USA > New York > Warren County > History of Warren County [N.Y.] with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 74
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In the year 1846, when he was twenty-one years old, the young man left home, came to Glens Falls and began an apprenticeship as a moulder with James Wells. Here he remained two years, in which time he became profi- cient in his chosen occupation. He next went to Fort Edward, where he worked at his trade in all about five years, separated at intervals with shorter periods of labor in Philadelphia, Troy and Whitehall. His entire period of work at his trade extended over about ten years, at the end of which he re- turned to Glens Falls richer in experience than in money.
Mr. Ames is a man not only of good natural qualifications, but of broad views, extensive reading and careful thought ; he is moreover a natural orator of more than ordinary ability. To these characteristics may undoubtedly be credited the impulse which led to his next occupation. Beginning in 1846 he went on the road with an entertainment embracing at different periods a series of paintings delineating scenes in the arctic explorations of Dr. Kent Kane and those in Africa by Dr. Livingstone, Bible and astronomical scenes, etc. These were accompanied by appropriate explanatory and descriptive lec- tures prepared by Mr. Ames himself. This entertainment was an unqualified success, its popularity, without a doubt, arising more from the interesting char- acter of the lectures and from the energy and business ability infused into the enterprise by the proprietor than from any other feature. This occupation was followed for ten years, during which period several States were traveled over, reaching as far west as Chicago, in the churches of which city the lectures were last given.
Returning permanently to Glens Falls in 1866 Mr. Ames entered upon an entirely new field of labor. He began the work of refining photographer's residues (silver waste, etc.) and manufacturing nitrate of silver and chloride of gold, for the use of photographers, dry plate manufacturers and wholesale drug- gists. Under his skillful and energetic management this business has been developed to splendid proportions. The sale of the manufactured products
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M. AMES.
ALITTLE
631
MERRITT AMES. - LEONARD GANSEVOORT MCDONALD.
and the refining of residues has extended from the provinces to the Gulf of Mexico and into more than twenty-five States. Men are employed on the road and in the work at home two assistant chemists are engaged in the prac- tical part of the business. The building up of such an establishment in a small inland location leads one to question how it has been accomplished. To this Mr. Ames replies, " I have never sought to cheapen my products nor to under- sell others. My success is directly traceable to promptness in return of refined goods, and the quality and quantity of the same." So potent have been these principles that he has become a larger refiner of photographers' residues and manufacturer of nitrate of silver and chloride of gold than any other single person, and he has been honored with refining the waste from five of the photo- graphic departments of the United States government. This success in such a work needs no comment; it merely shows what has been accomplished by energy, perseverance, and integrity. In these years Mr. Ames has gained the highest good will and esteem of all his fellow citizens.
He was baptized into the first Baptist Church of Middletown, Vt., on the 5th of March, 1843, and has ever since been a zealous and faithful member of that sect. His earnest and consistent church work and his thorough knowledge of the Bible have given him much prominence in the church as a teacher and occasionally as a preacher. He has for the past twelve years taught an adult Bible class in which are many leading church members.
Mr. Ames was married in 1847 to Celia Gould, daughter of George Gould, of Albany, a union that has brought nothing but peace and contentment with it. Their children are Adelbert M., born April 26th, 1848 ; died in infancy. Emma M., born December 29th, 1851 ; married W. W. Buckingham and lives in Brooklyn. Lina V., married William E. Baldwin, of Saratoga, who is now associated with Mr. Ames in the chemical works.
EONARD GANSEVOORT McDONALD was born in the town of Queensbury, Warren county, N. Y., in 1821, and is now a citizen of Glens Falls, in said town, and has one of the finest and most desirable resi- dences in that place, which he built and finished in 1869, and has occupied ever since.
He received a liberal education in the common schools and academies, and in 1844 engaged in the mercantile business in company with his brother, Will- iam H., in which he continued until 1849, when he went to California, and after his return became one of the largest manufacturers of the celebrated Glens Falls lime, in which business he continued for about twenty years, and its in- troduction and general use is largely due to his personal effort and perse- verance.
He is one of the prominent men in Warren county, and is well-known throughout the State as one of the leading men in his devotion to, and earnest
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
advocacy by his writings, and otherwise, of the financial and main principles of the so-called Greenback party, having been twice nominated and placed upon the State ticket of that party.
His father, William McDonald, came into this town from New Milford, Conn., where he was born in 1792, when but eight years of age, and resided here about seventy years. He was installed a Mason in 1805 by Dewitt Clin- ton and others, and in 1821 was elected a member of the Legislature in this State, and was twice afterwards elected to the same position. To him, and his personal effort, more than to any other man in Warren county, is due the success and prosperity of the village of Glens Falls. As Governor Dewitt Clinton is said to be the father of the Erie Canal, equally, if not more so, was William McDonald the father of the Glens Falls Feeder Canal, for by his own effort, while a member of the Legislature, he procured the passage of a bill, and a survey was ordered and made, which he personally attended and assisted, to change the location which had been previously made for the build- ing of the Feeder Canal, from the river at Sandy Hill to the river about two miles west of the village of Glens Falls, and from there to the summit level of the Champlain Canal, and from that time the growth and future prosperity of Glens Falls became firmly established and assured.
Doctor Charles McDonald, the father of William McDonald, and the grand- father of Leonard G., was a physician of considerable eminence, who emigrated from Scotland during the old French war, and as a surgeon served in the American army during the Revolutionary struggle. After the war ended he resumed the practice of his profession at New Rochelle, Westchester county, N. Y., where he died at the age of eighty-five years; and his son William McDonald died at Glens Falls in the year 1870 at the age of eighty-six and a half years, leaving eight children, the oldest, Mrs. Jane Maria Clark, wife of Dr. E. G. Clark, of Sandy Hill ; Richard D., Leonard G., William H., Walter, Mrs. Julia A. Arms, wife of Lewis L. Arms, of Glens Falls ; Mrs. Helen Cool, wife of Alvin F. Cool, formerly of Glens Falls, and Edward McDonald. His mother's maiden name was Mary Sanford, daughter of - Sanford, and sister of David Sanford, of New Milford, Conn., who came into this town in 1785, and settled on Sanford's Ridge, where he carried on a large farming, mercantile and lumber business.
The mother of Leonard G. McDonald, before she was married to William McDonald in 1809, was Maria Jane Davis, daughter of Richard Davis, son of Harry Davis, who was one of the early settlers in Poughkeepsie in the seven- teenth century, and her mother (the maternal grandmother of Leonard G.) was the daughter of - Geer, who was killed by the Indians while defending his home at the massacre of Wyoming during the French and Indian war.
Leonard G. McDonald was first married in 1854 to Helen Webster, daugh- ter of Charles Webster, of Stockbridge, Berkshire county, Mass., and she died
D. V. BROWN, SR.
LEONARD GANSEVOORT MCDONALD .- DANIEL V. BROWN, SR. 633
in April, 1871, and in 1872 he married his present wife, Clara M. Twinning, daughter of Thomas Twinning, of Lenox, Berkshire county, Mass., having no children by either wife.
He is a prominent member and one of the wardens of the Episcopal Church in Glens Falls, and for over twenty years has regularly attended as a delegate the Diocesan Conventions of that church.
In politics he was formerly a Democrat, but for the past seven or eight years, after much study and investigation, he firmly adopts and earnestly ad- vocates the general and leading principles of the Greenback party as advocated and maintained by such men as Peter Cooper, Warwick Martin and others, whose lives have ended in advancing and maintaining the leading and financial principles of that party or faction.
Dª ANIEL V. BROWN, SR. - The reader of the history of the town of Queensbury in early days has learned that among the earliest settlers in what is now Warren county was Benedick Brown, whose name is found among the town officers of 1773, when he was made overseer of the poor. He had a son, Valentine Brown, who settled near the outlet of what is now called Glen Lake (known for many years as Valentine's Pond). One of his sons was named Richard, who located about one and a half miles from the site of the Half-way House, between Glens Falls and Lake George. His children were George (see biographical sketch herein), Charles J., Daniel V., the subject of this notice, and Stewart. Richard Brown's wife was Sarah Vaughan, of Washington county, a descendant of one of the old Rhode Island families, now numerously represented in the Eastern States.
Daniel V. Brown was born in the town of Queensbury on the 29th of May, 1821. His boyhood was passed at home and he was given such educational advantages as then offered in country districts. Of these his active mind availed itself to the utmost, and he secured a groundwork which, with his later study and experience, enabled him to step into the foremost rank of business men. About 1843 he left his home and located permanently in Glens Falls, where he engaged extensively in the forwarding business on the canals, and also inter- ested himself at various times in other ventures of trade or manufacture. His distinguishing characteristics in his business career, were cool and accurate judgment, capacity to deal promptly with large interests and problems, and unflinching integrity.
Mr. Brown was a zealous and active politician of the Democratic school and was honored by his fellow townsmen with various positions of trust and responsi- bility. He was collector in 1848, '49, supervisor in 1859, and sheriff in 1861- 64; was president of Glens Falls in 1861, and trustee for five years theretofore. In these public offices he exhibited the same zeal and fidelity that made his private business successful, and enabled him to acquire a competence before his early and lamentable death.
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
When the war broke out and the government was threatened by traitors, no person came forward with more alacrity than Mr. Brown to offer whatever aid lay in his power. So it occurred that when the president made his call for 500,000 troops and there was some difficulty in filling the quota for Queens- bury, Mr. Brown was selected as one to go into the Southwestern States and purchase voluntary enlistments to apply on the home quota. The work was, of course, well performed, which led to his selection the second time for a sim- ilar duty, under the succeeding call for 300,000 men. On this occasion he was associated with Edward Riggs, one of the ablest attorneys of the county. They left New York on Thursday, January 8th, 1865, by steamer Melville, for Hilton Head, whence they expected to sail for Savannah. They had with them a large sum of money belonging to the town. When off Staten Island the vessel broke some part of her machinery, and she was taken back to Atlan- tic Dock, Brooklyn, whence she sailed the next morning at six o'clock. Mr. Riggs sent back a brief letter to his sister, by the pilot, dated on Friday morn- ing and on board the ship. They had pleasant weather until Saturday noon, when they encountered one of the terrible gales of our southeastern coast. It was severely cold, and the decks and rigging were soon covered with ice. About nine o'clock in the evening, it was found that a large hole had been stove in the bow, and that the water was running into the forward cabin. The fires were soon put out ; and supposing the ship to be sinking, one of the two life-boats was immediately filled; but before it was lowered the weight of the persons and the lurching of the ship broke off the railing to which the boat was attached, and against which the captain was at the time leaning, endeav- oring to restore order, precipitating all into the sea, including the captain ; and in the darkness and howling of the winds, nothing was seen or heard of them afterward.
The remainder of the night, drenched and shivering, they spent in bailing the vessel - one young lady for a time reading the Bible to the men as they worked. They burned the mails and other combustibles to signal a schooner which was in sight. Sunday morning the storm abated ; and about ten o'clock they launched the remaining boat, and putting the ladies into it with a few others, they were manning it with seamen, hoping that they might reach the schooner yet in sight, and bringing back an additional boat, take off the re- mainder of the passengers and crew - when the steamer suddenly went down, capsizing the boat, and thus leaving all in the surging sea together. The only persons saved were a mate, an engineer, and one passenger, picked up that night about ten o'clock in the boat, by the schooner Harriet - and a Mr. Boyden taken from a piece of the wreck about three o'clock on Monday morning, by the bark Rechabite. The mate of the vessel thinks that he knew our friends ; and that, on account of exhaustion and cold, with their life-preservers on, they were waiting in the cabin when the steamer almost instantly went down. Thus
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DANIEL V. BROWN, SR.
these men came to their death, about two hundred miles from New York, and about seventy from the Virginia shore.
This calamity cast a shade of sadness over the entire county, and the bar and the people generally united in paying the tribute of sympathy to their memory. A large meeting was held on the 8th of January, under the auspices of the Town War Committee, at which several of the leading men of the village spoke of the virtues of the deceased, and eulogistic resolutions were passed. From these we select the following as applying to Mr. Brown : -
Resolved, That the fatal event which cost our community the life of Daniel V. Brown has inflicted an irreparable loss, not only on the beloved ones of his pleasant domestic home and the many dear friends whom he has left behind, but on this his native county, and especially on this his native town.
Resolved, That the value of such a man's example is beyond calculation : Beginning his career as he did without any, or but very few of the advantages of an early education, and with no individual source of reliance except his own strong arm and irreproachable character, backed by an indomitable will and a cheerful temper, whose sunshine could never be shaded, his work-day youth began in our midst, to be crowned as time passed on with an enviable success in business, and with the highest public honors and most responsible public positions of our village, our town and our county, - all the legitimate and just rewards of a life of industry, probity and ever of " good will " towards all men.
Upon the presentation of the resolutions, Isaac Mott, esq., was among the speakers, and referred in the following language to Mr. Brown's life and char- acteristics : -
" Daniel V. Brown was emphatically a man of the people. I have known him in private, social and public life; always frank, genial, generous, he was the friend of all, and all were his friends.
" I will not invade the precincts of private grief to speak of his worth as a husband and father ; the family circle but too keenly feel the great calamity and irreparable loss which now overwhelms them.
" In the social circle he was always a welcome guest, adding much to the good cheer of all around him. As a business man he was active, prompt, en- ergetic, faithful and true ; no one ever doubted the word or honesty of Daniel V. Brown. His activity, generosity and honorable bearing had won for him a high position in business circles. By the partiality of the people he was often called to positions of honor and trust, and ever discharged the duties with credit to himself and fidelity to the public. He had barely closed his term of three years as the first executive officer of the county when he started on his ill- fated mission. In the discharge of the requirements of law, as sheriff, he was often called to perform unpleasant duties, yet they were always met promptly and efficiently - always mingling with the severities of the law that kindness and consideration to the unfortunate which characterizes a noble and generous soul."
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
Mr. Brown was married in 1840 to Eliza J. Case, who still survives him. Their children were Daniel V. Brown (of whom a sketch succeeds this), Richard T., Sanford C., George S., Alida, Helen, Minnie and Jennie. All of these are still living. Sarah died in infancy.
D ANIEL V. BROWN. - Daniel V. Brown is a son of the subject of the foregoing sketch, and was born in Glens Falls, February 23d, 1844. His youth was passed with his parents, who gave him excellent advantages for ac- quiring a good English education in the schools and academy of his native place, which was supplemented by a full course in Eastman's Business College at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Previous to his attendance at this school, however, he had served as clerk and bookkeeper for Brown & Byrne. Returning from the business college at about the time of the formation of the Glens Falls Transportation Company (1864), a powerful organization comprising the Jointa Lime Company and the Sherman Lime Company, he was immediately em- ployed as bookkeeper, which position he occupied one year.
In the year following (1865), as narrated in the foregoing sketch, his father was lost at sea, just as the young man reached his majority. Giving up his position with the Transportation Company, he engaged in the coal trade and kindred operations, continuing about a year, and then taking up the clothing trade with his uncle, Clark J. Brown, in 1866. They carried on this business about four years. In the spring of 1872, when the construction of the feeder dam was commenced, just above Glens Falls, Mr. Brown was employed first as foreman and soon after as assistant superintendent, a position in which he in reality had principal control of the work. When the dam was finished he entered the office of M. B. Little, general insurance agent, where he remained about one and a half years.
The reader has learned that Daniel V. Brown, sr., was an active and suc- cessful politician. His son seemed to have inherited or acquired similar qualifi- cations in this direction which have already enabled him to take the front rank among the rising politicians of the county, in the Democratic school. His popularity in this respect and his adaptation for the office resulted in his elec- tion to the office of county clerk in 1879, which position he still retains, dis- charging its responsible duties with eminent success and unvarying fidelity.
Mr. Brown has also been otherwise honored by his fellow-citizens ; he was under-sheriff under W. W. Hicks in 1870, and when Mr. Hicks resigned, was appointed by Governor Hoffman as sheriff for the unfinished term. He was treasurer of the corporation of Glens Falls two years (1866, '67), and collector three years (1868-71); and again elected in 1879.
Personally, Mr. Brown is a man of pleasant address, ready speech, active mind and unimpeachable integrity. His judgment of men and grasp of what- ever task he assumes is broad and fair ; qualifications that must always give him prestige and value in political counsels.
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DANIEL V. BROWN.
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637
DANIEL V. BROWN. - EUGENE L. SEELYE.
Mr. Brown was married in September, 1865, to Miss Mary McGinn, of Sandy Hill, N. Y. They have two children - Sanford S., and Walter D. Brown.
E UGENE L. SEELYE .- The family from which the subject of this sketch is descended was among the earliest settlers in the present county of Warren. Going back three generations we find the settlement of the family of which David Seelye was a member, at what has always been known as " the Oneida" (the site of the present post-office of Queensbury). One of David Seelye's sons was Reuben Seelye, whose name is found among those who held town offices as early as 1813. His children were Lemuel C. P. Seelye, Reu- ben Seelye, and three daughters, named Emilia, Mahala and Saloma. The children of Lemuel C. P. Seeley are Eugene L. (the subject of this notice), Fanny, Cynthia, Belle, Lettie and L. J. Seelye.
Eugene L. Seelye was born at his paternal home on the 2d day of Decem- ber, 1845. He was given facilities for securing a good English education in the common schools of his native town and the Clinton Institute, which was supplemented with a full business course in Eastman's College at Poughkeep- sie. Thus fitted for the business of life he left home at the age of eighteen to accept a position as bookkeeper and cashier with F. B Gardner & Co., heavy lumber dealers of Chicago. After one year of satisfactory work in their office, he was sent by them to their extensive mills and store in Wisconsin, where for eight years he served them with mutual satisfaction as financial manager. In the mean time his father, who had purchased a tract of timber land (two hun- dred acres) on the eastern shore of the head of Lake George, opposite the village of Caldwell, had also erected threon a small hotel, having removed the soft wood timber. At the end of his term of service in Wisconsin, E. L. See- lye was offered gratuitously a half interest in this land and improvements if he would come and conduct the hotel. This proposition was accepted and one year later he assumed the entire property, his father retiring. Here he found a business undertaking requiring all the business skill and energy of which he was master. Assuming charge of the hotel in 1874, he immediately began making extensions and improvements which have not ceased from year to year to the present time ; until now the hotel proper, with its eight near-by cotta- ges, offer accommodations to about four hundred guests and receives every summer hundreds of families, the majority from New York, Brooklyn and Philadelphia, with others from all parts of the country. This popular resort, called Fort George Hotel, and its beautiful grounds, occupies a commanding situation a short distance up the hillside from the lake shore and with its sur- roundings forms an earthly paradise. The eight different and separated cotta- ges, ranging in cost from $2,500 to $6,000, are every summer occupied by families who prefer this manner of living and take their meals at the hotel.
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
The latter building has, with its repeated additions and improvements, become an imposing and picturesque structure, with grand piazzas and lofty, commodi- ous rooms; while the table is bountifully supplied with fresh vegetables, milk, etc., from the surrounding farm. When it is considered that all this has been built up from almost nothing and within the comparatively brief period of ten years, it speaks clearer than words of the business tact and ability, the perse- vering energy and the natural qualifications for the business of hotel-keeping, of the proprietor.
Mr. Seelye was married in February, 1873, to Josephine Lawrence, daugh- ter of Philip Lawrence, of Green Bay, Wisconsin, a lady who is in every way fitted to be the companion of her husband. Their children are Lawrence Copeland, born January 3, 1874; Bryan Lorimer, born August 1, 1875 ; Cynthia Maud, born October 11, 1878; and Mabel Louise, born July 17, 1882.
JOHN C. MONTY .- The subject of this sketch is of French descent, his ) grandfather, Abraham Monty, senior, having been born in France, whence
he emigrated and settled in Clinton county, N. Y. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. His son Abraham was born in Clinton county and married Harriet Wait. At their death they had eleven children, eight of whom are now living.
John C. Monty was born in Plattsburg, Clinton county, N. Y., in 1828. His youth until he was sixteen years old, was passed at home in the acquire- ment of such education as his native place afforded. In 1844 he went to Sandy Hill, where he was engaged in various occupations until 1866. At this date he settled in Glens Falls, where he has since resided.
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