Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 69

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 69

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Mr. Faxton was married on August 21, 1828, to Irene Miller Alverson, daughter of William and Chloe (Starr) Alverson. She was born in Utica June 14, 1802, and died April 29, 1868. Mr. Faxton's death occurred November 30, 1881.

ALBERT M. DICKINSON.

ALBERT MORTON DICKINSON, was born January 10, 1861, in the county of Hastings, Ontario, Canada. His parents were Americans, his father, John A. Dickinson, be- ing a native of Utica, N. Y., and his mother Lima B. (Reynolds) Dickinson, having been born in Michigan. Albert M. Dickinson was educated at the Newburgh Acad- emy at Newburgh, Ont., and learned the printer's trade at an early age. From 1818 to 1881 he taught school with much success on the Bay of Quinte and at Switzerville, Ont. In May, 1881, Mr. Dickinson married Joanna N. Dickson, of the Bay of Quinte district, and they have three children. In November of that year he removed to Utica, N. Y., where for a few months he was employed on the Utica Herald. In March, 1882, he left the "Herald" and became one of the founders of the " Press," doing local work for that paper. In the fall of the same year Mr. Dickinson ac- cepted a position on the staff of the Saturday Globe, then in its infancy, where he has remained ever since, working his way up round by round until in 1888 he became its managing editor.

Mr. Dickinson is a true knight of the pencil, is ever ready to trail a cyclone, to in- vestigate the ravages of flood or fire, and mingle with bandit men in searching out material for " specials " to his paper. His style of writing is graphic, and his port-

B. P. ALLEN, M. D.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

rayal of scenes and incidents excites the interest of his readers and holds their at- tention. Mr. Dickinson was one of the two newspaper men-from Central New York who visited the scene of the Johnstown flood immediately after the disaster. He was present at the capture, trial, and execution of Frank Almy, the infamous New Hampshire bandit and murderer. He has tested the mystic powers of negro voodooism in the south and spent several weeks among the White Caps of Kentucky and Indiana during the reign of terror in those States. And on those and other topics of note he has given to the constituents of the "Globe" from time to time the benefit of his rare experiences. Mr. Dickinson is an Odd Fellow and a member of the Utica Typographical Union.

BION PEMBERTON ALLEN, M. D.

DR. BION PEMBERTON ALLEN, of Oriskany, is one of the young physicians of Oneida county, who, by his thorough knowledge and conscientious methods, backed up by a large amount of native ability, has already taken an advanced place in the profes- sion. He is abreast of the times in all the latest ideas and developments in the science of medicine, and brings to its aid a careful well trained mind. All these qualifications have contributed to the marked success which he has achieved.

Dr. Allen was born at Oriskany Falls, Oneida county, December 22, 1866. He was born and raised to manhood on his father's farm, and there imbibed the princi- ples of industry and energy, which are as essential to a successful physician as to any other calling. He is a son of Emmet J. Allen, who has all his life been actively identified with the agricultural industry of the county. He too is a native of Oris- kany Falls, being a son of James H. Allen, an old and prominent citizen of the county. The ancestry originally came from English stock and were among the early settlers in New England. Emmet J. Allen married Florence E. Holmes, daughter of Leonard and Betsey (Parlin) Holmes, of Oriskany Falls. They have five sons and three daughters, Dr. Allen being the second in order of birth. He was educated at the public school in Oriskany Falls and Fairfield Seminary. At eighteen he began teaching, his first experience being in a district school in the town; then for one year he taught in the Union graded school in Oriskany Falls, and the following year was principal of the Westmoreland village school, By this time he had concluded to adopt the medical profession as his life work, and with that end in view entered the medical department of the University of Vermont, remaining there through one term. The opportunity for a more thorough education seeming to be better at the University of Pennsylvania, therefore he shifted to that institution in the fall of 1890, and spent three years there, graduating in 1893. After passing the New York State medical examination in June of that year he, in July following, went to Oriskany and entered into partnership with Dr. George R. Taylor, the leading physician of that place. This partnership continued until November, 1894, when Dr. Taylor re- tired from the partnership and moved to Clinton, N. Y. This left Dr. Allen the only resident physician in the village, thus placing upon him a responsibility which many physicians of much longer experience would hesitate to assume. But his success has

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

been achieved in this field which demanded skill and ability; and this has made him popular and esteemed by all who have come to know him. He is always courteous and obliging, with a kindness of heart so necessary to a true family doctor. Dr. Allen is an active member of the Oneida County Medical Society, and also the Medi- cal Library Association. His portrait presented herein indicates a keen, earnest mind that will give to his clientage the benefit of good judgment and honest service.

THOMAS S. JONES.

THOMAS S. JONES, one of the leading trial lawyers of the city of Utica, is a son of Samuel T. Jones, a well-known farmer and landscape gardener, and was born in Boonville, Oneida county, N. Y., August 23, 1840. He was educated in the public schools of his native village, at Whitestown Seminary, and at Fairfield Academy. At a comparatively early age he decided upon the law as a profession, for which he was well qualified by nature. Ile read law in the office of George W. Smith and later with H. R. Hadley, both of Boonville, and was graduated from the Albany Law School in 1862, being admitted to the bar of New York in the same year. Im- mediately after his graduation he commenced active practice in Forestport, Oneida county, but a few months afterward returned to Boonville, where he formed a co- partnership with Hon. Walter Ballou under the firm name of Jones & Ballou. This partnership was dissolved in 1872 and Mr. Jones became a partner of Hon. Henry W. Bentley, who was afterward elected to Congress and also surrogate of Oneida county. In January, 1887, Mr. Jones removed to Utica and associated himself in practice with William Townsend, under the firm name of Jones & Townsend, and on January 1, 1896, Joseph Rudd, jr., was admitted under the style of Jones, Townsend & Rudd.

Mr. Jones has been for many years an ardent and active Democrat, and has fre- quently been the standard bearer of his party. He represented his district on the Democratic State Committee during the years 1881, 1882, and 1883. He was twice elected district attorney of the strong Republican county of Oneida, first in the fall of 1886 by a majority of 73 and again in November, 1889, by the handsome ma- jority of 2,200. He won the reputation of being a vigorous prosecuting officer and was conspicuous in a number of noted trials. During his two terms as district at- torney he secured the conviction of two persons indicted for murder in the first de- gree, and both were executed. He also prosecuted and convicted the noted train robber, Chael Roark, who attacked and shot Express Messenger Leak on the West Shore Railroad. Roark received the maximum sentence for robbery in the first de- gree, which was twenty years. During this period Mr. Jones was also retained by the American Express Company to assist the district attorneys of Wayne and Her- kimer counties in prosecuting another notorious train robber, Oliver Curtis Perry. In all these capacities as well as in the capacity of a lawyer Mr. Jones has demon- strated rare ability and a thorough knowledge of the law, and in every case his duties have been discharged with great credit and satisfaction. At present his time is devoted principally to the trial of cases and especially to the practice of fire in-

BIOGRAPHICAL.

surance law. He is one of the recognized leaders of the Oneida county bar, and locally takes a keen interest in all public affairs. He is an Odd Fellow and a Royal Arch Mason.

October 7, 1874, Mr. Jones was married to Miss Mary Clarke, daughter of Fred- erick T. and Mary (Taylor) Clarke, of Boonville. She died April 11, 1895, leaving one son, Thomas S. Jones, jr., born November 6, 1882.

HENRY HAGEDORN.

HENRY HAGEDORN, of Prospect, Oneida county, was born November 15, 1838, in Hamilton county, N. Y. His home was in Morehouseville, where he spent most of his life up to 1878. The district school at Morehouseville supplied the foundation for his education, and a subsequent course at the Prospect Academy completed his school life. At the age of twenty-two he decided to learn the carpenter's trade, for at that time the building and progress of the northern part of New York was active. Mr. Hagedorn became one of the leading contractors and builders in that section, a business which proved both profitable to himself and satisfactory to those with whom he did business.

In 1863 Mr. Hagedorn regarded New York city as a more advantageous point in which to carry on his line of work, so he removed to that city and entered into build- ing and pattern making on a large scale. This continued profitably for three years, when he sold out and returned to Morehouseville. He then remained in the latter place till 1879, when a change in business affairs took him to Prospect, where he has since resided. At that time he bought the Watkins grist mill property and at once assumed active control of the plant. Although a new experience Mr. Hagedorn readily adapted himself to the new conditions and requirements which resulted in his building up one of the best mill properties in the northern part of Oneida county. The mill in 1886 was destroyed by fire, but Mr. Hagedorn at once replaced it with a complete Munson Bros.' milling outfit, so that it is now one of the leading mills of the county. Besides this Mr. Hagedorn owns the Bagg Hotel at Prospect, which is well suited for a haven for those seeking a summer outing.

Mr. Hagedorn is a Democrat, and has been an earnest, consistent supporter of the party's principles. For several years he represented his town in the Board of Super- visors, and for many years was a prominent member of the County Committee, be- sides the many delegations of which he formed an important part. Mr. Hagedorn has, however, retired practically from political work, choosing rather to devote his whole energies to his growing, prosperous business. He does step aside, though, in the interests of the Red Men, for to that organization he is a devoted member, always zealous in aiding its advancement.

Mr. Hagedorn's father was also Henry Hagedorn, who came from Germany and settled in Morehouseville in 1837, being one of the early farmers there. He died in 1868. His wife was Margaret A. Mesloh, a native of the kingdom of Hanover, Ger- many. She died in 1890. Henry Hagedorn, subject of this sketch, was one of three children born to them, Andrew and Helen being the others. Andrew died at More- houseville in 1891. Helen married Thomas Williams, of Grey, N. Y.

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

Mr. Hagedorn married, in 1877, Amelia Colwell, of Ohio, Herkimer county. They have one daughter, Catherine, who is living at home.

SAMUEL J. BARROWS.

THE first American ancestor of the subject of this sketch was John Barrus, who came with his wife Anna from Yarmouth, England, in 1637, and settled in Salem, Mass. His and several succeeding generations rendered the name Barrus, but like many other family names has become Americanized into Barrows, which has pre- vailed for the last hundred years. John Barrus, by his second wife, Deborah, had three children: Joshua, Beniger, and Ebenezer, and died in Plymouth, Mass., in 1692. Ebenezer Barrus married Elizabeth Lyon, settled in Attleboro, Mass., and was the father of Abraham, who was born there February 11, 1714. Abraham Barrus removed to Cumberland, R. I., where all his children, nine in number, were born. In 1765 he moved to Richmond, Cheshire County, N. H. His son, Jeremiah Barrus, was born in Cumberland, R. I., October 17, 1756, married Prudence Shafter on De- cember 4, 1783, lived mainly in Richmond, N. H., had nine children, and fought in the ranks of the Continental army at the battles of Bunker Hill, Trenton, Princeton, and Bennington. He was the last of the Revolutionary soldiers who died in the town of Richmond, his death occurring October 25, 1850, at the age of ninety-four. He was a member of Capt. Oliver Capron's militia company from Richmond, N. H., which joined Col. Ephriam Doolittle's regiment, being commissioned at Cambridge June 12, 1775. The roll of this company appears in the return there of October 6, 1775, when stationed at Winter Hill in Cambridge, and may be found in the Adju- tant-General's office in Boston, and is probably the only record of the company now extant. The company, soon after this return was made, returned to their homes, with the exception of some who enlisted in the Continental army, among whom was Jeremiah Barrus. Mellen Barrows, son of Jeremiah and father of Samuel J., was born in Warwick, Franklin county, Mass., February 29, 1786, but spent his early life with the family in Richmond, N. H. He served in the war of 1812, being stationed at Portsmouth, N. H., and drew a pension for many years before his death, as did also his father for services in the Revolution. August 12 1810, he married Lucy, daughter of Ichabod and Chloe (Kempton) Whipple, jr., of Richmond, whose great- grandfather, Nathaniel Whipple, came there from Cumberland, R. I., in 1767. About 1815, after the last war with Great Britian had closed, Mellen Barrows moved with his family to McDonough, Chenango county, N. Y., where he died October 31, 1877, and where his wife's death occurred about 1875. He was a farmer, a staunch Democrat of the Jeffersonian school, a man of decided character, and liberally en- dowed with the ennobling qualities of native New Englanders. His wife was an exemplary Christian woman, and both were highly respected in the community where they spent most of their active lives.

Hon. Samuel Jones Barrows, son of Mellen and Lucy (Whipple) Barrows, was born in the town of McDonough, Chenango county, and spent his boyhood on the parental farm, helping his father and brothers in all kinds of work pertaining to farming un-

BIOGRAPHICAL.

til he reached his majority. He was the youngest of five sons and represents the sixth generation of his family. His education was obtained at odd intervals in the district and select schools of his native town, and the knowledge thus acquired was supplemented by a few months in the Academy at Norwich, N. Y. When twenty- one he taught a district school in an adjoining town for a short time, and in 1848 came to Utica to read law in the office of the late Hon. Joshua A. Spencer and Hon. Francis Kernan. He had decided upon entering the legal profession at a very early age, but the determination formed when a mere lad was carried out by him only after the utmost self-sacrifice and constant effort. His father being in moderate cir- cumstances he was obliged to practice economy and rely solely upon his own re- sources. He was admitted to the bar at the Utica General Term in 1851 and after- wards acted as managing clerk in the office of the late Judge Ward Hunt for one year. In 1852 he entered actively upon the practice of his profession in Utica, where he has ever since resided, and where he has attained the reputation of being one of the ablest lawyers in the county. As attorney and counsellor he has been uni- formly successful, and probably no practitioner has lost a smaller number of cases, a fact which well illustrates his long professional career.

Mr. Barrows was elected city attorney for the city of Utica in 1853 and held that office for one term. He also served as attorney and counsel for the board of excise of the county of Oneida from 1857 to 1870, when the law was changed from county to town and city boards. He held the office of corporation counsel for the city of Utica for five consecutive terms, from March, 1879, till March, 1884, being first ap- pointed by a Republican and afterward by a Democratic council, and it is to his credit and ability as a lawyer that the city, while he was its counsel, never paid any damages or costs in any action which he defended. Mayor James Miller, in his valedictory on retiring from office in March, 1882, said: "It is sufficient in reference to the corporation counsel to state that the city has not lost a suit which he has con- ducted. The amount expended for costs and fees during the three terms he has held the position was $176.17. During the preceeding three years it was $4,250.72. These figures require no comment." The costs and expenses of running the office during the five terms of Mr. Barrows's incumbency amounted to about $256. After the ex- piration of his term of office the Sunday Tribune said: "It is an undisputed fact that he was the most successful corporation council that the city has ever had." In 1889 he was elected mayor of the city of Utica on the Democratic ticket and held that office one term. During that term many noteworthy public improvements were made or inaugurated. Asphalt pavements costing over $150,000 were laid, iron pipe was laid under the Erie canal in West Utica at an expense of about $8,500, the Third and Seventh wards sewer outlet in West Utica was constructed at a cost of about $50,000, the motive power of the Utica Belt Line Street railway was changed from horse to electricity, and the abandoned Chenango canal lands were sold for $23,236, leaving about $6,000 above expenses with which to deepen Nail creek, build some bridges and replenish the city fund. The total amount of public improvements during his term as mayor was about $270,000, and in all of these Mr. Barrows labored unstint- ingly for the best interests of the city and its future welfare. He manifested a pro- gressive spirit, a thorough knowledge of municipal affairs, and an honest desire to give an able, economical, and business administration. That his efforts have proven

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

successful are evident, for time has demonstrated the soundness of his advice and the efficacy of his achievements.

All these offices came to Mr. Barrows unsought, and after serving for the periods mentioned, he declined re-election or appointment. He retired from official life to devote his entire attention to the general practice of the law and resume those professional duties which had been temporarily interrupted. He was elected a member of the Oneida Historical Society April 25, 1887. He has been twice mar- ried, his present wife being Mrs. Isabella Grace Lowery, daughter of John Gourley, deceased, late of Ogdensburg, N. Y.

ROBERT MIDDLETON.

ROBERT MIDDLETON, president of the Globe Woolen Company, of Utica, is the third son in a family of eight children born to Robert and Marjory (Burnett) Middle- ton, both natives of Aberdeen, Scotland, and was born in that university city on the 25th of May, 1825. His father, who was a manufacturer while in Scotland, came to America with his family in 1839 and settled in Middle Granville, Washington county, N. Y., where he spent the remainder of his life as a farmer, dying in 1876, aged eighty-six years. His wife's death occurred in 1856 at the age of fifty-two. They were liberally endowed with those Scotch characteristics of probity and respect- ability which invariably distinguish the race, and transmitted to their children those attributes of thrift and frugality that enabled them to lead unusually successful lives.

The educational advantages which Robert Middleton enjoyed were confined to the common schools of Granville, N. Y., where he made the best of his opportunities until he reached the age of eighteen. He then spent six years in the employ of the Lowell Carpet Company, of Lowell, Mass., and the succeeding seven years as as- sistant superintendent of the mills of the Merrimac Woolen Company. In these capacities he acquired not only a wide practical experience, but found an occupation which he liked, and which was the foundation of the life-work in which he has been more than ordinarily successful. He familiarized himself with every detail incident to the manufacture of woolen fabrics and thoroughly learned each branch of the business. In April, 1857, he was invited to visit the Utica Woolen Mills with the view of accepting the agency of the same, and after a personal interview with the late Theodore S. Faxton, then president of the company, and an examination of the mill property, he was engaged as agent and superintendent and entered upon his duties as such upon the 10th of May. 1857. He has ever since been connected with this establishment, and to him is mainly due the success of the company. The Globe Mills, as they were then called, had been in existence for several years, as re- lated in an earlier chapter of this volume, but as a business enterprise they had been unsuccessful. In 1854, just before the approach of the severest financial struggle the country has ever experienced, the company failed and the stockholders were assessed ninety-eight per cent. to pay outstanding debts, and the mill was sold at auction. On August 1, 1855, a new company was organized under the name of the Utica Woolen Mills. The panic of 1857 having been safely passed through a

BIOGRAPHICAL.

prosperous season began, and under the able management of its president and Robert Middleton as agent the mill gained large profits for its shareholders, paid the first dividend it had ever made, and established a repute for its fabrics that was second to none in the country. The capital, which had been $70,000 in the begin- ning, was in 1868 increased from the earnings to $300,000; new buildings were erected and the old machinery wholly replaced; and the name was changed to the Globe Woolen Company.

Mr. Middleton's excellent practical qualifications and his natural executive ability found ample scope for exercise, and he gave his best energies to the upbuilding of the company. The product was greatly improved in quality under his skillful direction, and other reforms were inaugurated which soon placed the concern on a firm and permanent foundation. The product of the mills was formerly sold by commission houses, but on January 1, 1864, a salesroom was established by the com- pany in New York city and the entire product, amounting to $1,200,000, is sold from there. When Mr Middleton assumed charge of the mills the output was not more than one-fifth the present quantity while the quality of the goods manufactured has advanced still more rapidly, and at the present time cloths are made that are not excelled in the country. On September 6, 1871, the entire property of the com- pany was destroyed by fire, but the mills were at once rebuilt and in 1886 a worsted mill was added to the plant. It is eminently proper to state that the stockholders of the company attribute a large share of the credit for the success of their mills to Mr. Middleton, who for nearly forty years has devoted his time, his great execu- tive ability, and his best energies to their management. In 1868 his son, Walter D. Middleton, entered the offices of the company in a subordinate capacity, and has risen by various promotions to the superintendency, which position he now fills. On January 19, 1882, Mr. Middleton succeeded the late Theodore S. Faxton as president, which office he has since held, and during the remainder of the lifetime of Mr. Faxton he was Mr. Middleton's faithful friend and trusted adviser.

Outside of his regular business connections Mr. Middleton is a public spirited citizen. He possesses a large fund of general information, and has always will- ingly and liberally aided every movement for the good of the community. For many years he has been prominently connected with the local banking interests and with various private business undertakings, all of which are the gainers through his counsel and material participation. In politics he is a staunch Republican, but throughout life has held himself aloof from active work in political fields. He is a man of the strictest integrity, courteous, affable, and sympathetic, broad-minded, charitable, and keenly alive to the needs of the community. During his long and successful career in the manufacture of woolen fabrics he has not only won the con- fidence and respect of his business associates but the esteem of all with whom he has come in contact, and especially of those in his employ, who owe him many a debt of gratitude for valuable counsel and advice.

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Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 69

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