USA > New York > Oneida County > Rome > Our city and its people : a descriptive work on the city of Rome, New York > Part 22
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The financial storm of 1857 forced the firm to assign, and Mr. Soper continued as manager of the business for the assignee till 1865, when he removed to Chicago, when with characteristic energy he threw himself into the flood of lumber develop- ment and was soon on top, The firm name was Park & Soper until 1878, when Mr.
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
Park sold his interest to James Soper, the younger brother of Albert, and the busi- ness was continued under the title of Soper Bros. & Co. until 1884, when it was con- solidated with the Soper & Pond Co., and incorporated as the Soper Lumber Co., with Albert Soper as president, with mills in Michigan and extensive yards in Chicago. The business grew to large proportions, their trade reaching from Massa- chusetts to Colorado.
Mr. Soper died in May, 1890. He was pre-eminently a business man, devoting his entire attention to development of his interests, with an energy that was tireless.
Hle was an excellent citizen, with correct and comprehensive views on law and life, and established a most honorable name in the business world. He took an ardent interest in politics, and was a staunch Whig in his earlier years, and a Re- publican when the latter party was organized. He never sought nor held a political office.
Mr. Soper was for many years a director of the Ilide and Leather National Bank of Chicago.
In 1836 he was married to Esther Farquharson, who was a native of Cherry Val- ley, in New York State. Mrs. Soper survived her husband nearly four years. Seven children were born to them, of whom two died in early youth. Of the re- mainder Arthur W., the eldest, now resides in New York city; Mary Adelaide, wife of George Merrill, died in Chicago in 1890; Alexander C., James P., and Etta A. (wife of William Penn Smith), now reside in Chicago.
ARTHUR W. SOPER.
ARTHUR W. SOPER, eldest son of Albert and Esther Soper, was born in Rome, N. Y., July 16, 1838. He was educated at Rome Academy under Prof. Frank Moore, and at the age of seventeen, began work in his father's office and lumber yard. In 1858 he entered the railway service, beginning as clerk in the Rome freight office. At the end of three years, he was appointed Superintendent's clerk. This position he held two years, when he was made a passenger conductor, and the following year appointed Assistant Superintendent of the R. W. & O). Ry., under Addison Day. Some four years later, Mr. Day was called to St. Louis as Superintendent of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Ry., and soon after his arrival there, offered Mr. Soper the office of Assistant Superintendent, which he accepted, leaving Rome in February, 1871. At the end of a year, Mr. Day resigned, because of ill health, and Mr. Soper was made General Superintendent, and afterwards for several years, General Manager.
Under his efficient and energetic management, the road was greatly prospered. and became most important and helpful to the business of St. Louis. After some ten years service, Mr. Soper resigned his position as General Manager, to engage in business in New York City. No man ever had more sincere friends and admirers among the leading citizens and business men of St. Louis, than Mr. Soper, as was evidenced by their resolutions accompanying a handsome service of silver, which they presented to him upon his retiring from active railway service.
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OUR CITY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Upon his arrival in New York, he took up, with characteristic energy, the man- agement of several important business interests in connection with railroads, which prospered and grew rapidly to large proportions.
About 1889, he became President of the Safety Car Heating & Lighting Co. of New York, which he has managed with remarkable success.
In April, 1871, he married Hettie, daughter of Samuel Wardwell, of Rome, N. Y. They have one child, Mary Theresa.
Mr. Soper was endowed with unusual force of character, supported by extraordi- nary mental and physical vigor. With these are united personal qualities which endear him to his friends, who are a host in number. Such a man was bound to be successful in any career he might have chosen.
In politics he has always been a stalwart Republican, but has never sought or held office.
Mr. Soper's two brothers, Alexander C. and James P., are the head and front of the Soper Lumber Co. of Chicago, and that sagacity and energy which they share with the subject of this sketch, have made their firm in its department one of the foremost representative houses of the West.
SAMUEL O. SCUDDER, M. D.
SAMUEL OSBORNE SCUDDER, . M. D., was born on a farm in Roxbury, Delaware county, N. Y., March 31, 1818, and died at his home in Rome, N. Y., March 2, 1895. His grandparents were William S. and Elizabeth Scudder, who were born respect- ively January 14 and September 14, 1743. David Scudder, his father, was born Oc- tober 2, 1783, and married, first, February 17, 1807, Phebe Osborne, who was born July 7, 1788, and who died March 10, 1822. Their children were Elizabeth, born April 5, 1809; Cynthia, born March 16, 1812; Abigail, March 14, 1814; Edalinah, January 3, 1817; Dr. Samuel O., the subject of this memoir; Mary Ann, May 24, 1820; and David ()., March 10, 1822. He married, second, February 17, 1823, Mrs. Sally (Patterson) Yeomans, who was born May 31, 1795. They had seven children.
Dr. Scudder remained on the parental farm and attended the district schools until he reached the age of fourteen, when, with seventy-five cents in money, he started out into the world to seek a fortune. Endowed with a strong constitution for a lad of his years, combined with pluck, perseverance, and clear ideas, he eagerly took advantage of the first opportunity to increase his knowledge as well as his little store of wealth. He learned successively the trades of tinsmith, hatter, and furrier, mastering each with a skill and rapidity that demonstrated his capacity for learning. All this time, however, he cherished an ambition for something higher, saved every penny possible, and devoted all his spare moments to study and self- improvement. Leaving these occupations, one after another, he was for four years a clerk in a general store in Hudson, N. Y., where he matured plans to make himself a physician and surgeon. He went to Palmyra, N. Y., and entered the office of Dr. Durfee Clase, an eminent practitioner of the homeopathie school, and from there he became a student during the winter of 1846-47 in the medical department of the
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
University of New York City, in which the noted physician, Dr. Valentine Mott, was a professor. He was graduated from the Homeopathic Medical College of Pennsyl- vania on March 10, 1849. He contributed many valuable papers on medical subjects^ to the county society, and was the first of the class of six graduates (and the last survivor) who received the first diplomas granted by any homeopathic institution in this country. After a brief residence in Waterloo, N. Y., he came to Rome, Oneida county, where he remained until his death, a period of nearly forty eight years, being at the time of his demise the oldest physician in the city.
Dr. Seudder was devoted to his profession and probably did as much for the ad- vancement of homeopathy as any other physician in Central New York. His prac- tice grew to extensive proportions, and throughout a wide section of the county he retained the respect and confidence of all with whom he came in contact. He be- came somewhat celebrated as a specialist in lung and throat troubles, in the treat- ment of which he was often called long distances, either as consultant or as physi- cian in charge. He laid particular stress upon the importance of good nursing, and in this respect he acquired a reputation. He was a quick and almost unerring diagnostician and possessed a keenness of perception that was remarkable. Kind, patient, and cheerful, his presence in the sick room was always welcome, while his geniality and friendliness made him a desirable companion. He joined the Oneida County Homeopathic Society on June 21, 1859, and became its president October 17, 1865. In fact he was one of the pioneers in homeopathy in this part of the State. He was one of the founders and a lifelong member of the New York State Homco- pathic Medical Society, and during the war and afterward served as United States examining surgeon for the pension department.
As a financier Dr. Scudder enjoyed an enviable reputation both at home and abroad. He was for some time a well known and successful operator in Wall street, and in local business affairs he became an authority. He was a close personal friend of John B Jervis, the noted civil engineer, and of many other influential men of his day. He was largely instrumental in founding the Rome Brass and Copper Com- pany and was its president from soon after the organization till his death. Mainly through his able management it was placed upon a sound business basis. He was also one of the founders of the Champaign (Ill.) Water Works Company, at one time its president, and for several years controlled its financial affairs.
Dr. Scudder was married, first, on December 24, 1845, to Miss Harriet Fidelia Chase, daughter of his clinical preceptor, Dr. Durfee Chase, of Palmyra, N. Y. After her death he married, in October, 1856, Miss Elizabeth Crampton, who sti- vives him. His children were Mrs. A. B. Southwick, Dr. Nelson C. Scudder, and Miss Elizabeth C., of Rome; Fred B. Scudder, of New York; and Samuel, deceased. Dr. Nelson C. Scudder was born August 14, 1853, was graduated from the Hahne- mann Medical College of Philadelphia in 1879, and is now a practicing physician in Rome.
ELON J. LAWTON, M.D.
ELON JOSEPH LAWTON, M. D., was a descendant of George Lawton, who emigrated from England early in the seventeenth century and settled in Portsmouth, R. I. On
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QUR CITY AND ITS PEOPLE.
a document dated April 30, 1639, his name appears among those of other residents of that place who swore allegiance to King Charles, and from his day to the present many members of the family have filled important positions in civil and commercial as well as in social and professional life. The history of not only New England but of various other States in the Union bears evidence of their public spirit, patriotism, and official capacity. while the annals of numerous communities contain notices of their deeds and labors. One Robert Lawton was for several years a deputy from Portsmouth, beginning in 1781, and another, George Lawton, who served in Col. John Cook's regiment from Rhode Island in the Revolutionary war, was wounded by a cannon-shot from a British ship on January 10, 1777, while on duty at Fayland Ferry. The men bearing the name invariably took a prominent part in their respect- ive localities during colonial times and in many instances attained distinction for excellence in their chosen callings. Joseph Lawton, jr., eldest son of Joseph Law- ton, sr., a descendant of the original George Lawton, moved from Rhode Island to
near Stonington, Conn., where his son and eldest child, Joseph, was born February 11, 1780. The latter married, October 6, 1801, Nancy Dennison, who was born in Stonington in October, 1782, and died in Albion, Wis .. June 18, 1854. His death occurred in Edgerton, Wis., November 1, 1866. IIe came to Easton, Washington county, N. Y., about 1802, but soon removed to the town of Verona, Oneida county, and settled near Rathbunville. Later he took up his residence at what was long known as Lawton's Bridge, near Higginsville, in the same town, where he was both a farmer and grocer. His eldest child, Dyer Stanton Lawton, was born in Easton, N. Y., January 27, 1803, followed farming and mercantile business at Higginsville, and died in Rome on May 11, 1855. He was married, first on December 31, 1829, to Mary Louisa Higgins, and second, after her death, to Sarah Ann Egleston, on Au- gust 29, 1833.
Dr. Elon J. Lawton, son of Dyer Stanton and Sarah Ann (Egleston) Lawton, was born in Higginsville, Oneida county, September 9, 1835, and spent his early life upon the farm and in attendance at the district schools of his native town. At about the age of eighteen he came with his father and the family to Rome, where he finished his education at the local academy. Here he became a clerk in the drug store of Dr. Harold II. Pope and while clerking also commeneed the study of medi- eine, which he subsequently continued in the office of Dr. James M. Sturdevant. He took lectures at the Castleton (Vt.) Medical College and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and in 1858 was graduated from the Albany Medical College with the degree of M.D. He began the practice of his profession in North Western. Oneida county, and two years later removed to Verona, where he remained until January, 1870, when he came to Rome. Here he afterward resided and practiced medicine until his death, which occurred April 18, 1895.
Dr. Lawton was a lifelong Republican and for many years took an active interest in polities. Ile was for some time postmaster at Verona and in 1870 was elected cor- oner of Oneida county, an office he filled with honesty and ability by re election for four successive terms, or twelve years. In 1890 and again in 1893 he was elected alder- man from the 5th ward of Rome, and while holding that position was one of a com- mittee appointed to select a site for the city hall. In this latter capacity he was mainly instrumental in locating that handsome structure upon the premises it now
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
occupies. While a member of the Common Council he was one of the leaders of the Republican side and rendered effective service, not only to that body, but to his con- stituents and the city at large, and although a Republican his fairness, honesty, and integrity were never questioned. He was quite heavily interested in real estate and in several business enterprises, and always aided in promoting the advancement and prosperity of the community, contributing liberally to its welfare and numerous charitable and benevolent objects. He was a prominent physician, skillful in diag- nosis and the treatment of diseases, and in North Western, Verona, and Rome eu- joyed a wide professional business as well as the respect and confidence of all with whom he came in contact. He was a man of pronounced convictions and opinions, of keen discrimination between right and wrong, conscientious, genial, kind, syn- pathetic, and friendly.
August 9, 1870, Dr. Lawton was married in Verona to Miss Clara M., daughter of Mason Benedict, of that village, who with two children-Mason Benedict Lawton and Clarabelle Benedict Lawton-survives him and resides in Rome.
THOMAS MACOMB FLANDRAU.
THOMAS MACOMB FLANDRAU, son of Thoma ; Hunt and Elizabeth M. (Macomb) Flandrau, was born in New York city on the 8th of July, 1826. His ancestry, though French and Irish, were all Protestants-rather curiously, as both countries are strongly Roman Catholic in their religious tendencies. Jaques Flandreau, the originator of the family in this country, was a French Huguenot driven from France by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV, and with a colony of his compatriots settled at New Rochelle, N. Y., about 1686, naming the town after La Rochelle, a famous Protestant city of France. Ilis descendants still live at New Rochelle, but are not very numerous. Dr. Flandrau is the only physician of the name in the United States; his branch of the family dropped the e from the last syllable. Mrs. Elizabeth M. (Macomb) Flandrau was a daughter of Alexander Macomb, an Orangeman from Belfast, Ireland, who was married in 1773 in Detroit, Mich., where he remained until 1785 when he moved to New York city. There he was for many years actively engaged in business as a shipping merchant. In 1988 he built No. 39 Broadway, which was occupied in 1790 by General Washington as the President's house, and which in later years was Bunker's Hotel. In 1791 he purchased a large tract of land in what are now the counties of Lewis, St. Lawrence, Franklin, Ilerkimer, Jefferson and Oswego, the southern boundary of which is now the northern line of Oneida county. It comprised 3, 700,000 acres, cost eight cents per acre, and included all the Thousand Islands, except Carlton Island, on which stood Fort Haldiman. The map of " Macomb's Purchase" and the documents relating to it are in the Documentary History of New York. Mr. Macomb had six sons in the war of 1812, the eldest of whom, Maj .- Gen. Alexander Macomb, was the hero of the battle of Plattsburgh and afterwards commander-in-chief of the United States Army. Thomas Hunt Flandrau, a native of New Rochelle, N. Y., was educated in Oneida county, where he spent the most of his life. He was graduated
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OUR CITY AND ITS PEOPLE.
from Hamilton College in 1819, became a prominent lawyer, and at the time of his marriage and the birth of his son, Dr. Flandrau, was a law partner of the celebrated Aaron Burr in New York city.
Dr. Thomas Macomb Flandrau passed his youth in Georgetown, D. C., and was educated in the private schools and academies of Georgetown and Washington. He studied medieme with Dr. Benjamin S. Bohrer, and was graduated from the National Medical College of Washington, D. C., in March, 1848. After practicing his profession a short time in Georgetown he removed to his father's home at Whitesboro, Oneida county, N. Y., but on January 1, 1853, settled in Rome, where he was in partnership with Dr. Arba Blair for two years. In 1856 he went to Brock- port, N. Y., and remained there until 1862, when he again took up his residence in Rome, where he has since lived. August 23, 1862, Dr. Flandrau was commissioned surgeon of the 146th Regiment, N. Y. Vol. Inf., with rank of major. This regiment was known as the Halleek Infantry and also as the 5th Oneida, and many of its officers and men were citizens of Rome. He remained with the organization about a year, when he was promoted to the position of surgeon-in-chief of the 3d Brigade, 2d Division, 5th Army Corps. On the 7th of June, 1864, he was agair promoted to the surgeoncy-in-chief of the 2d Division, 5th Army Corps.
The 146th Regiment is entitled to honorable mention in the history of Rome. Lieut .- Col. Jesse J. Armstrong, Adjutant Edward Comstock, and Capt. William A. Walker, besides many of its brave soldiers, were residents of this city, and having been organized on the camp ground in West Dominick street all its officers and men felt a profound interest in the city of its birth. The regiment participated in every battle fought by the Army of the Potomac from the first battle of Fredericksburg in December, 1862, to the final surrender of the Confederate army at Appomattox in April, 1865. It distinguished itself as well by its bravery as by the fearful slaughter of its rank and file in many engagements, especially in the Wilderness, where Col. David Jenkins and Major Henry Curran were left dead upon the field with a large number of men. As surgeon, Dr. Flandrau was present in all of its twenty-five battles, and fortunately escaped sickness and wounds during his three years' service at the front. He was discharged at Syracuse, N. Y., in July, 1865, and was made brevet lieutenant- colonel of U. S. Volunteers, holding a commission to that effect "for meritorious services in the field," signed by President Andrew Johnson, and the great secretary of war, Edwin M. Stanton. The Medical and Surgical History of the War contains the record of many of his surgical operations.
In 1865 Dr. Flandrau purchased his present residence in East Dominick street and ever since then he has been actively engaged in the practice of his profession in Rome. He is a member of the Oneida County Medical Society and the American Medical Association, and has attended several International Medical Congresses, the last in 1890 at Berlin, Germany, when he made an extended tour through France, Switzerland, England, Scotland, and Ireland. For many years he has been a mem- ber of the Board of Health of Rome and for twelve years a member of the Board of Education, of which he has served as president during the last three years. He has served as physician to the Central New York Institution for Deaf Mutes of Rome since its organization in 1874. Ile is medical director of the Rome Hospital and was prominent in its foundation and establishment, making the plans and designs for
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
its construction. His plans were adopted with very slight modification by the archi- teet, George Schiller, who brought them to their final development and is entitled to the credit of its external decoration.
Dr. Flandrau ranks high among the eminent physicians and surgeons of Central New York, and during his long and active practice has won the confidence and respect of a wide circle of warm friends and acquaintances. He has always taken a keen interest in the religious, social, and educational advancement of his city, con- tributing generously to these and kindred objects, and encouraging every worthy project which promises benefit to the community. He has been a member of the Protestant Episcopal church for forty years and forever twenty years has served as vestryman and warden of Zion church, Rome.
In 1854 Dr. Flandrau was married in Brockport, N. Y., to Miss Clarissa J. Foote, a native of Vernon, Oneida county, N. Y., who died. May 1, 1890. She was a woman noted for her energy, tact, and charitable sentiments, and contributed largely to the building and success of the Rome Hospital, where her name and good work are com- memorated by a handsome brass tablet erected by the ladies of the institution. She left three daughters: Miss Elizabeth M. Flandrau and Mrs. Dr. II. C. Sutton, of Rome, and Mrs. George Ethridge, (f New York city.
CHRISTOPHER C. REID, M. D.
CHRISTOPHER C. RIED, M. D., was born in the town of Westmoreland, Oneida county, N. Y., November 1, 1838, and is the sixth in a family of fifteen children of James and Rebecca (Robinson) Reid, who were born of Scotch parentage in the north of Ireland. James and Rebecca Reid, after their marriage in their native country, came to America about 1837 and first settted in Kirkland, this county, but subsequently moved to a farm in Westmoreland. Mrs. Reid died in 1879, aged about seventy years. Mr. Reid's death occurred in Albion, Oswego county, in November, 1887, at the age of eighty seven. Thirteen of their children attained maturity. James Reid and his brother Christopher constituted the family of William Reid grandfather of the subject of this sketch.
Dr. C. C. Reid left home at the age of nine years to live with his uncle Christopher in Kirkland, N. Y., where he was reared on a farm. He was graduated from Whites- town Seminary in 1862, and while attending that institution began the study of medicine with Drs. Henderson, father and son. After his graduation he went to Albany, read medicine under Dr. William Bailey, and was graduated with the de- gree of M. D. from the Albany Medical College in 1864. The same year he con- menced the practice of Ins profession in the town of Western, Oneida county, where lie remained until 1870, when he moved to Rome, where he has since resided, enjoy- ing a wide and successful professional business.
Dr. Reid is a member of the Oneida County Medical Society and was one of the founders and has always been a member of the New York State Medical Associa- tion. He is the first president of the Rome Medical Society, which he was largely instrumental in organizing in February, 1895. For twenty consecutive years, or
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OUR CITY AND ITS PEOPLE.
since 1876, he has acted as examining surgeon for the N. Y. C. & H. R. R. R. Co. his labors in this capacity extending along the entire line and frequently outside the State. He is consulting physician to the Rome City Hospital, a director in the Rome Brass and Copper Company, and was one of the originators and the first presi- dent of the Washington Street Opera House Company, serving as president two terms during the erection of the handsome opera house in 1889 and 1890. He joined the Masons in Vienna and is now a member of Rome Lodge F. & A. M. and Rome Commandery K. T. In 1879 he visited Europe and traveled extensively over Great Britain and the Continent, visiting not only the chief points of general interest, but many hospitals and medical institutions.
Dr. Reid was married on April 4, 1893, to Miss Katherine Melissa Spencer, daugh- ter of Harvey D. Spencer, of Rome, N. Y.
JOSEPH I. SAYLES.
DESCENDANTS of the Sayles family in America trace their lineage to John Sayles, (1) and Mary Williams, his wife, who were married in Rhode Island in 1650, settled in Providence, and are buried in the Easton burial ground in Middletown near Sachuest Beach. He was born in Scotland in 1633, his father being of Scotch and his mother of Irish parentage, and died in 1681. His wife, who was born in 1638 and died also in 1681, was a daughter of Roger Williams, first governor and founder of the Rhode Island colony, and Mary, his wife. Mr. Sayles was made a freeman in 1655, and held the offices of commissioner, town clerk, warden, town treasurer, auditor, deputy, and councilman. Ilis posterity in a direct line to the subject of this sketch is as follows: John (2), born August 17, 1654, deputy, tavern keeper, died August 2, 1727; Richard (3), born October 24, 1695, died in 1775; Israel (4), born March 17, 1726; Israel (5); Benjamin B. (6), who married Polly Strong; and Joseph I. (7). The foregoing, prior to Benjamin B. Sayles, lived in Rhode Island, where many of the name occupied responsible positions in business, social and official life, manifesting at all times great patriotism and individual ability, and becoming sub- stantial and useful citizens. Isael (5) came to Norwich, N. Y., early in 1800, and there Benjamin B. (6) was born and learned the trade of blacksmith. Benjamin B. Sayles moved to the town of Plymouth, Chenango county, and followed farming many years. He had four sons and one daughter.
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