USA > New York > Onondaga County > Onondaga's centennial. Gleanings of a century, Vol. II > Part 34
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
CORNELIUS T. LONGSTREET.
CORNELIUS TYLER LONGSTREET was born in Onondaga Valley on the 19th of April, 1814, and died in Syracuse on July 4, 1881. His ancestors were from Holland, the founders of the family in America being three brothers who came over in the seven- teenth century and settled in New Jersey. Among their descendants were Judge Longstreet, president of Col- umbia College in South Car- olina at the breaking out of the Civil war, and Gen. James Longstreet, a distin- guished Southern soldier. Cornelius Longstreet, father of Cornelius F., was a native of Onondaga Hill, where he engaged in mercantile busi- ness. In 1805 he married Deborah, daughter of Com- fort Tyler, the pioneer, and of their family of five chil- dren the subject of this sketch was the youngest. The lat- ter was scarcely a year old when his father died; his mother's death occurred in 1826.
Cornelius T. Longstreet inherited sterling traits of CORNELIUS T LONGSTREET. character. He attended school until 1827, when he was apprenticed to a tailor in the then small village of Syra- cuse, where he remained for three years. He then followed his trade in Geddes for a year, and at the age of seventeen opened a shop in that place for himself. Three years later he moved his business to Syracuse and formed a partnership with Henry Agnew, then the leading tailor of the village. He soon became sole owner of a large and profitable establishment and was eminently successful from the start. For ten years his business was probably the largest and most prosperous of its kind in the State outside of New York city. But his ambition carried him beyond the confines of a village into the broader field of wholesale operations. In 1846 he went to New York and founded a wholesale clothing house, which he conducted for six years with characteristic energy and success. He was the first person to ship ready- made clothing to California and other Western points. Having amassed a fortune he returned to Syracuse in 1852 and spent about three years in the erection of that landmark known as "Renwick Castle," but in 1855 he again went to New York to
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assist in establishing his eldest son, Charles A. Longstreet, in the wholesale clothing business, and for several years was associated with him as a silent partner. During this time, however, he maintained his home in Syracuse, whither he returned per- manently in 1862.
In 1863 Mr. Longstreet became one of the first board of directors of the First National Bank, a position he held until his death. He was also one of the original incorporators and for nearly thirty years a director of the Mechanics' Bank of Syra- cuse, which was organized in August, 1851. In politics he was a steadfast Repub- lican from the formation of that party, though he never sought or desired public office. He was charitable and benevolent, and gave liberally of his means to the founding and support of St. Joseph's Hospital, the Old Ladies' Home, and other beneficent charities of the city. He took a keen interest in the advancement of the community, and upon all matters of public importance his influence was effective. He won and retained warm friendships, universal respect, and high esteem, and his life was exemplary in its every phase. He died in Syracuse on July 4, 1881.
Mr. Longstreet married a daughter of Lewis H. Redfield, who with three children -Mrs. Cornelia T. Poor, Charles A., and Edward W .- survived him. Charles A. subsequently died in California and Edward W. in Syracuse.
JAMES BYRON BROOKS.
JAMES BYRON BROOKS, son of Nathaniel and Emily (Cutler) Brooks, both of Massa- chusetts, was born in Rockingham, Windham county, Vt., June 27, 1839. His mother died in 1847 and in 1853 his father went to California, where he died. James B. was raised on a farm, attended the district schools and one term of the Spring- field (Vt.) Academy, and was a student at Newbury (Vt.) Seminary with some inter- ruptions, from the fall of 1858 until the breaking out of the Rebellion in 1861, when he enlisted, under the first call of the president for troops, in the Bradford Guards, 1st Vt. Vols., his regiment being stationed at Fortress Monroe and Newport News during his term of enlistment. Returning home he re-enlisted in Co. H, 4th Vt. Regt. and on Sept 12, 1861, was commissioned second lieutenant, attached to the Vermont Brigade, 6th Corps, Army of the Potomac. December 28, 1861, he was de- tailed for service in the U. S. Signal Corps, and on January 29, 1862, was promoted first lieutenant of Co. I of his regiment. March 7 he was assigned to active field duty as a signal officer, and served with the Army of the Potomac until August 31, 1863, when by consent of the secretary of war he returned to his regiment. May 5, 1864, he was commissioned captain and on the 6th received a gunshot wound at the battle of the Wilderness. After being confined for some time in the hospitals at George- town, D.C., and at Annapolis, Md., he was honorably discharged August 5, 1864, for wounds received in action. He resumed his studies in Newbury Seminary, and in June, 1869, was graduated from Dartmouth College. He read law with Col. Ros- well Farnham, later governor of Vermont, at Bradford, Vt., was graduated from the Albany Law School in 1871; was immediately admitted to the bar in this State, and commenced practice in Syracuse on February 1, 1872. In 1873 he became a member of the firm of Fuller, Vann & Brooks, his partners being Truman K. Fuller
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F. L. ABELL.
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and Irving G. Vann, and in July, 1874, he entered the firm of Ruger, Jenney, Brooks & French, with whom and whose successors he remained until May 1, 1889. Later he formed the copartnership of Brooks & Walrath, his partner being John II. Walrath. He was alderman from the Eighth ward in 1884-85 and school commis- sioner in 1886-88, and on June 21, 1888, was appointed a member of the Board of Commissioners which carried to completion the present municipal water system. He has been a trustee of Syracuse University since 1885 and was president of the Young Men's Christian Association from 1886 to 1895. In June, 1895, the trustees of Syracuse University inaugurated a College of Law at that institution and elected Mr. Brooks dean of the new department. Mr. Brooks is one of the foremost lawyers in Syracuse and has always taken an active interest in the growth and welfare of the city. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. September 7, 1873, he married Miss Caroline L. Jewell, of East Orange, Vt.
FLAVEL L. ABELL.
FLAVEL L. ABELL was born in the town of Geddes, Onondaga county, now Solvay village, March 21, 1852. He has resided continuously since his birth at the old homestead which his father established in 1830. Lavius H. Abell, his father, came to the town of Geddes in 1830 and bought the farm on the road (then known as the " shunpike") leading directly west from Syracuse. He was born in Connecticut in 1805, and was still a young man when he settled in Onondaga county. The land was mostly unimproved at that time, so he set about the task of clearing and devel- oping his farm. He descended from sturdy English stock of strictly upright char- acter and withal possessed the ambition and industry which brought success as the years went on. Mr. Abell built the house which now stands upon the property. He married first, in 1831, Elizabeth Aun Frink, who was also born in Connecticut. By this marriage Mr. Abell had two children: Lionel W., who died in Texas in 1895, and one daughter, Ruby, who married Mr. Eli F. Sim, and now resides in Ohio. Mrs. Abell died in 1840. March 14, 1841, Mr. Abell married Margaret Frink, sister of his first wife. They had seven children, three of whom are now living: Flavel L., William F., and Lura A., who married I. U. Doust, the artist in Syracuse. Mr. Abell was a member of the Baptist church of Syracuse for nearly fifty years, and both of his wives were also members. He was so thoroughly christian that his life im- pressed itself upon all who knew him as that of a sincere Christian.
Lavius L. Abell died in 1880; Mrs. Abell, his wife, resides at the homestead with her son, Flavel L. Flavel L. Abell received his education in the schools of Geddes and after his school days devoted his energies to farm life at home. Upon the death of his father the farm fell to Flavel L. and he continued to conduct it successfully from that time. The village of Solvay had in the mean time sprung up and spread to considerable dimensions, so that in 1889 the Abell farm, one of the landmarks of the town, fell in the line of the village's onward march westward and a good part of it has been sold and built upon by residents of the village. But with all this influx and building Mr. Abell's moral sense of good citizenship has been impressed upon that section of the town by his rigidly prohibiting for all time the sale of intoxicating
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liquors on the land he sells. This principle so strictly adhered to has been the means of attracting only the best class of the citizens of the place.
In 1883 Mr. Abell married Annie, daughter, of Carlos and Mary R. Palmer of Elmira, N. Y. Mr. Palmer was for many years a Christian minister. He died in 1890. His ancestry came from England to this country in 1659. Mrs. Palmer is still living.
Mr. and Mrs. Abell have had six children, four boys and two girls. Carlos Palmer, the first boy, died when three years of age. Those living are Earl L., Mary M., Max F., Leslie H., and Lura A. The family are identified with the Congrega- tional church of Geddes.
ELIAS W. LEAVENWORTH.
GEN. ELIAS WARREN LEAVENWORTH was born in Canaan, Columbia county, N. Y., December 20, 1803. His American ancestor was Thomas Leavenworth, who came from England to this coun- try a little before 1670. David, the father of Elias W. and of the fifth genera- tion from Thomas, was born in Watertown, Conn., Sep- tember 12, 1796, married Lucinda Mather at Torring- ford, Conn., January 16, 1794, and spent a few years of his early life in the prac- tice of medicine. Later he was State printer at Albany, N. Y., and a member of the firm of Leavenworth & Whiting, booksellers and stationers, and in 1806 moved to Great Barrington, Mass., where he engaged in mercantile business with his youngest brother Isaac, and where he died May 25, 1831. General Leavenworth's boyhood and youth were passed among the hills and valleys of Berkshire. In 1819 he entered Hudson Academy, then under Rev. ELIAS W. LEAVENWORTHI. Daniel Parker, father of Judge Amasa Parker. He
also prepared for college under Erastus C. Bennett, of Great Barrington, and in 1820
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entered Williams College, where he remained one year. He was graduated from Yale in 1824 and took a second degree from that institution in 1827, and while there, in 1823, was elected a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. September 20, 1824, he began the study of law with William Cullen Bryant, then practicing in Great Bar- rington, and on May 16, 1825, he entered the law school at Litchfield, Conn., from which he was admitted to the bar of that State in January, 1827. On Monday, Novem- ber 12, 1827, he left Great Barrington for Syracuse, arriving here at sunset on the following Saturday. He was admitted on the motion of Gen. James R. Lawrence in the Common Pleas as an attorney in February term, 1828, in the Supreme Court at Albany as attorney in October term, 1829, and as counselor in 1833. On reaching Syracuse he studied and practiced law with Alfred Northam until February, 1829, when he formed a copartnership with the late B. Davis Noxon, which continued with various members of the family till 1850, when he retired from active practice on account of ill health.
In January, 1832, General Leavenworth was appointed lieutenant of artillery in the 147th Regiment of Infantry, and in the same year was made captain of artillery in that regiment. In 1834 he was promoted lieutenant-colonel of the 29th Regiment of Artillery, of which he became colonel in 1835. In 1836 he was appointed brigadier- general of the 7th Brigade of Artillery.
He was originally a Whig, and in 1835 accepted the nomination of assemblyman, but was defeated, the county being hopelessly Democratic. In 1835 he was elected a trustee of the village of Syracuse, and in 1838, 1839, and 1840 served as village president, to which position he was again chosen in 1846 and 1847. In 1839 and 1840 he was elected supervisor of the old town of Salina, being the first of an opposing party to defeat the Democrats in more than ten years. During the period in which he was at the head of the village government he carried out many permanent im- provements, notably the measures which gave the city Vanderbilt square, Fayette Park, and other valuable features. In the spring of 1849 he was elected mayor of Syracuse, and in that year Armory Park was laid out and became city property. In the following fall he was elected a member of the Legislature, where he served on several very important committees. In 1851 he lacked but six or eight votes of the nomination for secretary of state at the Whig State convention, and in the fall of 1853 he was nominated and elected to that office by a handsome majority. In this capacity he was instrumental in causing the removal of the State Asylum for Idiots from near Albany to Syracuse. He was again elected to the Legislature in the fall of 1856, and was chairman of the committee on canals, of the committee on banks, and of the select committee of one from each judicial district on the equalization of the State tax. As chairman of the latter committee he drew the bill which estab- lished the Board of State Assessors. In the spring of 1859 he was again elected mayor of the city, and in the fall of the same year was renominated for secretary of state, but was defeated for this office by a very small number of votes through the efforts of the " Know Nothing" party. In 1860 he was appointed by the Legislature a member of the board of quarantine commissioners and was elected president of that body. In the same year he was president of the Republican State Convention which assembled in Syracuse. February 5, 1861, he was chosen one of the Regents of the State University, and in 1872 was appointed by the governor and Senate one of the commissioners to amend the State Constitution. In the fall of 1874 he was
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elected a member of the 44th Congress, where he attained high distinction. He de- clined a re-election. In all these positions he exhibited rare ability, sound judgment, and a broad and intelligent grasp of important subjects, and won the confidence and respect of not only his associates and constituents but of all classes of citizens.
General Leavenworth always manifested great pride in the advancement of the city of Syracuse, which he served so efficiently and faithfully in various capacities. In 1849-50 he was a member of the building committee of the First Presbyterian church, and it was largely due to his efforts that the site was covered with the beau- tiful brown stone gothic edifice instead of a plainer brick structure. One of the wisest and most beneficent services ever rendered to the city was his labor in con- nection with the organization of the Oakwood Cemetery Association in 1858-59, in which he was intimately associated with Hamilton White, and which he served many years as president. He was prominently and officially identified with numerous in- stitutions, companies, and societies. He was vice-president and later president of the Syracuse Savings Bank until he resigned in 1883, president of the Syracuse Water Company from 1864 till his death, president of the Syracuse Gas Light Com- pany, and president of the Historical Society of Central New York. In 1855 he was elected a member of the New England Historical and Genealogical Society of Bos- ton and a corresponding member of the American Historical and Geographical Society of New York city. He died November 25, 1887, greatly lamented and uni- versally respected. Among the bequests in his will was one giving to the city the handsome fountain at the junction of West Onondaga, Tallman, and Delaware streets and Onondaga ave. A short time before his death he wrote a series of papers on the early history of Syracuse, which have proven a valuable contribution to local annals.
General Leavenworth's first wife was Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Judge Joshua Forman, the founder of Syracuse. She died April 18, 1880, and he married, second, Mrs. Harriet Townley Ball, of Elizabeth, N. J.
DWIGHT H. BRUCE. 1
GEN. DWIGHT HALL BRUCE was born in Lenox, Madison county, N. Y., June 21, 1834, and descends through both father and mother from a long line of respected and even noble ancestry. He is the eldest son of Benjamin Franklin Bruce, who was also born in Lenox on May 5, 1812, and who died December 21, 1888. Benja- min F. was the oldest son of Joseph Bruce, who was born in Roxbury, Mass., Janu- ary 6, 1789, and who was the second son of Thaddeus, born at Woburn, Mass., November 14, 1765, the third child of Joseph, also born at Woburn, June 20, 1735, the eighth child of John, born June 18, 1670, the sixth child of George, who came from Edinburg and settled at Woburn. The latter was of Norman ancestry and a lineal descendant of Robert Bruce, or Robert de Bruis, a Norman knight, who accom- panied William the Conqueror to England in 1066. The family, for several genera-
' Contributed by W. Stanley Child.
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tions, was illustrious in Scottish history, and the motto on their coat of arms is "Do well and doubt not."
General Bruce was reared on a farm in Madison county, where his earlier years were passed amid the disadvantages and hard labor of rural life. He inherited those sturdy traits of character which had so long distinguished his ancestors, and which have won for him a conspicuous position in commercial, literary, and military affairs. By assiduous study and continued effort he obtained not only a thorough common school education, but also a full academic course, which was both broad and comprehensive in its curriculum. He was fitted by special preparation for an advanced college entrance, but he was compelled by unfortunacy to indefinitely postpone a cherished application for admission and continue his studies under other auspices. After an experience in various pursuits he became connected in 1858 with the Oswego Commercial Times as associate editor, and in that capacity acquired a valuable knowledge of journalism during the following three years. While there he also attained considerable prominence in Freemasonry and was regarded as one of the brightest lights of that mystic order. In the mean time his father had been ap- pointed canal commissioner in charge of the middle division of the canals of the State, and in January, 1861, General Bruce resigned his editorial chair to accept the post of assistant in that office. Since then he has resided in Syracuse.
Meanwhile he was actively identified with the militia of the State, iu which he en- listed in 1850, when he was only sixteen years of age, and was continuously con- nected with that organization for thirty-five years. He rose gradually to the divis- ion and staff grades of major and paymaster, colonel and engineer, and in 1878, at the request of Colonel Yale, became inspector of rifle practice of the late 51st Regi- ment. From this position he was subsequently promoted by election to brigadier- general in command of the 10th Brigade, which was afterward changed by reduction of brigades to the 7th. In 1884, after a conspicuously lengthy service in the militia, he resigned and retired from the National Guard. His patriotism during the war of the Rebellion is well-known. From the beginning of hostilities to the close of that momentous struggle his enthusiasm for the Union cause knew no bounds, and dur- ing the entire period he rendered valuable aid to the government as well as to the Federal armies. He was the organizer and supervisor of the councils of the Union League of America, a secret and semi-military organization for the support of the Union army, from the time of its institution in this State in 1862 until the end of the . war. The membership of the councils under his supervision numbered more than 23,000. In politics he has been for many years an active and influential factor. Casting his first vote for John C. Fremont for president in 1856, he has ever since been a staunch adherent of Republican principles and a steadfast supporter of that party, which has honored him with several local offices. During the exciting Lin- coln campaign of 1864 he rendered efficient service as secretary of the Republican Central Committee, a position he held for ten consecutive years, or until he would no longer accept it. He was first and last for his country, and above party preju- dices and bigotry, and only adhered to partisanship for the country's good. Hav- ing the courage of his convictions he boldly and fearlessly stood for the right, and ably managed the local campaigns during and after the war. He declined a commis- sion at the front in order to fill responsible positions at home, where he was especially
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active as a member of war committees in aid of the Union armies, a field for which he was eminently fitted.
In 1866 and again in 1867, General Bruce was elected supervisor from the Seventh ward of Syracuse, and it was on his motion that the board appointed a committee, of which he was a member, to draft a bill for the Legislature to facilitate the collec- tion of county taxes. The bill became a law, and so thoroughly met the approval of the people that it has ever since remained in effect, besides being adopted by many other counties of the State. At a later date the act was also adapted to the collection of city taxes. He also prepared an apportionment of assembly districts under the census of 1865, which was adopted and not changed until 1895. In October, 1869, he resigned his canal position to accept an appointment, by the secretary of the treas- ury, as assistant assessor of internal revenue, to make assessments throughout the 23d congressional district, comprising the counties of Onondaga and Cortland, for all taxes imposed on the manufacture and sale of tobacco, cigars, and snuff. In Janu- ary, 1870, he resigned this office to become one of the editors and owners of the Syr- acuse Daily Journal under the firm name of Truair, Smith & Co., which in 1874, by a change of interests, became Truair, Smith & Bruce. January 1, 1884, Mr. Truair retired and the firm name was changed to Smith & Bruce, with equal interests. This partnership was continued until August 15, 1885, when General Bruce withdrew. While connected with the Journal he was appointed by President Grant on March 25, 1871, postmaster at Syracuse, and ably filled that position until January 1, 1875, nine months more than the term of appointment. As postmaster he inaugurated the "night service," more than doubled the number of outgoing and incoming mails, and made various other important changes which increased the efficiency of the local postal service. Though the office handled millions of dollars of money dur- ing his incumbency, from the fact that it was a sub-treasury for deposit for several hundred other offices and a pay station for railway mail clerks, there was not the slightest difference between his accounts and those of the post-office authorities when he made his final settlement with the Department at Washington.
In May, 1885, before he had severed his connection with the Journal, he was elected president and later general manager of the Syracuse Water Company and continued in those capacities until January, 1892, when the water works passed to the ownership of the city. He was continued as manager till August, 1894, when he resigned to give his entire attention to financial institutions with which he was iden- tified, and to other business interests with which he was then and still is connected. During his residence in Syracuse he has constantly been in close touch with the ma- terial interests and general prosperity of the city. He was appointed receiver for the settlement of the affairs of the old water company when its property was trans- ferred. In 1888 he was appointed by Mayor Burns and after much persuasion ac- cepted the office of police commissioner, and was elected president of the board; but a few months later he resigned because of extensive business and other under- takings, which fully engrossed his time.
In charitable and benevolent matters General Bruce has long been a foremost citizen, being president of several organizations and officially connected with various projects. He effected the first organization in Syracuse for the protection of ani- mals in 1872, with which he has been continuously identified either as president
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