Landmarks of Albany County, New York, Part 71

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

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and general manager. Hon. Thomas L. James is president of both institutions, which now occupy the same structure. The Deposit Company, which has a capital of $1,000,000, was the pioneer in the United States in the construction of absolutely fire-proof safe deposit and warehouse buildings. Besides the building containing the huge deposit vaults they have four large warehouses, erected in 1884, 1891, 1894, and 1896 respectively.

Mr. Van Wormer, as general manager of thisimmense property, has shown marked business ability, and has won the confidence and respect of all with whom he has come in contact. During an active life he has enjoyed the acquaintance and confi- dence of the leading men of the country-of statesmen, financiers, authors, news- paper men, lecturers, politicians, etc. He achieved distinction as a correspondent and no little renown as an orator, especially on political subjects. He is the vice- president and a director of the Brooklyn Warehouse and Storage Company, which was organized in 1892, and which has a large building on the site of Dr. Talmadge's original tabernacle at Schermerhorn street and Third avenue, Brooklyn. He is also a director of the Schermerhorn Bank of Brooklyn, and a member of the Union League Club, of which he was secretary in 1892 and 1893, and of whose house committee he is now chairman. He is a member of the Lotos Club, the Republican Club, and the New York Athletic Club, all of New York city, being a member of the finance and building committee of the latter organization, which is erecting a handsome new club house at 59th street and Sixth avenue. He is also a member of the St. Nicholas, the Holland, the New England, and the Albany Societies, all of New York, and the Sons of the American Revolution.

TIMOTHY L. WOODRUFF.

HON. TIMOTHY L. WOODRUFF was born in New Haven, Conn., August 4, 1858. His ancestors fought in the Revolution and he is a member of the Sons of the Revo- lution. His father was a member of the House of Representatives from 1855 to the close of the Civil war. Mr. Woodruff received his preparatory education at Phillips Exeter Academy and entered Yale University in 1875 and was graduated in 1879 as Bachelor of Arts, and received the degree of Master of Arts in 1889. After leaving Y'ale he took a course at Eastman Business College in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. In Jan- uary, 1881, after a year's clerkship, he was admitted to the firm of Nash, Wheton & Co., now the Worcester Salt Company, of which he is treasurer. He took up his residence in Brooklyn, N. Y., in the spring of the same year. In 1887 he was the proprietor of the Franklin, Commercial, Nye and Waverly stores and two grain ele- vators. In 1888 he was made a director and secretary of the Brooklyn Grain Ware- house Company. In 1889 he became one of the proprietors of the Maltine Manufac- turing Company of New York, of which he is now president. He was one of the in- corporators of the Kings County Trust Company, the Hamilton Trust Company and the Manufacturers Trust Company of Brooklyn. He is a director of the Merchants Exchange National Bank of New York and a member of the New York Chamber of Commerce. In 1881 and 1883 he was a member of the executive and advisory com- mittees of the Brooklyn Young Republican Club. He was a member of the Repub-

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lican State Convention of 1885 and has been a delegate to nearly all State and local conventions ever since. In 1888 he was a delegate to the convention at Chicago, and in 1889 and 1890 he was a member of the Republican State Committee. Mayor Wurster, upon assuming office, appointed him Commissioner of Parks of Brooklyn. He was also a delegate to the convention at St. Louis which nominated William Mckinley. Socially, Mr. Woodruff occupies a very prominent place in Brooklyn and is a member of all the fashionable clubs and societies. He is also a member of the Union League and University Clubs of New York city. In November, 1896, he was elected lieutenant-governor of New York State. His wife was Cora C. Eastman, daughter of the late Hon. H. G. Eastman, at one time mayor of Poughkeepsie, N. Y. They are both members of the Presbyterian church. They have one son, a student at Paul's School at Concord, N. H.

THEODORE E. HANCOCK.

HON. THEODORE E. HANCOCK Was born in 1847, in the town of Granby, Oswego Co., N. Y. He is a descendant on his mother's side from Roger Williams. His paternal ancestors were natives of Massachusetts, from which State his father emigrated about 1836 to Oswego county. He attended the public schools and the Falley Sem- inary, where he prepared for college. He entered the Wesleyan University in 1867, and was graduated with honors in 1871. While at college he was a diligent stu- dent of the classics and mathematics and showed great skill in logic and debate. After leaving the University he studied law in the office of the Hon. Edward T. Bartlett, now judge of the Court of Appeals. He also took a course of study in the Columbia Law School of New York and in 1873 was admitted to practice in all the courts of this State. He chose Syracuse, N. Y., as his home and commenced his practice there. He met with great success and for many years he has been the senior member of the firm of Hancock, Beach, Peck & Devine, now Hancock, Hogan, Beach & Devine. In 1889 he was elected district attorney for the term of three years. In 1893 he was nominated to the office of attorney-general of New York State and was elected by a majority of 21,290. He assumed office January 1, 1894, and in 1895 was re-elected by a plurality of 94,758. He is a member of the Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias.

In 1880 he married Martha B. Connolly, of Pittsburg, Pa., and they have two sons and one daughter.

WALTER DICKSON.

THE subject of this sketch was born at Albany, N. Y. Hisfather, James Dickson, and mother, Margaret Leitch Russell, were natives of Scotland, the former of Peebles, near Edinburgh, the latter of Hamilton, near Glasgow. Walter Dickson is the eighth successive generation of this old Scottish border name. His mother was a

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descendant of Major Andrew Leitch, who fell at Harlem Heights in 1776, fighting under Washington. Walter's school life wasspent at Prof. Anthony's Classical In- stitute, and the Albany Academy. He excelled in boy's sports, and very early evinced a taste for drawing and construction. William Ellis, then the principal architect in Albany, having seen some of the boy's handiwork, prevailed upon his (Walter's) father to have him study in his office. Later the boy entered the office of William L. Woollett, of Albany, also prominent in his profession, and finally completed his studies in New York city. He held the office of resident architect of the new Fed- eral Building at Albany for years and it was completed under his supervision. Ambitious for a greater field, he associated himself in 1887 with Frederick C. Withers, anold and well known architect of New York city, their practice being largely in public buildings. They are at present erecting many for the city of New York.

Mr. Dickson is a member of twenty years standing of the American Institute of Archi - tects, and also of the Architectural League, and has been president of the Depart- ment of Architecture of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences.

From boyhood he has been a student of history and of places of historical interest around him, which his published articles and tales of Old Albany attestto. In fact, antiquities are his hobby. He was placed at the head of historical committee of the Albany Bi-Centennial Celebration of 1886, and it was through his efforts that the memories of many places and events of historical interest in Albany were perpetu- ated by the the bronze tablets now seen about the city, the importance of which was so eloquently set forth at the time by an eminent Roman Catholic divine, who said: " When the noise of smoke and cannon, and the glitter and music of parade, and the brilliant effusions of inspired oratory will have all passed away, these bronze tablets indelibly inscribed with history will be the only imperishable thing left to tell the story of Albany's Bi-Centennial."

Mr. Dickson has been identified with many of Albany's institutions. He succeeded his father as president of St. Andrew's Society, was president of the Young Men's Association, commandant of, and closely identified with the Albany Burgesses Corps. He was one of the original curlers of Albany, and one of the citizens who introduced the steam fire engine into this city. He was also a member of the Fort Orange Club, and the designer of the great Albany Army Relief Bazaar, and the first president of the first Electric Illuminating Company in Albany. He is at pres- ent an officer in the Albany Society of New York, and in addition to the other or- ganizations with which he has been associated, has been for more than thirty years a 32° Mason.

Mr. Dickson married Fanny Louise Guest, of Ogdensburg, N. Y., a descendant of an old Albany family, and has three sons and two daughters. His only sister, Jean Agnes Dickson, was the wife of William H. Tayler, both of whom are now deceased.

J. TOWNSEND LANSING.

J. TOWNSEND LANSING is a descendant of (1) Frederick Lansing, of Hassel, Hol- land, who came to New Amsterdam (New York) with three sons and three daughters and probably settled in Rensselaerwyck about 1650. Gerrit Frederick Lansing (2),

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his son, was no doubt the progenitor of all the Lansings in America. The line is (3) Gerrit, born in Hassel, Holland; (4) Jacob Gerritse, 1681-1767, who built the old "Pemberton House ;" (5) Gerrit J. ; (6) Abraham G., 1756-1844; (7) Gerrit Y., 1783- 1862, member of the State Legislature, chancellor of the Regents of the University of New York, and member of Congress, married Helen Ten Eyck; (8) Charles B., married Catharine Clinton ; and (9) J. Townsend.

John Townsend Lansing, born in New Haven county, Conn., was educated in Albany and in 1866 engaged in the manufacture of saws with Robert C. Pruyn and James Goodwin, under the firm name of Pruyn & Lansing, succeeding the fathers of Messrs. Lansing and Pruyn. They continued this business until 1878 and also manufactured files under the name of the Sheffield File Works and were interested in the embossing company.

Since 1878 Mr. Lansing has been interested in the care of trusts, estates and real estate and has often acted as administrator. He is a director in the New York State National Bank, the Albany Insurance Company, the Public Market Company and the Wheeler Rent and Power Company; a trustee of the National Savings Bank, the Dudley Observatory, the House of Shelter, the Albany Medical College, the Charity Organization Society, the Albany Historical and Art Society, the City Mission, and the Young Men's Christian Association; and is a member of the Fort Orange Club of Albany, the Reformed Club of New York, the Holland Society and the Old Guard Albany Zouave Cadets. He is also identified with several other organizations of the capital city.

In 1870 he married Helen Franchot Douw, daughter of Volckert P. Douw of Al- bany.

JOSEPH ALBERT LINTNER.

JOSEPH ALBERT LINTNER, Ph. D., of German descent, is a son of Rev. George Ames Lintner, D. D., who was born in Minden, Montgomery county, N. Y., in 1796, was graduated from Union College in 1817 and was pastor of the Lutheran churches of Schoharie, Middleburg and Cobleskill for many years. Prof. Lintner was born in Schoharie, February 8, 1822, attended the Jefferson Academy, was graduated from the Schoharie Academy in 1837 and spent ten years in mercantile pursuits in New York city, where he also prosecuted his studies under the Mercantile Library Association. He contributed scientific articles to the Tribune and other newspapers, and returning to Schoharie in 1848, engaged anew in mercantile business. In 1853 he began a collection of insects, and in 1860 removed to Utica, where for seven years he manufactured woolen goods. Meanwhile he had steadily pursued his sci- entific studies, for which he had a natural taste and unusual capacity. In 1868 he became zoological assistant in the State Museum of Natural History at Albany ; in 1880 he was appointed by Governor Cornell State entomologist; in 1883 he was placed on the scientific staff of the museum, a position he still holds. He has writ- ten about 1,000 papers on scientific subjects, published eleven annual Reports on the Injurious and other Insects, of the State of New York, and is widely recognized as one of the foremost entomologists of the world. His services in the interest of agri-

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culture and allied pursuits have been of great value to both the State and nation. He is a forceful speaker, an accomplished writer and a man of not only high scien- tific, but of rare personal attainments. In 1884 the Regents of the University of the State of New York conferred upon him the honorary degree of Ph. D. He was president of the Entomological Club of the American Association for the Advance- ment of Science, and the Association of Economic Entomologists, two years each, has been president of the department of natural science in the Albany Institute since 1879 and is a member of the American Entomological Society, the Entomo- logical Society of Washington, D. C., the Entomological Society of Ontario, Canada, the New York Academy of Sciences, the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences, the Cambridge Entomological Club, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Davenport, Iowa, the Oneida Historical Society, the Kansas State Horticultural Society, the New York State Agricultural Society, the Musée Royal d'Histoire Naturelle de Belge, Société Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou, and Société Entomologique de France, and since August 21, 1873, fellow of the American Association for the Ad- vancement of Science. October 2, 1856, he married Frances C., daughter of Hon. Holmes Hutchinson, of Utica, N. Y. Their children are George A., of Minneapolis, and Charles H. of St. Paul, Minn. ; and Mary C. and Laura B., of Albany, N. Y.

JAMES H. WILSON.

JAMES H. WILSON is one of the foremost temperance leaders in the city of Cohoes and a faithful member of the Baptist church, in which he has served as trustee for the past three years, and as superintendent of the Sunday school he has been very successful. He is prominent in the I. O. G. T., and assisted in organizing the Tem- ple of Honor in 1873, and was a charter member of both organizations. He is also a member of the A. O. U. W., and is serving as a trustee. As a director of the Y. M. C. A. he is serving his fifth year, and also does mission work on Van Schaick's Island, where he was one of the early settlers. In politics he is a Republican, and is serving his third term as school commissioner, and is also a valued member of the Masonic fraternity.

He was born in 1854 at Lowell, Wis., and is a son of James S. Wilson, a contract- ing carpenter. He lived at Clifton Park until twelve years of age, when he came to Waterford and assisted his father (who died in 1894, and his mother in 1891).

He came to Cohoes in 1868, and in 1878 became engaged with Leggett & Son, paper box manufacturers, with whom he remained until May, 1885, when he purchased the business and has since successfully conducted the same.

In 1892 he organized the Continental Knitting Co., of which he served as president until he severed his connection with the company in December, 1894.

In 1875 he married Adelaide Delanoy, by whom he had two children. The daugh- ter, Frances D., died in 1892 at the age of sixteen ; she was a talented musician and highly respected. The son, William J., was born in 1887.

J. H. WILSON.

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A. BLEECKER BANKS.

HON. A. BLEECKER BANKS was born in New York city, March 2, 1837. He comes from old Revolutionary stock and is a son of David Banks, who founded a law book publishing house in New York city in 1804 and a branch at Albany soon after, of which branch Mr. A. B. Banks has been the manager since 1858. Mr. Banks was educated at the public and private schools and Columbia College, New York city. He was a member of assembly from Albany county in 1862, State senator, 1868-71, and mayor of Albany city. 1876 to 1878 and also 1884 and 1885. He was instru- mental during his first term as senator in securing the first appropriation for the new State Capitol, establishing Washington Park and legislating a new charter for his city. When mayor he inaugurated the granite block pavement and improved sew- erage systems, which has made Albany one of the best paved and drained cities of the State. It was through his plans and management that the Bi-Centennial of Al- bany city was carried on to its final success. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention at Chicago in 1884, and aided in nominating Grover Cleveland for president; he was also a delegate to the State Constitutional Convention of 1894. He is an active member of the firm of Banks & Brothers, law book publishers, Al- bany and New York.

CHARLES W. LITTLE.

CHARLES W. LITTLE is a descendant of George Little, the founder of the Newbury family of this name, who came in 1640 from Unicorn street, near London Bridge, England, and settled in Newbury, Mass. Mr. Little was born in Albany, February 4, 1850. His father, Weare Coffin Little, was the sixth in descent from George Little, and was born July 31, 1806, in Maine. In 1827, while acting as the western representative of the firm of Little, Brown & Co., of Boston, Mass., he established in Albany, the law publishing house of W. C. Little & Co. He died February 20, 1885, after a long and successful business life ; his uprightness and integrity having gained him the regard and esteem of all who knew him. C. W. Little's mother was Elizabeth Latimer, and her grandfather, Col. Jonathan Latimer, who served in the Connecticut forces during the Revolutionary war, was present at Bunker Hill and Stillwater and also fought in the French and Indian war. Mr. Little was educated at Professor Anthony's Classical Institute and the State Normal School in Albany. After leaving school he entered his father's law book publishing house and upon the death of his father in 1885, became the sole proprietor. He is a member of the Fort Orange and Unconditional Republican Clubs, a life member of the Young Men's As- sociation and of the Young Men's Christian Association. December 31, 1872, he married Edith, daughter of Samuel B. Herbert, of London, England, who was a direct descendant of the Earl of Pembroke. They have three daughters: Milla A., Edith H. and Elizabeth W.

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RALPH HORNBY.

RALPH HORNBY, now retired from active life, took up the machinist trade upon coming to Cohoes from England, where he was born in 1829. His early manhood was spent as a cotton weaver, but on coming to America he entered the employ of Campbell & Clute, remaining with them twenty-six years, holding the position of foreman for the last twelve years.

Mr. Hornby, from a poor boy, by economy, hard work, and perseverance, has ac- cumulated a substantial fortune. He is practically the father of the Fifth ward of Cohoes, having built the first house in that ward. He has been largely instrumen- tal in the development and upbuilding of that part of the city.

November 19, 1859, he married, in England, Jane Bell, of Preston, Lancashire, Eng., who has borne him six children, but two of whom are living: Elizabeth and Ellen.

FRANCIS H. WOODS.

HON. FRANCIS H. WOODS was born in Albany, his parents emigrating here from county Longford, Ireland, early in the present century. He received his education at Capt. Michael O'Sullivan's school and the Albany Boys' Academy, where he won the principal's prize for his essay on "Mahomet." He soon began to take an active part in the public duties of life and while a delegate from Engine Company No. 11, was elected president of the Albany fire department in 1865 and by his prudent management secured the stability of the relief fund. In 1865 he was admitted to the bar, having studied in the office of Warren S. Kelly and subsequently going into partnership with ex-Judge James A. Mckown.

His political career began in 1867, when he was elected to the Assembly by a handsome majority and served with credit on the committee on judiciary. In 1873 he was elected a justice of the Justice's Court, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Dennis B. Gaffney. He was again elected for a full term by 3,000 majority and again for a third term without opposition, 5,000 Republican ballots being cast for him. After an honorable and impartial career, Mr. Woods retired from the Justice s Court in 1883. On this occasion many members of the bar united in presenting him with a handsomely engrossed testimonial.

In the fall of 1883 he was unanimously nominated by his party for the office of sur- rogate and was elected by a commanding majority. He discharged the duties of that office for the full term of six years with credit to himself and satisfaction to the public. On his retirement every newspaper in the county made him the subject of a laudatory editorial notice, commending him for his industry, courtesy, learning and integrity.

The period of Mr. Woods's incumbency as surrogate is the brightest chapter in his career, as it is one of the most honorable and creditable in the county history. In 1890 he served as a member of the State commission appointed by Governor Hill to revise the judiciary article of the constitution. He is now serving as postmaster of

RALPH HORNBY.

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the city of Albany and has shown a progressive spirit in the management of that office, where his unusual executive ability finds a good field of display. His appoint- ment was made on the suggestion of President Cleveland, with the approbation of Senator Hill.

As a Democratic orator, Mr. Wood's most notable work was in Mayor Nolan's campaign, in the various addresses he made while accompanying Mr. Manning and the Democratic Phalanx to the Chicago convention which nominated Grover Cleve- land; at the great Fort Plain meeting with Mr. Apgar, being the first Cleveland meeting in the interior of the State. He displayed great activity, was at his best in scores of out door gatherings in the campaign of 1888, and accompanied John Boyd Thacher in a part of the novel cruise of the boat Thomas Jefferson down the Erie Canal, making speeches of electric power at Schenectady, West Troy and Albany from the bow of the boat. In the campaign of 1892, as president of the Mills Club, he displayed notable activity on the stump. He is a born orator ; his appearance on the platform is indicative of power and ability. He is an intelligent lawyer, a lover of books and a sound adviser.

JOHN F. RATHBONE.

JOHN F. RATHBONE was born in Albany, N. Y., October 9, 1819. He was educated in the Albany Academy and the Brockport Collegiate Institute. His father died May 13, 1833. The following year he united with the Baptist church in Brockport, and within a year thereafter he left school and became a clerk in Rochester, N. Y. In 1837 he returned to Albany, first in the employ of Jared L. Rathbone, and then becoming clerk in Joel Rathbone's foundry in the south part of the city. In 1840 he went into business with S. H. Ransom, with Joel Rathbone and Jared L. Rathbone as special partners. In 1845 he built a stove foundry in Albany, which with the ad- ditions since made is one of the largest in the world. He is now at the head of the firm of Rathbone, Sard & Co. Early in 1861 Mr. Rathbone was appointed brigadier- general of the 9th Brigade of the National Guard, State of New York, and on the opening of the Albany depot for New York State volunteers, he was appointed its commandant. On being relieved from the command General Rathbone was highly complimented, not only by the adjutant-general, but by the commander-in-chief, Governor Morgan. In 1867 General Rathbone resigned his position as commandant of the 9th Brigade. January 1, 1873, he was appointed adjutant-general by Gov. John A. Dix, with the rank of major-general and served with credit to himself and advantage to the State. He is one of the founders of the Albany Orphan Asylum of which he has been president and trustee for many years; president of the Board of Trustees of the Dudley Observatory, also of the Mutual Fire Insurance Co. of Al- bany ; one of the Park Commissioners, and trustee of the Albany Rural Cemetery : and president of the Board of Trustees of the Albany Academy. He was for fifty years the superintendent of the Emmanuel Baptist Sunday school and is president of the Board of Trustees of the church. He founded the Rathbone Library of the Uni- versity of Rochester, of which he is a trustee, and contributed $40,000 to its funds.

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ALBERT P. STEVENS.

ALBERT PARSONS STEVENS, son of Isaac and Maria C. (Parsons) Stevens, was born in Springfield, Mass., April 10, 1835. and descends from Col. Thomas Stevens, of the Devonshire line, through Cyprian Stevens, who came to this country in 1660 and was one of five who purchased from the Indians, in 1686, a tract of land twelve miles square, comprising what is now the town of Rutland, Mass. Cyprian's de- scendants were residents of that town for more than 150 years. On his mother's side Mr. Stevens is in the direct line of descent from William Bradford, who came over in the Mayflower in 1620, and was the second governor of Plymouth Colony. Joseph Stevens, son of Cyprian, was one of the first selectmen and assessors of the town of Rutland, was the first town treasurer, one of the committee to set off the land, a deacon in the church and a captain in the militia. Isaac Stevens was born in Rutland, Mass., August 8, 1795, and died July 31, 1835.

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Landmarks of Albany County, New York, Part 71

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