USA > New York > Herkimer County > History of Herkimer county, New York > Part 53
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Joram Petree was born in 1802, on the family homestead about two miles north of the village of Little Falls, but made the village his home after his boyhood. His youth and its opportunities were neither better nor worse than those of other boys of that early day, and his education was such as he was able to obtain in the country schools. His father was Jost Diedrich Petree, who was an exceptionally prosperous farmer on the place afterwards occupied by the late Moses Petree; but Joram Petree had larger ambition than tilling the soil, and possessed mercantile predilections which greatly in- fluenced his after life. About the year 1825, and when he had attained his majority, he jomed with his brother David in a mercantile business in a store on the south side of Main street, Little Falls, the site now being occupied by the Skinner Opera House. The stock of goods handled by the brothers was one of the largest of the time, and like most early country stores, embraced dry goods, groceries and hardware. They were eminently successful from the first, and in 1838, in order to extend their business oper-
Ganas a Barnet
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
ations, they purchased the iron foundry of Samuel Smith, on the corner of Main and Furnace streets, the present site of the knitting mill of Titus Sheard. The foundry facilities were then largely devoted to the manufacture of cooking and parlor stoves. The foundry was conducted by the brothers until 1856. After the opening of the Erie canal, Mr. Petree took a practical interest in its prosperity, and foresaw its great im- portance to all business interests along its line, as well as to the passenger traffic between New York, Albany and the young and growing " West." He became a large stock . holder in a line of packet boats running between Schenectady and Utica, as early as 1845, and had substantially the management of the affairs of the line. Under his efficient direction the enterprise was highly prosperous, and from his holdings in it he realized large profits. The time came, however, when the opening of the railroad (now the New York Central) curtailed the business and profits of passenger carriage on the canal, and it is conclusive evidence of Mr. Petree's business foresight and ability to cope with the inevitable changes incident to the growth and development of the country, so as to stand as a gainer instead of a loser thereby. that in 1854 he purchased the entire line of boats of the company, transported them westward through the canal and Lake Erie to the then more recent Toledo and Wabash canal. extending between Toledo, Ohio, and Lafayette, Ind., where a line was established which he actively managed, and of which he was the principal stockholder. He did not, however, change his residence from Little Falls, for which village he always retained the warmest affection and for whose welfare he was ever desirous.
Mr. Petree's long business career was marked by its unvarying success. Enterprising and energetic at all times, yet prudent and sagacious, the conduct of his varied interests was founded upon those principles of integrity and fairness towards his fellow-men which must underlie and almost always prove responsible for such success as le attained. He was, for the period covering his active life, a bold and self-reliant oper- ator, and gained the confidence and respect of those with whom he had business rela- tions. He possessed broad and liberal views of life, and his counsel was esteemed by all who sought to profit by it in practical affairs.
Mr. Petree was married on the 13th of June, 1838, to Frances Ford, daughter of Philip Ford, of Troy, N. Y. To them were born four children, Fanny F., now the wife of O. O. Cottle, of Buffalo; Eugenia, died at the age of six months ; Edmund Clarence, deceased, aged seven years; and Charles L .. living at Little Falls. Mrs. Petree died October 5, 1862, at the age of forty-four years, six months and four days. Joram Petree died October 16, 1869, aged sixty-seven years.
In his home life, in companionship with his wife and children, Mr. Petree was kind, faithful, and solicitous for their welfare and happiness. To give them comfort was his highest pleasure, and to leave to them the heritage of a good and honorable name his best ambition.
JOHN W. VROOMAN.
It is well known to readers of this volume that the Mohawk Valley was the birth- place and dwelling place of many men and women whose names are memorable in his- tory, and whose descendants have risen to distinction in the State and nation. Con-
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HISTORY OF HERKIMER COUNTY.
spicnous among these names is that of Vrooman. Far back in the bloody annals of the frontier of what became the Empire State, at a period when the beautiful valley of the historic stream which took its name from the original occupants of the soul, and when the valley was fiercely fought for by representatives of three European powers, each eager to drive the others and the Indians from it, we learn that the Vroomans were ac- tively conspicnons in the stirring events of the time. At the burning of Schenectady, February 9, 1690, the record says that Hendrick Meese and Bartholomeus Vrooman were " kild and burnt," and " Barent, ye sonne of Adam Vrooman," was taken prisoner and carried to Canada.
These Vroomans, like many others of the original white settlers along the Ilud- son and Mohawk rivers, were Holland Duteb, a sturdy, heroic and virtuons pco- ple, and from them is directly descended John W. Vrooman, whose lineage is traced back to Count Egmont. On his paternal side his grandmother was a Casler, a family name that also stands with especial prominence upon the pages of the history of the Mohawk Valley, and she was closely related to the brave General Ilerkimer. The father of John W. Vrooman was Nicholas Frooman, who was a farmer of limited means, a condition that reflected against the early opportunities of the son. His mother's maid- en naine was Christina Wright.
John W. Vrooman was born in the town of German Flats, Herkimer county, N. Y., on the 28th of March, 1844. In his efforts to obtain a good education he met and sur- mounted obstacles common to many who were reared in similar circumstances. His attendance at the district school was intermitted with labor on the farm, and during his subsequent terms in the Little F'alls Academy he was compelled to live in the most economical manner, working much on the farm by day in his vacations and studying at night. At the age of sixteen he began teaching school in winter, continuing his academie studies in the summer, and at the age of eighteen he entered the office of Judge Ezra Graves in Ilerkimer to study law. Ilere also he devoted himself in the winter months to teaching, thus obtaining money for his current expenses. At the age of nineteen, while a student in the law office, he volunteered in the United States Navy and was engaged on board the Vanderbilt in cruising after blockade runners until the winter of 1864 5, when that steamer joined the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron, and he participated in the two battles of Fort Fisher. He continued in the service until the close of the war, when he was honorably discharged. Ile resumed the study of the law and in October, 1866, was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of his profession in Ilerkimer. In November, 1867. Mr. Vrooman was married to Ann Ford, of Mohawk. Jannary 1, 1868, the surrogate of the county, Amos II. Prescott, appointed Mr. Vrooman chief clerk, a position which he faithfully and efficiently filled for ten years. In January, 1876, he was appointed deputy clerk of the Assembly, was de- tailed as financial clerk thereof, and reappointed the next year. In 1877 he was chair- man of the Ilerkimer county delegation to the Rochester convention, at which he was elected a member of the Republican State Committee. Mr. Vrooman had already shown his possession of special aptitude and unusual capacity for successful political work, and the preferment mentioned and other subsequent advancement are largely due to those qualities and the energy and unselfishness with which he used them for
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
the good of his party. At the time of his election on the State Committee he was sur- rounded by a large and friendly political acquaintanceship and by them he was induced to enter into the contest for the clerkship of the Senate, resulting in his election to that office January I, 1878. In this responsible position he served ten years (1878-88), be- ing elected five successive terms, and to the entire satisfaction of the many prominent men of both parties with whom he came in contact. He declined to stand as a candi- date for further election, and at the close of his official career the following resolutions were unanimously adopted by the State Senate :
" Resolved, That to the Hon. John W. Vrooman, who has for ten years past dis- charged the duties of Clerk of the Senate with marked ability and courtesy, we hereby tender our congratulations upon the honorable reputation he has maintained during the period of his public service. We entertain the highest respect for his many virtues and invoke upon him in his future career unclouded success.
" Resolved, That the Clerk of the Senate be and he is hereby instructed to transmit to Mr. Vrooman an engrossed copy of these resolutions, as a token of regard from the Senate of the State of New York."
He served as a member of the Republican State Committee for eight years, and as secretary of the Republican State Committee seven years (1880-81-83-84-85-86-88). In the last named year he declined to be a candidate for office and retired from politics, leaving a record singularly free from criticism in either party. In 1889, after his retirement, he was urged to head the ticket put in the field by the Re- publican State Convention, but declined. In September, 1891, he was again urged to allow his name to be placed upon the Republican State ticket and the convention unan- imously nominated him as lieutenant-governor. Although the ticket was defeated, Mr. Vrooman ran ahead in nearly every locality and in the aggregate about fifteen thousand votes. In 1892 he was a presidential elector on the Republican ticket for New York State.
Mr. Vrooman, upon leaving the Senate, immediately turned his attention to business enterprise, in which he has met with deserved success. He engaged in banking in Herkimer village, but was called from that in 1890 by his election to the office of treas- urer of the Mutual Reserve Fund Life Association of New York, and chairman of the executive committee. This office came to him unsought and its great importance in a business and financial sense, with the highly complimentary letter announcing his elec- tion, constitute a tribute to his character and ability of which he is justly proud. The duties of his office take him to New York city, where he finds a host of congenial friends, but he retains his residence in Herkimer.
Mr. Vrooman has for many years been conspicuous in the Order of Free and Ac- cepted Masons. He was made a Mason at the age of twenty-one in Herkimer Lodge, No. 423, F. and A. M .; served as Secretary, Senior Deacon and Senior Warden of his lodge ; also Acting Master one year and Worshipful Master three years. He was ap- pointed Senior Grand Deacon of the Grand Lodge by five successive Grand Masters, and then elected Junior Grand Warden for two years, Senior Grand Warden for two years, and Deputy Grand Master for four years. The Grand Lodge of the State, at its annual session held in New York, June, 1890, elected him by a unanimous vote Most Worshipful Grand Master, and in June, 1891, he was unanimously re-elected. His
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HISTORY OF HERKIMER COUNTY.
addresses, su Grand Lodge, were remarkable for the concise and masterly manher in which he presented the condition of the Fraternity in the jurisdiction. In June, 1892, he was ananimously elecled Grand Master for a third term, but declined further service n that high office. He is a member of Iroquois Chapter, No. 236, Royal Arch Masons, at Ilioi, N. Y., and of Utica Commandery, No. 3, Knights Templar. He has been favored with honorary membership in a number of Masonic lodges; among them may be mentioned Anglo-American Lodge and Bloomsbury Rifles Lodge of London, England. It will be observed that he was elected by eight hundred representatives in the Grand Lodge eleven successive times to various positions, and in no instance was there a candidate named against him or a vote cast against him.
If such a thing were possible. it might be inferred that Mr. Vrooman inherited Ins Masonic predilections, for among his ancestors were men of distinction in that order. In a lestorica sketell of St. George's Lodge, Schenectady, which was founded under the &spices of Sir John Johnem, the record shows that Walter Vrooman, a direct ancestor of John W .. was a member of that lodge, and that Lawrence Vrooman was for a time its secretary. The following resolution appears on the lodge recor 1 for December 26. 1780, and is of peculiar interest in this connection :
Resolve 1. That fifty shillings, hard money, out of the funds of th's Lodge, shall be delivered into the hands of brother Robert Alexander, for the use of brother Walter V'roomgan's family, who is now captive with the enemy, and the same amount be paid into the hands of Joho Cummins, for the use of brother Andrew Ryner's family, who is also taken eaptive.
In the social life of the metropolis, as well as in Albany, Mr. Vrooman has long oc- cupied an enviable position. He is a trustee of the Holland Society and of the New York State Volunteer Firemen s Home. He is a member of the Republican Club of New York, the Lotos Club, the American Yacht Club, and the Farragut Naval Veteran Association, all of New York city, and of Aaron Helmer Post, G. A. R., of Ilerk'mer. A so an honorary member of the Montauk Club of the city of Brooklyn. These Honors have been bestowed upon him, not through persistent effort of himself or friends, Int as a tribute to his geniality, knowledge of affairs, and the universal courtesy which has won him so much popularity.
Mr. Vrooman has for many years been an earnest, active and consistent member of 'ne Methodist Episcopal Church. For several years he was one of the directors of the Y. M. C. A. of Herkimer, and for fifteen years was superintendent of the Sunday school of his church in that place. While never offensively aggressive in the expression of his views of Christianity, he has always showu hin self ready to uphold the prinei- ples he professes of all proper occasions, and is frequently called upon to address Sun- lay schools, Young People's Christian Associations, and other societies of young peo- ple, for whom he always feels the deepest interest.
After twenty- five years of public life, during wl.ch he was constantly forming new acquaintances and making few friends, Mr. Vrooman now finds himself standing high i the estimation of a and one of the widest known and most popular men of this State. He possesses that rare qual fication which enables him to never forget a face or a name, and he seldom makes an aeq iaintance who does not become also his friend.
BIOGRAPHICAL ..
GEORGE ANSON HARDIN
Was born August 17, 1832, in the town of Winfield, a mile and half north of West Winfield village. Col. Joseph Hardin, his father, was born in East Hampton, Connect- icut, in 1804, and was a son of Nathan IIardin and Philena Sears Clark, who resided in Connecticut until 1816, when they removed to this State.
They were descendants of the Pilgrims, the Clarks tracing their genealogy to the Reverend Mr. Mayhew, a minister who landed at Plymouth. The Clarks were also active in the defence of their country during the Revolution.
Col. Joseph Hardin married Amanda Backus, a daughter of Deacon Anson Backus, who removed from Massachusetts, and was one of the earliest settlers in the upper part of the town.
April 1, 1839, Col. Joseph Hardin removed with his family to the farm on the west side of the village of West Winfield, and remained there until his death, which occurred in 1870, having received injuries by the overturning of a wagon. lie was an active business man; a trustee of West Winfield Academy ; a director of the bank, and for many years colonel of a militia regiment.
George A. Hardin, the subject of this sketch, attended the common schools until he was sixteen years of age, when, at Whitestown Seminary and Cazenovia Seminary, he prepared for college, teaching three winters to aid in bearing the expense of his educa- tion, which was finished at Union College in 1852, while Dr. Nott was president of that institution.
Ile then began immediately to read law, and removed to Little Falls May 30, 1853, en- tering the law office of Messrs. Nolton & Lake. March 30, 1854, he was appointed village clerk, and July 4, 1854, at Watertown, was admitted to the bar. A portion of the sum- mer of that year he spent at Monmouth, Ill .; returning in the fall, hie formed a co- partnership with Judge Nolton, which existed until 1860, when the firm of Hardin & Burrows was formed and continued until January 1, 1872.
In I858 Lauren Ford resigned as district attorney and for. John A. King appointed Mr. Hardin to that office, and in November he was elected by the people and served until the close of 1861. In the fall of that year he was nominated for senator for the Herkimer and Otsego district by the Republican party and by the People's party, being elected by about 3,500 majority. In the Senate his voice and vote supported en- thusiastically all the Union war measures. At the close of i:is senatorial term he resumed the practice of his profession. In 1871 the Republicans chose delegates in five of the six counties of the Fifth Judicial District favorable to him as a candidate for a justice of the Supreme Court, and in September the Republican convention placed him in nomination. The Democratic party also nonnnated him and he was elected, having received the support of both political parties.
The duties of a trial judge were discharged from the time of taking the office unti 1879, when, on account of the impaired health of Judge Mullin, he was asked to serve, in exchange, in the General Term as an associate justice in the Fourth Judicial Depart- ment. In November, 1881, Governor ('ornell assigned him to the General Term, Judge Mullin's term closing with the year.
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HISTORY OF HERKIMER COUNTY.
In 1884, a reorganization of the department was effected, and Governor Grover Cleveland designated him as presiding justice of the new Fourth Department.
In 1885 he was again nominated by the Republicans and also placed upon the Dem- ocratic ticket. He was unanimously elected a justice of the Supreme Court, and December 6, 1885, Governor David B. Hill designated him presiding justice of the Fourth Judicial Department, which designation holds good " during hv's official term as a Justice of the Supreme Court." (Code Section 220).
In June, 1876, Hamilton College conferred upon him the degree of LL. D.
The manner in which the duties of a trial judge were discharged is known to the people and the bar of the district in which he held his own terms, and several extra terms, during the impaired health of Judges Mullin and Doolittle.
The record of his opinions as trial and appellate judge is found in the last five vol- umes of " Barbour's Reports," in the last fifty volumes of "IInn's Reports," in the " New York State Reporter " and in other law reports.
In his twenty- two years of service npon the bench, he has attended every term as- signed to him except one, having had good health and vigor for the performance of the exacting duties of the position.
In July, 1868, he was married to Miss Annette Augusta Arnold, in Emanuel church, of which he has been a vestryman for twenty-five years.
In 1885 he acted as chairman of the Citizens' Committee that matured the plans for the water works system, so valuable to the village.
For the last thirty years he has been an active director in the National Herkimer County Bank, and in that capacity has acquired an extensive knowledge of the business affairs of the community, evinced a sympathy in its progress and an interest in its prosperity.
In 1892 he was solicited by the publishers to supervise and assist in the publication of the History of Herkimer County, and has contributed articles and materials to such an extent as to challenge the gratitude of the publishers.
Having been a life-long resident of the county, and for twenty-nine years a public official therein, its citizens most form their own estimate of his industry, ability and character without any words of commendation in the pages of this work.
JOSHUA JUDSON GILBERT.
In the first decade of the century, when the present city of Utica was a growing vil- 'lage, John Gilbert, an Englishman, settled in Oneida county and erected a starch factory just outside the western boundary of the city limits. Here shortly afterwards, in the year 1807, he was joined by his brother, Edward Gilbert, the father of the subject of this biography. The family was already identified with the industry which the brothers carried on at Utica, an elder brother having some time previously commenced the busi- ness of starch-making at Jersey City, N. J. Edward Gilbert, who was born in Lou- don, England, in April, 1787, came to this country in 1794, and resided with his brother's family in New Jersey up to the time that he joined his brother John in Utica.
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
His wife was Anne Maddock, the daughter of Roger Worthington Maddock and Saralı Harwood, his wife, of Birches, England, at which place Mrs. Gilbert was born in the same year and month as her husband.
On the 15th of September, 1866, Edward Gilbert, who was then residing at Lewis- burg, Pa., with his daughter, Mrs. Justin Loomis, died, survived by five children, John M. and Colgate Gilbert, of Buffalo, N. Y., Joshua J., Mrs. Andrew Tembroek, of Ann Arbor, Mich., and Mrs. Loomis, above referred to.
Joshua Judson Gilbert was born at Utica on the 4th day of September, 1821. His education was received at the Utica Academy, a well-known educational institution of those days, and soon after his graduation he went to Buffalo, where, with his brothers, he was engaged for four years in the manufacture of soap. Returning to Utica, he re- mained with his father until 1854, when he decided upon Little Falls as an excellent point for the erection of works for the manufacture of starch, and coming to Little Falls in that year, he remained a resident until his death, which occurred on February 5, 188I.
The great value of the water power was an important factor in Mr. Gilbert's de- cision to make Little Falls his home. Soon after his arrival he erected the stone build- ing which is now used by his son as the Astoronga Knitting Mills, together with the el- evator adjoining for the storage of grain used in the factory. Thoroughly acquainted from his previous experience in his father's factory with the processes employed in starch-making at that date, Mr. Gilbert was keenly alive to the attendant disadvantages of the method, and in the early portion of his residence in Little Falls he entered upon a series of experiments by which he sought to produce a better quality of starch than was then obtainable. As a result of these experiments he made certain discoveries which have led to a revolution in the whole process of starch-making.
Mr. Gilbert patented his inventions, but the principles of his patent having become known to other manufacturers of starch, he was forced into litigation to prevent in- fringement, which, after dragging on for years, was only finally adjudicated some years after his death, and in favor of a syndicate to whom he had sold his rights. During the latter part of his life Elijah Reed was his partner in this business. Mr. Gilbert was al- ways deeply interested in the welfare and development of the village, and believed most firmly that the right policy, energetically pursued by the citizens, would result in Little Falls becoming an industrial town of considerable magnitude. This belief he was always ready to confirm by act, not hesitatin , to invest his capital in projected in- dustries, and giving his aid efficiently and willingly in all ways which presented them- selves for the upbuilding of the institutions of the town. He was one of the most active promoters of the Little Falls Knitting Mill Company when that corporation was formed in 1872, and acted as its treasurer until his death. Much of his time during the latter years of his life was occupied with the management of the tannery now owned by J. S. Barnett & Brothers, which he and Mr. W. H. Weeks bought of Nelson Rust in 1874, and which they considerably enlarged. He was also conspicuous in the estab- lishment of the Warrior Mower Company, and was one of its directors, and at the time of his death he was also one of the directors of the National Herkimer County Bank.
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