Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 82

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 82

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Mr. Williams was married at Whitesboro by Rev. John Frost, on November 4, 1824, to Miss Mary Billington, who was born at Stone Arabia, N. Y. (a place of Revolutionary fame a short distance below Little Falls), on March 26, 1805, and who

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died in Utica on January 2, 1882. Mr. Williams died in Utica on July 27, 1886. Mrs. Williams's mother, whose maiden name was Margaret Waggonor, was also a native of Stone Arabia and a member of the Waggonor family who fought with General Herkimer at the battle of Oriskany, in which two of her brothers participated. Mar- garet Waggonor married Peter Billington. His father, Samuel Billington, was killed at the battle of Oriskany and was one of the four Committee of Safety of Tryon County who volunteered as privates and were all killed on the battle-field. Mr. and Mrs. Williams had four sons: Aras G. Williams, of Brooklyn, N. Y., at one time sheriff of Kings county, who died in 1880; Irvin A. Williams, the well known loco- motive headlight builder, of Utica; James H. Williams, who has carried on the manufacturers' supply business founded by his father in Utica, and Norman A. Will- iams, who was at the time of his death in 1879 connected with his brother James H. under the firm name of J. H. & N. A. Williams in Utica. The family home and residence of Mr. Williams in Utica was on the corner of Rutger and Steuben streets and was torn down in 1894 to make room for the new State armory, which now oc- cupies the site.

Irvin A. Williams was born in Oriskany, Oneida county, June 9, 1829, came with his parents to Utica in April, 1841, and when eighteen began to learn his trade, wood turning, and afterwards the trade of machinist, in his father's shop. In 1851 he com- menced experimenting for the building of a locomotive head light. He continued a long series of experiments, both in the shop and on the locomotives while in motion on the railroad, and perfected his lamp and brought out a model, for which he ob- tained his first patent in October, 1854. Continuing the business and making further improvements another patent was granted to him October 27, 1857, and still another on April 29, 1862, for a circular hollow wick burner to burn coal or kerosene oil in the locomotive head light. This burner is now in general use in all circular wick house lamps, and has superseded all other burners for locomotive headlights. This patent was contested by suits in the United States courts and the patent office, at great expense, for eighteen years, but Mr. Williams triumphed over every point. Since then he has received several other valuable patents for further improvements on his headlights. He is universally recognized as the pioneer locomotive headlight inventor and manufacturer in America, and is thoroughly and practically conversant with every branch of the business. In 1881 he took his son, Charles I. Williams, into partnership, under the firm name of I. A. Williams & Co., and in 1893 his youngest son, Aras J. Williams, entered the firm, which still retains the same name. The plant comprises the five-story brick building on Blandina street, previously men- tioned, and the sales extend throughout the world wherever the American type of railroad locomotive is used.

EDMUND A. GRAHAM.

EDMUND AUGUSTUS GRAHAM, son of Levi Pawling and Elizabeth (Banks) Graham and grandson of Lient. Daniel and Catherine (Decker) Graham, was born in New York city in October, 1802, and died in Utica, N. Y., January 27, 1889. He was of

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mingled Scotch and Huguenot descent, and inherited those sturdy characteristics which made his ancestors conspicuous as loyal and honored citizens. Daniel Graham was a lieutenant in an Ulster county regiment in the Revolutionary war. Levi P. was educated in Columbia College and began the study of law with the famous Samuel Jones in New York. but his health failed and he gave himself to business as commercial agent in Havana and elsewhere in the West Indies for New York mer- chants. He finally returned to his home in Newburg, Orange county, afterwards removing to Western New York and died at the age of ninety-four.

Edmund A. Graham spent the first five or six years of his life in the metropolis. The family then removed to Newburg, where he received an academic education until twelve years of age. Afterward for about two years he mingled farm work with attend- ance at school. His father was a friend of such men as De Witt Clinton, Daniel D. Tompkins, and Aaron Burr, and the lad became acquainted with all these. He was invited by Burr to go to New York and enter his office for the study of law, but Mrs. Graham objected, and he went instead at the age of fifteen to Ogdensburgh, N. Y., under the care of his uncle, Louis Hasbrouck, who was a prominent lawyer in part- nership with Judge Fine and also postmaster. Mr. Graham entered the post-office and soon had full charge of the mails, and during his leisure read law in the office of Hasbrouck & Fine, where he had a fellow student named Preston King, who was destined to become politically famous. Young Graham had a natural preference for the law and in due time was admitted to the bar. He at once began a profitable law practice in Ogdensburg, having clients in New York, Albany, and Troy as well as at home. He was made the attorney of the Bank of Ogdensburg, of which he was a director, and also became agent for David B. Ogden to manage and sell large tracts of land in the town of Oswegatchie. He was clerk of the village in 1826, 1831, 1833, and 1834, and in 1830 was one of the originators and a director of the company which ran the first line of American steamers on the River St. Lawrence and the lakes. This enterprise was for a long time maintained in no small part by such Utica capi- talists as Alfred Munson, Samuel Farwell, John Butterfield, and Harvey Barnard, whom Mr. Graham enlisted with himself, and it is a tradition worthy of record that the first steamer of the line was built from his designs. While in Ogdensburg he was prominently connected with the old State militia and became division judge advocate with the rank of colonel.

In 1838, owing to the dangerous illness of his father-in-law, Judge Apollos Cooper, Mr. Graham removed to Utica to manage the judge's large estate, which task he com- bined with his law practice. Judge Cooper's farm, which Mr. Graham laid out in streets and lots, extended from the Mohawk River to Cornelia street and from Gene- see street quite a distance west. The homestead still stands, somewhat altered, in Whitesboro street. The present generation can scarcely appreciate the services ren- dered by Mr. Graham and his assistants, who, in 1845, entered upon an investigation of the feasibility of introducing manufactures by steam into the city of Utica. The lack of water-power was keenly recognized. The statutes then forbade corporations with a larger capital than $100,000, while the use of steam required greater invest- ments The city's population had decreased from 12,000 to 10,000, and increase of manufacturing was relied upon to turn the tide. At a public meeting Spencer Kel- logg, Andrew S. Pond and Mr. Graham were appointed a committee to visit New

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England and report on the subject. Their report started both the woolen and cotton factories within the city. Mr. Pond favored the organization of a company for woolen manufacture and the Utica woolen mills were built, but were not successful. Messrs. Graham and Kellogg recommended investments in cotton in preference and the Utica Steam Cotton Mills have for nearly fifty years confirmed the wisdom of their choice. In order to permit the use of capital to the amount necessary, and to get rid of full liability on the part of the stockholders, Mr. Graham drafted what be- came the general manufacturing law of 1848, but hard labor at Albany during two legislative sessions was required to secure its passage. The chief work of raising the capital for starting the cotton mills devolved upon Alfred Munson, Theodore S. Fax- ton, Silas D. Childs, and Edmund A. Graham, all of whom met with many difficul- ties before success was assured. Mr. Munson was elected president of the company and Mr. Graham was chosen secretary as well a director. Upon the latter fell the task of drawing the contracts and making many of the purchases. He continued to give attention to the mills, became one of the largest stockholders, and for many years prior to his death was president of the company.

Mr. Graham was one of the most zealous and influential promoters of the original movement in behalf of the Black River and Utica Railroad. His acquaintance with Northern New York enabled him to see the need of the line, and to render important service in its organization and construction. The struggle between Rome and Utica for the northern alliance constitutes an interesting chapter of local history, in which a compromise was offered by Rome to the effect that the railroad project be aban- cloned by both cities. Mr. Graham, in co-operation with other citizens, devoted much time to the enterprise in behalf of Utica, and subscribed 85,000 to the stock, which was all lost. He was attorney and counsel for and a director in the original company until the foreclosure of the mortgage, and he held the same positions until 1884 in the corporation which bought the property. For a long period he was vice-president of Utica and Black River Railroad Company and acted as president for three or four seasons while Mr. Thom was abroad. He gave personal attention to the building of the road from Lyons Falls to Carthage and Philadelphia. For several years he owued and conducted in Sauquoit the mill for the manufacture of white paper pre- viously operated by Savage & Moore, but the introduction of wood pulp brought changes which finally closed that establishment.

During the fifty years of his residence in Utica Mr. Graham's career was one of honor and continuous business success. The number of positions of trust to which he was called was many, and he was faithful in all of them. He was one of a com- mittee to prepare amendments to the city charter, and at his suggestion a provision to make aldermen personally liable for excessive expenditure was enacted. He was one of four commissioners appointed to secure the site and build the city hall. In 1847 he was elected a director of the Oneida Bank (afterward the Oneida National Bank) and survived every one of his associates of that time. From 1853 to 1872 he was one of the managers of the Utica State Hospital and gave to that institution great care and attention. He was long a director and for some time vice-president of the Utica Gas Light Company. Confirmed in St. John's church. Ogdensburg, he was an earnest and consistent churchman, and was one of the organizers of Grace church, Utica, which he served for many years as vestryman and warden. As

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chairman of the committee he superintended the enlargement of the old church and was one of the building committee for the present edifice. Later he was a member of the vestry of the mother church, Trinity. He was often a delegate to diocesan conventions and a trustee of the fund for the support of the episcopate. Politically he was first a Democrat, but after the Charleston convention of 1860 became an ardent supporter of Mr. Lincoln, and ever afterward was a zealous and steadfast Republican In 1848 he was nominated by the Democrats for the Assembly, but was defeated owing to divisions in the party and his refusal to give pledges on the excise question.

As a lawyer Mr. Graham was well grounded in the principles of his profession. He was careful in his preparation and accurate and persistent in his work. He was connected with several great litigations. In the long contested Bradstreet cases, which involved a large amount of property, he was the attorney who studied out the law and dug out the facts, and was instrumental in carrying the cases to a successful nd. His business was largely in chancery, in the equity side of the Supreme Courts, at general terms, and in the Court of Appeals, and his railroad cases were important and numerous. Mr. Graham won an unquestioned reputation for integ- rity. He was an excellent neighbor, a faithful friend, and a useful and enterprising citizen. Unostentatious and patriotic he was diligent in business and scrupulously honored all obligations. The record of such a life as his is its own best commentary, and the community in which he lived for half a century reveres and honors his memory.

Mr. Graham was married in 1835 to Miss Cornelia, only daughter of Judge Apollos Cooper, of Utica, who survives him. They had two children; Louise Cooper (Mrs. Samuel E. Schantz), and Edmund Banks, who died in 1885.

[Judge Apollos Cooper was a lineal descendant of John Cooper, who sailed in the Hopewell for America in 1635, first settled in Lynn, Mass., was made a freeman in Boston in 1636, soon removed to Southampton, L. I., and was one of the twenty heads of families who formed the association for the settlers of Southampton in 16:7. Southampton was the first town settled by the English in the State of New York. John Cooper was also one of the founders of the New England States. In 1794 Judge Apollos Cooper purchased from James S. Kipp 115 acres of land, being a part of Cosby's Manor, now a part of the city of Utica. A small house was on the land, but the judge added to it, and the dwelling that is still standing on Whitesboro street, near Liberty, presents as to the building the same appearance as when Judge Cooper resided there, which he continued to do until his death in 1839. It was never as pretentious as many others, but partook something of the stern simplicity of its Puritan founder. The old orchard which surrounded the house until quite recently has disappeared, but for many years, in its time of flower and fruitage, it was a thing of beauty as well as a landmark. The Cooper farm extended from the river on the north to Genesee street at its junction with Cornelia on the southeast, which street the judge named for his only daughter. The farm covered most of the city now comprised in the Third ward. Judge Cooper was one of the enterprising pio- neers of Central New York. In 1793 he left his birthplace in Southampton, L. I., "poled" up the Mohawk River and Fish Creek to Oneida county, and in 1784 settled "at old Fort Schuyler." He was judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and held

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many offices of public trust. A former resident of Utica recently spoke of him as follows: "Of the men who one hundred years ago, in 1794, came from the east and drove their stakes at Old Fort Schuyler, there was one among them-Apollos Cooper --- whose influence through himself and his posterity has been sovereign all through your history, and even to the present day is benignly felt. To Apollos Cooper we owe the life and fame of one of the brilliant lawyers for whom Utica has been re- nowned." Mrs. Graham, the judge's only daughter, is believed to be the oldest na tive born resident of Utica. From early youth she was one of the chief promoters of that noble charity, the Utica Orphan Asylum, and for nearly forty years its first directress, resigning that position but a few years ago. ]

REV. DAVID A. WARREN.

REV. DAVID A. WARREN was born of New England stock and English ancestry on the Warren homstead in the town of Verona, Oneida county, May 3, 1799, and died there in February, 1860. Ilis father, Jonathan, was one of the first settlers in all that section, and served as a soldier in the war of 1812. There amidst the primeval forests the lad was reared to maturity, obtaining such education as he could at the district schools and developing a sturdy constitution in laboring on the parental farm. His advantages were limited, yet he acquired through his own native energy a valuable fund of knowledge and rose in the community to a foremost position. He read law and was admitted to practice, but subsequently became a Presbyterian minister. In expounding the truthis of the Bible and the doctrines of Christianity his talents were brought into full play, and he won a warm place in the hearts of his hearers.

Mr. Warren was a consistent Christian, and by his exemplary life and powers of eloquence turned many a person into paths of uprightness and usefulness. He was charitable, kind and benevolent, just in all his actions, energetic and methodical in all he undertook, regardful of the rights of others, though fearless in expressing his convictions, and zealously encouraged all worthy movements. In the law as well as in the ministry he won both success and respect.

His children who survived were Charles II., Joseph H., sr., James Sayre, and Mrs. Elizabeth Barbour. Joseph H. Warren, sr., was born on the homestead in Verona about 1834, received a public school education, and first engaged in farming. Later he went to New York city and became a business partner with his brother, James Sayre Warren, who for eight years was president of the American Wall Paper Manu- facturers' Association. lle enlisted in Co. K, 9%th N. Y. Vols., in the war of the Rebellion, was promoted first lieutenant, was confined in the hospital at Washing- ton, D. C., and was afterward honorably discharged on account of ill health. He died in 1870. He was married in Paris, France, to Miss Marcella Walsh, of New York city, and they had one son, Joseph H., jr., who was born in New York, August 2, 1854, was educated there and in Paris, France, and on August 21, 1895. married Miss Dorothea Richardson, of Ottawa, daughter of Hugh Richardson, chief Judge of the Northwest provinces of the Dominion of Canada.

C.a. Nicholson

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BIOGRAPHICAL.

CHARLES A. NICHOLSON.

THE Nicholson family in America descends from William Nicholson, who came from Yarmouth, England, to Boston, Mass., in May, 1635. One of his descendants, Ephraim Nicholson, was a soldier in King Philip's war, while Nathan Nicholson (grandfather of Charles A.) and two brothers served in the war of the Revolution. The latter, Nathan, married Mary Hill, and their youngest son, Ambrose, was born in Hinsdale, Mass., in 1804, came to Herkimer county when a young man, and died in Marcy, Oneida county, March 2, 1878; he married Maria McElwain, also of Hins- dale, Mass., whose family was prominently connected with the early history of the Methodist church in New England. Ambrose Nicholson, familiarly known as Squire Nicholson, held several town offices. He served several terms as supervisor of Russia, Herkimer county, as justice of the peace, etc., and did considerable busi- ness in drawing deeds and wills and settling estates. In 1856 he came to Trenton, N. Y., and about seven years later removed to the town of Marcy, where he carried on a lumber business in connection with a sash, blind and door factory, and where he died. He represented the fourth Oneida district in the State Legislature in 1868. He had three sons: Nathan D. and Timothy M., both deceased, and Charles A., of Utica, all of whom served with distinction in Co. A, 1st N. Y. Lt. Art., in the war of the Rebellion, all being mustered out and honorably discharged in June, 1865. Nathan D. enlisted in 1861, and after the battle of Fair Oaks was transferred to General Peck's headquarters at Beaufort, S. C. Timothy M. and Charles A. enlisted in 1863 and went to the front together.

Charles A. Nicholson was born in the village of Poland, Herkimer county, N. Y., September 27, 1843, and received his education in the public schools, chiefly in Tren- ton, Oneida county, finishing at Whitestown Academy. Before reaching his twenty-sec- ond year he had seen two years'hard service at the front in the Civil war and attained the honors due a young and valiant soldier. Returning from the army he went to Harrisburg, Pa., and was engaged for one year as a dealer in musical instruments He then returned to Trenton, N. Y., and began the manufacturing of sash, doors, and blinds, but two years later sold out the business which he had successfully estab- lished. His brother, Timothy M., died at about this time and Mr. Nicholson re- moved to the homestead farm in Marcy, where he remained for three years. In 1869 he went to Rome, N. Y., as a salesman in the lumber yard of the late G. V. Selden, with whom he remained nine years, or until 1878.

Meanwhile the telephone had been invented and exhibited at the Centennial Ex- position in 1876, and at once created great interest throughout the country. In Rome Mr. Nicholson and his friend, Henry H. Sessions, master mechanic of the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburgh Railroad, were the first to put the new invention to prac- tical or even experimental use, and it may be safely said that they were among the very earliest in Central New York to regard it as feasible, and to see its unlimited possibilities from a useful and necessary standpoint. They at once became deeply interested, and at their own expense put up two or three private lines in the city, which were the wonder of the time, creating no little amusement and affording great convenience to the owners. From this beginning Mr. Nicholson naturally drifted into the business with an energy and perseverance which marked all his undertakings.

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()UR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

The business was started in Central New York under Mr. Nicholson's manage- ment, with telephones for private persons, two subscribers only having the use of a single line. There was no central office or connecting point. The lines were scat- tered, and confined almost entirely to business uses. Soon, however, a central switching system was adopted, whereby one subscriber could be connected and talk with one another at will. New lines were pushed out in every part of the territory, and it was not long before every city, village, and hamlet of any size was in tele- phonic communication. In 1880 he, with H. L. Storke, of Auburn, N. Y., organized the Mohawk Valley Telephone and Telegraph Company and Mr. Nicholson was elected one of the directors and its general manager. This corporation covered the counties of Delaware, Otsego, Chenango, Madison, Lewis, and Oneida (with the ex- ception of the city of Utica). It proved a success from the start and rapidly built up, under Mr. Nicholson's able management, a large and constantly increasing business. In December, 1882, the company was consolidated with four other telephone com- panies, covering eleven counties in the central part of the State, with headquarters at Utica, N. Y. The new corporation took the present name of the Central New York Telephone and Telegraph Company. At the time of the consolidation Mr. Nicholson was elected a director and the general manager of the company, and has since held these positions.

The last annual report of this telephone company (February 13, 1896), shows that it is caring for over three thousand subscribers in fifteen exchanges. That by the construction of over eighteen hundred miles of pole lines and nearly four thousand miles of wire it has linked together four hundred towns and villages. The number of messages passing over these toll lines, and exclusive of exchange messages, is nearly four hundred thousand annually.

He is a member of Roman Lodge No. 223, F. & A. M., Fort Stanwix Chapter of Royal Arch Masons of Rome, N. Y., and of Fort Schuyler Club of Utica, N. Y.

In August, 1864, Mr. Nicholson was married to Miss Ione M., daughter of Jacob Wicks, of Trenton, N. Y. They have six children: Mabel M. (Mrs. Nathaniel Peck- ham), Walter W., Frances, William Sidney, and Harold H. and Harriet A. (twins), all of Utica.

Walter W. Nicholson, the eldest son, was born July 16, 1867, was educated at the Rome Academy, and on leaving school identified himself with the telephone busi- ness under his father. He began as a night operator and rose by gradation to the post of general superintendent, on January 1. 1891, which he still holds. He is a member of the American Institution of Electrical Engineers, the New York Elec- trical Society, and the Arcanum Club, and treasurer of Calvary church, Utica. April 23, 1889, he married Irene E., daughter of Edwin Peckham, of Utica, and they have two sons: Charles Ambrose and Howard Peckham.

EDWARD TREVVETT.

EDWARD TREVVETT, the originator and founder of the Commercial Travelers' Mutual Accident Association of America, was born in the village of Humberston,

EDWARD TREVVETT.

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Leicestershire, England, February 12, 1840, received his education in that country, and came to America in 1868, settling first in Brooklyn, N. Y., whence he removed in 1877 to Utica, where he has since resided. He was for a long time engaged in the tea trade as a traveling salesman, representing D. H. Houghtaling & Co. for twelve and one-half years, the Nassau Trading Company for three years, and Car- ter, Macy & Co. for four years. All these firms were located in New York city and were extensive dealers in tea. As a salesman Mr. Trevvett was uniformly success- ful. He built up a large trade and became one of the most popular " Knights of the grip." The experience he acquired as a commercial traveler led him into a field of usefulness in which he has won a wide reputation. He was one of the first to dis- cern the need of an organization among traveling men which should band them to- gether socially and fraternally into one common brotherhood, with mutual interests, and at the same time protect their families in case of accident or death. He studied the question carefully, and became in this respect a public benefactor.

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Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 82

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