Landmarks of Albany County, New York, Part 106

Author: Parker, Amasa Junius, 1843-1938, ed
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1374

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died in March of that year and since then Mr. Chapin and Benjamin M. Secor have continued the business as surviving partners. The firm manufactures and wholesale and retails clothing on an extensive scale. Mr. Chapin served in the local militia about nine years, and is a member of Co. A, of the Old Guard. In 1874 he married Emily, daughter of Benjamin F. Moseley of Albany, and they have one daughter, Abbie, who survives.

Hallenbeck, George A., was born in Greene county, N. Y., in May, 1857. Smith Hallenbeck, his great-great-grandfather, came from Holland with his two brothers and took up a large tract of land known as the Hallenbeck Patent. Jacob, the grandfather, was a farmer and spent his life in Greene county; he reared three chil- dren: George Jacob and Eliza. Jacob, the father, was a mason by trade and for many years and to the time of his death in 1858 had charge of a turnpike road; he had also a contract for and built many of the stone arch bridges on that road. His wife was Phebe A. Renne, by whom he has had five children: William, Lucy, Mary (died young), Alice (died young) and George. Mr. Hallenbeck having died when George was but fifteen months old, his wife kept the family together and cared for them until she died in 1877. William, the oldest, when but seventeen enlisted in Co. I, Col. Pratt's Regiment, 20th N. Y. Vols., and was shot dead at the second battle of Bull Run. George A. began to care for himself when he was quite young ; he first engaged as a drug clerk ; when seventeen he began to learn the cigarmaker's trade, and when he mastered that he worked for twelve years as a journeyman cigarmaker; he then began business for himself in Middleburg, Schoharie county, becoming the successor of J. C. Barst & Co .; this business he conducted until 1886, when he removed it to Guilderland Center, where he drew plans and had a place built especially for himself. He is an energetic business man and public spirited ; he gives employment to from seven to sixteen men, and has two men on the road with his goods all the time, and covers about eighteen counties. He has an annual output of about three-quarters of a million, and his is the leading industry of the village. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Lodge of Altamount, and Odd Fellows Lodge of Voorheesville. In 1890 he was united in marriage to Miss Isadore A. Vanderburg, daughter of Joseph Vanderburg of Greene county.

McIntyre, Archibald, son of James and Ann (Campbell) McIntyre, was born in Johnstown, N. Y., June 6, 1827. He received his education in the public schools and Johnstown Academy, and on April 27, 1845, he removed to Albany, N. Y., where he obtained a clerkship in the grocery store of S. T. Thorn. In 1846 Mr. Thorn sold out to Richard Bortle, and in 1852 Mr. McIntyre went into partnership with Mr. Bortle. This partnership continued until 1862, when Mr. McIntyre sold his interest to Mr. Bortle. Mr. McIntyre then went into the wholesale provision business on Exchange street, handling flour, butter, cheese, etc. Subsequently he moved to State street and in 1871 to his present location on Hudson avenue. In 1885 he sold out and resumed again in 1889. Mr. McIntyre is a member of Temple Lodge and Capital City Chapter; he is also a director of the Commerce Insurance Company. In 1854 he married Jane Anne Bearcroft, and they have seven children, two sons and five daughters.

McNamara, John W., son of Hugh and Ellen McNamara, who came to America from Ireland in 1832, was born in Watervliet, Albany county, January 9, 1839, and

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moved with the family to Albany in 1844. He was educated in the private schools of Michael O'Sullivan and the late Thomas Newman and at the State Normal Col- lege, from which he was graduated in 1858. In 1855 he was selected as an assistant in the compilation of the State census. He taught school for three years and in 1861 became a law student in the office of Courtney & Cassidy. He finished his legal studies with L. D. Holstein. On the death of Mr. Holstein in 1864 the business was continued by Cheever & MeNamara until 1868, when the latter formed a copartner- ship with S. Y. Hawley, which continued until Mr. Hawley's death in 1887. In 1869 Mr. MeNamara was elected police justice, vice Hon. S. H. Parsons resigned, and in 1870 was re-elected for a full term of four years. In 1864 he was chosen secretary of the Albany Railway Company to succeed Mr. Holstein, deceased, and held that posi- tion until 1880, when he was elected treasurer and general manager, which offices he still fills. In January, 1881, he became a charter member of the Committee of Thir- teen. He is first vice-president of the Law and Order League ; was long a member of Mountaineer Co., No. 5, of the volunteer Fire Department; was an incorporator of the Albany Stove Company; was one of the incorporators and a trustee of the Catholic Union of St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum and a member of the advisory board of managers of St. Peter's Hospital. In 1863 he married Martha J., daughter of Rev. Frederic Ramsey, of Lawyerville, N. Y.

Page, Edward N., manager of the Cohoes Rolling Mill, has been associated with the iron industry since he was ten years of age. He was born in England in 1826, coming to America in 1848. and to Cohoes in 1862, when he became one of the firm of Simmons & Page (Jonas Simmons). In 1863 James Morrison bought out Jonas Simmons's interest, and the firm of Morrison, Colwell & Page was then formed, and the business is still continued under the same firm name and management. Mr. Morrison died June 11, 1893. Mr. Page is a master of the details in iron and steel making, and is a man of wide experience in the work, having devoted his whole life to the closest study of all the branches pertaining to America's greatest industry.

Bell, Horace S., son of Horace and Jane (Seaman) Bell, was born at Stuveysant Falls, Columbia county, February 8, 1845, and received a public school education at Castleton, N. Y. His mother died in 1850 and his father in 1858, and in the latter year he became a clerk in Albany for James R. Hadley, with whom he remained eight years. In 1866 he purchased of Minor J. Veeder the retail grocery and grain business at No. 168 South Pearl street, where he has since been located. In the same year he formed a partnership with William L. Coffin, under the firm name of Bell & Coffin, and so continued until Mr. Coffin's death on February 25, 1896, when he succeeded to the business. Mr. Bell is a director in the First National Bank, a trustee and first vice-president of the Albany City Savings Institution, a director in the Equal Rights Insurance Company of Albany since its organization in 1882, one of the organizers and a director of the Albany County Loan Association, and for several years an elder in the Madison Avenue Reform church. He was married in 1873 to Mary, daughter of John McHarg of Bethlehem, N. Y., and they have three children: Jessie, Horace and Mildred.

Parsons, Francis Marion, of Scotch and German descent, was born in Camillus, Onondaga county, August 19, 1848. He is a son of David Henry Parsons, a farmer residing at Weedsport. N. Y. His mother was Emiline Mills, daughter of the late

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Samuel and Phoebe Mills, of Coeymans, Albany county. Her grandfather, another Samuel Mills, was a Revolutionary soldier. The grandfather of the subject of this sketch, Joshua Parsons, came from Scotland and settled in Dutchess county, N. Y. He later removed to Granby where he was supervisor of the town. In 1866, after a residence in Granby of seventeen years, the Parsons family removed to Camillus. Francis M., the subject of this sketch, attended the public schools for some time and entered the Baldwinsville Academy, meanwhile teaching school in the counties of Cayuga and Onondaga and working for a time in a Memphis store. While teaching school he read law with William B. Mills of Weedsport, and in 1871 he was admitted to the bar at the General Term of the Supreme Court held in Rochester, N. Y. He opened an office in Weedsport and soon became the leading lawyer in the northern part of Cayuga county. In 1879 he was elected special county judge on the Repub- liean ticket and retained the place for three years. In 1886 and 1887 he was elected and re-elected to the Assembly where he was both years a member of the ways and means committee. Mr. Parsons has also been a justice of the peace and has acted as town clerk for the town of Brutus. About January 1, 1894, he was appointed first confidential clerk to the attorney-general of the State. July 1, 1894, he was made deputy attorney-general of the State and now holds that office. He is a member of Weedsport Lodges of Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias, and of the Unconditional Republican Club of Albany. He is also a trustee of the Methodist society. In 1871 he married Hattie Eliza Bibbens of Brutus, N. Y., and they have three children: Minnie L., Frederick Jay and Eva Hattie. The family residence is at Weedsport, N. Y

Tucker, Luther Henry, jr., was born in Albany, N. Y., September 9, 1869. He received his preparatory education at the Albany Academy, after which he entered Yale University and graduated in the class of 1891. While at Yale he was a speaker in the junior exhibition for the H. J. Ten Eyck Prize. Mr. Tucker was also a speaker for the De Forest Medal in his senior year, and hence a Townsend prize man. He was class poet, editor of the Yale Literary Magazine, and a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity. Immediately after graduation Mr. Tucker sailed for Europe and visited Ireland, England, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Holland and Bel- gium. He returned in December, 1891, and took a post-graduate course at Yale in · 1892 and 1893 (Foote scholarship) in English literature; in June, 1894, he received the degree of A. M. December 1, 1893, he entered the firm of Luther Tucker & Son, since which time he has been an editor of the Cultivator and Country Gentleman. March 28, 1894, he married Florence Barnard, daughter of the late Stephen P. Barnard, M. D., of Hudson, N. Y., and Grand Rapids, Mich. They have one daugh- ter: Katharine Barnard.

Corliss, Stephen Potter, was born in Albany, N. Y., July 26, 1842, and received his education there, which was completed about the time of the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion. He at once enlisted as a private, was promoted through the reg- ular positions to that of captain, was brevetted major, lieutenant-colonel and colonel for great gallantry and distinguished bravery at the capture of the Southside Rail- road, April 2, 1865, and was also voted a medal by the Congress of the United States for his conduct at this time; spent about three months in Libby Prison in Richmond, Va., served upon the staffs of Brig .- Gen. John Ramsey and Major-Gen. Nelson A.

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Miles-with the latter went to Fortress Monroe, Va., to assist in the care of Jefferson Davis, then a prisoner there; finally upon his own request was discharged from the United States army, December 16, 1866. Returning to his native city, he was soon occupied in the pursuits of a mercantile life. March 1, 1866, he entered the employ- ment of Charles H. Strong, then a wholesale clothier in Albany, N. Y., as a com- mercial traveler, and covered the territory of Michigan, Ohio and Illinois. In Jan- uary, 1869, Mr. Strong retired from business and Colonel Corliss was at once engaged by Messrs. Davis, Craft & Wilson, at this time one of the largest manufacturers of clothing in our country. He remained through the various changes in this firm until july 1, 1887, when he entered the service of Hackett, Carhart & Co., of New York, whom he now represents. He has from the time he entered the ranks of the com- mercial travelers been a conspicuous member and foremost in advocating and work- ing for whatever shall tend to add to their good name and advance their interests as a class; was a charter member of, and forten years has been president of the Albany Commercial Travelers Club; is first vice-president Commercial Travelers Home Association of America, and also holds the same position in the Commercial Travelers Mutual Accident Association of the United States; is also a prominent member of the Masonic order, of the military order of the Loyal Legion, and of the Grand Army of the Republic, of which he was department commander in 1873 and 1874; also served upon the staff of Major-Gen. Joseph B. Carr, who commanded the 3d Division National Guard of our State ; was for years a member of the staff of the Washington Continentals, and later was captain of Co. B, 10th Battalion N. G. S. N. Y.

Cutler, Edgar A., is the son of Martin L. Cutler, a native of Holliston, Mass., born in 1819; he came to Albany in 1847. Mr. Cutler comes of old New England stock ; his great ancestor, John, came from Norfolk, Eng., in 1637, and settled at Higham, Mass. ; he seems to have been a man of vigorous parts, with a mind of his own, for he early engaged in the religious controversies which form an essential ingredient in Puritan life, and suffered in consequence. Simeon, another ancestor, served with distinction in the Revolutionary war; he joined Washington at Boston, and remained with the army during its eight years of defeat and victory, and retired with a colo. nel's commission. Mr. Cutler, sr., was engaged in the wholesale and retail millinery business at the time of his death, March 15, 1890; he was also trustee of the National Exchange Savings Bank, and prominent in the business circles of Albany. He mar- ried Maria A. Salisbury of Albany, who survives him; they had two sons, Walter S. of San Francisco, and Edgar A., born in Albany, November 13, 1858. He was edu- cated in the Albany Academy, and when eighteen entered his father's store, where he remained as salesman until 1890, when he succeeded to the business. He is one of the leading wholesale and retail milliners of Albany. The business, which has been located at Nos. 540-546 Broadway since 1847, is the oldest of the kind in the State outside of New York, and one of the oldest in the country.

Bowman, Cassius M., was born in Troy, July 2, 1846. He is the son of Joseph Bowman, the well known veteran collar manufacturer of Troy. Joseph Bowman came to Troy when twelve years of age from Vermont. He was one of the pioneer manufacturers of collars in Troy, as early as 1854, but later removed to a farm in Fulton county. He is, however, a member of the present firm of Bowman & Sons, manufacturers of linen collars and cuffs, No. 555 to 561 Federal street, Troy. This

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firm was established in 1876 with Cassius M. Bowman and Joseph Bowman, jr., as active members, and employed about 100 people. C. M. Bowman has been a resi- dent of Green Island since 1882, and has taken an active part in local government.

Zeilman, Charles H., was born in Albany, N. Y., September 25, 1839. He received a common school education and later went into the employ of Steele & King, where he learned the paper hanging business and subsequently served as an apprentice at the carpenter's trade, at which he was employed at the breaking out of the Rebellion. August 8, 1861, he enlisted in the 44th N. Y. Vols. and was successively promoted from the ranks to first sergeant, second and first lieutenant and captain; and com- manded Company F, the Albany company, from the Peninsula campaign until the company was mustered out of service in Albany, October 11. 1864. He participated in most of the battles in which the regiment was engaged, was severely wounded in the side at Gettysburg, and was slightly wounded in the left arm in the battle of the Wilderness. He has been a prominent member of the G. A. R. since 1867. January 1, 1865, when the free delivery system was put in operation in Albany, Postmaster Dawson appointed him as a letter carrier and subsequently to a clerkship in the dis- tributing department, from which he resigned in the September following, to accept the position of chief clerk and property clerk of the Capital police force. He re- mained in that position until September, 1870, and on the fifteenth of that month he re-entered the postal service under Postmaster Smyth and for nineteen years was clerk at the stamp window. When Gen. James M. Warner was appointed postmaster in 1889, Mr. Zeilman was appointed assistant postmaster and has held that position ever since, having been reappointed by the present incumbent, Hon. Francis H. Woods. He was a member and secretary of the Board of Civil Service Examiners for the Albany post-office from its establishment to the time he became assistant postmaster.

Baxter, William C., secretary of the David Judson Coal Company of Troy, is the son of the well known William E. Baxter, an early settler of West Troy, who is prominently connected with the Warford & Robinson Transportation firm, and owns several boats. William C. is a native of West Troy, born in 1866; he finished his education at the Troy Business College, after which he entered the firm with which he is now identificd. Mr. Baxter is a trustee of the Second ward, to which office he was elected in 1895, by one of the largest majorities ever given in the ward, and re- elected alderman, November, 1896, under the new city charter. He is a member of the Watervliet Club of West Troy, secretary of the Troy branch of the Commercial Travelers' Home Association, a member of the Y. M. C. A., Royal Arcanum, and Knights of the Ancient Essenic Order.

Happel, Dr. William H., son of John H., and Caroline (Kilzer) Happel, was born in Albany, April 22, 1866, and was graduated from the Albany High School in 1884 and from Concordia College at Fort Wayne, Ind., in 1886. He taught for one year as adjunct professor of languages in St. Paul's College at Concordia, Mo., and then entered the Albany Medical College, from which he was graduated in 1890. In April of that year he was appointed house physician in the Albany City Hospital and served eighteen months. In October, 1891, he began the practice of his pro- fession in Albany. He is a member of the Albany County Medical Society, and its present treasurer, and is a Mason, a member of Temple Lodge No. 14, F. & A. M.,

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Temple Chapter, De Witt Clinton Council, Temple Commandery No. 2, K. T., Cyprus Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, and the Scottish Rite bodies. In 1891 he married Irene, daughter of the late Elisha Schill of Ballston, N. Y., and they have two children: Ralph Schill and Irene Kilzer.

Mckinney, James & Son .- James Mckinney, son of James and Jane Frances (Netterville) MeKinney, was born in Duanesburg, Schenectady county, August 29, 1825. His father, a farmer who came to America about 1810, was born of Scotch- Irish stock in the North of Ireland and was the son of Rev. James Mckinney, a Scotch Covenanter minister. James MeKinney, the subject of this sketch, was edu- cated in the public schools and at the Canajoharie Academy, and in the latter vil- lage became a clerk in his grandfather's store. When eighteen he began learning the iron business at Palatine Bridge, N. Y., and in 1846 came to Albany to follow his trade, which he subsequently followed in New York city for a time. Returning to Albany in 1857, he formed in that year a copartnership with Abram Mann, and under the firm name of Mckinney & Mann established the first architectural iron business in the capital city in a building on Lumber street, now Livingston avenue, near where the railroad bridge now stands. In 1863 the firm removed to De Witt street, to buildings specially erected for them. In 1867 Mr. Mckinney became sole proprietor, and in 1872 erected and occupied the present plant at Nos. 925-933 Broadway. In 1883 his son Edward N. was admitted as partner, under the firm name of James Mckinney & Son, which still continues. This is the most extensive architectural iron works in Eastern New York outside of New York city, and fur- nished a large part of the iron work for the Albany post-office building, the State Capitol building, the D. & H. C. Co.'s office building, the new Albany Safe Deposit and Storage Company building, the Dudley Observatory, and numerous other structures in Albany and elsewhere. Besides executing contracts for heavy struc- tural work in buildings, such as columns, girders, trusses, etc., this firm makes a specialty of all kinds of the finest ornamental work in the line of stairs, elevator en- closures. wrought iron gates, railings, etc. They do a large business in New York city and vicinity, having put this class of work in many of the largest structures there. On account of their reputation for fine work they are asked to compete with the foremost concerns in the country in this line. Mr. Mckinney is a vice-president of the Albany Exchange Savings Bank, a director in the Standard Emery Wheel Company and the Marshall & Wendell Piano-forte Manufacturing Company, Limited, and has been a member of the Fourth Presbyterian church for forty years, an elder for twenty-two years and connected with its Sunday school for twenty-five years. He is a Republican, and was alderman of the Seventh ward one term. In 1850 he married Julia A. Poole of Albany, and of their six children three are living. Ed- ward N. Mckinney, their only son, was born in Albany May 17, 1857. Since leav- ing school in 1874 he has been associated in business with his father, becoming a member of the firm in 1883. He is a director in the New York State National Bank, vice-president and treasurer of the Standard Emery Wheel Company, secretary and treasurer of the Albany Terminal Warehouse Company, manager and treasurer of the Marshall & Wendell Piano-forte Manufacturing Company, Limited, a director in the Albany Chamber of Commerce, and a trustee of the Albany Savings Bank and Second Presbyterian church. He was a member of the Albany Building Commis-

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sion, which erected a number of school houses, engine houses and other public buildings in Albany. In 1888 he married Marion Louise Roessle of Washington, D. C., and they have three children.

Hatt, Samuel S .- Among the members of the Albany county bar there are none more favorably known than Samuel S. Hatt. His education was obtained at the Fort Edward Institute, where he prepared for college, and at the Law Department of Union University, from which he was graduated in 1877 with the degree of LL. B. In the same year he formed a partnership with Charles W. Mead, which has con- tinued until this day, and is one of the representative and successful law firms of the State. He has never entered the field of politics, preferring to devote himself strictly to the practice of his profession. In addition to his extensive practice, however, he is prominently identified with the business, charitable and educational interests of Albany. He is a trustee of the Albany County Savings Bank, of the Albany Orphan Asylum, treasurer of House of Shelter, a member of the Historical Society of Albany and of the Fort Orange Club, and a trustee and the treasurer of the Emmanuel Bap- tist church, and an active member of the New York State Bar Association. In pub- lic and professional life he has always been held in the highest esteem and confidence. He married into one of Albany's oldest families, a daughter of Dr. Peter P. Staats, for many years one of Albany's prominent physicians, and has one son, now prepar- ing for college at the Albany Academy.

Ward, John G., was born in the town of Westerlo in the year 1849 and is the pro- duct of Revolutionary stock, taking his name from Gen. John Ward who achieved signal military honors in the struggle of the American Colonies for independence. Mr. Ward also traces his ancestry back to Gov. Daniel Tompkins of this State. Mr. Ward's father is the Rev. Gilbert Ward, a retired and honored minister of the Meth- odist church. Mr. Ward's great-grandfather, Nathan Ward, came from Westchester county in 1797 and was one of the pioneer settlers of the town of Westerlo. The Hon. William L. Ward, congressman from the Westchester District, is a member of the same family. Mr. Ward's education was obtained at the local school and at Fort Edward Institute. His father owned large landed interests in Westerlo, and young Ward remained on the farm for several years, prosecuting his agricultural work along the most approved lines. He had erected a cider mill on his farm, where he also had a productive apple orchard. Mr. Ward's business ability could not be con- fined to his native town and with his clear and judicious insight into the future he saw that a splendid opportunity was presented for a cider and vinegar factory at Ravena, formerly Coeymans Junction, a growing and enterprising village on the West Shore Railroad in Albany county. He removed to Ravena, therefore, and erected an extensive plant; which, with its improvements in the shape of modern machinery, etc., is one of the largest institutions for the manufacture of pure cider vinegar in the United States, turning out 50,000 barrels each year. His eldest son, Gilbert E., who possesses the keen business instinct of his father, is also interested in the business. Several thousand carloads of produce also are shipped yearly by the firm. Mr. Ward married Cecilia, a most estimable woman, daughter of Dr. John Keefer, and their home has been blessed with five children: Gilbert E., John H., Grace L., Walter K., and Raymond; a happier family will not be found anywhere. Mr Ward's second son, John H., who has not yet chosen his life profession, has re-

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Landmarks of Albany County, New York, Part 106

Author: Parker, Amasa Junius, 1843-1938, ed Publication date: 1897 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason Number of Pages: 1374

Author: Parker, Amasa Junius, 1843-1938, ed
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1374