Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 78

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 78

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Mr. Draper always manifested a lively interest in the growth and prosperity of Rome, to which he liberally contributed through various important enterprises. He was one of the founders of the Fort Stanwix (now the Fort Stanwix National) Bank and served as its vice-president until his death, which occurred in Rome on April 6,

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1867. He was heavily interested in Rome real estate and numerous business proj- ects, which materially promoted the general welfare and advancement. He was always a conspicuous figure in local elections and in political affairs, not for the pur- pose of seeking office, for that he steadfastly refused, but for the good of his party and town. Originally a Whig and subsequently a Republican he was one of the few who contributed towards and procured the establishment of the Roman Citizen as a Whig newspaper in 1840. He unflinchingly stood by his convictions, and possessed a keen discrimination between right and wrong. He was a constant attendant of the Presbyterian church and required the same regular attendance of his family. Firm in friendship, cautious in expressing opinions, an earnest advocate of temper- ance, and a man of strict integrity, uprightness of character, and singleness of pur- pose, he was successful in every sphere of life. He was a man of few intimate friends but to those he was closely attached. Starting without a dollar he accumi- lated by his own industry an ample fortune, and in every respect was a self-made man.

He married Miss Eliza Holmes, daughter of Joseph and Mary (Bullard) Holmes, of Attleboro, Mass., who died July 3, 1872, in the eightieth year of her age. They had three children. Frances, born December 1, 1822, married Joseph A. Dudley (died in 1884), an early and prominent druggist and business man of Rome and later a whole- sale druggist in New York city, and died in 1872; Mary, who married, first, Henry S. Hill (died in 1854), a druggist of Rome, and second, Henry K. White, of Spencer & White, one of the oldest dry goods merchants in this city ; and Julia H., who mar- ried her second cousin, Sidney R. Kinney, grandson of Newton Mann, who was en- gaged in the drug business in Rome until his death in 1861. Mr. Draper's three sons-in-law- Messrs. Dudley, Hill, and Kinney-occupied one after another the same drug store and dwelling house, and all were representative business men.

EDWARD HUNTINGTON.

THE first American ancestor of this branch of the Huntington family of which there is any authentic record was Simon, who spent his youth in Windsor, Conn., but removed to Norwich in 1660, where he passed the remainder of his life. Ben- jamin Huntington, one of his descendants and the grandfather of the subject of this memoir, was born in Norwich, Conn., April 19, 1736, graduated from Yale in 1761, and soon became a prominent lawyer in his native town. He was a member of the Continental Congress in 1780-84 and 1787-88 and in 1789 was chosen from Connecti- cut to the first Congress of the United States. From 1781 to 1790 and from 1791 to 1793 he was a member of the Upper House of the Connecticut Legislature; in 1784 he became the first mayor of the city of Norwich, an office he held till he resigned in 1796. In 1793 he was appointed judge of the Superior Court and served in that capacity until 1798. During the Revolutionary war he rendered valuable service to the State and was a member of the convention held at New Haven for the regula- tion of the army. On one occasion, in the absence from home of Judge Huntington, his patriotic wife, in response to a pressing call on the part of the army, sent all

EDWARD HUNTINGTON.

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their bedding and available clothing to the heroic soldiers, supplying their place on the bed by blankets cut from carpets on the floor. His son, George Huntington, was born June 5, 1770, and was married May 21, 1794, to Hannah Thomas, of Nor- wich, Conn. He came to Whitestown, Oneida county, in 1792, and in 1793 removed to Rome (then Fort Stanwix), where in partnership with a brother, Henry, he estab- lished the first store at Fort Stanwix, now Rome, opening their goods for sale in the tavern of John Barnard, which stood just northeast of the present court house. Both were natives of Connecticut. In 1794 George Huntington built a frame store and dwelling on Dominick street and the firm continued mercantile business till about 1816. He was the first supervisor of the town of Rome in 1796, and held that office also in 1804, 1814, and 1817. In 1798 he was appointed one of the first side judges of the Common Pleas for the new county of Oneida, and was reappointed in 1801 and 1804. In 1810 he was elected to the Assembly and in 18:3 defeated for the office of lieutenant governor on the Federal ticket. In 1815 and again in 1822 he ran for State senator, but was defeated. He was elected to the assembly in 1818, 1819, 1820, and 1821, and from 1797 to 1819 officiated as collector for the Western Inland Canal. He was trustee of Rome village in 1820, 1821, 1822, 1826, and 1827, and died, universally respected and esteemed September 23, 1841. He reared a family of eight children, of whom Edward was the youngest.

Hon. Edward Huntington was born in Rome, June 23, 1817, and died here April 17, 1881. He prepared for college at Oliver C. Grosvenor's school, but failing health compelled him to abandon the idea of a collegiate training and turn his attention to civil engineering for the sake of outdoor exercise. In this occupation he found an ample field for the development of his talents and the congenial employment of his native energy. He afterward spent some time in Cuba, where, with Benjamin H. Wright, he was engaged on railroad surveys. Returning to Rome he became one of the engineers on the Utica and Schenectady Railroad and in 1839 was made chief of a corps of engineers employed on the enlargement of the Erie Canal, with headquar ters at Fort Plain. Upon the death of his father in 1841 he resigned this position and returned to Rome to look after the large landed and other property comprising the estate, which with his own interests commanded his attention ever afterward. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1846 and rendered valuable service in that important body. He was also for several years president of the vil- lage of Rome.

In 1855 Mr. Huntington was elected president of the Rome Savings Bank to suc- ceed the late Hervey Brayton and held that position until he resigned in 1878. Upon the death of Robert B. Doxtater in 1863 he was made president of the Rome Ex- change (now the First National) Bank. and officiated in that capacity until his de- cease. He was one of the prime movers in organizing the Rome Iron Works Com- pany in 1866 and served as its president till his death. He was also largely instru- mental in forming the Merchants Iron Mill, of which he was continuously a valued trustee. In all benevolent and charitable enterprises Mr. Huntington was ever a foremost participant and in every movement which promised benefit to the com- munity his name was conspicuous. He was one of the moving spirits in founding the Central New York Institution for Deaf Mutes in Rome in 1875 and was a mem- ber of its board of trustees from the organization until his death. He was also a

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trustee of the Rome Cemetery Association, a director in the Rome & Clinton Rail- road Company, and for many years a director and vice-president of the First National Bank of Utica.

Mr. Huntington always manifested a deep interest in educational matters and was especially prominent in establishing the Rome Academy, of which he was long a trustee. He was also influential in organizing the Rome free school system and be- came a member of the first Board of Education, a position he filled with singular ability and universal satisfaction. He was a faithful friend of and identified with the Young Men's Christian Association from its inception, being its first president and a member of its board of directors until his death. Throughout life he was a prominent member of the Presbyterian church.

Edward Huntington was first a Whig and later a Republican, a man of quiet and retiring disposition, and neither sought nor desired public office, yet he never shirked responsibility. He discharged every duty with an impartiality and fearlessness born of love of right and justice. He was a man of striet integrity, unswerving fidelity, and of great uprightness of character. A devout Christian, a life-long friend of popular education, a staunch supporter of the moral and public welfare, he was ever a generous promoter of all projects which promised advancement to the community. He had the best interests of Rome at heart, and contributed of both time and means toward building up the city and furthering its prosperity. He was widely respected and esteemed, and retained the confidence of all with whom he came into contact. Being heavily interested in real estate and numerous business enterprises he was one of the largest taxpayers, and in every capacity his counsel and advice carried the prestige of conviction.

September 4, 1844, Mr. Huntington was married to Miss Antoinette Randall, daughter of William Randall, of Cortland, N. Y., who survives him, as do also a son and four daughters.

ALBERT SOPER.

ALBERT SOPER was the eldest son of Philander and Jerusha Martin Soper, and was born in Rome, in February, 1812. His father had settled in Rome about 1809, hav- ing emigrated from Long Island. His mother had emigrated from Rhode Island about the same year.

Albert grew to manhood on the farm of his father, attending the common school winters, and finishing his education at Mr. - Grosvenor's Academy. At the age of eighteen he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for several years. A little later he began contracting, and while thus employed built the first planing mill erected in Rome. His earliest partner was Adam Van Patten, who was succeeded by William Simmons, an extensive lumber yard having been added to the business.

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.

albert Sopan

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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.

He 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 Hide 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 ill 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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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 l'., 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 O., 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 Chase, an eminent practitioner of the homeopathic school, and from there he became a student during the winter of 1846-47 in the medical department of the

SAMUEL O. SCUDDER, M. D.

E. J. LAWTON, M. D.

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University of New York City, in which the noted physician, Dr. Valentine Mott, was a professor. He was graduated from the Homoeopathic 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 homoeopathic 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. Scudder 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 homœopathy in this part of the State. He was one of the founders and a lifelong member of the New York State Homœo- 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 sur- 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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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. He 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 commenced the study of medi- cine, 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 politics. He 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

THOMAS M. FLANDRAU, M. D.

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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 en- 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, sym- 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 Thomas Hunt and Elizabeth M. (Macomb) Flandrau, was born in New York city on the Sth 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. His 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 1788 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, Herkimer, 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 county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 78

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