USA > New York > Noted living Albanians and state officials. A series of biographical sketches > Part 23
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great age of ninety-two, in the possession of her mental faculties, blessed and cheered with the consolations which flow from the higher spiritual fountains of a true Christian life. The anniversary of her ninetieth birthday was cele- brated at Cobleskill on the 13th of August, 1889. The family of ten children, whose ages ranged from seventy-three to fifty-one, were all present to honor the occasion, as follows : The Hon. Joseph H. Ramsey of Howe's Cave ; Rob- ert V. S. Ramsey of Argusville; Mrs. (Rev.) J. C. Fenton of Schaghticoke ; Mrs. (Rev.) Augustus Brown of Fairfax, Va .; Mrs. A. M. Webster of Cobleskill; Mrs. Dr. Herrick and Mrs. Robert Harper of Albany; Mrs. Henrietta Hannah of Cobleskill; Mrs. Frank Peeso of Syracuse, and Mrs. John W. McNamara of Albany.
The subject of this sketch attended the district schools of his native town, and there laid the foundation of a good practical education. His youthful inclinations seem to have been inclined toward the study of law, in the pursuit of which he was most signally favored. At the age of twenty- one years he entered the law office of Jedediah Miller of Cobleskill, a lawyer of rare ability and persuasive eloquence as a speaker. Mr. Miller, who deserves a passing notice here, was a New England man, a descendant on his mother's side of the Pilgrims who came over in the Mayflower. He was a classmate of Daniel Webster at Dartmouth college and graduated there in 1805. Like many of the eastern men he found his way to this state, and became an early settler of the then wilderness region of Schoharie county. He studied law with old Judge Tiffany and was admitted to practice in 1809. Highly gifted by nature with intellectual powers, he was not long in rising to eminence in his pro- fession.
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In 1819 he was a member of the legislature, and again in 1820, 1832 and 1838. His patriotism was lofty. Not long before he died, and shortly before the close of the civil war, on being told that the prospects were bright for the speedy restoration of the Union, he is said to have exclaimed : " God be praised. I can die in peace."
Under the instructions of so thorough a scholar and so able an advocate it is not to be wondered at that young Ramsey, with his own natural gifts, made rapid progress in the studies of his chosen profession. It was indeed a period in his life upon which he has doubtless always looked with pleasant emotions, for it was then that the rich treasures of a noble science were being opened to his studious mind, while new and inviting fields for work or warfare were spread- ing out before his youthful vision.
In 1840, a year memorable in our political history, when Gen. William Henry Harrison was elected to the presidency of the United States, Mr. Ramsey was admitted to practice law in all the courts of the state. For several years after re- ceiving his legal diploma he continued with Mr. Miller gaining much experience in a large law practice and a wide reputation, which were to be eminently serviceable to him on future legal battlefields. Succeeding Mr. Miller in his practice, Mr. Ramsey afterward opened a law office at Law- yersville, where he continued the usual practice of his pro- fession for some years longer.
In the autumn of 1854 Mr. Ramsey was elected as a whig to the legislature from the democratic county of Schoharie ; and in the following year he was a delegate to the whig state convention, while he was also a member of the joint conven- tion, composed of whigs and free-soil democrats, which formed the republican party in this state - a party at whose
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cradle he thus sat, but whose hearse he has never yet had occasion to follow.
Mr. Ramsey was now to enter more boldly into another field -- the arena of railroad warfare, in which he was finally after many pitched battles to gain a splendid victory without the loss of a single drop of blood, though for a long time the dark clouds betokened the burst of a local storm of civil war. This great question was the building of the Albany and Sus- quehanna railroad, with whose interests the life of Mr. Ram- sey has been so interwoven that a brief review of the whole subject will not be foreign here. Mr. Ramsey was from the first an ardent advocate of the building of the Albany and Susquehanna railroad. He saw at a glance what benefits would ultimately flow to the people of old Schoharie and other adjacent counties in the development of the material resources of what was then know as " a sequestered region," and in the displacement of the old wagon roads. He saw how flourishing villages would in time grow up along the line of the contemplated route, and that the wilderness region of those parts would be turned into fruitful fields and blos- som like the rose. No man was better acquainted with that section of the country and what it wanted in order to enrich itself than he, and with a courage not to be shaken by any " lions in the way," he went straight forward toward the ac- complishment of the grand object in view, and that was the establishment of a new railroad.
The Albany and Susquehanna Railroad Company was first organized in 1852, when more than a million dollars had been subscribed for the enterprise by the inhabitants along the proposed line, and by parties living in Albany. In the summer of 1853 a contract was made by the company with Morris, Miller, Baker & Co., to build the road, and the work
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was commenced. But owing to the revulsion in railroad affairs, the contractors were obliged to suspend operations. A complete abandonment of the project seemed to be immi- nent, when Mr. Ramsey was called to consult with the di- rectors regarding the proper course to pursue. The result of the deliberations was a determination to apply to the legislature for a law "authorizing the towns to subscribe to the stock and issue their bonds in payment, and in that way ascertain whether the people of the towns were disposed to aid or not."
In the autumn of 1855 Mr. Ramsey was elected as a re- publican to the state senate from the seventeenth sena- torial district, then comprising the counties of Schoharie and Delaware. He received many votes from the demo- crats in those counties who were in favor of the construction of the Albany and Susquehanna railroad, and who expected him to continue his efforts in behalf of the enterprise. In this his constituents were not disappointed. He lost no time in introducing a bill into the senate of 1856, authoriz- ing the towns to subscribe to the stock of the company. This bill after a stubborn opposition, passed both houses, and was signed by Governor King. But it was not till the next session (1857) that the act was so amended as to make it entirely practical, requiring the consent of a majority in- stead of that of two-thirds of the tax payers, representing a majority of the taxable property of the towns, expressed in writing.
In 1858 Mr. Ramsey was elected a director and made vice-president of the company. He had devoted his best energies in securing subscriptions, in allaying opposition, and in trying to place the company on a sure basis. But scarcely had one obstacle been removed before another pre-
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sented itself. The validity of the law raising money by town subscriptions was questioned ; litigation followed ; but the court of appeals rendered a decision in favor of the com- pany. Again the contending forces advanced closer, and the attacks became fiercer. The legislature in 1858-9 passed a bill granting state aid to the company to the amount of $200,000 to complete that portion of the road between Albany and Schoharie. The bill was vetoed by Governor Morgan. Mr. Ramsey was re-elected to the senate and in the session of 1860-I he presented another bill in the interests of the road, which was again vetoed by Governor Morgan, as were also two other bills of a similar nature, in 1862. Men of less nerve and pluck than Mr. Ramsey would have given up the contest and retired from the field as a vanquished foe. But one defeat seemed only to inspire him to renewed efforts, to drive back the lines of the opposing forces. In the session of 1863 his favorite bill appropriating $500,000 for the road as far as Oneonta was promptly passed and signed by Governor Seymour, who had been elected in the fall of 1862.
In September, 1863, the road was opened for business to Schoharie creek ; and on the resignation of Mr. E. P. Pren- tice of Albany, as president of the company, Mr. Ramsey was unanimously elected in his place. For two years the work of construction went slowly on, principally on account of the increase in the cost of labor and material, and the in- flation of the currency incident to the war of the rebellion. And it was not until the summer of 1865 that the road was opened to Oneonta. In this crippled condition of the affairs of the company a bill passed the legislature in 1866-7, for the remaining $500,000 to aid in the completion of the road. This bill Governor Fenton vetoed ; but the next year he
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signed one appropriating $250,000 for that portion of the road between Oneonta and Harpersville ; while in 1868 he vetoed a bill for a like appropriation, being the last instal- ment asked for. Disappointed and dispirited again the company by great exertion and much sacrifice succeeded in raising money by other means, so that the road was com- pleted to Binghamton in January, 1869. But the real tug of war was soon to come. Jay Gould and James Fisk, Jr., thinking it would make a valuable appendage to their Erie road, came down "like a wolf on the fold," and sought by high-handed, desperate means to secure by purchase a majority of the stock of the road. Claiming they had al- ready a majority without waiting for an election, they im- mediately commenced an action and obtained an order from Judge Barnard - afterward impeached - suspending Mr. Ramsey from acting as president before the time of the election of directors. Judge Rufus W. Peckham, father of the present judge, made another order modi- fying that of Judge Barnard, and giving the defend- ants a chance to be heard. The order of Judge Peck- ham was annulled by Judge Barnard, and was entirely dis- regarded by Gould, Fisk and their friends, and a bold at- tempt was made by them to take possession of the road by force. Fisk, with some of his cohorts, came to Albany and tried to get possession of the office of the president and other offices of the company, but on being vigorously re- sisted they were obliged to beat an ignominious retreat. The next charge to be made in the line of attack was the concentration of a large force of Erie's men, numbering from fifteen hundred to two thousand, mostly employees, with the design of taking forcible possession of the road, commencing at Binghamton. This was met by deter-
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mined volunteers on the Ramsey side to resist the outrage. The most intense excitement prevailed, and it looked for some time as if blood must be spilt. The contending forces met at the tunnel west of Binghamton when the Gould forces attempted to run an Erie locomotive to Albany, with employees of the Erie, to take possesion of the depots along the road. Just then Robert C. Blackall, master me- chanic of the Albany and Susquehanna road, with his men captured the Erie engine, with the engineer and fireman, and sent it dashing on at full speed to Albany. The Erie's employees were paroled by the brave master mechanic.
The final notable legal contest in this celebrated railroad fight was made in 1870, when the Gould and Fisk party made another unsuccessful attempt to gain control of the road, when just before the annual meeting of the company Mr. Ramsey, as president, and Mr. Phelps, as treasurer and sec- retary, were enjoined by another order of Judge Barnard from taking any part in the election. The regular election was held notwithstanding, and the inspectors declared that the Ramsey directors were duly chosen. The Gould party also held an election and claimed the victory. Carried to the courts the case was finally decided in favor of the Ramsey directors, in the supreme court held at Rochester by Hon. E. Darwin Smith. This was a crowning triumph for the Albany and Susquehanna railroad, and for the heroic Mr. Ramsey, who had all along stood in the front ranks with his face to the foe. In 1870 this now prosperous road was leased by the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, by which it has ever since been operated.
Mr. Ramsey has held several other important offices be- sides those of a legislative character. He succeeded Hon. Erastus Corning in the presidency of the Albany Iron Manu-
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facturing Company. He was president of the New York and Albany railroad. In 1871, 1872 and 1873 he was a dele- gate from Albany to the republican state conventions of those years. He was also a member of the republican state committee for several years.
In the proceedings to impeach Judge Barnard no one took a more active part than Mr. Ramsey, and when that judge was impeached and was tried by the senate and prohibited " from holding any office under the civil government," it must have been with feelings of the highest approval that Mr. Ramsey looked upon the just verdict of the senate.
On the 17th day of March, 1835, Mr. Ramsey was mar- ried to Sarah S. Boyce, daughter of William Boyce of Sharon. She was the granddaughter of Col. John Rice of Revolution- ary memory, who removed from Connecticut immediately after peace was declared, to what was then New Dorlach, in old Tryon county.
Col. Rice was the first member of assembly, and of the same legislature which formed the town of Sharon and Scho- harie county at the session of 1795, from territory taken from Tryon county. The town of Sharon was named from the town of the same name in Connecticut from which he and his family emigrated. He was re-elected to the assembly in the years 1796, 1797, 1798, 1808 and 1809. He was also subsequently elected supervisor, as was the father of Mr. Ramsey, of the town of Sharon. William Boyce was born in Schaghticoke in the state of New York.
Mr. Ramsey is now president of the Howe's Cave associa- tion in manufacturing cement, lime and brick. From 1863 to 1883 he resided in Albany and has had, and now has, a law office in this city, and his venerable form may be seen almost daily on our streets, though his residence is at Howe's
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Cave in the town of Cobleskill, his former residence, in the vicinity of a spot where hundreds of pilgrims yearly resort to look upon the silent majesty of nature's works in a " recess of darkness and wonders." He is also president of a rail- road enterprise for the construction of a railroad from the city of New York to the St. Lawrence river at or near Og- densburg.
VIEW OF HOWE'S CAVE HOTEL.
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HARMON PUMPELLY READ.
MONG the young men of note in our city whose an- cestry has filled an honorable place in American history, and who by his interest in the prosperity of his native town and his extensive knowledge of men and things in other lands, is the genial and accomplished Major H. P. Read. Born in the city of Albany on the 13th of July, 1860, when the storm of civil war was fast gathering to burst over the country, he descended from a long line of illustrious ancestors. His father, General John Meredith Read, was born in Philadelphia on the 21st of February, 1837 ; was educated at a military school; graduated with honor from Brown university ; attended the Albany Law school, and studied civil and international law in Europe. He was admitted to the bar in Philadelphia, and afterward removed to this city. When but twenty years old he was appointed aide- de-camp to the governor of Rhode Island, having two years previously commanded a company of national cadets from which many commissioned officers were afterward furnished ยท to the United States during the rebellion. He was actively engaged in the presidential campaign of 1856 in favor of Fremont, and in 1860 he organized the wide-awake move- ment in New York, which was an element of great power in the election of Lincoln.
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In 1859 General Read was married at Albany to Miss Delphine Marie Pumpelly, a beautiful and attractive young lady, daughter of Harmon Pumpelly, a notable and wealthy Albanian, some of whose ancestors had served in the old French and English wars, and in the revolutionary struggle for independence. Honors and offices came rapidly to young Read. At the age of twenty-three he had become adjutant-general of the state of New York. In February, 1861, he was chairman to the government commission which welcomed Lincoln at Buffalo, and safely escorted him by a special train to Washington. General Read displayed great energy, ability and zeal in maintaining the cause of the Union, for which he received the thanks of the war department of the United States. On the elevation of General Grant to the presidency in 1868, in whose election he had taken a lively interest, he was appointed consul-general of the United States for France and Algeria, to reside at Paris. He subsequently acted as consul-general of Germany during the Franco-German war. He remained in Paris during the first and second sieges of the city (1870-71), where by his rare skill in diplomacy, prudence, tact and kindness, he per- formed many signal services in his official position, for which he received the thanks of both the French and German gov- ernments. In 1873 he was appointed United States minis- ter to Greece, holding the office during six years. In 1874 he revisited his native country, and was received with every mark of respect and honor, especially in Albany, his earlier home. General Read is at present staying in Paris, engaged in historical and biographical research.
The present General Read is a son of Chief Justice John > Meredith Read of Pennsylvania, who was one of the most eminent jurists of that state, and one of the founders of the
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republican party, and in 1860 a candidate for the nomina- tion of president of the United States. General Read is a grandson of Hon. John Read, who was also a dis- tinguished lawyer of Pennsylvania, and who was state senator and held other important offices in his state. The great-grandfather of General Read was George Read of Delaware, one of the six signers of the declaration of inde- pendence who were framers of the constitution. He held the office of president of the state of Delaware, was twice elected to the United States senate, and was chief justice of Delaware. He was a son of Colonel John Read, who was born in Dublin, 1688, two hundred years ago, descend- ing from an old aristocratic family originally seated in Berk- shire, England. This old Colonel John Read was the first of the family name who came to this country. He pur- chased large tracts of land in Maryland and Delaware, and was one of the first proprietors of Charlestown, Md.
Much has been written about the ancestors of the present Harmon P. Read, and every thing goes to show that they were endowed with singular ability -fearless in the per- formance of what they deemed to be their duty and lofty in their patriotism.
Harmon Pumpelly Read, the subject of our sketch, was a pupil in the Albany Boys' academy when scarcely fourteen years of age. He also attended St. John's Military academy at Sing Sing, and afterward went to Trinity college, Hart- ford, Conn. He has crossed the ocean several times. In the fall of 1881 he made a trip to Europe and spent a year in visiting some of the interesting localities in the old world. Making his headquarters at Rome during most of the winter, he paid flying visits to Naples and other places famous in Roman history. After carefully surveying the grand old
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attractions of the " eternal city," he set out on a journey through Spain; penetrated into the interior of Morocco, travelled into Portugal, stopping a short time at Lisbon, whence he went over to England and Scotland, returning to Paris, and after spending some time with his parents there, sailed for America. While abroad Maj. Read received high honors for a young American citizen. At Rome he was presented at court, witnessing the splendors of a royal re- ception. He also counted among his friends some of the most distinguished among the nobility and men of letters in Eu- rope. On reaching Albany during the latter part of 1882, he entered the law office of Edward Wade, more for the purpose of gaining a general knowledge of the law for his own personal gratification, than with a view of following it as a profession. But ill-health compelled him to relinquish his legal studies and to seek a change of air and scenery. He has spent a considerable portion of his time at Newport and New York in the society of the learned and elite, where he has always been received as a most agreeable companion by a host of enthusiastic friends.
In 1885 Maj. Read had become so popular with the re- publicans of Albany that he was induced to accept the nomination for member of assembly in the Third district, a strongly democratic one. His opponent was Hon. Norton Chase, and both were popular young men of about the same age. The contest was a spirited one, and though not ex- pected to be elected, Maj. Read made a very thorough can- vass of the district, and the large vote he received attested his popularity. During this canvass Maj. Read was quite popular with the plainer class of people and was regarded by many of the workingmen as their favorite candidate. He has always taken a special interest in the questions
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affecting the laboring classes of our community, and is, con- sequently, highly popular with this worthy and useful class of citizens. Soon after the election of Mr. Chase the Major generously gave a dinner in honor of the event, which was largely attended and elicited the thanks of his political op- ponents. About this time he was made inspector of rifle practice of the Fifth brigade of the New York State National Guard, with the rank of major.
In the spring of 1886 he was nominated for the presidency of the Young Men's association on the opposition ticket, the regular nominee being Glen Dunham, a wealthy and popular man. After one of the hottest contests in the his- tory of the association, Maj. Read was elected by a large majority. He made a most efficient president, and was earnestly devoted to the best interests of the association. His administration was a successful as well as a memorable one. And for the earnest and continued efforts he made in having the Bleecker trust fund invested for the benefit of the association, he deserves great praise. As an Albany paper remarked when the whole matter was crowned with success, " To no one man more than Maj. Read is due the credit of the work accomplished." The Major also strongly advocated the opening of the Y. M. A. rooms during certain hours on Sunday for the benefit of those young men who were debarred through the week from enjoying its privileges; but for lack of a two-thirds vote the proposition failed. In 1886 Major Read was unanimously nominated for alderman of the thirteenth ward, but declined the honor. It must be stated that during the bi-centennial he took a lively interest in its success. He was a member of the civic day com- mitteee, which made a great success of the parade over which it had control; and of the tableting committee,
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whose work left the only enduring memorial of that grand occasion.
Major Read is a learned and distinguished Mason, having reached the thirty-second degree. It may be stated here that his ancestor in the sixth degree was one of the founders of the first lodge of Masons in America ; that his grandfather, Chief Justice Read of Pennsylvania, was grand master of Masons ; that his cousin, Hon. William Thompson Read of Delaware, held the same position, and his father, General Meredith Read, has received the highest degree in Masonry from the grand council of Greece. Major Read, has also taken most of the degrees in Odd Fellowship.
He is a member of several societies and clubs. While abroad, he was made a fellow of the Royal Geographical society of London, and of the Geographical society of Paris. and a member of the Nobles club in Rome. At home he is a member of the historical societies of Pennsylvania and New York, the fraternity Delta Psi; St Anthony's and the Knickerbocker clubs of New York city, both among the most select in America ; the Fort Orange club, and the Unconditional republican club, of which he is the first vice- president, taking a very active part in its business affairs, and a deep interest in its welfare. He was also one of the founders of the Historical and Art society of this city.
Major Read has devoted much time to historical research, and is especially well-versed in antiquarian lore. Of the foreign languages which he has studied he is best acquainted with the French, in which he converses fluently. He has been spoken of several times as a candidate for mayor. His manly qualities, his various acquirements, and his large knowledge of the city of his birth would well fit him to fill so responsible and honorable a position.
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