Onondaga's centennial. Gleanings of a century, Vol. II, Part 106

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 106

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Weaver, Caius A., Syracuse, was born in Verona, Mich., Dec. 18, 1844, was edu- cated in the common schools and in De Ruyter Academy, studied law with Hall & Chamberlain and Hunt & Green, and was admitted at Rochester in January, 1871. He has practiced only in Syracuse, where he served as justice of the peace about eight years. Aug. 11, 1862, he enlisted in Co. B, 122d N. Y. Inf., and served until June 23, 1865, losing his right arm at the battle of Fort Stevens, in front of Wash- ington, July 12, 1864. In 1878 he was elected county treasurer and served a term of three years. He is a member of Root Post, No. 151, G. A. R., of which he was com- mander in 1891, and was assistant inspector general in 1892-93 of the department of

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New York on the staffs of Commanders Poole and Cleary, each one year. Feb. 14, 1872, he married Ida C. Crouter, of Cuyler, N. Y., and has three children: Marian K., Georgiana, and Caius Edgar.

Smith, Leonardo D. V., Syracuse, son of Moses M. and Eliza M., was born in New Bedford, Mass., March 4, 1843, was graduated from the Boston High School in 1860, and spent three years in a commission house in that city. At the age of twenty he accepted the position of clerk in a similar establishment in New York city, where he remained six years, when, his health failing, he went to Kentucky. One year later, in the fall of 1869, he came to Syracuse, but about four months afterward removed to Binghamton, where he was engaged for two years as a commercial traveler for a large grocery house. He then embarked in the grocery business for himself and continued until Jan. 5, 1880, when he settled permanently in Syracuse, where he also conducted a grocery trade for eight years. He sold out and engaged in the real estate business, with which he has since been identified. He has been instrumental in developing the tracts known as the Helmer tract, Elmwood Park, Arlington Heights, the Greenway tract on James street, and the Hillsdale tract in the Four- teenth ward. On the latter he has erected a class of houses which property owners usually build for their own occupancy, or which a person of good taste would like to have. They are modern throughout, the designs are neat and attractive, and they are the first of the kind attempted in Syracuse. In 1867 Mr. Smith married Juliet V. Farrington, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and they have three children: Herbert L., Emma V., and Harvey F.

McBride, Charles E., born in Cincinnati, O., Dec. 19, 1847, was for nearly twenty- five years a commercial salesman, traveling all over the United States and Canada, and afterwards became a contractor and real estate dealer in New York city, where he was also interested in the manufacture of paints. le came to Syracuse in 1892, but did not settle here permanently until March of the following year. Since then he has devoted his time wholly to his, real estate business, in which he has been quite successful. He was married in 1872 to Sarah Virginia Graham, of Philadelphia, Pa .. and has one daughter, Jennie Louise.

Bradford Kennedy, Sons, & McGuire, Syracuse. This extensive business was founded in a small way in 1859 by Kennedy & Frizelle, who were succeeded in 1862 by the firm of Kennedy, Spaulding & Co., the individual members of which were Bradford and George H. Kennedy and Ross R. Spaulding. Under them the busi- ness spread over this State and into adjoining States, and developed into immense proportions. Their trade, exclusively wholesale, consisted of all kinds of shelf and heavy hardware, builders' and cabinet supplies, tools, etc. About 1893 the firm was reorganized and adopted its present name, its members being Bradford Kennedy and his sons, George H. and Harry L., and James K. McGuire. The latter entered the house when a lad, and in Nov., 1895, was elected mayor of Syracuse on the Dem- ocratic ticket.

Auer, Michael, Syracuse, son of John Martin (died 1853) and Mary (died 1867) Auer, was born in Switzerland on Dec. 10, 1838, and came with his parents in 1850 to Syra- cuse, where he completed his education. He has always been identified with the to- bacco business, beginning as a stripper, and starting for himself in 1865, when he

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established a cigar factory at Jamesville, which he contiuned two years. He was then a messenger for the Merchants' Union and American Express Companies for two years, and returning to Syracuse engaged again in cigar manufacturing in the Jervis block, where he also conducted two restaurants until 1873. Following this he was for three years yardmaster in Auburn prison, and in 1876 he established his present business of manufacturing and wholesaling cigars and dealing in all kinds of tobacco. The concern is now styled Auer & Co., and consists of Michael Auer and his brother, Baltiser Auer. Major Aner has an exceptionally brilliant military record. He joined Co. H, 51st Regiment, Hawley Guards, of the old State militia, in 1856, and served in that organization, the Washington artillery, and in Co. E. 51st Regiment, Monroe Cadets, until the breaking out of the war. Under the call for troops in April, 1861, he enlisted in Co. B, 12th N. Y. Vols., and at Elmira was made sergeant. He was promoted second lieutenant Feb. 22, 1862, and first lieuten- ant Oct 27, 1862, and was discharged at expiration of term of service, at Elmira, May 17, 1863. Returning home he secured authorization papers from Albany to raise a battery of field artillery, but decided instead to recruit and organize a com- pany for the 15th N. Y. Cav., which he did under Col. Robert M. Richardson, and which was mustered in Aug. 8, 1863, with himself as senior captain of the regiment, as captain of Co. A He participated in all the engagements of both the 12th N. Y. Vol. and 15th N. Y. Cav organizations until he was taken prisoner at Front Royal, W. Va., being wounded twice and badly hurt by his horse being shot in battle and falling on him. His company consisted of 118 men, and was recruited at a time when almost every able bodied man expected to be drafted. He had the only re- cruiting office at that time in Syracuse, and it was due to his efforts that the quota was filled and the city saved from a draft. He was kept a prisoner of war for about nine months at Lynchburg, Va., Macon, Ga., and Charleston and Columbia, S. C., and while so confined, on Aug. 30, 1864, was promoted major, but resigned, and was honorably discharged with that rank at Annapolis, Md., March 6, 1865. From 1866 to 1868, inclusive, Major Auer was special aide-de-camp under Brig .- Gen. John A. Green, N. G. S. N. Y. On April 6, 1870, he succeeded Captain Avery as captain of Troop C., 2d Bat. Cav. N. G. S. N. Y., which was converted Sept. 2, 1881, into artil- lery, known as the 5th Battery N. G. S. N. Y. He remained in command until June 2, 1893, when he resigned, after a continuous service of thirty-seven years, receiving a full and honorable discharge from Gov. Roswell P. Flower. He participated in putting down the railroad strikes of 1877, 1892, and 1893, being in command of the forces at East Syracuse in 1892. It was through his efforts that the State arsenal and grounds in this city were improved recently to the extent of about $20,000, and of that institution he was custodian many years. He has always been a Republican and for two terms served as supervisor of the Seventh ward. He is a Mason ; charter member and past commander of Lilly Post, G. A. R. ; charter member and senior vice-commander of Root Post, G. A. R. ; member of Phil Sheridan mounted division, and other branches of the Knights of Pythias and member of the Select Knights, A.O.U. W., and formerly grand trustee in the Grand Lodge of that order. Oct. 22, 1863, Major Auer married in Washington, D. C., Regina V. Umbrecht, and they have one daughter living, Nettie L. (Mrs. Charles W. Griffith), of New York. Mr. Auer is six feet, four inches high, and is a soldier through inheritance, his father having been an officer in the Swiss cavalry, and both his grandparents doing service under the first Napoleon.

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Schuck, Frederick A., Syracuse, son of Frederick and Elizabeth Schuck, natives of Germany, was born in Syracuse, May 22, 1854. The father came to America in 1848 and still resides in Syracuse. F. A. was first a barber and in 1880 entered the whole- sale liquor store of B. E. Handy, whom he succeed in the spring of 1886, his firm be- ing Schuck & Smingler. Five years later he sold to Mr. Smingler and purchased the interest of Col. Benjamin Higgins, of Higgins & Ufford, the firm becoming Ufford & Schuck, wholesale and retail liquor dealers. He has been somewhat active in local politics and served as alderman of the 16th ward in 1893. In 1889 he married Rachel De Busy, of Lyons, N. Y., who died in 1890.

Grumbach, Col. Nicholas, Syracuse, born in Detroit, Mich., Jan. 30, 1835, moved with his parents on May 15, 1838, to Syracuse, where he has ever since resided. Nicholas Grumbach, sr., his father, a native of Alsace-Loraine, France, came to America in 1828 and settled in this city and died here, but lived for a short time in Detroit. His widow survives him. Of their seven children only four are living: Mrs. Bruker, of Deerfield, and Col. Nicholas, George, and John P., of Syracuse. Col. Nich- olas Grumbachi was educated in the public schools of this city and as a boy engaged in various pursuits. In 1854 he entered the employ of Sperry & Hier as a cigarmaker and remained with them five years, or until 1859, when he formed a partnership with the late Gustavus Sniper, as Grumbach & Sniper, and engaged in manufacturing cigars. In 1862 he discontinued this business and enlisted as captain in Co. B, 149th N. Y. Vols., serving until his discharge June 16, 1865. He was successively pro- moted major, lieutenant-colonel, and colonel of that regiment and afterwards was brevetted colonel of U. S. volunteers by the President and Senate for gallant and meritorious services during the war. He became a member of the old Syracuse Grays about 1856, and when he enlisted in the army he was serving his second term as supervisor of the Second ward and was also captain of Co. E, Monroe Cadets, N. Y. State Militia. Returning home after his discharge he engaged in the business of manufacturing glue with Paul Birchmier and continued about two years, when they were burned out. He was then U. S. cigar stamper for about five months until that office was abolished, and after that he engaged in the real estate, insurance, and res- taurant business; he was at Albany in an official capacity about three years, was janitor of the U. S. government building in Syracuse for a time, was excise commis- sioner under Mayor Vann, and since Jan., 1894, has served as court crier. He was also alderman of the Fourth ward two terms (1868-69), was the organizer and first quartermaster of Lilly Post, G. A. R., was a charter member of Salt City Lodge, A. O. U. W., is a member of the I. O. O. F., and has been a Mason for forty years. Sept. 14, 1862, he married Emily Steiger, of Syracuse, and they have four children : Mrs. Carl Snautz, Mildred E., Bella C., and Mrs. Daniel Hummel.

Sager Family, The, Syracuse .- The ancestral home of the Sager family of Syra- cuse was Amsterdam, Holland. The American ancestors of George J. and A. Park Sager came over in the ships of Patrone Killen Van Rensselaer, and were among the earliest settlers of Albany Co., N. Y. They are of the stock of sturdy Dutch traders, employed by the West India Company, who settled New Amsterdam, and later, in the beginning of the 17th century, worked their way up the Hudson to the head of tide water, at Albany, for the purpose of adventures and commerce with the Indians. The family names appear in the annals of Albany as early as 1642. The struggles

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of the people at this period with the French and Indians present an interesting Lis- tory, and produced conditions which tended to develop the Dutch character along natural lines, and made a fearless, sturdy, honest, and industrious people. Munsell, in his Historical Collection of Albany, says: "Segers is the surname of a family in Albany which in early times was called Van Voorhoudt. Cornelius Seger Van Voor- houdt, the first settler, came to Berwick (now Albany) in 1642 and succeeded Vander Dunk on the farm called Welyesburg on Castle Islands." The records of Albany show the descendants of Cornelius Seger to have filled places of trust in the city government as well as the military service of the country during the Revolutionary and Indian wars. The first official recognition of Sager, as the family name occurs in the case of Thomas and John Sager, cousins, on the company rolls of the Revolu- tionary war. The lineage of the mother, Rebecca Smith Grote, wife of Jacob Sager, is traced back to 1632, she being a descendant of Symon Seymonse Groot, boatswain of the " Prince Maurice " and one of the early settlers of New Amsterdam, who in 1663 moved to Berwick and afterward to Schenectady, and who was probably the ancestor of all the Groots now living in that vicinity. In the winter of 1690, Fronte- nac, governor of Canada, with a force of French and Indians, raided and pillaged the then outpost of Schenectady. Most of the inhabitants were massacred. Among the thirty or forty captured were the Grote family, consisting of the brothers, Abra- ham, Simon, Philip, Dirk, and Class, who were taken to Canada. The next season the Grote boys were ransomed, except Class, who either died or was killed. Jacob Sager, son of George, and a descendant of Cornelius Segers and father of George J. and A. Park Sager, came to Syracuse June 1, 1847, with his wife and six children ; another child was born in this city. Jacob Sager died in 1880; his widow survives (1895) at the age of 84. Their seven children, all living, are Abraham H., Aaron, Catharine( Mrs. G. K. Collins), George J., Anna (Mrs. A. Becker), A. Park, and Emma / (Mrs. N. C. Hubble). Evert Seager, grandfather of Jacob Sager, was a private in Col. John Harper's regiment of New York militia in the Revolution in 1780. Thomas Seager, uncle of Jacob, also served in that war in the 6th company of the 1st regi- ment of special levy for frontier duty, and died while so engaged October 18, 1778. In consequence his heirs were entitled to five hundred acres of the military tract and on Sept. 13, 1790, lot 19 in Tully was issued to his sister, Syntie Sager. George J. and A. Park Sager received a common school education, and early entered upon their business career. George J. enlisted in the 149th N. Y. Vols. in Aug., 1862, and served until the close of the war, being connected part of the time with headquarters, 3d Brigade, 2d Division, 12th and 20th Army Corps. He was a member of the Army of the Potomac, the Army of the Cumberland, and the Army of Georgia, and was brevetted second lieutenant of N. Y. Vols. for gallant and meritorious service. To A. Park Sager belongs the credit of starting in Syracuse an industry which to-day employs nearly 3,000 people, mostly women, in and about the city, in the manufac- ture of fine hand-made knit goods in silk, Angora, and worsted. They are also en- gaged in the importation of goods in their lines, and have a trade extending from Boston to San Francisco. The junior partner of the firm is Frederick W., the only son of A. Park Sager. George J. and A. Park Sager married sisters, the daughters of the Rev. E. W. Thurston.

Cox, F. & H., Syracuse .- This firm consists of Frank P. and Henry E. Cox, bbb

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brothers, sons of William, who moved here from England about 1851, and died in 1893, aged 72; his wife's death occured in 1892. Of their six children only Frank P., Henry E., and Mrs. James A. Britcher are living. Henry was born in 1854 and his brother in 1857. In the fall of 1879 Frank P. Cox started in business for himself at their present location on the corner of Grape and East Castle streets, succeeding Peter Hax. Very soon afterward he was joined by his brother, Henry E., under the firm name of F. & H. Cox, which has ever since continued with marked success. For a time they also conducted a grocery store on the corner of West and Gifford streets. Their business consists of groceries, provisions, flour, feed, meats, and general family supplies.

King, John L., Syracuse, a native of Springfield, Mass., and a son of John L. King, sr., was born Nov. 17, 1849. His mother was a daughter of Chester Harding, the famous artist. After attending the public schools and Phillips Exeter Academy he entered Harvard University, from which he was graduated in 1871. He read law with Judge Gideon Wells of Springfield, and was graduated from Harvard Law School in 1875, being admitted to the bar of Massachusetts the same year. Coming to Syracuse lie studied law with Kennedy & Tracy, and was admitted to the bar of this State at Rochester in Oct., 1876. He has practiced his profession in Syracuse, first with Charles B. Sedgwick until 1883, and since then alone. He has been con- nected with the Solvay Process Company since its inception ; he organized in 1888 the Split Rock Cable Road Company, of which he has continuously been president ; and in 1889 he organized the Tully Pipe Line Company and has ever since served as its secretary. He has been vice-president of the New York Brick and Paving Com- pany since its organization, is a director in the Salt Springs Bank, and is prominently connected with numerous other enterprises. His professional and business life has been marked with almost unvarying success. He married a daughter of Charles B. Sedgwick and has two children.

Johnson, Hector Brost, Syracuse, was born in the duchy of Baden, Germany, in 1844, and came with his parents to this country when a child. The family settled in Syracuse, where the father died in 1851 and the mother in 1852. Thus orphaned and and thrown upon his own resources at the early age of eight years the lad developed qualities of self-reliance which characterized his after life and won for him the confi- dence and esteem of all good citizens. Soon after the death of his parents he moved to Brewerton, where he lived until a few years ago. He attended the public schools and finished his education at Falley Seminary in Fulton, Oswego Co., in 1863, and then followed farming until about 1870, when he became a general merchant at Brewerton. He served the town of Cicero as excise commissioner and supervisor, being elected to the latter office in 1883 and serving four terms, and being chairman of the committees on justices' accounts and on equalization, and was chairman of the board, third term. He was a member of assembly in 1887 and 1888, and in the fall of the latter year was elected sheriff of Onondaga county, a position he held from Jan. 1, 1889, to Dec. 31, 1891. He moved to Syracuse in 1889, and in March, 1892, was appointed commissioner of public works by Mayor Amos and re-appointed by him in 1894, holding the office at the time of his death, which occurred in Syracuse on Aug. 24, 1895. In 1873 he married Miss Addie J. Greenleaf, daughter of Dr. Greenleaf, of Brewerton, who with two children, Herbert and Ione, survive him.

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Mr. Johnson was a member of Red Cross Lodge F. & A. M., of Brewerton, and Cen- tral City Commandery K. T., and Syracuse City Lodge K. P., of Syracuse.

Clark, Perry W., Marcellus, was born Sept. 19, 1855, in Skaneateles, son of Chester and Laura Clark. Chester was born in Connecticut and removed to Skaneateles, where he conducted a farm up to the time of his death. He took a prominent part in politics, in which he was deeply interested. He died in Feb., 1876. Perry W. Clark was educated in Skaneateles and moved to Marcellus in 1882, where he has since resided. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Owen and Sarah Cavanaugh, of Syracuse, and they have had four children, three now living: Chester O., Howard I., and Marion Grace. Mr. Clark's homestead is located about one mile from the village on a remarkably commanding site, which affords a handsome view of the village and surrounding country.

Gibbons, P. J., A. M., M. D., Syracuse, was born in Honesdale, Pa., May 10, 1861, and is a son of Myles F. Gibbons, one of the first locomotive and civil engineers in America, who was born in Delaware, and who, until his death in 1886, was con- nected with the D. & H. Canal Co. Dr. Gibbons was educated in the public schools, the Honesdale Academy, University of Pennsylvania, the State Normal School of Amawalk, N. Y., and in 1883 was graduated from the University of Ottawa, Canada, with the degree of B. A. He entered in 1883 Bellevue Ilospital Medical College in New York city, from which he was graduated as M. D. in 1886. He then went to Philadelphia and was endorsed by the University of Pennsylvania and the Jefferson Medical College, and in the fall of 1886 began the practice of his profession in the coal regions of that State, being located at Pittston, where he remained four years. He also practiced in hospitals and colleges in New York, where his brother, Dr. Richard H. Gibbons, is a prominent physician and surgeon. In Nov., 1890, he re- moved to Syracuse, where he has since resided, making a specialty of the nose and throat, for the treatment of which he has invented several appliances. In 1894 the University of Ottawa conferred upon him the degree of M.A. Dr. Gibbons is a man of unusual scientific attainments. He has frequently contributed articles on techni- cal subjects to the leading medical journals, notably on "The Treatment of Nasal Stenosis by Means of a New Intranasal Tube," "An Adenotome for the Removal of Adenoid Growth in the Vault of the Pharynx," "A Method for Resuscitation from Electric Shocks," etc. The latter has made him famous throughout the world, and within thirty days was copied in almost every language on the globe. In connection with it he invented an apparatus to carry on artificial respiration for an indefinite period of time, which has been adopted by the Johns Hopkins University, the Belle- vue Hospital Medical College, and other prominent institutions. To him belongs the honor of first advancing the theory of resuscitation from electric shocks. He was also the first to claim that suicide is a disease and proclaimed that opinion in a neatly bound volume. He is the inventor of a self-acting electric chair, one of the most unique devices of the time. Dr. Gibbons has kept abreast and frequently ahead of his profession, and has missed no opportunity to avail himself of the latest and best modes of treatment. He took special private courses under Prof. Edward G. Jane- way, M. D., Prof. Frederick S. Dennis, M. D., and Drs. Solace G. Mitchell, Charles A. and R. Ogden Doremus, and Frank H. Bosworth. He is a member of the Ameri- can Medical Association, the Pennsylvania State and Lehigh Valley Medical Socie-

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ties, and the Luzerne County Medical Society, and visitor to the Congress of Ameri- can Physicians and Surgeons. In 1888 he married Nellie E. Nallin, of Brooklyn, N. Y'., and they have one son, Austin Flint Gibbons.

Glass, Edgar P., Syracuse, son of Joseph J. and Sarah Eliza (Toll) Glass, and sur- rogate of Onondaga Co., was born in Canton (now Memphis), in the town of Van Buren, Feb. 23, 1849. His grandfather, James Glass, came from County Armagh, Ireland, and settled in what is now Elbridge, in 1807, where he died in 1866. Joseph J. was born in that town Dec. 5, 1810, and for many years carried on a large mer- cantile and grain business at Memphis. He moved to Syracuse in 1858, and died March 28, 1878, being the father of nine children. First a Whig and then a Repub- lican, he was prominent in local politics, and in 1849 represented the first district of Onondaga Co. in the Assembly. Edgar P. Glass attended the Syracuse public and High Schools, and was graduated from the University of Rochester in 1869. He read law in Syracuse with Sedgwick, Andrews & Kennedy, and Sedgwick, Kennedy & Tracy, attended Columbia Law School, and was admitted to the bar at Buffalo general term in 1873. Since then he has successfully followed his profession in Syra- cuse. He was president of the village of Danforth from 1881 to 1885, inclusive, and in Nov., 1891, was elected surrogate of Onondaga Co. for a term of six years, begin- ning Jan. 1, 1892. In Sept., 1874, he married Miss Henrietta B., daughter of Benja- mın T Jessup, of Brooklyn. They have three children: Joseph J., Edgar P., jr., and Emily J.

Kennett, John Robert, Syracuse, has long resided in our midst, and is well known to the older residents of Syracuse and formerly Geddes, to be a man, honest and upright in all his dealings, and a total abstainer from liquors and tobacco, and a thorough mechanic. He was born in Maidstone, Kent Co., England, April 12, 1838. His father, W. C. Kennett, came to America, and settled in Syracuse, while his son, John R., was yet a mere child. Here the father remained until after the death of his second wife (who fell dead while crossing the Willow street bridge), when he re- turned to England, where he died in 1873, at the age of 84. John R. Kennett learned his trade as carpenter and joiner from his father, who was a skilled mechanic. as also was his grandfather and great-grandfather, in fact he springs from a family of mechanics of rare ability; and to his ancestors credit is due for much of the fine architecture of the cathedrals in England; and John R. has not dishonored their calling. He went through the largest carriage and wagon shops of Utica, as well as other extensive establishments of the west of Troy. In 1860 he started in business for himself, manufacturing wagons, carriages, cutters, sleighs, etc., in Geddes, now the Tenth ward of Syracuse. He continued to enlarge his establishment, until it was the largest one at that time in Central New York that, by machinery, such as sawing, planing, steam bending, etc., was done from the rough to the finish, turned out fine carriages, goose-necked cutters, wagons and sleighs. He also did a large business in pressing out by machinery salt pans and ladles for the Onondaga County Salt Companies. All salt blocks and mills at that time were running full blast. When his business was at this great height his future prospects seemed very bright. On the morning of July 10, 1875, supposed to have been caused by spontaneous combustion, fire broke out. The days previous had been very hot and dry and a strong wind was blowing that morning, and at that time there was no fire depart-

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Onondaga's centennial. Gleanings of a century, Vol. II, Part 106

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