USA > New York > Onondaga County > Syracuse > Memorial history of Syracuse, N.Y. : from its settlement to the present time > Part 52
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Mrs. Redfield's recollections of Syracuse and Onondaga county embraced seventy years (ISIS-88), She survived most of her generation of women who were socially prominent in this city. Their names are as follows : Mrs. Amos P. Granger, Mrs. B. Davis Noxon, Mrs. Major Burnet, Mrs. Ilarvey Baldwin, Mrs. E. W. Leavenworth, Mrs. E. F. Wallace, Mrs. ITezekiah Strong (Onondaga Hill), Mrs. Harrie: B. (Ellis) Cook, Mrs. John Wilkinson, Mrs. Harriet Touseley Lee, Mrs. Henry Gregory, Madame A. J. Raoul, Mrs. Captain Putnam, Mrs. General Hopping, Mrs. James Lynch, Mrs. Dr. Colvin, Mrs. Johnson Hall, Mrs. Alexander, Mrs. Harry Raynor, Mrs. Samuel Mead, Mrs. Daniel Gott, Mrs. Dr. Adams, Mrs. Major Forman, Mrs. William Dodge, Mrs. Philo D. Mickles, Mrs. Joseph Savage, and the beloved teacher, Miss Amelia Bradbury, and Mrs. Mary D. Maltbie.
W ILLIAM H. IF. SMIT IT'S paternal ancestors were of English descent. The earliest I ong Island ancestor was Kichard Smith, of Smithtown, of whom histories of Long Island make honorable mention. His maternal ancestors were named Brush, and were Huguenots and lived at Huntington, Suffolk county, L. I. Both families warmly espoused the cause of the colonies, and suffered hard- ships during the British occupation of the island. The father of William IT. II. Smith was Rev. William Smith. He removed in 1793 from West Farms, Long Island, to Litchfield, Herkimer county, N. Y., where the subject of this sketeh was born June 5, 1814. Mr. Smith remained at his father's until he became of age, engaged at home in farm pursuits. Soon after arriving at his ma- jority he took charge of, and conducted for two years, a wholesale grocery business at Utica, N. Y.
In the spring of 1839 the first locomotive was placed on the Auburn and Syracuse Railroad. In September of that year Mr. Smith accepted the position of "collector " on that road, which was extended to Rochester, and this is now a part of the New York Central. This was the first railroad from the Atlantic seaboard to the great lakes, and became the thoroughfare of travel for business or pleasure to Niagara Falls and the great West. At that time express companies had not been estab- lished, and Mr. Smith was frequently called upon to take charge of bank exchanges and other monied transactions between bankers and business men at Syracuse, Auburn, and Rochester. There were many pleasant and also amusing features associated with the position of "collector ": opportunity to forni agreeable acquaintances, and to see the distinguished men of those times, the names and deeds of whom are part of our national history. Reminiscences of travel are recalled by Mr. Smith of John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, William H. Seward, Martin Van Buren, Ileman J. Redfield, Gen. Winfield Scott, Gen. Zachary Taylor, Lewis Cass, Silas Wright, Frank Granger, Judge Alfred Conkling, Thurlow Weed, Ilorace Greeley, George Dawson, Stephen A. Douglass, " Long " John Wentworth, and other celebrities of public interest, as Andubon, Kossuth. M. de Dodisco, Jenny Lind, Fanny Kemtle Butier, etc.
September 23. 1840, Mr. Smith was united in marriage with Miss Margaret Tredwell Redfield. - + at Syretre; N. V. -
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Hle purchased a tract of land on the Highlands in the southeastern part of this city and re- signing his position, in 1852, after thirteen years of railroad life, he built a residence in Irving street, and has since resided there. Ile has contributed to the development and permanent pros- perity of that part of the city by helping to inaugurate and carry forward progressive measures and enterprises. At an early day, in the introduction in Syracuse of the street railway system, Mr. Smith took the necessary steps for organizing a company, securing stock and the franchise for the construction of the Genesee and Water Street Railroad, the building of which was under his charge, and of which, and the Fourth Ward Railroad, he was Vice-President and Director until they passed into other hands. Mr. Smith has been a member, at various times, of Boards of School Commis- sioners, Assessors, Trustees, Commissioners, etc. : a life member of the Onondaga County Historical Society since its organization in 1562 ; a life member of the Onondaga County Orphan Asylum ; and for many years a Trustee of the House and Ilospital of the Good Shepherd. Without making de- nominational discrimination he has responded in aid of many of our religious, educational, and benevolent institutions, and has especially been an efficient promoter of the enterprises undertaken by the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Eighth ward of this city. When Syracuse University was located in the Eighth ward Mr. Smith made a substantial welcoming gift to them of $2, 100. Mr. Smith's political affiliations were originally with the Whigs, and have been with the Republicans since the organization of that party. During the war of the Rebellion he gave influence and sup- port in such directions as strengthened the Union cause.
Mr. Smith's tastes are decided for good general literature, American history, "Christopher North, " and other choice humor; he enjoys good sermons, theatrical representations, whist, and "going a fishing " for trout. flis fondness for picturesque scenery and wild-wood sports have led him often to the wilderness, and for forty of the last fifty years he has visited each spring-time the streams of Northern New York and the lakes "which sit like sparkling gems" among the everlast- ing hills of the far-famed Adirondacks.
A resident of Syracuse for more than half a century, he has witnessed and been a close observer of the changes which have taken place in this flourishing city, which is now covered with a net-work of railroads, and has become a center of energetic manufacturing enterprise, with corresponding expansion of religious, educational, and other ennobling interests. The population has increased from 6,000 in 1839 to go,ooo in 18gt .-
D R. HENRY DELAMATER DENISON was of the eighth generation from William Denison, who was born in England about 1586 and came to America in 1631, settling at Roxbury, Mass. Ile was accompanied by his wife, Margaret, and three sons, Daniel, Edward, and George," and by John Eliot, a tutor in the family. Mr. Eliot, as a minister at Roxbury and missionary among the Indians, made for himself a place in history. Mr. Denison was a cultured gentleman, of high char- acter, and prominent in the church at Roxbury, of which he was a deacon. He was liberally edu- cated, and gave most careful attention to the education of his children. Ile died in 1653.t George Denison, third son of William, was born in England in 1618, and, as above stated, came with his father to this country in 1631. He was twice married. After the death of his first wife, in 1643. he returned to England, served under Cromwell in the Army of Parliament, won distinction, was wounded, and nursed at the house of a gentleman whose daughter he married. He returned to Kov- bury, finally settling at Stonington, Conn. Ile died in 1694. His biographer declares that he and
* Of these three sons, George is the genealogical ancestor of the subject of this sketch. Daniel was a man of much prominence. He was born in Ifile, and married a daughter of Gov, Thomas Dudley. He settled at Ipswich. Mass., and had two children: john, who married a daughter of Deputy Governor John Symonds, and Elizabeth, who married John Ragers, President of Harvard College. He was Major-General of militia, Spreaker of the House of Rep resentatives, and for twenty-nine years one of the "assistants." His only male descendant died unmarried. Edward was born in 1611, and was the father of twelve children. He was a man of mark in Roxbury, and died there in Www .
+ It was probably in 1633 that a house was built by the Denisons at Mystic, Conn., and surrounded by a stockade to protect it from the assaults of Indians. The stockade has been removed, but the house is still standing. It has never been occupied by other th in members of the Denison family, two of whom now live in it.
While- smith
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his wife "were both remarkable for their magnificent personal appearance, and for force of mind and character. They held a foremost place in Stonington." "Ife has been described," says the biog- rapher, "as the ' Miles Standish of the settlement,' but he was a greater and more brilliant soldier than Standish. He had no equal in any of the colonies for conducting a war against the Indians, excepting, perhaps, Captain John Mason." Another authority says of him: " Our early history pre- sents no character of bolder and more active spirit than Captain George Denison ; he reminds us of the border men of Scotland." Nine children were born to him, of whom John Denison, born July 14, 1646, was the third child. IIe settled in Stonington on a farm, near the mouth of Mystic River, which came to him by deed from his and his wife's parents. The title of captain was prefixed to his name. Ile was a man of miark and prominence in Stonington. He was the father of nine children and died in 1699. Daniel was his fifth child, born March 28, 1650. He was a Deacon of the First Congregational church at Stonington. He was three times married, and died October 13, 1747. Eleven children were born to him, of whom Daniel, jr., was born March 22, 1721, and died at Stonington, May 9: 1776. He was the father of thirteen children, of whom Henry, the sixth, was born November 26, 1753. married in 1778, and died at Stonington in 1836. He had eight children, of whom Daniel was the fourth, born March 31, 1787. He was liberally educated and chose the profession of a physician. Ile came on horseback to l'ompey, almost a century ago, where he settled and spent the remainder of his life, always enjoying the high esteem of all who knew him. Ilis death occurred in 1854.
Dr. Denison, the subject of this biography, was the eldest son of Dr. Daniel Denison, and was born at Pompey. March 22, 1822. Upon the completion of his education he complied with the wishes of his father and his own desires by preparing himself for the medical profession, to ac- complish which he spent two years in the then famous medical school at Castleton, Vt., from which he retired with honors to enter upon a course of two years at Columbia College, and from which he was graduated with distinction. Upon his return to Pompey he entered into practice with his father, and met with excellent success, indeed, a future of rare promise seemed to open before him ; but his nature proved to be too sympathetic to allow him to look upon illness and suffering with that degree of indifference which the physician must possess if he would keep his mind clear and settled. After two years of experience he abandoned his profession to enter upon other pursuits, He came to Syracuse in 1850. thereafter making it his home. He had previously married Miss Melissa M. Southerland, of Pompey. He spent the remainder of his life actively in large business affairs, mainly in the construction of railroads and various important public works. He also engaged largely in other business pursuits, in which his exceptional sagacity uniformly led him to successful results. Ile was not a man who acted from impulse, but his well-balanced mind always weighed undertakings according to the law of cause and effect, so that he reached conclusions logically. His advice was much sought by business men, who knew that his judgment was almost infallible, and he was ever ready to apply his best faculties to the solving of difficult business problems for his friends and ac- quaintances as well as for himself. Being accomplished in the study of human nature he could eas- ily and almost unerringly read the character of a man, hence he but very seldom was the victim of misplaced confidence. ITis tried friends he trusted implicitly ; his confidence in them could not be shaken, and no man was truer to his friends than he. Ilis code of business rules had much to do with his success, and with his clearness and excellence of judgment he made his word as good as his bond in his business affairs. Dr. Denison was for many years active in politics, acting with the Democratic party. He was not only a local leader, but exercised a commanding position among the Icading Democratic politicians of the State. He was far-sighted and sagacious, and was rarely mis- taken in his judgment of nien and measures. So clear were his opinions upon political questions that his advice always had great weight in party councils. He would not accept office of any kind. and though he was often chosen a delegate to State and National conventions of his party, it was always done against his wishes. He much preferred being a private in the ranks to the holding of any conspicuous position whatever. He was for many years intimate with prominent politicians, and his acquaintance both in and out of his party was wide and advantageous. In the days of the war he was a " Union Democrat," and gave liberally of both money and efforts in support of the cause of the Union. Ilis patriotism was unfaltering, and his confidence in the final triumph of the Union army unyielding.
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Dr. Denison was singularly kind hearted and generous. Many men in this city and elsewhere can testify to this fact-men who, in their earlier days of struggling, were assisted on the way to fu- ture success by his advice and material aid. He gave abundantly to charitable objects, always in an unostentatious manner, in keeping with the natural reserve which characterized all his acts of gen- erosity and benevolence. No worthy charity ever came to him in vain; he could not deny the request of an impecunious stranger, preferring to bestow assistance unworthily rather than take the risk of withholding aid when really needed. Frank, courteous, and generous in his intercourse, he well sustained the motto of the Denison coat of arms, Demas Grata (hospitable house). He was a thor- oughly practical man, detesting sham wherever found. Solidity in all things was one of his char- acteristics. He was public spirited and progressive in his ideas ot government, and a firm advocate of education as a means of relief from many evils. It was only to those who knew him best that his many superior characteristics shone brightest, and his great strength of mind was felt most power- fully. His life-work was completed on the 24th of December, 1883, and his death was widely mourned by many strongly attached friends. His wife and three sons, Lucius S., Franklin l'., and Charles A , survive him.
FORGE H. McCHESNEY, the eleventh of fourteen children born to William and Huldah G (Lord) McChesney, was born November 1, 1841, in the town of Richland, Oswego county, N. Y. William McChesney, born in Bennington, Vt., in 1798, emigrated from that place to Oswego county about 1812, and there married Huldah Lord, who was born in New Hartford, Oneida county, N. Y., July 20, 1355. Mrs. McChesney is still living at the ripe age of eighty-six years, making her home at present with our subject in this city. Mr. McChesney was a prominent farmer and lumber manufacturer in Pulaski, N. Y., and died there in August, 1863, aged sixty-five years.
George H[. McChesney early acquired habits of thrift and industry, and for one who started ynung in life, with no capital other than high ambitions and a strong will-power, he has secured a lead ing position among the substantial business men of the community. ITis early education was obtained in the public schools of Pulaski, which was supplemented by two years in the academy at that place. In the meantime he assisted his father on the farm and in the mill, which labor was necessarily con- ducive to a strong constitution and an intimate knowledge of the details of the business that he has since followed. At the age of seventeen Mr McChesney left home and went to Oswego, N. Y .. where he became superintendent in the lumber yard of Clark & l'age, with whom he remained for two years, or until that firm dissolved. He then occupied a like position with their successor, L. A. Card, till the fall of two7. During the few years he remained in Oswego he became owner of sev- eral vessels on the lake, which were used in carrying lumber to that port, and which was the first business he transacted on his own account. His earnings from these boats, and the savings from his salary, enabled him to accumulate sufficient capital to start in business for himself, and he accord- ingly moved to Syracuse and purchased, in company with David P. Fairchild, the lumber yard of W. C. Brayton & Co., which he now conducts. The firm of Fairchild & McChesney existed for thirteen months, when it was dissolved by the senior partner retiring. Warren C. Brayton and R. A. Ronta were then admitted to the business, under the firm name of G. H1. McChesney & Co., which continued until 1880, since which time Mr. McChesney has conducted the lumber trade alone. He has been eminently successful in his business career of twenty-five years in the same loca- tion, having in that time supplied the lumber for numerous large contracts in and adjacent to the city. He built and owns the Alhambra Hall in James street. a large planing-mill and factory at the corner of Plum and Wilkinson streets, and an extensive carpenter and furniture shop on the corner of Tracy and North West streets. Mr. McChesney also owns a plaining and heading-mill and lum- ber yard in the First ward, besides his main lumber yard at 239 James street, where are located the business offices. The latter establishinent was started nearly half a century ago by Cogswell & Barnes. Mr. McChesney was married. February 4. 1874. to Miss Ella V Warner, daughter of the late C. C. Warner, of syracuse. Five children have blessed this union, all of whom are living, namely :
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George II., born December 27. 1574; Florence E., born November 30, 1877 ; Howard W., born January 17. 1$50 ; Marguerite M., born October 13. 1886 ; and Harold A., born September 20, 18S9.
For nearly twenty-five years Mr. McChesney has been closely allied to the business interests and development of Syracuse, and among other financial connections is a Director of the Third National Bank of this city. Kind and gentle in m inner, and of a retiring disposition, he is ever ready to lend a helping hand so far as his means will allow, and above all he takes a keen interest in all that tends to better the community in which he lives.
LION. DANIEL. P. WOOD was born in the town of Pompey, Onondaga county, N. Y .. on the 5th of November. 1819, the son of Daniel Wood and Sophia Sims. At the commencement of the century his father, from Berkshire, Mas. took up his residence at Pompey Hill, and was the pioneer lawyer of the place. He was a Justice of the Peace, and a man of influence and successful practice, andI was appointed first postmaster there by President Madison in 1811. After Victory Birdseye settled at Pompey, in 1807, a partnership was formed between the two lawyers, and the -firm of Wood & Birdseye were the instructors of miny who were afterwards practitioners of the county. The cultivation of a tract of land, which the elder Wood purchased, furnished an employ- ment congenial to his rastes and health, and he resigned the honors and habits of the profession principally to his partner.
Daniel P. Wood, assisting his father during his boyhood, strengthened his constitution, and thus prepared himself to realize, in the arduous mental labors yet to come, the maxim, sana mens in sano corpore. Natural scenery exerts a powerful influence on the youthful mind. From Pompey till, a portion of which is 1, 700 feet above the level of the sea, a view at one point stretches far in every direction, unbroken save by the horizon, and embracing objects in seven counties. The mind of the youth grew beyond the contines of the farm. At first he attended the district schools, but the wisdom and public spirit of his father and other residents had provided means for higher education. Daniel Wood was one of the Trustees of the Pompey Academy, incorporated in 1811, and its Treas- urer and a member of its Prudential Committee. While pursuing a preparatory classical course at this academy young Wood lost his father, who died in 1838. The next year he entered Hamilton College, at the time when the scholarly Dr. Simeon North commenced his useful and efficient presi- dency, and graduated in 1543. During his college course his mother was removed by death; she was Sophia Sims, of a family resident in New England, but originally of Jamestown, Va. Though bereft of parental advice and influence Mr. Wood was at this age fixed in his lite purposes and prin- ciples. In addition to his re ulur studies he had improved his mind by extensive reading. He com- menced studying law with Hon. Victory Birdseye, his father's former partner, who had been a dele- gate to the State Constitutional Convention, and had served various terms in the State Assembly and Senate, and had been a member of the Fourteenth and Twenty-seventh Congresses. Mr. Wood's legal studies were finished in the office of George W. Noxon, of Syracuse, with whom he formed a partnership on his admission to the bar in 1846. Two years subsequently he married fora Celeste, daughter of Silas Smith, of Lanesboro, Mass., whose wife was Eunice Bang, descended from Joseph Loomis, of Windsor, Conn., who arrived at Roston from England in 1635.
Though many lawyers of ability and experience preceded Mr. Wood in the practice of the law at syracuse, the competition served only to what his energy and resolution. The city received its char- ter in 1847, and for two or three years Mr. Wood was appointed City Attorney. the duties of which office he performed so acceptably that he was put in successful nomination for the Assembly by his party -- the Whigs-in 1952 The Onondaga salt production, which had been rapidly increasing during the preceding ten years, was the most important industrial interest of his constituents. Dur- ing the session of 1953 he was Chairman of the Committee on Salt, and ally and impartially pro- tected their rights and those of the State. He was also a member of the Committee on the Code, subject then of engrossing importance to the lawyers of the State from the radical changes which had been introduced into the procedure of the courts. An opportunity was thus afforded of testing
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his legal attainments and their ready application, which resulted in the increase of his reputation as a lawyer, As a legislative debater he made his mark in the discussion of the improvement of the ea- nals, in which his constituents were largely concerned and in the impeachment proceedings against and the trial of John C. Mather, the Canal Commissioner, of which celebrated trial Mr. Wood was one of the Committee of Managers on the part of the House. His re-election followed, and at the next session, as Chairman of the Committee on Educational Institutions, he was the author of the act ereating the Department of Public Instruction, and performed a very effective work as a member of the important Committee on Ways and Means.
Mr. Wood's health was usually equal to the demands made upon it, but close attention to his publie duties and legal practice for a succession of years rendered a respite necessary, and in 1857 he visited the Southern States and made the return journey from South Carolina on horseback. On the dissolution of the Whig party Mr. Wood co operated in the Republican organization. The first acts of secession roused his patriotism. fle accompanied the President-elect on his journey to the National Capital, which, it had been predicted, Lincoln would never reach alive. Mr. Wood assisted with earnestness in the raising of troops. The Twelfth Regiment of New York Volunteers was among the first formed in the State, and during the war was followed by three other complete regi- ments from this county, besides separate batteries and companies. In 1865 Mr. Wood again repre- sented his distriet in the Assembly, and was Chairman of the Special Committee which conducted the remains of President Lincoln from the city of New York through the State. At the same session and in the next Assembly, in which he was likewise a Representative, he was Chairman of the Com- mittee on Canals and a member of the Committee on Ways and Means. In 1867 he was elected for the fifth time to the Assembly, and became Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, on which he had had so much experience. The years which followed were the era of inflation and of ju- dicial and legislative corruption. The Tweed ring of the city of New York was in the plentitude of its power, and sought to dominate the political organizations of the State. A reform was needed in both parties. It was important to break down the Tammany influence in the Legislature. Mr. Wood was brought forward in 1871 for the State Senate as a man who could not be led by friend or foe to swerve from the strict line of rectitude, impartiality, and political purity. Elected by a major- ity of nearly 4,000, he represented the Twenty-second District during the next term of two years, and was assigned to the Chairmanship of the Finance Committee, and thus placed in a position where he had to meet and vanquish the hosts of corruption, whether in the House or in the lobby. The first session was crowded with events. The Tammany judges and other officers were impeached. In these proceedings, without neglecting any of his other duties, Senator Wood participated actively, and took the most decided ground for a pure judiciary. No one did more to break the rule of Tweed in the politics of the State. The fight against irregularity and extravagance was continued through the next session. The Supply Bill, in which unjust appropriations had been often artfully introduced, was watched by the Chairman of the Finance Committee with unceasing vigilance. Having had a copy made of the bill as reported by the Conference Committee he would not allow it to leave his hands for a moment until he had compared it word by word with the engrossed bill in the last stage of its progress. Mr. Wood was unanimously re-nominated by acclamation by the Republican Senatorial Convention, and returned to the Senate without opposition. The Democratic Senatorial Conven- tion in the Twenty-second District, consisting of Cortland and Onondaga counties, in the fall of IS73, was, though small in numbers, one of the most remarkable political gatherings ever held in the State. After a motion had been made to ballot for a candidate for Senator one of the delegates de- clared that "while he had no regard for the Republican party, he had respect for Senator Wood "; he was ready to recognize the good wherever it might exist, and therefore in favor of making nomi- nation against that Senator. Another delegate knew "that the ring Republicans did not like Sena- tor Wood, and that they would be willing to contribute thousands of dollars to defeat him." The convention decided unanimously not to make a nomination. In 1874 and 1875 Senator Wood acted again as the Chairman of the Finance Committee, and continued to practice economy and wise re- trenchment. He was a bulwark against unworthy, hungry applicants, and insisted on a strict com- pliance, even in useful measures, with the forms of the law, as the only safe method of guarding the Treasury. When it was proposed to indirectly anticipate an appropriation for the new Capitol he
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