Onondaga's centennial. Gleanings of a century, Vol. II, Part 40

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 40

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When twenty-three years of age he came to Syracuse and entered the employ of Philo N. Rust, the noted landlord of village days, his chief duty being the care of Mr. Rust's garden near what is now the corner of South avenue and West Onondaga street. Here he remained for three years, receiving $15 a month and board. In

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1847 he accepted a position handling freight in the depot of the Auburn and Syra- cuse Railroad Company at a salary of $28 per month, and at the end of a year was given a clerkship in the office, which he filled for two years. In 1853, when the various lines were consolidated into the present New York Central system, he was made freight agent in charge of that department in Syracuse, and for forty years, or until 1889, he faithfully discharged the duties of that responsible position. He was thus immediately connected with the first forty-two years of the city's growth, and watched its prosperity and development with an interest which few men in similar circumstances could acknowledge. He not only witnessed but actively participated in the rapidly increasing freight business of the community, and saw it expand from an insignificent department to immense proportions, demanding the labor of up- wards of sixty men.

Mr. Clark, although necessarily withdrawn from public view by reason of his un- remitting attention to his chosen calling, was early solicited by his fellow citizens to accept positions of trust and responsibility, for which he was eminently qualified by unusual executive ability. He was elected alderman of the Sixth ward by the Re- publicans under Mayor E. W. Leavenworth in 1859, re-elected under Mayor Amos Westcott in 1860, and again elected under Mayor Charles Andrews in 1862. In 1869 he was elected mayor of the city by a handsome majority, and re-elected for a second term in 1870. In 1871 he was appointed police commissioner and served as president of the board from 1871 to 1874 inclusive. In these various capacities he made hon- orable records, and won the respect and confidence of all classes of citizens. His official acts were characterized by good judgment, economy, conservatism, and rare fidelity to his constituents and to the public at large.

In 1872 Mr. Clark was elected a trustee of the Syracuse Savings Bank to fill the vacancy caused by the death of E. B. Wicks, and on January 14, 1889, became the president of that institution, a position he has since filled with great credit and abil- ity. He was one of the founders and has continuously been a director of the Bank of Syracuse, and since 1889 has been a director of the Syracuse Electric Light and Power Company, and a trustee of Oakwood Cemetery Association and the Onondaga County Orphan Asylum. He has been president of the latter institution since 1892, president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children since 1888, and president of the Bureau of Labor and Charities since 1888. He has also been a member of the First Presbyterian church since 1886 and one of its trustees since 1887, and is prominently identified with various other organizations. He is a public spirited citizen, charitable, energetic, and enterprising, a benefactor to the poor and worthy, and a liberal supporter of all movements promising good to the community. From the humblest position in life he has risen by his own unaided efforts to the loftiest place in financial and business affairs, and throughout an active career has won and retained the confidence, esteem, and respect of all who know him or with whom he has come into contact. He is pre-eminently a self-made man, whose hon . orable reputation crowns a life of usefulness with a brilliancy as merited as it is en- during.

Mr. Clark was married in 1848 to Miss Aurelia L., daughter of Robert W. Nolton, then of Syracuse. They have one son, Dr. Gaylord P. Clark, of this city, who has attained a foremost position as physician and surgeon.

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JACOB AMOS.

HON. JACOB AMOS is the second son of Jacob and Mary Ann (Kippley) Amos and was born in Syracuse in December, 1853. Jacob Amos, sr., youngest of three sons of Charles and Barbara Amos, was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, April 23, 1818, received his education and learned the butcher's trade in his native country, and in 1839 came to America. After spending a short time in New York and Rochester he came in 1840 to Syracuse with seventy-five cents in cash, and engaged in packing salt, chopping wood, and butchering. In 1847 he married Mary Ann, daughter of Sebastian Kippley, who was born in Alsace, Germany, in 1824, and emigrated with her parents to this country in 1834, settling in the town of Manlins. After his mar- riage Mr. Amos leased the Dunlop mills in Jamesville and began the manufacture of flour and farina, being one of the pioneer producers of the latter in this country. About 1855 he removed farther down Butternut Creek in the town of Dewitt, and leasing a mill continued the manufacture of flour, split peas, and farina until 1861, when he was burned out. He then settled in Syracuse, where he purchased four stores where the Amos block now stands and subsequently two more adjoining. Here he manufactured flour, feed, farina, etc., until the fall of 1877. In 1861 he built a flouring mill in Baldwinsville, and the same year married Mrs, Arminda Ring, of Buffalo, his first wife having died in 1864. Mr. Amos was a self-made man. About 1850 he built and for several years kept the Amos Hotel in North Salina street, which was long the popular headquarters for Germans, and which is now owned by his daughters. In politics he was first a Whig and later a Republican. He died in Syracuse May 26, 1883. His children, all born by the first marriage, were Charles L., who died June 21, 1887; Matilda (Mrs. J. P. Miller); Katherine (Mrs. Henry C. Peters); and Amelia (Mrs. Otto F. Baumgras), all of Syracuse; Mary and John, who died in infancy; Mary 2d, widow of Frederick Walthers, of Denver, Col .; and Jacob, the subject of this sketch.

Hon. Jacob Amos was educated in the public and high schools of Syracuse and early engaged in business with his father, taking charge of the Baldwinsville mill. In 1876 he formed a partnership with his father and brother Charles L., under the firm name of Jacob Amos & Sons, which continued until the father's death in 1883, when the style of Amos Brothers was adopted. In 1878 the firm purchased and oc- cupied the old Barker & Munroe mill, and in 1881 remodeled this and the Baldwins- ville establishment, putting in the new roller process, new machinery, etc., at a cost of $15,000, and giving the whole the present name of Empire State Mills. They were the first to adopt the roller process in the State, and for many years this com- bined establishment has been celebrated as the largest of its kind in Onondaga county. Since 1887 the business has been conducted by Hon. Jacob Amos.

Mr. Amos has always been a staunch and active Republican. He was a trustee of the village of Baldwinsville for a time, and in February, 1892, was elected mayor of Syracuse by a majority of 1,212, running against George Penn. He was re-elected to that office in February, 1894, in a spirited triangular contest over J. B. Kline (the present district attorney) and Duncan W. Peck, his pluralty being 275. During his two terms as mayor the city hall and the New York Central depot were built, both being accomplished largely through his personal influence and tireless energy. He was also instrumental in securing the pavement in Washington street along the

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Central railroad tracks, the completion of the present municipal or Skaneateles Lake water system, and the construction of eight public schools at a cost of $200,000. Under his administration there were laid in the city over ten miles of pavement, many miles of street grading, more than twenty-four miles of sewers, and a large amount of miscellaneous improvement, all of permanent value to the city and public.

Mr. Amos is vice-president and director of the Third National Bank, was one of the founders and continuously a director of the Commercial Bank, has served as president of the Paragon Plaster Company since its organization, is president of the Peoples' Building and Loan Association, a director in the Empire and Onondaga Building and Loan Associations and Syracuse Rawhide Company, a trustee of the Syracuse Savings Bank and St. Joseph's Hospital, vice-president of the Empire Bicycle Company, member of the New York City Produce and Buffalo Merchants (grain) Exchanges, a director in the Syracuse Storage Battery Company, and a member of the Century and Citizens' Clubs, Seneca River Lodge, F. & A. M., Bald- winsville, and Central City Commandery No. 25, K. T.

In September, 1880, he was married to Miss Florence E., daughter of the late Dr. James Fitz James Wells, for many years a prominent physician of Baldwinsville. They have one daughter, Christine.

ALEXANDER J. CAMPBELL, M. D.

ALEXANDER JAMES CAMPBELL, M. D., is the third child of Daniel and Isabella (Robinson) Campbell, and was born in the town of Niagara, province of Ontario, Canada, April 12, 1856. His paternal grandfather was Daniel Campbell, a resident of Scotland. His parents came from Glasgow, Scotland, to Niagara, Canada, in 1846, and there he received his preliminary education in the Niagara High School, of which his father was principal. About 1870 the family moved to Trumansburg, .N. Y., where Mr. Campbell was for three years principal of the academy, and where he still resides on a farm. Mrs. Campbell died in 1869, and he married for his second wife, in 1872, Miss Georgiana Robb, of Hamilton, Ontario.

Dr. Campbell was graduated from the Niagara High School in 1875, and from that time until 1881 followed school teaching in order to secure a college or pro- fessional education. Having decided upon medicine he entered the medical depart- ment of Syracuse University in 1881 and was graduated from that institution with the degree of M. D. in 1883. In 1883-84 he was interne in the Rochester City Hos- pital and from 1885 to 1890 successfully practiced his profession in Warners, Onon- daga county. In the latter year he came to Syracuse, where he followed a general practice until 1892, when he started a private hospital for diseases of women and general surgery, which he still continues. In this specialty he has built up a large and successful business. He removed the largest fibroid tumor and the largest number of fibroid tumors (seventeen) from one person ever removed in Syracuse, and was one of the first in the city to perform hysterectomy.

Dr. Campbell is a member of the Onondaga County Medical Society, the New York Medical Association, and the American Medical Association, and a charter member of the Syracuse Academy of Medicine. In 1894 he represented the Ameri-

A. J. CAMPBELL, M. D.

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can Medical Association as a delegate to the Eleventh International Medical Con- gress held in Rome, Italy, which was the largest gathering of physicians and sur- geous in the world's history, more than 7,000 practitioners being present. While abroad he improved the opportunity by pursuing special studies in surgery in the hospitals of Vienna, Paris, and London, and possessing a keen observation and a retentive memory he accumulated a fund of valuable professional knowledge and much general information which stamps him as a man of varied attainments.

May 29, 1888, Dr. Campbell was married to Miss Carrie Millen, daughter of Thomas Millen, of Syracuse. Mr. Millen was the first to manufacture Portland cement in this city, and for many years has been prominently identified with that business, both here and at Warners.

JAMES FRAZEE.

JAMES FRAZEE, a representative citizen of Baldwinsville, was born in Durhamville, Oneida county, N. Y., December 28, 1826. His school education was confined to his early years in the common school of his native place. At the age of fourteen years he left home to accept a position as clerk in a store at Rome, N. Y., where he re- mained three years. On September 18, 1845, he located permanently in Baldwins- ville where he first became a clerk in the store of Glass & Williams, remaining with them until January, 1850. He then leased what was known as the Farmers' Mill of Van Buren, and began business for himself in a line with which he has ever since been connected. He continued in that mill eight years. In 1859, in connection with Irvin Williams and William L. Fuller, he built the flouring mill known as the Union Mills of Baldwinsville. In 1860 he bought Mr. Williams's interest in the property, and in 1863 he bought Mr. Fuller's interest. From that time to the present Mr. Frazee has continued in the milling business at that place through all its changes. In May, 1863, the business was incorporated under the name of the James Frazee Milling Company.

Mr. Frazee's honorable and successful business career early gave him a recognized high position in the community and resulted in his being called to several stations of honor and responsibility. At first a Whig and later a Republican in politics, he was elected to represent the first district of Oonondaga county in the Legislature of 1858. He there learned, as he says, his lack of taste and qualifications for political office, and thereafter declined further distinction of that nature. He has, however, never wavered in his devotion to the Republican party, or in his efforts to secure the elec- tion to office of the best men. During the war of the Rebellion he was active and unselfish in support of the government He was a delegate to the National Republi- can Convention at Chicago in June, 1884, when James G. Blaine was nominated for the presidency.

Among the local public and private enterprises with which Mr. Frazee has been intimately connected was the organization of the First National Bank of Baldwins- ville in 1864, of which he was the first president, continuing about ten years. In 1864 he was instrumental in getting the lower end of the Baldwinsville Canal length- ened and a new lock built leading to deep water in the river below. In 1866 he built

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the guard lock at the head of the Baldwinsville Canal and lowered the canal bottom two feet, thereby greatly improving navigation. In 1864 he was one of the building committee in charge of the erection of the Presbyterian church. In 1865 he was act- ive in promoting the union of the school districts on the north and the south sides of the river, forming the Baldwinsville Union Free School District, and in building the High School structure. In 1865 he bought and rebuilt the Farmers' Mills of Van Buren, and in the same year was interested in building the Baldwinsville woolen mills. In 1872 he was a member of the building committee in charge of erecting the Baptist church.

This is a brief record of a busy and honorable life. In every capacity to which Mr. Frazee has been assigned he has shown the sterling qualities of the best man- hood and citizenship. In 1870 he united with the Presbyterian church and the fol- lowing year was elected a ruling elder. He was a commissioner from the Syracuse Presbytery to the Presbyterian General Assembly, held in Detroit, Mich., in May, 1892.

On November 7, 1854, Mr. Frazee was married to Harriet A. Thompson, daughter of German and Amanda Thompson. For nearly forty years her love and devotion were an inspiration to him. Her clear perception and wise counsel was his constant support, and to her he credits much of whatever success and honor he has attained. Mrs. Frazee died August 7, 1893. On Jannary 9, 1895, he was married to Miss Jane L. Wright, of Rome, N. Y.

WILLIAM F. McEVERS.

WILLIAM F. MCEVERS (deceased), Fabius, was born Oct. 8, 1841, in the town of Fabius, a son of James and Fidelia (Clark) McEvers, of this county, where they lived and died. William F. was reared on the farm and educated in the common schools, was a farmer, and owned sixty-two acres in Fabius. He married Victoria, daughter of Russell C. and Fidelia (Mosher) French (see biography of D. W. French). Mr. McEvers died October 10, 1890, his widow residing in Summit Station, where she is a member of the M. E. church of that place. Her youngest brother, Clayton, was born Feb. 21, 1859, educated at the Onondaga Academy, and follows farming, owning eighty acres of fine land. Oct. 23, 1879, he married Mary Cole of La Fayette, and they have three children: Robert C., Russell H., and Ray V.

ASAHEL K. CLARK.

ASAHIEL K. CLARK was born in Durham, Greene county, N. Y., on September 20, 1811. His ancestry came originally from Ireland at a very early date, and among their descendants was Aaron P. Clark, father of Asahel K., who was a uative of Massachusetts. Aaron P. Clark married Lovisa, daughter of Alexander Kinney, and they had three children: Aaron, Asahel K., and Delia, who became the wife of Lorenzo Northrup, of Syracuse. They are all deceased. Asahel K. Clark received

WM. F. MCEVERS.

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his education in the district schools, and in 1831 located in Onondaga county. Pre- vious to that time he had learned the shoemaker's trade as a bound apprentice, and settling in Lysander he entered the employ of Benjamin Smith. In 1834 he located at Warners where he engaged in the manufacture of boots and shoes and tanning. This business he followed until about 1844 at that place and in the town of Van Buren. Meanwhile, in 1837 he purchased a farm in the last named town, and after retiring from the shoe business he followed farming the remainder of his life. Mr. Clark was a man of marked character, lofty principles, and his life as a whole was above reproach. He held the office of supervisor three years, justice of the peace eight years, and deputy sheriff; he was also vice-president of the First National Bank of Baldwinsville about twenty years. He died in the enjoyment of the respect of the entire community on January 3, 1896. Mr. Clark's wife was Betsey Maria Peck, daughter of Peter Peck. They had seven children; Aaron P., Asahel K., jr., Mrs. Eunice D. Nichols, Mrs. Harriet A. Toll, B. Maria, William P., and Mrs Car- rie L. Kent.

MICHAEL J. LAWLESS.

MICHAEL J. LAWLESS, son of David and Elizabeth Lawless, was born in County Wexford, Ireland, September 29, 1837. He came to America with his parents in 1852 and resided for some years in Baldwinsville, Onondaga county, where he attended school winters and worked summers. From there the family removed to Howlett Hill in the town of Camillus, where David died in July, 1882, aged seventy- five; his wife's death occurred at Marcellus Falls in June, 1891, at the age of eighty-seven. They had six children, of whom four are living, viz .: James, Mrs. Elizabeth Hayes, and Michael J., all of Marcellus Falls, and David T., of Rochester.

Michael J. Lawless moved in the spring of 1866 to Marcellus Falls, where he has ever since resided, and where for many years he has been a prominent and influen- tial citizen. In 1875 he formed a partnership with Dennis Tierney, under the firm name of M. J. Lawless & Co., and purchased the Eagle paper mill. Desiring to en- large his business he purchased in 1880 the Phoenix paper mill, then owned by the McIntyre Coal Company, and has since continued in the paper business, being now ably assisted by his sons. Through his untiring industry, perseverance, and native energy he has met with uniform success, and for several years has ranked among the leading paper manufacturers of Central New York. His success has been the result of his own efforts. He is a man of good business ability, thorough, energetic, and careful; in the ordinary affairs of life he is kind, generous, and benevolent, and quite active in all matters affecting the general welfare.

Mr. Lawless has always taken an active interest in agricultural pursuits, managing the splendid farm on which he resides and another known as the Echo Valley Farm near Marcellus Station, which he purchased about ten years ago. In addition to conducting two paper mills and two farms he is a prominent factor in politics and deeply interested in the success of the Republican party. He has for several years been a prominent member of the C. M. B. A., serving as president of Branch 97, Marcellus, and as grand deputy for the diocese of Syracuse and Ogdensburg. He is

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also an active member of Division No. 9, A. O. H., of Marcellus. His residence is worthy of mention, not only because of its handsome and imposing appearance, but because it is situated in one of the finest natural locations, surrounded by hills and scenery of rare beauty.

Mr. Lawless was married in October, 1864, in the town of Camillus, to Mary Ryan, and they are the parents of seven sons and three daughters. The sons are David J., Frank J., James W., Michael J., jr., Timothy E., Charles H., and Ambrose T., all of whom are at hiome except David J., the eldest, who is engaged in the merchant tailoring business in Syracuse in partnership with his brother-in-law, Edward Ryan, under the firm name of Ryan & Lawless. The daughters are Elizabeth (deceased), and Sarah A. and Mary E., at home. Elizabeth married Edward Ryan, of Syracuse, and died there December 20, 1892, leaving one son, Michael.

EDMUND NORMAN LESLIE.

EDMUND NORMAN LESLIE is a son of David and Susan (Gerrish) Leslie and was born in New Bedford, Mass., August 13, 1817. His father came to America from Cupar, Fifeshire, Scotland, about 1800, and was naturalized in New York city in 1805. David Leslie was a ship master, and about 1821 removed from Massachusetts to the city of New York, where he died in 1835, and where his wife's death occurred in 1845. Her ancestor, Capt. William Gerrish, came from Bristol, England, in 1640, and settled in Newbury, Mass., whence the family subsequently removed to Boston. The line of descent is (1) Captain William, (2) Benjamin), (3) John, (4) John, (5) John, and (6) Susan.

Edmund Norman Leslie was educated in the private, public, and high schools of New York city, and there at a youthful age became a clerk in a wholesale hardware store in Maiden Lane, which position he held about twelve years. During that period he acquired a valuable mercantile experience, which abundantly fitted him for a subsequently successful career. From this he engaged in business for himself as a wholesale grocer in partnership with Augustus F. Dow, who very soon sold out his interest to William Scrymser. The firm of Scrymser & Leslie continued in business until 1849, and during its existence enjoyed a wide and successful trade. Retiring from this enterprise Mr. Leslie went to Baitimore, Md., where for about two years he was associated with his uncle in the shipping business. In 1851 he settled permanently in the village of Skaneateles, Onondaga county, which he had first visited in 1842. Here he has lived a retired life.

Mr. Leslie has always taken an active interest in the growth and prosperity of the beautiful lakeside village of Skaneateles. In 1856 he was elected vestryman and treasurer of St. James's church, and served continuously in the former capacity until April, 1896, and in the latter till April, 1895, when he declined further re-elections. In politics he is an independent, but has generally been known as a Democrat. He has steadfastly adhered to the fundamental principles of liberty, justice, and public morality, and represents all that is honest, upright, progressive, and noble in Ameri- can citizenship. He has stood out openly and fearlessly in the interest of the gen- eral welfare and for the benefit and advancement of the entire community. His

Isaac. N. Sherman.

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patriotism, public spirit. and energy, his unswerving adherence to duty, and his faithfulness in discharging official and private duties are among his noteworthy characteristics, while his earnestness of purpose, keen foresight, and individual activity are well known factors in his personality. He served the village two years as one of its trustees, and in March, 1895, was elected president, to which office he was re-elected in March, 1896. No man has taken a livelier interest in the pros- perity of the village. His fluent pen and commanding voice have each had its wholesome and elevating influence in important local affairs.

Upon his removal to Skaneateles the want of active employment induced him to take up the subject of the early history of the town and village. He obtained two ledgers which had been kept by early merchants of 1805 and 1815 respectively, and from them secured the names of nearly all the carliest settlers, especially those who made their purchases here. He collected and preserved some very valuable histori- cal matter concerning the locality, which was first published in a series of papers in the Democrat, afterward copied in the Free Press, and later printed in book form by Charles P. Cornell, of Auburn, N. Y.

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Onondaga's centennial. Gleanings of a century, Vol. II, Part 40

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