclusive ; in 1833 he became cashier of the Cayuga County National Bank which position he filled until 1840, during which year he moved to Detroit, Mich., where he died in 1849.
UNDERWOOD, HON. GEORGE, SR. Born at Cooperstown, N. Y., January 4, 1816; graduated from Hamilton College in 1838; ad- mitted to the bar and commenced practice in Auburn shortly thereafter; member of assembly in 1850-1; mayor of the city in 1854; he made a specialty of corporation law and was for many years the attorney of the Auburn & Syracuse Railroad Company. In 1848 his condition of health became such that he was compelled to cease active practice and seek a climate better suited to his condition and where it might be reasonably expected his health would improve ; he spent that winter in South Carolina and Havana, but receiving no benefit, returned to Auburn on May 1, 1849, and died on the evening of May 25th, following. He occupied a
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high position at the bar and his was a commendable, useful and honorable life.
VAN LAER, HERMAN E. Born in Auburn, May 9, 1853 ; educated in the public schools of the city, with special instruction in Phila- delphia, Pa., and Detroit, Mich .; read law with Richard C. Steel, in Auburn and was admitted to the bar in the early 80's. He prac- tised one year in the city and then removed to Topeka, Kansas, where he died on June 28, 1897.
WADE, ROWLAND D. Born in Moravia, this county, February 21, 1840; educated at the Moravia Institute; upon the commence- ment of the Civil War he enlisted and served until July 22, 1862, when he returned to Moravia and shortly after commenced the study of law in the office of John T. Pingree, Esq., in the City of Auburn; admitted to the bar, June 7, 1867, from which time until his death in 1882, he was an active practitioner at Moravia. He was elected justice of the peace in 1871 and filled that office for several years. With the single exception of Oliver Wood, Mr. Wade was the greatest practical joker the writer ever knew.
WALKER, LEVI. The only lawyer ever residing in the village of Summer Hill, where he practised from 1831 to 1838 when he removed to the village of Genoa and subsequently came to Auburn. Some time later he removed to Michigan where he died in 1899.
WHEELER, EBER O .; read law with Horace V. Howland, and after being admitted to the bar removed to Austin, Minn., where he practised his profession until 1880, when he returned to Auburn and formed a partnership with Mr. Howland and remained in active practice until his death on January 10, 1889. He was not a trial lawyer but possessed conceded ability in the preparation of cases for trial and was an able and energetic office lawyer.
WILLEY, ABRAHAM R. Born at East Haddam, Conn., Septem- ber 3, 1823; came with his parents to Cayuga County in 1824; self educated; read law with March & Webb, of Oswego, N. Y., and was admitted to the bar in 1858; commenced practice at Fair
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Haven in 1860, which he continued until his death. He was a veteran of the Civil War, serving in Company I, Ninety-Third New York Volunteers and a member of Hudson Post, G. A. R .; he served as collector of customs for the port of Fair Haven during the first administration of President Cleveland.
WOOD, AMZI; was an active practitioner in different parts of Cayuga County for many years; was American consul at Mata- moras, Mexico, for several years, resigning the office at the close of the Civil War, when he was appointed minister plentipotentiary of the United States to Bankok, kingdom of Siam. On receiving this appointment he started for his post but was taken seriously ill in New York City and his recovery being long delayed, he felt compelled to resign. He died in Auburn, June 30, 1893.
WOOD. ETSEL. Born in South Amboy, N. J., April 25, 1835; self educated; read law in the office of D. A. Robinson, in Union Springs and was admitted to the bar in December, 1866, in which year he commenced practice in Union Springs, which he continued until his death in 1893.
WOOD, OLIVER. Born and educated in the common schools of the county of Cayuga, admitted to the bar and practised in our county continuously until his death in 1882. When the writer commenced the study of law in 1876, Mr. Wood was the senior partner of the law firm of Wood & Rathbun, which until its ter- mination by his death, was one of the leading firms of the city enjoying a large and varied practice. Mr. Wood was the trial lawyer of the firm and while very gruff in his manner and treat- ment of witnesses and opposing counsel, being the terror of the younger men, he possessed a large heart and was keenly alive to the necessities of his friends which he never hesitated to relieve as fully as it lay in his power, many times to his own detriment. The writer respected and loved him for the many acts of kindness he received at his hands while a student.
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WORDEN, WARREN T. Born in Milton, Saratoga County, N. Y., November 7, 1806 ; educated in the public schools and Union College, graduating from the latter in 1829; admitted to the bar in 1830, and commenced practice in Auburn which he continued until his death, January 30, 1891 ; he was a leading member of the bar of Central New York and acquired a large and lucrative practice extending throughout the state, in which the leading and most eminent counsel that could be procured were his opponents; in the conduct of his cases he was uniformly successful and his originality and ability as a trial lawyer were universally conceded.
WRIGHT, DAVID. Born at Penn's Manor, Bucks County, Pa., April 18, 1806, where he was educated in the Friends' School and came to Cayuga County in 1826; read law with Isaac and Seneca Wood in Aurora and was admitted to the bar in October, 1832; he commenced practice in Aurora where he remained until 1839 when he removed to Auburn and formed a co-partnership with Theodore M. Pomeroy which continued until the latter ceased active practice ; he was an able lawyer occupying a prominent position at the bar, with a constantly increasing practice attention to which had in 1874 so far underminded his health as to necessitate his retirement from active legal work. He died in Auburn, February 24, 1897.
WRIGHT, FRANK D. Born in Moravia, this county, June 24, 1828; graduated with high honors, from Union College in 1851; road law at Moravia and was admitted to the bar in Auburn in 1852; commenced practice at Dryden, Tompkins County, and later removed to Waverly, Tioga County where he continued his practice until 1867, when he came to Auburn and remained in active practice until his death on May 2, 1906. He was a member of the firm of Howland, Wright & Cushing, Wright & Cady and Wright, Cady & Wright. He was an able, skillful and astute trial lawyer and noted for the great zeal he displayed in the interests of his clients. Supe- rior mental ability and indefatigable energy made him a remarkably
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successful practitioner. In the memorial adopted and entered upon the minutes of the court, his brethren of the bar said of him:
"As a man and professional friend we admired him for his integrity, purity of life and kindly and sympathetic nature."
A marked trait of Mr. Wright and one that endeared him to the younger members of the bar, was his willingness at all times, upon their request, to give consideration to matters they had under advisement and aid them with his counsel and advice, declining to receive compensation for his time, and the writer of this article has on many occasions been the recipient of such kindly consideration from him and owes some legal victories to his valuable aid and advice.
AVERY, EDWARD HENRY. Born in Columbus, N. Y., August 18, 1824; educated in the public schools of the city, and at Yale College, from which he graduated in 1844; read law in the offices of Clark & Underwood in Auburn, and was admitted to the bar in 1848, commencing practice at Bath, N. Y., where he remained three years after which he returned to Auburn and formed a part- nership with the Honorable George Underwood Sr. Three years later Mr. James R. Cox was taken into the firm which enjoyed a large and lucrative business until its dissolution by the death of the senior member in 1859, after which time, for many years, the firm of Cox & Avery, its successor, was ranked among the leading law firms of Central New York. Mr. Avery served as the president of the Auburn Gas Light Company, the Auburn Water Works Company, and many other corporations in the capacity of trustee or director, in the activities of which business life he developed and demonstrated great executive ability and in May, 1883, was ten- dered and accepted the office of president of the National Bank of Auburn; retired from his law practice, and thereafter devoted his entire time and abilities to the duties of his office. He died at his home in the city on May 5, 1908.
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KING, FINLAY M. A prominent practitioner in Port Byron prior to 1854, and subsequently (1861-3) Grand Master of Masons of the State of New York. I am unable to obtain specific infor- mation of the professional life of Mr. King, but in the History of Freemasonry by Ross, I find the following :
"In private life Brother King seemed pursued by misfortune. He was a good lawyer, brighter-it is said by some-than the average, yet he never seemed able to command a sufficiently wide circle of clients to make life other than a struggle for subsistence. He tried for years to build up a practice at Port Byron, but failed and in 1854 he essayed his fortune in New York, establishing the firm of King, Smith & Co., at 9 Nassau street, with little success. "
I am unable to obtain specific information or reliable data regard- ing the following lawyers who have practised in our county, now dead. In addition to those hereinbefore noted as having held offices and not otherwise referred to because of lack of data.
HARDENBERGH'S CORNERS. Zephaniah Caswell; Moses Sawyer and Walter B. Nichols, all prior to 1805.
THE CITY OF AUBURN. Henry Bronson; Daniel A. Baldwin for several years a police justice for the city ; Edwin Baldwin, city clerk, 1872-3-4; Paris G. Clark; Fayette G. Day, for many years a justice of the peace; P. Fred Deering ; Lucius L. Foot ; Stephen A. Goodwin, who practised prior to 1854; William R. Hallock, for many years a justice of the peace; William W. Hare, who was a resident of Groton, Tompkins County, but maintained an office with Michael S. Myers in the city, at which he spent half of each week for several years, and who died at Groton on May 5, 1907; Elbridge D. Jackson, who was an active practitioner for several years and in 1885, removed to Minneapolis, Minn., and later to Nevada, where he died; Fred M. Kennedy, for many years a justice of the peace; Samuel D. Lock- wood, a partner of George B. Throop in 1817-19; Edward E. Mar- vine; William B. Mills, who was special county judge in 1872 and district-attorney for one if not two terms, who removed to Denver,
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Colorado, in the late 70's, and continued in active practice there until his death, attaining high rank and being one of the leaders of the bar of that state ; James Porter, who was in practice here in 1820, and later removed to Onondaga County where he died; N. Homer Potter who for several years had desk room in the office of Mortimer V. Austin Sr., and later removed to his farm in the southern part of the county where he died; Charles L. Price who read law with Mr. James Lyon and shortly after his admission to the bar received injuries in a railroad accident resulting in his death; Albert L. Sisson who was city clerk in 1868 and for several years police justice of the city; Theodore Spencer; Edward A. Thomas, a partner at one time of Mr. Lyon and mayor of the city in 1872, who later removed to the state of Pennsylvania where he died; James A. White.
AURORA. Silas Marsh; Daniel Shepard; Alvah Worden, be- tween 1795 and 1809; Isaac Wood, Thomas Wood and Seneca Wood, sons of Judge Walter Wood, who were in practice prior to 1840; Thomas Mumford, who practised from 1794 to 1799, and died in 1830.
CATO. Stephen Olmstead, 1863.
CAYUGA FERRY and VILLAGE. L. C. Foote, 1820-1825; Vincent Mathews; Reuben S. Morris, 1800; William McCay, 1820; L. W. Owen, prior to 1830; William Sisson, prior to 1830.
FAIR HAVEN. Thomas C. Bridges.
GENOA. Henry A. Maynard, early 80's.
KING FERRY. Charles K. Niblo, who read law with Wood & Rathbun in Auburn, and after being admitted to the bar com- menced practice in the village of Northville (P. O. King Ferry) which he continued until his death.
MILAN VILLAGE (now LOCKE.) Isaac Sisson; Orlen White; James Youngs; Glen Gallup, all between 1828 and 1859.
MERIDAN. James W. Bonta; Madison Youngs; between 1843 and 1853.
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MORAVIA. Thomas F. Frost; William H. Price, 1848-1853; Charles D. Tallman, prior to 1832.
PORT BYRON. Finlay M. King, was practising in 186c.
UNION SPRINGS. Nathan Roberts, 1860-1864; Daniel A. Robinson, 1862-1870; Caleb Winegar, 1845-1870.
WEEDSPORT. Patten R. Cook; Campbell W. Haynes, 1855; John S. Jenkins; James Luckey; Theodore Fopple; between 1827 and 1850; Solomon Giles, 1853; Darwin C. Knapp in 1866 and L. B. Little, police justice in 1874.
THE BENCH AND PUBLIC OFFICIALS OF THE PRESENT
SUPREME COURT.
RICH, HON. ADELBERT P. Born in Cato, Cayuga County, May 16, 1860; educated at the Cato Union school and academy and at a private school; read law with his father, Mr. Frank Rich, in Cato, and was admitted to the bar at Rochester, N. Y. in April, 1882, in the fall of which year he commenced the practice of his profession in the village of Cato, of which village he was president of the Board of Health in 1881 and 1882, and a member of its Board of Education from 1881 to 1884, in which year he removed to the City of Auburn and continued his practice with John A. Dutton, Esq., as a partner and later formed a co-partnership with E. C. Aiken, Esq., which continued until 1901. He was a member of the Board of Health of the city for several years Elected and served as special county judge 1883-6; district-attorney, 1887 -1893; elected justice of the Supreme Court in 1901 and was temporarily assigned to the Appellate Division-Second Depart- ment-as associate justice in December, 1904, where he is yet serving. Justice Rich is a member and Past Master of Cato Lodge No. 141, Free and Accepted Masons. His Auburn office is at Supreme Court Chambers in the Court House.
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Justice Rich is a member of the City, Country and Masonic clubs of Auburn; the Genesee Valley Club of Rochester, and the Republican, Crescent Athletic, and Brooklyn clubs of Greater New York.
COUNTY COURT.
GREENFIELD, HON. HULL. Born at Moravia, Cayuga County, August 7, 1850; educated at the Moravia Institute; read law in the office of Honorable S. Edwin Day, in that village; admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court at Syracuse, N. Y., November 21, 1871, and thereafter admitted to practice in the Federal courts. Judge Greenfield commenced practice in Moravia where he formed a partnership with Honorable John L. Parker which continued for several years and upon its termination removed to Auburn and continued his practice as a member of the firm of Greenfield & Aiken. He was clerk of the Ways and Means Committee-House of Representatives -- from 1900 to 1906; appointed county judge, on the unanimous request of the bar of Cayuga County, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Honorable Adolphus H. Searing, on April 17, 1907, and was elected to that office for a full term in November of the same year. Judge Greenfield is a director of the City Club, a member of Sylvan Lodge No. 41, Free and Accepted Masons of Moravia and of Auburn Lodge No. 474, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of Auburn. His office and chambers are in the Cayuga County Clerk's Building.
SURROGATE.
WOODIN, HON. WALTER E., is a son of the late Edwin A. Woodin and a grandson of the late Honorable William B. Woodin. He was born in, and has always resided in the City of Auburn; education, common school; read law in the office of Honorable George B. Turner in that city, and was admitted to the bar at Rochester,
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N. Y., in January, 1898 ; commenced the active practice of his pro- fession the same year; appointed clerk of the Surrogate's Court in 1895 and served four years ; elected surrogate in 1901, and re-elected in 1907. Office and chambers in the Court House.
SPECIAL COUNTY JUDGE.
LEWIS, HON. DANFORTH, R. Born in the town of Niles, Cayuga County, November 2, 1867 ; education, common school and Cazenovia Academy; commenced reading law in the office of Under- wood & Storke, in Auburn and later (1906) graduated from the law department of Cornell University in Ithaca; was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in Auburn which he has since continued; elected and served as justice of the peace from 1897 to 1901; elected special county judge in 1901 and has since continuously filled that office having been twice re-elected. Practice general. Judge Lewis is a member of Auburn Lodge No. 431, Free and Accepted Masons; Auburn Lodge No. 474, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and Ensenore Lodge No. 438, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Office over No. 85 Genesee street.
SPECIAL SURROGATE.
MILLARD, HON. HENRY FLOYD. Born in Bagley, Somerset- shire, England, November 18, 1871, education, common school; graduated from the law department of Cornell University in Ithaca, N. Y., in 1898; admitted to the bar in Rochester, N. Y., in June, 1899, and commenced practice at Fair Haven, this county, which he has since continued. Elected and served as special surrogate in 1905-6. Re-elected in November, 1907; practice general. Mr. Millard is a member of Lodge No. 481, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Fair Haven-of which lodge he is a Past Grand Master-and a director of the relief association of that fraternity in this county.
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CITY COURT.
DRUMMOND, HON. RICHARD C. STEEL., is the present city judge ; he was born in the City of Auburn, January 2, 1879. He is a son of Honorable Robert L. Drummond and was educated in the common schools of the city, graduated with high honors, from Hamilton College, with the degree of A. B., in 1901, and later received the degree of A. M. Graduated from the Albany Law School in 1903, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Auburn the same year; elected city judge on the Democratic ticket in 1903; re-elected in 1905 and 1907. Judge Drummond is a member of several college societies; a member of the examining committee of the Albany Law School; secretary of the executive committee of the Cayuga County Bar Association and a member of Seward Camp No. 11, Sons of Veterans. He is a member of the law firm of Drummond, Drummond & Drummond, with offices over No. 59 Genesee street.
RECORDER'S COURT.
STUPP, HON. FRANK J. : the present recorder, is not a member of the bar; he was born in New York City, March 26, 1844; his father's family removed to Auburn in 1848, shortly after which Frank returned to New York and made his home for several years with an uncle; educated in the common schools in New York City and Auburn. In 1861 he enlisted in Company D, Forty-Ninth Regiment, National Guard of the state, and served until the com- mencement of the Civil War; July 16, 1862 he enlisted in Company G, One Hundred and Eleventh Regiment, New York Volunteers, and served until the close of the war. During this service he was carried on the rolls of his company in the National Guard, as an active member, and upon his return was elected and served for one year as first sergeant; then elected first lieutenant and served about two years; then elected captain and served until November
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1872, at which time he was appointed on the staff of Colonel C. D. MacDougall, as quartermaster of the regiment, and served until 1877, when he was appointed a keeper in the State prison and served for about nine years; elected first sergeant of the Wheeler Rifles, Second Separate Company, National Guard of the State of New York, and appointed armorer of the State armory, in February 1882, which positions he held until May 17, 1901, when at his re- quest he was honorably discharged from the service. Elected recorder on the Democratic ticket in 1903, and re-elected in 1905 and 1907. Mr. Stupp is a member of St. Paul's Lodge, No. 124, Free and Accepted Masons, of Auburn, of which he is a Past Master; David's Chapter No. 34, Royal Arch Masons; Salem Town Commandery No. 16, Knights Templars, of which he is a Past Eminent Commander, and all of the Scottish Rite Degree bodies, making him a Thirty-Second degree Mason; he is a member of the Mystic Shrine of Rochester, and Auburn Tent No. 125, Knights of the Maccabees of Auburn, of the uniformed rank of which fraternity he is Commander.
DISTRICT-ATTORNEY.
BURRITT, HON. ROBERT J. Born in the town of Ira, Cayuga County, May 20, 1874; educated in the public schools of the City of Auburn, graduating from the High School in 1894; read law in the offices of Coburn & Hunter and completed his studies in the Albany Law School, from which he graduated and was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court in 1898, and to the United States District Court in 1899. He has practised since his admission in Auburn. Appointed assistant district-attorney and served from 1900 to 1906, in which year he was elected district-attorney. Mr. Burritt is a member of Auburn Lodge No. 431, Free and Accepted Masons; Auburn Lodge No. 474, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and of the City Club.
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ASSISTANT DISTRICT-ATTORNEY.
CLARK, ALBERT H. Born at Dryden, Tompkins County, N. Y., June 2, 1877 ; graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, with the degree of Ph.B. in 1898, and continued his legal studies for two years in that university, when he took his examination and was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court at Saratoga Springs, Saratoga County, N. Y., September 4, 1900, and to practice in the United States District Court in 1901, during which year he com- menced, and has since continued, practice in the City of Auburn. Appointed assistant district-attorney in 1906. Mr. Clark is the junior member of the law firm of Dayton & Clark, with offices over I33 and 135 Genesee street.
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE.
CLEMENTS, HARRY V. Born in the City of Auburn, December 20, 1881; education, common school; graduated from the High School in 1899 and from the law department of Cornell University in Ithaca, in 1904, in July of which year he was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court at Rochester, N. Y., and to the Federal courts in 1907. He commenced and has continued the practice of his profession in the City of Auburn. Elected justice of the peace in 1907.
REFEREE IN BANKRUPTCY.
BRAINARD, JOHN MORGAN. Born in the City of Auburn, December 21, 1863 ; graduated A. B., from the High School in 1880; from Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., with the degree of B. A., in 1884, and with the degree of M. A. in 1886. Read law in the offices of Howland & Wheeler, and was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court, at Rochester, N. Y., in October, 1886, and to practice in the Federal courts in 1892. On his admission he com- menced the practice of his profession in Auburn. Mr. Brainard
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is the junior member of the law firm of Taber & Brainard, with offices over 122 Genesse street, of which firm he is the trial lawyer. He is also president of the Auburn Trust Company. Appointed referee in bankruptcy in the spring of 1899, and has since contin- uously discharged the duties of that office.
UNITED STATES COMMISSIONER.
AVERY, CHARLES I. Born in the City of Auburn, county of Cayuga, March 10, 1859; educated in the public schools of the city and at Cornell University in Ithaca, N. Y., from which he graduated in 1883 ; read law in the office of Charles M. Baker, Esq., in Auburn, was admitted to the bar at Rochester, N. Y. in October, 1885, and commenced practice in Auburn the same year. Mr. Avery is the present United States commissioner, which office he has filled for several years, and is a member of Auburn Lodge No. 431, Free and Accepted Masons. Practice general; offices over No. 124 Genesee street.
THE PRESENT BAR.
ADAMS, CHARLES L. Born at New Paltz Landing, Ulster County, N. Y., December 24, 1833, and came to Cayuga County with his father's family three years later; educated in the public schools of the village of Moravia; read law with Nelson T. Stephens in Moravia and was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court at Ithaca, N. Y., in 1859 and later to practice in the Federal courts. He commenced practice in Auburn in 1860 and was a partner of Michael S. Myers, Esq., for ten years and of Charles F. Durston, Esq., for twelve years. He served as United States commissioner for thirty years and retired from active practice several years ago.
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