USA > New York > Oneida County > History of Oneida County, New York : from 1700 to the present time, Volume II > Part 2
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Mr. Coakley of this review received his preliminary education at Assump- tion Academy and later attended Manhattan College at New York city. He early gave indications of good business capacity and since the death of his father has been conducting the Timothy Coakley estate. He is a valued mem- ber of the Knights of Columbus and the Royal Arcanum. He is unmarried and makes his home with his mother. Possessing the characteristics of ambition, energy and perseverance which are the leading traits of the successful modern business man, there is no doubt in the opinion of his friends that he will dis- charge the responsibilities now resting upon his shoulders in a way that will reflect credit upon himself and all with whom he is associated.
LAUREN M. FITCH.
Lauren M. Fitch, proprietor of the Fitch Gear Company of Rome, is an acknowledged leader in his chosen specialty. He was born at Born at Brook- field, Madison county, New York, September 3, 1849, a son of Julius O. and Harriet (Lyne) Fitch. The father was for more than forty years a promi- nent manufacturer of Brookfield and engaged in the carriage-manufacturing business very successfully. After receiving his preliminary education in the publie schools Lauren M. Fitch entered his father's carriage-making establish- ment and learned the trade. Being of a mechanical turn of mind he showed great interest in his work and became thoroughly proficient. In 1875 he came to Rome upon the invitation of R. M. Bingham & Company to make gears in order to save freight on the same from Brookfield. He continued with this company about six years and then, desiring to engage in business on his own account, organized the Rome Spring Wagon Works of which he was the head for a short time when he disposed of his holdings. In 1881 he began in the business to which he has since applied himself, manufacturing all kinds of gears for carriages. The reputation of the house grew from year to year until it now disposes of its products to carriagemakers and to the hardware trade in all the principal parts of the United States and each year witnesses a gratifying increase in its patronage.
Mr. Fitch has been three times married. He was first married in 1868, at the age of nineteen, his wife dying one month later. In 1870 he was married to Miss Franees Moore, who died in 1886, leaving a daughter, Blanche N., now Mrs. Frank W. Hixson, of Hot Springs, Arkansas. On May 23, 1895, Mr. Fitch married Miss Christine Starke, a daughter of George and Mary Starke, of Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Mr. Fitch is essentially a business man and, therefore, has never taken an active interest in politics or aspired to the emoluments of public office. He is
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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
prominently identified with the Masonic order and is a member of Roman Lodge, No. 223, F. & A. M .; Fort Stanwix Chapter, No. 153, R. A. M .; Rome Commandery, K. T., No. 45; and Ziyara Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. He is also a valued member of Rome Lodge, I. O. O. F., and the Lodge of Knight's of Pythias at Rome. His record is evidence of what may be accomplished by a man who has the courage to trust in his own judgment and the perseverance to continue unflinchingly in what he undertakes. He is known as one of the substantial men of the community, whose honor is unquestioned and whose in- fluence is always to be counted upon in forwarding the general good.
IION. EUGENE ANDREWS ROWLAND.
Ilon. Eugene Andrews Rowland, who met a sudden, untimely and tragic death by drowning on the 19th of June, 1911, had been a practicing attorney of Rome for twenty-four years and was numbered among the leading and rep- resentative citizens of the town. Ilis birth occurred at Boonville, New York, on the 29th of February, 1864, his parents being Samuel S. and Alice J. (Barton) Rowland. He was graduated from the Rome Free Academy in 1880 and in 1884 won the degree of bachelor of arts from Madison (now Colgate) University, graduating as salutatorian of his elass. In the university he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and the Phi Beta Kappa society. Later the degree of master of arts was conferred upon him. In preparation for a legal career he studied law with the firm of Johnson & Prescott, of Rome, and was admitted to the bar in 1887. Throughout the remainder of his life he was a.\ active and successful representative of the legal profession at Rome, enjoying a well merited and constantly growing clientage. In 1890 he was appointed United States commissioner for the northern district of New York, holding that position until his death and discharging its duties with ability and fidelty. He had a large practice and had the confidenee of the community and of his fellow practitioners. For some years and at the time of his demise he held the position of attorney for the Farmers National Bank. In his profession he was a man of great industry and perseverance. No amount of work was too great for him to do in the interests of his clients. He would sacrifice his own interests to those of his clients, and worked for them as faithfully and loyally as any man could. lle was a member of the New York State Bar Association, the Oneida County Bar Association and the Bar Association of the City of New York.
Mr. Rowland did not confine his attention to the law alone but took an active interest in the affairs of the city and county in which he lived. He was a very charitable man and in 1905 served as president of the Rome board of charities. In the winter of 1907-08, when the movement for the campaign against tuber- eulosis began, he identified himself therewith and served on the committee throughout the remainder of his life. He was a director in the Central New York Institute for Deaf Mutes, had been for years a member of the Rome Young Men's Christian Association and was one of the most liberal contributors to its cause. In 1910 he was chosen one of the school commissioners of Rome
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and his learning and ability were recognized when he was chosen president of the board at once. In this position he served ably and well, doing with all his might that which he found to do. In 1903 he was chosen a trustee of Colgate University and served the institution until ealled to his final rest. He was one of the best orators and after-dinner speakers in the county and gave his time and talent for the advancement of Rome. He was a director in the Rome & Clinton Railroad Company and in the Church Insurance Association, which has its headquarters at Rochester.
In politics Mr. Rowland was a republican but never an office seeker, believing that he who serves his country best, serves his party best. He acted as president of the Rome Republican Club in 1906-1908 and did what he could to promote its best interests. He was a man of the highest civic ideals and had long been a member of Gansevoort-Willett Chapter of the Empire State Society of Sons of the American Revolution. Since his early manhood Mr. Rowland had been a member of the First Baptist church of Rome, and he took a deep interest in its welfare. IIe was likewise a member of the Rome Country Club, the Te-Uge-Ga Golf Club and the University Club of New York city.
The sudden and lamented death of Mr. Rowland was the result of a fatal accident at Trenton Falls. The party of which he was a member and which in- eluded his wife and daughter and John Burroughs, the famous naturalist, were walking through the gorge when he slipped and fell into the West Canada Creek, being drowned while endeavoring to swim ashore. Though eventually rescued from the turbulent stream, attempts to resuscitate him proved vain. Detailed accounts of the accident appeared in the local papers and many were the ex- pressions of regret made by press and publie. All the festivities connected with commencement exercises in the Rome Academy were postponed as soon as it was known that Mr. Rowland, the president of the board of education, had passed away. The following editorial appeared in the Utica Observer: "The people of Utica scareely less than those of Rome were shocked to learn of the sudden death of Eugene A. Rowland, which occurred yesterday afternoon at Trenton Falls. Only a day or two ago he was in this city on business, meeting several men of his acquaintance who little thought that they were then seeing him for the last time alive. The story of the accident is told at length in another column, but no printed tale can tell the whole of the sorrow and the sadness incident thereto. Mr. Rowland was not an old man but had been so active and so useful that he had made a name and a place for himself, where he enjoyed the esteem and respect of a wide eircle. . He was a man of many and varied activities, a member of many boards, and to them all he brought energy and good judgment and his services were highly prized. He was interested in much that helped to improve general conditions and he had the courage of his convietions in stauding up for what he believed to be right." At a meeting of the Rome Bar Associa- tion, held June 21, 1911, the following resolutions were passed: "The myster- ious exercise of an omnipotent power and all-wise judgment, in removing from the toils of his transitory life Hon. Eugene Andrews Rowland, calls us once again together to mourn the loss of and pay a modest tribute to one of our be- loved and houored members. For twenty-four years was he with us in the prac- tiee of his profession-a familiar figure, dignified, but courteous in the ex-
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IHISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
treme. To review his life is to find one of unceasing labor and untiring devotion to the objects that claimed his attention. Achieving success by his own innate power, his integrity and sincerity of purpose were acknowledged by all. Vig- orons of character, quick of decision, firm of conviction, yet, withal, considerate of the opinions of others, broad of mind, charitable and tender of heart, he at- tracted all to him in every avenue of life in which he moved. The elaims upon him were many. His cultured mind, studious habits, brilliancy of speech, gen- tlemanly instincts, purity of thought and marked ability, coupled with a willing- ness to serve in public and private affairs, made for him a busy, useful and noble life. No cause with merit appealed to him in vain. The rainbow of hope ever spanned his sky. He discharged every trust, whether in his home, church, chosen profession or public service, with true fidelity. He was a lawyer of marked ability, patriotic, public servant and useful citizen, a faithful friend and charming companion. He has passed from this life to the dawn of an eternal morning. He seemed not old enough to die. In a single moment he who stood erect in the full vigor of developed manhood, with a promising future be- fore him, is doomed to silence and the grave. This world's busy interests, am- bitious hopes and lofty aspirations are at an end. His form has vanished, his voice is stilled. We know not as yet the measure of our loss. As time goes on and we see him not, listen no more to his words of counsel, miss his intelligent actively and inspiration in the various fields of service, then and then only we truly realize.
"Recognizing, however, that he has gone from our midst never to return and mindful of his devotion and ability to his every publie and private duty ; be it
"Resolved, That in his seemingly untimely death we have lost an able lawyer. a scholar and a useful, publie-spirited and patriotic eitizen.
"That we tender to his bereaved family in this their dark hour of trial our sincere and heartfelt sympathy.
"That these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of the supreme and county courts and a copy be sent to the family of the deceased."
In discussing the resolutions Mr. Rowland's fellow attorneys publiely testi- fied to his worth in expressions of praise, commendation and respect. Rev. Alfred E. Alton, the clergyman who officiated at the funeral services of Mr. Rowland, said in part: "The word I wish to add concerns him as a religious man. And he left no place for doubt in the mind of any as to the reality of his religion. No one of ns had to guess where he stood as regards the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ. The reality of his religion was deelared by the beauty of his home life, his tender eare of his mother, his activities in social service, his courageous stand for righteousness in political affairs. He believed, as we all do, that the church is necessary to the welfare of the community. But he believed it so much that he gave himself with the best of his ability to the support and advancement of the church life."
John Burroughs, whose name is known as a naturalist from one end of this country to the other and who has met many of this nation's brightest men, said of Mr Rowland : "His mind was one of the brightest I have ever met;" and Vice President Sherman, who now holds one of the highest positions in the gift
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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
of the people of this country, said the following words: "The community has lost a true and valuable citizen."
On the 8th of April, 1896, at Rome, New York, Mr. Rowland was united in marriage to Miss Jeanie M. Barton, by whom he had one daughter, Dorothy Barton, born in 1897. The family residence is at No. 304 North George street, where Mrs. Rowland makes her home. She is likewise well known and highly esteemed throughout the community.
MERRILL JESSE BRAYTON.
Merrill Jesse Brayton, secretary of the Utica Gas & Electric Company. has been prominent in business circles of this city for many years and is noted for his perseverance and untiring energy as well as for his sacred regard in ob- serving financial and mercantile engagements. He is a native of Newport, Herkimer county, New York, and was born July 20, 1852, a son of Almond A. and Caroline (Schermerhorn) Brayton.
In 1860, being then eight years of age, Merrill J. Brayton removed with his parents to Deerfield, Oneida county, New York. He received his preliminary education in Fairfield Seminary and at the Clinton Liberal Institute. After leaving the last named institution he entered the law office of Hon. J. Thomas Spriggs and later continued the study of law under D. E. Pomeroy, of Utica. In 1875 he was admitted to the bar and practiced from 1876 to 1881 as a mem- ber of the law firm of Pomeroy & Brayton. The firm was dissolved in 1881 and during the next two years Mr. Brayton practiced alone. IIe served as deputy clerk of Oneida county in 1883, 1884 and 1885 and discharged his duties with such fidelity that he was elected clerk of the county and filled that office in 1886, 1887 and 1888. In 1889 he became secretary, treasurer and general manager of the Utica Electric Light Company and for sixteen years had charge of the business of this company and that of its successors. He is now secretary of the Utica Gas & Electric Company and its subsidiary con- cerns. Being a man of wide business capacity and prompt and energetic in all his dealings, he has not only promoted wisely the affairs of the organizations with which he has been connected but has also accumulated a competency on his own account. He is a veteran member of the Utica Citizens Corps and prior to the reorganization of the National Guard was for several years inspector of rifle practice of the Twenty-sixth Battalion with the rank of captain.
On the 30th of January, 1884, Mr. Brayton was happily married to Miss Cora B. Johnson, a daughter of James A. and Catherine Johnson, of Ilion. Mr. Brayton is a prominent worker in the Masonic order and holds member- ship in Oriental Lodge, No. 224, A. F. & A. M., and Utica Commandery, No. 3, K. T. He is also identified with the Yahnundahsis Golf, the Fort Schuyler and the Royal Arcanum Clubs. He has taken the interest of a patriotic citizen in public affairs and his services in behalf of the city, county and state have proven of distinct benefit to the general welfare. Mr. Brayton was elected republican state committeeman for the twenty-seventh congressional district
HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
of the state of New York, in the fall of 1910, and is now acting in that eapae- ity. It may be truly said of Mr. Brayton that he is a self-respecting and re- speeted citizen and that he has contributed in a marked degree to the perma- nent prosperity of Utica.
SMITH M. LINDSLEY.
Smith M. Lindsley, whose demise occurred in Ftica on May 17, 1909, was for many years numbered among the most distinguished and snecessful attor- neys of the city. His birth occurred in Monticello, New York, in 1847. The family of which he was a member, its ancestors and various branches, have always been identified with the history of Sullivan county, New York. His paternal grandfather, Eliud Lindsley, was one of the pioneer settlers of that region and was a man of marked characteristics. The local histories contain detailed accounts of his sturdy and honorable character and of the manner in which he impressed his views, and the example of his stanch integrity and upright life upon the people who settled in that county. It is also a branch of this family from which sprang the several noted college presidents and pro- T'essors who have been so conspicuous in the educational history of the state of Tennessee. Rufus B. Lindsley, the father of our subject, was successfully engaged in business as a farmer and stoek dealer and was long a respected resident of Monticello. New York. The mother of Smith M. Lindsley was a daughter of Smith Weed, who was also an early and prominent resident of Sullivan county and a member of the Weed family of which the famous Smith M. Weed, of Clinton county, is a member.
Smith M. Lindsley received an excellent English and classical edneation at the then noted academy of his native place and gradnated therefrom as valedictorian of his elass. He afterward continued his studies at the Wyoming Seminary and College in Pennsylvania and was a member of the faculty of that institution for one year. He had long before determined upon the pro- fession of law as his life work and previous to his leaving the college had begun its study. From Wyoming he went to Wilkes-Barre in the same state, where he continued the study of the law through one year and down to 1869, when he removed to Utica and entered the office of HIon. Franeis Kernan. There he finished his legal studies and was admitted to the bar in 1870. He immediately entered upon practice in this city, where his natural and acquired qualifications for his profession soon gave him a large measure of success. Ile had, too, at the same time so early gained the confidence of the eitizens of Utica in both his ability and his integrity that in 1872 he was elected to the office of city attorney by the democrats, with which party he was always identified. In that campaign every other candidate on the democratie ticket, with one exception, was defeated. His service in that office was so entirely satisfactory to the community that he was reelected by a largely increased majority. Meanwhile his private practice had greatly advanced, making sueh demands upon his time and energies that he declined a third nomination. He
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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
had now won the broad confidence of many of the leading business men of the city, and his business became correspondingly lucrative and extensive, while at the same time his rapidly extending reputation as a brilliant and successful court lawyer and pleader brought him into connection with many prominent eases, where large interests and intricate legal questions were involved.
In 1884 Mr. Lindsley was unanimously nominated by a joint convention of citizens, representing both political parties, for the office of mayor of Utica; but long before this he had become fixed in his determination to give all his energies and time to the practice of his chosen profession and with that end in view to accept no offer of political preferment, however flattering it might be; he therefore declined this high and exceptional honor. Subsequently he had many flattering inducements to enter the political field as a candidate for important positions but uniformly and persistently refused. In 1895 he was unanimously nominated by his party for justice of the supreme court of the state but declined to make the race. In his later practice Mr. Lindsley achieved conspicuous success, counting a large number of the best and most substantial business men of Utica and its vicinity among his clients. Ile had also a large consulting clientage; but it was as a lawyer at trials and in the argument of appeals that he attained his greatest prominence. His success was reflected in a continually increasing business. He was the standing counsel and attor- ney of a number of insurance companies and had especial success in that branch of legal effort. It is not out of place to mention his successful defense of the Utica Observer, which he conducted in the noted Van Auken libel case in 1891, which attracted attention throughout the country and for which he was highly complimented by the legal profession, the press and others through- out the state. Mr. Lindsley was continually retained by other attorneys as advisory counsel and for the trial of cases and the argument of appeals; and he was selected by the attorney-general to act for the state in important affairs.
It was said of Mr. Lindsley by one who knew him intimately from the be- ginning of his career that "he has acquired his present conspicuous position at the bar by being an almost tireless worker. Ile sharpened his natural abili- ties by fearless contests with the ablest among those older in the profession when he began. When he enters court with a case not one atom or item of prep- aration is wanting. Every fact is marshaled and weighed and in his mind is placed where it belongs and where it will be most effective." In another and a different direction it was flattering to Mr. Lindsley's capacity for practical business and financial undertakings that he was in 1885 chosen president of the First National Bank of Chittenango, an office which he successfully ad- ministered until his death.
Mr. Lindsley was a Mason and an Odd Fellow and an active and prominent member of other well known organizations of a special and benevolent char- acter. In 1887 and the two years succeeding he served as supreme regent or chief executive officer of the Royal Arcanum, one of the principal fraternal benefit and insurance societies of the country. He managed its business of collecting and disbursing several millions of dollars and in the line of his profession successfully solved many intricate legal problems involved in the adjustment and payment of death claims and losses. Ile infused vigor into Vol. 11-2
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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY
every department of the organization, so that its growth was ahost phenomenal. As the official head of this organization he was called to many parts of the country and thereby he acquired a very wide and extended acquaintance in many states, Socially and in the everyday affairs of life Mr. Lindsley was a popular and respected gentleman, admired for his manly independence and adherence to the principles of living which he believed to be right and hold- ing the warm regard of many friends for his excellent qualities.
In 1873 Mr. Lindsley married Dorlissa, daughter of John W. Johnston, a well known and prominent lawyer of Sullivan county. They had two children : Lew Johnston Lindsley, who was born in Utiea, February 11, 1874, and died December 4, 1878, and Orma, a daughter, born May 21. 1876, who died No- vember 26, 1894. Mrs. Lindsley, who still survives her husband, makes her home at the Olbiston apartments.
JOHN COX.
No country in the world has been more generous than Ireland in contribn- ting ambitious and promising young men to America. For a century or more the Emerald isle has been sending its sons to the new world and under the friendly protection of the stars and stripes they have established homes. becom- ing identified with all lines of activity and here enjoying independence and prosperity such as no other country on the globe could offer.
John Cox, of Utica, is one of the foreign born natives of this city, who early in life became a resident of the United States. He was born February 9, 1857, and crossed the ocean with his parents, arriving in New York city March 17, 1563. The family lived until 1865 in New York city and then moved to Herki- mer county. New York, where the father engaged in farming.
John Cox grew to manhood in Herkimer county and remained at home until 182. He then came to Utica and secured employment in the furniture store of C. Wise & Company which was located at the corner of State and La- fayette streets, In 1-87. after the death of Mr. Wise, Mr. Cox was made man- ager of the business for the estate. Four years later he associated with J. 11. Remmer and they took over the business, the title of the firm being Remmer & Cox. After six years Mr. Remmer withdrew and John Collins was admitted as a member of the firm, the title being changed to John Cox & Company. The business prospered greatly and in 190] a modern four-story building was erected at the corner of Columbia and Cornelia streets on the site of the old oil cloth factory and here the business has since been maintained. In 1906 Mr. Cox bonght out the interest of his partner and has sinee been sole pro- prietor of the concern. He opened a branch store in September, 1910, at No. 325 Bleecker street, and the venture has proved very successful.
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