USA > New York > Madison County > Our county and its people : a descriptive and biographical record of Madison County, New York > Part 53
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97
Benjamin Rush Wendell, who died in Cazenovia, October 24, 1884, was one of the most prominent men of this community for many years. He was born at Albany, in 1822, a son of Dr. Peter Wendell, one of the first chancellors of the State Regents. He studied law with Judge M. T. Reynolds and after his admission came to Cazenovia and was for one year in the office of Stebbins & Fairchild. He then succeeded Charles Dudley Miller as cashier of the old Madison County Bank (1845). This position he held until the charter of the bank expired in 1859, and not being renewed he occupied the old bank building as a private office until his death. He was one of the organizers of the Republican party and a delegate to the first Republican convention held in the state of New York. Mr. Wendell was a man of quiet, retiring disposition, but withal of uncommonly good judgment and his assistance and advice in business matters were sought by many. He married, September 8,
33
514
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
1847, Margaret Ten Eyck Burr, daughter of William M. Burr of Caz- enovia, and three children were born to them, Burr, Benjamin Rush and Ten Eyck Wendell, all of whom reside in Cazenovia. Burr Wen- dell was educated at Cazenovia Seminary and began the study of law in the office of D. W. Cameron. He subsequently entered Albany Law School; was graduated from that institution in 1878 and admitted to practice. Mr. Wendell has served in various town and village offices. He has given little time to general practice and confines his attention to property interests.
Joseph D. Senn was born in the town of Verona, Oneida county, April 18, 1860, a son of Frederick and Mary (Fessman) Senn. He was educated in the district schools in the vicinity of his father's farm, and also attended the Oswego State Normal School. For a period of three years he engaged in teaching in the town of Rome, and in April, 1883, began the study of law in the office of Edwin J. Brown, of Oneida, with whom he remained until April, 1895. At this time he entered the office of S. Perry Smith in Morrisville and in April of the following year was admitted to practice. For one year he held the position of managing clerk in the office of John E. Smith, and in 1887 began practice alone in Morrisville, where he remained nine years. In November, 1896, he removed to Oneida and associated with J. T. Durham, forming the present firm of Senn & Durham. Mr. Senn was elected district attor- ney of Madison county in 1892 on the Republican ticket and held the office during the years 1893-94-95. During his incumbency the first trial of the Corey murder case occurred, attracting widespread atten- tion. Mr. Senn conducted the prosecution alone and secured a convic- tion. He has served five years as a trustee of the Morrisville Union School, and is a member of Wewana Lodge of Odd Fellows in Morris- ville. He married in July, 1888, Mabel Dunham, daughter of A. Somers Dunham, of Verona, and two children have been born to them.
Ivers Munroe, who died at Oneida, July 4, 1899, in the seventy- seventh year of his age, was a gentleman of high standing in this com- munity, and one of the leading members of the Madison Bar. He came of an old New England family, and his grandfather, Lieutenant Eben- ezer Munroe, is credited by historians with having fired the first gun for the American side in the War for Independence; his father, Charles Munroe, was a soldier of the war of 1812, serving with the Ashburn- ham Light Infantry. Mr. Munroe was born at Ashburnham, Mass., in 1822, and in 1846 removed to Camden, N. Y., where he studied law
515
THE JUDICIARY AND BAR.
in the office of Stephen Cromwell. He was admitted to practice two years later, and formed a partnership with Mr. Cromwell, which con- tinued more than twenty years. During his residence at Camden he was elected justice of the peace, and from 1862 to 1865 was commis- sioner of drafts for the twentieth district, having his office in that of the provost marshal in Utica; it was through Hon. Roscoe Conklin, with whom he was on terms of intimate friendship, that he received this ap- pointment. In 1868 he went West, and located in Iowa, where he con- tinued the practice of law and was honored with various positions of public trust, ever discharging his duties with ability and fidelity. Though a stalwart Republican, he was not a politician in the accepted sense of the term, and was never a seeker for political preferment. In 1882 he located in Oneida, where he practiced until his death. Soon after his arrival here he was made attorney for the Oneida Savings Bank, in which capacity he served continuously until December, 1898, when, on account of ill health, he resigned. He was also one of the trustees of that institution. Mr. Munroe was a genial, affable gentle- man, whose presence is much missed in business and social circles. On the day following his death a meeting of the bar was held at the office of James B. Jenkins. County Judge Smith presided, and the minutes were recorded by Wilfred A. Leete. Judge Smith, Mr. Jenkins, Mr. Senn and Mr. Hunt, who succeeded Mr. Munroe as the attorney for the Oneida Savings Bank, eulogized the deceased member of the associa- tion, and the following resolution presented by a committee composed of ex-District Attorney Joseph D. Senn, Mr. Jenkins and Village At- torney E. Leland Hunt was adopted as expressive of the sentiment re- garding the simplicity and integrity of the deceased :
Resolved, That we, the members of the bar of Madison county, assembled at the office of James B. Jenkins, in the village of Oneida, hereby attest our high regard for the professional character and ability of our deceased brother. He was a care- ful, painstaking practitioner, faithful to his clients, courteous to his opponents, candid and honest with all. Judged by the high standard of manhood, his life was a success. His record was worthy of emulation.
It was further resolved that the bar should attend the funeral in a body. Similar action was also taken at a meeting of the trustees of the Savings Bank, with which Mr. Munroe was for several years actively identified.
Mr. Munroe married twice; he is survived by his second wife, Miss Jane Chapin, a daughter of Samuel Chapin of Oneida, and by one
516
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
daughter, Mrs. Homer Chapin of Oneida, and one son, Charles Munroe, of Hackensack, N. J.
Michael H. Kiley, district attorney of Madison county, was born at Horicon, Warren county, N. Y., August 28, 1861, a son of William and Mary (Cronin) Kiley. His father, a native of Ireland, came to this country in early life, and followed the occupation of farming. Mr. Kiley was the oldest of a family of seven children and early had to con- tribute to the general support. When a mere youth he taught in a dis- trict school during the winter months and worked on the farm in sum- mer. In the fall of 1880 he went to Chittenango, where he attended the Yates Academy, working for his board in the family of Dr. John R. Eaton. The following spring he went to work on the farm of the late Charles Peck in Manlius, Onondaga county, and in the fall entered Cazenovia Seminary, where, during his entire course he worked for his board and tuition. He was graduated with the Latin-Scientific class of 1883, and began his legal studies in the office of Hon. D. W. Cameron of Cazenovia, acting as instructor of beginning Latin classes at the seminary during the first year. He remained with Mr. Cameron as a student for three years and in April, 1886, he was admitted to the bar. He then formed a partnership with Mr. Cameron under the firm name of Cameron & Kiley, which continued i ntil the fall of 1891, since which time Mr. Kiley has practiced alone, having gained an excellent success and standing in his profession. As a criminal lawyer he has been highly successful; he has also given considerable attention to fraudu- lent transfers of real estate, and it is no idle compliment to say that as a jury lawyer he takes a front rank among the practitioners of this sec- tion, having been possessed even in his student days of considerable oratorical ability. His politics are Republican; he served for several years on the town committee and has been a frequent delegate to party conventions. His first political preferment was his election to the of- fice of justice of the peace in 1887. In 1888 he was nominated for school commissioner of the Second Madison county district, but was de- feated, the campaign having been conducted on lines which looked not to the qualifications of the man, but to his nationality and religious be- lief. In 1895 he was nominated for the office of district attorney and carried the county against James E. Brewer of Oneida, by a majority of 3,070, said to be the largest ever given to a local candidate. In 1898 he was renominated without opposition and without making an effort. Mr. Kiley married, in 1887, Chloe Celia Staring, daughter of Nicholas
517
THE JUDICIARY AND BAR.
J. Staring of Schuyler, Herkimer county, N. Y., and a descendant of Hon. Henry M. Staring, an early judge of Herkimer county. Their children are Marguerite E., Gertrude H. F. I., and William H. N.
L. A. Parkhurst, was born at Hobokenville, Madison county, N. Y., February 22, 1866. His father, E. Walker Parkhurst, was a native of the same town, where Orrin W. Parkhurst was one of the pioneer set- tlers. E. Walker Parkhurst married Victois L., daughter of George W. Eddy, and was engaged through life in farming. L. A. Parkhurst was educated in the common schools and Canastota Academy. He was graduated from the law department of the Georgetown University in 1891, and admitted to the bar in 1893. In 1898 Mr. Parkhurst married L. Mande, daughter of Mr. Nichols. Mr. Parkhurst is one of the pro- gressive men of Madison county, was elected school commissioner in 1893 and re-elected in 1896.
G. Wells Smith, of Morrisville, son of Judge John E. Smith, was born at Morrisville, July 5, 1868. He was educated at Morrisville Un- ion School, Cazenovia Seminary, and Albany Law School. He also read law in Judge Smith's office and was admitted November 23, 1894, at Syracuse. He has since practiced at Morrisville, first with his father, and at present with B. Fitch Tompkins. Mr. Smith is one of the prom- ising young attorneys of the county. He is a man of good address, ready in debate; is a fine musician, and possesses a keen and inventive mind.
Nathaniel Foote, senior member of the Madison county bar, was born at Sherburne, Chenango county, N. Y., July 9, 1813. He was educated in the Sherburne district and select schools and at Hamilton Academy. In 1837 he began to read law in the office of Henry Bennett at New Berlin, and completed his studies with J. Whipple Jenkins of Vernon, Oneida county, in 1840. For a period of three years Mr. Foote was in partnership with Hon. John E. Smith. He has practiced at Morris- ville from 1840 until the present time, and although a man of advanced age retains his faculties to a remarkable degree. From 1846 until the abolishment of the office by the new constitution he served as examiner in Chancery.
Harrison W. Coley of Oneida, was born at New Woodstock, N. Y., May 4, 1865. He gained his preliminary education at Cortland Normal School and was graduated from Cornell University with the class of 1887. He read law with George B. Davis of Ithaca; Eggleston & Crombie of Cortland; Franklin Pierce of Homer; and Edward F. Haskell of Oneida.
518
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
He was admitted in September, 1889, and has since practiced in Oneida. From October 15, 1889 to November 3, 1892 he was a mem- ber of the firm of Haskell & Coley.
Thomas A. Devereaux, who has practiced law in Oneida for the past twenty-three years, was born at Utica, N. Y., March 1, 1850, a son of Patrick and Sarah (McQuade) Devereaux, both natives of Ireland, who came to this country early in life. Mr. Devereaux was educated at the old Oneida Seminary, Holy Cross Jesuit College at Worcester, Mass., and the Christain Brothers School at Utica. He began the study of law in the office of James B. Jenkins in Oneida and was admitted to the bar September 7, 1876. He was associated with Mr. Jenkins as clerk and partner for a period of nearly twenty years, and since 1895 has practiced alone. During a portion of his partnership with Mr. Jenkins they were associated with J. I. Sayles of Utica, under the firm name of Sayles, Jenkins & Devereaux, and the firm was reputed one of the strongest in this section. Mr. Devereaux has been closely affili- ated with the Democratic party, but with the exception of two terms as corporation counsel of the village of Oneida has never held public office.
Wilfred A. Leete, son of Wilbur F. and Antonette (Church) Leete, was born at Potsdam, N. Y., April 27, 1872. He was educated at the Oneida High School. Mr. Leete was for eight years engaged in news- paper work, serving on the Utica Herald, the Norwich Telegraph, as World's Fair special correspondent of the Railway Times, as a special correspondent of the New York Times, and on the Oneida Dispatch. He began the study of law in the office of B. A. Ransom, and after the latter's death continued in the office of T. A. Devereaux. He was admitted at Albany in March, 1897, and has since practiced in Oneida. In politics he is a Republican. In 1897 he served as special attorney of the Department of Excise.
George W. Chapman of Canastota, son of William H. and Mary (Sayles) Chapman, was born at Clockville, October 11, 1847. He was educated at Cazenovia Seminary, and read law with Judge B. F. Chap- man of Clockville and Hon. Gerrit F. Forbes of Canastota, with both of whom he was subsequently associated in practice. Mr. Chapman served for some time as attorney of the West Shore Railroad, and also for the Lehigh Valley. For twelve years he was a justice of the peace.
Le Grand Colton of Canastota was born in that village August 6, 1849, a son of Clinton L. and Augustine (Chapman) Colton. He was edu-
519
THE JUDICIARY AND BAR.
cated at Cazenovia Seminary and Columbia College Law School, and also read law in the office of Church Forbes, and with Senator Hiscock. He was admitted in May, 1876, and has since practiced in Canastota. Mr. Colton is president of the First National Bank of Canastota.
Albert O. Briggs of Canastota was born at Otego, N. Y., June 18, 1853. He was educated at the Albany State Normal College, and read law at Leonardsville and Hamilton. He was admitted in May, 1880, and has practiced at Canastota since 1883. Mr. Briggs is now serving as referee in Bankruptcy. He is a past master of Canastota Lodge No. 231, F. & A. M., and a member of Doric Chapter, R. A. M. On his father's side Mr. Briggs descends from the Briggs family of Rhode Island, and on the maternal side from the noted Welsh family of Potter.
Joseph Beal of Oneida was born in Hamilton, January 10, 1856, a son of John and Catherine (Code) Beal. He was educated at Colgate Uni- versity and studied law in the office of Edwin J. Brown of Oneida. He was admitted in September, 1881, and has since practiced in Oneida. Mr. Beal is a Republican in politics; he served as justice of the peace four years and is now a member of the village board of education. He is also a member of Oneida Lodge No. 270, F. & A. M., and Eumenia Lodge of Odd Fellows.
Daniel C. Burke, son of Jeremiah and Ellen (O'Brien) Burke, was born in the town of Vernon, Oneida county, June 6, 1851. He was ed- ucated at Vernon Academy, and for several years taught school in win- ter and worked at various occupations during the summer months. He read law in the office of Hon. Ralph McIntosh of Vernon, and was ad- mitted to practice at Buffalo in June, 1880. Mr. Burke began practice at Vernon where he remained until January, 1886, when he came to Oneida. For some time he was in partnership with Hon. R. J. Fish, and later with J. E. Brewer. For a period of four years Mr. Burke ed- ited the Oneida Post. He has also served as police justice of the village of Oneida.
Josiah E. Ferry, son of Sanders and Lydia (Eaton) Ferry, was born in the town of Vernon, Oneida county, N. Y., October 22, 1829. He read law in the office of Nye & Whitmore of Hamilton, and later with Simeon E. Church of Hamilton, and Cook & Bruin of Kingston, N. Y. He was admitted at Albany in 1853 and began practice at Ellenville, Ulster county. He came to Oneida in 1855 and has ever since resided in that village. He is one of the oldest attorneys of the county.
520
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
E. Leland Hunt, son of Warren and Belinda (Leland) Hunt, was born near Stillwater, Saratoga county, June 14, 1864. His mother was a daughter of Judge Leland of Albany. Mr. Hunt was educated at Col- gate Academy, and began the study of law in the office of Risley, Quinn & Perry at Utica. Later he read in the office of Fish & Burke of Oneida. He was admitted in December, 1889, and began practice in Oneida. Mr. Hunt is now village attorney. He is also attorney for the Oneida Sav- ings Bank. Fraternally he is a member of Eumenia Lodge of Odd Fellows.
James E. Brewer, son of Edward E. and Amelia (Eigabroadth) Brewer, was born in the town of Verona, Oneida county, N. Y., October 7, 1864. He was educated at Cazenovia Seminary, and studied law with Sheldon S. Judson of Vernon. After his admission in 1889 he began his present practice in Oneida. In politics Mr. Brewer is a Democrat; has served as village trustee and is now police justice.
William K. Jermy, son of William T. and Susan S. (Kenyon) Jermy, was born at Hammond, St. Lawrence county, N. Y., February 17, 1875. He was educated at Cayuga Lake Military Academy, Oneida High School, New York Military Academy, and Cascadilla School at Ithaca (class of 1894). He began the study of law in the office of T. A. Dever- eaux of Oneida, and took the LL. B. degree from Syracuse University. He was admitted to practice in March, 1899.
Stephen Mead Wing of Canastota is one of the best known attorneys of the Madison county bar. He prepared for his profession at Hamil- ton College and in the office of Hon. Gerrit Forbes. Mr. Wing was admitted to practice in June, 1885, and has ever since enjoyed an active practice at Canastota.
Clarence L. Hobart, son of George A. and Alice (Harp) Hobart, was born in the town of Lenox May 8, 1871. He was educated at Yates Academy and began the study of law with A. O. Briggs of Canastota in 1892. He was admitted to practice in 1896 and has since that time practiced in Canastota. He serves as secretary of the water depart- ment, and clerk of the Union school district.
George B. Russell, son of Thomas R. and Maria (Barnard) Russell, was born at Cleveland, Oswego county, August 31, 1862. He was edu- cated in the common schools and at Rome Academy, and began the study of law with Hon. John E. Smith of Morrisville. Since his ad- mission in 1894 he has practiced at Canastota. In politics Mr. Russell is a Republican; he has served two terms as justice of the peace.
521
THE JUDICIARY AND BAR.
M. Eugene Barlow, son of Thomas and Cornelia G. (Rowe) Barlow, was born in Canastota, October 31, 1839. Hon. Thomas Barlow, his father, was a judge of Common Pleas, a state senator, and a member of the Court for the Correction of Errors which was supplanted by the amendment to the constitution organizing the Court of Appeals. M. Eugene Barlow was educated at Whitestown Seminary and read law with his father and in the office of Judge Alfred Kennedy. He was grad- uated at Albany Law School in 1862, and admitted the same year. From 1865 to 1868 he practiced in Crawford county, Ohio, and has ever since practiced in Canastota. He was for some years in partnership with Loring Fowler. Mr. Barlow was postmaster at Canastota during both administrations of Cleveland, and served as United States Com- missioner from 1870 to 1886.
Robert J. Fish, member of Assembly from this district, is of mixed New England and Irish parentage. He was born in the town of Au- gusta a little over fifty years ago, and received his education in the common schools of Augusta and Vernon, and at Vernon Academy. Prior to becoming twenty-one years of age he worked on a farm and taught school. After he attained his majority he engaged in farming with his brother William, and continued in that business and in teach- ing school until he began the practice of law. While engaged in farm- ing and teaching he managed to read law with R. McIntosh at Vernon, and was admitted to the bar in 1870. In the fall of that year he began practice at Rome where he remained until coming to Oneida in 1872. Although actively engaged in politics he never held any office except Member of Assembly. Mr Fish has been a prolific and successful legislator and has succeeded in passing all the acts in the interests of his county he has introduced except the Oneida Normal School Bill. Important acts which he has passed include: The bill for the improve- ment of the Oneida Feeder; the bill authorizing the construction of a hoist bridge over the canal at Canastota, and the bill for refunding to the county the state tax paid on bonded railroads during the past thirty years, amounting to about $30,000.
Charles Shumway, son of Sylvanus and Maria (Phillips) Shumway, was born at Guilford, Chenango county, June 10, 1847. His father has served for several years on the Chenango county board of supervisors. Mr. Shumway was educated at Norwich Academy, and Cortland Acad- emy. In 1867 he began the study of law in the office of Merritt & Prindle of Norwich, and remained with E. H. Prindle until his admis-
522
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
sion in December, 1870. He began practice at Norwich, and located in Oneida in the spring of 1884.
C. H. Perry, M. D., was born at Woodstock, Vermont, June 25, 1844, a son of Thomas J. and Mary (Atherton) Perry. He took the M. D. degree at Dartmouth College in 1866, and began practice at Perkinsville in his native state, removing to Oneida in 1873. Dr. Perry studied law with J. B. Jenkins in Oneida, securing a regular certificate of clerkship, and was admitted in November, 1897. He has gained considerable reputation as a medico-legal expert. He has served as health officer of the village of Oneida, and as president of the Madison County Pension Board two terms.
Matthew J. Shoecraft was born in Herkimer county in the year 1818, a son of Joseph and Lana (Calkins) Shoecraft. His father was a noted mathematician. Mr. Shoecraft was educated at Belleville Academy and at Union College where he was graduated in 1846. While engaged in the profession of teaching he began the study of law, and was admitted in 1849. He began practice in Oneida where he has since resided the following year. Mr. Shoecraft has been a staunch Democrat, and has been honored by his party with nominations as district attorney, mem- ber of assembly, and member of Congress. He served several years as president of the village of Oneida, and has been an official member of the State Bar Association.
Charles F. Kellogg of Chittenango was born in Mindon, Montgom- ery county, December 4, 1839, a son of Daniel Kellogg, a contractor and member of Assembly. Mr. Kellogg was educated in the common schools and read law with W. E. Lansing of Chittenango. He was a member of the State Senate in 1874-75. He married Lydia Moody of Fulton, N. Y., and of this union are two children : Daniel Fiske Kellogg and Bessie Kellogg. The former is city editor of the New York Sun. He went through Canada with William O'Brien the Irish agitator, as correspondent of that paper.
Samuel D. White of Hamilton was born in the town of Nelson, Feb- ruary 16, 1836. He was educated in Hamilton Academy. Mr. White studied law in Hamilton and was admitted to the bar in October, 1857. The following year he began practice at Brookfield and in 1866 re- moved to Hamilton where he has enjoyed an active practice.
Edward Stanley More, son of John S. and Elizabeth (Cole) More, was born in New York city October 31, 1852. He is a lineal descend- ant in the fourth generation of John More, a native of Scotland, who
523
THE JUDICIARY AND BAR.
€
was one of the first settlers of Delaware county, a soldier in the Conti- nental Army, and father of the first white child born in Delaware county. E. S. More was educated in the common schools and at Cort- land Normal School. For a period of seven years he taught school in Cortland, Chenango and Broome counties, meantime reading law. He was admitted in May, 1879, and the following year began practice at Cazenovia. In politics he is a staunch Democrat; he has served one term as justice of the peace.
Albert Smith Sheldon, of Hamilton, was graduated from Colgate University in 1873, studied law at Hamilton where he has always prac. ticed, and was admitted to the bar in 1877.
J. H. Pool of De Ruyter, was born at Fabius, Onondaga county, March 20, 1866, and was educated at DeRuyter Union School and Cor- nell University. He studied law at the latter institution and in the office of L. B. Kern at De Ruyter and was admitted in November, 1891. For a period of five years he practiced in association with Mr. Kern, they using the same office although not in partnership.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.