USA > New York > Rensselaer County > Landmarks of Rensselaer county, New York, pt 2 - 3 > Part 76
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Keenan, James, was born in Reeseville, Essex county, N. Y., December 29, 1831. His father, John Keenan, came to this country from Ireland in 1812 and settled in the northern part of the State and came to Troy about 1839, where he died in 1887. His mother, Ann (Martin) Keenan, died shortly after the removal of the family to Troy. James left home at the age of eleven and at the age of eighteen learned the bricklayer's trade with Jesse Van Zile and worked at the trade until 1856, when, with John Magill, he formed the firm of Magill & Keenan, contractors and builders, and continued in that business until 1878, when he retired. He was constable of the old First ward from 1855 to 1865, was city commissioner in 1868, was county clerk from January, 1878, to 1881, was sheriff three years and was delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1892. He was foreman of the old Hand Engine Company No. 7. Hle married Sarah A. Nelligan of Troy, in 1853. There are two children, William M., a lawyer, and Mrs. Mary F. Dowling. Mr. Keenan died suddenly, Sep- tember 24, 1886.
Christensen, John B., was born in Denmark, August 10, 1867, was educated in
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their schools, and learned the blacksmith's trade. He came to the United States May 27, 1889, and located in Lansingburgh, N. Y., and began business on his own account in 1893 on First street, doing a successful business. He was married twice, first on May 2, 1889, to Marie K. Krog, who was a German lady, and died April 5. 1891. For his second wife, August 11, 1893, he married Auna M. B. Larsen of this place, formerly of Denmark; they have had two children: Saren, and a daughter, Nielsena K., who died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Christensen are members of the Lutheran church, and are of Danish origin.
Betts, Edgar K., was born in Norwalk, Conn., June 22, 1842. He was educated in the common schools, and came to Troy, N. Y., in 1856. He was first employed as errand boy and clerk ; he was afterwards in the dry goods business in company with James S. Keeler, under the firm name of Keeler & Betts; afterwards the firm was known as Betts & Medbury, In 1876 he became associated with Earl & Wilson in the collar business, which association has continued until the present time with snecess. He married Harriet L., daughter of Jefferson Gardner of Lansing burgh, in 1875, by whom he has had four children . Anson Gardner, Edgar Hayes, Ethel Keeler and Arthur Wilson. Mr. Betts's father, Henry, was born in Norwalk, Conn., November 26, 1784, and married Nancy Ketchum of Westport, Conn., by whom he had one son, Edgar K. Henry Betts died in 188t and his wife died in 1866. The grandfather of Edgar K., Capt, Hezekiah Betts, was born July 31, 1460; he was a captain in the Revolutionary army under Major Wyllys and General Webb in the Yorktown campaign, leading one division (October 21, 1781) of the forlorn hope that attacked and captured the British position, being wounded during the battle. Ite died May 31, 1837. The founder of the fannly in America was Thomas Betts, bom in Southfield, England, in 1618, came to America in 1639 -- being one of the original settlers of Guilford, Conn .- moved to Norwalk, Conn., and assisted in the founding of that place in 1660. Jefferson Gardner was the pioneer in the application of the sewing machine to the collar business in Troy. Edgar K. Betts is treasurer of the Leonard Hospital of Lansingburgh, and of Lansingburgh Academy, vice-president of the Board of Education, and one of the directors of the Union Bank of Troy, a member of the New England Society of New York city, Troy Club and Sans Souci Club of 1 ansinghurgh.
Mcclellan, Charles 11., was born Colrain, Mass., February 15, 1845 His early ancestors were Scotch-Irish and came from Ireland in 1719 and settled in Colain, but on account of the Indians, moved to Pelham; after the close of the Indian wal the family moved back to Colrain, Col. Hugh MeClellan was a prominent mau in Massachusetts; he was in the Revolutionary army and commanded at varions times three companies of minute men, and later was for thirty years a tember of the Massa . chusetts Legislature ; he died in 1816. Michael MeClellan, the grandfather of Charles Il., was also a member of the Massachusetts Legislature; he died July 29, 1858, His father, Hugh, was born in Colrain and died in February, 1869. His mother, Mar- garet T. Washburn, was born in Colrain in November, 1816. Charles Il. received a connuon school education and later in life took a course in the Troy Business Col- lege. He remained on the farm until he was twenty-one years old, and for many years was in the dry goods business in Greenfield, Mass., and in November, 1886, came to Troy and purchased an interest in the collar and shirt business, the firm being
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MeClellan, Miller & Co. This firm was established in 1864 under the firm name of Gallup & Tucker. Their successors were S. D. Tucker & Co., in 1867 S. 1). Tucker, in 1868 Tucker & Flack, in 1896 Flack & Dennison, m 1819 Flack & Wales, in 1886 MeClellan, Miller & Co. Since January 1, 1889, Mr. MeClellan has been sole proprietor. Ile has always been interested in his native town, and in 1891 wrote a partial history of it. He is a member of Republican Lodge F. & A. M. of Green- field, Mass., and is also a member of the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. October 8, 1873, he married Mary A. Smart of Troy, who has borne him two sons: Hugh II., of Cornell University, ' 97, and Joseph W.
Stowell, Henry, was born at Vergennes, Vt., in May, 1839. His father, Ratio L. Stowell, was born in Connectieut; when a child he removed to Vergennes with his parents; he was in the war of 1812 and was later a captain in the Vermont State militia; he died at the age of eighty-nine. His mother, Julia A. (Deming) Stowell, was a native of Vermont, and died in 1895, aged eighty-nine. Henry Stowell re- ceived his education in the common schools and entered the office of the Vergennes Vermonter to learn the printer's trade, where he remained three years and came to Troy in 1857 and completed the trade with A. W. Scribner, with whom he remained until 1861, when he enlisted in Co. B, Ith Vermont Vols. He served as private, corporal, sergeant, second and first lieutenant, and captain in 1864. He was mus- tered out of service at Brownsville, Texas, in March, 1866, when he returned to Troy and again entered the printing office of Mr. Scribner. In 1871 he started in business for himself in the Harmony Hall building, and i May, 1894, moved into the Masonic building, 15 Third street, where he has the most extensive printing plant in the city. lle is a member of King Solomon's Primitive Lodge No. 31, F. & A. M., Apollo Chapter, Bloss Commeil, Apollo Commandery, Delta Lodge of Perfection, Albany Sovereign Consistory, Oriental Temple of the Mystic Shrine, and Apollo Drill Corps. Hle also is a member of the Masonic Veterans Association, Post Willard No. 38, G. A. R., and Tibbets Veteran Corps, of which he is treasurer. He married, October 2 1866. Jennie M. Van Ness of Troy. He has a son, William Van Ness Stowell, one of the printing firm of Henry Stowell & Son, and a daughter, Julia W., a graduate of the Troy Female Seminary.
Collins, Cornelius V., was born in Greenwich, Washington county, N. Y., June 20, 1856. 11is father, Thomas Collins, came from Ireland in 1848 and settled in Green wich. lle was a buikler. Hle moved to Troy in 1866. His mother, Elizabeth ( Vall- ance) Collins, was born in Glasgow, Scotland. Cornelius received a public school education and went to work for W. P. Kellogg in the curry comb business as a clerk in the office. In 1877 he went with Converse, Peckham & Vilas in the wholesale dry goods business on River street, as commercial traveler, and in 1881 entered the con- cern as a partner under the firm name of Converse, Collins, Merrell & Co. He was elected police commissioner in 1888, which office he held for three years. He was elected sheriff of Rensselaer county in November, 1891, commenced duties in Janu- ary, 1895. He belongs to King Solomon Lodge F. & A. M., and is a member of the Pafraets Dael Club. He married Ida S. Salmson in 1879. She is a daughter of P. 11. Salmson, the jeweler. Mr. and Mrs. Collins have two daughters, Bessie and May. In politics Mr. Colhus has always been a Republican, being very influential in the ranks of his party, not only in Rensselaer county but also this portion of the State.
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At the State Convention at Saratoga in 1895, he was made a member of the Re- publican State Committee and re elected in 1896. In the fall of 1896 he was made a member of the executive committee. Ile is recognized as one of the strongest work- ers in the interest of the party in this section.
Waters, M. B., was born in Duxbury, Mass., in 1831. His ancestors came from old New England stock, His father, B. S. G. Waters, was born in Marblehead, Mass., and came to Troy in 1842 and died in 1847. His mother, Margaret (Winsor) Waters, was born in Duxbury, Mass., and died in 1839. Mr. Waters when eleven years of age went as cabin boy on board a ship. He began railroading in 185! on Hudson River Railroad and from there he went with the Troy & Boston Railroad, now the Fitchburg, where he filled the various positions of baggage master, ticket agent, freight and passenger conductor, and was the first traveling passenger agent of the line. lle then returned to the Hudson River Railroad Co. and remamed with them eleven years. He later went with the People's Line of Steamers and he has ably filled the position of general passenger agent of the line for the past seventeen years. lle has published several pamphlets discriptive of the Hudson River and the People's Line and is known for his unique and novel way of advertising which has tended largely to popularize the famous People's Line. Mr. Waters is known as a very in- teresting correspondent of the Troy Budget. He has been a large contributor to magazines and papers. He is a member of the various Masome bodies from the Blue Lodge to the Mystic Shrine and is a life member of all. His motto has been " Pluck, patience and perseverance," combined with the golden rule, and has always main- tained that " Honesty is the best policy," and his word has proven as good as a gov- ernment bond. In 1866 he married Lucia M. Allen, of North Dorset, Vt.
Morey, David, was born in New Ashford, Berkshire county, Mass., in February, 1850. Ilis education was received at the Taconic Institute at Lanesboro, Mass., and in 1868 he removed to Troy, which has since been his home. Twenty years ago he embarked in the grocery business in the southern part of the city, and he still con- tinues in that line. Ile early espoused the cause of Democracy, and by reason of his prominence in that party, was chosen school commissioner, which position he held for three years. In 1891 the Democratic convention named him its candidate for county treasurer, his oppenent being Shepard Tappen. Mr. Morey was elected by a majority of 2,691 votes, and the number of votes received by him exceeded those re- ceived by any other candidate on his ticket. His administration of that important office was entirely successful. He was nominated for the same office in 1891, but was defeated. In June, 1896, he was appointed by Mayor Molloy to the important office of city chamberlain, which position he now holds.
Willard, William Wallace, was born in Troy, N. Y., July 30, 1843, and received his education in the ward schools of the city and the Troy Academy. He is the son of Levi Willard, one of Troy's oldest residents, having commeneed his business career in the year 1840, and had until the time of his death been engaged in the book, stationery and newspaper business; he died in the year 1892; his mother was Mary E. l'lumb, born in Stockbridge, Mass., and died in Troy, in February, 1895. Mr. Willard has always been a resident of the city and was connected with his father in business; from a young man he was active in polities and has always been a
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prominent Democrat; was elected school commissioner in November, 1868, by the board of commissioners to fill a vacancy in the board, L. E. Gurley retiring. He was appointed police commissioner by the Hon. Edward Murphy, jr., mayor, in 1836, which office he held until 1880; he was also at one time clerk of the Board of Excise, and in the reorganization of the present police force in the year 1885, he was ap- pointed superintendent of police, and has held that position until the present tinic. In his younger days he always took an active part in the elections of the Troy Young Men's Association, and held office therein. He is a member of the Elks Lodge of this city and an exempt fireman of the Arba Read Steamer Co. Hle was married to Miss Kittie S. Dorlon, daughter of Philip S. Dorlon, mn June, 1869. His wife died in December, 1894. Hle has one daughter living, Mary E. Willard.
Large, William E., was born in the town of Watervliet, Albany county, N. Y., October 4, 1847. He was reared and worked on his father's farm until he was four- teen years of age, when he became a clerk in a country store, and at nineteen years of age he went to California, where he was engaged in the supply department of the Central Pacific Railway Company until 1870. He then returned to Mechanicsville, where he engaged in general merchandise until 1883, and in 1884 came to Troy and associated himself with Daniel Wing in the wholesale grocery business, under the firm name of Wing & Large, until 1891, when the copartnership was dissolved and Mr. Large conducted the business alone until May. 1896. lle was married twice; first in May, 1874, to Nelle, daughter of Thomas and Betsey Badgley of the town of Half Moon, Saratoga county, N. Y., by whom he had three children: Bessie B., George and Daisy L. Mrs. Large died in December, 1881, and m 1887 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Lewis and Phoebe Smith of Mechanicsville, N. Y. Mr. Large is a member of Montgomery Lodge No. 506, F. & A. M. ; of Stillwater Chapter, R. A. M., and of Washington Commandery, No. 33, K T., of Saratoga Springs. The ancestry of the family is English and Scotch.
Flack, Clarence N., was born in Lansingburgh, and educated in the public schools and Lansingburgh Academy. Ile completed his education in 1871, and was connected with his father in the wholesale flour and commission business; in 1894 he sold his interest in that business. Ile is president of the Troy Waste Manufacturing Co., and is director of the Manufacturer's National Bank of Troy, of the Troy City Rail- way, of the Albany Railway, and is also director of the People's Bank of Lansing- burgh. February 28, 1894, he was appointed single-head police commissioner of Lansingburgh by the Board of Trustees; took the oath of office March 4, 1881, and was re-elected a year later. The office is without salary. Ile is a member and trus- tee of the M. E. church. Mr. Flack's father, David 11., was born in Washington county, September 19, 1818. He came to Lansingburgh in 1811, and in 1815 he married Sarah, daughter of Doctor Simon Newcomb of Pittstown. Of this marriage seven children were born, four of whom survive: Clarence N., Mrs. N. E. Russell, Mrs. Henry Graham, and Mrs. William M. Brundage. Mr. Flack died December 23, 1892, and his widow survives at this date, 1896.
Kennedy, Howard S., was born in Troy in 1858. His father, Peter II. Kennedy, came to Troy in 1845 and worked at his trade of cabinet making. His mother was Elizabeth Van Volkinburgh of Columbia county. He attended common schools and took a short course at Troy Business College. When thirteen years old he went to
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work for Coon & Van Volkinburgh in the shirt and collar business which was con- solidated with the Cluett factory in 1889, and became superintendent of that concern, Ile is a member of Trinity M. E. church, and is president of the Troy Conference Epworth League, He married Josie A. Sharp of Troy in 1879.
Parks, Charles Wellman, son of Granville and Elizabeth Parks, was born at Wo- burn, Middlesex county, Mass., March 22, 1863. He graduated from Woburn High School and entered the Polytechnic Institute of Troy, from which he was graduated. In September, 1881, he was assistant on the Missouri River survey at Omaha, Neb., ten weeks, on the Arkansas Narrow Guage Railroad fifteen weeks, and in April, 1884, was engineer in charge of surveys for the Denver, Memphis and Atlantic Rail- road seventeen weeks; in September, 1884, he was topographer on the Burlington and Missouri Railroad in Nebraska; in 1885 he was assistant in geodesy at the R. P. 1. ; in 1886 he was professor pro tem. in physics in that institution until 1892. In 1889 he was superintendent of the Liberal Arts Group at the Paris Exposition, and was a member of the International Jury, class six. He had charge of the United States Burcan of Education at the Columbian Exhibition and compiled the catalogue for the library of 5,000 volumes. Ile belongs to the Troy Scientific Association for the Advancement of Science and the Cosmos Club of Washington county. His wife is M. B. (Frear) Parks, to whom he was married April 15, 1887. She was a daughter of the late Will Frear.
Mann, jr., Ilon. Francis N., was born in Troy, N. Y., August 2, 1849. On the paternal side he is a descendant of Richard Mann, who came from Europe previous to the year 1644 and lived in Scituate, Mass. Thomas Hooker, on the maternal side, was the founder of the city of Hartford, Conu., and a very prominent man in New England. His father, Francis N. Mann, was born in Milton, Saratoga county, N. Y., June 19, 1802. He was a lawyer and moved to Troy in 1828. He was judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and had held the offices of alderman, supervisor, and mayor of Troy in 1847, 1848 and 1849. He was a director in the Mutual Bank, a trustee of the Troy Orphan Asylum, and a senior warden of St. John's Episcopal church ; he died February 8, 1880. His mother, Jane (Hooker) Mann, was born in Hampton, Washington county, N. Y., and died July 28, 1875. The subject of this sketch was educated at the Troy Academy and entered Mr. Harrington's Prepara- tory School in Westchester county to prepare for college. He entered Vale in 1866, and was graduated in 1870. He was graduated from the Albany Law School in 1872, and admitted to the bar. He is a real estate dealer. He was elected alderman and served from March 2, 1873, to 1877 inclusive; was elected to the Assembly of the State of New York in 1879 as the candidate of the Republican party ; was on the staff of Governor Cornell from 1880 to 1883, as aid-de-camp. In 1890 he was a can- didate for mayor, but was defeated. He was appointed quartermaster with rank of lieutenant-colonel, November 1, 1843, and was later promoted to judge advocate with rank of colonel and served until 1880. Ile is one of the original members of the Troy Citizens Corps, and has been its president from the beginning. He was appointed in 1895 one of the managers of the State Hospital at Poughkeepsie, N. Y. He is vice-president of the Mutual Bank, trustee of the Troy Savings Bank, vice- president of Troy City Railroad, trustee of Troy Academy, Emma Willard School, Troy Orphan Asylum, Marshall Infirmary and Bible and Prayer Book Society of the
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diocese of Albany, and is also provisional deputy to the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, and vestryman of St. John's Episcopal church. He married Jessie M. Patchin of Troy, January 9, 1878, who is the daughter of Thadden W. Patchin, who was an old resident of Troy. They have six children. Her grand- father was Judge George R. Davis, who was speaker of the House of Representa- tives of New York State two years.
Murray, James T., was born in Ireland in 1859. His father, Martin Murray, came to this country in May, 1862, and settled in Troy, N. Y., and was for many years in the National Express Company's office. His mother, Ellen (MeLoughlin) Murray, was born in Ireland. James T. received his education in the public schools and LA Salle Institute and High School of Troy and afterwards taught in the Ninth Ward School four years, during which time he studied law in the office of Smith, Fursman & Cowen and was local editor of the Observer; later he attended lectures at the Al- bany Law School and was admitted to the bar in Saratoga in 1882, whereupon he resigned and commenced the practice of law and has been in very active practice since. Ile was counsel for the Board of Supervisors from 1884 to 1886 inclusive, and was appointed extra assistant district attorney under District Attorney Rhodes. lle was elected justice of the City Court in the fall of 1895 for a term of two years. lle was president of the Young Men's Association a number of years and has been prominently connected with the Y. M. C. A., and is a member of the Robert Emmet Association, and has been a trustee for a number of years of the Osgood Steamer Co. He is also a member of the State Bar Association, also of the Elks, and of the La Salle Alumni Association. November 11, 1896, Mr. Murray was married to Miss Catherine Frances Barrett of Troy and now resides at 2426 Fifth avenue.
Schenek, Martin, was born in Palatine Bridge, N. Y., January 24, 1847. Ilis an- cestors originally came from Holland in 1631 and settled on Long Island. His great- grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. His father was Benjamin Sehenek, who was born in Johnstown, Fulton county, in 1804, and later removed to Palatine Bridge, where he was for many years a farmer and lumber dealer; he died in 18;3. Ilis mother was Susan (Martin) Sehenek, born in Florida, Montgomery county ; she died in 1892. Martin graduated from Union College, Schenectady, N.Y . in the class of 1869, as a civil engineer and has worked at his profession for twenty- eight years. From 1887 to 1891 inclusive he was chief engineer of the Hudson River Improvement. In 1892 and 1893 he was State engineer and surveyor, and con- sulting engineer to the State Board of Health in 1894 and 1895. In 1894 he was appointed chief of engineers with rank of brigadier-general on the staff of Governor Flower. Ile was a member of the Legislature in 1875 from Montgomery county, N. Y. Ile has been employed on various railroads as constructing engineer. Ile is at present city engineer of Troy. Mr. S. is the author of various reports and papers on civil engineering, lle is a member of the B. P. O. Elks, and the Royal Arcanum. In 1899 he married Miss Adele Van Evra of Sprakers, by whom he has two children.
Edmunds, Frank W., was born in Boston, Mass., September 5, 1858. Ile is the son of Benjamin F. Edmunds, a native of New Hampshire, who was one of the organizers of the first Masonic lodge in that State; he died in 1880. His mother, Lucy (Bald- win) Edmunds, is now living in Brooklyn, N. Y. Frank W. when ten years of age became an office boy in the office of John A. Griswold & Co, in New York, and work -
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ing his way up was given charge of the sales in the vicinity of New York. He re- mained with that concern until the formation of the Albany and Rensselaer Iron and Steel Co., when he remained with the New York department of that com- pany until 1882, at which time he came to Troy, where he has since had his head- quarters. He became the general sales agent for that company and later occupied a similar position for the Troy Steel and Iron Co. In 1890 Mr. Edmunds was placed in charge of the Madison street office where he conducted his department from the general office and continued as general sales agent for the rest of its existence, Mr. Edmunds has charge of the sales department of the Troy Steel Co. on Breaker Isl- and. He belongs to Post D, Commercial Travelers Association, of which he is president and also president of the Troy branch of the Commercial Travelers' Home Association of America. Ile has been president of the Pafraets Dael Club, and is a member of Phoenix Lodge, F. & A. M., of Lansingburgh. He married Frances M. Perine of Paterson, N. J., in 1879.
Beiermeister, jr., Frederick, was born in New York city, February 1, 1854. His father was born in Germany in 1830, came to Troy in 1863, and in 1874 engaged in the manufacture of collars and cuffs; later the firm went into the combination of the shirt and collar industry. His wife, mother of the subject, was Barbara (Slosser) Beiermeister; she died in 1894. Frederick, jr., received a public and high school education in New York city and Troy, afterwards entering the shirt and collar busi- ness, at which he is engaged at present. Their manufacturing plant is one of the largest in Troy, known as the International Shirt and Collar Co., of which Mr. Beiermeister is president and one of the largest stockholders; the general office is in Troy and the company maintains salesrooms in New York, Chicago and Boston, and do a large and successful business. Frederick, jr., is also president of the Pioneer Building and Loan Association, and vice-president of the First National Bank. He is a member of Trinity M. E. church, and president of its board of trustees. In 1881 he married Miss Charlotte MePherson of Troy and has four children. In poli- ties he is a Republican, and is a member of the Masonie order, having attained the degree of Knight Templar; he is also a member of the Mystic Shrine, the Troy Club and other social organizations.
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