Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 66

Author: Wager, Daniel Elbridge, 1823-1896
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: [Boston] : The Boston history co.
Number of Pages: 1612

USA > New York > Oneida County > Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York; > Part 66

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).

In politics Dr. Hunt is a Republican. In November, 1873, he was appointed, by Gov. John A. Dix, coroner of Oneida county to fill a vacancy and was elected to that office three consecutive terms, serving in all nearly ten years. On June 12, 1874, he was appointed health officer of the city of Utica, in which capacity he served most efficiently for nearly twenty years. In passing the Civil Service examination for that position the Albany Evening Argus of August 18, 1885, said: " Health officer Hunt, of Utiea, was one of the three highest who passed the Civil Service examination, his standing being 92 9-10 out of a possible 100. The doctor is an adept at determin- ing knotty questions, and his brilliant record is no more than might be expected."

Other newspapers, in commenting at length upon his record as a health officer, ete., said :

" As health officer he ranks among the first in the State of New York."

" He has also contributed largely to the annual reports of the State Board of Health articles of great interest on public matters. Among his best efforts in this respect is his report as chairman of the Committee on Public Institutions in the first annual report of the State Board of Health of New York for the year 1880. This is a very lengthy report, and the doctor presents the results attained in one of the largest and most useful publie buildings, the New York State Hospital, in a very

BIOGRAPHICAL.

able and scientific manner, touching upon the system of ventilation, heating, drain- age, and water supply."

In the second annual report of the State Board of Health of New York, for the year 1881, as chairman of the Committee on Public Institutions, Dr. Hunt is thus spoken of in the introduction: "He presents an outline of results of personal in- spection and exact inquiry into the present condition and sanitary wants of school- houses, as shall fitly serve the purposes of the board to institute and induce needed sanitary improvements in our school houses and in the schools themselves, and at the same time to suggest and stimulate local concern in this matter."

" His lectures to the school of nurses at St. Luke's Hospital, of Utica, for the past number of years have been very instructive to the nurses, and have been read by thousands of those who have made public health a study; he is known far and near throughout the United States on all questions pertaining to public health."

In 1887 Dr. Hunt was strongly urged for the mayoralty of the city of Utica, and received the unanimous nomination of the convention, but for personal reasons was compelled to decline the honor.

On the 28th of January, 1874, Dr. Hunt was married to Miss Ella R. Middleton, daughter of Robert Middleton, president and superintendent of the Globe Woolen Company of Utica. They have four children : Gertrude May, Mabel Lillian, Robert Middleton, and Ella Louisa.

ISAAC R. SCOTT.

THE Scott family from whom the subject of this sketch is descended was founded in America by three brothers who came from Scotland and first settled in Boston, Mass., in the seventeenth century. One of them finally located in Bellingham, Mass., while the other two went with Roger Williams to Rhode Island and took up land on the Blackstone River. Their descendants have for generations been prominent fac- tors in the civil, social and commercial life of New England and are numbered among the most progressive and substantial citizens. Larned Scott, son of Nathaniel and the father of Isaac R., was born in Cumberland, R. I., and became a mill architect and engineer of considerable note. He erected many of the older mills in New England, among them being one in Uxbridge, Mass., the Atlantic Delaine Mills in Providence, and Lonsdale mill No. 3 in Lonsdale, R. I. In 1832 he moved with his family to Lonsdale and established a machine shop, and there his wife, Joanna C. Clark, a native of Cumberland, R. I., died in 1833. His death occurred in Provi- dence in 1852. They had three children: Isaac R. of Utica, and William L. and Mary, both deceased.

Isaac Raze Scott, eldest son of Larned and Joanna C. (Clark) Scott, was born in Cumberland, R. I., August 5, 1817, and inherited the sturdy and thrifty traits of character that distinguished his ancestors. He received a common school education in his native town and in addition, while the family were in Lonsdale, attended an academy in Wrentham, Mass., for a period of six months. As a boy he showed

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

great aptitude for mechanics, and during the intervals of school and work spent much time in the shop of his father. This sort of play, this fondness for the use of tools, helped him to acquire under his father's eye a practical knowledge of mechan- ical werk before he began to learn his trade. About 1835 he entered his father's shop and commenced the active application of his trade of machinist, but the next year went to Woonsocket as foreman in the repair shop of one of the textile mills. In the spring of 1839 he went to Newton Upper Falls, Mass., to take charge of the repair shop of a plant then known as the Eliot Mills, a cotton manufactory, where he remained until October. 1844. Soon after going there he made the acquaintance of Otis Pettee, whose shops were shortly destroyed by fire. Mr. Pettee then bought the Eliot mills and Mr. Scott's sphere of action was greatly enlarged, he having been made foreman of the shops and placed in charge of the work of erecting new ma- chinery as well as doing repairing. In 1844 he became mechanical agent of the Boston Manufacturing Company at Waltham, Mass., where he remained for twenty- eight years, or until 1872. This company, besides manufacturing cotton, then built machinery and did considerable repair work, and after about two years in charge of the machine shop Mr. Scott was made superintendent of the entire plant. In 1860 he became the agent, succeeding Ebenezer Hobbs. When Mr. Scott first went to the company the plant consisted of 11,000 spindles, while the bleachery had a capacity of two tons of coarse cotton cloth per day; the stock was valued at about $600 per share, par $750. When he left it the plant contained 43,000 spindles, the bleachery and dye house had a capacity of fourteen tons of a greater variety of product per day, and the stock could not be bought for less than $1,410, the par value in the meanwhile having been raised to $1,000 from the earnings of the mill. He gave the directors six months' notice of his desire to resign; at their request this was extended a month and the board sent him a most complimentary letter besides presenting him with a check for $5,000.

During the next ten years Mr. Scott made Waltham his home, enjoying more pleasure than ever before in his life, yet remaining pretty active, serving as an ex- pert before the courts on mechanical cases, particularly those connected with water works, and in this capacity he was employed by the city of Boston for one year. Immediately after resigning the agency of the Boston Manufacturing Company he constructed the Waltham water works under contract. On the 14th of March, 1882, Mr. Scott came to Utica to erect and superintend the equipping of the first mill of the Skenandoa Cotton Company. This mill, known as No. 1, had 10,000 spindles, running altogether on hosiery yarns, and upon the completion of the work Mr. Scott, who, in the opinion of one of the directors (a man widely known in cotton- mill circles in this country and in Europe), was one of the most successful mill man- agers he ever met, was invited to take the entire management of the plant. Mill No. 2 was completed in 1887 and contains over 13,000 spindles; No. 3 was built in 1893 and'contains more than 25,000 spindles: the entire spindlage of the plant is about 51,600 spindles. The original capital of $200,000 has been increased to $600,000.

To Mr. Scott's practical ability and active management as superintendent is largely due the wonderful success of this great corporation. He is a man of wide experience, and is one of the oldest and ablest active mill managers in the country. From the

BIOGRAPHICAL.

first he has given his attention to the practical operation of the mill and until 1893 performed the entire work of supervision alone; he was then given an assistant in the person of D. W. Gray, formerly of Lonsdale, R. I. Mr. Scott also attends tothe buying and selling, and in performing this work travels on an average 1,000 miles each month. His entire life has been spent in mills, and by close application to the practical mechanical parts of his work, and later to the business end, he has steadily advanced through every stage to the highest post in his calling. His career has been one series of successes, and all have been attained by his own efforts. He possesses a natural inclination for mechanics and an ambition to master every detail. These qualities, combined with great executive ability and sound judgment, and a rare power of concentration, led him eventually into his present position-the man- ager of a mill erected and equipped under his superintendence, attending to the practical operation of the plant, and buying everything that goes into it and selling its product, which amounts to over a million dollars annually. To combine these duties certainly calls for a rare combination of intellect and ability, and this ability, in all its strength, in a man seventy-nine years of age, is extremely rare. In politics Mr. Scott was originally a Whig and since about 1856 he has been an unswerving Republican. He cast his first vote for William Henry Harrison for president in 1840. During the war, while a resident of Waltham, Mass., he took an active part in rais- ing a company of volunteers and served as chairman and treasurer of the committee which had charge of the recruiting. Twice he visited this organization in the field and looked after its interests during its term of service. He is a member of Fort Schuyler Club of Utica, and since taking up his residence here has manifested a keen interest in the welfare and advancement of the city.

Mr. Scott was married in December, 1838, to Miss Sarah A., daughter of Robert and Patty Whipple, all natives of Smithfield, R. I. They have had two children: Edward S. Scott, of Rogers, Ark., and Mary C., who married William S. Hall, of Perth Amboy, N. J., and died in 1895.

WATSON T. DUNMORE.

THE ancestry of Hon. W. T. Dunmore, of Utica, dates back to the colonial period, and for several generations has occupied a prominent sphere in the history of their respective communities. His paternal grandfather, Larry Dunmore, jr., son of Larry Dunmore, sr., of Scotch descent, was born near Johnstown, N. Y., about 1770, and married Irene Fairchild, daughter of Matthew Fairchild. About 1793-94 they were living in Canandaigua, where five children were born, viz .: Lovisa, about 1796; Larry, jr., 1998; John, 1800; Ann, 1803; and Irene, 1805. Soon after the birth of the latter the family returned to Johnstown and subsequently removed to Duanesburg, Schenectady county, where Matthew, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in 1812. They had in all ten children who grew to maturity, the others being Kate, George, Sherman and Jane. Of these George Dunmore became an early and a prominent missionary to Turkey. On the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion he returned to America, became chaplain of the 1st Wisconsin Cav.,

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

and was killed in Arkansas in the first engagement of his regiment. Larry Dun- more, the father of these children, served at Sackett's Harbor in the war of 1812, and afterward moved his family to Auburn, Susquehanna county, Pa., and thence to Rush, an adjoining town, where he established a family homestead. He died in the State of New York. Matthew Dunmore, the son above mentioned, died in 1863, on the old farm in Rush, which he purchased when he was fifteen years of age. He was one of the substantial men of the town and served for several years as a justice of the peace. He married Sarah S. James, who died in May, 1847. Their children were Evander, deceased; Delphine (Mrs. Norman Sterling), of Meshoppen, Pa .; Ar- villa (Mrs. James R. Ilay), deceased; and Watson 'T., the subject of this sketch.

On his mother's side Judge Dunmore is descended from David James, of Welsh ancestry, who served eight years in the Revolutionary war, being honorably dis- charged June 5, 1783. He enlisted as a private in Capt. John N. Cummings's Com- pany, 2d Battalion, 2d Establishment, New Jersey Continental line, and served with the New Jersey brigade in the Indian campaign in Western Pennsylvania in 1779. He also served as private and sergeant in Capt. Cyrus D'Hart's Company, 2d Regt., New Jersey Continental Line, was in the Virginia campaign in 1481, and was at the battle of Yorktown, Va .. and the surrender of Lord Cornwallis in October, 1781. Besides this he participated in the battles of Three Rivers, Brandywine, German- town and Monmouth, and remained in the army until the close of the Revolutionary war, when he received a badge of merit for eight years' faithful service. Ile died July 18, 1834, aged seventy-seven years, six months and twenty days, and was buried on the 20th in the Presbyterian churchyard in Deerfield, N. J. On December 6, 1784, he married Philothea Watson, and of their children David, jr., was born Octo- ber 26, 1785, and died in Philadelphia, Pa., November 5, 1816; Thomas Watson was born October 20, 1777; and Lewis Mulford was born September 15, 1789. Thomas Watson James, the father of Mrs. Sarah Dunmore, was married September 2, 1812, to Hannah Smith, and their children were: William W., born July 28, 1813, died January 29, 1815; Sarah S., born February 28, 1815; David, born April 10, 1817; Thomas S., born February 17, 1819; Hannah Maria, born February 7, 1821; Lewis M., born January 2, 1823, died December 31, 1827; Abijah S., born October 2, 1824; Caroline Loiza, born January 29, 1827; and Theodore C., who occupies the home- stead in Auburn, Pa. Mr. James moved on to a farm in the town of Auburn, Sus- quehanna county, Pa., and died there, the homestead being still in the family. He was an early settler and prominent in the history of Susquehanna county, where he was one of the most substantial farmers. When he first came there he walked to Wilkesbarre, fifty miles, for his mail. A number of his descendants have become prominent in special fields, notably a grandson, Arthur, who is a professor in Wes- leyan University in Connecticut; Rev. David M. James, D.D., for twenty-five years a prominent Presbyterian clergyman of Bath, Pa .; George W., another grandson, is principal of the public schools in Wilkesbarre; Benton E., a third grandson, was formerly superintendent of schools of Susquehanna county, and is now principal of the High school at Montrose, Pa .; Rev. W. H. James, D.D., for more than twenty- five years a Presbyterian clergyman in Springdale, Ohio; and Thomas A., still an- other grandson is a leading physician in Wilkesbarre.

Hon. Watson Thomas Dunmore, the youngest of the four children of Matthew and

BIOGRAPHICAL.

Sarah (James) Dunmore, was born in Rush, Susquehanna county, Pa., March 28, 1845, and inherited from his ancestors those sturdy and thrifty characteristics which distinguished the race. He prepared for college at Wyoming Seminary in Luzerne county, Pa., and in the fall of 1868 entered the sophomore class of Wesleyan Uni- versity at Middletown, Conn., from which he was graduated with the degreeof B.A. in 1871, with membership in the Alpha Delta Phi society. Two of his classmates were Hon. Theodore E. Hancock, the present attorney-general of the State, and Rev. A. P. Palmer, pastor of the South Street church, Utica. Leaving college he taught school for a time, being principal of the High school in Bradford, Vt., for two years. He then read law in the office of Hon. Roswell Farnham, ex-governor of Vermont, and was admitted to the bar of that State in June, 1874. In the following autumn he became principal of the graded school in Susquehanna Depot, Pa., and during his first term there he was invited by the people of Hornellsville, N. Y., to come to that city as superintendent of their schools. At the close of the term he ap- plied for and received a release and accepted the position offered him in this State, which he ably and satisfactorily filled until the end of the school year 1875. As a teacher Judge Dunmore attained an excellent reputation and met with unusual suc- cess, and at the same time acquired a valuable practical knowledge of both books and human nature; but his inclination was the practice of law, for which he was peculiarly adapted and fitted. In the fall of 1874 he had entered his name in the Law School of Hamilton College and was graduated from that institution with the class of June, 1875, keeping up his studies, as was the rule in those days, in the leis- ure of his active duties.' In 1875 he came to Utica and formed a copartnership with Smith M. Lindsley, under the firm name of Lindsley & Dunmore, which continued about seven years. Following this he practiced alone and in various partnerships until May 1, 1888, when the firm of Dunmore & Sholes was organized. On March 1, 1893, this became Dunmore, Sholes & Ferris, which still continues.

Judge Dunmore has always been an active Republican, and has frequently con- tributed to the success of his party. In 1886 he was elected special county judge and served in that capacity for three years, when, in 1889, he was re-elected for an- other term of three years. In the second election he led his ticket in the county by about 200 votes, receiving 1,500 majority, which was the highest received by any candidate, the lowest being beaten by over 2,000. In 1892 he was elected county judge of Oneida county for a full term of six years beginning January 1, 1893. In these capacities as well as in all others he has officiated with dignity, credit, and sat- isfaction, and has won the esteem and confidence of not only his constituents, but the public at large. As a lawyer he ranks among the foremost practitioners of Cen- tral New York. As a jurist he has evinced sound judgment, a clear grasp of legal complications, rare executive ability, and a thorough knowledge of the law. Out- side of his profession, however, he is not without honors. He has always taken a keen interest in the welfare and prosperity of Utica, and is prominently identified with many of its leading institutions. He was one of the organizers in February, 1884, of the Homestead Aid Association of Utica, which is now one of the largest local associations in the State, having an invested capital of between $600,000 and $700,000. As attorney he has always directed its legal affairs, and for a time served as one of the directors. In January, 1896, he succeeded George Dimon as president

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

and in this capacity he is ably guiding the association along the lines of public bene- faction and general usefulness, especially to the wage-earner and home-builder, whom it is designed most to assist. Judge Dunmore is also a director in the Utica Knitting Company, was one of the founders of the Utica Business Men's Associa- tion, and was one of the organizers of the State League of Building and Loan Asso- ciations, of which he was the first treasurer, an office he held for several years. He was president of the League in 1892, and a member of its executive committee from the organization until after he was elected county judge, when professional and other duties compelled him to resign. He was a representative of the New York State League to the World's Congress of Building and Loan Associations held at Chicago in 1894, and was one of the five Americans selected to prepare an address to that congress on the subject of building and loan association work. The judge's efforts in elevating and placing these enterprises on a sound financial basis have been signally successful, and rank him among the foremost promoters of building and loan associations in the country. Judge Dunmore also takes an active interest in fostering and promoting fraternal, benevolent, and social organizations, and is himself a member of several of them. He is a Knight Templar, holding membership in Utica Lodge No. 47, F. & A. M., Oneida Chapter R. A. M., Utica Council R. & S. M., and Utica Commandery No. 3, K. T. He is also a member of Oneida Lodge, No. 70, I. O. O. F., a past noble grand, and for several years its treasurer; also of Tri-Mount Encampment, No. 24, I. O. O. F., in which he has held all the chairs. He is a member of Excelsior Lodge K. P. and of Fort Schuyler Club, and a charter member of Fort Schuyler Lodge, R. A. Both he and his family are members of Westminster Presbyterian church.

Judge Dunmore was married on July 9, 1878, to Miss Minnie E. Goodier, daughter of Jonathan and Clarissa (Treadway) Goodier, of Utica. They have six children : James S., Watson T., jr., Clara T., Russell G., Earl W., and Della.

ARTHUR C. WOODRUFF.

ARTHUR CLEVELAND WOODRUFF, son of Dr. Hurlbert H. and Calista (Abbott) Wood- ruff, was born in the village of Camden, Oneida county, N. Y., June 13, 1851. His maternal grandfather, Eben Abbott, held the commission of captain and major in the War of 1812, and soon after 1840 settled in Camden, where he died. Dr. Wood- ruff was a graduate of Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., and began the practice of medicine in North Salem, Westchester county, N. Y., whence he removed in 1850 to Camden, where he opened the first drug store in the village. He practiced his pro- fession here with marked success, and also temporarily in Washington, D. C., for a time, and died in Camden on November 2, 1881, at the age of fifty-six. His wife's death occurred here November 27, 1895, in the sixty-eighth year of her age.

Arthur C. Woodruff was educated in the public schools and academy of his native village, in Union Academy in Belleville, N. Y., and was graduated from Lowville Academy in 1870. Immediately after completing his literary studies he entered the office of the late Hon. George K. Carroll, in Camden, and read law there until

BIOGRAPHICAL.

his admission to the bar at Buffalo general term June 13, 1873. He then formed a copartnership with his legal preceptor under the style of Carroll & Woodruff, which continued for three years. Mr. Woodruff then practiced his profession alone until 1883, when his brother, Eben C., was admitted to the bar and became his law part- ner under the name of A. C. & E. C. Woodruff. This partnership continued success- fully until January 1, 1895 when it was dissolved. Since then he has practiced alone.

Mr. Woodruff is a prominent member of the Oneida county bar and has always enjoyed an extensive professional business. As a lawyer he has been almost in- variably successful, and as counselor and legal adviser he has won the confidence and respect of a large clientage. He has always been a staunch Democrat. In pol itics he early became a prominent and an influential factor, especially in his native village, which, although Republican, has frequently placed him in positions of trust and responsibility. He was village magistrate for twelve successive years, president of the village in 1891, member of the water commission five years, and village trus- tee several terms, and for the last fifteen years a member of the board of education, of which he is now the secretary. He was one of the originators of the Camden Opera House Company, in which he is a stockholder, and for the last twenty years has served as vestryman of Trinity Episcopal church. Mr. Woodruff has always taken a deep interest in the advancement and prosperity of the village of Camden, favoring such important public improvements as the water works, electric light, town hall, etc., and to all matters affecting the general welfare he lends his unquali- fied support. Public spirited and enterprising he is in every respect a prominent and an influential man.

On Christmas Day, 1880, he was married to Miss Theresa A. Carroll, daughter of his legal preceptor, Hon. George K. Carroll, and Caroline F. Linkfield, his wife, by whom he has two sons: George Carroll, born February 9, 1885, and Laurence Abbott. born November 25, 1888. George K. Carroll was a leading lawyer in Camden for about twenty years, a member of Assembly, and a prominent factor in the Demo- cratic politics of Oneida county.

STEPHEN CROMWELL.

STEPHEN CROMWELL, for more than forty years a prominent lawyer of Camden, was born in Carlisle, Schoharie county, N. Y., September 18, 1815. With a limited com- mon school education he left home at the age of seventeen to seek his fortune in the West, and for two years was employed on the Mississippi river steamboats. He spent another two years in the South and then went to Ohio, where he read law with his brother, teaching school at the same time as a means of gaining a livelihood. He was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1842, but in the following year returned to New York and in 1844 was admitted to the courts of this State. He then located perma- nently in Camden, Oneida county, and entered the office of D. Minor K. Johnson, to whose legal business he soon succeeded. For more than twenty years he had as his partner Ivers Monroe, a former law student. Mr. Cromwell continued in the active practice of his profession until 1887, when he retired, being succeeded by George F.

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.

Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 66

Author: Wager, Daniel Elbridge, 1823-1896 Publication date: 1896 Publisher: [Boston] : The Boston history co. Number of Pages: 1612

Author: Wager, Daniel Elbridge, 1823-1896
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: [Boston] : The Boston history co.
Number of Pages: 1612