USA > New York > Noted living Albanians and state officials. A series of biographical sketches > Part 16
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EDWARD A. MAHER.
T HE annals of Albany furnish several striking instances of the gradual rise of young men from the hum- bler walks of life to places of distinction and respon- sibility in political affairs. And among the number of such persons whose early aspirations have been crowned with success is included the name of ex-Mayor Edward A. Maher. His career is certainly a notable one, while it is full of inspiration and encouragement to young men. He was born in the city of Albany on the 20th day of May, 1848, little over forty years ago. He was not rocked in the cradle of wealth and luxury ; and yet in his young, health- ful, vivacious life there seemed to exist the elements which are necessary for the proper development of a genuine self- made man.
While childhood's days were passing over him he de- lighted not in the sports of reckless boys on the streets or in the fields, but was longing after something more substan- tial and elevating. His parents gave him all the advantages within their means of obtaining a good education. When ·a mere child they placed him in a public school of the city, where he was not slow in learning his lessons, or in forming the studious habits of mental discipline. As he grew older he became a pupil of the State Normal school,
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from which excellent institution he graduated in 1867. In the meantime his parents moved from their old residence in Canal street down town, where young Maher grew up to manhood and formed many a lasting acquaintance among the young men of the fourth ward. When he had reached the age of twenty one he went into business for some time as a wholesale liquor merchant. But his true tastes were not yet fully gratified. Politics seems even then to have presented strong attractions for him, and being an uncom- promising young democrat, highly popular in his neighbor- hood, he was nominated by his party and elected in 1876 as supervisor of the fourth ward - an honor worthily be- stowed upon a young man of twenty-eight, who was honestly trying to make a creditable record and work his way upward and onward in the more public business of life. In the board of supervisors Mr. Maher was a leading member, and had the reputation of being " a practical common sense re- former." Displaying business qualities of no inferior order in the discharge of his official duties, and meeting with the approbation of his fellow-citizens, his popularity was on the increase, and he was re-elected supervisor in 1877 and chosen president of the board. About this time he became a care- ful student of political economy in municipal affairs, and it was through him as president of the board of supervisors that the first " grinding committee " was formed which so largely cut down the expenses of the city. His efforts in this line were unremitting, while they were duly appreciated by the tax payers, whose interests he had all along in view. At the same time Mr. Maher favored all laudable means for improving and beautifying his native city, to which he has ever been strongly attached.
In 1878 Mr. Maher was a clerk of the supreme court, a
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position which he held until the Ist of May, 1880. He was then appointed deputy county clerk, discharging the duties of the office with marked ability until the Ist of September, 1881, when he resigned. It was not long, however, before he was looked upon by the democratic party of Albany as one of their strongest men to represent them in the legisla- tive halls, and when the democratic assembly convention of Albany met in the fall of 1882 he was nominated for mem- ber of assembly. He was triumphantly elected by a plural- ity of 2,251, his opponents being Michael A. Murray (ind.) and Charles S. Many (rep.) It may be candidly asserted that Mr. Maher proved to be one of the most useful and active members the democrats ever sent to the legislature from the city of Albany.
In the fall of 1883 Mr. Maher was re-elected to the legis- lature. Throwing aside all partisan views we believe as time rolls on, that the legislative record of Mr. Maher will be universally regarded as one that was " full of good work " for the city of Albany, reflecting no little credit upon the young and rising representative, whose honest, early strug- gles in life were worthy of all praise. The only opposition to him was of a political nature. He is an enthusiastic, un- flinching democrat, trained in a school of politics of which the late lamented Daniel Manning was an able master. He has been a democrat from first to last, and yet very kindly in his feelings and official acts toward those who differed from him politically.
On the 3d of April, 1888, Mr. Maher was unanimously nominated by the democrats as a candidate for mayor of the city of Albauy, and after a brief but spirited contest he was elected by a majority of 2,753 over Dr. John Swinburne -- a record of which he was justly proud. He assumed his 30
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new, untried duties with his usual characteristic business-like qualities, and with a large knowledge of what the city needs in the way of progress and improvement, heartily favoring those measures which tend to advance the best interests of the citizens and their various noble institutions. His ad- ministration was a successful one; and when on the 6th of May, 1890, he resigned the reins of government into the hands of his successor, Hon. James H. Manning, he received the general approval of his fellow-citizens, irrespective of party.
Mr. Maher has long been the manager of the Albany Electric Light and Store Service Company, where his execu- tive abilities as a careful and thorough business man have been brought into full play.
In personal appearance Mr. Maher presents a remarkably fine physique, with a stout frame indicative of the existence of a sound and vigorous constitution. He is amiable in his disposition, true in his friendships, full of generous impulses, and displays energy, industry, ability, and integrity in all his public trusts.
He is especially popular among the young men of Albany, and by the members of his party he is looked upon as the leader of the young democracy of the city. His past record has been an honorable one, and his future is full of bright promise.
وشيكد ..
JAMES HILTON MANNING.
N INDIVIDUAL who is deeply interested in the pro- gress and advancement of the varied municipal in- terests of Albany is the Hon. James H. Manning, our pres- ent mayor. On the 22d day of September, 1854, he was born in this city, which he has ever since made his home. He is principally of English ancestry, and is a son of the late Hon. Daniel Manning, whose record forms so bright a page in our local and national history. His grandfather, John Manning, settled in Albany February 1, 1814, and died here April 3, 1837. His mother, whose maiden name was Mary Little, was born in Carlisle, England.
A passing notice of the Hon. Daniel Manning will not be inappropriate here as preliminary to a sketch of his now dis- tinguished son. Born in Albany May 16, 1831, he received an early education in the public schools of the city, and when he was twelve years of age, entered the office of the Albany Argus. His natural abilities soon became known and appreciated, and he gradually rose through the various grades until he became manager of the paper. In 1873 he was made president of the Argus Company. The study Fof our banking system also engaged his attention and he soon became well versed in all great financial matters and an excellent authority on difficult questions in this depart-
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ment. He filled the position of trustee in the National Savings bank, and in 1881 was chosen vice-president of the National Commercial bank of Albany. On the death of Hon. Robert H. Pruyn in 1882, he succeeded him as presi- dent of the same institution. Besides his general knowledge of banking and currency he gave much thought to the work- ing of railroad matters, and was especially interested in the success of the Albany and Susquehanna line. His political career suddenly broke forth with brilliancy and was perhaps the crowning glory of a life cut short in the midst of press- ing public duties. He possessed all the necessary qualities for a leader among men, and like a skillful general planned his own movements closely, marshaled his forces and led them on to many a splendid victory. He was a member of the New York state democratic conventions from 1874 till 1884, a member of the democratic state committees from the former date till 1885, its secretary in 1879-80, and chair- man in 1881-84, a delegate to the national democratic con- ventions of 1876, 1880 and 1884, serving as chairman of that body in 1880, and of the New York delegation to the convention of 1884, which nominated Grover Cleveland for the presidency -an event largely due to the political sagacity and bold, dashing leadership of Mr. Manning.
In March, 1885, President Cleveland appointed Mr. Man- ning secretary of the treasury, a position which he resigned in April, 1887, in consequence of failing health brought on by incessant hard work, without sufficient mental relaxation. He died on the 24th of December, 1887, deeply lamented by the American people. The last official appointment which he accepted was the presidency of the Western National bank of New York. As an able and sound financier as well
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as a successful politician his name will live in the pages of American history through coming generations.
James H. Manning, the subject of this sketch, early evinced a fondness for study, and was first sent to the Al- bany public school, No. 10, of which George H. Benjamin was principal. In 1869, he entered the high school, where during four years he pursued the classical, English and mathematical courses with diligence and success, and gradu- ated with honor in 1873. Among his schoolmates at the high school were James M. Ruso, Dean George W. Kirch- wey, Prof. William D. Goewey, and other brilliant young Albanians. During his academical course he was particularly fond of the study of oratory, and on his graduation he was awarded the gold medal for the best speaker, and also re- ceived first mention for essay.
With a view of turning to some useful, practical account the knowledge he was gaining at the schools, young Man- ning spent two of his school vacations in the composing rooms of the Argus Company, where he readily learned the art of type-setting. In the autumn of 1873 he entered the employ of the same company as subscription clerk, continu- ing in this capacity until the spring of the following year, when he accepted a position on the reportorial staff of the Argus. His duties now were highly beneficial in enlarging his knowledge of Albany affairs, and in forming a wider cir- cle of acquaintances and lasting friendships.
As a means of recreation from the daily routine of news- paper work, to learn something of a new and interesting department of science, and to gratify his strong taste for looking upon the grand and beautiful objects in natural scen- ery, Mr. Manning spent several summers in the Adiron- dack3, assisting Verplank Colvin, director of the Adirondack
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survey. In the summer of 1887, Mr. Manning made one of the most remarkable trips known to frequenters of the Adirondacks, that of ascending and descending Mount Marcy (5,400 feet above the level of the sea) three days in succession, and going to and from the camp of his party, which was situated on the banks of Opalescent river, five miles from the foot of the mountain. This was due to the fact that, for the work he had to perform, fair weather was necessary, and it was not until the third day that the haze that had enveloped the summit of Marcy cleared off, and left the grand old peak visible from distant mountains. And in the following year he discovered a mountain close beside Lyon mountain, now called in honor of him, " Mount Manning."
In 1875, Mr. Manning's official relations with military affairs began when he joined the national guard as a member of Company A, 10th regiment, John H. Reynolds being cap- tain of the company, and Robert S. Oliver, colonel of the regi- iment. He was appointed sergeant-major of the regiment by Colonel Oliver, in February, 1877. The next spring he was commissioned commissary of subsistence with rank of first lieutenant of the 10th regiment, Amasa J. Parker, Jr., colonel commanding. He is now a member of General Parker's third brigade staff. Mr. Manning was one of the organizers and charter members of the old guard, Albany Zouave cadets, and was president of the organization.
Other offices and honors were gracefully and worthily be- stowed upon him. In 1873 he was elected secretary of the Albany railway, and in 1884 a director of the same company. He is also a director of the Albany and Susquehanna railroad. He is a trustee of the National Savings bank. a director of the National Commercial bank, and of the Park bank, of
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which he was one of the organizers. He has been a man- ager and vice-president of the Young Men's association, and is now a life member ; a member of the Anglers' association, Friendly Few, Apollo Singing society, Temple lodge No. 14, F. and A. M., and the Fort Orange club. He is an original member of the High School Alumni association, of which he - was president in 1882. He is a vestryman of St. Paul's Episcopal church, Lancaster street. He was appointed by Governor Hill, in 1887, a member of the state Civil Service commission - a position which he resigned at the close of 1889.
On May 19, 1877, on the publication of the Sunday Argus Mr. Manning was made its managing editor, continuing at the same time his work upon the daily paper. In 1880 he was admitted to the Argus Company ; but in 1881 he par- tially relinquished his newspaper work to accept the posi- tion of manager, secretary and treasurer of the Bonsilate Button Company. In 1883 he resigned from this company, and immediately took his place as managing editor of the Argus, while in 1888 he became president of this flourishing company - a position which for the past seven years he has filled with credit to himself and fidelity to the democratic party in the columns of his paper - the leading local organ of the party.
... All the offices of public trust and honor Mr. Manning has held during the past twenty years he earned by his own true merit, inflexible integrity, and persistant endeavor in the way of business.
Mr. Manning was born and bred a democrat, and has given to the party and its candidates unyielding and earnest support. And in recognition of his increasing popularity among all classes he was unaminously nominated by the
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democrats in April, 1890, for mayor of Albany, and elected by the unprecedented majority of 7,236.
On the 6th of May he assumed the duties of his office as the successor of Hon. Edward A. Maher, and with the best wishes of all good citizens for a successful administration.
The conclusion of his inaugural address contains these well-chosen words :
" We enter to-day upon the performance of grave duties, and good or harm will come to the city as we discharge those duties faithfully or neglect them and prove faithless. The obligation we have assumed, sanctified by the solemn oaths which we have taken, is one ever to be born in mind during the coming two years, and must at all times out- weigh all other considerations in determining our line of conduct. The opportunities to benefit Albany are numer- ous and great, and I confidently hope that the common council and the executive branch of the city government will be found at all times heartily in accord in improving those opportunities for the welfare of this ancient and hon- orable municipality."
Mr. Manning was one of the five original reorganizers of the Albany railway, who succeeded in introducing what is called the electric plant, now hailed with such evident satis- faction by our citizens generally and the success of which is already fully assured.
As to his personal appearance Mr. Manning is of the or- dinary size, with a pleasing thoughtful countenance, genial in his social intercourse with the people, industrious and studious in his habits, unblemished in his reputation, a lover of mental labor and of athletic, out-door sports. His public services have been thus far signally rewarded by his
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fellow-citizens, and in the future other and brighter laurels will, in all probability, be gathered to grace his manly brow.
On the 22d of October, 1879, Mr. Manning married Miss Emma J. Austin, a daughter of the late well-known Dr. J. C. Austin of this city. They have one child, a girl ten years of age.
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FREDERIC GREGORY MATHER.
N ALBANIAN whose name shines with no dim lus- tre in the republic of letters, is Frederic G. Mather. Born in the city of Cleveland, Ohio, on the 11th day of August, 1844, he is a son of Samuel Holmes Mather, LL. D., of that city. This cultured gentleman was born in 1813, at Washington, N. H .; his father was Dr. Ozias Mather of East Haddam, Conn. In 1835, a year after his graduation from Dartmouth college, Samuel H. Mather removed to Cleve- land, when the city was a village of only four thousand in- habitants. To-day it is a city with a population of two hun- dred and fifty thousand. In 1849, he established the Society for Savings, the first institution west of the Hudson river, on the plan of savings banks in New England and New York. It is now the largest institution of its kind in the west, the deposits aggregating over $20,000,000., He also organized the public library of Cleveland; and, beside being still an honored member of the Cleveland bar, he has for many years been president of the institution which he took such pride in establishing. In 1889, Dartmouth college gave him the degree of LL.D. His only brother, now deceased, was Henry Brainard Mather, who was for many years, a partner of the late Hon. Amos A. Lawrence, in Boston, under the firm name of Lawrence & Co. Both of the
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thedesic & Mather M.N.C.
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brothers were intimate friends of Hon. John P. Healy of that city.
The ancestors of the subject of this sketch, on his father's side, were professional men for two hundred and fifty years, in an unbroken line. They were a long-lived race from the north of England and partly from Scotland. He is a de- scendant of the Rev. Richard Mather, the father of Increase Mather, and the grandfather of Cotton Mather. In 1635, Richard Mather left his old English home, and settling in Boston, Mass., became the founder of the Mather family in America. He married for his second wife, Sarah (Story) Cotton, widow of the Rev. John Cotton of Boston.
The maiden name of Frederic G. Mather's mother was Emily Worthington Gregory. She is a granddaughter of Col. John Ely of Saybrook, Conn., who was well known in the American revolution. He was also the grandfather of Samuel G. Goodrich ("Peter Parley "). She is related to the Worthingtons, Griswolds, Marvins and other old families of Connecticut.
In the Cleveland high school Frederic G. Mather received his earliest training in the walks of literature. No youth, perhaps, ever attended more faithfully to his studies -a lit- erary course being the highest ambition of his boyhood days. Consequently he made most satisfactory progress toward a thorough preparation for college.
In 1863, he entered Dartmouth college, from which vener- able institution he was graduated with honor in 1867. His college days, so diligently improved, were among the most pleasant and profitable periods of his earlier career; and, even then, he devoted his leisure to literary subjects, · with a view of entering the field of letters as a life-long work.
Among his classmates at Dartmouth, with whom he formed
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close and lasting friendships, were the Hon. John N. Irwin, appointed governor of Idaho, in 1882, by President Arthur ; Rev. Dr. Robert G. McNiece, of Salt Lake City, and Hon. E. B. Maynard, late mayor of Springfield, Mass.
For some time after leaving college Mr. Mather was em- ployed in commercial pursuits in Cleveland, carrying on at the same time the study of the law, until he was ready for admission to the Ohio bar. He soon found, however, that business and law were distasteful to him, and so relin- quished both to find a far more congenial occupation in literary and scientific pursuits.
In 1873 he became managing editor of the Binghamton (N. Y.) Times -a morning paper, which during that period, in its separate existence, was a leading advocate of the principles of the republican party in the southern part of the state. While carrying on his editorial work at Bing- hamton, he was appointed a commissioner by the national bureau of education in the winters of 1873 and 1874 to visit and inspect the educational institutions of the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. This was a work just suited to his taste, and he accomplished it in a faithful and successful manner, obtaining for the bureau exchanges of documents which had never before come into possession of the United States, and receiving the special commendation of Hon. John Eaton, the head of the bureau. Mr. Mather's reports were printed in the annual reports of the commissioner of education.
In 1875 Mr. Mather purchased an interest in the Bing- hamton Republican, and became its editor-in-chief; when, afterward, the Times and Republican were united he re- tained his interest and management of the same. Relin- quishing his newspaper work at Binghamton in 1879, he
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made a tour of the state of New York, as political corre- spondent of the New York Tribune, and in December of the same year he was sent by that paper to Montreal and Ottawa to look after the coming of Lord Lorne as gov- ernor-general of Canada.
While in Binghamton Mr. Mather took an active part in the public library of that city and in its educational affairs. In 1880 he wrote editorials for the Albany Evening Journal, and he has since made his home in this city.
At his residence, No. 120 Lancaster street, Mr. Mather carries on his literary work in a most systematic manner, especially through the colder months of the year. There, in his favorite workshop, familiarly known by his many per- sonal friends in Albany and elsewhere, as the "den " -- though very much unlike old John Bunyan's gloomy " den " on Bedford bridge - he has carefully arranged in numerous cases, " cabinets " of valuable information, consisting of old documents and fugitive literary subject-matter, all so com- pletely indexed that any paper may be found at once. To aid him in accomplishing his literary tasks he uses stenogra- phy, type-writing, and other labor-saving appliances.
On the return of the genial days of summer and autumn Mr. Mather leaves his " workshop " in the city, and resorts to the northern lakes and woods, there to enjoy the beauties and sublimities of nature and to secure that relaxation so beneficial to hard literary workers, as well as to replenish by his pencil and photography his stores of materials for the illustrated magazines. He loves with a perfect love that out-door life which affords so much gratification to persons of highly imaginative minds and exquisite tastes - such as boating, yachting, rambling amidst verdant meadows and shady groves, listening to the melody of birds in the soft-
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ness and stillness of evening, admiring the grandeur of lofty mountains and romantic landscapes, and the gorgeous, variegated scenes of an autumn day in northern New York.
Mr. Mather wields a facile and versatile pen. He is equally at home in historical, biographical and scientific subjects. His style is simple, direct and perspicuous. He seizes upon the leading points in his subject-matter and presents them in clear, bold, glowing colors. Mr. Mather has written largely for the leading magazines and reviews of the day, among which are Harper's Monthly, Scribner's Magasine, Wide Awake, St. Nicholas, Magazine of American History, Outing, Young Jonathan, Princeton Review, Harper's Weekly, Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly, Scientific American, Lippincott's Magasine, Atlan- tic Monthly, North American Review, Popular Science Monthly, Boys' Book of Sports, Andover Review, Dartmouth Literary Monthly, etc. The titles of some of the able and elaborate articles which his prolific pen has furnished for such periodical publications are : " On the Border Line," a sketch of adventures along the border between Canada and Ver- mont ; " Playthings and Amusements of an Old Fashioned Boy ;" "Water Routes from the Great Northwest ;" " Hin- drances to Annexation ;" " Slavery in the Colony and State of New York;" a series of "Historic Homes;" "The Evo- lution of Canoeing ;" " The Armanents of Europe ;" "Pop- ular Songs of the Eighteenth Century ;" "Muster Day in New England ;" "Vagaries of Western Architecture ; " " Memories of the Old Singing-School ;" "A Day with the Ottawa Chantiermen ;" "Summer Days along Champlain ;" " State and Society in Ottawa :" "The City of Albany, 200 Years of Progress ;" "Winter Sports in Canada ;" "Sham Legislation ;" and " The Recurrence of Riots."
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