USA > New York > Noted living Albanians and state officials. A series of biographical sketches > Part 25
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For about eighteen years did these brothers carry on a co-partnership business under the firm-name of C. & H. Russell. During all this time Henry Russell was devoting what spare time he could command to the study and inves- tigation of trade and commerce, in which he soon became a well-trained, self-made student. He read extensively on subjects connected with this branch, and his early ambition was to establish a leading business in his favorite depart- ment. And with the practical knowledge and experience he had already acquired in this line, he ventured to strike" out where larger opportunities were to be afforded in ma- turing his original plans. While in business for himself in Broome Mr. Russell was a frequent visitor to Albany, and he had fully made up his mind that this city was a good place for his future operations on a larger scale. And in 1866, a year after the close of the civil war, he came here to engage in the wholesale flour trade; and from that period he became a resident of the city of Albany, and was hence- forth to be identified with its commercial interests, and a leading promoter of its municipal prosperity.
In the same year a new flour house was opened here in what is known as the Delavan block under the firm name of Russell, Van Pelt & Co. This firm succeeded that of Lape & Van Pelt, and the individual partners of it were Calvin Russell, Henry Russell, George H. Van Pelt and Franklin Krum. Adopting the commission business di- rectly from the millers, and especially the western produ- cers, it was not long before the sales of the firm averaged about 10,000 barrels yearly.
On the retirement of Mr. Krum in 1868, and of Mr. Van Pelt in 1869, the business was continued by Henry Russell and his brother, Calvin, under the firm-name of C. & H.
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Russell. During five years the business was continued under the above firm-name, Henry being the active partner, after which Calvin retired and Henry conducted the busi- ness alone.
About that time the machinery was introduced for mak- ing the Haxall Patent and New Process flour, finally result . ing in the use of rollers, now so generally adopted by the great millers of the west. The naturally wide-awake and progressive spirit of Henry Russell led to a careful investi- gation of this new method in the manufacture of wheat flour. Visiting Minneapolis in 1870 and becoming acquain- ted with Mr. Charles A. Pillsbury, the well-known miller of that place, he obtained from him a most favorable statement of the working of the new system of manufacturing flour, the ultimate success of which he clearly perceived. Secur- ing the agency of some of the best brands manufactured by the millers of the country, he devoted all his energies to selling the same. His success was soon assured. The great panic of 1873, which was disastrous to so many throughout the country, was really advantageous to Mr. Russell, by his obtaining new consignments from shippers who, in consequence of the universal depression in trade and commerce, were glad to secure such responsible agents as Mr. Russell. This at once gave a new impetus to his trade, and in 1873 his sales are said to have amounted to 70,000 barrels of flour. A continued and rapid increase in his busi- ness was maintained from that year to the present time. Two years ago his sales footed up over lialf a million barrels.
In politics, Mr. Russell has always espoused the principles of the republican party, and while he was frequently urged by his friends to enter the field as a candidate for political honors he invariably declined, until in the fall of 1887 he
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was induced to accept the republican nomination for state senator from the 17th district. His opponent was the young and popular Norton Chase, ex-member of the legislature. It was one of the closest and most exciting senatorial con- tests ever witnessed in this county, the circumstances of which are still fresh in the minds of the public. After a bit- ter fight in the supreme court Mr. Russell was declared elected by eight plurality. In the senate, Mr. Russell was an. active and useful member, courageously supporting the measures of his party, while exhibiting the characteristics of a true gentleman to members of the opposite side.
Mr. Russell has filled with honor and efficiency several official business positions. He was one of the original stockholders of the Schoharie County National bank, and a director and vice-president of the same institution. In 1878 he was elected president of the Board of Trade in Albany. He is at present a director of the Merchants' National bank of Albany, and president of the Commercial Union Telegraph Company.
A man of thorough business qualifications, especially de- voted to the interests of trade and commerce, honorable and upright in all his dealings of a public and private nature, with a mind cultivated by extensive reading, travel and ob- servation, he is justly regarded as one of Albany's solid rep- resentative men, and commands the respect and esteem of our citizens irrespective of party.
JAMES SHANAHAN.
STATE official whose long, industrious, persevering career in mechanical pursuits, and whose works in different parts of the country evince his superior powers as a master of his art is the Hon. James Shanahan, superintend- ent of public works of the state of New York. He belongs to a class of men whose talents and energy have advanced and enriched the interests of the empire state by the con- struction of works intimately connected with the railroads and canals, trade and commerce.
He is a native of Ireland, and was born on the 6th of February, 1829, having now reached a period in life in which high purposes, aims and achievements are usually unfolded in full power. His ancestors were useful and substantial citizens of their country, and some of them held responsible positions. His father, having determined to seek his fortune in " the land of the free," cast a last lingering look on the home of his childhood and then boldly sailed away with his family from the coasts of " old Erin" for American soil. His son James, the subject of this sketch, was then but eight years of age, and distinctly remembers the roar and tossings of old ocean during the voyage. On reaching this country the family first turned their faces westward, traveling into central New York and taking up their residence in the rich
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county of Onondaga. There for seven years the elder Mr. Shanahan, who was not only an enterprising but an indus- trious man, labored hard to earn a livelihood and to make suitable provision for his young family. And there James received a good common school education in the district school of his neighborhood. This course of elementary in- struction he turned to practical account in later years.
Learning of the great inducements held out for emigrants to what was then regarded as the far west, Mr. Shanahan with his family set out, in 1844, in search of the rich and fertile prairie lands of Michigan, and after a slow and weari- some journey reached that state, settling on a farm in the vicinity of Ann Arbor. James was then fifteen years of age, and for the two following years he assisted his father in pre- paring the new land for raising crops. But the monoto- nous pioneer life of a farmer in the then solitudes of Michigan had not particular attractions for young Shanahan.
He longed for another kind of work, to which his natural taste was inclining, and that was in the line of masonry. His father saw this ruling passion in his boy, and wisely con- sented that he should serve an apprenticeship in the stone- cutter's trade. He did so, and the step he then took he never afterward regretted. An apt student in what he so much delighted, he soon mastered his trade; and a few years later we find him an assistant to an elder brother, who was then a large contractor in the building of locks on the Erie and Oswego canal. Returning nearer the scenes. of his more youthful days he became a studious and faithful as- sistant to his brother, under whose direction he may be said to have laid the foundation of his well-earned, high reputa- tion as a master mechanic and engineer. With the knowl- edge and experience gained while with his brother he went
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to Lanesboro, Penn., where he was employed in the con- struction of the viaduct on the Erie railroad. On the com- pletion of this work he felt himself qualified to undertake the duties and responsibilities of a contractor ; and to carry out his plans on a larger scale he entered into partnership with his brother and two others. The new firm thus con- stituted was a strong one and soon engaged in various ex- tensive works, among which was the building of a large por- tion of the masonry of the New York Central railroad be- tween Syracuse and Rochester, and the masonry on the Os- wego railroad.
In 1854 Mr. Shanahan, whose reputation as a skilled me- chanic was now widely extended through the country, was engaged in the construction of the "locks" in the Sault St. Marie canal. The following year he removed to Tribes Hill, Montgomery county, N. Y .- now his per- manent residence - while he ably assisted in the construc- tion of the locks at Waterford.
His judgment in matters outside his occupation, but closely connected with it, was fully consulted by different parties, and in 1859 he was commissioned by the Dorchester Freestone Company to examine its quarry property at Dor- chester, Province of New Brunswick. After giving the subject a careful investigation, a new quarry was opened there at his suggestion. In 1860 he was placed in full charge of the prop- erty, with highly satisfactory results. A large quantity of the stone was shipped to New York city and sold at a handsome profit to the company, which, under his superin- tendency, was not obliged to assess itself to supply funds for carrying on its operations. In 1861 Mr. Shanahan was com- pelled to remain at home, and during that year the Free- stone company ran behind some $6,000 in its assets. His
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services were again sought after by the company, and upon its earnest request he resumed direction of the quarries, which, under his judicious management, were again worked with success and profit. The practical suggestions which he made, and the excellent judgment which he showed, both in masonry, quarry and engineering matters, were placing the name of Mr. Shanahan still more prominently before the public as a man of genuine merit and eminent skill.
From 1864 to 1866, inclusively, he was engaged first in furnishing stone for the erection of the New York Central Railroad elevator at Albany, and also for the first railroad bridge, called the north bridge, and afterward in the con- struction of the dam at Cohoes, an immense structure four- teen hundred feet long. This great work, so valuable to the spindle city, was completed in the course of one season, and 1
stands as a noble monument to the skill of its builder.
In 1868 Mr. Shanahan was appointed superintendent of section No. 3, of the Erie canal -a position which he filled with honor and fidelity until his retirement from the office at the close of 1870. It may be stated in this connection, that Mr. Shanahan has always been a warm friend and ad- vocate of our canals, and no official has ever watched over their affairs with more faithfulness or higher devotion.
On relinquishing his office as superintendent of the Erie canal Mr. Shanahan was inspired with a new ardor for his early, cherished, regular occupation, the duties of which he now hastened to resume. One of his first contracts was for furnishing the stone for the new Hudson river bridge across the Hudson at the foot of Maiden lane, Albany, constructed by the Hudson River Bridge Company. Subsequently he built the masonry for the double tracks of the Hudson
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River railroad between Fort Plain and Little Falls, and fur- nished the stone for the section between Schenectady and Albany. The viaduct at Broadway, Albany, was success- fully constructed by Mr. Shanahan in 1882.
Though not a politician by profession yet Mr. Shanahan has been called to serve the state in a legislative capacity. Always an active member of the democratic party he had little or no ambition for partizan honors or rewards for faithful service. But yielding to the requests of his friends he received, in 1868, the nomination for member of assembly from Montgomery county, and came within a few votes of being elected. The following year, however, he was re- nominated and elected by a majority of 600 over the repub- lican nominee, thus changing the majority on the state ticket from 200 republican, as it was in 1868, to nearly 400 democratic. His election was a flattering compliment to his high character as a man and his accomplishments as a mechanic, and fully evinced his great popularity among his fellow-citizens, irrespective of party.
In the assembly Mr. Shanahan served on two important committees - those on canals and the sub-committee of the whole; while he was also placed on the committee on pub- lic printing. He was regarded as a solid, working member, possessed of a cool judgment and remarkable energy, with a steady adherence to his political principles, seeking to pro- mote the welfare of his party and to meet with the general approval of his constituents.
For several years after the expiration of his legislative term Mr. Shanahan followed his regular business, until in 1878, when he was appointed assistant superintendent of public works of the state of New York. In January, 1883, he was appointed by Gov. Cleveland as head of the depart-
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ment - an appointment which people of both parties looked upon as one that could not have easily been improved. Now in his true element, perfectly at home in all the duties and obligations pertaining to his office-the right man in the right place - he still continues to administer the public affairs of his department in an acceptable manner. In many respects Mr. Shanahan is a remarkable man. From his long experience in works of construction he has gained a perfect, practical knowledge of engineering as applied to practical construction ; and it is but just to say that he admirably fills his present important and responsible office. A man of great perseverance and energy as well as skill he successfully infuses his spirit into his subordinates with the happiest re- sults. Always busy, and at the same time cool, deliberate, thoughtful, he carries on the daily duties of his office in a thorough, systematic manner.
Tall in person, with a plain, open countenance, simple in his manners and agreeable in his conversation, he exhibits strong mental characteristics, especially in his chosen pro- fession, without the least affectation, pride or vanity.
In tracing his career from the time when, as a poor boy, he commenced his apprenticeship as a stonecutter at Syra- cuse, and noticing the numerous and important works which he has since accomplished one cannot but be favorably im- pressed with his indefatigable industry and unyielding perse- verance, his constant, earnest effort to rise higher in the knowledge of his calling, and above all his uncommon skill which enabled him to successfully complete those works, causing his name to shine as a star of no small magnitude in the horizon of the mechanical world.
In October, 1854, Mr. Shanahan married Ellen, daughter of James and Ellen Maloy of Ann Arbor, Mich.
HIRAM E. SICKELS.
REPRESENTATIVE Albanian, a lawyer by pro- fession and widely known state reporter, that is, as the reporter of the New York state court of appeals, is the Hon. Hiram E. Sickels. In the beautiful village of Albion, Orleans county, N. Y., he first saw the light on the 24th of June, 1827. He belongs to the old Holland Dutch extrac- tion -a race that took such a leading part in the rise and progress of free institutions in the early history of our country. He is a son of Hiram Sickels, who was born in 1796 and who died in Albany in 1872. His mother was Lana (Lasher) Sickels, who was of German origin and of unusual strength of mind. His grandfather was Zachariah Sickels of Hoosick ; and his great great-grandfather was the Hon. Zachariah Sickels of Troy, N. Y., member of assembly, county judge and supervisor. His ancestor who first reached this country was Zachariah Sickels, who came to Albany as corporal in the service of the West India Com- pany as early as 1648. The family originally came from Austria, where the name was Zikkel ; after their removal to Holland it was Zickelson, and finally the son was dropped leaving the present name.
Hiram E. Sickels, the subject of this sketch, was educated at the Albion academy and was there noted for his diligence
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in study and for the rapid progress he made in the general branches of knowledge. On leaving the academy it was his intention to enter college, but other and more pressing duties required his immediate attention. From his youth his aspirations appear to have been directed toward the study of the law ; and at the early age of sixteen he became a student in the law office of Curtis & Stone at Albion. In 1848 he was admitted to the bar and began the practice of his profession at Medina, N. Y., where for about thir- teen years we find him busily engaged in laying the foundation of a good legal reputation among the citizens of his native town and county. But his legal practice was to be temporarily relinquished by the breaking out of the civil war, which called to arms so many of our young men engaged in the peaceful occupations and professions of civil life. In- heriting the soldierly qualities of some of his ancestors the patriotic and martial spirit of young Sickels was thoroughly aroused, and early in 1862, he was heartily engaged in rais- ing the 17th N. Y. volunteer battery of light artillery ; and when on the 26th of August of the same year that dashing, spirited company of artillerists was ready to start for the seat of war to do effective service in a loyal cause our young lawyer was commissioned its first lieutenant. During all those subsequent days of alternate disaster and success he displayed invincible courage and lofty patriotism, and with his face set " like a flint " against the foe he remained on hostile fields until the final sound of battle had died away on the plains around Richmond. Some of the memorable military movements in which Lieutenant Sickels took an ac- tive part were in the capture of Fort Fisher, in nearly all the battles around Richmond, in the series of sharp conflicts in front of Petersburg, in the fierce battle of Five Forks --
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which resulted in the evacuation of that stronghold and the fall of Richmond, and, finally, in the pursuit of Lee until the famous surrender at Appomattox. When Lieutenant Sickels was mustered out of the army he was breveted captain for the gallant and efficient services he had rendered - services which his loyal countrymen will always gratefully remember.
The war ended, Captain Sickels, with the consciousness of having faithfully performed his duties as a patriot and soldier, returned to the home of his childhood and resumed the prac- tice of law at Medina. It is scarcely necessary to say that his popularity was greatly increased, especially among the loyal citizens of his native county, for the noble part he had taken in the war for the Union.
Mr. Sickeis was then a popular young war democrat ; and soon after his return from sanguinary fields of strife to follow his loved profession in the arena of legal warfare he was nominated by the democratic party as its candidate for justice of the supreme court, his opponent being that dis- tinguished and able lawyer and jurist, Hon. John Talcott. The district was strongly republican, but Mr. Sickels ran over 6,000 ahead of his ticket, carrying his own county by about 1,200 majority, while it went republican on the gen- eral ticket by about 1,500; and in his own village, which gave about 400 republican majority, only fourteen votes were cast against him, This was certainly a striking evi- dence of popular regard, of which any political candidate might well be proud.
In 1871, Mr. Sickels, in looking around for a wider field for legal practice than that afforded in a rural district, se- lected Albany as his permanent residence, and here he has ever since continued to live. He was not long in establish- ing a high reputation for professional abilities in the old
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Dutch city, which he has deeply loved for its varied attrac- tions as well as for his forefathers' sakes. In 1872 he was appointed state reporter, a position which he still holds with dignity and honor. He has labored earnestly, continuously, and successfully in this department of legal work, and his carefully edited reports, now numbering over seventy-six oc- tavo volumes, are in the hands of every lawyer practicing in our higher courts. Besides his special duties connected with the court of appeals he has also been frequently en- gaged as referee in a large number of important litigations. His knowledge of the law in all its branches is thorough and extensive, his arguments are clear and convincing, and his decisions uniformly correct. He is a member of the faculty of the Albany Law school, and for fourteen years has lec- tured to the students there on the law of evidence. His lectures are replete with profound learning, elaborate re- search, and eminently suggestive statements, and are of great practical value to the young students.
Upon the organization of the civil service of the state, under the act of 1883, Mr. Sickels was appointed by the civil service commissioners chairman of the state board of examiners, which position he held until 1888. He is still a very close student and hard worker in whatever pertains to his chosen profession. He is a member of the Fort Orange club, the Holland society, the Masonic fraternity, etc. In 1852 he married Miss Caroline A. Fairman.
With a soldierly bearing, a tall, robust figure and sound constitution, a rather stern countenance, but at the same time possessed of a genial nature, courteous, companionable, and high-minded - Mr. Sickels has now reached the full > maturity of his intellectual powers and enjoys the entire confidence and esteem of his fellow-citizens.
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CHARLES RUFUS SKINNER.
MONG the younger men whose experience in matters pertaining to state, national and educational affairs has already been quite extensive and highly beneficial to his fellow-citizens, is the Hon. Charles R. Skinner, who, on ac- count of his official relations, is now a resident of Albany. Born on the 4th of August, 1844, at Union Square, Oswego county, N. Y., he is a son of the late Hon. Avery Skinner, a worthy New England pioneer who left the granite hills of New Hampshire to seek a home in the richer northern regions of New York state. In October, 1816, when but twenty years old, he left the paternal roof in New Hampshire and rode on horseback all the way through the wilderness or thinly settled regions of the country until he reached Watertown, where he first made his home. The village at that time contained less than five hundred inhabi- tants, according to a census taken by Mr. Skinner soon after
his arrival. Mr. Skinner had been engaged in teaching at Chesterfield, N. H., and immediately upon reaching Water- town he was engaged to teach the village school. He spent eight years in Watertown teaching, keeping books for mer- cantile houses and recording deeds and mortgages in the county clerk's office.
About the year 1824, he set out again for the purpose of
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taking up a large tract of land in Oswego county. This he found in the town of Mexico, and locating at Union Square, a place named by himself, the exact geographical center of the county, he set to work in earnest in leveling the forests around him and in clearing up the country. He was active in surveying and building plank roads from Watertown to Syracuse, and from Rome to Oswego, which roads crossed at Union Square. These were soon very prosperous routes and favorite lines of travel. It was no uncommon thing in later years to see eight or more four-horse Concord coaches halting at this center at one time for change of horses and mails. More mail was then handled there in distributing to various points than is now handled in some cities. In 1852, upon the completion of the Rome and Watertown railroad, a sudden end came to stage enterprises in that section. Mr. Skinner thus grew up with the place and be- came a useful, active and prominent citizen, whose services were of great value to the community in which he lived. He was a man of no ordinary natural abilities. In politics he was a democrat of the Jeffersonian school, a personal friend of Horatio Seymour, Silas Wright and other promi- nent democrats, and responsible political honors were re- peatedly conferred upon him. For twelve years he was judge and county treasurer of Oswego county. In 1832 and 1833 he was elected to the assembly from his district, and in 1836-41 was chosen state senator, serving faithfully in that body two terms.
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