USA > New York > Hudson-Mohawk genealogical and family memoirs, Volume I > Part 93
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John D. Parsons, Jr., was PARSONS born in Albany, New York, January 2, 1847, and died at his home in the same city, December 16, 1904. He was the son of John D. Parsons and Eleanor Bowne, and his father was the son of Stephen Parsons and Hannah Thorne, residents of Albany, New York.
Mr. Parsons was regarded as one of the best known and most influential financiers, not alone in the city of Albany, where he resided all his life, but throughout this section of the state, where he had banking affiliations in other cities, and also had a large circle of ac- quaintances among the more prominent finan- ciers of New York City. Those who enjoyed his intimate companionship found him to be a cheerful, optimistic and faithful friend. Everyone could say of him that he made an excellent citizen. He was a far-seeing, shrewd financier, and a kind. devoted husband and brother, a loyal friend.
He received his preparatory education at lo- cal institutions and in Professor Collins' pri- vate school at Albany. then entered Union College. After his college days he began his
professional career at once, finding employ- ment under his father in the firm of Weed, Parsons & Co., proprietors of one of the larg- est printing establishments in the state, his father being a member of it, and there he re- mained for some time. Later on he com- meneed business on his own responsibility as a law-book publisher, but retained his posi- tion as superintendent of the Weed, Parsons & Co. concern. About 1888 he sold out the law-book business to Bancroft, Whitney & Co., of San Francisco.
His more important carcer, as a banker, be- gan in 1885, when he was elected a director of the National Exchange Bank, then located on Broadway, in the same building with the Exchange Savings Bank. At a meeting of its directors, held February 15. 1887, he was chosen president, and he continued to hold this position until the time of his death. He made it a progressive institution, and by the wis- dom of conservatism in his transactions suc- ceeded in winning the confidence of Albany's best men of business and merchants. Com- parison of its standing when he entered upon his management with the bank's condition when it ended, although it had previously been governed by sagacious minds, shows a steady advancement.
In 1900, he turned his attention to the or- ganization of the first trust company ever established in the city of Albany, which was formed March 20, 1900, and on organization as the Albany Trust Company, May 1, 1900, he was chosen its first president, and he re- mained such until he died. He was much con- cerned in the erection of the building, and chose as a site one of the most prominent cor- ners of the business section of Albany, the northwest corner of State street and Broad- way, directly opposite the postoffice, and where for nearly a century had stood one of the city's landmarks, known as the Marble Pillar Building. Following the designs executed by Marcus T. Reynolds, architect, the trust com- pany erected one of the notable edifices of the city, and opened there September 5. 1904. Mr. Parsons felt he had taken a propitious step in advancement of the city's interests. and well was proud when the new institution opened its doors, and he received the congrat- ulations of his friends. Besides holding these two offices as president, Mr. Parsons was a director of the Schenectady Trust Company. of the Adirondack Trust Company of Sara- toga, of the Syracuse Trust Company and of the Troy Trust Company.
His home at No. 233 State street was un- usually handsomely furnished, because the power to buy was coupled with capacity to
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choose, and he possessed more than one oil painting by the Old Masters, that by Sir Joshua Reynolds possibly the choicest because of its rare beauty. He created a handsome cotintry estate at Cedar Hill, where he built a spacious house that many guests might be welcomed, its veranda affording an admirable view of the Hudson river skirting his plateau, and the grounds laid out with skill. He was fond of good horses and driving, but his taste was especially for fine types of books, and as an ardent collector of special lines of autographs he probably was surpassed by but few in New York state. It is known that he cleverly planned a "corner" for the letters of several persons of note, and thus possessed the only specimens extant. So eager was he in the pursuit of this fascinating hobby that he made distant trips a number of times with the sole object of acquiring a rarity, and it delighted him more when it depended not so much on the size of the check as upon the sagacity to ferret it out and find the proper method to guarantee it for his collection. He was particularly desirous to complete his set of letters of the mayors of Albany, which re- quired locating sixty specimens, a task he found to be far more difficult than gathering those of the presidents and vice-presidents. because those written by the nation's chief executive were more generally saved by recipi- ents. He also took delight in good speci- mens of precious stones, securing them for their beauty.
Mr. Parsons had a wide affiliation with bodies of men other than the six institutions already named. He was a member of the Fort Orange, the Albany and the Albany Country clubs of Albany, of the Philip Living- ston Chapter, Sons of the Revolution, and of the Albany Institute and Historical and Art Society. He belonged to the First Reformed Dutch Church congregation, and was formerly a trustee. He was extensively concerned in Masonic institutions, and was a member of Masters Lodge No. 5. Free and Accepted Ma- sons, the Incffable and Sublime Lodge of Per- fection, Grand Council of Princes of Jerusa- lem, Albany Sovereign Consistory, A. A. S. R., and Cyrus Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S.
Unquestionably, Mr. Parsons was intensely interested and patriotically devoted to the up- building of his native city. Although a man of splendid charities, possessing a warm heart for those in whom he took concern, he dis- tributed his largesse without ostentation, and as a rule avoided publicity in his giving, yet none the less were his contributions joined in every public cause or for philanthropic exten- sion of a charity meriting his bounty. Bc-
neath his business reserve, a quict, dignified exterior, but far from coldness, palpitated a heart fresh and as kindly as a child, ready ever to be cordial and never counting upon a return.
His death came suddenly in the early morn- ing hours of December 14, 1904, and was due to heart failure. It came as a severe shock to the business community, who had seen him only the previous day in apparently as excel- lent health as he had seemed to them at any time. It is true that he had been complaining of ill-health for a year or more; but this was not known in business circles, and he had bus- ied himself in arranging his affairs so as to be able to take an extended recreation by traveling after the holidays. He had no child, and was survived by his wife, a brother. H. Bowne Parsons, and four sisters-Mrs. John P. Failin, Mrs. George M. Beadle, of Syra- cuse, Mrs. Walter M. Newton, and Miss Ella D. Parsons, of Albany.
Mr. Parsons married, at Albany, November 9, 1870, Miss Agnes Evans Chase, daughter of Sylvanus Goodnough Chase.
The Albany Trust Company's trustees voiced the following sentiment regarding the one who had created the institution :
"A deep sense of personal loss is experienced by each of us in the death of the genial, whole- souled, enthusiastic friend, the invariably cheer- ful, sanguine and buoyant counsellor, the loyal, unswerving, devoted confidant, the ever-ready, resourceful adviser; a man who formed the most intense and enduring friendships, and who, when he admitted one into that circle, would never hear or entertain any suspicion of wrong in him 'he grappled them to his heart with hooks of steel.' He was distinctively au Albany man, with business interests in our midst, which he established and carried on so successfully. To the subject of banking, he brought the trained and educated mind, the untiring industry, unquestioned integrity, and that attractive per- sonality which had distinguished him in college and in business. The formation of the Albany Trust Company was due to his forethought, en- ergy and the reputation which he had achieved. He was a man of warm heart and generous im- pulses, and he was frequently importuned for financial assistance and responded with alac- rity."
Among other sincere expressions recorded by the National Exchange Bank, the directors said: "Mr. Parsons was generous to all in necd, and always ready to aid liberally every charitable case. His extreme modesty and dislike of ostentation have kept his acts and achievements from the public gaze."
This family was originally from FREAR France, where the name was Frère. They were Huguenots, and suffered the persecutions that drove so
yours truly
rear .
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many Frenchmen from their native land into exile. The Frères went to England, where the spelling of the name was changed to Frear ; others of the family fled to Holland, where the name became Freer. The family was founded in the United States by Joseph Frear, grandfather of William H. Frear, of Troy, New York. Through intermarriage his fam- ily traces descent from the earliest settlers of Long Island, New York, Vermont and Massa- chusetts, through the Roe, Overton, Davis, Bradley, Presby, Wright and Wadsworth families.
(I) Joseph Frear was born in England, April 2, 1777, died in Binghamton, New York, January 3, 1851. He came to America, set- tling in Quebec, Canada, in 1814, where he pursued his trade of contracting ship joiner. He was a deep and devout Christian nature. He joined the church when but a lad and be- gan religious work very early. In Quebec he was a Christian worker among the sailors of the water front, helped to establish the first Sunday-school and a place of meeting over which was raised the first Bethel flag ever seen in the harbor. He removed after a time to New York City, where he joined the Broome Street Dutch Reformed Church, becoming deacon and elder. He later removed to Ellen- ville, Ulster county, New York, where he was active in the church, serving as elder several years. In 1849 he removed to Binghamton, New York, where he united with the Congre- gational Church. His religious life covered a period of half a century of honorable Chris- tian endeavor, and his performance outran his profession. He was honored and respected wherever he was known. Not the least of his virtues was his patient self-denial for the bet- terment of his family. He married, in Eng- land, Eleanor Lee, who died at Binghamton, New York, April 17, 1851, aged seventy-two years, two months, sixteen days.
(II) William, son of Joseph Frear, was born at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, Au- gust 1, 1816, died in Troy, New York, Febru- ary 15, 1882. He was quite young when his parents settled in Quebec, where his boyhood was spent and education received. From Que- bec he went to New York City. In 1839 he removed to Ellenville, Ulster county, New York, where he engaged in trade. In a short time he transferred his home and business to West Coxsackie, New York, where he con- tinued for forty years an honored citizen. He closed his long and useful life a resident of Troy, New York. He was a man of high principle, strict integrity and great industry and energy. He joined the Stanton Street Baptist Church, New York City, when six-
teen years of age, and was a faithful member of that denomination also during the early years of his residence at Coxsackie. Later he joined the First Dutch Reformed Church, Upper Coxsackie, which he served as deacon, elder and superintendent of Sabbath school many years. He was a member of Ark Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, and also of the lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, Coxsackie. During his latter years in Troy he was a member of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. He always supported the Republican party. His remarkably cheer- ful disposition made him the friend of old and young. He married, September 3. 1839, De- borah Ann Davis, daughter of Anselm Davis and Abigail Overton, born July 24, 1819, at Coram, Long Island, died in Troy, New York, May 5, 1898. Children: 1. William H., of further mention. 2. Mary Emma, born June 19, 1843, died March 31, 1850. 3. Anna Minerva, born September 6, 1846, died Octo- ber 12, 1883. 4. George, born September 15, 1849, died March 2, 1850. 5. Mary Emma (2), born April 13, 1851, died September 10, 1852. 6. Isabella Dorothy. 7. Edwin Augus- tus, married Eliza Eddy Haskell, October 23, 1895; children : Augusta Haskell, born Sep- tember II, 1897; Titus Eddy, December 26, 1898. 8. Martha Bessac, married Professor Charles Wellman Parks, April 14, 1887.
(III) William Henry, son of William and Deborah Ann (Davis) Frear, was born in West Coxsackie, New York, March 29, 1841. He was educated in the public school of Dis- trict No. 6, of which his father was a trustee, and at Coxsackie Academy. His ambition at that time was for a professional career of either law or architecture, but in 1857 dur- ing a school vacation, he clerked for a while in the store of Barnet Gay to fill a temporary vacancy. Here he found his true vocation, and from that little Upper Coxsackie store hc advanced rapidly yet surely to his proud posi- tion of "Troy's leading merchant." He re- mained with Mr. Gay two years, then was with John Flagg & Co., dry goods merchants of Troy, for six years. This was his last subordinate position. He had saved a small cap- ital which, added to that of Sylvanus Haverly, his partner, stocked and furnished a small dry goods store at No. 322 River street, Troy, where as Haverly & Frear they opened for business March 9, 1865. His share of the capital, $2,000, was obtained by his savings and the aid of his father, mother and wife, all of whom had faith in the young man. The enterprise was successful; the industry, self- denial and application of the partners com- pelled success. In 1868 they admitted, or
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rather consolidated with John Flagg, Mr. Frear's former employer, and removed their business to the store, Nos. 3-4 Cannon Place, in Washington Square, opening April 9, 1868, as Flagg, Haverly & Frear, the latter as man- ager. January 2, 1869, Mr. Haverly with- drew, leaving the firm of Flagg & Frear. October 27, 1869, Mr. Frear purchased all other interests in the firm and for twenty-five years was the sole owner and manager. It was during this period that his peculiar talents had full sway, and the commercial instinct now fully aroused, developed into a passion or force that carried all before it, and made the name of Frear known far and near as the synonym for enterprise, originality and square dealing. He superintended all important de- tails of his business, was buyer and advertiser. and in the early years salesman and often bookkeeper. He introduced modern adver- tising, and was the first merchant to insert a full page "ad." in a Troy newspaper; intro- duced the delivery system in his part of New York state; employed advertising methods far in advance of contemporaries, even in the largest cities, some of them startling in their originality : established a mail-order depart- ment : adopted the cash system of making pur- chases : added department after department until fifty-three different stores were under one roof; in fact, the great store throbbed and thrilled with the resistless energy of its untiring master. He adopted as his store motto, "Par negotiis ne que supra" (Equal to his business, but not above it ), and this ex- presses the man. There never has been a moment when, although every nerve and mus- cle were strained to almost the breaking point, he was not equal to the business, and his grip firm on its important details, but "not above it," applies equally well. Not for him was the leather chair and the mahogany desk, but the thick of the fray; yet when the golden flood of prosperity came none knew better than he how to enjoy it. lfis life is one of the won- ders of the commercial world, yet, while he is proud of the name he has carved for him- self among America's great merchants, he does not ascribe it to anything but good hard business sense put into circulation, personal attention, fair dealing and a thorough knowl- edge of his business. lle has the largest store and the largest business in Troy, constantly employs over four hundred people, and has preserved photographs of nearly all his present and former employees, as well as copies of all his advertisements. After twenty-five years under his own name and management, he ad- mitted his brother, Edwin A. Frear, and his eldest son, Charles W., to the firm, which
became, May 24, 1894, William H. Frear & Company. On December 2, 1899, Mr. Frear's second son, William B., was admitted to part- nership in the firm, making a very valuable addition to the managing force, but the sign, "Frear's Troy Cash Bazaar," still remains, and the business, greater than ever, goes on under the same skillful direction.
In addition to developing a business of in- calculable benefit to Troy, Mr. Frear has borne his full share of the city's improvement. He is known as a very large real estate owner, probably the largest in the city. He has bought and improved store, hotel and resi- cence city property, and added a suburban mansion to the beanties of the residential sec- tion. He was quick to respond to the call of humanity when the Burdett building burned in February, 1896, with destructive loss of life and property, and as treasurer and chief al- moner of the Relief Fund, he gave a great deal of time and money to the work. When his own store was partially destroyed by fire in December, 1893, he resumed trade on the fourth day thereafter, under a temporary roof, and handled his usual Christmas trade. As a staunch Republican, he has often responded to the demands of his party, although having no desire for public office. He was a member of the Troy Centennial Committee of one hundred in 1889, the Citizens' Association of 1892, and of the Committee of Public Safety in 1894. He served on the staff of Brigadier- General Alonzo Alden with rank of captain, and is an associate member of Griswold Post, G. A. R. He has many outside business inter- ests, being a director of the Security Trust Company, a trustee of the Young Men's Chris- tian Association, trustee of the Samaritan Hospital ; and was for many years a trustee of the Second Presbyterian Church, the Troy Young Women's Association, a director of the Citizens' Steamboat Company, member of the committee for Old Home Week, Troy, 1908, and member of the committee of Hudson-Ful- ton Celebration of 1909 : member of Troy Re- publican Club and Chamber of Commerce. Ile was one of the largest contributors to the building funds of Rensselaer Inn and Rensse- laer Polytechnic Institute. He was treasurer of the Citizens' Relief Fund, Spanish-Ameri- can war, and one of thirty citizens who founded the permanent home of the Fresh Air Fund at Grafton.
His restless energy in his more active years was strikingly displayed while on his summer vacations. A volume, title "Five Weeks in En- rope," "A Photographic Memorandum," is the joint work of his pen and camera, and is the record of one of his vacations. Appended
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to each photograph is an appropriate extract from his letters home, descriptive of the scene depicted. During later years Mr. Frear has given himself more time and opportunity to satisfy the artistic side of his nature, which, had he not gone into business, would perhaps have led him into the world of art as a pro- ducer, instead of a patron. He is a connois- seur in oil paintings, and has a large and costly collection of the masters in his Troy home. Among his treasured mementos of great men and events is the table used by the Japanese and Russian commissioners at Ports- mouth Navy Yard, New Hampshire, as they deliberated the terms of the treaty of peace between their respective nations. The treaty was drawn up and signed on the table, which was purchased and presented to Mr. Frear by his sister. His library, paintings and sur- roundings bespeak the cultured, artistic gen- tleman, who now able to satisfy all his finer impulses is devoting himself to the beautiful and sentimental with the same interest and same methods that half a century ago he at- tacked life's problems from the standpoint of an enthusiastic youth. A retrospective view over his fifty years of active business life cannot fail to bring him both satisfaction and pride.
Mr. Frear married at Pittsfield, Massachu- setts, October 27, 1863, Martha Frances Wright, born in Lanesboro, Massachusetts, daughter of Charles Wright, of Pownal, Ver- mont, and Martha M. Bradley, of Lanesboro, Massachusetts, a descendant of early colonial settlers. Mrs. Frear has been a wise counsel- lor and faithful supporter all through the years of business strife, and shares with her husband the satisfaction that comes after a well-earned victory. She is a member of the Episcopal church, Daughters of the American Revolution, Troy Girls' Club, Women's Im- provement League, Friends of the Sisterhood of St. Paul's Church, Women's Auxiliary Young Men's Christian Association, is a mem- ber of the Women's Auxiliary of the Troy Hospital, and one of the managers of the Episcopal Church Home. She is hospitable and social in disposition, and is charitable and benevolent to the institutions that are worthy. Children, all born in Troy, New York :
I. Charles Wright, educated in the public schools, Mount Anthony Seminary, Benning- ton, Vermont, and graduated from the classical department of Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, in the class of 1889, where during the course he was leader of the or- chestra. Afterward took a special course in the junior year at Williams College. He was admitted to the firm of William H. Frear &
Company, May 24. 1894. He was a volun- teer in the Spanish-American war. He was a private in Company A, Second New York State Infantry, and was transferred to the 203rd Regiment, and warranted as sergeant- major August 4, 1898, subsequently promoted to second lieutenant, Company E, same regi- ment. He was commissioned battalion adju- tant with the rank of first lieutenant, in the Second Regiment, New York State National Guard. April 20, 1899. He is a director of the National City Bank ; member of the Army and Navy Club of New York City; member of M. D. Russell Post, Spanish-American War Veterans ; Sons of the Revolution ; Troy Club : Chamber of Commerce of Troy; Paf- raets Dael and the Laureate Boat Clubs. He married, June 28, 1910, Mary E. Gurney, of Greenfield, Massachusetts.
2. William Bradley Frear was educated in the public schools of Troy and finished the grammar school course at School No. 5, being the first in his class. He was fourth in a class of ninety in entrance examination for admis- sion to the Troy high school, June 18, 1887. Upon graduation therefrom, June 30, 1891, he was second in the class, securing the classical honor and delivering the salutatory address. He was also a student at the Troy Business College night school. He entered Williams College the following fall, graduating in June, 1895, with the degree of B. A. During these four years, in addition to the regular routine of study, he was prominently identified with the best interests of the college. He was a member of the track and the class athletic teams ; president of the Dramatic Association, and leader of the college choir and quartette. He was with the Glee Club on its well- remembered trip to St. Louis in 1894, and was director of the music for the College Cen- tennial in 1893. He has long been favorably known in musical circles as a cornetist. He was admitted to the firm of William H. Frear & Company, December 2, 1899. He has the inventive quality, and holds United States Patent 34,825, granted July 23. 1901. He was captain of Arba Read Fire Company in 1901. filling the office satisfactorily in every respect, and had full charge of the company's famous trip to the Buffalo exposition. He is a director of the Security Trust Company ; was the first president of the Alumni Associa- tion of the Troy high school; a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Commercial Trav- elers' Association, Atlantic Deeper Water- ways Association, Troy Golf Club, Troy Vo- cal Society, Troy Club, Williams College Alumni Association, Zeta Psi Fraternity, and Sons of the Revolution. He is a member and
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trustee of the Second Presbyterian Church, of Troy, New York. He married Edna Russell Jayne, of Brooklyn, New York, February I, 1905. Children: Carolyn Russell, born De- cember 5, 1905: Frances Wright, November 8, 1907; Edna Jayne, March 23, 1910.
3. Edwin Henry Frear, educated in city schools, Troy Academy, Preparatory School at Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and Troy Busi- ness College. He is a member of the Second Presbyterian Church, Troy, New York, of the Island Golf Club, Rensselaer County Re- publican Club, Troy Young Men's Christian Association, and is now with William H. Frear & Company.
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