Onondaga's centennial. Gleanings of a century, Vol. II, Part 28

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 28

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ONONDAGA'S CENTENNIAL.

and acted as cashier ; in June following he was made president; in 1865 the institu- tion was reorganized into the Salt Springs National Bank, of which Mr. Howlett has continuously served as president. He was one of the incorporators and first directors and later president of the Syracuse and Chenango Valley Railroad. In 1880 he was elected a trustee at large of Syracuse University. He has been president of the Syr- acuse Gas Light and New York Brick and Paving Companies; a director in the old Syracuse Water Company (forty-two years), and Syracuse-Brewerton Plank Road Company; vice-president of the Charleston, Sumter, and Northern Railroad Com- pany ; and a trustee of the Onondaga County Orphan Asylum. June 19, 1844, he married Minerva, daughter of Leonard Ames, of Mexico, N. Y., and they had two children: Alfred Ames Howlett, a director in the Salt Springs National Bank, presi- dent of the Carolina Land and Improvement Company, of Sumter, S. C., and the prime mover in constructing the C., S. & N. R. R., mentioned above; and Augusta Adell, who married J. F. Durston, of Syracuse, and died January 7, 1896.

JOHN MARSELLUS.

JOHN MARSELLUS, one of the prominent manufacturers of Syracuse, is the only sur- viving son of Robert Osborne and Maria (Ouderkirk) Marsellus, both of Holland Dutch descent, and was born February 2, 1846, in Schenectady, N. Y., where his father, who was born there April 7, 1824, still lives. His mother was born December 23, 1826, and died June 20, 1895; of her two children Edward, the youngest, died in infancy. His paternal ancestor was Janse von Bommel Marselis, who was born at Bommel in Guilderland, Holland, married Annatie Gerritse, came to America about 1650, and settled at Beverwyck (now Albany), where he was for many years a farmer and innkeeper. There his children also settled, excepting Ahasuerus and Gerrit, who removed to Schenectady. The latter with his wife and child was killed in the massacre of February 9, 1690; one child, Myndert, was saved and was living in Schenectady in 1709. The line of descent to the subject of this sketch is 1, Janse von Bommel Marselis (the immigrant), of Beverwyck; 2, Ahasuerus, a cordwainer, who married Sara Heemstraat, and settled in Schenectady about 1698; 3, Johannes, merchant, born June 26, 1698, married Sara De Graaf; 4, Ahasuerus, born June 26, 1726, married Maria, daughter of Hendrick Vrooman in 1749, served as captain in the Revolutionary war, and was killed at Bemis Heights in Saratoga county ; 5, Nicolaas, born August 8, 1766, married Machtelt, daughter of Isaac Rosa, in 1788, and died August 12, 1848, having had born to him eleven children; 6. Ahasuerus, born December 28, 1788, married Cornelia, daughter of John C. and Maria (daughter of Cornelius Van Slyck) Barhydt, who was born October 3, 1790, and had nine chil- dren: John A., Matilda, Maria, Nicholas, Isaac, 7, Robert O., Henry, Cornelius, and James. Of these James, Nicholas, and Cornelius served honorably as volunteers in the war of the Rebellion, as did also Edward Forrest, son of Maria, who became first lieutenant under General Hooker and fell in battle near Chattanooga.

On his mother's side Mr. Marsellus descends from :

Jan Janse Ouderkirk, a cooper in Beverwyck, known as early as 1664, and prob-

John Marsellus

BIOGRAPHICAL.

ably the earliest settler of this name in or about Albany or Schenectady. He was commonly called " Smalle Cuyper." His son,

Pieter Ouderkirk, was married in 1704, in Niskayuna, to Alida, daughter of Johan- nes Clute, and their children were Johannes, born in February, 1705; Johannes, in January, 1707; Bata, in January, 1716, and Pieter in May, 1720. The latter,

Pieter Ouderkirk, born May 8, 1720, married Machtelt, daughter of Takel Heem- straat, June 18, 1755. Their children were Alida, baptized April 25, 1756; Takel, June 11, 1758; Maria, November 3, 1760; Petrus, April 20, 1763; Anna, September 20, 1769; Johannes, May 13, 1772; and Isaac. Johannes

(or John) Ouderkirk, born May 13, 1772, married Elizabeth Clute December 7, 1793, and had children, Machtelt, baptized November 24, 1994; Peter, born December 25, 1795; and Maria, born May 28, 1801. John Ouderkirk died and his widow married a Van Loan, who was an officer in the war of 1812.

Peter Ouderkirk, born at Guilderland, Albany county, December 25, 1795, married Susan Maria Winné February 21, 1817, at Schenectady. Their children were Eliza- beth O., born January 13, 1818; Follica W., February 9, 1819; Elizabeth, March 20, 1821; John D., May 10, 1823; Maria, December 23, 1826; Follica Ann, July 8, 1828; Edward Walton, April 15, 1831; Daniel David Campbell, January 13, 1833; Mary Ann Winné, September 12, 1836; Isaac Yates, July 14, 1839; Jane Helen Winné, November 15, 1841; and Henrietta Yates, September 12, 1844.

Peter Ouderkirk served in the war of the Rebellion in 1861 as a soldier in the 134th Regiment N. Y. Vols. His fifth child, Maria, married Robert O. Marsellus, as pre- viously mentioned.

John Marsellus received his education in the public schools and Classical Institute of his native city and began business life as clerk for John Xavier, a dealer in fancy goods, with whom he remained about three years. He then spent a similar period as bookkeeper for Young & Graham, booksellers, and Andrew Mathews, dry goods merchant. In 1865 he went to New York city to seek his fortune, and entered the employ of Thorne, Carroll & Co., importers of hosiery and gloves, with whom he re- mained seven years, rising from an humble position to the responsible post of book- keeper and cashier. In 1872, having acquired a practical experience in commercial affairs, he engaged in business for himself as the junior member in the firm of H. E. Taylor & Co., manufacturers of undertakers' sundries, an industry with which he has ever since been actively and prominently identified. Their operations had de- veloped and spread over a wide territory, but Central New York, after about five years, promised additional advantages as a field for manufacture. Accordingly in the spring of 1877 Mr. Marsellus came to Syracuse, then wholly unoccupied so far as their enterprise was concerned, and on May 1 started a branch of the New York house at old Nos. 79 and 81 South Clinton street. In the following year he purchased the business and became sole owner, and under his able management it proved suc- cessful from the start. It was the first and only industry of the kind ever success- fully inaugurated in Onondaga county. In 1883 the general manufacture of under- takers' specialties and supplies was commenced in the old Gere block in Geddes, the business headquarters continuing in South Clinton street.

In 1887, the operations of the concern having outgrown its original and subse- quently added quarters, the construction of a commodious brick building was begun on the site bounded by Van Rensselaer, Richmond, and Tracy streets, in the Third

ONONDAGA'S CENTENNIAL.

ward. It was soon afterward enlarged and has since furnished accommodations for the entire business and manufacturing interests of the establishment. The main building is 60 by 220 feet in size, four stories high, and is connected with a power house, dry kilu, barn, lumber sheds, storehouse, etc. The plant is one of the model institutions of the United States; there are others larger, but none better adapted to the purpose for which it was designed. Mr. Marsellus was chairman of the building committee, and himself was largely responsible for the plans and unexcelled conven- iences of this noteworthy plant. Here as many as 100 hands are employed in the manufacture of fine burial caskets, finished in wood and covered with cloth, and of a general line of undertakers' sundries, and in wholesaling cabinet hardware, upholst- ery goods, etc. In January, 1888, the John Marsellus Manufacturing Company was incorporated with a capital of $65,000, which was later increased to $80,000 and finally to $100,000. The officers were John Marsellus, president; F. S. Wicks, vice- president; Oscar D. Byers, secretary ; Charles B. Kiggins, treasurer, all of whom still hold their respective positions. These are men of recognized business ability, and to them is due a large measure of credit for their individual efforts. The com- pany is a member of the National Burial Case Manufacturers' Association, of which Mr. Marsellus is individually an officer, and enjoys a wide reputation for fair dealing, which has been built up on the basis of manufacturing and handling only the choicest, best, and most desirable goods.

To Mr. Marsellus is largely due the successful institution and maintenance of this important enterprise, which ranks among the leading manufacturing industries of Syracuse. Beginning with practically nothing save rare business ability and unusual energy he has by his own efforts founded a corporation which exceeds in extent and capacity many similar concerns in the United States and which as a factory equals or excels in completeness any plant of its kind in this country. His good judgment and sound business methods have placed this great industry upon a prosperous basis, building it up step by step from a modest beginning to extensive proportions, with a trade covering many points in New York and adjoining States.

Mr. Marsellus for many years took an active interest in politics. While engaged in business in New York he resided in Mount Vernon, a suburb of that city, where he was president of the Young Men's Republican Club during the Hayes campaign, and where he served for several years as secretary of the Citizens' Association, as an officer of the Reformed church and superintendent of its Sunday school, and as a member of the Volunteer Fire Department, in which he became an exempt fireman. There he was also prominently connected with various organizations of a literary, fraternal and musical character, being also for some time a member of the well known Franklin Literary Society of Brooklyn. In Syracuse he has been identified with the Young Men's Christian Association during the most of his residence here, serving for two years as its president and continuously as one of its board of man- agers. He has also been a member of the State Executive Committee of that worthy body. He has served as elder in the Reformed church in James street since 1878, being one of the youngest men ever elected to that office in that society, and has frequently been a lay delegate to the General Synod of the Reformed Church of America. In fact he has always taken an active and a prominent part in Y.M.C.A., church, and Sunday school work, a calling for which he has a natural taste and in- clination, and is vice-president of the City Sunday School Association. £ He is a

ALFRED E. STACEY.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

member of the Business Men's Association and was vice-president of its predecessor, the old Board of Trade, is an honorary member of the old Sumner Corps, and was the first president of the Commercial Travelers' Branch, a co-operative savings asso- ciation organized in 1891. He was also one of the incorporators and for a time a director of the old Empire Mutual Accident Association of Schenectady. He is past regent of Central City Council No. 383, R. A., member of the Onondaga County Anglers' Association, and senior member of Syracuse of the Holland Society of New York city, which he joined March 30, 1887. He has served as member of various campaign committees and as delegate to several political conventions. Ile is an enthusiastic outdoor sportsman, an appreciative lover of nature, and finds the keenest enjoyment in the wilds of the Adirondacks.

As a speaker Mr. Marsellus has frequently taken an active part at meetings of undertakers' associations and other assemblages, and on the platform has won deserved applause and recognition. His abilities as a writer were manifest at the early age of thirteen, when at Schenectady he was on one occasion reprimanded with others for wearing badges symbolizing patriotism and loyalty. Full of fire and love of country he could not brook this repression, and wrote a, significant article on the subject which aroused general approval. He has often contributed valuable papers to the leading trade journals and is the author of numerous articles on Y. M. C. A., church, Sunday school, and other topics, many of which have been read be- fore conventions and other assemblages. He has never sought political preferment, but finds time during a busy business life to devote to the general interests of the community, and conscientiously aids and promotes all worthy enterprises of an elevating nature. He is a man of strict integrity, upright, honest, and industrions, regardful of the rights and privileges of others, persevering, energetic-traits of character to which he owes in large measure his success and prominence.

Mr. Marsellus was married on October 13, 1875, to Miss Sarah A., youngest daugh- ter of Capt. Thomas Brewster Hawkins, of Port Jefferson, L. I. They have fourchil- dren: Irene Hawkins and May Winné, students in the High School, and John Carroll and Sarah Cornelia, students in Prescott Grammar School. Captain Hawkins, father of Mrs. Marsellus, is the only yachtsman now living who was a member of the New York Yacht Club in 1852. In 1857 he designed and built the noted yacht Wanderer, which for a time was the fastest sailing craft afloat. He has long been one of the best known sailing masters in America.

ALFRED E. STACEY.

HON. ALFRED EDWIN STACEY is a native of Elbridge, where he now resides. He was born January 20, 1846, and through all his life has been a citizen of this town. Not only has he been a citizen in the ordinary sense of the word, he has been active, energetic, straightforward, and always identified with the town's best in- terests. He was one of a family of seven children, all of whom were reared in El- bridge, and all remained in the county except James, who went in 1867 to Missouri. As a school boy Alfred E. was educated in the Munro Collegiate Institute, under the instruction of Prof. T. K. Wright, one of the foremost educators of the country.

ONONDAGA'S CENTENNIAL.

Upon quitting school at sixteen years of age he accepted a clerkship with A. Wood & Sons, general merchants in Elbridge. After a service of two years in that capacity he resigned and enlisted as a soldier in the 9th N. Y. Heavy Artillery, serving till the close of the war. He was the youngest member of his company, and in point of size probably the smallest, as he then weighed only 106 pounds. Three of his brothers were also his comrades in the Civil war, Anthony in the 19th N. Y. Infantry, afterwards changed to the 3d Light Artillery; after serving his term of enlistment and being honorably discharged, he re-enlisted in Battery L, 9th Heavy Artillery, with George, a member of Battery L, 9th N. Y. Heavy Art., and James in the 15th N. Y. Engineers. Alfred, Anthony, and George were with Sheridan at Cedar Creek and afterwards with General Grant at Petersburg and Appomatox. As a result of this service at Cedar Creek Mr. Stacey received two gunshot wounds.

After his discharge from the army in 1865 he returned to Elbridge and again entered the Munro Collegiate Institute, and afterwards engaged as clerk till 1869. At that time he formed a copartnership with Mrs. B. A. Wood and they purchased the stock and interest of A. Wood & Sons and entered into business under the firm name of A. E. Stacey & Co., this firm conducting the business until 1872. Mr. Stacey then carried it on till 1884. In the meanwhile (in 1881) Mr. Stacey bought the Rowe chair factory at Elbridge and carried on the manufacture of that line of goods. In 1884 he bought and consolidated with this the Sweet chair factory. So successful had he been in this industry that the old quarters became inadequate, therefore in 1888 he built the large and commodious structure which he now occupies for his factory and woodworking business. Besides this he bought in 1886 the large flouring mill and water power of Mrs. James Munro, and has now one of the most modern and best equipped mills in this section of the State. Energy and good business ability have won for Mr. Stacey success in a large degree.

He was a son of Richard and Agnes (Pierce) Stacey, who came from Somerset- shire, England, and settled in Elbridge in 1834. They were industrious and respected members of the community in which they lived many years, contributing to its thrift and progress, as well as to its social and religious advancement. Mr. Stacey died in 1863, his wife surviving till 1875.

While Alfred E. Stacey has been active and successful in building upand conducting his business affairs he has also given much valuable time and service in the interest of public affairs. Every plan that has been on foot for the betterment of the town and county has found him in hearty sympathy with its advancement. As a result of his energy and regard for the best interests of Elbridge, Mr. Stacey has built up the industries of the village, not only by increasing those of his own, but by inducing other manufactories to locate at that place.

In politics Mr. Stacey has always been an earnest, active Republican, always zealous in its interest and ever faithful to the trusts that the party has imposed in him. He has been honored at home by having been chosen as president of the vil- lage, as well as its clerk for several terms. He has also been its postmaster and was instrumental during his term of introducing the money order system, and increasing its mail service, thereby more than doubling the receipts of the office. Few State or county conventions have been held in recent years that he was not chosen to repre- sent his town as delegate therein. In 1886 he was elected to represent the Second Onondaga District in the Assembly, and was re-elected in 1887 by a majority of

JOHN Y. ANDREWS.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

nearly 600 over Hon. W. B. Kirk, after one of the hardest contests on the part of his opponent that was ever waged in the district.

During his service as member he was successful in securing the passage of the law which removed the necessity of indigent soldiers or sailors of the Civil war applying to the poormaster for aid or being confined in the poorhouses of the State. This equitable and just law is still in force in New York State.

Mr. Stacey was in the Assembly at the time Frank Hiscock waselected United States senator, and, like Grant's famous "306," he was one of the eleven who stood firm and unwavering till it resulted in his candidate's election. He served on the Committee on Railroads, and was also chairman of the Committee on Charitable and Religious Societies.

The Anthony Stacey Post, G. A. R., named in honor of his brother, was organized through Mr. Stacey's efforts, and it was through his influence it was located in El- bridge. Mr. Stacey has taken a deep interest in this organization, and has attended all its conventions. He is also a prominent member of the Odd Fellows, in which lodge he has occupied all the chairs; has been its Noble Grand, and elected to repre- sent the lodge in the State conventions.

Mr. Stacey's first wife was Ellen, daughter of David Gorham, by whom he had three children, Mabel C., Maud E., and one son, who died in infancy. Mrs. Stacey died in 1881.

In 1883 Mr. Stacey married for his second wife Jessie, daughter of S. B. Rowe, of Camillus. They have one son, Alfred Edwin.

JOHN Y. ANDREWS.

JOHN Y. ANDREWS was was born in Clyde, Wayne county, April 30, 1866, but has been a resident of Jordan since he was six years of age. He is a son of Gregory G. Andrews, who was born in Seneca Falls in 1836. Gregory G. Andrews spent his early life in his native town, but as he came to manhood and decided upon an occupation, his inclination led him to that of a locomotive engineer. So he began a service on the N. Y. C. R. R., and, after the usual preparatory experience, assumed the part of engineer on the main line of that road. He still continues in that capacity, being one of the oldest and most capable engineers in that large force of experienced men. They lived several years in Clyde previous to moving to Jordan, and it was during the residence there that the son, John Y., was born.

Mr. Andrews married Ellen Cullen, of Montezuma, Cayuga county, N. Y.

After moving to Jordan in 1872 John Y. attended the public school, and finally entered the Jordan Academy and completed a full course in that institution, gradu- ating in 1884. For the next two succeeding years he taught school in Elbridge, after which he was employed two years as clerk in the N. Y. C. freight office. He then entered the law office of M. E. & G. W. Driscoll, Syracuse, where for one year and a half he read law. In the fall of 1888. he began a course at the Albany Law School, and in 1889 obtained the degree of LL. B.

The following six months were spent in the law office of N. C. Watson in Jordan. That fall Mr. Andrews entered the law office of Stedman, Thompson & Andrews, in

ONONDAGA'S CENTENNIAL.

Albany, and remained there as a student till 1890. While there he was admitted to the practice, and the next July Mr. Andrews opened an office for the practice of his profession in the village of Jordan. Except for a temporary absence he has devoted himself to the law ever since. Mr. Andrews is fast securing a prominent place in the profession in the county. He possesses native ability in no small degree, and that, together with a large amount of energy and marked integrity, is sure to win for him a position of distinction.

While Mr. Andrews has been attentive to his practice he has at the same time been an active participant in the conduct of political affairs in his town. A Republican in politics, and active in the party's interest, he has become one of the recognized lead- ers in the town.

He was so favorably regarded by the townspeople that in 1891 they elected him to the office of town clerk, and that against a large nominal Democratic majority, and the significant feature of the result was that Mr. Andrews was the only Republican who succeeded at the polls that election. The same year he was elected police jus- tice for the village of Jordan, and in 1894 was appointed justice of the peace to fill a vacancy. In 1895 he was chosen as its party's regular nominee for that office, and received the almost unanimous support of the voters of the town Mr. Andrews is also a member of the Masonic body, being identified with Jordan Lodge 386, as its Master.

April 20, 1892, Mr. Andrews was united in marriage to Mary A. Broughton, daugh- ter of Samuel R. and Mary Broughton of Jordan. Mrs. Andrews received her edu- cation at the Jordan Academy.

They have two children, Marian Belle, born March 28, 1893, and Milton F., born September 3, 1895. Mr. and Mrs. Andrews are attendants at the Presbyterian church.

NICHOLAS PETERS, SR.

NICHOLAS PETERS, SR., for many years one of the leading German merchants in Syracuse, is a son of John and Margaretta (Schumer) Peters, and was born in Wad- rill, Rhine Province, Germany, August 24, 1824. He inherited those sturdy and thrifty qualities of manhood which distinguish his race, and which have marked his long and successful life. He remained on the parental farm until the age of eighteen, enjoying such meager educational advantages as the schools of his native village afforded, and afterward worked in grist mills in the vicinity of his birthplace. But his energiessought a wider sphere of activity, while his natural love of personal free- dom craved a land of liberty, and bidding adieu to friends and fatherland he sailed for America, landing in New York city unmarried and alone on August 9, 1847. At that period a move of this kind was a great undertaking, and especially so to Mr. Peters, who was among the first to leave his native village. He came alone and with no means, and found himself in this country among strangers. Going at once to near Boston, Mass., he was employed for one year in the Boston water works. In August, 1848, he settled permanently in Syracuse, where he first found employment with Bennett, Adams & Co. (David S. Bennett and Elisha Adams), storage mer- chants, grain dealers, and forwarders in East Water street, with whom he remained

BIOGRAPHICAL.

twenty-five months. He then purchased a horse and cart and for six years followed carting in this city. His habits of frugality enabled him to lay aside a respectable portion of his modest earnings, and in 1854 he bought of William and Donald Kirk- patrick the property on the northeast corner of Lodi and Pond streets. That part of the city was then almost entirely farm land, there being only two houses in the block. He very soon commenced the erection of a brick building, the first on the old Kirkpatrick tract, which comprised four blocks to the north and east. Here in 1856 he opened a small grocery store, which formed the nucleus of the subsequent business of Nicholas Peters & Co., and which credited him, therefore, with being the pioneer merchant in that section of Syracuse. This enterprise proved successful from the start. Within a few years he rebuilt, and from time to time added to the struc- ture to meet the demands of his ever increasing trade, the last and heaviest altera- tions to the building being made about 1874. Dry goods, then wall paper, and finally clothing were successively added to the original grocery business until it be- came the largest establishment of its kind on the north side.

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Onondaga's centennial. Gleanings of a century, Vol. II, Part 28

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