Onondaga's centennial. Gleanings of a century, Vol. II, Part 113

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 113

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Simon, Charles, Syracuse, was born at Argenschwang, Prussia, near the Rhine, Germany, Feb. 24, 1837, and came to America with his parents in 1846, settling at Liverpool in this county. His father, John, salt maker, died in 1849. leaving five children, of whom Charles and a sister are living; his mother Julia died the same year of their arrival, in 1846. The family started with about $1,000, besides the cost of the trip, but during an accident to the vessel on which they sailed the entire for- tune was lost. After his father's death and at the age of 12, Charles Simon, being obliged to seek his own living, apprenticed himself at the shoemaker's trade and at

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the age of 15 could make a pair of boots correctly. Since 1849 he has lived in Syra- cuse and since 1853 has been engaged in the shoe business within a block of his present store in North Salina street. He started with a small custom shop and grad- ually increased his trade until now he is one of the largest dealers in the city. He served two terms of seven years each in the 51st Regiment of New York State Militia, rising to the post of captain of Co. B, was one of the organizers and has been continuously vice-president and trustee of Woodlawn Cemetery in 1883, was city assessor for six years from 1868, and in the fall of 1874 was elected to the legis- lature from the third assembly district, being the first Democrat elected from that district for several years. He was the instigator and organizer in 1891 of the Ger- man Pioneers Association of Onondaga Co., of which he was the first vice-president and for the past three years president ; he has been a member of Syracuse Lodge, No. 501, F. & A. M., since 1863, and also belongs to Central City Chapter, No. 70, R. A. M., and Central City Commandary No. 25, K. T. He was one of the organizers of the Germania Brewing Co., of which he was the first president, an office he held about a year, when he made a tour of Europe. Upon his return he was instrumental in organizing the Crystal Spring Brewing Co. and served as its president for three years. In 1856 he married Katherine, daughter of John Poehlman, of Syracuse, by whom he had ten children, of whom two died in infancy and John C. died in June, 1894, aged 33; the others are Julia A. (Mrs. H. C. Everding), Charles J., Emma (Mrs. Joseph A. Timmerman). Joseph N., Carrie (Mrs. Michael J. Kingsley), Florence, and Frederick.

Stevens, Lyman A., Syracuse, son of Leonard, was born in North Fairfield, Ohio, Nov. 6, 1857, and came to Syracuse to live with his uncle, the late Lyman Stevens, when eleven years of age. Receiving his education in the public and high schools of this city he became his uncle's assistant in the salt business and remained with him until the latter's death in Oct., 1891. He then established his present real estate office, in which he has been quite successful, at the the present time devoting his energies towards the development of the Clark & Denison addition in the twelfth ward.

Tholens, John A., Syracuse, is a native of Holland, born in 1834, and came to America at the age of 16. Ile learned the trade of sign painter in Rochester, where he established himself in business. Hn removed to Syracuse in 1865 and formed a partnership with his brother Peter, under the name of Tholens Brothers, which continued until 1878, since which time he has followed his calling alone. He is the oldest sign painter in Central New York, and has long been recognized as one of the most artistic in the State. Hundreds of the finest signs throughout the coun- try attest the skill and genius of his handiwork. He was a member of the board of education for two years, being elected from the old 8th ward and re-elected from the 14th, and serving the latter ward as alderman for two years. He served in the War of the Rebellion until the expiration of his first term of enlistment, in the 1st Inde- pendent N. Y. Lt. Art. ; he was for several years chaplain of Root Post G. A. R. He is also connected with several beneficiary organizations, among them Syracuse Lodge, No. 164, A. O. U. W., of which he has been financier for 17 years, or since its organization. He married Josephine Ernisse, of Rochester, but a native of Holland, and to them have been born six children: James E., an M. E. clergyman

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living in Monroe Co .; William H., manager of a large shoe factory in Rochester; Ida E. (Mrs. E. S. King), of Lincoln, Neb. ; J. Henry, city editor of the New York Press; Edward J., entry clerk in McCarthy's wholesale store; and Josephine L., at home.

Johnson, Hon. Hector Brose, Syracuse, was born in the duchy of Baden, Ger- many, 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 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 confidence and esteem of all good citizens. Soon after the death of his par- ents 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 county, in 1863, and then followed farming until about 1870, when he became a gen- eral merchant at Brewerton. He served the town of Cicero as excise commissioner and supervisor, being elected to the latter office in 1883 and serving three terms, and being chairman of the committees on justices' accounts and on equalization, and was chairman of the board. He was member of assembly in 1887 and 1888, and in the fall of the latter year was elected sheriff of Onondaga Co., a position he held from January 1, 1888, to December 31, 1891. He moved to Syracuse in 1889, and in March, 1892, was appointed commissioner of public works by Mayor Jacob Amos and re-appointed by him in 1894, holding the office at the time of his death, which occurred in Syracuse on August 24, 1895. In 1873 he married Miss Addie J. Green- leaf, daughter of Dr. Greenleaf, of Brewerton, who with two children, Herbert and Ione, survive him. Mr. Johnson was a member of Red Cross Lodge F. & A. M., of Brewerton, and Central City Commandery, K. T., and Syracuse City Lodge, K. P. of Syracuse.

Mix, Charles W., Syracuse, son of John W., was born July 29, 1867, in Camden, N. Y., where he was graduated from the academy in 1882. The same year he came to Syracuse and entered the employ of E. C. Stearns & Co., and eight years later established his present real estate business and became interested in the Economy Foundry Company. April 13, 1889, he married Laura V., daughter of William F. Dada, of Syracuse.

Smith, William Brown, Syracuse, son of Job C. and Esther (Brown) Smith, was born in Brighton, Monroe county, N. Y., March 2, 1815, and was a lineal descendant of Rev. Nehemiah Smith, who came to America from England in 1630, and located in New London, Conn., where his farm is still owned by his posterity. His mother died at the time of his birth and he was placed in the care of Mrs. Jeremiah Maples, of West Walworth, N. Y., where he remained until 1828, when his foster father died, his foster mother having died some six years previous. His father had married and moved to Ohio. He then learned the trade of cabinetmaker under Joshua Hicks, of Walworth, and after his death continued with his son, Levi J. Hicks, in the shop and on the farm. When twenty-one he possessed a trade, a set of tools, good clothing, and $100 in money. After a canal trip to Buffalo he entered the cabinet shop of James Jenner, of Palmyra, N. Y., and soon became a foreman, and four years later had laid up $1,000. He then married Lucy, daughter of Gilbert Yeomans, of Walworth, and hhh

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entered into mercantile business there with his brother-in-law, T. G. Yeomans, but a few months later his wife died, and afterward he married Augusta M., daughter of Silas Boardman, of Westerlo, Albany Co. About 1844 he came to Syracuse, and purchased an interest in a small nursery of about five acres of Alanson Thorp on West Genesee street .. The business increased under various partners, and finally Mr. Smith became sole owner. In 1868 Edward A. Powell, who married his only daughter, Lucy C., became his partner, and soon after live stock interests were added, from which was developed the celebrated " Lakeside Stock Farm." In 1877 Wing R. and Judson W. Smith entered the firm under the style of Smiths & Powell, and in 1885 Anthony Lamb became a partner under the name of Smiths, Powell & Lamb. Later the Smiths & Powell Company was incorporated with William Brown Smith, president ; E. A. Powell, vice-president; Wing R. Smith, secretary ; and W. Judson Smith, treasurer. Latterly the nursery business has become of paramount importance, while more recently considerable attention has been given to flowers and hot house plants, the florist branch being conducted under the name of P. R. Quinlan & Co. Mr. Smith was largely interested in real estate, was school commis- sioner several terms and president of the board one year, and served as president of Oakwood Cemetery, vice-president of the Syracuse Savings Bank, director in the Salt Springs National Bank and old Syracuse Water Company, counselor of the Old Ladies Home, and trustee of May Memorial church and president of the board. He died March 10, 1896, at his home in West Genesee street in Syracuse.

Knapp, J. Wiltsie, M. D., Syracuse, is a son of James W. and Ann M. (Schuyler) Knapp, and was born in Geddes, Jan. 6, 1853. Walter Knapp, his grandfather, came from Connecticut to Onondaga Hill at a very early day, and for many years conducted extensive operations there and in the vicinity. He owned and carried on a large tannery, was interested in lumbering, and owned a large tract of land on what is now Park avenue, in the Third and Fifteenth wards of Syracuse. He was also an extensive land owner in what now constitutes a large portion of the Ninth and upper portion of the Thirteenth wards, and also owned a large farm just east of the city limits, where he conducted the "Drovers' Home." He was a well known citizen, active, enterprising, and progressive, and contributed materially in develop- ing this then timber-covered section. His first wife bore him two children: James W. Knapp and Mrs. James W. Seeley. By his second marriage he had several chil- dren. He died at the Valley, widely respected and esteemed. His parents were natives of England, whence they came to Connecticut in the eighteenth century. James W. Knapp was also an active man, and became a well-to-do farmer in the town of Geddes, which he served two terms as supervisor, and where he died Aug. 24, 1881. His wife was a daughter of Philip J. Schuyler, whose parents emigrated from Holland to the Mohawk Valley, whence he came to Geddes among the pioneers, settling on the Genesee turnpike. Mr. Knapp had five children, of whom two sons died young: P. Schuyler resides on the homestead in Geddes, and has served as supervisor of that town six years; Mrs. Emeline A. Babcock resides at Fairmount ; and Dr J. Wiltsie, the subject of this sketch. Dr. Knapp was graduated from Por- ter and Syracuse High Schools, and began the study of medicine with the late Dr. W. W. Porter, professor of obstetrics and diseases of women in the medical college of Syracuse University. He was graduated from the Albany Medical College in 1873

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and commenced practice in Geddes, being for the first three years a partner with his preceptor, Dr. Porter, and since then alone. He was demonstrator of anatomy in the Syracuse Medical College from 1873 to 1879, served as coroner of Onondaga Co. from 1879 to 1885, and for about a year during the latter part of Harrison's adminis- tration was president of the board of pension surgeons, filling the position left vacant by the death of Dr. E. A. Knapp, surgeon of the 122d Regt. in the Civil war. Ile is a charter member of the Syracuse Academy of Medicine, and for several years has been a member of the Onondaga County Medical Society. In March, 1884, he mar- ried Susan K., daughter of Alexander H. Henderson, the well known veterinary surgeon of Syracuse. They have two sons: Wiltsie and Matthew.

Hughes Brothers, Syracuse .- This firm was founded in 1877 by Charles and James Hughes, sons of James, sr., a native of Ireland, who came to America about 1845 and settled in Syracuse about 1848. James Hughes, sr., started a stone yard in 1850 on the site of the Phoenix foundry, moved it thence in 1861 to its present location in Gifford street, and died in 1869. He was an extensive stone contractor, and built the Onondaga County Savings Bank building, the asylum in Binghamton, and many other important structures throughout the State. After his death his stone yard, now the oldest in the city, was leased until his two oldest sons became old enough to assume its management. In 1877 they formed the firm of Hughes Brothers, to which a younger brother, Eugene, was admitted in 1882. They were all born in Syracuse. Their business of stone cutting and furnishing steadily increased until they became the heaviest operators in Central New York. They built the new City Hall and furnished the stone for the May Memorial church, the Howard G. White residence, St. Paul's Cathedral, and portions of St. Mary's church and the govern- ment building in Syracuse; the Paulist Fathers church at 69th street and 9th avenue in New York city; the Court House in Scranton, Pa. ; the government building in Auburn; numerous locks on the Erie and Oswego Canals; and many other buildings in the State; and also trimmed the governor's mansion at Albany. In the spring of 1891 the firm formed a partnership with Anson M. Bangs, of Fayetteville, under the style of Hughes Brothers & Bangs, and took a contract of the U. S. government for the construction of an immense lock in the famous Sault Ste. Marie ship canal, con- necting Lake Superior with Lake Huron around the rapids in St. Mary's River in Chippewa Co., Mich. This lock is 1,200 feet long and 100 feet wide, with side walls 45 feet high and a water lift of 23 feet, and cost $1,300,000. It was completed in the summer of 1895, and is the largest and finest structure of its kind ever built in the United States. It consumed upwards of 80,000 yards of solid stone. The firm of Hughes Brothers & Bangs is now constructing a government breakwater at Point Judith, on the south coast of Rhode Island, begun in 1892; two others at New Haven. and Duck Island, Conn , respectively, commenced in 1893; and still another at Petoskey, Mich., on Lake Michigan, begun in 1895. For several years the quarrles at Split Rock, the Indian Reservation, and Fulton, from which both firms obtain their supply of stone, have furnished employment to a large number of workmen, while their extensive operations have distributed immense sums of money among employees and others.

Burns, Hon. Willis B., Syracuse, only son of the late Hon. Peter Burns and Elizabeth Bates, his wife, was born in Syracuse, on May 28, 1851, and was graduated

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from Mount Pleasant Military Academy in 1868. Entering the employ of Frazer & Burns, manufacturers of saddlery and hardware specialties, he served three years in the factory, two years in the office, and on the road until 1877, when he succeeded his father in the business, which he continued successfully for five years, when he sold out to Frazer & Jones. In 1882 Mr. Burns founded the Syracuse Malleable Iron Works in North Geddes street, of which he has since been the proprietor. This establishment employs about 300 hands and the product is shipped into every State in the Union. He has been a lifelong Republican and active in politics as well as in manufacturing interests. He served as alderman from the Sixth ward in 1881 and 1882, and in 1887 was elected mayor of Syracuse over Thomas Ryan, the Democratic nominee, by a large majority. During his term the suburbs of Danforth and Geddes and other tracts were annexed to the city, Burnet Park was accepted, and the struggle for Skaneateles Lake water began. In 1889 he was sent to the Legislature, where he served as member of the Committee on Ways and Means, and on Taxes and Assessments, and where he was instrumental in securing the passage of the bill granting the city the right to take water from Skaneateles Lake. Mr. Burns is a lover of fine horses. He is a director in the Merchants' National Bank, and one of the leading business men of Syracuse.

Loftie, Henry, Syracuse, son of William E., was born in Auburn, N. Y., February 28, 1841, and came with his parents to Syracuse in 1855. William E. Loftie estab- lished a hair business here that year which he conducted until his death in 1875; his widow died in 1885. Henry Loftie, educated in Auburn and Onondaga Academy, became a clerk and later a partner of his father, and in 1860 started his present hair establishment. In 1887 he originated the bamboo business in Syracuse and subse- quently took in Bruce S. Aldrich under the firm name of Syracuse Bamboo Furniture Company, of which he was president. In 1892 the concern was moved to Baldwins- ville and in 1893 Mr. Loftie disposed of his interest. In 1861 he married Frances E., daughter of Judge John Wisner, of Elmira, and they have one son, Harry, who became a partner of his father in 1892 under the firm name of Henry Loftre & Son.

Esser, John C., Syracuse, son of Matthew and Catherine Esser, was born in Prussia, Germany, Aug. 15, 1838, and when eight years old came with his parents to America, settling in New York city, where he finally learned the trade of sculptor and carver, a business followed by all the family except his father, who was a tool maker for stone cutting. In June, 1862, he enlisted in Co. I, 71st N. Y. Militia, and served three months. In 1863 he came to Syracuse and established a granite and monu- mental works, first with N. C. Hinsdale, then alone (one year each), then with Cor- nelius Lenehan as the Oakwood Marble Works two years, and then alone again. In 1886 he took his son John Matthew into partnership under the firm name of J. C. Esser & Son and in 1894 the firm name became Esser & Co. Among the finer mon- uments which Mr. Esser has designed are those of Whitlock, Nathan White, and William H. Seward, and the Judge Lawrence and Redfield busts, all examples of art and great merit. Many others are equally as beautiful. Mr. Esser has been a member of Salt Springs Lodge. F. & A. M., for 20 years and was president of the Stone Cutters' Union for five years. In 1858 he married Mary J., daughter of James Connelly, of Syracuse, by whom he has had five children: Catherine E. (deceased), John Matthew, Joseph F., Lillie M. (Mrs. Frederick Bowman, of Canastota), and Sarah (deceased).

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Flint, Edward H., M.D., son of Leverett V. and Margaret M. (Follett) Flint, was born in Cato, Cayuga Co., July 12, 1860, and moved with his parents to Baldwins- ville in 1861. After attending the academy in that village he entered Halinemann Medical College in Chicago, from which he was graduated as an M. D. in 1881, and for two years thereafter he followed his profession in Baldwinsville; since then he has practiced in Geddes, now the Tenth ward of Syracuse. He is a member of the Onondaga County Homoeopathic Medical Society and of Central City Lodge No. 305, F. & A. M., and is the present school commissioner and physician of the Tenth ward and coroner's physician for the first district of Onondaga Co. In 1887 he mar- ried Miss Agnes, daughter of Thomas Andrews, of Geddes.

Denison, Howard P., son of Le Roy W., was born in Parish, Oswego Co., N. Y., May 28, 1859. He entered Cazenovia Seminary in 1876 and Greenwich Academy at East Greenwich, R. I., in 1878, and was prepared for college and graduated from the latter institution in 1880. He then spent two years as principal of a Grammar school in Portland, Conn., and in 1882 entered Wesleyan University, where he com- pleted his literary education. He spent several months of 1884 in Europe, and in the fall of that year commenced the study of law in Syracuse, where he has since resided, and where he was admitted to the bar in 1881. Since his admission he has been a member of the firm of Smith & Denison, devoting his energies exclusively to the practice of patent law. Oct. 14, 1886, Mr. Denison married Miss Bessie E., daughter of H. J. Hildreth, of Herkimer, N. Y. They have two children: Marian H. and Hildreth H.

Meads's Business College, Syracuse. - In or about the year 1857 a Mr. Kelsey estab- lished and maintained a Commercial School in the old Wieting block until the year 1862, when Prof. D. T. Ames, who had been in partnership with Prof. C. P. Meads in conducting the Commercial College at Oswego, purchased the Kelsey School. There was at that time in the block formerly occupied by D. McCarthy & Co., cor- ner South Salina and Fayette streets, the Bassett Commercial College, which was afterwards conducted by the Mead Bros. (no relation to Prof. C. P. Meads). By reason of the disturbed condition of the country from 1861 to 1865, many commercial schools suspended operations, among them the one in the McCarthy block. This gave to Professor Ames the field in this city without competition until 1865, when Bryant & Stratton, of unlimited fame and resources, established a branch college in the Malcolm block, corner Railroad and South Salina streets. The competition be- tween Professor Ames and the latter college became animated and at times de- cidedly fierce. This condition of affairs continued until the spring of 1868. Professor Meads, who became connected with the Oswego Commercial College in 1859, and, excepting the copartnership with Professor Ames for a period of some two years, was the sole owner and conductor of the college in that city until the burning of the Grant block, where his school had been located, with all desirable appointments, for several years. The fire destroyed everything connected with the material effects of the college, but with pluck and energy Professor Meads secured quarters in the Mansard block, and with somewhat crude appliances at first, had his college in running order, with the loss of but a few days. This occurred on the 9th of January, 1868, and the school continued in that location until April following, when a copartnership was formed with J. H. Warren, of Syracuse, who had suc-

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ceeded to the management of the Bryant & Stratton College in this city. A consoli- dation was effected, and the Oswego interest was brought here and combined with the Bryant & Stratton school. This arrangement continued for a short time when Messrs. Warren & Meads purchased the Ames College and moved into the rooms of the latter, covering the entire upper floor of the Pike block, corner South Salina and Fayette streets. In the fall of the same year (1868) Professor Meads purchased the interest held by Mr. Warren and the school was then, and continued to be for sev- eral years, the only commercial or business college in this city. In 1882 rooms were taken in Grand Opera House block, covering three stores on second floor and fitted up expressly for the growing needs of the college. Prosperity attended the institu- tion until misfortune came again in the shape of the " Fire fiend" on the night of September 13, 1888, which consumed the entire building and nearly everything it contained. This calamity, coming as it did at the very opening of the fall term, when every preparation had been made for a brilliant and interesting "opening," with music and an address by the new principal of the new Syracuse High School, Prof. W. K. Wickes, was most keenly felt by Professor Meads; yet not daunted- though somewhat discouraged, he went forward without delay and ere the smoke had ceased from the burning of the opera house, rooms were secured and school re- opened in the Washington block, corner South Salina and Jefferson streets. Busi- ness was carried on at this place with vigor and success until June, 1894, when the institution was removed to its present spacious and convenient quarters in the Clin- ton block, facing Clinton Square. Professor Meads has been a very active man and the hundreds of pupils who have gone out from his institution may be found filling the chief places in the counting rooms and circles of business, not only in the wide- awake city of Syracuse, but scattered throughout the country. Professor Meads, the chief character of this sketch, was born March 4, 1840, and was the second son of the late Rev. George W. Meads, who was pastor of several Baptist churches for upwards of forty years in Central and Western New York. He is a man of robust health, weighing 240 pounds, six feet tall and erect in carriage, and his hair being nearly white, gives to him a dignified and stately bearing.

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Onondaga's centennial. Gleanings of a century, Vol. II, Part 113

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