USA > New York > Onondaga County > Onondaga's centennial. Gleanings of a century, Vol. II > Part 33
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Dr. Wieting was born in the town of Springfield, Otsego county, N. Y., February 8, 1817. He inherited all the sterling characteristics of his ancestors and acquired in early life the commendable habits of his day and generation. Notwithstanding the meager advantages of the period he resolutely applied himself to study, both at home and in the district school, and readily secured a good knowlege of the ordinary English branchies. At the age of fourteen he began his active career of self support and for four years successfully followed the occupation of school teaching at Deer- field, Oneida county, attending in the mean time Clinton Liberal Institute during the summer, where he had a free scholarship. During that period he laid the founda- tions of his after life, which eventually developed into one of rare completeness. When eighteen he engaged as an assistant on the survey of the New York and Erie Railroad. Two years later he became a civil engineer on the construction of the Syracuse and Utica Railway. and continued in that position until about 1826. In addition to these duties he also surveyed and platted Rose Hill Cemetery, and estab- lished the grade of several streets in the then village of Syracuse. In these capaci- ties he was eminently successful and evinced an aptitude for civil engineering at once thorough and comprehensive.
During all this time, however, Dr. Wieting was the main support of his parents and their family. His father had been a wealthy hardware merchant, but financial disaster and ill health swept away his accumulations and compelled him to rely upon his son for the necessaries of life. Worthily and nobly did the latter respond, fulfilling his duties with filial devotion, and when success had crowned his efforts lavishing upon them all the comforts and luxuries that money could give. In this as in other similar respects Dr. Wieting manifested one of the strongest character- istics of his nature. He was pre-eminently a student and a scholar. Boundless indeed was his thirst for knowledge, and tireless to a degree was his search after truth. The sciences and mathamaties had for him a special charm. With extraor- dinary shrewdness he mastered their fundamental principles, and by patient toil and exemplary perseverance he acquired a thorough insight into the natural laws govern- ing the world and man. By the dim rays of a candle he poured over his books dur- ing the cheerless hours of night; unaided and alone he solved many a knotty prob- lem and familiarized himself with the difficult studies of development. His work was systematic, his energy indomitable, and in time he became imbued with the idea of expounding the thoughts which filled his active brain. According he commenced the study of medicine in Syracuse with Dr. Hiram Hoyt, and while thus engaged attended here a course of lectures on physiology delivered by Dr. Austin Flint, of New York city, which the latter illustrated with a manikin. This was evidently the turning point in his life, as it resulted in Dr. Wieting himself becoming a lecturer. He was deeply interested in the subject, and at its conclusion made Dr. Flint an offer for his apparatus, which was accepted. He borrowed the money with which to purchase the outfit, and in the spring of 1843 began lecturing on physiology and
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the laws of life and health in the smaller towns and villages of the Empire State, a career he continued with unparalleled success for more than twenty years. He gradually enlarged his field of public service by pushing himself into the cities and larger centers of population, not only in New York but throughout the United States, and everywhere met with a reception as grand as it was sublime. He also added by purchase to his lecturing apparatus until he possessed the largest and most complete outfit for illustrating these subjects ever owned in this country, it being valued at upwards of $18,000. As a popular, entertaining and scientific lecturer on the laws of physiology and hygiene he may properly be termed the pioneer in America, as he was the first to present the subject in a form attractive and agreeable to the masses. He acquired a national reputation and a foremost place among the eminent public lecturers of the world. Possessing great force of character, unbounded energy, in- dustry and perseverance, good common sense, and exceptional brain power, he was a clear reader of human nature and an unflinching adherent to his settled beliefs. An instance which vividly illustrates these characteristics of the man is best told by the following published anecdote :
"One evening in the Tremont Temple, Boston, the doctor noticed in one of the front seats a tall, lank, awkward-looking young man with a pair of earnest eyes, intently listening to the lecture. The doctor went thence to Philadelphia, and on the first night of his lecture in that city, in a front seat, sat the same awkward, earnest- looking youth ; and so, night after night, the doctor noticed him, and his interest was awakened. At last, one night after the lecture was over, the young man presented himself, saying, 'I'm a stranger to you, but I've listened to you many nights with much interest. Now, I have mustered up courage to ask a great favor of you. want to go to California. I have no money. I've not a relative in the world who
I can help me, and I wish you would let me have one thousand dollars, and I solemnly promise not only to return it to you, but also to give you an equal share in whatever I may have the fortue to make. I feel that I can accomplish something if I can only reach the country and make a beginning.' The gold fever was then at its height, which to some extent accounted for his unwonted enthusiasm and assurance. The doctor looked at him as he made this strange request, and finally said, 'I'm very tired to night and cannot talk on the subject, but you come around to my rooms to- morrow and we will talk it over.' When the young man appeared the next day, something seemed to tell the doctor to grant his request. The doctor was a practi- cal man, and that he himself should be so impressed to do so uncommon and appar- ently risky a thing seemed all the more strange; but he did. He drew his check for the amount, and handing it to the young man said: 'This money represents so much mental toil on my part. I began poor, but I have achieved success. 1 can spare this money now. You're a stranger to me, and I leave the matter between you and your Maker. I can lose it, but I shall regret to lose my faith in you.' The young man, with tears in his eyes, took the check and said, 'You shall never regret this act, if God spares my life.' The two parted. A few months later the doctor received a cheek for one thousand dollars. At various times after that he received other amounts until the sum grew to ten thousand dollars. He then wrote to the young man that he was unwilling to accept more, as the obligation had been trebly discharged. But he received in reply a letter stating that the writer considered it his duty to discharge this obligation according to the terms of the contract between
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them, and felt that the blessing of God would be withdrawn if he violated his word. He then wrote the doctor asking the further loan of twenty thousand dollars, as he wished to engage in a larger field of operation. Dr. Wieting's mother said to him, 'That's a scheme to get back all he has given you,' and his brothers also tried to dissuade him from granting the request; but there seemed a bond between the two men that could not be appreciated by others, and the doctor determined to advance the large sum, and did so. No tidings came for some months and he began to get anxious; but at last news came and money began to pour in on the doctor until he was the recipient of at least fifty thousand dollars. Later another letter came stat- ing that the doctor would hear from the writer again, but no tidings were ever after received of that faithful soul. It is doubtful if a parallel case, or one even approachi- ing it in dramatic or human interest, ever occurred."
Dr. Wieting was emphatically a benefactor to the city of Syracuse, where he came to reside in 1837, and became a large owner of real estate. On July 9, 1851, a fire destroyed a collection of buildings standing on the site of the present Wieting block between Salina and Clinton streets, and soon afterward the old Malcolm block was erected on the corner now occupied by the handsome brick structure. This building was purchased by Dr. Wieting, who greatly improved it, especially the public hall in the upper story. On January 5, 1856, while the thermometer regis- tered several degrees below zero, it was burned to the ground, and at the time the doctor was lecturing in Boston, the dispatch announcing the news being handed to him a few minutes before he went upon the platform. Walking calmly forward he delivered his discourse as usual, showing admirable self-control; afterwards he proudly and justly boasted that in his twenty years of public life he had never dis- appointed an audience nor kept one waiting. Within 100 days a loftier and a handsomer structure rose over the ruins, containing another public hall known as the Wieting Opera House. This became historic in the annals of the city. For many years it was the scene of State political conventions, and yielded up its popularity only when the great caravansaries at Saratoga bid for patronage. Within its walls resounded the eloquence of voices of national reputation-orators, states- men, politicians, lecturers, vocalists, actors, actresses. For twenty-five years it was the chief place of entertainment and public gatherings in Central New York. In war times it was often filled with enthusiastic and patriotic supporters of the Union, and during its entire existence was one of the leading attractions of the city. But this, too, was destroyed by fire on the night of July 19, 1881, and on the site Dr. Wieting at once erected the present commodious block, while on an adjoining lot on West Water street he built one of the finest opera houses in the State, and both bear his honored name. The late M. C. Hand, in his interesting volume entitled " From a Forest to a City," 1889, said:
" Dr. Wieting was a thoughtful and practical man, and in building his block did what apparently no other man had done in the construction of such buildings that was to study the wants of the people. Previous to the existence of this [the first Wieting] block there was not a public hall with a capacity sufficient for a town the size of Syracuse. He took this into consideration and fully supplied the demand. The ample capacity and elegant finish of the hall met the requirements so essential in places of amusement, for without these an entertainment of high order could not be fully enjoyed. By this course he made the upper part of his building pay him as
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well as the lower portion, and his block has always been a good paying investment. The first Wieting block was burned January 5, 1856. Dr. Wieting's energy would not allow an hour's time to be lost in constructing a larger and more attrac- tive building, and in less than a year he dedicated his new hall, which was much more elegant than the first. This second block was burned in 1881. It is to such men as Dr. Wieting that Syracuse is indebted for much of its thrift. He made his money to build his first block by lecturing in other cities. I think I heard the last lecture he ever delivered in his own hall, in which he gave a short history of the struggles and trials of his early life; how he overcame them all and continued to lecture until he had earned $100,000; and as he was speaking he stepped forward upon the platform of Wieting Hall and raising his voice, with much feeling, said, 'and I have spent the hundred thousand right here.'".
In 1875 Dr. Wieting and his estimable wife started on a tour around the world, sailing from San Francisco across the Pacific to Japan and thence to China, the islands of Singapore and Ceylon, India, Egypt, Europe and New York. He was noted as a close observer, and during this trip acquired a vast fund of information. During the remainder of his life he practically lived in retirement, attending to his large estate and enjoying the fruits of a successful career. In 1887, with a view of benefiting his health, he made another European tour accompanied by his wife, and from his return in November of that year until the day of his death he suffered severely from asthmatic and bronchial difficulties. A slight cold developed into pneumonia, and he died February 13, 1888, after one week's illness. His remains were consigned to the massive and handsome mausoleum which he had caused to be erected in Oakwood Cemetery. The press far and near pronounced touching and deserved tributes to his character and individuality, and gracefully acknowledged him one of the foremost men of his time. Two of the local papers contained respec- tively the following paragraphs:
" Dr. Wieting certainly took a wholesome pride in the city of Syracuse. It was at his hands that Syracuse had its first theater and later its first opera house."
"Dr. Wieting's keen intellect, his unique individuality, his sturdy physique, made him a force in this community, a noted character wherever he traveled, and seemed to insure length of days and continued active participation in public affairs.
All that he achieved he owed to his own tireless energy, wisely exerted to useful and successful ends."
His philanthropy and his loyalty to Syracuse found expression in the munificent bequests made in his will to the various charitable institutions of the city.
Dr. Wieting married Mary Elizabeth, youngest daughter of Hon. Samuel Plumb, of Homer, N. Y., who survives him. The mother of Mrs. Wieting was the daugh- ter of Col. William Coley, whose father came from England to America while William was still a child. He enlisted as a soldier in the Revolutionary war while a mere youth, serving several years and acquiring the rank of colonel in the Ver- mont militia. He was one of the company interested in the celebrated Vermont coinage following the close of the Revolutionary war and the records of the time indicate that he cut the dies from which the Vermont pennies were made. He was also one of the founders of the Grand Lodge of Vermont, and its first presiding officer. The closing years of his life were spent in Otselic, Chenango county, N. Y., where he died in November, 1843.
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The father of Mrs. Wieting devoted himself for many years to the practice of law in Chenango county, where he resided previous to his removal to Homer, N. Y. He became one of the most influential men of the county. He was an active politician and devoted to the old Whig party. He held the office of postmaster at Pitcher, Chenango county, during a period of twenty years, his resignation being greatly regretted. He was repeatedly elected to the office of justice of the peace and to various other public offices. He was elected representative to the State Legislature in 1840, which was an important period in our political history. He was ever a zealous advocate of all measures promising advancement to public interests. He died in Homer, N. Y., December 10, 1878.
Mrs. Wieting was born in Chenango county, whence her father removed to Homer, N. Y., principally for the purpose of educating his children. There she entered Cortland Academy, at the time one of the leading institutions of learning in the country, the curriculum being most exhaustive and thorough. She was grad- uated with the highest honors in both the scientific and classical courses at the age of eighteen. She is an accomplished linguist, an accurate observer, and has traveled extensively in all parts of the world. She is a frequent contributor to the press of Syracuse and to other papers of the State, both in prose and poetry. After the death of her husband she wrote a sketch of his life, together with a history of their tour around the world, which was published in book form by G. P. Putnam's Sons, of New York, solely for private distribution. It is a volume of 250 pages, handsomely illustrated, and received most flattering endorsement by the press. A copy was sent to the Woman's Library of the World's Fair at Chicago, and after- ward removed to the State Library at Albany. In the winter of 1893 Mrs. Wieting presented to the College of Medicine of Syracuse University the extensive and valuable lecturing apparatus used by her husband during his public career-the most complete outfit of the kind ever owned in this country. Since his death she has carried on the large estate with marked ability and fidelity to her trust.
THEODORE L. POOLE.
HON. THEODORE L. POOLE, Syracuse, member of Congress, was born in Jordan, Onondaga county, April 10, 1840, and when one year old came with his parents to Syracuse, where he has since resided. He was educated in the public schools of Syracuse, and when the war of the Rebellion broke out was pursuing studies to fit himself for the profession of dentistry. In the summer of 1862 he enlisted in the 122d Regt., N. Y. Vols., as a private in Co. I and when the regiment was mustered into the service of the United States, August 28, 1862, he was appointed quartermas- ter-sergeant. In the following September the regiment was assigned to the famous fighting Sixth Army Corps and participated in all its battles from Antietam to the final surrender at Appomattox. Mr. Poole was early promoted to a lieutenancy and at the beginning of the Wilderness campaign was acting-adjutant of his regi- ment. For "conspicuous bravery" at Spottsylvania and other battles of the Wil- derness and at Cold Harbor he was commissioned as captain and subsequently
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was brevetted major both by the State of New York and the United States. At the battle of Cold Harbor lie was severely wounded and after several months of suffer- ing in the hospital it became necessary to amputate his left arm to save his life, but he returned to duty as soon as he recovered his strength and mustered out with his regiment.
Soon after his return from the army Major Poole was appointed as assistant assessor of U. S. Internal revenue and while holding that office was elected county clerk of Onondaga county, serving three years. At the expiration of his term of office he became engaged in mercantile pursuits, first as a member of the firm of ' Poole & Hawkins and later of the firm of Poole & North and was also for many years interested in the manufacture of coarse salt.
He was active in the organization of the Consolidated Street Railroad Company, serving two years as its secretary and general manager; has been a director of the Bank of Syracuse since its organization ; is a member of the firm of W. A. Abel & Co .; is vice-president of the Engelberg Huller Company and president of the Em- pire Cotton Company.
In May, 1879, Major Poole was appointed pension agent of the northern and western district of New York and held this important office until 1889. In Novem- ber, 1894, he was elected a member of the 54th Congress from the Onondaga- Madison district, as a Republican, receiving 24,467 votes, against 16,307 for his prin- cipal competitor.
Major Poole was one of the first to become identified with the Grand Army of the Republic in the State of New York, has taken part in every department encamp- ment, served as a member of the Council of Administration ten years and in 1892 was chosen commander of the Department of New York. He was one of the organ- izers of Post Dwight, the first post organized in Syracuse, and was also one of the charter members of Root Post, No. 151.
JOHN J. PECK.
MAJ .- GEN. JOHN J. PECK, son of John W. and Phebe Peck, was born in Manlius, Onondaga county, January 4, 1821, and died April 21, 1878, in Syracuse. His father served some time at the harbor in New York in the war of 1812. He prepared for college, and in July, 1839, through Hon. William Taylor, was admitted to West Point in a class of over one hundred, of which thirty-nine were graduated one of them being General Grant. In 1843 he served as instructor of infantry and was com- missioned a brevet second-lieutenant in the 2d U. S. Artillery. In 1843 and 1844 he was stationed at Fort Columbus, and in 1845 at Fort Hamilton, whence his com- pany was ordered to Texas, arriving at Corpus Christi in August, 1845. During the Mexican war which followed he served with bravery and distinction, and won high honors on the battle field. July 27, 1846, he was recommended by General Taylor for brevet promotion for gallantry in the battles of Fort Brown, Palo Alto, and Resaca de la Palma. Being the youngest in rank and years this was the highest honor that could be conferred. April 15, 1846, he was made second-lieutenant, and
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in March 3, 1847, first-lieutenant. For "gallantry and good conduct at Contreras and Cherubusco," he received from the president and Senate the brevet of captain, and for meritorious services at El Molino del Rey he was promoted to the rank of major. His company was among the first to enter Puebla and the city of Mexico. The esteem in which Major Peck was held by his illustrious commander is expressed in the following letter by General Worth:
"CITY OF MEXICO, December 8, 1847.
" MY DEAR SIRS:
"I have desired my young and gallant friend, Lieutenant Peck, to hand you this, and I beg to commend him to your consideration and kind attention. You will find the name and services of this officer in an official account of every battle, save one, from the commencement of this war to the conquest of the basin, as the associate of Duncan or Smith. He is of our State and worthy of it.
"(Signed)
Very truly yours, W. J. WORTH.
"To Hons. Erastus Corning, John Van Buren, E. Crosswell, and Mr. Jas. Stevenson."
On his return to his native home he was tendered a public dinner and presented with a beautiful sword, on which was the following inscription: "Presented to Major J. J. Peck, by the citizens of Manlius, as a testimonial of respect for his gallant and meritorious conduct in the bat- tles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey, Vera Cruz, Cerro Cordo, Contreras, Cherubusco, Molino del Rey. Chapultepec, Causeway, and Gate of San Cosme, and City of Mexico."
In 1849 the government, through Senator Dix, tendered Major Peck the position of as sistant quartermaster, which he declined. In 1848, 1849, and 1850 he served in the In- dian territories, in New Mex- ico, and August 30, 1849, was engaged with the Navajoes, in Upper California, and in locating Fort Defiance, his spare time being occupied in preparing a work on artillery JOHN J. PECK. and infantry tactics. His sub- sequent resignation ended those labors. In the moves for the admission of New Mexico as a State, during the sessions of the convention, Major Peck was active with the committees, and strove to engraft free and liberal institutions adverse to slavery.
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In 1850 he married Miss Rhobie, the accomplished daughter of Harvey Loomis, of Syracuse. In 1853 he visited his old commander, General Scott, on the matter of his resignation, as he had done in 1850. The General said, "That while he lived (on personal grounds) he regretted the resignation of any officer who had been bap- tized with him in fire Mexico."
In politics Major Peck was of the school known as Hunker, prior to the union with the Softs in 1856 at the Cincinnati convention, and a strict constructionist of the constitution. He was a delegate to the National Democratic convention at Cincin- nati in 1856, and the same year was nominated for Congress and tendered a renom_ ination in 1858. In 1857 he was also tendered a foreign mission by Buchanan, but declined. He was a member of the National Democratic convention of 1860, and in 1861 was a member of the committee to escort President-elect Lincoln from Buffalo to Syracuse on his way to Washington.
At the breaking out of the Rebellion Major Peck tendered his services, by letter, to the president, and was also active in calling a Union war meeting in Syracuse. August 9, 1861, he was appointed a brigadier-general, and repairing to Washington was assigned to a brigade in the army of the Potomac. He rendered - signal service at the siege of Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, and Harrison's Landing, where he was made full major-general, to date July 4, 1862. For his skillful defense of Suffolk in 1863, he received the highest encomiums from his superiors for his good judgment during the six months in strongly fortifying the place, and for his gallant defense of the same when attacked by a much larger force, led by some of the most distinguished commanders in the Confederacy.
In consequence of ill health he returned home, and July 5, 1864, was assigned to duty as second in command of the Department of the East, consisting of New York, New Jersey, and the New England States. In August, 1865, he was mustered out of the service. At the time of the assassination of President Lincoln General Peck issued approriate orders to the department for observing the funeral obsequies, ad- dressed the great meeting in Wall street, and paid every respect due to the memory of the late chief magistrate. From the time General Peck assumed command of troops he was the source of justice and of municipal regulations, the protector of private rights of person and property. In his orders he called on Christian men of the north for ministers to give instruction to the living and Christian burial to the dead heroes of the war. On April 12, 1865, the citizens of New York commemorated at the Academy of Music, by appropriate exercises, the raising of the flag of the Union over Fort Sumter by General Anderson. General Peck was the president of the day, and delivered the address. In 1867 he organized the New York State Life Insurance Company, and was made its president. His wife died March 20, 1874. He died April 21, 1878.
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