The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 20

Author: Haddock, John A., b. 1823-
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Albany, N. Y., Weed-Parsons printing company
Number of Pages: 1098

USA > New York > Jefferson County > The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894 > Part 20

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HON. WILLARD IVES.

HON. WILLARD IVES, whose connection with the religious, educational, political and philanthropic institutions of Jefferson county has made his name familiar through- out Northern New York, was born in the town of Watertown in 1806, His ancestry came from New England: his father, Dr. Titus, and his mother, Mary (Phelps) Ives, were both natives of Connecticut, and came to Jeffer- son county in 1801. A brother, Jotham Ives, had previously, in the fall, located here, and a few years subsequently the two brothers were joined by a third, Erastus. They located large tracts of land in the southwestern part of Watertown, and ad- joining in Houndsfield, where they resided until their deaths. Dr. Titus Ives was a graduate of medicine, but did not continue the practice to any extent after coming to Jefferson county. He was quite prominent in local town affairs, and represented his district in the State Legislature in 1829-30.

Willard was an only child, receiving a good education for pioneer days, and has always taken a deep interest in religious and educational affairs. He has always followed the avocation of a farmer; and has done much to elevate the standard of agri- cultural pursuits. He has resided upon his farm (now in the city limits) since 1850, and has witnessed the change of his neighbor- hood from pioneer days to its present ad- vanced position in the progress of the age. In 1840 he became a director in the Bank of Watertown, and subsequently became its president. He has also heen connected with other banks, and served as president of the Merchants' Bank. In religious affairs he has always been an earnest and efficient member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and in 1846 was appointed by Conference to represent them at the World's Convention in London, after which he passed some months in observation on the continent. While on his return from his mission to the World's Convention, the steamer Great Brit- ain, upon which he took passage, ran hard

ashore on the Irish coast, necessitating her abandonment by her passengers, who came home by other conveyances.

In 1848 he was a candidate for Congress, and, notwithstanding the demoralization of his party during that eventful year, came within 300 votes of an election. In 1852 he was elected and served one term.

Mr. Ives is still in good health and enjoy- ing the evening of his life from the results of his own industry and sagacity. He owns 100 acres of superior farming land, all of which now lies within the city limits of Watertown. Although over eighty- seven years of age, he still conducts his many kinds of business and benevolent affairs. He is president of the Ives Semi- nary at Antwerp, which he endowed, and has always contributed largely to its sup- port. He is also president of the Jefferson County Orphan Asylum, of which institu- tion he was one of the originators and most earnest advocate. He has always been a prominent and earnest worker in the Arse- nal Street Methodist Episcopal Church and Sunday school, and was one of the organiz- ers of the Syracuse University, and was also one of the incorporators of the Thou- sand Island Camp Meeting Association.

Mr. Ives, among all the descendants of the early families, has had the most consis- tent and continued church relation. An earnest Methodist, he has been always a strong man among them, and has never de- clined aid to any enterprise relating to that church, nor to society at large. His family name is an honored one in this county, where he has ever been foremost in aid of religion and literature

Mr. Ives has been twice married. His first wife, whose maiden name was Char- lotte Winslow, sister of Hon. John Wins- low, died in 1861. His second wife is a na- tive of Oswego county, and her maiden name was Lucina M. Eddy. Her parents were old and respected residents of the town of Philadelphia

THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

NORRIS M. WOODRUFF.

Livy, the historian, in eulogizing the reign of one of the Caesars, says that " he found Rome brick, but he left it marble." Not in these words, hut in the broad sense that the quotation suggests, we write of one who found the present beautiful city of Water- town a mere hamlet - a cross roads, with the usual blacksmith shop, the tavern and the country store, but who helped far more than any man before or since his time to make it the most desirable village of that great State so justly celebrated for its charm- ing towns.

If the curious reader will take a look at that valuable collection of portraits of Watertown's leading citizens, painted by the late Jonah Woodruff, and preserved from forgetfulness by that patriotic and dis-

tinguished citizen, Mr. George W. Wiggins, he will find among them the likeness of an austere looking gentleman, and will be told (if under 50 years of age, and, therefore, never having seen the original) that the painting represents Norris M. Woodruff, as he moved and lived among his contempo- raries from 1817 to 1857. From that portrait our present picture came. The austerity of liis face, however, was not a reflection of his inner self, for he was a generous and high-toned man, an indulgent father and an estimable citizen, but the facial expression was doubtless the outgrowth of a business struggle in those early times in Northern New York, when every man was taxed to the utmost to succeed; for the times were hard, the markets difficult to be reached, no

BIOGRAPHIES.

railroad nearer than Rome or Syracuse, all freight moved by the circuitous route of canal to Oswego, thence by steamer to Sack- ets Harbor, and by wagon to Watertown. The crops at times were scanty or uncertain; but little money was in active circulation; valuable timber almost unsaleable, wood from $1.25 to $1.75 a cord; wheat 60 cents, oats 25 cents a bushel, butter 10 to 12 cents, and cheese 5 to 6 cents a pound. Is it any wonder, then, that the men who were the leaders in business in those times wore stern and determined faces, or that the intensity of their struggle for supremacy stamped it- self upon their features? Nay, the only wonder is that their hearts, too. did not be- come hard and calloused - but they did not, for they are well remembered as men of generous impulses and active sympathies.

Mr. Woodruff was born in the town of Hartford. Conn., September 7, 1792. His father was an industrious farmer in easy circumstances, but desiring a wider field and cheaper land for his rising family, about 1803 he sought a new home in the almost unknown "Black River country," locating in the town of LeRay, Jefferson county, at what was known as Jewett's (now Sanford's) Corners, where he was for years a success- ful farmer. When Norris M. attained his majority he was possessed of about $100 in cash, acquired principally in teaching school. He desired to go out into the world and make a future for himself, but his father objected, as the son was considered scarcely up to the average in physique, and not quite able to compete with others in the struggle for success incident to a new country. But the young man showed his determined char- acter, and resolved to venture into new fields. "Norris," said his father, " when you have spent your capital, come back home, where you will ever be welcome." "Father," he replied, "you will live to be proud of your son "-a prophecy most abund- antly fulfilled.

Deciding upon Watertown as his choice for location, he purchased a horse and cart, and was soon selling tinware about the county, receiving in pay (not refusing money) such paper rags, peltry and other merchantable commodities as the settlers had to spare, and these he stored until in sufficient bulk to ship away to manufactur- ers of paper and other purchasers. This new life rapidly improved his physical con- dition, and the peculiar exactions of his business gave force to his natural persistency and self-reliance. After a year or two of this life he established a tinware manufac- tory and hardware store near the site now occupied by the Woodruff Honse. His fa- miliar acquaintance with the people with whom he had dealt in his journeyings about the county brought him many customers, and his fair dealings and business integrity inspired a confidence which lasted all through his life. He judiciously managed the prosperity which flowed in upon him,

and gradually extended his business. Step by step he rose in the confidence of the people. He was for many years a director, and for a long time president of the Jefferson County Bank, an institution which survived many panics and financial disasters, but has never closed its doors during a single day since it came to Watertown. He was one of the most active promoters of the Watertown and Rome Railroad. an enterprise entered upon by the people of Jefferson county with much reluctance, and after great labor by its originators; and he was also active in organizing the company which built the road north to Potsdam, to connect with the roads to New England.

Mr. Woodruff was never a money-getter for the mere pleasure of accumulation. His mind was far-reaching, and his greatest ambition was bound up in the well-being of his beloved Watertown. In its progressive life he was ever prominent; its best inter- ests were near his heart, and his helping hand was always ready to do even more than his legitimate share in bearing her bur- dens. He was not a politician, and never sought public office, nor placed any value upon such honors, which, had he sought them, would be at his command. His fa- vors were bestowed, not for gratitude or praise, but because it was his nature to help individuals or towns that were earnestly trying to help themselves. Columns of truthful laudation might be written in de- scribing his character, his dealings with his fellow-citizens, his labors for his village. We know that those things are not forgot- ten by the older citizens of Jefferson county.

Previous to 1850 he gradually withdrew from the more exacting demands of his large business, and turned over the hard- ware branch to his son, Horace W., and his son-in-law, Mr. Howell Cooper. After Horace moved to St. Louis, this extensive business was carried on by Mr. Cooper, and he is remembered as one of Watertown's most successful merchants. But while Mr. Woodruff withdrew from such business as he could readily delegate to others, he main- tained his official relations with the railroad and the bank, and had more time to devote to his building enterprises, some of which yet remain as mementoes of his ability and intelligence. In the midst of these active labors he was stricken down by disease, and in his 64th year, on January 16, 1857, he passed away, lamented by a sorrowing com- munity, and deeply mourned by his large family.

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS.

Mr. Woodruff was tall and broad-shoul- dered, without being bulky, and when at all excited was of commanding presence. Though above the average height, he never appeared uncouth or embarrassed. On the contrary, he bore the easy, nonchalant air of one who knew the world, and felt con- scious that he was at least the peer of the

100

THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

foremost in any gathering where he hap- pened to be. Indeed, it is my own opinion that he was never in the slightest degree, even in early life, awed by the presence of any one. He possessed a consciousness of his own strength and capacity for leader- ship, and went straight forward with his plans of building and business, seeking ad- vice from no one outside of his own family, but successful every time. I would not have the reader infer that there was the slightest appearance of vanity or self-lauda- tion in his bearing or his language, but rather the self-pose and calm reliance upon his own inborn self which ever mark the strong character when brought face to face with danger or opposition. And he en- countered opposition and often unjust criti- cism and the jealousies that are the inher- itanee of small communities, and was often called to deal with men as determined and ambitious as himself. Jason Fairbanks, Perley Keyes, Orville Hungerford, William H. Angel, Adriel Ely and Eli Farwell were men not easily thrust aside or intimidated; but amidst these worthy contemporaries he took the lead in every great improvement, and pressed steadily forward, with a breadth of view and an irrepressible industry that would not be denied.

As I was an eager, observing boy at the time that Mr. Woodruff was at the zenith of his business career, his impression upon my mind was deep and lasting. Not that I saw him oftener than I did his contempora- ries, for I served all of them with our news- paper, "The Eagle and Standard," but there was an individuality about this man that was more pronounced than in any other citizen. On horseback he rode like a general at the head of his troops; calm, re- liant, self-poised. On foot he was a walk- ing force, equally self-sustained, absorbing, turning neither to the right nor left. To have slapped him on the back or set up a joke at his expense would have been like tempting any familiarity with the great Washington himself.

Like all positive men, he had his enemies, but now that the asperities and petty busi- ness jealousies of that day have been for- gotten, it is due to history to pass upon all such leaders in our early settlement the in- dulgent opinion of a grateful posterity, who share in the successes and the glory of those who preceded them, and made smooth the pathway for those who were to follow. If these early pioneers had faults, for surely they did have them, their memory is swal- lowed up by the beneficence of their achieve- ments, or in the acts of their children. Be- ing dead, they yet speak to the young men of to-day, and bid them form high stand- ards of excellence in all their thoughts of the future, and strive to come as near them as is possible in lives that are so short as ours. '

SOME OF HIS CHILDREN.

In 1847 Mr. Woodruff had married Miss Roxana P. Bush, a most estimable lady, in every respect a helpmate and advisor through all his business life. She survived him many years. They raised a family of nine children, three sons and six daughters.

If any further evidence were needed to convince the present people of Watertown of the excellence of this Woodruff stock, it can be found in the exalted character of such of these children as have survived their parents, and by their public benefits and private charities have illustrated in a marked degree the enlarged benevolence which distinguished their ancestry. When the observer sees children honoring the memories of their parents by dispensing wealth for the benefit of those in humble life, or for those who have somehow hon- estly failed in acquiring enough money to make old age comfortable, the mind is filled with wonder that more rich people are not prompted to follow such examples, so that posterity may look back and revere their memory.

Three of the daughters of Mr. Woodruff are yet living. But Mrs. Mundy, Mrs. Beach and Mrs. Cadwell, so well-known and deservedly loved in Watertown, have joined their parents "beyond the river." Mrs. Cooper has long survived her husband, and after having reared six children is enjoying the sweet reflections of well-spent years amidst the associations where her whole life has been so honorably passed, and where every street and almost every building must recall memories of her parents and of ber own youth. Mrs. Flower, beloved and honored by all who are privileged to know her, adorns the executive mansion at Al- bany, and helps her most popular and ex- cellent husband in dispensing the hospitali- ties ineumhent upon the governor of a great State. It has been the good fortune of Mrs. Keep-Schley, however, to confer upon Watertown what may be regarded as its crowning beneficence and its lasting glory. Left great wealth by her husband, the poor orphan boy who rose to rank among the first millionaires of a great city, she has done his memory great eredit and herself distinguished honor by endowing the Henry Keep Home with funds ample enough to carry on its grand work through all time. To speak of such a noble gift, so unostenta- tiously carried out and made so perfect in its work, suggests food for the most pleas- ant thoughts.

Mr. Woodruff's influence upon his con- temporaries was marked and lasting. While he was a rich man, his wealth acquired from honest labor, not from speculation, he was ever mindful of the deserving poor. No applicant for food was ever turned away unfilled from his hospitable door.

J. A. H.

101

BIOGRAPHIES.

HOWELL COOPER.

Mr. Cooper was born in Trenton, N. Y., in the year 1815, and was 55 years of age at his decease. When he was three years of age, his father removed with his family to Ox Bow, Jefferson county, and from 1834 to 1839 he was engaged in business with his father in Utica, and had a branch store in Hammond, St. Lawrence county. During these years, being frequently at Water- town, he made the acquaintance of Miss Lois P. Woodruff, daughter of the late Norris M. Woodruff, to whom he was mar- ried September 21, 1839.

This union was most fortunate and happy, and was blessed by several children who now occupy enviable positions in society.

Immediately after marriage he intended to remove to Utica, but was induced to form a copartnership with Mr. Horace Woodruff, in the hardware business, and to

remain in Watertown. This brought him in connection, and he identified himself with Norris M. Woodruff in nearly all the enterprises that have contributed so largely toward making Watertown the beautiful city that it is to-day.

The Iron Block, rebuilt within ninety days from its burning. and the Woodruff House, stand now as monuments to the en- terprise of Mr. Woodruff. and the energy and executive ability of Mr. Cooper. After the death of Mr. Woodruff, Mr. Cooper con- tinued in the hardware business. Not am- bitious of official honors, he pursued with indomitable will that branch of trade which he had chosen, and, from a small begin- ning, attained affluence and high position among business men.

Receiving as a partner his brother, Elias F., the firm name of H. & E. F. Cooper was

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THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

honored in Jefferson county for nearly a quarter of a century.

Mr. Cooper was one who never ate the bread of idleness: his life was one of unceas- ing labor. He possessed elements of char- acter that made him an honored citizen, and was public spirited to a fault. To his serious detriment, pecuniarily, he was one of the main promoters of the Potsdam and Watertown Railroad; afterwards one of the prime movers and incorporators of the Watertown Water Works, and latterly, be- sides adding largely to the success of the Carthage Railroad by his influence and sanc- tion, he was one of the commissioners ap- pointed to subscribe to the stock by the town.

In his domestic relations he was affection- ate and pleasant. Wife and children wel- comed his coming when the toils of the day were over, with fondly beating-hearts; and a hearthstone, happy with him, was made desolate without him. But those who were near and dear to him have the cheering consolation that he was true to the kindred points of morality and Christianity, and has passed to his reward,

He was an uncommonly able man of affairs. He made himself thoroughly fa- miliar with the details of his business, and was quick to solve whatever perplexing questions came up in connection with it. When he had decided he acted without delay. It was his custom to dispatch his business as it came up, postponing nothing. To this habit his success was no doubt largely due. He connected action with thought his whole life through. He was severely, almost brusquely, practical. He had no patience with theories. No man had a more hearty hatred of nonsense, humbug and falsehood. It was his nature also to despise a blunderer, for he rarely blundered himself. But he did not turn away from new things. He has been in- strumental in introducing several new in- ventions among farmers and diarymen. His patent cheese-vat and heater became very popular with dairymen, especially in Northern and Eastern New York and the Eastern States. He commenced its manu- facture and sale about 1860. In 1864 he

commenced manufacturing the Buckeye Mower and for several years turned out and sold 400 a year. He made a spe- cialty of dairymen's furnishing goods, and this class of producers were long in the habit of going to his establishment for their complete outfits. Farmers' seeds was another of his specialties, of which he bought and sold large quantities each year. Such fea- tures of his business and their success, illustrate the foresight and practical wis- dom of the man. In public enterprises he did not lag, but did his share towards originating and pushing them forward. His friendships were few, but warm. He was too much absorbed in business and his mind too positive to attract strongly. But his family, and others who knew him well in social life, can testify to a tenderness and gentleness behind his stern exterior which few suspected, but which they all the more appreciated and enjoyed.

Sunday morning, July 24th, 1870, at fif- teen minutes after three o'clock, Mr. Cooper died. He had been confined to his house but a few days, and to most of his neigh- hors his death was unexpected. It deprived the city and county of one of its most ener- getic, able and successful business men.

His sudden and unexpected death shrouded Watertown in mourning, and carried poig- nant grief to the hearts of those who knew him best. Watertown owed much to Howell Cooper, and while it has an exist- ence will not fail to do honor to his memory.

This was spontaneously evidenced by the appropriate resolutions passed by the several civic organizations in Watertown. The busi- ness men led off with a large meeting at the rooms of the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation; then the merchants of the city held a meeting, followed by the Common Coun- cil, the directors of the Jefferson County National Bank, the trustees of the Jefferson County Savings Bank, and last, but not least, at the annual meeting of the Young Men's Christian Association, a feeling tribute was paid to Mr. Cooper's memory. In life he was respected-in death his neighbors and the citizens of Watertown honored themselves by honoring him.

DR. AMOS RUSSELL THOMAS,

WHOSE likeness and biographical sketch will be found on page 13 of this History, since the publication of that number has been remembered in an unusual manner by the Alumni of Hahnemann College, of which celebrated institution he has been the honored Dean for 40 years-a thing un- precedented in this country, perhaps in the world. Dr. W. W. Van Baun, Secretary of the Alumni Association of Hahnemann, in lately sending out his annual invitations for the usual yearly gathering, proposed that $5,000 should be raised as a fund for the perpetual maintenance of a free bed in Hahnemann Hospital, to be named the Amos Russell

Thomas Free Bed, and the cash was quickly raised.

The address on the occasion of the formal presentation of the fund for the permanent bed, was made at the close of the Alumni meeting at the Academy of Music, in Phila- delphia, May 8, 1894, when Dr. Thomas made a feeling and eloquent acknowledge- ment of the great honor done him.

The eminent success of this Watertown boy will remain through coming years as an incentive to any other humble youth who is willing to be studious and deserving in order to reach prominence, which comes to no man unearned.

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BIOGRAPHIES.

LIEUT. GOV. ALLEN C. BEACH.

IN men who are now prominent, but who sprang from moderate surroundings, so far as wealth and influence are concerned, Jefferson county appears to be quite prolific. There is scarcely a public man, now or in the past, who has held an important office in the county of Jefferson, who has not sprung from the common walks of life- even as Lincoln and Jackson and Silas Wright sprang, strengthened by early les- sons of thrift and self-denial-emerging at last from obscurity and unfavorable en- vironment, into broad and often eventful lives.

Governor Beach must be classed with such, for his origin was remote, his early life full of hardships, his final status among men prominent and irreproachable. He was born in Fairfield, Herkimer county, October 9, 1828, of parents who were able

to give him only a common-school educa- tion. At the age of 13 he left home, and ever after that took upon himself the entire burthen of his own support and education, He longed for an education, and, where many others fail, he was willing to pay the price of such a desirable possession by un- tiring industry, patient study, and in- domitable resolution. He must have been a strong, rugged boy -for in his 13th year he would rise in the cold winter mornings at 4 o'clock, fodder 600 sheep, care for 3 horses, and other farm animals, besides milking 4 cows, eat his breakfast, and trudge off two miles to school, which began promptly at 9 o'clock. When 15 years of age he began attending Jordan (Onondaga county) Acad- emy. This continued for two years, when he went to the Mexico (Oswego county) Academy steadily, except in winter, when

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The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 20

Author: Haddock, John A., b. 1823- Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Albany, N. Y., Weed-Parsons printing company Number of Pages: 1098

Author: Haddock, John A., b. 1823-
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Albany, N. Y., Weed-Parsons printing company
Number of Pages: 1098