Onondaga's centennial. Gleanings of a century, Vol. II, Part 104

Author: Bruce, Dwight H. (Dwight Hall), 1834-1908
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: [Boston] : The Boston History Company
Number of Pages: 1094

USA > New York > Onondaga County > Onondaga's centennial. Gleanings of a century, Vol. II > Part 104

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Kline, Jay B., Syracuse, was born in Ithaca, N. Y., Jan. 3, 1853, and received his preliminary education at the Ithaca Academy. After graduating as B. A. from Cornell University in 1874 he read law with Beers & Howard, of Ithaca, and was admitted to the bar at Albany in Jan., 1877. The same year he began the practice of his profession in his native city and continued there until the spring of 1882, when he formed a partnership with George W. Gray, as Gray & Kline. Afterward he practiced successively alone, as a member of the firm of Kline & Bailey, alone again, and with J. S. Ludington, as Kline & Ludington. Since May, 1894, he has been associated with Benjamin J. Shove, the present district attorney, as his assist- ant. Mr. Kline has been a prominent factor in municipal politics. He was alder- of the Twelfth ward for two years, and at the Republican City Convention in the spring of 1894 was unanimously nominated for mayor, and although defeated, made a splendid record against the successful candidate, Jacob Amos, in the ensuing campaign, one of the hottest ever waged in Syracuse. He is now district attorney of Onondaga Co. As a lawyer he ranks among the foremost in the county. Oct. 25,

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1877, he married Jennie E. Seaman, of Ithaca, and they have four daughters: Alice Emma, Winnie Belle, Louise Seaman, and Mildred Ethel.

Sweet, William A., Syracuse, son of Horace Sweet and Candace Avery, was born in Pompey, Onondaga Co., Oct. 12, 1830, and received a common school and academic education in his native town. Remaining on the paternal farm until 18 years of age he then learned the blacksmith's trade at Woodville, a little hamlet one and one-half miles south of Manlius village, and afterward carried on blacksmithing at Watervale till about 1853, when he came to Syracuse and engaged in manufactur- ing guns in partnership with William Malcolm. Soon afterward he returned to Watervale and followed machine work about two years. On Oct. 1, 1858, he again came to Syracuse and with John E. and Avery A. Sweet and Charles E. Bates, a brother-in-law, organized the firm of Sweet Brothers & Co. They established a machine shop where Greenway's office now stands, and also manufactured agricul- tural implements, tools, etc. In the fall of 1859 John E. Sweet and Mr. Bates with- drew, and one year later the firm moved to the Fifth ward, took in William B. Cogs- well as a partner, and established the Ceresian Cutter Works, and established and built the works now owned and operated by the Whitman & Barnes Manufacturing Company, and also the plant on the west side of South West street, now conducted by the Sweet's Manufacturing Company. In the fall of 1864 the firm of Sweet, Barnes & Co was incorporated, and at that time employed about 300 hands. Be- tween 1860 and 1868 the works were enlarged to meet the constantly increasing business, which consisted of the manufacture of mowing machine knives, edged tools, etc., which had been started in a small way before the removal. In March, 1868, W. A. Sweet sold out his interest in the establishment, taking what were known as the steel works, which he continued alone until October, when, with George W. Harwood, he formed the firm of W. A. Sweet & Co., which carried on the business until 1873, when the Sweet's Manufacturing Company was organized and incor- porated, with Mr. Sweet as president and general manager, positions he has ever since held. The present capital is $500,000 and some 300 men are employed. The plant between South West street and the creek was built in 1884 and enlarged in 1893-95. This is the largest manufacturing concern of the kind in Central New York. Mr. Sweet was one of the incorporators and for ten years a director of the Solvay Process Company, and has been actively identified with various other enter- prises. His personal connection with the Salmon River water project is well re- membered, and to him in large measure is due the credit of keeping alive and strenuously forwarding the agitation which resulted in perfecting the constitutional rights of and securing the present municipal water system. He has also been specially active in promoting the movement for better roads, and was president of the New York State Road Improvement Association during its existence. In furthering each of these as well as many other public enterprises he has written and published numerous articles which have commanded wide attention. No man has been more alive to the advancement of the community. Public spirited, enter- prising, and benevolent, he has ever been foremost in every project promising gen- eral benefit.

Durston, Rev. Alfred S., Syracuse, general secretary of the Young Men's Chris- tian Association in Syracuse, was born in Somersetshire, England, May 1, 1848, be-

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ing the youngest of seven children. His mother died when he was eleven months old and his father's death occurred about two years later, thus leaving him an orphan. He was soon afterward brought to America by two elder sisters and for a time found a home with his uncle, William Stokes, in Marcellus, Onondaga county, but was subsequently bound out to Corydon North, of that town, until he attained the age of twenty-one years. Here he worked on the farm summers and attended district school winters. He prepared for college at Munro Collegiate Institute in Elbridge and Cazenovia Seminary, and spent a short period as teacher and principal in the schools at Mexico, Ind., Cayuga, and Marcellus village. In 1873 he entered Syracuse University, joined the Psi Upsilon fraternity, and was a member of the class of 1877. Choosing the ministry as his profession he filled pastorates in Syra- cuse, Berlin, Mass., and Borodino, and in 1883 received a unanimous call to become general secretary of the Y. M. C. A. of Syracuse. The call was accepted, and since then Mr. Durston has consecrated himself to the work. He is an ardent Republican and an earnest Christian, a member of the Methodist church, and an able defender of the cause of total abstinence. As a member of the I. O. of G. T. he has been grand chaplain of this State for two terms. In 1891 he was sent as a delegate by the International Committee to the World's Convention of the Y. M. C. A., and also represented the American Association at Amsterdam, Holland, in August of that year. In 1894 he was a delegate to the World's Jubilee at London. November 22, 1887, he married Florence M., daughter of James W. Wilson, a prominent wholesale and retail dry goods merchant in Ogdensburg, N. Y. They have two children: Mary A. and James Alfred.

Snow, Charles Wesley, Syracuse, second of twelve children of Hiram and Alidar Ann (Squier) Snow, was born in Peterboro, Madison Co., N. Y., March 11, 1835, and removed with the family to Messina Springs when an infant and thence to Syracuse in 1840, where the father died in 1854 and the mother in 1889. His education was obtained in the public schools of this city. On April 1, 1850, he became a clerk in the drug store of W. B. Tobey, in the old Granger block, and four years later was taken into partnership, an arrangement that continued until 1866, when the firm dis- solved. Mr. Snow then opened a drug store at old No. 28 East Genesee street, where he established his present wholesale and retail business, and where he re- mained with unvarying success for twenty-two years, purchasing the block and sub- stantially rebuilding it. In 1888 he completed his present lofty brick and iron fire- proof building in Warren street, and there the firm of C. W. Snow & Co. has since carried on an extensive wholesale and retail drug trade. He has been a director in the First National Bank since 1887, is a trustee in the Onondaga County Savings Bank, a member and trustee of the Unitarian church, and for many years has been prominently connected with various benevolent and charitable institutions. Oct. 20, 1863, he married Miss Harriet L., only daughter of Dr. Nelson C. Powers, and they have two children: Nelson P., born Dec. 9, 1868, and Carrie L., born Oct. 15, 1874.

Freeman, Hoyt H., Syracuse, is a native of the First ward of Syracuse and was born Aug. 3, 1841. Albert Freeman, his father, was born in the town of Sturbridge, Worcester Co., Mass., April 10, 1809, was in early life a school teacher, and came from Massachusetts to St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., and thence to Syracuse, where he became one of the earliest salt manufacturers, a business he continued until his death in

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1886, at the age of 76. He married Sarah A. Johnson Feb, 3, 1839, and they had seven children: Florence (Mrs. Adelbert Hills), matron of the Onondaga County Orphan Asylum; Hoyt H., and Sarah A. (Mrs. N. S. Robens), of Syracuse ; Estella (Mrs. William Ranney), deceased; two who died in infancy; and Horace P., of this city. Hoyt H. Freeman, after attending the public schools of Syracuse, began ac- tive life as a dealer in grain and salt during the Rebellion. He has always been identified with the salt industry, especially with its manufacture, and in recent years has been the only person in the city to make and sell fine salt outside of the salt companies. For about twelve years he has been associated with H. H. Loomis, as Freeman & Loomis, in the manufacture of willow clothes baskets. He was one of the originators of the old Kirkpatrick Association, which was formed for the purpose of buying and selling real estate in the First ward. In politics Mr. Freeman has long been a prominent and an active Republican. He was supervisor of the First ward in 1879 and 1880 and alderman in 1884, and was appointed by Mayor Cowie the first commissioner of public works, under a new law creating that office, and held the position two years. In December, 1895, was appointed fire marshal by Mayor Amos for a term of four years. He has been Republican County Committee- man from the First ward for the past ten years, and was chairman of that committee in 1888, when President Harrison was elected, and in 1894, when Levi P. Morton was elected governor of the State. He was president of the First Ward Social club during the second year of its existence, has been president of the Board of Trustees of the First Ward Presbyterian church for twelve years, and was one of the incorpo- rators of the North Side Business Men's Association, of which he is secretary and treasurer. In Feb., 1867, he married Irene C., daughter of the late Henry T. Kennedy, brother of Judge Kennedy, who died in March, 1887. Their children were Elizabeth K., a graduate of Miss Brown's school in New York; Florence I., a gradu- ate of Miss Brown's school in Cleveland, Ohio; and Norman E. and Julia B., stu- dents at Keble School in Syracuse. His second wife was Emma A., daughter of Miles Brown of this city, who died ten weeks after their marriage. Dec. 4, 1894, he married (third) Marian M. Campbell, a native of Toronto, Canada, and for about fourteen years assistant matron of the Onondaga County Orphan Asylum in Syra- cuse.

Nettleton, Albert E., Syracuse, born in Fulton, Oswego Co., Oct. 29, 1850, is a son of Edward Nettleton, who about 1837 established one of the first boot and shoe stores in that village, and who died in 1864, being succeeded by his sons Franklin E. and Samuel W. He was graduated from Falley Seminary in Fulton in 1869, and then became a clerk in the above store, of which another brother, Augustus C., finally assumed proprietorship. In 1872 Mr. Nettleton succeeded the latter, and still con- tinues the business. He also had a shoe store in Cazenovia from 1875 to 1881 and another in Lyons from 1881 to 1884. He came to Syracuse in 1879 and purchased the boot and shoe factory of James R. Barrett, and later formed a partnership with WV. A. Hill under the firm name of A. E. Nettleton & Co. In Jan., 1894, he became sole proprietor. He employs about 150 hands, manufactures men's fine shoes, and maintains a trade extending throughout the United States. He has been director of the Paragon Plaster Company since its organization in 1888, and of the Industrial Benefit Association since 1890, a director in the Empire Savings and Loan Associa-

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tion since April, 1892, president of the Fulton Paper Company since Nov., 1893, and trustee of the People's Savings and Loan Association since Jan., 1895. He is also a director in the Bank of Syracuse, and is heavily interested in various other enter- prises.

Smith, Frederick W., M. D., Syracuse, was born in the town of Lisle, Broome Co., N. Y., Aug. 24, 1858, and spent his early life on a farm. When he was fourteen years of age his parents died, and he was suddenly thrown upon his own resources. He remained on the farm and attended school as opportunity afforded, and was graduated from the High School of his native town. Manifesting a special liking for medicine as a profession he entered the University Medical College of the city of New York, and was graduated from that institution with the degree of M. D. on March 4, 1881. In June of the same year he came to Syracuse as demonstrator of anatomy in the Syracuse Medical College, but two years later resigned to devote his whole time to the practice of his profession, in which he has since continued with marked success. A Republican in politics, he was coroner of the county from 1889 to 1891, and in 1892 was appointed a member of the Board of Health by Mayor Jacob Amos. In July, 1895, Governor Morton appointed him a commissioner of the State Board of Health to succeed Dr. Florince O. Donohue, whose term of office had ex- pired. Dr. Smith is one of the leading physicians and sanitarians in Central New York. He is a member of the Onondaga County Medical Society, the Syracuse Acad- emy of Medicine; of Central City Lodge, No. 305, F. & A. M. ; of Syracuse City Lodge, K. of P. ; and of Syracuse Lodge, No. 109, I. O. O. F., and of Plymouth Con- gregational church.

Tracy, Osgood V., Syracuse, second son of James G. and Sarah (Osgood) Tracy, was born in Syracuse on June 25, 1840, and has practically been a lifelong resident of this city. His father, a native of Norwich, Conn., moved to Albany, N. Y., where he married, and came thence to Syracuse about 1834, where he died in 1850, aged 70; his widow is still living at the age of 91. Their children were James G., jr., Osgood V., William G., and Edward (died aged six years). Joseph Vose, the grand- father of Mrs. J. G. Tracy, served as colonel of the 1st Massachusetts Regiment during the Revolutionary war, being most of the time in Lafayette's division. The subject of this sketch was graduated with the first class from the Syracuse High School in 1856 and then spent one year in Albany Academy. After clerking in the Binghamton railroad general office in Syracuse and for E. R. Holden, coal dealer, he enlisted on Aug. 28, 1862, in Co. 1, 122d N. Y. Vol. Inf., was made sergeant- major before leaving Syracuse, and served until discharged in July, 1865. He was successively promoted second lieutenant, first lieutenant and adjutant, and captain, was brevetted major for meritorious services in the Shenandoah Campaign, and lieutenant-colonel for gallant services during the closing campaign of the war, and served as inspector-general of the third division, sixth army corps, Army of the Po- tomac, during the last year of the Rebellion. At the battle of the Wilderness he was taken prisoner, but escaped from Lynchburg. Va., and walked to Harper's Ferry. Returning to Syracuse he entered the employ of C. C. Loomis & Co., wholesale dealers in coffees and spices, and in 1867 became a member of the firm. In 1870 the name was changed to Ostrander, Loomis & Co., and in 1885 Mr. Tracy became sole proprietor. In 1893 his son, Charles Sedgwick Tracy, and John Hurst, who had

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been special partners since 1885, were admitted under the style of O. V. Tracy & Co. Mr. Tracy has been secretary of the Solvay Process Co. since its organization, and is a member of the Loyal Legion and Root Post G. A. R. June 19, 1867, he married Miss Ellen, daughter of Hon. Charles B. Sedgwick, of Syracuse. They have four sons: Charles Sedgwick Tracy, a graduate of Cornell University, class of 1891; James Grant and Lyndon Sanford Tracy, students in Cornell, class of 1897; and Frank Sedgwick Tracy, enters Cornell in 1896.

Barry James A., Syracuse, was born in Westford, Mass., July 18, 1849, was ed- ucated in the public schools of Harvard, Mass., and became a clerk in a retail dry goods establishment in Clinton and Worcester, Mass., after which he was associated with a wholesale woolen house in Boston for eleven and one half years. In 1878 he engaged in the hotel business as proprietor of The Highland in Belchertown, Mass. Following this he was successfully proprietor of the Messenger House in Cortland, N. Y., the Mansion House in Greenfield, Mass., the Osborn at Auburn, N. Y., the Edison at Schenectady, and others. May 1, 1893, he came to Syracuse as manager of the Vanderbilt House for the Vanderbilt Hotel Co., in which he was a director and one of the heaviest stockholders. December 14th of that year he purchased the company's interest in that famous hostelry and has since continued as its proprietor. Mr. Barry is one of the best known and most popular landlords in the State, and has a long practical experience, which enables him to successfully cater to the demands of the traveling public. He is a 32d degree Mason and a member of Central City Lodge, F. & A. M., and a charter member of the Commercial Travelers' and the New York State Hotel-Keepers' Association.

Fowler, Elisha S., Syracuse, was born Nov. 3, 1830, in Jacksonville, Tompkins Co., N. Y. At the age of thirteen, he removed with his parents to Huron Co., O., where, after a somewhat rough experience in the then wilderness, on a new farm, he spent some years at an academy in Fitchville under the instruction of Daniel F. De Wolf, later superintendent of public instruction of the State of Ohio. In the spring of 1849 he returned to this State, and on the 1st day of Sept., 1852, came to Syracuse, where he has since made his permanent residence. With the exception of the first two years he has been engaged in the wholesale millinery business, for twenty years as the senior member of the firm of Fowler & Lyons, and later of the firm of Fowler & Hovey. In religion Mr. Fowler is a Congregationalist, and in pol- itics a lifelong Republican. He is a member and at present one of the deacons of Plymouth church. He has had experiences in his business life that to a man with less perseverance might have been disastrous. One evening in the fall of 1865, after having gone to his home, he was decoyed by a note to his place of business, where he was assaulted, presumably for the purpose of robbery, which came near resulting fatally, and about one year from that time the perpetrator was more successful, as his safe was robbed of about $10,000 in Government bonds and other securities. While the evidence was not sufficient for conviction, the circumstances pointed clearly to the guilty party. Mr. Fowler's grandfather, Stephen Fowler, son of Caleb, of Putnam Co., came from the town of South East, N. Y., with his son, Stephen, jr., in 1806, and settled on the shore of Cayuga Lake in Ulysses, Tompkins Co. The wife of Stephen, sr., was Betsey Tompkins. Stephen Fowler, jr., father of Elisha S., married a daughter of Elisha and Elizabeth (Penfield) Savage, of Otsego Co., N.

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Y., July 8, 1857, Elisha S. Fowler married Emeline C. Wood, of De Ruyter, N. Y., a lineal descendant of Thomas Wood, who landed with the Pilgrims from the ship Mayflower on Plymouth Rock in 1620, and who had seven sons and four daughters, the former being John, born in 1656; Thomas, jr., born in 1658; Joshua, born in 1664; Samuel born in 1666; Solomon, born in 1670; Ebenezer, sr., born in 1671; and James, born in 1674. Her lineage is through Ebenezer Wood, sr., Ebenezer, jr., Stephen, sr., (born Nov. 9, 1730), Stephen, jr., (born Jan. 26, 1763), Levi, (born April 20, 1778), and Lysanias, her father, (born Aug. 27, 1809). Mr. and Mrs. Fowler have one son, Clifford W., and a daughter, Emina Eva.

Burt, Henry, Syracuse, born in Sandas, County Kent, England, March 28, 1824, came with his wife and three children to America in 1852, landing in New York on November 10th. The same year he settled in Syracuse, where he has since resided, being continuously engaged in farming and gardening, a business he began in his native country at the age of seven. He is a self educated and self made man, and has long been one of the leading gardeners in Onondaga Co. He owned at one time twenty-nine and a half acres of land in the city near where he resides, and also eight acres along South Avenue, where an old mill race formerly ran. For several years he has combined gardening with floral culture, and now owns twelve greenhouses, for which he invented a boiler for heating by hot water. Nov. 10, 1842, Mr. Burt married Harriet, daughter of William Barnes, brickmaker of England, and their children were Caroline (Mrs. Thomas Pankust), who died in Syracuse in 1865, leaving two daughters. Mrs. Stephen Burns and Mrs. George Glahn; Alfred, of Syracuse ; Henry, jr., who died on the ocean in 1852; and Albert and Louisa (Mrs. Philip Light) of Syracuse. Mr. Burt is one of the city's oldest and most respected residents.

Hazard, Frederick Rowland, Syracuse, son of Rowland Hazard, of Peace Dale, R. I., and Margaret Rood, his wife, of Philadelphia, was born in Peace Dale on June 14, 1858, and was graduated from Brown University in 1881. He then spent two years in the woolen mills of his native town, and in the fall of 1883 entered the em- ploy of the Solvay Process Company, of Syracuse, of which his father has always been president, and in Sept. of that year he sailed for Europe, intending to make himself familiar with the manufacture of soda products, and studied for nine months in the works of Solvay & Cie at Dombasle, France. In May, 1884, he returned to America and entered upon his duties as assistant treasurer of the immense corpora- tion in Syracuse, where he has since resided. In June, 1887, he was promoted to his present position of treasurer. He has also been treasurer of the Tully Pipe Line and Split Rock Cable Road Companies since their organization, and has been president of the Syracuse Athletic Association since its formation. He is a prominent member of the Citizens Club and is active in various other enterprises. He was elected the first president of Solvay village May 15, 1894. May 29, 1886, he married Miss Dora G., youngest daughter of the late Charles B. Sedgwick, of Syracuse. They have three daughters and two sons.

Blodgett, Frank H., Syracuse, son of Barton B. and Eliza Jane (Noyse) Blodgett, was born in Syracuse on Aug. 14, 1849. His parents came here from near Albany, N. Y., about 1840. The mother died in 1887. Barton B. first kept a tavern on the road to Centerville and afterward had a bakery in "Robber's Row" in the city for several years. Frank H. Blodgett received a public school education, and about 1870

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opened a bakery in the Downer block. Some two years later he moved into the Hotel Burns building and in 1887 removed to his present location in South Clinton street. Mr. Blodgett's is one of the best known bakeries in Central New York. Starting with scarcely any capital he has steadily forged ahead and built up a trade which rivals any similar enterprise ever conducted in the city. He has been a trus- tee of the University Avenue M. E. church since 1893, and is actively interested in all movements promising general advancement.

Quinlan, Patrick R., Syracuse, son of William and Mary Quinlan, was born in County Tipperary, Ireland, April 6, 1846, and came to America with his parents in Oct., 1857, settling in Syracuse, where he completed his education in the public schools. He spent one year in the employ of Cowles & Warren, proprietors of the Highland nurseries, and another year with Frazer & Burns, silver platers. He then returned to his former employers and remained three years, and in 1862 entered the employ of the late William Brown Smith, for whom he soon became foreman of nurseries and later superintendent of the floral department. In 1886 he purchased of Smiths & Powell a half interest in the floral business under the firm name of P. R. Quinlan & Co., which still continues. Mr. Quinlan is also interested in various other enterprises. He has always been a staunch Republican. He was appointed a mem- ber of the Board of Health by Mayor W. B. Burns and after serving one year re- signed to accept a seat in the Common Council, to which he had been elected from the Third ward. He served in that capacity two years. He was appointed treas- urer of the city under Mayor Amos's first administration and ably filled that office for three years. He has held all the chairs in the C. M. B. A. and A. O. H. and is also a member of the Elks. July 16, 1875, he married Miss Jessie Winkworth, a na- tive of Syracuse, and a daughter of David Winkworth, who was born in Kent, Eng- gland, and was one of the noted cricket players of this county. Of their children two died in infancy; Agnes Mary died at the age of 15; and Mary Agnes and Jessie Gertrude are living.

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Onondaga's centennial. Gleanings of a century, Vol. II, Part 104

Author: Bruce, Dwight H. (Dwight Hall), 1834-1908 Publication date: 1896 Publisher: [Boston] : The Boston History Company Number of Pages: 1094

Author: Bruce, Dwight H. (Dwight Hall), 1834-1908
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: [Boston] : The Boston History Company
Number of Pages: 1094