USA > New York > Monroe County > Rochester > Rochester and Monroe County, New York : pictorial and biographical > Part 14
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10
July Jours DI. morgan
Dayton Samuel Morgan
D AYTON SAMUEL MORGAN was born in the town of Ogden, Monroe county, New York, November 19, 1819, and died in Brockport, this county, April 9, 1890. He was the sixth in descent from James Mor- gan, the first American ancestor of the family, who was born in Wales in 1607, and with two younger brothers, John and Miles, sailed from their native country and arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, in April, 1637. John, the next younger brother, was a high churchman, and, disliking the austerity of the Puritans, left Boston in disgust for more congenial society and settled in Virginia. Miles, the youngest brother, who was born in 1615, soon after arrival associated himself with a party of which Colonel William Pyncheon was at the head and founded the settlement of Springfield, Massachusetts.
James Morgan, the first American ancestor, finally located in the settlement of Pequot, which, by an act of the general court or colonial assembly at Hart- ford, March II, 1657, was named "New London, in memory of ye renowned city of London," making his final abode on the east side of the Thames river, in what has since been named the town of Groton. He was one of the towns- men or selectmen for several years, and one of the first deputies sent from New London plantations to the general court at Hartford, May session, in 1657, and was nine times afterward chosen a member of that grave and impor- tant assembly, the last in 1670. His associates and compeers composing the general court or colonial assembly in May, 1657, when he was first chosen, as shown by the family records, were:
John Winthrop, of Pequot, governor;
Thomas Welles, of Hartford, deputy governor.
Magistrates-John Webster, of Hartford; Captain John McCullick, Hart- ford; Samuel Wyllys, Hartford; Captain John Talcott, Hartford; Major John Mason, Saybrook; Daniel Clark, Windsor; Nathan Gould, Fairfield; John Gos- more, Southampton, L. I .; John Ogden, Southampton, L. I. Deputies- George Steele, of Hartford; John Welles, of Hartford; Richard Butler, of Hartford; William Phelps, Windsor; William Gailord, Windsor; Richard Trott, Wethersfield; John Deming, Wethersfield; Jonathan Brewster, Pequot; James Morgan, Pequot; Mathew Canfield, Norwalk.
James Morgan seems to have impressed this carefully selected body of men
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with a high sense of his sterling honesty and integrity of character, as it appears that in a controversy between the general court and the New London plantations regarding boundaries and jurisdiction it was ordered that the mat- ter should be submitted to three arbiters, mutually agreed upon. New London at once named its own townsman, James Morgan, really a party in its own interests, but, nevertheless, the general court as promptly accepted him and without naming another agreed to submit to his sole decision, which, when made, seemed to have satisfied all parties.
The father of Dayton S. Morgan, Samuel Morgan, married Sara Dayton in 1816, of the New Jersey family of that name. He settled in the town of Ogden, Monroe county, being a prosperous miller and farmer. Here Dayton S. Morgan was born, being the only son of these parents, his mother dying soon thereafter. In the financial reaction of 1836, Samuel Morgan became overwhelmed and lost his property. He also became broken in health and sur- vived but a short time. Dayton S. Morgan was then seventeen years of age and was obliged to make his own career. He had secured such educational ben- efits as could be obtained from the district schools of that time. After his father's financial reverses, by in turn teaching district school and studying hard at night, with great struggle and deprivation he finally obtained a course at the Brockport Collegiate Institute, which institution later became trans- formed into what is now the Brockport State Normal School.
Dayton S. Morgan secured his first regular employment as a clerk in the Erie Canal collector's office. It was his first intention to prepare for a legal profession but finally decided it would take too many years of unprofitable appli- cation, being obliged to earn his own living. In 1840 he decided to adopt a business career and in 1841 secured his first position. The following year he became associated with E. Whitney, a merchant of Brockport, who for those times was doing an extensive business, retailing dry goods, buying grain, etc. His ambition to succeed and his perseverance and application had gained for him a reputation as "a young man who was bound to succeed," to the extent that in the spring of 1844 he was invited to enter into a partnership with William H. Seymour, a merchant of Brockport, and one of the wealthiest men of that section at that period. Mr. Morgan had been able to save only a few hundred dollars and stated this fact in answer to Mr. Seymour's proposition, but the reply was that it was not his money that was sought, but rather his ability and application. The firm of Seymour & Morgan was then founded and in connection with a large mercantile business established the Globe Iron Works in Brockport and began the manufacture of stoves and agricultural implements. In the following year, the Hon. E. B. Holmes, of Brockport, member of congress, while in Washington met Cyrus H. McCormick, of Wal- nut Grove, Virginia, who was attending to the taking out of patents on a reap- ing machine of his invention and told him of the Globe Iron Works at Brock- port and the character of the men in charge, advising him to go there. This
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he did, bringing for the inspection of Seymour & Morgan his reaping machine. It was extremely crude, having no driver's seat, the plan for raking off the grain being by a man who should walk beside the platform of the machine. The gearing for operating was very imperfect and the cutting sickle was but a thin strip of steel on the front edge of the platform, serrated reversely every four or five inches of its length; yet though so crude, immature and imperfect, it was a machine with which it was possible to cut grain when all conditions were favorable. Trials were made which suggested various improvements. The machine was cut down here and strengthened there and generally brought into better form. A saddle was provided for the men to sit astride, who used an ordinary hand rake in removing the grain from the platform but the driver walked or rode a horse alongside the machine. The experiments and negotia- tions resulted in an arrangement whereby Seymour & Morgan engaged them- selves to build a quantity of Mr. McCormick's reapers, as improved, for the harvest of the following year. In pursuance there were built at the old Globe Iron Works by Seymour & Morgan, one hundred of these reapers for the har- vest of 1846, the first quantity of harvesting machines ever built by one con- cern, put upon the market and sold, and thus the historical fact was estab- lished that the old Globe Iron Works at Brockport, Monroe county, New York, became the first reaper factory in the world.
The firm continued the manufacture of these machines until 1848. They then introduced a machine of their own design, known as the "New Yorker," which gained a world-wide reputation. For the harvest of 1851 they ventured to make five hundred of these machines and the people then wondered how and where they could all possibly be sold. At this time Mr. Morgan pur- chased Mr. Seymour's interest in the patents that controlled this reaper and licensed other manufacturers to build for specified territory. The quadrant shape platform, today still universally used on reaping machines, was brought out by the firm and other manufacturers licensed. In connection with it and other inventions, Mr. Morgan was obliged to bring several suits for infringe- ment, some of which became famous, involving very large sums of money and were not finally determined until reaching the United States supreme court at Washington. In these litigations wide attention was attracted. Men of promi- nence, some of whom became particularly so in the affairs of the nation, were associated as counsel. Among these were Abraham Lincoln, Edward M. Stan- ton, who became secretary of war during the war of the Rebellion; William H. Seward, who was New York's whig governor in 1838; Judge Henry R. Selden, of Rochester, and others.
In all these patent litigations Mr. Morgan was finally successful. Eventu- ally Mr. Morgan became sole owner of the concern which was subsequently incorporated under the name of D. S. Morgan & Company and continued as its president and active head up to the time of his death. A few years there- after this large company, the outgrowth of the pioneer of its kind, bowed to
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moses knapp
the country. Moreover, his business probity and integrity were above question and he was a man whose social, genial nature made him well liked by all. Mrs. Knapp now resides at No. 89 Park avenue, Rochester, where she owns a nice home.
Hosea Nogens
hosea Rogers
I N THE early part of the nineteenth century there was to be found a log house standing on the east side of the Indian trail on the exact spot where the Delos Polly house now stands on North St. Paul street in Rochester, directly opposite the old No. 8 school build- ing, and it was in this primitive home that Hosea Rogers was born on the 17th of January, 1812. He thus entered upon a life record which covered ninety- two years. In his old age he recalled many inci- dents of his birthplace and the noticeable features of its surroundings. The walnut trees still standing on the ground are the ones which his father pre- served when he cleared the land. The little house, a story in height, was nearly square and was constructed of hewn logs, the cracks stuffed with sticks and clay, the broad door of rough boards furnished with wooden latch and string. Two square windows of glass lighted the interior when the door was closed, but in pleasant weather it stood wide open. There was a big fire- place to heat the little cabin and the floor was made of split logs until later a rough board floor was put down.
The parents in this pioneer home were Ezra and Betsey (Beckwith) Rog- ers, who came to Monroe county from Massachusetts about 1810. They were possessed of all the sterling attributes which characterized the old-time New Englanders and were well qualified to take up the task of making for them- selves and their family a home in the then wild Genesee country. Hosea Rog- ers was the youngest of five children, the others being Diodat, Betsey, Ezra and Caroline.
During those early days, when Hosea Rogers was an infant, the British fleet appeared at the mouth of the river and displayed its big guns. The men seized their arms and started for the lake, while the women and children fled into the woods. All that locality was then heavily timbered and Mr. Rogers' early recollections were of the primitive wilderness. Deer was still to be seen in the forest and even after Mr. Rogers was old enough to hunt they were fre- quently killed. Bears, too, made raids upon the farmyard in search of pork. Indians were almost constantly about the neighborhood but occasioned little trouble to the settlers.
The educational advantages which Hosea Rogers received were very lim- ited. There was no schoolhouse in the neighborhood but the settlers deter-
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Possa Rogers
mined to have a school and employed a young lady teacher. The first school was held in his father's house, the teacher boarding round among the pupils. The methods of instruction were ofttimes crude but Mr. Rogers made good use of his opportunities and as the years advanced learned many practical lessons of life. He also developed a strong and rugged constitution and at the same time became a man of indomitable perseverance and untiring energy. In those early days it was necessary in purchasing property to take the acknowl- edgment of a deed before a justice and then record it at Canandaigua, the county seat. As Mr. Rogers' father had undisputed possession of his farm, the necessity of recording a deed was not apparent and as time slipped by the matter was forgotten. When several years had passed, however, and property of that locality was sold, Mr. Rogers, Sr., lost possession of the place on which he had lived from 1809 and on which he had made many improvements. He then bought an acre and a half of land on Norton street, built a house, and, being a furniture maker by trade, he put up a small shop and began the manu- facture of chairs, his elder sons getting out the crude material from the sur- rounding woods, while he turned it into form on a small foot lathe. He then started for Canada with his product, where he disposed of his chairs. Soon after his return to New York his death occurred and the support of the fam- ily fell upon his elder sons, who were imbued with all the worthy characteris- tics of their race.
It was by his elder brothers that Hosea Rogers was reared and during much of his life he was connected with the sea either in a direct or indirect way. At the age of fifteen years he went as a sailor upon the Great Lakes and for ten years followed that life, rising through all the grades to the position of master of a vessel. His brothers built and ran the first vessel plying between Rochester and Chicago and of this craft he had charge as captain in 1834. In his youth there were no steam tugs to tow vessels in windless waters and it was seldom a vessel could sail up and down the Genesee river without assistance from the shore. The first vessels, therefore, on the river were towed up and down the stream by men who walked in the Indian path, but in time cattle took the place of the men on the tow path. Mr. Rogers many a time walked over the trail with the vessel's cable over his shoulder and he lived to see the wonderful development in navigation. About 1825 his brothers built the schooner Jeannette at Carthage landing, and it was one of the first vessels to pass from Lake Ontario into Lake Erie in the spring of 1830, Mr. Rogers then being before the mast. In 1831 his brothers built the Aurora Borealis, of which he became captain in the spring of 1832. He was afterward in com- mand of the Indiana and in the fall of 1833 took charge of the John Grant, these two vessels also being owned by his brothers.
In talking of those days Mr. Rogers once said: "In the fall of 1833 I took charge of the John Grant and I shall never forget my last voyage that season. We came down from Toronto the 12th of November in a pretty heavy gale
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Rosea Rogers
which carried away my spanker boom; in the afternoon I ran into Charlotte for repairs. Happening to meet my brother Diodat on the pier he imme- diately put in a new spar and I left port about sundown with a fair wind, which soon began to increase. By ten o'clock we had our hatches battened down and every loose thing on deck was swept overboard. The gale became terrific and we hardly expected to outlive it. Suddenly there was a cry that the heavens were falling as the great dome above us was filled with shooting stars. We had no intimation of the auroral display and coming as it did at an hour when every nerve was strained and every sense alive to the dangers of the elements, the scene was particularly impressive. The shower lasted several hours, if I remember correctly, but at no instance during its occurrence did I dare cease my vigilance and the exercise of my greatest skill to keep the vessel in her course. We battled with the elements and watched the unprecedented fall of stars until the morning of the 13th when daylight ended the wonderful display." Cap- tain Rogers also made an early trip to Chicago by way of the lakes from Buf- falo, landing there when the western metropolis was a frontier town, old Fort Dearborn still commanding the mouth of the creek, while Indians were as numerous as white people. In 1836 Captain Rogers purchased a farm of eighty-five acres in what is now the town of Irondequoit and in that year was married and settled on his farm, which remained his home from that time until his death. Later he sailed for two years but returned home to take charge of his farm.
Soon after locating thereon he became interested in the building of sail- ing vessels, for which business his long experience upon the lakes well fitted him, as he had gained a thorough knowledge of all kinds of sailing craft as well as the laws that governed inland sailors. When he entered the field of boat building he was therefore well qualified to meet the requirements of the times and he built in all fourteen vessels, some at Charlotte and others in Ohio and Michigan. During all of these years, however, he continued to operate his farm. The Captain was also actively identified with the business interests of Rochester until the Ist of January, 1902. In 1896 he became interested in the Phelps & Rogers Lumber Company on Warehouse street, which does an extensive business. This company was incorporated in 1901 with Captain Rogers as president, and he filled that position for one year or until the Ist of January, 1902, when he resigned, although he continued his connection with the company up to the time of his demise. He also owned the site occupied by the lumberyard and had other business and residence property in the city. Up to the last he possessed great strength of both body and mind and in con- nection with the operation of his farm attended to collecting his rents and other business in the city.
Captain Rogers was married, in October, 1837, to Miss Polly Van Dusen, who died January 25, 1871, and on the Ist of May, 1873, he wedded Miss Mary J. Lyon, of Albion, New York, who departed this life May 25, 1875. He
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Rosea Rogers
was again married February 2, 1876, his third union being with Miss Asenath Scholfeld, of Port Colborne, Canada, whose grandparents came originally from England. Her grandfather, John Scholfeld, was a farmer by occupation and a veteran of the war of 1812. He diedin 1866. Her father, James Scholfeld, was collector of Port Colborne, Ontario, for thirty-three consecutive years and died in 1889. Unto Captain Rogers and his third wife were born five chil- dren: Polly M., at home; William H., of the Genesee lumberyard, who mar- ried Carrie D. Rollison and lives in Rochester; Luella A., Ezra S. and Alida J., all at home.
Captain Rogers was a democrat in his political views. The family hold membership in the Presbyterian church and the Captain's father was deacon of the first church of that denomination in this locality, it being located in that section of the city which was then called Carthage. The death of Captain Rogers occurred on the 14th of December, 1904, when he had reached the very venerable age of ninety-two years. He was one of the first white children born in Rochester and in fact the city of today had at that time no existence, although the present boundary limits include the site of his birthplace. He lived to witness almost the entire growth and development of the city and for years figured as one of its prominent, influential and honored business men and residents. He had no aspiration for office but he did everything in his power to promote general growth and progress and his was a most useful and honorable life, winning for him the high regard, trust and good will of all with whom he came in contact. In fact his life history is inseparably interwoven with the history of Rochester and the development of Monroe county and no work of this character would be complete without an extended mention of him. He was one of the city's fathers and builders, acquainted with the story of its progress-an active factor in its growth. He possessed a strong nature, a kindly spirit, and his life was actuated by high, manly principles, and when he was called from this earth Rochester mourned the loss of one of its most valued and representative men.
Joseph Field.
hon. Alfred Elp
H ON. ALFRED ELY, deceased, of Rochester, was one of the distinguished attorneys of western New York and the varied interests of citizenship, of civic life and intellectual and moral development all claimed his attention and received his co-operation. He figured prominently in political circles as well and twice rep- resented his district in congress. His career was one of activity and usefulness and, gifted by nature with strong intellectual powers, he used his talents to further high aims and lofty purposes and left the impress of his individuality for good upon the city and state in which he made his home. He came to Rochester in 1836, a young man of twenty-one years, and was thereafter a resident of the city until his life's labors were ended in death.
Mr. Ely was born in Lyme, Connecticut, February 15, 1815, his parents being Charles and Elizabeth Ely, who throughout their entire lives were resi- dents of the Charter Oak state, living most of the time at Ely's Ferry on the Connecticut river. Both died, however, at Lyme.
Alfred Ely acquired a public-school education in Essex county, Connecti- cut, and in Lyme, followed by a course of study in Bacon Academy at Col- chester, New London county, Connecticut, where he had for a classmate the late Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite, of the United States supreme bench. A liberal literary education served as an excellent foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of professional learning and in 1836 he came to Rochester, where he began preparation for the bar as a law student in the office of Smith & Rochester, who were among the most eminent attorneys of the state. In his student days Mr. Ely was patient and persevering and mastered the prin- ciples of his profession with great care. He was admitted to the bar in 184I and entered at once upon the practice of his chosen calling No dreary novi- tiate awaited him, for in a comparatively short time he had built up a large practice and his forensic powers were recognized by the profession and the gen- eral public. He first had an office on Main street opposite the Powers block and afterward removed to the Elwood block. He became attorney for the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad, also the Buffalo & Rochester Rail- road and was specially qualified for these positions by reason of his intimate and accurate knowledge of railroad law. He was also attorney for many extensive firms doing business inthe city. He was particularly strong as
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Hon. Alfred Elp
a counselor, displayed great familiarity with the rules of practice, prepared his cases with great thoroughness and care, was accurate in his mastery of all the points in a case and his pleadings showed oratorical power and an unques- tioned logic in his deductions.
Mr. Ely had not long been a resident of Rochester until the weight of his influence was felt in public affairs and it was a generally conceded fact that he was found on the right side of every question. He stood firm in support of his honest convictions in political circles as well as in other walks of life, and in 1858 he was called upon to represent his district in the thirty-sixth con- gress. He received endorsement of his course during the legislative sessions of that body by re-election in 1860 and he thus served during a very momen- tous period in the history of the country. At the time of the Civil war he stood loyally by the Union, aided in the raising of troops and felt the deepest interest in the northern soldiers and the success of the Union cause. At the first battle of Bull Run he was present to aid in the Union cause and, being taken prisoner, was incarcerated for nearly six months in Libby prison, dur- ing which time he was subjected to severe cruelty. While there he was inde- fatigable in his efforts to alleviate the sufferings of his fellow prisoners. He came to know just what southern prison life meant and to realize as few of the civilians in the north what were the experiences and hardships of the soldier at the front. He did a most valuable work in behalf of the Union troops as opportunity offered and in an indirect way through the publication of his well known book, "Journal of Alfred Ely, a prisoner of war in Richmond." This vol- ume was written in his usual pleasing style and had a very large sale. It was an influence in the mitigation of the harshness with which prisoners of war were treated, for it brought to the country a knowledge of the methods which were practiced by the keepers of those southern prison pens. In 1862 Mr. Ely returned to Rochester and entered again upon the active practice of law, in which he continued until the latter part of his life.
In 1840 was celebrated the marriage of Alfred Ely and Miss Caroline L. Field, a daughter of Joseph and Lydia (Glover) Field, natives of Taunton, Massachusetts, and of Dorchester, that state, respectively. Mr. Field was a very early settler of Rochester and became a prominent and wealthy citizen. He began business here as a miller but soon became interested in railroads. He was a director and large stockholder of the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad and was an active factor in the construction of that line between Rochester and Syracuse and also between Rochester and Buffalo. He became a director and one of the principal stockholders in the Flour City Bank, with which he was thus identified from its organization until his death. He was likewise connected with many other business interests which proved strong and potent elements in the development and growth of the city. His worth and prominence were indicated by his fellow citizens in their choice of Mr. Field for the office of mayor of Rochester on two different occasions. So pop-
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