USA > New York > The men of New York: a collection of biographies and portraits of citizens of the Empire state prominent in business, professional, social, and political life during the last decade of the nineteenth century, Vol. I > Part 26
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Judge Hickey is a Mason and an Odd Fellow, and is president of the Odd Fellows' Home Association
of New York state, which maintains an institution at Lockport.
PERSONAL CHIRONOLOGY-Charles Hickey was born at Somerset, Niagara county, N. Y., April 18, 1857 ; was educated in district schools and at Lockport Union School; was admitted to the bar in October, 1884 ; married Frances C. Lambert of Lock- port November 25, 1886 ; was city attorney of Lock- port, 1892-95 ; practiced law in Lockport, 1885-05 ; has been county judge and surrogate of Niagara county since January 1, 1896.
Edward Daniel Loveridge of Cuba, N. Y., has already passed the "threescore years and ten " allotted as an ordinary lifetime ; but as a practicing lawyer and president of a bank, he gives ample evi- dence that his days of usefulness are not yet over.
EDWARD DANIEL LOVERIDGE
Mr. Loveridge was born before the close of the first quarter of the century, among the Litchfield hills of Connecticut, and there he passed his youth. Having completed his preparatory studies, he entered
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Trinity College, Hartford, and studied there for two years. He then left college, having determined to become a lawyer, and began his legal studies at Lex- ington, Va. He had thus the benefit of a more varied experience of men and places than usually falls to the lot of the young law student. He was admitted to the bar in March, 1853, at Rochester, and from that time his life has been passed in western New York.
At first he opened an office alone at Castile, Wy- oming county, and there obtained his first practical knowledge of the life of a lawyer. About three years later, in May, 1856, he moved to Cuba, and entered into partnership with his brother, Noah P. Lover- idge. For ten years the brothers worked together to build up a practice, but at the end of that time Noah moved to Michigan, and for a little more than a year Edward practiced alone. He then asso- ciated with him in his practice Harlan J. Swift, now of Buffalo, and this connection lasted fifteen years. For the past ten years he has practiced in partner- ship with John C. Leggett. Mr. Loveridge has thus been actively engaged in the practice of his pro- fession for more than forty years, and has conducted a vast amount of legal business.
Aside from the law, Mr. Loveridge's greatest in- terest has been banking. He has been president of the Cuba National Bank for twenty-eight years, and his successful management of the affairs of that in- stitution reflects great credit upon his business abil- ity. Other similar institutions have been glad to avail themselves of his counsel, and he has been for many years a director of the Citizens' National Bank of Friendship, N. Y.
Mr. Loveridge has always taken great interest in public affairs, and in his younger days he played a prominent part in the political life of his neighbor- hood. He served as member of assembly in the legislatures of 1862 and 1863, and was a delegate to the Republican national convention of 1864. He was supervisor of the town of Cuba for two years. In 1876 he was nominated for representative in con- gress.
Mr. Loveridge has been for years a member of the Masonic fraternity, and has taken an active part in its affairs. He is a Knight Templar, and for three years ( 1874-76) was Commander of St. John's Com- mandery, No. 24, Olean ; and for fourteen years he was High Priest of Valley Point Chapter, Cuba. He is a member of the Episcopal church.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Edward Daniel Loveridge was born at New Milford, Conn., December 11, 1824 ; completed his education at Trin- ilr College, Hartford, Conn .; studied law, and was
admitted to the bar in 1853 ; married Frances Emily Bartlett of Granby, Mass., October 19, 1854; prac- ticed law at Castile, N. Y., 1853-56 ; was member - of assembly, 1862-63 ; has practiced law at Cuba, N. Y., since 1856 ; has been president of the Cuba National Bank since 1868.
James Low has served his country in military and in civil stations. To an intensely practical life he has added a deep interest in public affairs, and has long been a prominent factor in his community. Though not American-born, he has made a record of which any American might justly be proud. His parents, originally from Scotland, went to Niagara county from Toronto, Canada, when he was only two years old, so that all his early educational training was obtained in the United States. He attended the common schools of Lockport and Lewiston, and was for three years a pupil in the Collegiate Institute at Wilson, N. Y. This excellent education be turned to account in the very matter- of-fact business of farming, as well as in teaching district schools in the winter for seven years. He continued in these occupations until appointed deputy collector and inspector of customs for the district of Niagara in 1861, an office he resigned a year later to enter the military service of the United States.
Mr. Low had been foremost in recruiting com- pany B of the 129th New York volunteers, and when it was organized he was commissioned 1st lieutenant, and mustered into the service August 22, 1862. He went at once to the front, and took part in the defense of Baltimore and in the West Virginia campaign. Two years later he joined the Army of the Potomac, and was present at the memorable battles of Spottsylvania, Tolopotomy, North Anna, Cold Harbor ( where he was wounded ), and Hatcher's Run. He was also present at the siege of Peters- burg, and at the surrender of Lee at Appomattox. During his service he was twice promoted, first to the rank of captain and afterward to that of major, retiring with the latter rank at the close of the war.
When peace was restored, Major Low returned to New York state, and was soon appointed by President Johnson postmaster at Suspension Bridge. In this position he gave such satisfaction that he was reappointed by President Grant in 1870.
In state affairs Major Low has taken an active interest, and has three times represented the 2d dis- trict of Niagara county in the assembly, serving the people intelligently and faithfully. He is an ardent and vigorous Republican, and has been repeatedly honored when his party has been in power in the
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nation, by appointments to federal offices. President Arthur made himn United States consul at Clifton, Ontario, and President Harrison appointed him collector of customs for the district of Niagara. He held the latter office for five years. Since the expiration of his term he has conducted the business of a coal merchant, and has carried on a farm.
At home Major Low has served for six years as president of the board of edu- cation of Suspension Bridge, and has devoted time and attention to securing a high standard in the schools under the care of the board. He attends the Con- gregational Church, and has been for many years president of its board of trus- tees. He is a member of the A. O. U. W., the Knights of Honor, the G. A. R., and the Loyal Legion. His neighbors and townsmen look to him for leadership in every movement having a worthy ob- ject in view. Conservative in his ideas, he is nevertheless open to conviction on every question arising in the course of public and political events ; and he has thus won and retained the confidence of all who know him.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- James Low was born at Toronto, Canada, January 24, 1836 ; was educated in the public schools of Niagara county, N. Y., and Wilson ( N. Y.) Collegiate Institute ; married Amanda Barnes of Cambria, N. Y., March 25, 1858 ; served in the Union army, 1862-65 ; was appointed postmaster at Suspension Bridge, N. Y., in 1865, and was reappointed in 1870; was member of assembly, 1879-81, United States consul at Clifton, Canada, 1882- 87, and collector of customs for the district of Niagara, 1890-95 ; has carried on the business of a coal mer- chant at Niagara Falls since 1875.
Charles henry Miller, member of assembly in 1896 from the 1st district of Cattaraugus county, is a native of that county, and has spent his whole life there.
Mr. Miller was born in the town of Machias, near the close of the first half of the century. Like all country boys of that day, he received his early edu- cational training in the district school, which he be- gan to attend at the age of four years. At the out- break of the Civil War Mr. Miller was a youth of seventeen, attending school, and looking forward to
a useful commercial career. He gave up all his per- sonal plans, however, and enlisted in the 105th regi- ment New York volunteers. In the campaign of 1862 he participated with his regiment in all the battles from Cedar Mountain to Antietam. His regiment suffered so much in these engagements that
JAMES LOW
it was consolidated, in March, 1863, with the 94th New York volunteers, then commanded by General Adrian R. Root of Buffalo. In this regiment Mr. Miller served at the battle of Gettysburg, and in Grant's campaign before Petersburg and Richmond.
Having been honorably discharged from the army, Mr. Miller resumed his education, spending several years in the academy at Arcade, N. Y., and at Griffith Institute, Springville, N. Y. He then took up the occupation of teaching, and devoted himself to this profession during the winter seasons for twelve years. At the end of that time he moved to Delevan, N. Y., and engaged in the business of a furniture dealer and an undertaker, in partnership with George H. Whiting, under the firm name of
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1
Miller & Whiting. This connection lasted for twelve years. During this time Mr. Miller was ap- pointed to the railway postal service. The position of mail clerk on a railroad is one that requires close application, and great accuracy and quickness. Mr. Miller was connected with the service for four years,
F.W.
CHARLES HENRY MILLER
traveling on various roads, including the Western New York & Pennsylvania, the New York Central, and the Erie ; and during his teri of service was promoted, upon his record in competitive examina- tions, through all the several grades from mail-route messenger to head clerk.
In 1882 Mr. Miller associated himself with D. D. Smith in the drug and grocery business, at Yorkshire, N. Y. The interests centering in a country store are many and varied, and no branch of knowledge comes amiss there. -
Mr. Miller's training as a mail clerk was useful to him, for he was made deputy post- master, and had charge of the Yorkshire post office.
Always a strong Republican, Mr. Miller had long been prominent in county affairs before he was called
to represent the people in the legislature of the state. He was first elected a member of the board of super- visors. of Cattaraugus. county in .1877, and since that time he has served on the board thirteen years. In 1894 he filled the responsible position of chairman of the board. His well-known devotion to the best interests of the county received a fitting recognition when, in 1895, he was unan- imously chosen the Republican candidate for member of assembly from the 1st Cattaraugus district, and was duly elected. In the session of the legislature that fol- lowed he was a member of the important committee on taxation and retrenchment, and of the committees on banks and excise.
Mr. Miller is a trustee of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church of Yorkshire, and a member of Arcade Lodge, No. 419, F. & A. M., and of Delevan Lodge, No. 616, I. O. O. F.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Charles Henry Miller was born at Machias, N. Y., June 2, 1844 ; served in the Union army, 1862-65 ; was educated at Arcade (N. Y.) Academy and Griffith Institute, Springville, N. Y .; engaged in business in Delevan, N. Y., 1872-84, and in the railway mail service, 1872-76; estab- lished a drug and grocery business at Yorkshire, N. Y., in 1882, and has carried on the same since ; married Emma L. Williams of Arcade, N. Y., December 19, 1877 ; was chairman of the board of suter- visors of Cattaraugus county in 1894, and member of assembly from the 1st Catta- raugus-county district in 1896.
Arthur BB. Ottaway proves by his career that a young man can win success at home. The essential conditions of success are character, energy, and ability ; and these factors will be decisive anywhere.
Mr. Ottaway has spent his whole life in Chau- tauqua county. He was born in Mina, among the Chautauqua hills not far from the Pennsylvania line, and was brought up on a farin. His early education was acquired in the district school and at Sherman Academy. In 1873 he moved to the village of Westfield, and attended the academy there, graduat- ing at the age of twenty-one. His training had included preparation for a college course ; but this was abandoned, and his subsequent education was such as one gets in the practical school of life, while earning one's own living.
MEN OF NEW YORK-WESTERN SECTION
Like many country boys who purpose entering the professions, Mr. Ottaway's first resource on gradua- tion was teaching school. He followed this occupa- tion for some time, meanwhile preparing for the law. Later he prosecuted his studies in the office of William Russell at. Westfield, and finally, in 1879, was admitted to the bar. Mr. Ottaway's career since then has been that of a successful lawyer. At first he was a member of the firm of Russell, Dick- erman & Ottaway, as junior partner. Subse- quently this firm dissolved, and Mr. Ottaway for a time practiced alone. He is now the senior partner in the firm of Ottaway & Munson of Westfield.
The law often proves a stepping-stone to politics, and so it was in Mr. Ottaway's case. He was always an active Republican, quick at making friends, ener - getic ; and by a natural course of events he was nominated, in 1883, for district attorney of Chautauqua county. He was elected, and served from 1884 to 1887 with credit to himself and the county. After his administration of this office he retired to the care of his large and growing gen- eral practice. Mr. Ottaway has been engaged in many important trials, and is one of the best-known members of the bar in Chautauqua county. He has served for several years as attorney for the board of supervisors of the county.
One of the leading characteristics of Mr. Ottaway's career is the interest he has taken in matters pertaining to the welfare of Westfield and its institutions. He has always been active in village affairs. He served for many years as one of the vestrymen of St. Peter's Episcopal Church of Westfield. He is a Mason.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Arthur B. Ottaway was born at Mina, Chautauqua county, N. Y., May 8, 1854; was educated in the district schools, and at Sherman and Westfield academies, gradu- ating from the latter institution in 1875 ; taught school, studied law, and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1879; was district attorney of Chautauqua county, 1884-ST ; has practiced law in Westfield, N. Y., since 1879.
Lester fforrest Stearns grew
to manhood on his father's farm. His early life was similar to that of many boys, who, born and bred in the country, fit themselves for a profession, and win fame and reputation in large fields of usefulness by
force of industry, perseverance, and character. There is something in. the practical training and in the sur- roundings of farm life that inculcates a sturdy self- reliance and stimulates ambition ; and the fact is aptly illustrated in the career of Mr. Stearns.
He received his elementary education in the dis- trict school of his native Chautauqua-county town, and completed his studies in the Forestville Free Academy. For the two years following his gradua- tion he taught school, thus acquiring the discipline in method and accuracy so essential in the profession of law, which he soon decided to make his vocation. Before he began his legal studies, however, he spent a year in the Bradford oil region in Pennsylvania, where he had the supervision of a large strip of oil territory. This work failed to prove congenial, and he returned to Chautauqua county, to enter upon a
ARTHUR B. OTTIWHY
course of legal study at Forestville. Later he moved to Dunkirk, where he finished his studies in the office of C. B. Bradley, then district attorney. Admitted to the bar in 1882, Mr. Stearns at once opened an
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office for himself. In 1884 he formed a partnership with Walter L. Kinsley that lasted until 1889. Since then he has been the senior partner in the legal firm of Stearns & Warner. Mr. Stearns has taken pains from the beginning to acquire the best books bearing upon his profession, and he now has a
LESTER FORREST STEARNS
The judicial cast of Mr. Stearns's mind has been recognized in his nomination for the office of special judge of the County Court - a nomination he felt constrained to decline. Subsequently he was nomi- nated and elected to the office of special surrogate, and served for three years in that responsible position. His popularity has been likewise attested by two elections to the office of district attorney, which he has held six years in all. He has been prominently mentioned for judicial honors, and his friends are desirous of seeing him on the bench. In politics he is a Republican, but he has never been guilty of carrying partisanship into the duties of any public position that he has been called upon to fill.
To his active professional duties Mr. Stearns has added those of a progressive citizen. He has taken a keen interest in municipal affairs, and to his enterprising efforts in large part the city of Dunkirk is to-day indebted for its municipal system of electric lighting. He has also interested himself in the improvement of the streets and harbor of Dunkirk, and every move- ment for the public good finds in him a warm supporter and a zealous champion.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Lester Forrest Stearns was born at Villa- nova, Chautauqua county, N. Y., July 27, 1856 ; graduated from Forestville Free Academy in 1878 ; was admitted to the bar at Dunkirk, N. Y., in 1882; was elected special surrogate in 1884; was elected district attorney in 1886, and re-elected in 1889 ; married Mary M. Hiller of Dun- kirk July 16, 1889; has practiced law in Dunkirk since 1882.
large and valuable law library. Here he has ready at hand a vast amount of information otherwise attain- able only at the cost of much time and effort.
Although Mr. Stearns has not yet passed the merid- ian of life, he has built up a very large and impor- tant practice in the northern part of Chautauqua county, numbering among his clients about all the leading concerns of Dunkirk. Men do not entrust weighty interests to lawyers as a matter of friend- ship, but seek the best talent anywhere obtainable ; and the large number of important clients who look to Mr. Stearns for legal advice demonstrates the wisdom of his choice of profession. His success, however, while rapid, has not come without corre- sponding effort and faithfulness on his part.
El. Miner Wellman has had a remarkably successful career thus far ; and as he is not yet thirty years old, it may safely be assumed that the future has a much greater measure of prosperity in store for him.
Mr. Wellman was born in the town of Friendship, Allegany county, where he still lives. His early education was received in a private school, but he soon entered Friendship Academy, and took a five years' course there. Having exhausted the educa- tional resources of his native town, at the age of six- teen he entered Hopkins Grammar School at New Haven, Conn., to prepare for college. Two years later he entered Yale University, and graduated in the class of 1888 with the degree of A. B.
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After this absence from home of six years, Mr. Wellman returned to Friendship, a young man of twenty-two, well prepared, by means of the excellent education he had received, to begin the actual work of life. In the fall succeeding his graduation he en- tered, as a clerk, the First National Bank of Friend- ship, of which his father was cashier. He was soon chosen a director of the bank; and after an experience of little more than a year, on the death of, his father, he succeeded him as cashier. This office involved a heavy responsibility for so young a man ; but Mr. Wellman has proved himself an able financier, and during the six years of his management the bank has prospered in a most satis- factory manner. His excellent qualifications for the position of a bank official have led to his selection as vice president of the First National Bank of Cuba, N. Y., and as a director of the First National Bank of Salamanca.
Like so many other enterprising men in Allegany county, Mr. Wellman is in- terested in the production of oil, and his operations in the town of Wirt have been highly successful. He has also become interested in mining in Colorado, and is treasurer of the Columbia-Menona Mining Co. of Telluride, Col. He is secretary and treasurer of the Ontario Improvement & Gas Co., Limited, of Honeoye Falls, N. Y. ; president of the Friendship Water Co., and of the Phoenix Gas Co. of Seneca Falls, N. Y .; and a director in the Williams & Werner Co. of Rochester. Thus it will be seen that Mr. Wellman, though he has spent his life in a country town, is as far as possible from the traditional type of vil- lager ; and is, in fact, an active, enter- prising business man with extensive and varied interests.
In politics Mr. Wellman is a thorough . Republican. Though he has never been a candidate for a political office, he has served his party in many ways. He acted as secretary and treasurer of the Allegany- county Republican committee during the presidential campaign of 1892, and has been a delegate to county, senatorial, and state conventions. In 1895 he was chairman of the Allegany-county dele- gation to the national convention of the Republican League at Cleveland.
In social, fraternal, and religious circles alike, Mr. Wellman is active and popular, thus rounding out
and completing his character as a business man and a public-spirited citizen. He is a member of Psi Upsilon college fraternity ; Master of Allegany Lodge, No. 225, F. & A. M., of Friendship ; and a member of Valley Point Chapter, R. A. M., of Cuba, N. Y., of St. John's Commandery, No. 24, K. T., Olean, and of Ismailia Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Buffalo. He is a member of the First Baptist Church of Friendship. As a trustee of Cook Academy, Havana, N. Y., he demon- strates in a practical way his interest in the cause of education.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Asher Miner Wellman was born at Friendship, N. Y., November 13, 1866 ; prepared for college at Hopkins Grammar School, New Haven, Conn., and graduated from Yale in 1888 : became a clerk in the First National Bank
A. MINER WELLMAN
of Friendship in 1888, a director in 1889, and has been cashier of the same bank since 1890 ; married Hattie Prior Baldwin of Saxtons River, Vr., June 28, 1893.
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Bobn Woodward, who finds himself, at the age of thirty-six, a member of the Supreme Court of the state of New York, was born at Charlotte, Chautauqua county. He is a son of Daniel S. and Cornelia Lake Woodward ; a grandson of John Wood- ward, who served in the assembly from Chautauqua
JOHN WOODWARD
county in 1835 ; and a great-grandson of John Woodward, who fought before the Heights of Abra- ham in the French-Canadian war, and who served in one of the Massachusetts regiments during the revolu- tionary war. Early in the century this latter John Woodward moved to Genesee county, New York, afterward taking up his residence in Chautauqua county, where his descendants have carved out for themselves careers worthy of his name. Mr. Wood- ward's grandmother on his mother's side was Sarah Mather, a lineal descendant of Cotton Mather.
In his infancy Mr. Woodward's parents left Chau- tauqua county, taking up a residence in Michigan, whence they moved to Kansas in 1870, where his father died. The family returned to Chautauqua county in
1871, the mother yielding up her life at Fredonia in the same year. From that time Mr. Woodward made his home with Henry C. Lake, his mother's brother, who has long been a conspicuous figure in the politics of Chautauqua county. Working his way along, taking employment in the village stores and on the neighboring farms, Mr. Woodward grad- uated from the Fredonia Normal School in 1878, and began reading law in the office of Morris & Lambert in that village in the same year, afterwards attending the law school of the University of the City of New York, and graduating there- from in 1881. He was admitted to the bar at Poughkeepsie in the same year, and began the practice of his profession in Fredonia. In August, 1883, he moved to Jamestown to practice law there ; and in 1886, on the incorporation of the city of Jamestown, he became its first city attorney, filling the position for two years. He was appointed to a vacancy on the board of supervisors in 1887, holding the place by successive elections until 1892, when he was elected district at- torney of Chautauqua county. He held this position during the term, and in Jan- uary, 1896, was appointed a justice of the Supreme Court by Governor Morton.
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