USA > New York > Schenectady County > History of the County of Schenectady, N. Y., from 1662 to 1886... > Part 31
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The quarterly meeting was held at the Court Room, September 11, 1812, and Jno. Dodge and Lyman Carpenter elected members. The follow- ing addition to the Code was passed : "That no member of the society shall hold any nostrum or specific for the cure of a disease under the penalty of forfeiting his seat in the same." Doctors Ellis, Woodward, Devoe, Vought, Veeder, and Myn- derse were proposed as members. The sum of $3 was received from Dr. Toll " being the balance of licentiate fees on hand," and "Dr. Jno. Wood paid $1 as an initiation fee."
A regular adjournment was then taken. From this time, up to 1825, the records of the society are lost, and nothing but a vague general legend of its doings is extant.
The minutes of a meeting held 31st January, 1825, that there were present Doctors Daniel J. Toll, the President ; and Doctors Thomas Dun- lap, James Magoffin, J. S. L. Tonelier, J. Scher- merhorn, D. Low and Daniel McDougall. Dr. McDougall was appointed Secretary, and Dr. Magoffin a delegate to the State Society. Drs. Dunlap, Low and McDougall were appointed as a committee to revise the by-laws, to report at the next anniversary meeting, which was held June 14, 1825, at the house of Harvey Davis. Angus McDermid appears to have then been a member. The report of the committee appoint- ed 31st January, 1825, was adopted. Thomas Dunlap was elected President ; James Magoffin, Treasurer ; and Dr. McDougall, Secretary. Drs. Dunlap, Magoffin, McDougall, G. Wade (whose name first appears here), and Peter Delamater were elected Censors.
A meeting of two of the Censors, Dunlap and Magoffin, was held in April, 1826, when Dr. - Cole was given his diploma, and at a sub- sequent meeting, held in November, Wade and McDougall being also present as Censors, Dr. Chamberlin was admitted to practice.
Frederick Orlop received his diploma from the Censors in June, 1827.
A period of six years now elapsed, of which no record appears. February 25, 1833, the Censors, Drs. Dunlap, Magoffin and McDougall, met, and Edward H. Wheeler successfully passed an ex- amination. There were two meetings of the Cen- sors in 1834-March 23d, when Andrew Truax received his diploma, and July 23d, when Joseph Harman received his. It does not seem that the society met again during this year until Septem- ber 9th, when the following new members were present : B. F. Joslin, J. Coon, E. H. Wheeler. A committee of three, Joslin, Magoffin and Mc- Dougall was made to revise the By-laws, to report at the next quarterly meeting. Alexander G. Fonda was sent as delegate to the State Society, and a contribution of five dollars was made by them to it.
The committee appointed in September reported at the next anniversary meeting, held June 9, 1835. Among the amendments suggested, and at once adopted, was : that the officers annually elected should hold until their successors should be elected ; that the President should, at the meeting one year after his election, "deliver to the society a disserta- tion upon some appropriate subject," and the fee for a diploma was raised from two to five dollars. At this meeting Andrew Truax, A. J. Prime and Orsamus Squire became members ; and Dr. Dunlap was elected President; Dr. Magoffin, Vice-President; Dr. Prime, Secretary ; and Dr. McDougall, Trea- surer ; and as Censors, Drs. Dunlap, Magoffin, Squire, McDermid and McDougall. The new meeting, or attempted meeting, is best described in the words of Dr. A. J. Prime, its Secretary : "June 14, 1836. When the members gathered together, not enough stayed long enough to form a quorum. Drs. Magoffin, Dunlap, McDougall and Prime, after waiting till the hour was expired, thought it was for their own private and others' in- terests to absquotulate, and therefore decamped. A. J. Prime, Secretary." D. Edgar Fonda received his diploma from the Censors January 31, 1837, and at a special meeting of the Society, held in the City Hall, July 18, 1837, G. E. Fonda, A. W. Van Woert, William N. Duane, J. Harman, J. Beake- ley and J. B. Noxon were elected members. At the next anniversary meeting, held at the City Hall, June 12, 1838, Dr. J. B. Noxon was elected Pres- ident ; Joseph Koon, Vice ; Andrew Truax, Secre- tary; Wm. N. Duane, Treasurer ; and Magoffin, Squire. Beakeley and Noxon, Censors. The customary committee on revision of the by-laws was appointed, consisting of Drs. Koon, Beakeley and Truax. Andrew Huyck and James Chandler received their diplomas from the Censors, June 25, 1838 ; and at a meeting of the Society, December 1 1th, Dr. Sprague was elected a member. The an- niversary meeting of 1839 was held the second Tuesday in June, at the City Hall. Alex. M. Vedder, John O. Crawford, James Chandler and Benjamin Weeks were elected members, and James C. Magoffin, President ; A. G. Fonda, Vice ; Edgar Fonda, Secretary; and Andrew
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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF SCHENECTADY.
Truax, Treasurer ; and Drs. Dunlap, Magoffin, L. Sprague, McDougall and A. M. Vedder, Cen- sors. James C. Magoffin was sent as delegate to the State Society.
The anniversary meeting, held at the City Hall the second Tuesday of June, 1840, proved, as far as the records show, to be the last wherein business of importance was done. On motion of Jacob Beakeley, it was "Resolved, That it is proper to charge the sum of one dollar, and not less than fifty cents, for visit and medicine in ordinary cases ;" and, on motion of A. M. Vedder, it was resolved, "That a committee of three be appointed for the purpose of regulating the charges of physi- cians, whose duty it shall be to report at the next quarterly meeting." A. M. Vedder, J. Beakeley and Sprague were appointed to deliver a disserta- tion at the next meeting. The President was also directed to deliver an annual address, or pay a fine of one dollar. Dr. Magoffin was elected Presi- dent ; A. M. Vedder, Vice ; J. Chandler, Secretary; Andrew Truax, Treasurer; and Dunlap, Sprague, Magoffin, Young and Beakeley, Censors.
The last anniversary held under the old organi- zation, of which there is any written record, was the one held June 8, 1841, at the Court House. By resolution, the officers then holding were directed to hold over for another year. Judging by the minutes, internal dissensions began to make them- selves felt at this time. It is not our province to enter into their merits or demerits. The society soon ceased, practically, to have an existence. For twenty-eight years there was no regular organized medical society in Schenectady. In the Daily Union of January 16, 1869, there appeared a call for a meeting of physicians and surgeons to organ- ize a medical society. In furtherance of this design, January 19th, at the Cadey House, the fol- lowing-named gentlemen appeared : A. M. Vedder, L. Ellwood, J. D. Jones, Charles Hammer, N. S. Cheeseman, B. A. Mynderse, G. W. Van Voast, Robert Fuller and Wm. N. Duane ; and the society formed by the election of A. M. Vedder, President ; J. D. Jones, Vice ; L. Ellwood, Secre- tary ; N. S. Cheeseman, Treasurer ; and G. W. Van Voast, B. A. Mynderse and A. M. Vedder, Censors.
Dr. Vedder was sent as delegate to the State Society. The membership fee was fixed at · $2, and in order to become a member, it was neces- sary to submit the diploma to the Censors for examination.
The title of the society, as shown by its by-laws, adopted January 11, 1870, is "The Schenectady County Medical Society." Annual meetings are held the second Tuesday of every January, and semi- annual meetings the second Tuesday of June. Special meetings may be called. From the time of its organization it has been in a healthy condi- tion, and bids fair to outnumber in members, years of life and usefulness, any of its predecessors. In addition to those present at its first meeting, January 19, the following joined during the same year: Alex. Ennis, N. G. Daggett, Geroe Greene and Andrew Veeder.
The officers for the present year (1885) are: M. G. Planck, President; Geo. E. McDonald, Vice- President; Chas. C. Duryee, Secretary; J. L. Schoolcraft, Treasurer; Censors, E. P. Van Epps, J. Reagles and H. V. Hull. .
The delegate to the State Society is L. Ellwood, and to the "American Medical," H. C. Van Zandt.
The members, past and present are: Brumma- ghen, Peter A., Mariaville; Cheeseman, N. S., Scotia; Clute, W. T., Schenectady; Daggett, N. G., Schenectady; DeLamater, S. G., Duanesburgh; Duryee, Chas. C., Schenectady; Ellwood, L., Schenectady; Ennis, Alexander, Pattersonville; Featherstonhaugh, T. (left city), Schenectady; Fuller, Robert, Schenectady; Greene, Geroe (dead), Schenectady; Hammer, Charles, Schenectady; Hill, John (dead), Quaker street; Hoag, Peter C. (left city), Schenectady; Hull, H. V., Schenectady; Johnson, T. B. (dead), Schenectady; Jones, J. D. (dead), Schenectady; Mackay, John P., Schenectady; McDonald, Geo. E., Schenectady; Munderse, B. A., Schenectady; Pearson, W. L., Schenectady; Perkins, Maurice, Schenectady; Planck, M. G., Schenectady; Roach, Paul, Quaker street; Rowe, George (left city), Bramans's Corners; Reagles, James R., Schenectady; Steinfühuer, G. A. F., Schenectady; Schoolcraft, J. L., Schenec- tady; Van Voast, G. W., Schenectady; Van Zandt, H. C., Schenectady; Veeder, A. T., Schenectady; Vedder, A. M. (dead), Schenectady; Van Epps, E. P., Schenectady; Vedder, L. T., Schenectady; Van Patten, John, U. (dead), Schenectady; White- horne, E. E. (left city), Schenectady; Young, Edwin, West Glenville.
Among the leading physicians of the city not previously mentioned are:
JOHN KASTENDIECK, M. D., graduated from the New York Homoeopathic Medical College in 1878. He located in Schenectady in 1882.
JAMES DUANE JONES, M. D., who deserves special mention, was born in Schenectady, January 20, 1828. His ancestors, both paternal and maternal, were among the earliest settlers of Long Island and New York City. He graduated from Union College in 1846, and from the Albany Medical College in 1849. He then went to the Seaman's Retreat Hospital, Staten Island, remaining there for three years, 1849-51, coming to Schenectady, and entering upon his practice in 1851. He was mar- ried in 1872 to Anna M. Bigelow, daughter of John M. Bigelow, of Schenectady. In 1873 he became a member of the County Medical Society. Was city physician, and physician to the County Alms-house, and during General Sheridan's Vir- ginia campaign he served as surgeon-in-chief to the 25th New York Cavalry.
Dr. Jones' professional career was marked by that success which close attention, allied with natural aptitude, always commands. While a lead- ing physician, nature had made him a fine surgeon, and to that he willingly devoted the greater portion of his time. Dr. Jones died December 31, 1879, his wife surviving him.
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CITY OF SCHENECTADY .- MEDICAL.
LIVINGSTON ELLWOOD, M.D.
Among Schenectady's numerous skillful and honored physicians, no medical practitioner is better or more favorably known than the gentle- man whose name heads this brief biographical sketch.
Dr. Ellwood was born at Minden, Montgomery County, N. Y., on the twentieth day of July, 1825. After acquiring his education, he engaged in the study of medicine and surgery, and graduated from the Medical Department of the Buffalo University in 1848, at the age of twenty-three years.
He did not long delay the beginning of that which was destined to be his successful life-work, for we find him in August, 1849, a new-comer in Schenectady, where he soon established himself in practice, and entered upon a career which has marked him as a man of energy, perseverance, business ability, and high scholastic and profes- sional attainments.
As a physician he gradually, but surely, rose high in the esteem of the public and his professional brethren. He was one of the originators and a charter member of the Schenectady County Medi- cal Society, in the deliberations and management of which he has ever since been conspicuously act- ive. His knowledge of his profession and its re- quirements is thorough and of broad scope; he has often been called in counsel with physicians of un- doubted eminence in very difficult and important cases, and from time to time he has prepared val- uable and interesting papers upon topics of deep interest to the medical profession.
During the more than thirty-six years of Dr. Ellwood's residence in Schenectady, he has closely identified himself with the best interests of the city and county. That such a man has been called to places of public trust, is only an evidence of the good judgment of his fellow citizens. Dr. Ellwood has served as a member of the Board of Supervis- ors of Schenectady County, has represented his Ward as Alderman, and has been prominently iden- tified with the Boards of Health and Education. He has also served as both City and County Physician.
Hearty, but unostentatious in manner, he speaks with moderation and to the point. His fidelity is undoubted, and his circle of personal friends is wide, embracing many of the most prominent physicians and citizens of this section of the State.
LEWIS FAUST, M. D., graduated from Wallace College, Berea, O., and from the New York Homoeopathic Medical College. He is a member and an ex-president of the Montgomery County Homeopathic Medical Society, and of the New York State Homoeopathic Medical Society.
GEORGE L. VAN ALLEN, M. D., 134 Centre street, was born in Bethlehem, Albany County, in 1851; graduated from the medical department of Union University; practiced his profession in Gal- way, Saratoga County, and Albion, Orleans County; has traveled and studied in Europe. Located in Schenectady in 1882, and makes a specialty of
the treatment of chronic diseases and diseases of women. PIONEER PHYSICIANS.
Rynier Schaets, in the year 1681, was a practic- ing "chyrurgion " in Schenectady, though Pieter Van der Linde, or Van O'Linda, was a surgeon in North America in 1639, and by some it is thought was here about 1640, but of this there is nothing positively known. October 18, 1703, Jacobus V. Dyck petitioned for the right to practice surgery here, and from 1758 to 1767, Dr. Dirk Van Ingen was in regular practice.
From 1764 to 1788, Dr. Spitser (de Spitser). In 1773, Dr. William Constable is " said to have been a surgeon to a British regiment sent over in the French wars." He died in New York. His son, John Constable, lived in Schenectady many years. A widow of Dr. John Constable, "for- merly of this city," was buried in St. George's Church Cemetery in 1805. From 1779 to 1781, Dr. Onger was "the hessen docktor." In 1780 Dr. William Mead was practicing surgery. He was a surgeon in the revolution, and died in Schenectady Feb. 1, 1829, aged 80 years. In 1784 he was in possession of the McCamus & Co. lot on State street, which was afterward owned by Dr. William Adams. Dr. William Adams prac- ticed here in 1785 and subsequently. His sons, Dr. Alex. Hamilton Adams, died April 1811, aged forty-two years, and Dr. James Adams died April 20, 1803. They both practiced in this city. Dr. Cornelius W. Vander Heuvel was a physician from 1747 to 1797, dying two years later. Dr. Stringer, of Albany, at about this time visited pa- tients here, and in 1795, Dr. John Constable occu- pied the house afterwards owned by Dr. Wm. Duane in Union street. In 1799 Peter Mabee was a "practitioner of physic." Dr. Rogers lived here in 1800. Dr. William Anderson and Dr. Joseph W. Hegeman were partners here for some years previous and including 1811. In that year Dr. Anderson, while on his return passage from New Orleans, died with yellow fever. Dr. Hegeman removed to Cincinnati a few years subsequently, and in 1827 to Vicks- burg, where he died in 1837. Cornelius Vroo- man, son of Simon Vrooman, was born here, and for a few years previous to his death, which oc- curred in 1811, when he was but thirty years of age, followed his profession.
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DENTISTRY.
O. J. GROSS began the study of dentistry in 1875 at Great Falls, N. H., and received the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery in 1879 at the Dental College, Philadelphia, Pa. He came to Schenec- tady in 1880, and resides at 235{ State street.
B. F. CARMICHAEL, dentist, established himself at 37 Union street in 1878, and has had a suc- cessful and increasing practice.
Among other dentists deserving special notice for extensive and well-merited practice, are Dr. F. D. F. Gray, Dr. John B. Hull and Dr. D. R. Smith.
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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF SCHENECTADY.
BANKS.
MOHAWK BANK .- Among the first banks organ- ized in this State was the Mohawk Bank of Sche- nectady. In 1807 a special act of the leg slature was passed to incorporate the stockholders of this bank. At this date there were but a small number of banks in the State, and only two in the city of New York.
In the act of incorporation, James Constable, Henry Yates, Jr., Lewis Farquharson, Garret S. Veeder, Moses Beal and David Boyd were ap- pointed a board of commissioners to open books on the first Tuesday in May, in which all persons willing to be associated for the purpose of estab- lishing a bank were inscribed, together with the number of shares taken. The value of each share was ten dollars, and the number limited to twenty thousand.
On the second Tuesday of May of this same year, the stockholders elected the first board of directors. which consisted of thirteen members. Charles Kane was selected by the directors as the first president, and David Boyd as cashier.
It is impossible to ascertain the exact date when the bank was first opened for the transaction of business.
This bank was first located in a comparatively small building on the corner of Union and Church streets, on the site of the present Classical Institute building, a structure built by the bank in 18 -- , and used for banking purposes until 1852, when it was sold and converted into a private dwelling. In 1852 the bank was removed to the building on State street now occupied by J. H. Barhyte & Co. Here it was located until 1857, when its present building was erected at a cost of about $15,000. This bank continued to do business, under its charter of 1807, until 1852, when it was reorgan- ized under the general banking laws of 1837, with a capital of $200,000. In 1859 the capital was reduced to $100,000. In 1865 it was reorgan- ized as a national bank, for a period of twenty years. Its charter expired this year (1885) and was extended by the Comptroller of the Currency to 1905. The following is a list of its various presidents and cashiers from 1807 :
Presidents : Charles Kane, James Duane, David Martin, John I. De Graff, D. D. Campbell, James R. Craig, G. G. Maxon.
Cashiers : David Boyd, William Walton, Ed- ward Walton, Nicholas Swits, Charles Thompson.
SCHENECTADY BANK .- This bank was organized under a special charter in 1832 as a Safety Fund Bank, for a period of thirty years, with a capital of $150,000. Its first directors were : Archibald Craig, Alonzo C. Paige, Samuel Cook, Ephraim Benedict, Benjamin F. Mumford, Jay Cady. Ste- phen Clark, Freeman Stanton, George McQueen, Judiah Ellsworth, Harvey Davis, Isaac I. Yates, and William Cunningham.
Its charter expiring in 1862, it was reorganized under the State banking laws, with a capital of $100,000.
This bank was first located in a building on State street, near the corner of Church street. Here it con- tinued to do business until 187-, when it was moved to its present location. Archibald Craig was its first president. He was followed by Jay Cady in 1842. In 1862 Simon C. Groot was made president. He was succeeded by William L. Goodrich in 1866, who remained in this position until 1869, when he was succeeded by Jay Cady, the latter remaining in this position until the election of Abraham A. Van Vorst in 1875, since which date Mr. Van Vorst has retained this position.
The first cashier was Thomas Palmer. He was succeeded in 1843 by William H. Palmer, who was succeeded in 1845 by William L. Goodrich. Mr. Goodrich remained in this position until 1866, when Samuel L. R. Buchanan was made cashier. He was succeeded in 1869 by William L. Good- rich, who has remained in this position ever since.
ABRAHAM A. VAN VORST.
ABRAHAM A. VAN VORST, President of the Sche- nectady Bank, was born in Glenville, Schenectady County, November 28, 1806. His father, Abra- ham F. Van Vorst, was a farmer, and, though also a native of Schenectady County, was of Holland descent. The progenitors of the Van Vorsts were three brothers, who emigrated to the Empire State in the early part of the last century. One of them settled in Brooklyn, where there was at that time a flourishing colony of his countrymen ; another lo- cated on the Hudson, near Kingston ; and the third, who was the immediate ancestor of Mr. Van Vorst's family, fixed upon Schenectady County as his future home. Inheriting the thrifty and indus- trious habits of their nation, they engaged in the cultivation of the soil, and, like their countrymen generally, soon accumulated a handsome compe- tence as the result of their honorable labor. His mother was the daughter of Jacob Wallace, a na- tive of New York, but of Scotch extraction.
Mr. Van Vorst pursued his studies at the dis- trict schools till he attained the age of seventeen, when, preferring a mercantile to an agricultural oc- cupation, he entered, as clerk, a country store in Schenectady, and continued thus employed four years. Soon after attaining his majority, in 1828, he engaged in the hardware business in the same place, in company with Henry Peek, the firm be- ing Peek & Van Vorst. This copartnership lasted until 1835, when the firm was dissolved, Mr. Van Vorst continuing the business on his own account until 1853. For a few years subsequently he was connected with the New York Central Railroad. In 1858 he became a member of the firm of Van Vorst, Vedder & Co., for the transaction of the lum- ber business, in which line of operations he con- tinued until 1874, when he retired from the active duties of mercantile life.
Previously to 1845 Mr. Van Vorst had been elected a member of the Board of Directors of the Schenectady Bank, then a State bank. Upon its reorganization in 1862, he was elected its vice- president, and on the death of Jay Cady in 1875,
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CITY OF SCHENECTADY .- INDUSTRIES.
he succeeded to the office of president. This bank, one of the most flourishing financial organ- izations in the State, has a competent capital and also a surplus fund, and declares an average divi- dend of five per cent. semi-annually, clear of State and national taxes. Mr. Van Vorst is also vice-president of the Schenectady Savings Bank, a sound and prosperous institution. For nearly fifty years he has been connected with the vestry of St. George's Episcopal Church in Schenectady.
Though naturally averse to political preferment, Mr. Van Vorst has served as alderman for several terms, and as member of the County Democratic Committee, and was induced, through the persua- sion of his party, to accept the nomination for mayor, to which important office he was elected, serving for the terms of 1853-54. 1869-70 and 1882-83. This responsibility he accepted very reluctantly, and only after the urgent appeal of his friends to his patriotism and his desire for the wel- fare of the community-those higher motives that influence men to the acceptance of public trusts. During the period of our civil war, Mr. Van Vorst was an active "war Democrat. " upholding, by all the means in his power, the hands of the Government. He was for many years identified with the business interests of Schenectady, in which his thrifty and sterling habits made him a promi- nent mercantile character. Since 1862, his finan- cial skill and conscientious management of mone- tary interests have been an important factor in the prosperity of that city. He was married in 1830 to Miss Amanda Hulbert, daughter of Dr. Hul- bert, of Pennsylvania, who bore him one son and three daughters (all of whom are living), and died in 1880, six months after the celebration of their golden wedding. Mr. Van Vorst built his resi- dence, No. 25 Liberty street, in 1835, and has lived there continuously since.
CITY BANK. - This bank was organized in June, 1874, with a capital of $100,000, under the gen- eral banking laws. The first directors were : T. W. McCamus, Andrew Truax, William J. Van Horne, E. Nott Schermerhorn, William Johnson, C. Van Slyck, Charles G. Ellis, George Curtis, Abraham Gillespie, Garrett S. Veeder, Marcus N. Millard and O. S. Luffman. T. W. McCamus was elected president, and O. F. Luffman as cash- ier, and remained as such officers from the organ -.. ization of the bank until they resigned in March, 1884. At this time Charles G. Ellis was chosen president, E. Nott Schermerhorn, cashier, and O. S. Luffman, assistant cashier.
December 15, 1884, it suspended, and John A. A. De Remer was appointed receiver.
James H. Davis, gentleman, is a well known and respected citizen of Schenectady.
SCHENECTADY WATER-WORKS.
During the latter part of the preceding century, a company was formed in this city to supply the town with water. Water was taken from a spring. which now in part supplies the cemetery pond. It
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