USA > New York > Noted living Albanians and state officials. A series of biographical sketches > Part 20
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On his return to the United States, he was, in 1880, chosen secretary of the board of regents of the university of the state of New York. This board in the state of New York has charge of the academies and colleges and also is intrusted with the care of the state library and the state museum. The multiform duties of this position he performed with sig- nal ability and success. He continued to hold it till the winter of 1888-9, when he resigned.
Dr. Murray published a "Manual of Land Surveying," while in Rutgers college. He also prepared the interesting volume on Japanese education for the Philadelphia exhibi- tion. He took an active part in laying before congress the facts in regard to the Japanese indemnity, which was ulti- mately returned. In 1881 and 1882 he contributed a large portion of the material on education to the third volume of the " Public Service of the State of New York." Dr. Mur- ray has also written and published various papers and ad- dresses on educational subjects. In 1863 he received the honorary degree of doctor of philosophy from the regents of · the state of New York. In 1873 the degree of doctor of laws was conferred upon him by Rutgers college, as was also the same degree by Union college in 1874.
For his supreme devotion to literature, science, and the fine arts, his faithful and unremitting labors in promoting the cause of higher education, his fine scholarship and rare executive abilities, his genial personal manners and strict in- tegrity, Dr. David Murray is highly respected and honored, not only by Albanians, but by the country at large.
Dr. Murray is a brother of the late Judge Murray, of Delhi, who was so widely known for his fine legal attain- ments and noble qualities of the head and heart. In 1867 Dr. Murray married Miss Martha Neilson of New York city.
Willie S. Paine
WILLIS S. PAINE.
N THE exacting, complicated, and responsible duties connected with the history and oversight of banking institutions in our state no man has gained a more exalted reputation or been more generally commended for his offi- cial acts than the subject of this sketch. His public ser- vices are well known, even beyond the limits of our own state, and his career is replete with interest to banking men and financiers.
Born in Rochester, N. Y., on the Ist of January, 1848, he spent his childhood in that beautiful city ; growing up under the tender and watchful care of cultured and highly es- teemed parents.
His ancestry is of the enterprising, solid and patriotic New England stock. Robert Treat Paine, one of the sign- ers of the declaration of independence was a member of this old family. Willis S. is a son of Nicholas E. Paine, who was a distinguished lawyer of Rochester, and who on ac- count of his forensic ability was elected district attorney of Monroe county, while yet a young man. In later life he held the offices of mayor and president of the board of edu- cation in Rochester. His mother's maiden name was Abby M. Sprague, a descendant of the old governors, Bradford and Prince, famous in the colonial history of Massachusetts.
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In 1885 Nicholas E. Paine and his wife Abby celebrated their golden wedding in true New England style, surrounded by their children, relatives of the family and cherished friends.
Besides the subject of this sketch, they had a daughter, Mrs. Wallace Darrow, and a son, Dr. Oakman S. Paine, who has gained a wide celebrity as a skillful surgeon in New York city. In 1887, Mr. Nicholas E. Paine, full of years and rich in honors, departed this life, holding at the time of his death the presidency of the Dakota Railroad Company. His aged companion still lingers in the twilight of a serene and well-spent life. Robert Treat Paine, an uncle of the late bank superintendent was an able and accomplished law- yer, and for many years one of the shining lights of the Bos- ton bar.
In the year 1862 young Willis S. Paine entered the Roch- ester Collegiate institute. With an ardent temperament, showing a genuine love for books, and a supreme desire to rise in the scale of learning, he became from the first a dili- gent student, believing with Lord Bacon that "the pleasure and delight of knowledge and learning far surpasseth all other in nature," and impressed with the fine sentiment of Addison, “ What sculpture is to a block of marble, educa- tion is to the human soul."
When he graduated from Rochester Collegiate institute he was chosen valedictorian of his class. Intending to com- plete his collegiate course at Williams college, he entered the sophomore class in that excellent institution, but find- ing the winter too severe for his rather delicate constitution, he returned home, and immediately entered the sophomore class of the Rochester university, where he continued his studies, graduating with honor in the class of 1868.
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Before leaving the halls of the university there was one subject which was particularly engaging his attention, to which his genius naturally inclined him, and which filled his youthful imagination with pleasing thoughts of the future. This was the study of the law; and so eager was he to speedily prepare himself for this profession that before re- ceiving his college diploma he became a law student in the office of Sanford E. Church, afterward chief judge of the court of appeals. Under the instruction and advice of that profound lawyer, most estimable man and accomplished scholar, he was firmly grounded in the fundamentals of legal science. In 1868 his father removed to New York city, and our young law student was again fortunate in continuing his studies in the office of another eminent counselor and ad- vocate, the late Charles A. Rapallo, also one of the judges of the court of appeals. In the spring of 1869 Mr. Paine was admitted to the bar, and for some time practiced his profession in the office of Judge Rapallo.
But another and very important field was soon to be opened to our young lawyer, into which he was well quali- fied to enter, and where he has won his highest laurels. In 1874, when the legislature passed a law authorizing the bank superintendent to cause annual examinations to be made of the trust companies of the state, Mr. Paine was appointed by the superintendent as one of the three examiners. It was a work in which from the first he took the deepest in- terest and showed the most careful, thorough and fruitful research. The examination resulted in the closing of three trust companies in the city of New York, which owed de- positors six million dollars. These depositors were subse- quently paid in full, and the public press praised Mr. Paine for the successful accomplishment of so grand a result. He
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also made the examinations of the same corporations the succeeding year.
In 1876, the doors of the Bond Street Savings bank, one of the largest institutions of the kind in this country, were closed by order of the court. This failure created no little excitement, especially among commercial circles in the city of New York and caused much pecuniary distress. Mr. Paine's success as a lawyer and a bank examiner was such that on the recommendation of the attorney-general and the bank superintendent he was appointed by Judge Landon, at Schenectady, as receiver of the insolvent concern. After a thorough investigation of the transactions of this bank from the date of its organization and the successful issue of the suits brought against the trustees of the institution for losses incurred (for certain acts, while not made with wrong- ful intent, were unauthorized), Mr. Paine succeeded at the close of his receivership in 1873 in paying the general credit- ors 865 per cent, while the preferred creditors were paid in full. The amount paid him by the trustees in the settle- ment of those suits was one hundred and thirteen thousand five hundred dollars ; while the whole sum received and dis- bursed in the winding up of the affairs of the bank, was nearly thirteen hundred thousand dollars - showing, we be- lieve, the largest percentage ever paid in the history of any savings bank receiver in the country. Mr. Paine was, a short time before the end of his receivership, the recipient of an engrossed series of complimentary resolutions signed by the members of a permanent committee. Most deser- vedly and gracefully did the court recognize the ser- vices of Mr. Paine in that long and tedious warfare, in which so many nice legal points were involved, by stating " that the duties of this trust have been admin-
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istered by the receiver with rare diligence, fidelity and discretion."
Having devoted so much time to the study of the bank- ing laws -- their excellences and their defects, and how they should be amended so as to be administered on a solid basis, Mr. Paine had but few equals and no superior in the state in a correct and comprehensive knowledge of the banking sys- tem and its proper workings. Accordingly, his services were sought after in the solving of other great questions in- volving banking operations, and when the legislature of 1880 passed an act for the appointment of commissioners "to make a compilation and revision of the laws of the state affecting banks and banking," Mr. Paine and William Dowd, president of the Bank of North America, were appointed by Gov. Cornell to perform this arduous work. The revision which they prepared was adopted by the legislature of 1882, and their valuable services, rendered without pecuniary com- pensation, were acknowledged in an appreciative resolution of thanks, adopted by the following legislature.
Gov. Cleveland, in April, 1883, nominated Mr. Paine as superintendent of the banking department of this state. The nomination was unanimously and immediately con- firmed by the senate. In the discharge of the duties per- taining to the office of superintendent of the banking de- partment, Mr. Paine has displayed a zeal and an executive ability highly creditable in an official whose best endeavor is to serve the material interests of the state in his depart- ment. in the way of making " crooked places straight " and " rough places plain." His clear conception and compre- hensive grasp of what should constitute the true practical workings of a correct system in the management of banks and other state moneyed institutions, and his skill and per-
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sistence in enforcing these rules and regulations, have caused his name to become a high authority through the country in his own special department.
As a writer Mr. Paine has contributed much useful infor- mation, tending to elucidate his favorite studies and investi- gations. His large work on " Banks, Banking and Trust Companies," the preparation of which was a difficult task, involving very arduous labor, is written in a masterly style - lucid in arrangement and thoroughly exhaustive of its subject - and is recognized as a production of standard value. A treatise on the law regulating building associations has recently been written by Mr. Paine, and has just been pub- lished in the city of New York.
Mr. Paine has also written largely for legal and financial magazines, and all his literary efforts bear the mark of a scholarly hand, seeking to strengthen and solidify the insti- tutions under his charge, and thus favoring the welfare of business communities, by a just and uniform application .of the banking laws now in force.
In April, 1883, President Cleveland offered Mr. Paine the position of sub-treasurer in the city of New York, which, on account of its close confinement, he was led to decline. In June, 1886, at its annual commencement, Manhattan college conferred upon him the degree of doctor of laws. He is a member of the bar associations of the city and state of New York, the Tuxedo, Commonwealth, Manhattan, Phi Beta Kappa clubs of the metropolis, the president of the Theta Delta Chi Graduate association.
On the 5th of April, 1888, Mr. Paine married Miss Ruby S. Tilden, the beautiful and accomplished daughter of the late Henry A. Tilden of New Lebanon Springs, and a niece
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of ex. Gov. Samuel J. Tilden. The wedding was a brilliant affair. Mr. and Mrs. Paine now reside at the Windsor hotel, New York, where they have a large circle of appreciative and cultured friends.
During the fall of the year last past Mr. Paine resigned the bank superintendency, having held that office nearly twice as long as any one of his predecessors and accepted the position of president of a new banking corporation or- ganized in the city of New York under the title of "The State Trust Company." This corporation began business with a capital of one million and a surplus of five hundred thousand dollars and it is almost needless to add has been exceedingly successful.
He is of a tall, slender, commanding, dignified personal appearance, with a smooth face, reflecting a clear and com- prehensive intellect, a mind highly cultured and refined, evincing marks of deep thought, a genial, sympathetic spirit, and social qualities of a high order.
AMASA J. PARKER.
N ALBANIAN of high intellectual qualities, who has passed his four-score years, and who has been a resi- dent of this city for forty-four years, adorning its history by distinguished public service and private virtues is the Hon. Amasa J. Parker. He is a true representative of those en- terprising New England pioneers who came from their old homes to aid in the development of the then new state of New York and the great western territories. Away back amidst the howling wilderness, where the cheering rays of the sun scarcely ever beamed upon their humble log cabins, they lived and toiled for the good of their country, their families, and their cherished civil and religious institutions.
Judge Parker's ancestors were among those who defended their homes from the invasion of the red men during the old French and English wars, when many a deed of horrid cruelty was enacted by the savages - when the tomahawk and scalping-knife in the hands of murderous foes gleamed through the thick forests, and when fears prevailed on every side, through the light of day and the darkness of night. And when the declaration of American independence was proclaimed, those worthy ancestors were found fighting on the side of the colonists in defense of the just rights of free men ; and they laid not down their arms until this new re-
Almasa & Parker
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AMASA J. PARKER.
public was established, and the goddess of liberty forever enshrined in the hearts of the American people.
Thomas Fenn, the maternal grandfather of Judge Par- ker, was a resident of Watertown, Conn., and for more than thirty sessions he represented his town in the state legislature, closing a long and useful life with the highest esteem of his fellow-citizens.
It appears by Kirby's Reports, page 62, that he was en- gaged in administering justice in that state in the earliest days of its organization.
On the 2d of June, 1807, Amasa J. Parker, the subject of our sketch, was born at Ellsworth, town of Sharon, Litchfield county, Conn. Here his father, the Rev. Daniel Parker, a graduate of Yale, was an earnest and devoted minister of the Congregational church, where he labored over twenty years. He was moreover extensively acquainted with vari- ous branches of learning outside of his chosen profession, and was particularly an accomplished classical scholar. It is many years since his remains were borne to their last rest- ing place, but still his memory is devoutly cherished by his distinguished son.
In the year 1816 the elder Parker removed with his family to this state, where he became a distinguished and success- ful teacher. His son Amasa was then a lad of nine years, and under the instructions of his father was taught the rudi- ments of learning, while other professors and teachers as- sisted in the development of his intellectual powers and in the completion of a most thorough education. He was pre pared in a full college course of study, and in the summer of 1825 passed an examination on the whole course at Union college and received his degree with the class of that year. His early proficiency in knowledge was mainly due to his
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natural taste, his real love of books, his close mental appli- cation, and the teachings of a learned and painstaking father. Two years before receiving his collegiate degree he was chosen principal of the academy in the city of Hudson, N. Y., a high mark of literary honor for a youth of sixteen and one that was well merited. He retained this position four years, and was one of the youngest and most successful principals that ever took charge of a literary institution in this country.
It was during this period that the taste, and inclination of young Parker for the study of the law were unmistakably unfolded ; and to gratify his desires in this direction he re- signed his principalship in 1827 and entered more fully upon his favorite pursuit. And so speedily did he acquire a gen- eral knowledge of the elementary principles of legal science in the office of his uncle, Amasa Parker, a distinguished counselor of Delhi, N. Y., that he was admitted to the bar in 1828, at the age of twenty-one. Promisingly opened his legal career-a career which for sixty years has reflected honor upon himself and the profession he loves so well. On admission to practice he immediately entered into partner- ship with his uncle; and the firm of A. & A. J. Parker, of Delhi soon became widely known throughout the state. The firm did a large amount of business- larger, perhaps, than any other country office in the state.
Fully equipped by previous thorough training for the du- ties of his profession, and with a heart devoted to his work, our rising young lawyer closely attended the circuits of Delaware, Greene, Ulster, Schoharie, Broome and other counties of the state, as well as the stated terms of the old court of chancery and the supreme court. And so active and diligent was he in his professional work that, at the
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time of his appointment to the bench in 1844, he was said to have tried more cases at the circuit than any other law- yer of his age in the state. By his great industry and his remarkable promptness, never failing to keep his appoint- ments, always ready for " work or warfare," he was enabled to perform to the advantage of his clients, a vast amount of legal work. His constantly-growing reputation as an able advocate and an upright citizen naturally called for the ex- ercise of his talents in other fields of human activity. From his youth up he was familiar with political science as he was with the law. And his early ambition was to entrench him- self within the strongholds of democracy.
He has earnestly and often advocated the cause of the old Jeffersonian principles since the year 1828 when he cast his first ballot for Andrew Jackson, who was that year elec- ted president of the United States.
In the autumn of 1833 the democratic party nominated him for member of assembly from Delaware county; and such was his popularity with all classes of citizens that he was chosen to the legislature without opposition. In the assembly he manifested the same energy of character, di- rectness of purpose and unremitting industry that had al- ready been the growing glory of his professional career. But other and higher political honors were in store for him. In 1835 he was elected by the legislature a regent of the university of the state of. New York, being the youngest person ever chosen to that position.
In the fall of 1836 he was elected to the twenty-fifth congress from the twentieth district, then composed of the counties of Delaware and Broome. It is a striking instance ,of his great popularity, that during those exciting times in cur political history no candidate was nominated in opposi-
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tion to him by the whig party. It was the memorable presi- dential campaign of 1836, when Martin Van Buren defeated Gen. William Henry Harrison. Bitter were the strifes which followed that election ; and when at the extra session of congress in September, 1837, Judge Parker took his seat, he found himself sailing upon a stormy political sea. But he possessed his soul in patience and sailed fearlessly over the troubled waters. He was a formidable opponent of the principal measures of the whig party in congress, and an earnest leader and advocate of the administration policy. The one great measure that was agitated in congress, fre- quently leading to acrimonious debate, was that of the sub- treasury scheme proposed by President Van Buren and op- posed by the whig party and by some of the democrats. Judge Parker brought his rare intellectual resources and his impressive oratory to bear upon this subject in the advocacy of the measure, which, however, failed to become a law at that congress.
While in congress, Judge Parker served on several import- ant committees, and was always an earnest supporter of his party, making some telling and elaborate speeches, among which were those on the Mississippi election case, the sub- treasury bill, the public lands and the Cilley and Graves duel.
At the close of his active and eventful congressional term he returned with renewed devotion to the practice of his profession at Delhi. He held the office of district at- torney of Delaware county during a term of three years. In the spring of 1844 Governor Bouck appointed him circuit judge and vice-chancellor of the third circuit. He then took up his residence in the city of Albany, where he has since lived as one of the leading figures in his profession and in the walks of social and domestic life. He was circuit judge
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of the third circuit and vice-chancellor till the spring of 1847, that court having been then abolished by the adoption of the constitution of 1846.
In the summer of 1847 he was elected by a large majority a justice of the supreme court in the third judicial district for a term of eight years, which expired in 1855. During the year 1854 he served in the court of appeals, his associ- ates being Judges Gardner, Denio, Alexander S. Johnson, Allen and others. His numerous and ably-written opinions of cases argued in the supreme court will be found in the first twenty-one volumes of Barbour's Supreme Court Re- ports. His opinions in the court of appeals are reported in the first and second volumes of Kernan's Reports. One of these opinions, which created no little interest at the time, was in the case of Snedeker v. Warring, involving the ques- tion whether " a statue, colossal in size, erected as an orna- ment on the ground in front of a country residence, and securely attached to the earth by its weight was real or per- sonal property." Judge Parker's opinion that it was real property finally prevailed, and the case was so decided.
During the summer of 1853 Judge Parker visited Europe and was cordially received by distinguished lawyers and jur- ists of the old world. At the request of Lord Brougham he delivered an address before the Law Reform club of Eng- land, regarding the admirable workings of the legal reform that had been made in this state by the constitutional con- vention of 1847, in the administration of law and equity. He visited many of the famous places abroad, carefully studying the legal and educational systems of various coun- tries, and the results accomplished by the labors of men in past centuries ; and, highly pleased with what he had seen, he returned home greatly invigorated in mind and body.
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When the so-called " know-nothing or American party" carried the state by large majorities in 1855, Judge Parker was an unsuccessful candidate for justice of the supreme court, George Gould being elected over him.
It has been well remarked of Judge Parker, that "at no time in the history of this state have the judicial labors de- volved upon a judge been more difficult and responsible than those which he was called on to discharge during his twelve years of judicial service. It was during this time that the Anti-Rent excitement which prevailed throughout a large portion of his judicial district was at its height, crowding the civil calendar with litigation, and the criminal courts with indictments for acts of violence in resisting the collection of rents. The trial of 'Big Thunder,' before Judge Parker, at Hudson, in the spring of 1845, lasted two weeks, and the jury failed to agree. When the next court of oyer and terminer was held in that county, Judge Parker was engaged in holding the court in Delaware county, and Judge Ed- monds was assigned to hold the Columbia oyer and terminer in his place. At that court 'Big Thunder ' was again tried and was convicted and sent to the state prison."
In the summer of 1845, Osman N. Steele, under sheriff of Delaware county, while engaged with a posse in his official duties in the collection of rents due from Moses Earle, at Andes, in that county, was violently resisted by about two hundred men armed and disguised as Indians, and was shot and killed by them. Intense excitement prevailed in the county. A great struggle followed between those who resisted and those who sought to enforce the laws.
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