USA > New York > Ulster County > The history of Ulster County, New York > Part 63
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At the death of Justice Theodoric R. Westbrook, of the Supreme Court, in Oc- tober, 1885, Parker was appointed to the vacancy by Governor Hill. To this po- sition he was elected for a full term in the fall of 1886 without opposition. Then, on creation of the Second Division of the Court of Appeals in January, 1889, Judge Parker was selected as one of the Judges, being the youngest member who ever sat in that court. This position he held until that branch of the court was abol- ished in 1892. He was then appointed to the General Term of the First Depart- ment by Governor Flower, and afterward succeeded to the Appellate Division in 1896 by the designation of Governor Black. The following year he was nomi- nated by his party for Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, to which he was elected by a plurality of 60,000 votes.
Judge Parker had now reached the high judicial position to which he had long aspired, as he afterward frankly assured the writer of this sketch. He said the place was entirely congenial to him, and even when his name was first mentioned for Governor, with hints of the possibility of a still greater honor in the future, he turned a deaf ear and would have none of it. Having attained a position to his entire satisfaction, and for which he considered himself fitted, he said he had no aspiration for the Presidency, for which he did not feel especially fitted. But his political friends were insistent. They had already urged him to be a candidate for Secretary of State in 1883 and for Lieutenant-Governor two years later. Presi- dent Cleveland wanted to appoint him Assistant Postmaster-General under Mr. Vilas in 1890, and the party nomination for Governor was pressed upon him. The following year he was urged for the election to the United States Senate. But he preferred his law books and the bench, and induced Governor Hill to take the
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place himself. Again in 1902 the gubernatorial candidacy was dangled before him, but he declined as before.
But it seemed decreed that Chief Justice Parker must not be permitted to round out his high judicial career as he had marked out for himself. Long before the opening of the national campaign in 1904, his name was prominently mentioned for the Presidential candidacy of his party. His great victory in the State in 1897 had brought him into national prominence as an available candidate. He had kept aloof from the bitter conflicts that had resulted in the disrupture and defeat of his party in recent years, and he enjoyed the respect and confidence of the con- servative voters of the country. He was a resident of the pivotal State from which the Republican candidate had been selected. The party was hopelessly di- vided, and an obscure and untried man could not be thought of. While his views of national questions were unknown, if indeed he had ever stopped in his busy career to formulate them, perhaps that in itself made him all the more available at that critical juncture in the party history. Thus it was that among a large and influential class of the Democratic leaders in this and other States, Judge Parker was considered the most available man for the party honor.
He was accordingly nominated at St. Louis in July, 1904. Slim as his chances of success were regarded on all sides, in view of the great personal popularity of his opponent, and the insidious dissensions that existed in his own party in the North and West, it was a great honor to be named by one of the great parties of the nation as its national standard bearer. He was made to believe that his acceptance of the nomination was an imperative duty which he owed to his party in spite of any personal objections or inclinations he might have. He had been chosen to represent his party in nearly every convention since he entered political life, and had been showered with party honors and favor for years, and he could not well refuse to obey this call now. Thus it was that Chief Judge Parker con- sented to be led to the sacrifice, against the advice of many of his friends in both parties, and perhaps contrary to his own best judgment and inclination. His de- feat was inevitable, and it proved greater than had been expected.
An important incident connected with his nomination at St. Louis was the send- ing of his famous "gold telegram" and its reception by the convention. The Demo- cratic national platform which had been adopted contained no reference to the money question. Parker, who was then at his summer home in Esopus, being unwilling to go before the people in that way, sent the following telegram to Wil- liam F. Sheehan at St. Louis :
"I regard the gold standard as firmly and irrevocably established, and shall act accordingly if the action of the convention to-day shall be ratified by the people. As the platform is silent on the subject, my views should be made known to the convention, and if it is proved to be unsatisfactory to the majority I request you to decline the nomination for me at once so that another may be nominated before adjournment."
This dispatch was read by Governor Vardaman, of Mississippi, after much ap- parent hesitation on the part of the Parker managers. It was then about mid- night of July 10, and the convention was thrown into great uproar. William J.
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Bryan took the platform amid an exciting ovation, and said: "If the gold standard is a good thing, then why run away from it? Why not put it into your platform?"
It was finally decided, however, that inasmuch as the patform contained no refer- ence to the monetary standard, which the party leaders said was not regarded as a possible issue in the campaign, there was nothing to preclude Judge Parker's acceptance of the nomination. This was the substance of a dispatch sent him by the convention.
He had, of course, resigned his place upon the bench on accepting the Presiden- tial nomination, and he now resumed the active practice of law in New York City, where he has since been engaged in many important cases, and enjoys a lucrative practice. He was recently chosen a member of the International Policyholders' Committee of the Mutual Life and the New York Life Insurance Companies of New York, and is now chairman of the executive branch of that committee. At the annual meeting of the American Bar Association, held at St. Paul in August, 1906, he was elected its president, and now holds that office.
JAMES E. PHINNEY, of Kingston, was born in the town of Saugerties, January 8, 1839. He spent his boyhood days in the town of Woodstock, where his father removed soon after his birth. At the age of fourteen he left home and went to sea on a whaling vessel, afterwards shipping on a merchant ship, and spent nine years in all as a sailor. In 1861 he enlisted for one year in the navy and was assigned to the Steamer Connecticut. After his discharge he re-enlisted in the Ninth Massachu- setts Volunteer Infantry, Army of the Potomac, and with his company took part in the battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Mine Run and the Battle of the Wilderness. He was slightly wounded at Fredericks- burg and severely so at Spottsylvania Court House, which took place on May 12, 1864. He was at this time taken prisoner, but was re-captured by his comrades a few days later and was confined in hospitals at Washington and Philadelphia until the close of the war.
He returned north and in 1867 engaged in the milling business at Wilbur, which he carried on for a number of years. In politics Mr. Phinney was a Republican. He twice received the nomination for Sheriff of the county. In 1892 he was ap- pointed City Treasurer, which office he held six years, and was Mayor of Kingston in 1899-1900. He was Superintendent of the Newark Lime and Cement Company seven years.
He was a member of Pratt Post, G. A. R., of which he was Commander three terms, and was a member of Franklin Lodge, K. of P. He was married at Sauger- ties June 2, 1867, to Mary J. Valkenburg and nine children have been born to them, as follows : John, deceased; Eleanor, the wife of E. P. Estabrook of New York City; Catherine and Mary E., deceased; Edwin, Loretta, deceased, Sarah, Charles and Frank. Mr. Phinney died March 16, 1907.
His father, Hiram, learned the trade of cloth making and when a young man located in Saugerties and engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods. He was there married to Eliza A. Ingram, a native of Kingston, and they had four children of whom all are dead except James. The mother died in 1867 and the father in 1869.
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FRANK R. POWLEY, President and Treasurer of the Kingston Coal Company and Secretary of the North River Coal Company, was born in Kingston in 1860. After finishing his education at the public schools he was employed for a time in the Rondout Postoffice. From 1880 to 1900 he was engaged in the hardware business and in 1901 was associated with the organizers in the establishment of the above companies, which now enjoy the most extensive coal trade in Ulster County.
Mr. Powley is numbered among the substantial business men of Kingston.
GEORGE W. PRATT of Highland, N. Y., President of the First National Bank of that village, was born in the town of Lloyd (formerly New Paltz), September 22, 1840, and is a son of Alden J. and Derenda (Ransom) Pratt. He attended the public school, Fort Plain Institute, and Claverack College. On coming of age, Mr. Pratt engaged in the flour and feed milling business with Phillip LeRoy; after one year, buying out his partner and for several years conducted the business alone. In 1889 he and his son, Harcourt J., entered into partnership for the manufacture of fruit packages and the sale of coal, lumber and grain. In 1902 he was elected President of the First National Bank of Highland. In 1872 and 1873 he served as County Supervisor, but has since refused public office. On December 21, 1865, Mr. Pratt was united in marriage with Adelaide Harcourt, daughter of Matthew T. and Sarah (Deyo) Harcourt. Four children were born to this union, Harcourt J., Jennie C., Alden J. and Bessie. Jennie C. became the wife of Homer Howgate and died in January, 1904; Alden J. died when twelve years of age. Mr. Pratt has always been a Republican, his first vote having been cast for Abraham Lincoln. In religious faith he is member of the Presbyterian Church, and is socially affiliated with F. & A. M. Lodge at Highland, of which he is one of the trustees.
HARCOURT J. PRATT of Highland, N. Y., was born in the township of Lloyd, October 23, 1866, and is the eldest son of George W. and Adelaide (Har- court) Pratt. He was educated in the local schools and the Poughkeepsie and Claverack Academies. When seventeen years of age he was appointed Page in the State Assembly, which position he held for one year, and was then promoted to Clerk's Messenger in the Senate, which he filled for a period of six years. In 1886 he embarked in the manufacture of fruit packages, and in 1889 entered into part- nership with his father, George W. Pratt, for the carrying on of that industry, and in the conducting of a general coal, lumber and grain business, under the firm name of George W. Pratt & Son. A Republican in politics, Mr. Pratt was elected in the spring of 1895 to the office of Town Supervisor and re-elected in 1896. In 1897 he was elected a member of the State Assembly, serving one term, since which time he has absolutely refused public office, preferring to devote his time and energies to his rapidly developing business interests, which require his undivided attention. He married Miss Mary Hasbrouck, and to them three children have been born, George W., Jr., Augusta and Jennie C. Mr. Pratt is identified with local, social and benevolent institutions, such as Masonic Fraternity, K. of P., and Grange.
WILLIAM G. QUINN, undertaker of Rosendale, was born in the town of Esopus, October 22, 1859. He attended the local schools and for the following
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twenty-two years was employed in the ice industry in New York City, and during that period has the very remarkable record of not losing a single day from his duties. In 1894 he came to Rosendale and established an undertaking business, which he has since successfully conducted. Before coming to Rosendale, Mr. Quinn served as Alderman in Weehawken for three terms, but has not actively participated in political affairs since coming here, although he still takes much interest in public affairs. Mr. Quinn married Chatherine Welch, and they have a family of three children, Mary Elizabeth, Rosania and William Quinn, Jr.
CHARLES A. RANSOM, Postmaster of Malden, N. Y., is a native of Saugerties. He was born in 1845, attended the local schools, and afterward engaged in steam- boating for four years. In 1876 he established a general store in Malden, which he has since conducted. Mr. Ransom was first appointed Postmaster under President McKinley in 1898.
He married Miss Louisa White of Sharon, Conn., and their family consists of two children, Anna T. and Arthur L. In politics Mr. Ransom is a Republican.
ALBERT REED, M.D., of Highland, who is successfully engaged in the practice of medicine and in conducting a drug business there, was born in Glen Wild, Sullivan County, N. Y., July 17, 1861, and is a son of Cholby J. Reed, also a native of this State, born near Cayuga Lake, and a third cousin of Hon. Chauncey M. Depew. The early education of Dr. Reed was acquired in public schools and later in the Monticello Academy and Hackettstown Collegiate Institute. He is a self-made and self-educated man, having by teaching acquired the capital which enabled him to pursue his more advanced studies. After completing his pre- liminary course of study he entered the office of George F. Perry of Sullivan County, under whom he studied for one year. He then entered the office of Dr. W. P. Scott, a noted physician of Detroit, Michigan, acting as his assistant and attending lectures at the Detroit Medical College for one year; but being desirous of receiving better clinical advantages, he went to New York, where he took up a course of lectures at the College of Physicians and Surgeons and attended the clinics in the various hospitals, besides taking special courses in diseases of the eye, ear, throat and lungs, nervous diseases and surgery. He later entered the National Normal University of Lebanon, Ohio, from which institution he was graduated November 13, 1889. Dr. Reed returned to his home and for three years engaged in practice in his native county. During this time he was married to Miss Eloise Smith, a daughter of Wright Smith of Sullivan County, and to them one child, Royal C., was born. In 1893 he came to Highland, where he has since built up an extensive practice. He is a member of the County Medical Society and the New York State and American Medical Associations. He was appointed Examiner in Lunacy in 1893 and in 1898 was passed and licensed by the State Board of Pharmacy, and admitted by the full State Board in 1901. He then opened a drug store in Highland, which he is now conducting. He makes a specialty of the treatment of cancer and has successfully treated cases from all sections of the country. He has lately fitted up a private hospital for medical and surgical cases.
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Dr. Reed comes from a family of three children. The elder brother, Seth J., now resides at Glen Wild, Sullivan County, and his sister Mary is the wife of Cogswell Kinne of Maplewood, Sullivan County. In politics the Doctor is a Republican. Socially he is identified with F. and A. M., being a thirty-second degree Mason and a member of the Blue Lodge, Shrine, Commandery, etc.
C. GORDON REEL, general manager of the Kingston Consolidated Rail- road Company, was born in St. Louis, Mo., April 21, 1873. He attended the public schools of that city and later entered Washington University, graduating from the civil and electrical engineering departments in 1893, completing a five years' course. He first took a position as engineer on the St. Louis Waterworks extension. In 1894 he was in charge of the construction of the large high service pumping station, No. 3, in St. Louis. In 1895 he constructed the St. Louis, Kirk- wood and Merrimac Highland R. R., one of the first inter-urban roads built in America. He was then appointed chief engineer of the Lindell R. R. Co., now the St. Louis Transit Company. In 1896 he resigned that position and became associated with Charles H. Ledlie, consulting engineer of the City of St. Louis, and engaged in all kinds of engineering work through the South and West. In 1897 he was appointed Superintendent of the Colonial City Traction Company of Kingston and designed and built the subway at the West Shore station.
He resigned three years later and returned to St. Louis as Principal Assistant in Mr. Ledlie's office and while there designed the fifteen-thousand horse-power station for the Amsterdam, Fonda, Johnstown and Gloversville Electric Company.
In 1901 he accepted the position he now holds as manager of the Kingston Consolidated R. R. Co., and two years later was elected to the office of Vice- President of the Company.
ANTHONY D. RELYEA, of Whiteport, was born at that place in 1845. He obtained his education in the schools of the neighborhood and was thereafter employed in the quarries and at various other occupations during the earlier years of his life. In 1864 he married Charlotte Ann Bates of Rosendale, N. Y., and twelve children have been born to them as follows: Edward J., Jane B., deceased; Lovena, who married Edward Mowle and has two children; Willie, deceased; Olive, married John Mirchell of Cornwall, England, and has one child; Eva, deceased; Amy, Blanch, Mabel I., Frederick, Charlotte and Chauncy D. For a number of years Mr. Relyea conducted a cooperage business. He later engaged in butchering and also dealt in wagons, sleighs, harness, etc. He now owns the depot property at Whiteport, some five miles from Kingston, on the Wallkill Valley Railroad, and deals in groceries, provisions, flour, feed and coal. This business has for several years past been under the management of his son-in-law, Edward Mowle.
Politically Mr. Relyea is a Republican and a leader and worker in his party. He has held several important offices, having been a member of the County Board of Supervisors, Town Collector, Commissioner of Highways, and Coroner, and is the only Republican in the town of Rosendale who has held an office three successive
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terms. He also holds the office of Postmaster of Whiteport. Socially he holds membership with the Knights of Pythias, the I. O. O. F. and the I. O. F.
HENRY H. REYNOLDS, the son of Abraham and Sarah (Folger) Reynolds, was born in the City of New York in 1811. With his family he removed from New York to Kingston in 1841, and from then until his death, November 23, 1868, was identified with every movement for the improvement and advancement of the place in material, moral and religious matters.
The State of New York Bank having been organized April 15, 1853, Mr. Reynolds was elected its Vice-President and authorized to discharge the duties of cashier, teller and bookkeeper on the 13th day of June following. This position he held until the 23d day of October, 1868, when he was chosen President of the bank to succeed Judge Henry Brodhead, Jr., who had died. Few men in Kingston have occupied a position of more commanding influence than he. To a remarkably acute intellect, strengthened by critical study of the best writers, was added a practical bent with a thorough knowledge of business in all its complications and a genial, companionable nature. A systematic, constant and efficient worker in every field of Christian effort in Kingston, his memory long will be affectionately cherished in the old town.
HON. JACOB RICE .- Among the able men of Ulster County who have attained high public office and have reflected credit upon the Democratic party, one of the most prominent is Jacob Rice of Kingston, whose long and distinguished service in both branches of the Legislature has given him a State reputation. Mr. Rice was born in the City of Treves, Germany, March 7, 1847, and was but two years of age when his parents came to America. The family first located in New York City, and four years later removed to Rondout. Mr. Rice received his education in the public schools of Kingston. After leaving school he obtained employment on the D. & H. Canal, and with characteristic thrift began saving his surplus earnings with which he later established a furniture business in Rondout. He conducted the business sixteen years with great success, building it up to large proportions; he then sold out and engaged in freighting, transporting and con- tracting on a large scale, under the name of Schoonmaker & Rice, opened branch offices in New York and other cities in the State and became one of the largest and most successful contractors in Eastern New York. In 1890 he established a boat building business in Kingston, which he still owns.
In 1877 Mr. Rice married a daughter of Col. John Derrenbacher, by whom he had ten children. He is a veteran of the Civil War and a member of Pratt Post, G. A. R. He was elected Coroner in 1881, and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1900. He served five successive terms in the Assembly and two terms in the State Senate. In his long service in the Legislature Mr. Rice was the firm and constant champion of the cause of the workingman, and his entire political record is a thoroughly honorable one. In all public enterprises Mr. Rice is ever ready to do his share as a loyal citizen, who has the welfare of his community at heart.
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HARRISON H. RICHARD, who conducts a general mercantile business in Montela, New York, is a son of George B. and Eliza J. (Hill) Richard. He was born in Montela in 1881 and obtained his education at the public schools of that place. He then engaged with his father in the management of their farm and store until 1904, when he purchased the store, and continues the business alone, also filling the office of Deputy Postmaster. Mr. Richard is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and is socially identified with the Knights of the Maccabees.
He married Miss Frances Cynthia Groo of Sullivan County and they have one son, S. Groo. Mr. Richard enjoys an extensive trade and is numbered among the leading young business men of Wawarsing Township.
W. H. RIDER, who has been engaged in the sale of pianos and musical instru- ments in Kingston for the past twenty years, is numbered among the city's most progressive business men.
His trade equals that of any piano house on the Hudson and a corps of salesmen place his goods in Ulster and nine adjoining counties. His warerooms, at 304 Wall street, occupy three floors and are stocked with various standard grades of musical instruments.
Mr. Rider is a member of all the prominent fraternal organizations in Kingston.
W. C. RISELEY, of Longyear, a prominent agriculturist of Shandaken Township, was born May 27, 1864, in Woodstock. The Riseley family has held an honored place in Ulster County affairs for several generations. Our subject moved to Longyear some eighteen years ago, and now owns several hundred acres of land and is also engaged in the lumber business. He is a member of the F. & A. M. and of the Re- formed Dutch Church. His family consists of wife, formerly Miss Adelia Van De Bogart, and eight children, Mabel, Addie, Catherine, Louis, Gertrude, Dorothy, Iola and Egbert.
HENRY RITTER of Rifton, N. Y., color mixer for the J. W. Dimick Company, is a native of Fishkill Landing. He was born November 15, 1871, and has been engaged with the J. W. Dimick Company for eighteen years in the capacity of mixer of colors. He is identified with local affairs, has served as Trustee and Treasurer of the village of Rifton, and is associated with numerous benevolent and social organizations, among which we mention F. and A. M., No. 343, Rondout, N. Y .; Mount Horeb Chapter No. 75, R. A. M .; Rondout Commandery No. 52, K. T .; Garfield Lodge No. 422, I. O. O. F .; Pokonoie Tribe No. 344, I. O. R. M .; Rond- out Club; Weiner Hose Company, Kingston; Cornell Hose Company, Rondout, Etc.
WILLARD D. ROCKEFELLER, who has chosen Ulster County for his country seat, is a native of Albany, N. Y., and obtained his education at the Normal School and Business College of that city. He then engaged in the hotel business, being associated with the Allanhurst Inn, in New Jersey, for a time, after which he spent four years in California, in connection with the Maryland Hotel at Pasadena.
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In 1904 Mr. Rockefeller purchased his present estate on the Hudson, near the village of West Park, one of the choicest residential portions of Ulster County, which has been justly termed the garden spot of America.
ALONZO ROSE was born at North Haverstraw, now Stony Point, Rockland County, New York, in 1840, and in the district schools of that county he received his education. He then engaged in boating and for thirty years owned and com- manded vessels plying along the river and sound. In 1883 he moved to Dutchess Junction and engaged with Aldrich Bros. & Co. in the manufacture of brick. In 1890 he came to Kingston and engaged in the brick business, in which he has been very successful, having increased his annual output from four million to twelve million brick within the past fifteen years. He married Emma J. Wilkins of Rockland County and their two sons, Irving J. and Alonzo K., assist their father in the management of the brick yards and store.
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