USA > New York > Rensselaer County > Landmarks of Rensselaer county, New York, pt 2 - 3 > Part 16
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Ile was married in 1862 to Charlotte A. Baldwin, daughter of Caleb D. Baldwin, of Bloomfield, N. J., and has four children, of whom the eldest, Henry B. Ward, Ph. D., has succeeded to his father's love of, and aptness for, scientific work, and is now engaged in the same as professor of zoology in the University of Nebraska.
GEORGE A. ROSS.
GEORGE A. Ross, the genial proprietor of the Frear House, has risen to his pres- ent position through sheer force of character and energy, characteristics of the sturdy Scotch race from which he sprung. After securing a common school educa- tion in Troy and an academie education in the Lansingburgh Academy he com- menced life for himself as a bell boy in present hotel, which was then owned by
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Lucius Wright. Upon the removal of Mr. Wright to Poughkeepsie Mr. Ross accom- panied him, where he remained as clerk of the Morgan House until his return to Troy, when he again became connected with the American House and remained as bookkeeper until June, 1888, when he became proprietor of the last named hos- telry, and in 1893 changed its name to the Frear House. This is one of the old landmarks of Troy as a hotel and has for many years enjoyed a wide popularity with the traveling public.
The parents of George A. Ross were David and Elizabeth (Grieve) Ross, who were born in Scotland and who came to America and settled in Troy in 18445. David Ross was a cloth finisher by trade and died here in 1867, leaving nine children. Mrs. Elizabeth Ross still resides in Troy at the advanced age of eighty years.
Mr. Ross is viee-president of the Troy Rubber Stamp Works, of which his brother, D. G. Ross, is president, and another brother, Andrew W. Ross, is secretary and treasurer.
GEORGE A. MOSHER.
GEORGE A. MOSHER was born in Sharon, Vt., October 6, 1845. He is the elder son of Albert B. Mosher, for several years a member of the Vermont Legislature, and Lucretia Eldredge, a great-granddaughter of Gen. Israel Putnam of Revolutionary fame.
Ile attended the common schools, the Royalton Academy, at Royalton, Vt., and later' Kimball Union Academy at Meriden, N. H., from which he graduated and entered Dartmouth College in 1863. He was graduated from Dartmouth in 1867, and the same year he assumed charge of Champlain Academy at Champlain, N. Y., as principal. The following year he came to Troy, studied law in the office of R. A. & F. J. Parmenter, and he was admitted to practice in 1868, while with that firm.
About two years later he formed a partnership with Hon. James Forsyth, under the firm name of Forsyth & Mosher, which continued until 1879. He then devoted much time to the study of mechanical and patent matters, and in 1852 became asso- ciated with the law firm of Davenport & Hollister, of Troy, making a specialty of patent law practice. In 1893 he entered into partnership with Frank C. Curtis, of Troy, with whom he is now associated under the firm name of Mosher & Curtis. The business of the firm is devoted to patents and patent law exclusively.
Mr. Mosher has been interested, both as mechanical expert and counsel, in many important law suits relating to patents; and he is himself the inventor and patentee of several labor-saving devices, perhaps the most important of which is a machine now in general use for attaching buttons to shoes by means of wire staples.
During his residence in Troy, Mr. Mosher has beeome largely interested in real estate, owning a large traet of land east of Pine Wood avenue on Mt. Ida Lake, the improvement of which has formed his principal recreation. This property, which was an uninhabitable wilderness when acquired by him, he has transformed into one of Troy's most delightful suburban localities, through which extend Lake street and Belle avenue, two streets which have been opened and given to the city by him.
Mr. Mosher was one of the founders of the East Side Club, of which he was the
GEORGE A. MOSHER.
EDWARD L. LYONS, M. D.
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fourth president, and has been a trustee of the same continuously since its organiza- tion. Ile is also a trustee of the lonie Club, of which he has been a member sixteen years; and is vice-president of the Eastern New York Whist Association.
lle was married in ISMO to Belle M. Holden of Springfield, Vt., who died in 1880; and in 1883 he married Mrs. Jennie A. Kenyon, of Troy, who died in October, 1894.
JOHN T. NORTON.
HON. JOHN T. NORTON was born in Troy, N. Y., February 4, 1865. His father, Thomas Norton, came to this country from Tipperary, Ireland, in 1846 and settled in Troy; for many years he was superintendent of the Clinton Iron Works, and was alderman for a number of years; he was a local leader in the Democratic party ; his death occurred August 24, 1888. The mother of John T., Rose (Shattuck) Norton, was born in Belfast, Ireland, and is still living.
John T. Norton was educated in the publie schools and entered Williams College, from which he was graduated in 1886. He studied law in Troy and in Buffalo, and was admitted to the bar at the latter place in 1889 and returned to Troy where he has since been engaged. He was elected member of assembly in 1894 by a majority of 450 and in 1895 by a majority of 2,147. He was one of the counsel in the " Bat" Shea case. He is a member of the Old Guard, Troy Citizens Corps, Pafraets Dael Club, and Laureate Boat Club.
He was married to Margaret Hammond, of Buffalo, N. Y., in January, 1891.
JOHN J. FARRELL.
JOHN J. FARRELL. was born in Troy, N. Y., October 30, 1870. His father, John M. Farrell, came from Ireland and settled in Troy ; he was in the grocery business until he was burned out in the great fire of 1862, when he went into the coal business. which he followed until his death in 1886. His mother was Mary Lennehan, who was born in Ireland and died in Troy in 1889.
John K. Farrell was educated at St. Mary's Academy in Troy, aud after the death of his father took charge of his estate. In April, 1896 he was appointed fire com- missioner by Mayor Molloy, and has the distinction of being the youngest fire com- missioner in the State. He is a member of Arba Read Steamer Co., and was assist- ant captain two terms; he is also a member of the Laureate Boat Club.
EDWARD L. LYONS, M. D.
EDWARD L. LYONS was born in Troy, N. Y., in 1863. When very young his father, Edward Lyons, came from Ireland with his parents who settled in Troy ; his mother, Ellen (English) Lyons, died in 1890.
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Dr. Lyons attended the Brothers' Academy, and afterwards entered the Medical University of the City of New York, from which he was graduated. He went to Europe and studied medicine in Berlin and Vienna, afterwards returning and be- ginning practice in Troy in 1888. He is attending physician at the Brothers' Male Orphan Asylum, and is a member of the Rensselaer County Medical Society and the Medical Association of Troy and Vicinity; he also is a member of the Robert Emmett Association.
HERBERT E. DE FREEST, M. D.
DR. HERBERT E. DE FREEST, was born in North Greenbush, N. Y., August 11, 1868, of Holland Dutch descent. His father, Edwin De Freest, was also born in North Greenbush and is a farmer. This mother is Louisa (Bass) De Freest.
Dr. De Freest received his early education in the public schools of North Green- bush and Troy, and held the highest honors in a class of 130 that took examinations for the High School. He graduated from the High School in 1889, and entered Rut- gers College, New Jersey, taking a special course in German, French and chemistry ; he entered Albany Medical College from which he was graduated in 1893, having received the highest honors in surgery and the highest degree in the specialty of the eye and ear. While in Albany he occupied various positions in the Albany Hospi- tal. After graduation he began practice in North Troy, where he is now located.
Ile is a member of the State Medical Society, the Rensselaer County Medical So- ciety, and the Medical Association of Troy and Vicinity ; he is a member of Diamond Rock Lodge I. O. O, F., of the order of Red Men No. 230, of the East Side and Riv- erside Clubs, and of the D. K. E. of Rutgers College. He is examining physician for the Royal Arcanum, the National Life Insurance Co. of Montpelier, Vt., Ger- mania Life of New York, Mutual Life, Home Life, and Northwestern Masonic of Chicago, and is also one of the State examiners in Innacy.
He married in 1893, Edith Haslehurst, of Troy; she is a daughter of the late The- odore laslehurst, who was a thirty-third degree Mason, and at one time was grand commander of New York State; he died in December, 1888.
BEECHER E. CARPENTER.
BEECHER E. CARPENTER was born in Glens Falls, N. Y., in 1842. His paternal grandfather, Elias Carpenter, was a Revolutionary soldier and died at the age of ninety-two. His maternal grandfather, Beecher lligby, of Glens Falls, was a car- penter and builder and died at the age of fifty. His father, Waite S. Carpenter, was for many years proprietor of the Glens Falls Hotel and died at the age of sixty-nine. His mother, Mariette (Iligby) Carpenter, was born in Glens Falls and died in 1893.
Beecher E. Carpenter received a common school education, and afterwards assisted his father in the hotel business until abont 1881, when he came to Troy and entered the employ of John B. Clark, who then carried on a large hivery, carriage and forn-
BEECHER E. CARPENTER.
WILLIAM DONOHUE.
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ishing goods business. He bonght Mr. Clark's interest in the fall of 1890, and is do- ing an extensive business at his store at Nos. 18 and 20 State street in carriage and horse furnishing goods. He belongs to Glens Falls Lodge, F. & A. M.
Ile married Miss Julia E. Clark in 1874; she is the daughter of John B. Clark, who was known throughont the country as a trader and dealer in horse goods of all de- scriptions. He was the first to start the carriage business in Syracuse, N Y , and died in the fall of 1894. Mr. Carpenter has one daughter, Bessie M.
JAMES HENRY LYONS, M. D.
DR. JAMES HENRY LYONS, son of John and Alicia ( Martin Lyons, was born at Eagle Bridge, N. Y., May 12, 1858. His father died at the battle of Antietam, September 15, 1862.
Dr. Lyons received his education in the public schools of Eagle Bridge, Jolson- ville and Schagaticoke, and was graduated from Mechanicville Academy as saluta- torian of his class in 1883. He entered Wilhams College in the fall of that year and was graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1887. In 1890 he was graduated from Albany Medical College with the degree of M. D., and was valedictorian of his class. In May, 1890, he began active practice in Lansingburgh; later he took a course in the New York Postgraduate Medical School, graduating in August, 1896. He took a special course of lectures in surgery when in New York city, and is a member of the Rensselaer County Medical Society.
WILLIAM DONOHUE.
WILLIAM DONOHUE was born in Troy. N. Y., October 3, 1832. His father, Timothy Donohue, came to this country in 1825 and settled in Troy, where he resided until his death in 1856. His mother, Elizabeth Mahoney, died in 1840.
Wilham Donohue attended the old First ward Lancasterian school and private schools, and went to work when ten years of age. He learned the trade of coach- making, at which he worked from 1850 to 1858, when he began business on his own account and so continued to 1864. He was elected alderman of the First ward in 1861, and was appointed clerk of the Justice's Court in 1865. He was elected justice for three years and afterwards re-elected. In 1876 he was appointed police magis- trate and retired in 1881; he was again appointed in 1887 and still holds that office. Ile is a member of the firm of Donohne, Tierney & Isengart Brewing Co. and is its treasurer. He has been a member of the Democratic County Committee twenty years, and a member of the Central Committee ten years.
In 1856 he married Miss Catherine Roche, of Troy, who died in 1876. They had four children: Elizabeth, Thomas N., Catherine and William. In 1887 he married Miss Nellie F. Mallon, of Troy.
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FRANCIS J. MOLLOY.
HON. FRANCIS J. MOLLOY was born in Troy, N. Y., in 1849. His father, Michael Molloy, came to this country in 1832 and was a prominent grocer in Troy for thirty years. His wife, mother of the subject of this sketch, was Jane (Wilson) Molloy; she died in 1875.
Francis J. attended St. Joseph's Academy, but left there after the big fire of 1862. When his father placed James E. Molloy in business, Francis J. took a position with him as clerk, and in 1870 became a partner in the wholesale grocery business, the firm name being James E. Molloy & Co., which is one of the oldest and largest estab- lishments of the kind in the city.
In 1880 he was elected alderman for a term of eight months, a change in the char- ter making a short term necessary at that time. He was elected police commissioner to fill the unexpired term of James Fleming, and held that offee until elected mayor in 1893, to which office he was re elected in 1895. As mayor he has ever been fore- most in promoting the best interests of the city, its growth and development, and during his adonistrations the franchises and privileges of the electric car lines have been largely extended. During his term of office close attention has been given to the economical administration of the city government, never, however, losing sight of the proper growth and development of the city; and the best people, irrespective of political affiliations, concede to him a clean, popular and progressive adminis- tration.
Ile is a member of the Democratic State Committee from his district, and for many years has been recognized as among the leaders of his party in the State. Ile is a director in the Manufacturers' National Bank and the Troy Gas Co. Ile is a member of the Catholic church, and worships at St. Mary's, the church of which Rev. Peter Havermans is pastor.
FRANK P. HARDER.
HON. FRANK D' HARDER was born in the town of Schodack, March 19, 1815, and was educated at Nassau and Poughkeepsie. He was engaged in the freighting busi- ness for twelve years, and was in the lumber, flour and feed trade for many years. He has been connected with the National Bank of Castleton since 1885, and has been president of the bank since 1990; his father was one of the organizers of this bank and for many years its vice-president.
In 1899 he was elected county treasurer by the Democratic party, and from Jan- ary 1, 1880, to December 31, 1888, a period of nine years, he filled that responsible position with credit to himself and for the best interests of the county.
After the expiration of his term as county treasurer, in the fall of 1889, accom- panied by his wife, he started on a tour around the world, spending two years visit- ing the principal places of interest in Great Britain and continental Europe, also China, Japan, Ceylon and other oriental countries, returning via San Francisco.
Mr. Harder is a 32 Mason, being a member of the Chapter, Apollo Commandery K. T. of Troy and Albany Consistory; he also is a prominent member of the Knights
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GEORGE SCOTT.
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of Pythias, of which organization he was grand chancellor in 1826. For many years he has been one of the most active Democrats in his section of the State, and is now chairman of the Third Assembly District Committee. As a business man he takes front rank among the best men of the county. He is regarded as safe and con- servative, and has been successful in all his undertakings. He is public-spirited and has done a great deal for the county in which he was born and has lived all his life.
In 1868 Mr. Harder married Charlotte Pegg. His parents were Andrew and Eve (Clapper Harder. His grandfather, Peter Harder, was a native of Dutchess county, and the family came from Holland originally about the year 1670.
GEORGE SCOTT.
T'un late George Scott was born in New York city, July 8, 1813, and died Decem- ber 30. 1881. He was educated in the public schools. His people moved first to Sullivan county, N. Y., and from there to Albany. At the age of seventeen he came to Lansingburgh and learned the brush making trade. In 1835, with a partner, he began the manufacture of brushes; after a short time the partnership was dissolved and he continued the business alone; in the market his brushes were considered the best. At the beginning of the war, on account of the unsettled condition of the country, he failed in business, made an assignment and settled with his creditors at seventy five cents on the dollar. He later resumed business and met with success, and paid his former creditors in full, both principal and interest.
He had much influence for good with young men ; he was a member of the M. E. church, being a teacher and superintendent of the Sunday school over fifty years. lle left "a good name, which is better than precious ointment," and his life is a perpetual lesson to all who had the enjoyment of his acquaintance. In his political choice he was an ardent Republican.
October 29, 1835, he married Abigail Morrison, (died July 19, 188S)of Middlebury, Vt. ; they had six children, four of whom grew to maturity: Margaret (wife of George C. Gage, of Waterford), George A., Mary A. (wife of H. C. Hill; the business of Mr. Scott is now conducted by Mrs. Mill), and Adelaide S. (widow of George W. Smith). The two daughters last named occupy the old homestead of their parents.
George A. was born in 1842. At the age of seventeen he conceived the idea of a new brush; at nineteen enlisted as a private in the 30th N. Y. Vols. m the late war; and at twenty-two had his brush patented and was admitted as a partner in the Florence Manufacturing Company at Florence, Mass. While abroad during the following ten years he established in London the Leonite Manufacturing Company and applied electro magnetism to the brush and to other articles. In electro-magnetism he was a well-known inventor.
In 1879 he returned to New York and became one of the greatest advertisers in the country, expending $150,000 annually in making known his products; until his death, which occurred February 11, 1890, at Colorado Springs, he was considered one of the "makers of New York," and one of the most successful sons of Lansingburgh.
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Inheriting a kind heart from both of his parents, his visits to his birthplace were memorialized by generous deeds. He was surrived by a widow, a daughter and son.
Both father and son were men of large benefactions, and their good deeds live as one of the noblest traits of character, and they were held in the highest esteem by all,
WILLIAM H. DOUGHTY.
Wilay lowARD Douaury is a Trojan by ancestry, education and a life-long cit- izenship. Ile leads a busy and a useful lite. Entirely independent of pecuniary re- turns for personal exertion, he voluntarily assumes the cares and perplexities of business. His leisure from more exacting work is largely devoted to the educational, humane and charitable institutions that seek his advice and command his liberal support. He is profoundly interested in current problems of general and municipal government, but is not in the least what is recognized as a practical politician. He reads widely in general literature, has a keen appreciation of the humorous, and ex- cels as a conversationalist and raconteur. He is a Presbyterian by conviction and in practice a Christian gentleman.
The " Doughty " name dates from before the Norman Conquest and it has been spelled in precisely its present form, at least since the reign of Henry VIII. The " Doughty " ancestor of the American family, from whom Wilham Howard Doughty is descended in the eighth generation, was Rev. Francis Doughty who emigrated from England and settled at Cohannet in Plymouth Patent (Taunton), Mass., about 1633, among the earliest of the Puritans. A little later he withdrew from the New England Colony and settled in 1642, with many others from Cohannet, near the site of the present city of Brooklyn, N .. Y., under a patent granted by Governor Kieft of the Dutch colony of New Netherland. His own bouwery was on the east side of Flushing Bay known as Stevens Point. Subsequently seeking refuge from the dep- redations of Indians, he took up his residence in New Netherland near the fort, where he had purchased property. He soon established a church within the fortifications, iministered there himself and became the first man to preach in the English tongue ou Manhattan Island. He was a " Puritan father," a friend and guest of Cecil, Lord Baltimore, founder of the Roman Catholic colony of Maryland, and a leader among some of the sturdiest colonists who laid the foundations of New York. From these facts it would be easy to infer a character not so varied from that of the sketch as is the nineteenth from the seventeenth century.
William Howard Doughty was born in Troy, N. Y., September 11, 1837, son of Lieut. Ezra Thompson Doughty (b. 1811, d. 1843) of the United States Navy, and Harriette Howard (b. 1818, m. 1836, d. 1870), daughter of Richard P. Hart, one of the most successful business men ever identified with Troy. His paternal grand- mother was a sister of Smith Thompson, secretary of the navy in the cabinet of President Monroe, and afterwards judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Doughty left home for boarding school at the early age of seven years, was en- tered at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute ten years later, and was graduated as civil engineer (C. E.) in 1858 in the same class with William Metcalf of Pittsburgh, Pa., Clark Fisher of Trenton, N. J., and other well known engineers. He subse-
WILLIAM HOWARD DOUGHTY.
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quently traveled throughout the continent of Europe and made extensive excursions into Asia and Africa. In 1870 he became connected with the office of the Hart Es- tate and from 1878 took charge of its business management. Becoming skilled in large and intrieate financial transactions his counsel was sought by investors, and he became associated with men of affairs in all the activities of his native city. Ile is now a member of the Executive Committees of the Troy Savings Bank, the Troy Orphan Asylum and the Young Men's Christian Association ; he is one of the Ad- visory Committee of the Presbyterian Home Association; he was one of the incor- porators and is the first president of the Samaritan Hospital; he is a trustee of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and has been president of its Alumni Association ; he is a trustee of the Emma Willard School (formerly Troy Female Seminary) and of the Troy Young Men's Association ; he is chairman of the trustees for the erection of the Hart Memorial Library building; he is a director of the Rensselaer and Sar- atoga Railroad Company and the Albany and Vermont Railroad Company ; a direc- tor of the Troy City Bank and of the Troy and West Troy Bridge Company; he is a member of the City (political) Club, the Troy Club, and several athletic associations. Surely this is the record of a kind, versatile and useful man.
Mr. Doughty married, April 2, 1874, Alice Clarkson Crosby, daughter of Edward Nicoll Crosby, of New York. They have seven children: Wiliam Howard, jr., Ed- ward Crosby, Ralston, Richard Hart, Hariette Hart, Alice Crosby and Marion Rutgers.
EDWARD MURPHY, JR.
HON. EDWARD MURPHY, JR., is the son of Edward Murphy, sr., and was born in Troy, N. Y., December 15, 1836. His father came from heland to Canada in 1883 and soon afterward settled in Troy, where he began a successful career as a brewer, Senator Murphy received his rudimentary education in the public schools of his na- five city. He then entered Montreal College at Montreal, Can., and afterward at- tended St. John's College at Fordhunt, where his education was completed. Return- my home he became his father's assistant in the brewery business, which he aided materially in building up and developing. Finally the father relinquished the en- terprise to the son. Mr. Murphy carried on the business alone for several years, then forming a copartnership with William Kennedy, another brewer, he established the present firm of Kennedy & Murphy, one of the largest and best known in this part of the State.
Senator Murphy has been an unswerving Democrat from an early age. When twenty-five years of age he was a delegate to the Democratic State Convention which nominated William Kelly for governor. Since then he has been a delegate to almost every State convention of his party. He was a sturdy supporter of Samuel J. Tilden in the latter's warfare upon the "canal ring," was a delegate to the Na- tional Democratic Convention which met in St. Louis in 1876 and nominated Mr. Tilden for president, and also heartily supported the administration of Governor Robinson. Ile was a delegate in 1880 to the National Convention which placed Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock in nomination for the presidency, though on this occa-
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