Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 85

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 85

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).

David Babbitt, father of John L., was the oldest son of Nathaniel, of Paris Hill,

162

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

Oneida county. He was born in 1806, and died at Brockwayville, Jefferson county, Pa., January 29, 1868. He married Miss Emma Parmenter, born at Westminster, Windham county, Vt., in 1804; she died at Whitesboro, July 19, 1889. John L. was their eldest son; they had one daughter, Frances Emma, born August 23, 1838, and died at Gibson, Pa., June 13, 1844. John L. Babbitt and his son, Benjamin Talbot, are the only male descendants left to bear the family name, made a household word for many years by B. T. Babbitt.

Among the first grievances that led to the Revolutionary war was the duty im- posed on tea; the opposition to this tax culminated in a public meeting, November 29, 1773, which resolved "that the tea should not be landed, that no duty should be paid, and that it should be sent back in the same vessel." Vessel after vessel arrived in Boston harbor, and finding they could not unload, desired to return with their cargoes to England; but Governor Hutchinson refused to grant them permission to pass the castle. Agitation increased, and a large meeting was held December 18, 1773, addressed by Josiah Quincy. In the evening the question was put, "Do you abide by your former resolution to prevent the landing of the tea ? ' The vote was unanimously in the affirmative. Application was again made to the governor for a "pass." After a short delay his refusal was communicated to the assembly. In- stantly a person in the gallery, disguised as an Indian, gave a " war whoop." At this signal the people rushed out and hastened to the wharves About twenty per- sons, in the dress of Mohawk Indians, boarded the vessels and, protected by the crowd on shore, broke open 342 chests of tea and emptied their contents overboard.

Nathaniel Babbitt, the great-grandfather of John L., was the hero of the war- whoop and one of the twenty " Mohawks" at the celebrated "tea party." His three sons, Nathaniel, jr., Benjamin and William, all served in the Revolution. William and Nathaniel, jr., settled in what is now the town of Paris, Oneida county, about 1792. Nathaniel married Miss Betsey Holman and settled near Holman City, and at one time was a blacksmith at Paris IIill and afterwards kept a tavern in East Sauquoit in the house now occupied by Asher Gallup, and later worked in the Farmers' Factory Oil Mill, where he received a painful injury by the falling of a mill stone on one of his legs. His children were David, George R., Benjamin Tal- bot, Rebecca Howard, Betsey Gilson and Polly Spaulding. Benjamin T., the millionaire soap manufacturer, and proprietor of extensive machine shops at Whites- boro, is the only descendant of a Paris pioneer who has attained to a colossal fortune.

GENEALOGY OF THE BABBITT FAMILY.

1. Nathaniel Babbitt, a resident of Boston, Mass., a soldier of the Revolution and the hero of the " war whoop" of the "tea party " in Boston harbor, December 18, 1778 His sons were Nathaniel, jr., William and Benjamin, also Revolutionary sol- diers throughout the war.

2. Nathaniel Babbitt, jr., married Betsey Holman, daughter of David Holman, came from Middlesex, Conn., about 1792, and settled near Holman City. Their chil- dren were David, George Reed, Benjamin Talbot, Betsey, Polly and Rebecca.

3. David Babbitt, born in Paris, N. Y., in 1806, married Emma Parmenter, daughter of Charles Parmenter of Vermont in 1832. He died at Brockwayville,

ROBERT STANTON WILLIAMS.

163

BIOGRAPHICAL,

Pa., January 29, 1868. His wife was born at Westminster, Vt., in 1804, and died at Whitesboro, N. Y., in July, 1889, and is buried at Gibson, Pa. Their children were John Leroy and Frances Emma.

4. John Leroy Babbitt, born May 17, 1835, at Utica, N. Y., married at Gibson, Pa., June 2, 1869, to Lorinda L. Potter, daughter of ¿Buel G. and Lydia Potter. Frances Emma, born at Utica, N. Y., August 23, 1838, died at Gibson, Pa., June 13, 1844, and buried at Gibson.

5. Willie T. Babbitt, born in November, 1871, at Glen Cove, N. Y., died August 2, 1872, at same place; buried at Gibson, Pa. Benjamin Talbot, born August 9, 1874, at Whitesboro, N. Y.

ROBERT STANTON WILLIAMS.

ROBERT STANTON WILLIAMS, youngest surviving child of Col. William and Sophia Wells Williams, was born in Utica, September 10, 1828. After the sale of his book store Colonel Williams removed in 1836 with his family to Tonawanda, N. Y., to take charge of an estate of which he was part owner in connection with Henry Hunting- ton of Rome. Whatever childhood in a Western village may be to the imagination its reality in the case of Robert S. Williams was not sufficiently attractive to have crowded his memory in after years with many recollections of the place. Having passed his tenth birthday he was placed with Henry Ivison (his father's former ap- prentice in the Utica book-bindery), at that time a prosperous bookseller in Auburn. An agreement was made under which the boy was received in the family of his em- ployer and allowed to pay for the cost of board and schooling by doing odd jobs in the store and learning the book-binder's trade. But the strain of over-many duties presently told on his health, and by the summer of 1842 he was compelled to seek the rest and change of country life. During the two following years he lived on the farm of his uncle, James Wells, at New Hartford, where with his brother Edward he became aquainted with the approved methods of Oneida county farming. In 1844 he went to Brooklyn, where his brother Dwight was living, and there attended school for a term. Returning in the winter to Auburn he re-entered Mr. Ivison's employ, remaining with him until September, 1846. The appetite for learning was not yet appeased in spite of this hopeful opening in a business career. He entered the Cortland Academy at Homer, then under the management of Samuel B. Wool- worth, afterward secretary of the Regents of the University of the State of New York, and in this institution he remained until March, 1848 nearly completing his preparation for college. After a year spent in Utica he received an appointment (July, 1849) in the railway mail service as route agent between Albany and Buffalo. The work was fatiguing in the extreme, and railway travel in that day was not only tiresome, but rendered dangerous by frequent accidents. Early in 1852 he resigned his position to attend his brother James dur- ing a fatal illness, which terminated in March of that year, and with his return to his native city begins Mr. Williams's permanent and intimate association with its progress and interests. Without marked predilection for any particular

164

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

occupation it was perhaps an accident at first that secured him a place as bookkeeper in the City Bank, but the choice once made was most fortunate for the exercise of his abilities to the best advantage. Emphatically masculine, robust, and sane, accomplishing his ends by shere force of honesty, of being in the right rather than by mere cleverness, he soon won from those who could best judge his course that confi- dence and respect which constitute the necessary moral capital of every successful banker. While in his subordinate position he lost no opportunity of improving his technical knowledge. To this end, when one of his senior fellow clerks became restless by being kept long after banking hours, he induced him as a favor to teach him the method used in his department, and was soon able to take care of part of his and all of his own books, while his friend prolonged his restful sessions in the pur- suit of literary fame. This sort of devoted diligence earns its reward even outside of the region of moral fiction. The directors of the Oneida National Bank had, it may be inferred, a pretty definite conception of his working capacity when they in- duced him to enter their employ in October, 1854, the same month in which he was married. During his term of forty-two years, the longest service of any individual in this bank, Mr. Williams has passed successively through all its grades and concerned himself heartily in its welfare. After a few months in the position of bookkeeper he was made teller in February, 1855; from this, in 1863, he was promoted to the chair of managing cashier and at the same time elected a director. As cashier he con- ducted for nearly a quarter of a century the affairs and policy of the bank, which he has retained in his control during his term as president, an office given him upon the death of A. J. Williams in 1886.

With increasing years have come multiplying opportunities for good and faithful service in many fields. His performances in the business and industrial community have lately been on a larger scale, but they are of a piece with his early work and have fitly crowned it with success. To examine these in detail would carry us into almost every important industrial concern that Utica has known during a genera- tion. Before them all in his own estimation would come the First Presbyterian church and Sunday school, the church of his father, whose successor he has been, both as ruling elder and Sunday school superintendent. In the work of establishing mission branches in Deerfield and East and West Utica he has displayed the same practical zeal which characterized both his parents as Christian laborers among their fellow citizens. His interest in educational matters has engaged him actively in be- half of both public and private schools. Soon after the destruction by fire of the Utica Female Academy, in 1865, he was elected a trustee (a position he still holds) and placed upon the executive committee in charge of erecting the new building. As an expression of the committee's foresight and faithful stewardship the building is more successful, perhaps, than as an æsthetic ornament to the town. In the progress and success of the school itself, with which Mr. Williams has ever since been closely associated, he takes the liveliest satisfaction, a good part of which comes from his personal share in calling Mrs. Piatt to her felicitous and effective career as its principal. He was elected in 1870 a public school commissioner, serving three years, at a time when the board exercised its discretion in deciding upon the text books and studies within its jurisdiction. Among other innovations he advocated teaching music in the public schools, and secured for this end the permanent employ-

165

BIOGRAPHICAL.

ment of a qualified teacher. During two terms as alderman, from 1874 to 1878, Mr. Williams labored for economy in the management of municipal matters, and, though on the minority side of the council, succeeded simply by strength of integrity in car- rying out some reforms of lasting benefit. His measures as chairman of the finance committee dealt with the things of a technical rather than of a general interest, but in his resolute effort to raise the City Library from a mere assortment of juvenile literature to be a medium of substantial benefit to the whole community he won the thanks of every citizen. He was one of the incorporators of the Utica Public Library and has served as president since its organization. He also strongly advocated and assisted in the change from a volunteer to a paid fire department. His active con- nection with local politics terminated in 1878, when he became a candidate for the mayoralty. He accepted the nomination, as he declared in a card announcing his determination, " with considerable reluctance and at some personal sacrifice, solely in behalf of strict economy and honesty in every branch of city government." His defeat was almost wholly due to his unwillingness to bind himself by pledges of any sort to political managers, who were so impressed with his fearlessness and inde- pendence as to prefer to see a candidate of the opposite party elected. Mr. Williams has also served as one of the railroad commissioners for the city of Utica, being ap- pointed in 1871 under the law of 1869 providing for the municipal aid of railroads. In this capacity he assisted in the issue of $200,000 in bonds of the city of Utica, in aid of the Utica, Clinton, and Binghamton Railroad, and was elected in 1872 a director of this road to represent the city's interest. In 1881 he was made secretary and treasure of the company and has, since its reorganization, been prominent in its management. He is also a trustee of the Savings Bank of Utica.

The list of business organizations in which Mr. Williams has been more or less directly concerned is much too long for comprehensive notice ; there remains space to indicate only a few, to the success of which his judgment and energy have largely contributed. Since 1879 he has been on the executive committee of the Utica Ceme- tery Association, which induced the association to buy the tract of 150 acres adjoin- ing Forest Hill Cemetery when it could be procured at a reasonable figure, thus adding to its beauty and insuring room for its enlargement for many years. In 1895 he was elected vice-president of the association. Upon the first introduction of the Edison telephone, in 1879, Mr. Williams, with others, organized a company for providing telephone service within a fifteen-mile circuit about Utica. The license for five years obtained by this company was in 1882, in connection with similar licenses held by four other companies, voluntarily surrendered in exchange for a perpetual license from the Bell Telephone Company covering a territory of twelve counties in Central New York, and a new compeny was formed known as the Central New York Telephone and Telegraph Company with a capital of $500,000, of which Mr. Williams was made president. Another project which originated at about this time (1880), when after the resumption of specie payment money was com_ paratively plenty and capital sought employment, was the " Mohawk Valley Cotton Mills," a company for the manufacture of cotton cloth. In association with Messrs. T. K. Butler, Ephraim Chamberlain, Addison C. Miller, P. V. Rogers, Nicholas E. Kernan and others, the scheme was promptly started and Mr. Williams elected vice-president. In 1885 he was elected president of the company. The call for such

166

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

legitimate and promising investments being still greater than the supply the " Skenandoa Cotton Company" was organized in 1881 by nearly the same gentlemen to manufacture yarn. Its success has been due principally to its reputation for mak- ing the best possible quality of goods, and in the second place to its practice of sell- ing directly to consumers. Still a third venture of this sort, the " Utica Willowvale Bleaching Company," originated under the same auspices in 1881 and likewise num- bers Mr. Williams among its directors. On the death of Mr. Chamberlain in 1895 Mr. Williams was elected president of the Utica Steam Cotton Mills, one of the largest and most successful corporations of the kind in the country. The same year he became a director in the Globe Woolen Company, of Utica.

This is but the bare enumeration, indeed, of some of the chief lines of his activity, omitting from the list many other movements, like those of the street railways, the gas and water works, the Oneida Historical Society, etc., in which he has at one time or another borne his share of the risk or effort. His private library, one of the largest collections in the city, is the accumulation of many years and represents pretty accurately the subjects of general and particular interest with which he has stored his mind.

Mr. Williams was married in 1854 to Miss Abby Ober, eldest daughter of Charles R. Doolittle, and they have had three children who attained maturity-two sons and a daughter. The eldest son, George Huntington Williams, was graduated from Amherst College in 1878, received the degree of Ph. D. from Heidelberg University, Germany, in 1883, and at the time of his death, July 12, 1894, was professor of inor- ganic geology at Johns Hopkins University, president of the Society of American Geologists, a member of the U. S. Geological Survey, and the author of more than sixty boooks and papers on subjects connected with his profession. The youngest son, John Camp Williams, is now vice-president and general manager of the West- ern Tube Company, of Kewanee, Ill., a concern that employs from 1,400 to 1,800 men in the manufacture of iron and steel pipe.

WILLIAM H. CLOHER, JR.

WILLIAM H. CLOHER, JR., eldest son of William H. Cloher, sr., and Mary Conlin, his wife, was born in the town of Kirkland, Oneida county, October 24, 1852, and has been all his life identified with cotton manufacturing. His father, who was born in Pittsfield, Mass., in 1827, came to Kirkland in September, 1852, and now resides in Utica. He was well educated, became a noted penman, and won many prizes in the Spencerian system, even to wresting on one occasion the championship of the State of New York from Paul D. May.

William H. Cloher, jr., as a mere lad, not only supported himself, but became one of the chief supports of the family, which consisted in all of four sons and a daugh- ter. He was schooled in the practical operations of weaving, etc., and the experi- ence thus gained made him both self-rehant and progressive. When only eight years of age he took a position in the New York Mills. Later he went to work in the Utica Steam Cotton Mills, where, on account of his small stature, a platform was

W. H. CLOHER, JR.

167

BIOGRAPHICAL.

built to enable him to reach the machine. Here he earned $1 per day, his wages being regularly paid over by him to his mother for the support and education of the younger children. In 1862 his father enlisted in the army and remained about three years, and during this period young Cloher administered to the family's needs and also finished his own studies in the public schools of Utica, graduating from the ad- vanced department. His ambition was precocious, yet his energy and good judg- ment, combined with a determination to master every detail, led him while a lad into useful and promising fields of activity. With unusual foresight he saw great possibilities in the cotton industry, in which he had already obtained a limited ex- perience. Leaving school when less than fourteen years of age he entered the em- ploy of the Utica Cotton Company at New Hartford, or Capron, as the locality is known, and received at first 37g cents per day. His object was to begin at the bot- tom and work up, mastering every detail of the various grades of manufacture and acquiring that practical knowledge which was deemed essential to success. He soon rose to the position of overseer of the carding room and thence through the several departments of cotton manufacturing to assistant bookkeeper and in charge of the store, which at that time was an important auxiliary to every large factory. These latter positions he accepted with the view of thoroughly fitting himself for the post of superintendent and manager. Later he became chief bookkeeper of the entire establishment and in 1876 was appointed assistant superintendent. In 1882 he was made agent and manager which position he still holds. In the same year he tore down the old mill and erected the present substantial brick structure, filling it with the most approved machinery for the manufacture of various kinds of cotton fabrics. The concern employs about 250 operatives.

When Mr. Cloher accepted the agency and management of the Utica Cotton Com- pany in 1882 he was reported by the Cotton and Wool Manufacturers of Boston to be the youngest man who ever took charge of a cotton mill of that magnitude in the country. That he has worthily discharged the important trust and great responsi bilities is evident from the fact that the value of the property has increased fourfold, while the quality and quantity of the product has been proportionately augmented. Tho company consists of William P. Taber, president, and Henry M. Taber, treas- urer, both of New York city, and Mr. Clohier, and as illustrating the confidence re- posed in the subject of this sketch it may be stated that these officials seldom visit the establishment and never take an active part in the business affairs. In 1891 Mr. Cloher became a heavy stockholder and director in the company. As manager of the establishment he has won a wide and enviable reputation, and the record he has made is one of which any man might well be proud. He has passed by successive promotions through every branch of the manufacture, mastering in each position every detail, and learning by practical experience the needs and requirements of the entire business. While filling the position of chief bookkeeper he spent his leisure in learning telegraphy and shorthand and became quite an expert in these branches. This illustrates his studious turn of mind and shows how carefully and profitably he has utilized his advantages.

Mr. Cloher is also interested in various other enterprises. He was instrumental in securing a postoffice at Capron under President Harrison's administration and was appointed the first postmaster, which office he still holds. He also secured a station

168

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

there on the New York. Ontario and Western Railroad and is the agent. He was one of the founders and incorporators in January, 1893, of the Capron Knitting Com- pany, of which he is the treasurer, his brother Charles E. being president and super- intendent. This establishment manufactures men's underwear and employs about fifty hands. The firm of Henry M. Taber & Co., of New York does an extensive business through the Utica Cotton Company in storing cotton at Capron for supply- ing mills in this vicinity and throughont the State, and all this passes through Mr. Cloher's hands as agent. Mr. Cloher was also one of the founders and is vice-presi- dent of the New Hartford Canning Company, organized in 1883, whose goods have a wide reputation. 1Ie is vice president of the Electric Manufacturing and Supply Company of Utica and was one of its originators. He is an extensive owner of real estate, is interested quite heavily in various other enterprises, and is one of the foremost business men of Utica and New Hartford. Publie spirited and progressive, endowed with wonderful energy, possessing sound judgment and keen foresight, he takes an active part in furthering and encouraging all worthy projects and liberally sustains those institutions which elevate and educate the masses. He is a thinker, not an imitator. ITis efforts are directed into channels which promise the greatest amount of general good.

Mr. Cloher is a 33 Mason, and has always manifested a deep interest in the fra- ternity. He is a member of Oriental Lodge, No. 224, F. & A. M., and of Oneida Chapter, No. 57, R. A. M., and of the latter has been for several years a trustee. Ile is a member of Utica Commandery, No. 3. K. T., and served as its commander in 1890 and 1891. He was the youngest man ever elected commander of this body. In the location of the Masonic Home in Utica he bore an active part and contributed liberally for the purpose. Ile is a member of the Fort Schuyler, Masonic, and Ar- canum Clubs of Utica.

In politics Mr. Cloher is an active Republican of the stalwart type, and in the days of Conkling was an ardent admirer of that eminent statesman. He is one of the town auditors of the city of Utica and for four years served as a member of the equalization committee of the county. He now holds the appointment under Gov. Levi P. Morton as one of the Board of Managers of the State Custodial Asylum at Rome. He has often been a delegate to local and State political conventions and alternate to the Republican National Convention, and for some time served as county committeeman. His interest in politics is akin to that manifested in all his business and other relations. He is enthusiastic, progressive, and a man of unswerving in- tegrity, and at all times a loyal and enterprising citizen.

Mr. Cloher was married, first, on October 18, 1876, to Miss Caroline E., daughter of Harvey Strong, of Lanrens, Otsego county. She died April 13, 1888, leaving one son, William Strong Cloher, born April 10, 1888. He married, second, September 1, 1892, Miss Alice De Etta, daughter of John M. Graham, of Utica, and they have two children: Lois De Etta and an infant son.

ISAAC WHIFFEN.

ISAAC WHIFFEN was born in Kimbolton, Huntingdonshire, England, October 10, 1817, and died in Utica, N. Y., June 24, 1889. He received his education mainly in

169

BIOGRAPHICAL.

his native country, where as a lad he developed those sturdy characteristics which mark the successful man. His elder brother, Uridge Whiffen, a gentleman of schol- arly attainments, had become professor of Greek and mathematics in Bartlett's high school in Utica, and this led the family to emigrate to America and settle in this city in September, 1832, when Isaac was scarcely fifteen years of age. But he soon left Utica and shipped on a whaling steamer, remaining away three years, mainly for his health. Returning to Utica he engaged in the milk business with his brother John. In 1843 he established a meat market on the corner of John and Jay streets and here he laid the foundation for his successful business career. He remained on these corners, in trade, until his death, and the business was continued there by his sons till April, 1893, a period of fifty years.

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 85

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