USA > New York > Noted living Albanians and state officials. A series of biographical sketches > Part 32
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From these honors and responsibilities his activity and
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efficiency in his profession and his devotion to all cognate pursuits in sympathy with his chosen field, as well as his standing as a citizen and a gentleman, can be correctly in- ferred. He has contributed valuable articles to the litera- ture of his profession and his pen and influence have been at the service of any interest, within his power to promote, within the large compass of the departments of helpful endeavor in the world. Dr. Ward is well known for his service in the development of the sanitary advantages of the Adirondack regions to the observation of mankind. In 1879 he first visited that wonderful region and it has echoed to his rifle, or its waters have rewarded his rod every spring and summer since. His investments in the Saranac Lake country have been considerable and his influence in induc- ing capitalists, physicians, artists and lovers of leisure to acquaint themselves with the natural beauties and the health-giving assurances of that locality has been marked. Both as a citizen and as an officer of the state he has addressed himself to the work of forest preservation and to the creation and the education of a public and a legislative sentiment in favor of that benign cause. His energy and efficiency in this regard have been reinforced by like en- deavors put forth by many others, but none of them have exceeded his enthusiasm or surpassed his usefulness in that field of labor for the health of the race. He allows neither his labors for education nor his social duties nor the accom- plishments with which he charms his times of leisure or of rest to interfere with the assiduity and industry with which he carries on the duties of his chosen profession. He is not merely a practitioner of medicine but a soldier and enthu- siast of it. His fondness for his calling was born with him. Every other pursuit followed by him is ultimately made
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contributory to the controlling work of his life. He has not lost a central and a consecrated efficiency in a diversity of alien avocations or in a versatility of pleasurable employ- ments.
Of the characteristics of this man it would be agreeable to speak, did not the facts already set forth suggest them, and did not his present activity in the prime of his powers veto the idea of summing up an esteemed contemporary for the verdict of that history in which his part is yet incom- plete, and into the silences of which he has not yet passed. The words of estimate would by the partialities of friend- ship become the words of eulogy and they are not called for on the printed page, because they are already graven in the hearts and memories of all who have passed within the sweep of his life and who have been admitted into the chambers of his friendship.
In 1871 Dr. Ward was united in marriage to Nina A. Wheeler, daughter of William A. Wheeler, of New York city. Mrs. Ward was a woman of singular beauty of person, of gentle sincerity of manner, of a wide range of practical and elegant accomplishments, a devoted wife, a loving mother, a profound Christian and an undoubting friend. She was the light, the solace, the incentive and the idol of a beloved home, not merely the companion but the con- fidant of her husband and of their children, until, in October, 1883, she was recalled by the Master of Life, exchanging worlds with the serene confidence of a blessed immortality. Three children share with their father the consciousness of their loss, until the day shall break and the shadows flee away.
ALBERT BARNES WATKINS.
I N THE broad and varied interests of education, and as possessing intellectual powers admirably fitted for the practical application of knowledge to the wants of our young men and women engaged in the courses of study, no man in Albany has earned a more excellent reputation than Dr. Albert B. Watkins, of the University of the state of New York. His career, marked by a supreme love for knowledge, reveals in full light the earnest, persevering and successful workings of the true educator under many pressing difficulties.
He was born on the 8th of July, 1838, in the beautiful village of Naples, N. Y., situated in the deep valley which extends southward from the head of Canandaigua lake, around which the charms of nature are so richly displayed, and where general intelligence, industry and thrift are pre- vailing characteristics.
He is a descendant of Thomas Watkins, who was a resident of Boston, Mass., in 1650, and who probably came from Wales to Boston about the year 1635. He was made a freeman at Boston in 1660, and was a mem- ber of the artillery company there in 1666. The name of Watkins is of Welsh origin, and this branch of the family . of which we write probably came from either Brecon or Montgomery, Wales.
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Nathan Watkins, the great-grandfather of the subject of our memoir, was one of the earliest settlers of Peru, Berk- shire county, Mass. He was a man of remarkable courage as well as of strong religious convictions, who held several offices of trust in his new wilderness home, and in whose barn the religious meetings of the early settlers of the place were held in the year 1773. The first town meeting at Peru was held in the Captain's house, in 1769, and he was elected supervisor of the town. He was not only a God-fearing, but also a liberty-loving man, and when the storm of the revolution was about to burst over the colo- nies he was ready to shoulder his musket or draw his sword in defense of American freedom.
No sooner had the stirring news of the battle of Lex- ington alarmed and aroused the country than we find the name of Capt. Watkins on the earliest roll of minute-men in Col. Patterson's regiment. He fought in the battle of Bunker Hill, and after the evacuation of Boston by the British, in 1776, he marched to New York to join the expe- dition to Quebec. After engaging in fortifying Ticonderoga he marched through Albany to join the army of Gen. Washington in Pennsylvania. While in the vicinity of Ticonderoga he and his son Mark, a drummer boy of four- teen enlisted in the regiment, were both taken prisoners in one of the skirmishes with Burgoyne. The British general, happening to see the lad, asked him what he was there for. Said Mark, " I came out to see my father." "Very well, very well," quickly replied Burgoyne, in a good-natured way, 'I will send you home as a present to your mother."
Capt. Watkins was one of those brave soldiers who, under Washington, crossed the Delaware, and took part in the bat- tles of Trenton and Princeton. Afterward his regiment was
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ordered northward to aid Gens. Schuyler and Gates, and side by side with the grandfather of the writer of this sketch, he faced the leaden storm in the battle of Bemus Heights, and was present when Burgoyne surrendered his arms amidst shouts ringing through the American camp.
At the close of the war Capt. Watkins was one of a com- mittee of three sent by some of the scattering inhabitants of Berkshire county to western New York to purchase a tract of land for future settlement. The land purchased is now known as the township of Naples ; and here, in 1791, Capt. Watkins removed with his family and numbers of his relatives and neighbors, and went to work clearing up the old forests and cultivating the rich soil. He was thus a genuine pioneer as well as an intrepid soldier, and when at last he passed away, full of years and honors, his remains were laid in the old church yard at Naples, where they still repose beneath a simple marble slab.
Stephen Mellen Watkins, the father of Dr. Watkins, had very limited financial means, and from the age of sixteen the boy had to earn the money that he spent. His early tastes inclined him to study, and his parents tried by all possible means to gratify his wishes. Ambitious to see him get a superior education, they gave him advice and encour- agement. But his prospects of obtaining a collegiate edu- cation were for a long time gloomy enough to discourage a less hopeful ind a less enterprising lad. He worked on the farm all through the spring, summer and autumn months, and attended the district school in the winter. Thus learn- ing the rudiments of education he was eager to continue his studies, and we next find him a pupil of William H. Vro- man, a graduate of Hobart college, who kept a private school at Naples. This only increased his thirst for higher
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instruction, and he was soon afterward placed under the care of Levi G. Thrall, an experienced and highly success- ful teacher. Under this new preceptor he commenced the study of Latin - the study and mastery of which we believe are the principal sources of success of the great majority of those who have rendered distinguished services in the cause of education and thorough instruction. At the same time, on account of pecuniary obstacles, he had no idea of ever entering the halls of a college. But the way was gradually opened, and his early school days' experience should afford encouragement to all who are struggling along in the same pathway, by showing them what may be accomplished by industry and perseverance.
In the winter of 1854-5 he attended the Franklin academy at Prattsburg, Steuben county, in which Charles L. Porter was principal and Ralph L. Parsons taught the classics, both of whom were graduates of Amherst college. Returning home in the following spring he worked on a farm by the month during the summer. In the winter of 1855-6 we find him a student in Fairfield academy, Herkimer county, N. Y., applying himself very closely to the study of mathe- matics, including trigonometry and surveying, his favorite branch of study at that time. Again in the following sum- mer he worked on the farm, returning to Fairfield in the autumn of the same year to take the commercial course, with a view of qualifying himself for a practical book-keeper. Completing the course in the spring of 1857 and finding no opening as a book-keeper, he returned once more to farming. But his experience as a teacher was now about to begin. On the illness and final resignation of the teacher at Fair- field in charge of the commercial course he accepted an in- vitation to take his place in the school. The duties of this
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position he filled with great credit, while he also found some time to devote to other studies. Remaining at Fairfield he determined to prepare himself for a civil engineer, and con- sequently gave the most of the time at his command to the study of mathematics and French, still continuing his study of Latin. It was his good fortune, while at Fairfield, to en- joy the instruction of Dr. Le Roy C. Cooley, now professor of natural science in Vassar college, whose thorough instruc- tion, concise and direct methods of teaching, have always been of great benefit to his pupils. On the advice of Rev. John B. Van Petten, then principal of the academy, Mr. Watkins commenced the study of Greek with a view of pre- paring himself more fully for college, and in 1861 he entered the junior class at Amherst college, where he graduated with honor in 1863. It was the privilege of the writer to attend those commencement exercises at Amherst, and dis- tinctly does he remember - though nearly twenty-seven years ago - how well young Watkins acquitted himself on the platform. The subject was, " The Goal of the Nations," and his oration was an earnest plea for a higher moral and intellectual standard among the nations of the earth. The commencement, taking place so soon after the capture of Vicksburg and the victory at Gettysburg, was truly a mem- orable one. Stirring and appropriate addresses were made by the venerable Dr. Stearns, president of the college, John Quincy Adams, Jr., and the patriotic and eloquent Gov. Andrew, whose happy allusion to the two conquering heroes as " the Grant of victory and the Meade of praise," thrilled the large assembly. We shall always remember with pleas- ure that commencement day of "clouds and showers " passed at old Amherst.
Soon after graduation, Mr. Watkins accepted a position
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as teacher of Greek in the Fairfield academy. While thus engaged in teaching, another subject was occupying his thoughts and engaging his affections, and that was the ques- tion of matrimony which he was not long in settling. In November, 1863, he married Miss Martha A. Mather, a daughter of Dr. William Mather of Fairfield, for many years professor of chemistry and geology in Madison university, and a lineal descendant of Richard Mather who came to Boston in 1635.
In 1867 Mr. Watkins was asked to organize Dr. Hero's Willow Park seminary for young ladies at Westboro, Mass., and taught there for one year, when upon an urgent call to go back to Fairfield he returned there in 1868, to take the position of vice-principal, and to teach Greek and higher mathematics. In 1870 he took charge of the Hungerford Collegiate institute at Adams, N. Y., where he acted as principal for twelve years, managing the school upon an en- tirely new basis. He was appointed by the University con- vocation as one of a committee of fifteen to secure legisla- tion for a larger appropriation for the academies. The efforts of the committee and other friends of the academies resulted in securing an additional appropriation of $125,000.
In 1874 Mr. Watkins was given the degree of doctor of philosophy by the regents of the university. In 1878 he was elected school commissioner in the First district of Jeffer- son county, and was re-elected in 1881. In July, 1882, he was appointed by the regents State inspector of teachers' classes, under a statute passed in the previous month, and for more than two years he labored assiduously in reorganizing these classes. Upon the death of Dr. Pratt, assistant secretary of the regents of the University, in 1884, he was asked to take the position of assistant secretary - a position which he has
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ably filled. He was president of the State Teachers' asso- ciation in 1882, and was treasurer of the State Commission- ers' association in 1879, and its vice-president in 1882.
Dr. Watkins has written for the University convocation, papers upon "The State and Higher Education," and " The Teaching of Literature in Secondary Schools ; " for the Re- gents' Historical and Statistical Record, a "History of Teachers' Classes," and various reports and papers for the State Commissioners' association and for the State Teachers' association.
Dr. Watkins is still actively engaged in a noble work - the crowning glory of his studious and successful career - in ad- vancing the cause of higher education among our people ; and his earnest and constant efforts in this department of labor are receiving the warmest commendation of the most intelligent citizens of the Empire state.
Ervar Wampler
EDWARD WEMPLE.
MONG those who have graced the annals of our state in the wide, active and interesting fields of political service is the present efficient comptroller, Hon. Edward Wemple. He comes from an ancestry noted for their sturdy characteristics, their devotion to principle, and their love of liberty. Away back in the history of Holland his forefathers lived and labored for the best interests of their country and humanity. But their enterprise was not confined to their own land. They sought other and wider regions for the advancement of the cause of civilization and human progress. Large numbers of them sought out this goodly land of ours, where they found ample room to develop material resources, where they went to work with strong hands and brave hearts to subdue the vast, old forests, to establish comfortable homes and to aid in the erection of a citadel of freedom as endur- ing as the everlasting hills. Nowhere is this more manifest in the rural portions of our country than in the Mohawk valley - the civilization, wealth and resources of which have been the result of their early, honest, manly efforts. And it may be remarked that the old Hollanders were the first to establish free schools in our land, and to introduce the noble sentiment that all men are born with free and equal rights.
By reference to the genealogical records of the Wemples,
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it can be thus plainly seen that from the earliest periods in the settlement of this region of country, they have been iden- tified with the interests of the Empire state, and have always been familiar with its wants, its resources and its people in every condition.
In the year 1712 a Johannes Wemple, an ancestor of the comptroller, was one of the company to whom Queen Anne granted the Caughnawaga patent, which included grants of lands in the Mohawk valley. Other Wemples came from their old homes in Holland and settled in this new region. Inspired with the principles of civil and religious liberty they built school-houses and planted churches here, and caused the waste and desolate places to bloom like a garden all along the now rich valley of the Mohawk. More than a cen- tury ago a Mr. Wemple was one of the founders of the old Dutch church at Fonda, which stood among the earliest landmarks of religious devotion in this country. This an- cient church was taken down a few years ago.
The Wemples were noted for their patriotism here. Dur- ing the old French and English wars they bravely defended their homes against the invaders, and when the storm of the revolution broke with all its violence over our shores they heartily espoused the cause of the struggling colonists. And no one rejoiced more truly than did the Wemples of those revolutionary days, who were living in the Mohawk valley, when they at length saw the sunshine of liberty gleaming through clouds and darkness, and the star spangled banner of Washington and Adams and Jefferson unfurled over this new and rising republic.
On the 23d of October, 1843, Edward Wemple, the subject of our memoir, first saw the light of day, in the old family mansion at Fultonville, N. Y. At the common school of his
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native village he was taught the rudiments of his earliest education, and was afterward a student of the Ashland acad- emy in Greene county, and of the Schenectady Union school, where he was prepared for a collegiate course. He learned readily and was a diligent student ; hence he was ready for college at an earlier age than most other boys. Entering Union college, then in a flourishing condition, he was grad- uated there in 1866, at the age of twenty three. He was not long in deciding upon the choice of a profession, for during his college course the study of political and legal science seems to have possessed special charms for him. On leav- ing college he entered on the study of the law in the office of W. L. Van Denberg.
Mr. Wemple's father was at that time largely engaged in the foundry business at Fultonville, and needed the assist- ance of an active, educated young man to assist him in carrying on the management of the concern, and so he per- suaded his son Edward to relinquish his legal studies and enter into partnership with him. It just suited the active temperament of our young law student, and was an agreeable change from the close sedentary habits of professional life. He soon acquired a thorough, practical knowledge of the foundry business, and on the death of his father in 1869 hc continued it with increasing success down to the present. At the same time he was diligently employing his leisure moments in the study of political and state affairs, in which he was to become so prominent, exhibiting those qualifica- tions which belong to the right man in the right place.
Mr. Wemple entered political life as an ardent young ad- vocate of the principles of the democratic party, to which he has always adhered with an uncompromising spirit. He had scarcely reached the age of thirty before he was chosen
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president of the village of Fultonville, in 1873, and from that period we may date the beginning of his useful, active and honorable career as a popular political leader. He next filled the office of supervisor of his native town, in the prosperity of which he has always taken a lively interest. This position he held during the years of 1874, '75 and '76. In 1876 he was elected as a democrat, to the legislature, over David W. Shurter (rep.) and N. T. De Graff (pro.) and served acceptably on the committees of railroads, villages, and the library. He was re-elected to the legislature in 1877. Increasing in popularity, his party nominated him four years after the close of his legislative term in 1882, for member of congress from the Twentieth district, and though the district was a strong republican one he was triumphantly elected over Hon. George West, of Ballston, the republican candidate.
His congressional record formed a bright page in his his- tory, and demonstrated his capacity as a practical man, whose highest aim is not to serve party alone, but the coun- try at large. He served with credit on the committee of public buildings and grounds, and also on that of railroads and canals. He advocated the measures for securing better mail facilities, and took a leading part in the welfare of the veterans of the Union army, pushing forward a prompt set- tlement of their just claims. He also presented the measure of giving the president the power to veto separate objection- able items in appropriation bills, without killing the whole bill. The justice of this congressional act must be apparent to all classes, irrespective of party. But one of the grandest measures for which Mr. Wemple contended till it was suc- cessfully accomplished, was the securing of an appropriation to erect a noble monument at Schuylerville to commemorate
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the glorious and decisive victory over the British on the ever-memorable field of Saratoga. All patriotic citizens will ever join in honoring him for his works and labors of love in a cause so worthy and just. He never relaxed his efforts in the support of so grand and patriotic a measure; and all through his congressional labors in this line, in his eagerness to see a magnificent shaft rise high in“ massive solidity and una- dorned grandeur," he seems to have been inspired with the noble sentiment of Daniel Webster in his speech on the laying of the corner-stone of the Bunker Hill monument: " Let it rise! Let it rise till it meet the sun in his coming ; let the earliest light of the morning gild it, and parting day linger and play on its summit."
Mr. Wemple has always been a strong friend to the Erie canal, and while in congress he earnestly contended that the federal government should do its duty and provide for the maintenance and repair of the main structures of the free artificial water-ways of this state, which form an indispensable link in the chain of navigation from the great west to tide water, just as it provides for the maintenance and repair of far less important free natural water-ways in all sections of the country ; and that without affecting in the least the juris- diction of the state. This measure seems to be eminently just and proper, while it recognizes and honors the import- ance of the canal system as an indispensable factor in the great commercial interests of our state.
Retiring from his congressional life with well-earned lau- rels, Mr. Wemple sought the quietude of his beautiful home at Fultonville, among the friends of his youthful days, and in the enjoyment of domestic scenes. But he was not long to remain in the walks of private life. In 1883 he was elected to the state senate from the Eighteenth district, composed
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of the counties of Saratoga, Fulton, Hamilton, Montgomery and Schenectady. His opponent was the Hon. Austin A. Yates, and the contest was carried on with great determina- tion on both sides. Mr. Wemple won by a majority of thirty, and it was a striking instance of his remarkable popularity among his friends and neighbors that he should thus succeed in so strong a republican district, and with so powerful an adversary as Judge Yates. As a state senator Mr. Wemple added additional lustre to his already well-established repu- tation as an able, upright and patriotic citizen. He took an active part in the leading measures which came before that body, and while he always endeavored to sustain the honor of his party, he at the same time sought to advance the high- est interests of the commonwealth.
In the fall of 1887 Mr. Wemple was nominated for state comptroller, and after a spirited contest was elected by a plurality of 15,374 over Jesse L'Amoreaux of Ballston, the republican nominee, receiving the highest vote of any can- didate on the state ticket. Entering upon the duties of his new and highly-responsible position on the Ist of January, 1888, he has conducted its affairs with discretion and ability, faithfully watching over the large interests of the Empire state which are committed to him. He appointed Judge Z. S. Westbrook, of Amsterdam, his deputy, and the office work goes on with the utmost regularity and promptness. On the Ist of October, 1889, Mr. Wemple was unanimously renominated for comptroller, and after a hard-fought cam- paign, he was elected by a plurality of 11, 190 over Martin W. Cooke. And it may be truly said, in the face of all par- tisan opposition, that lie has been one of the most capable, far-seeing and popular comptrollers the state of New York ever had.
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