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 44
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occupations, as a young man often will in casting about for his proper niche in life. By the year 1845, however, when he was twenty-two years old, Mr. Kelderhouse had established himself as a wood dealer, and he remained such for nearly twenty years, attaining a high degree of success in the busi-
JOHN KELDERHOUSE
ness. As the country around Buffalo became more thickly settled, and the forests gave way to farms and habitations, and as coal supplanted wood more and more for domestic purposes and as a generator of steam on the Great Lakes, Mr. Kelderhouse wisely . iapted his business to the shifting condi- tions of the industry. Curtailing his dealings in wood, he branched out gradually as a builder of vessels, thus preparing himself to participate in the extension of lake commerce. This extension, as everyone knows, has been enormous; and those who, like Mr. Kelderhouse, were wise enough to foresee the trend of events, have naturally and properly profited from their sagacity. Mr. Kelder- house went into the business of building ships
prudently, but gradually enlarged his plant, estab)- lishing yards at Bay City and East Saginaw, Mich., as well as in Buffalo. His earlier ventures were carried on alone, but afterward his operations assumed such proportions that he deemed it wise and desirable on various accounts to ally himself with other capitalists in carrying out his plans. The " Kelderhouse syndicate," accordingly, was formed for the purpose of building and operating large and mod - ern steamers ; and such splendid exam- ples of modern naval architecture as the "Thomas Maytham," " America," and " Brazil " came into existence as a con- sequence of this organization.
It was natural for Mr. Kelderhouse to become interested in Buffalo real estate, since the bent of his mind is such that he foresees clearly the natural order of things, and makes such plans as will best harmonize with natural developments. This long-headed discernment of the future explains his evolution from a - wood merchant to a steamship owner : and the same precious quality of intel- lect accounts for his success in real estate. He is now one of the largest owners of real property in Buffalo, and his holdings are not confined to the city limits. He has extensive farms along the lake shore of Erie county, on which he spends happily a good deal of his time.
Mr. Kelderhouse has been a Mason for forty years or more, belonging to Erie Lodge, No. 161, F. & A. M. In political matters he votes for the best man without regard to party. He has attended for many years Trinity Episco- pal Church.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-John Kelder- house was born at Bethlehem, N. Y., March 18, 1823 ; moved to Buffalo in 1832, and was educated in the common schools there ; began business as a wood merchant in Buffalo in 1845 : married Jane Elisa- beth Coatsworth of Buffalo June 9, 1874; has been engaged in lake commerce, as ship builder and owner. since 1861.
Frank C. Laugblin, railroad lawyer, city attorney, corporation counsel, and justice of the Supreme Court, has risen rapidly in a profession that yields its honors grudgingly, and as a rule only after years of devoted service. Not yet in the prime of life, and doubtless possessed of latent
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powers greater even than those foreshadowed by his just, he has already attained a position that will plendidly employ his ripening talents.
Mr. Laughlin was born shortly before the out- break of the Civil War in a country town of Erie county. When he was six years old his parents moved to Wilson, Niagara county, and his youth was spent in that place. He attended the district x hool in winter, worked on the farm in summer, und otherwise followed the usual life of young men brought up in the country. In 1876 he moved to lockport, and attended for three years the well- known union school of that place.
Having decided to become a lawyer, Mr. Laugh- lin entered the office of John E. Pond as a student. He was admitted to the bar in 1882, and shortly afterward went to Buffalo for the purpose of practic- ing law in the office of Sprague, Morey Sprague. This was a strong firm, to which railroads and other corporations had entrusted their legal interests, and Mr. Laughlin had an excellent chance to justify his choice of a profession. He was equal to the opportunity. He was placed in charge of important cases, and handled with conspicuous ability a large amount of the legal business devolving upon his firm.
In the fall of 1885 William F. Wor- thington was elected city attorney of Buffalo, and thus had occasion to appoint an assistant. He did not know Mr. Laughlin personally, but he heard so favorable reports of his ability and char- acter that he decided to offer him the position. At that time Mr. Laughlin had been admitted to the bar only about three years, and this unsolicited appoint- ment was a striking tribute to his ability in the law. He accepted the offer, and began his new duties January 1, 1886. Soon after this Mr. Worthington's title was changed from that of city attorney to corporation counsel, and the former designation wa given to Mr. Laughlin. He retained the office until 1891, and discharged its duties most efficiently. In a single case - that of the Ellicott-street extension - the issue involved more than $200,000, and Mr. Laughlin won the decision for the city. His success was so marked, indeed, that he became in 1890 the logical candi- date of the Republican party for the office of cor- poration counsel. He ran more than 2000 votes
ahead of his party, but on this occasion the entire Democratic ticket was successful.
For the next few years Mr. Laughlin practiced law on his own account, at first alone, but subse- quently in association with Thomas Penney. His success was as marked as it should have been from his previous career, and he would undoubtedly have become one of the leaders of the Erie-county bar, had he not been destined for a higher branch of jurispru- dence. Selected again in 1893 by his party as its nominee for the office of corporation counsel, he was elected over his former opponent by a sweeping majority of nearly 8000. This victory presaged his success two years later as a candidate for the posi- tion of Supreme Court justice .. He was nominated by acclamation for this high office by a convention composed mainly of attorneys representing a bar of
FRANK C. LAUGHLIN
more than 1200 lawyers in the eight western coun- ties of the state. Everyone acknowledged his fit- ness for the position, and he was elected by a magnificent majority.
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PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-Frank C. Laughlin was born at Newstead, N. Y., July 20, 1859 ; was educated at the Lockport (N. Y. ) Union School; studied law, and was admitted to the bor in 1882; began practice in Buffalo in 1883; was assistant city attorney and city attorney of Buffalo, 1886-91; was elected corporation counsel of Buf- falo in 1893, and justice of the Supreme Court in 1895 ; married Mrs. Martha Bartlett of New York city, formerly Martha Taylor of Buffalo, June 2, 1896.
Rowland Blennerbassett MDabany, though still a young man, may be characterized as follows -student, teacher, litteratur, diplomat, and congressman. His life so far recalls to mind the biographies of the founders of the Republic, whose precocity enabled them to enter public life and fill high offices before other young men got fairly launched on their careers.
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Born in Buffalo. in the last year of the Civil War, Mr. Mahany is a representative of the post-bellum generation, into whose hands the destinies of the Republic are soon to pass. He received his early education in the public schools of his native city, graduating with highest honors from the high school in 1881. Dependent upon his own exertions, he spent the summer after his graduation working upon a farm in Chautauqua county. In the fall of the same year he became an instructor in Latin and Greek in the Buffalo Classical School, and continued in that position for one year. In 1882 he entered Hobart College, where he studied two years, standing at the head of his class. Actuated by an ambition to secure the broadest education possible, he entered Harvard University in the fall of 1884. He won a prize the first year there. He became secretary and treasurer, and was three times vice president, of the Harvard Union, the chief debating society of the university. He was vice president and president of St. Paul's Society, the Episcopalian organization of Harvard College. In the field of scholarship he attained equal distinction. He was one of the first eight scholars in his class, and in his junior year was chosen a member of the Phi Beta Kappa society, which is annually augmented by the election of students of the highest standing in all the leading colleges of the country. In the same year he was chosen first marshal of the society, and headed the procession of its members in one of their historic marches to Memorial Hall. For two successive years he was a Boylston-prize man, winning one of the prizes awarded to the best speakers in the junior and senior classes. His crowning honor came in
1888, when he graduated from Harvard with the summa cum laude degree.
On returning to his home in Buffalo Mr. Mahany became an editorial writer on the Buffalo Express. Newspaper work, however, was less congenial to him than study and literature, and he soon abandoned journalism to become an instructor in history and literature in the Buffalo High School.
When James G. Blaine was running for the presi- dency in 1884 Mr. Mahany, then a student at Harvard College, was one of his most ardent sup- porters in that hotbed of "mugwumpery." The fact came to Mr. Blaine's attention, and afterward, when secretary of state, he offered Mr. Mahany the position of secretary of legation to Chile. This offer Mr. Mahany thought it wise to decline. In 1892 Mr. Blaine induced President Harrison to nominate Mr. Mahany envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to the South American republic of Ecuador. The nomination was unani- mously confirmed by the senate, and Mr. Mahany betook himself to Quito. Several ministers .had died at that post of duty, and Mr. Mahany soon after his arrival there was attacked by the dread . fever of the place. Obliged to return home to regain his health, he was nominated for congress on the Republican ticket. He was defeated on this occasion, but the normal Democratic majority was reduced over 1000 votes.
Mr. Mahany returned to Ecuador in 1893, and concluded in nineteen days the Santos treaty, negotiations for which had been pending for nearly ten years. It was said at the time of Mr. Mahany's appointment that he was the youngest diplomat in the world holding the responsible position of foreign minister, and the youngest man in the United States ever appointed to such an office. Mr. Mahany's ambition to enter public life in this country was gratified in the fall of 1894, when the Republican cyclone struck the country. He was elected in that year to the 54th congress over four competitors. Speaker Reed fittingly recognized Mr. Mahany's ability by placing him upon several important com- mittees. The best and practically most effective work in congress is done in committee, and these assignments enabled the young congressman to exert his full share of influence in shaping legislation. His most important work for Buffalo consisted in having the project for the completion of the break- water placed under the "continuons contract " system. The finest harbor on the lakes will be a monument to Mr. Mahany's first six months in congress. Through his efforts, also, work was resumed on the new post office, and its speedy
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construction assured. In the memorable election of November, 1896, he was returned to congress with a plurality of nearly 4000 votes. This result, in a district that has always been regarded as a strong- hold of Democracy, testifies most eloquently to Mr. Mahany's popularity.
Though far from the prime of life, Mr. Mahany has already attained honors sought in vain by many older men. With a start in life so splendid, an experience so wide and helpful, an in- tellectual equipment so thorough, his star can hardly yet have reached its zenith.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - Rowland Blennerhassett Mahany was born at Buffalo September 28, 1864; was educated in the public schools of Buffalo ; studied in Hobart College two years, and graduated from Harvard University in 1888 ; engaged in journalism and taught school, 1888-92 ; was appointed minister to Ecuador in 1892 ; was elected repre- sentative to the 54th congress in 1894, and to the 55th in 1896.
Daniel bugb McMillan, in the various spheres of his professional, civic, and political life, may justly be said to merit and to enjoy in an exceptional degree the confidence and esteem of his fellow-men. He was born and reared in the valley of the Genesee, New York. He is of Scotch origin, tracing his line- age from Alexander McMillan, whose monumental cross, erected in 1348, still stands with its inscriptions at the family burial place in Kilmory, Scotland. His grandfather, John McMillan, was " John the Upright," arbiter of the Hollanders of the Mo- hawk valley during the latter part of the eighteenth century. His father, Daniel McMillan of York, was revered and honored by all who knew him as a man of high integrity, kind and generous, of the utmost purity of character : it has been justly said of him, " His hand gave bread and his voice spake peace to the needy and stricken-hearted." His mother, a daughter of Malcolm McNaughton, was a woman of pre-eminent Christian culture. Her father's family took much interest in public affairs, three of her brothers having occupied seats in the Canadian parliament ; while a fourth, active in the organization of Wisconsin as a state, was a member of its legislative body.
Mr. McMillan attended the district and village school, and completed his education at Le Roy Academy and Cornell University. In 1869 he went to Buffalo, and began the study of law with Laning, Cleveland & Folsom, gaining admission to the bar in 1871. He is now the head of the firm of
ROWLAND BLENNERHASSETT MAHANY
McMillan, Gluck, Pooley & Depew, and local counsel for the Vanderbilt railway companies cen- tering in Buffalo.
In 1885 Mr. McMillan was elected by the Repub- lican party to represent the Buffalo district in the state senate. His career in that body was most satisfactory to his constituents, and was so thoroughly endorsed by his party and friends that he was renominated in the fall of 1887. This nomination he declined. While in the senate he was chairman of the committee on canals, and a member of the committees on judiciary, cities, claims, and Indian affairs ..
In addition to the extensive legislation relating to his own district, Senator McMillan found much time
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to devote to general legislation. As chairman of the canal committee, he prepared and carried through the legislature, against strong opposition, the bill providing for the lengthening of the locks on the Erie canal, by which the cost of transportation between the Great Lakes and tide water was reduced
DANIEL. HUGH MCMILLAN
upwards of forty per cent. He prepared the follow- ing bills, and secured their enactment : one provid- ing for a uniform policy of fire insurance, to be used by all companies doing business in the state : another providing for a commission to report upon the most humane method of carrying into effect the death penalty in capital cases - the bill resulting in the application of electricity in such cases in New York state ; another authorizing the utilization of the power of Niagara Falls ; another reforming prison labor and discipline ; and another regulating the employment of women in manufacturing establish- ments.
Even before his election to the senate Mr. Mc- Millan was active in behalf of many reforms relating
to the affairs of Buffalo. It was through his efforts that the Municipal Court was established ; he was also chairman of the committee that formulated the plan embodied in the revised charter of 1892, which provided for a board of aldermen and a board of councilmen, one originating all legislation, and the other having an absolute power of veto.
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In 1893 Mr. McMillan was elected by the people of the state one of the fifteen delegates at large to the convention to revise and amend the constitution. In this body he took an active and leading position. He was chairman of the com- mittee on the governor and other state officers, a member of the committees on judiciary and on rules, and also one of the special committee to prepare an ad- dress to the people of the state setting forth the work accomplished by the con- vention.
Mr. McMillan's success has been largely due to a high sense of personal and professional honor, and to untiring industry, coupled with a sagacity that enables him to direct and utilize other men. As a lawyer he takes high rank, as his frequent appearance in the highest courts of the state and nation fully at- tests. No member of the legal profes- sion possesses the confidence and esteem of the bench and bar in a greater de- gree. He has a kind and considerate nature, but it does not blind him to his duty, nor swerve him from it. As a poli- tician he has had few equals, for he has demonstrated that a man may enter poli- tics, and discharge the duties of political life, with untarnished honor. As a scholar he has fine literary discrimination, and the cultured tendencies of his mind are mirrored in a choice and well-selected library at his home. For some years past he has devoted much of his leisure to the study of Scottish history and litera- ture, and his collection of works relating to this subject takes high rank among similar collections in America.
Mr. McMillan has been president of the Buffalo Library, and was one of the managers of that asso- ciation during the erection of the library building and the Hotel Iroquois. He is a manager of the Buffalo State Hospital, a trustee of the State Normal School, a member of the Buffalo Historical Society, and of the Society of Natural Sciences.
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In 1888, 1892, and again in 1896, he was chosen at the Republican state convention one of the alter- nate delegates at large to represent the state in the Republican national convention. He has been a member of the Republican state committee ; belongs to the American and the state bar associations ; and for twelve years was one of the examiners of appli- cants for admission to the bar. He is a member of the Presbyterian church, the Buffalo and Liberal clubs, the Chi Psi fraternity, the Consistory, and the Temple. He has two sons, Morton and Ross.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Daniel Hugh McMillan was born at York, N. Y. ; was educated at Le Roy Academy and Cornell University ; studied lars in Buffalo, and was admitted to the bar in 1871; was state senator, 1886-87; was chosen alternate delegate at large to the Republican national conven- tions of 1888, 1892, and 1896, and dele- gate at large to the state constitutional con- vention of 1894; has practiced law in Buffalo since 1871; married Delphia Jackson of Sandusky, N. Y.
William L. Marcy, one of the most successful of the younger lawyers at the Erie-county bar, was born in Madi- son county, New York, in 1858. He was taken to Lockport during infancy, and lived there until he was twelve years old. Moving to Buffalo in 1870, he completed his education in the public schools of that city, graduating from the high school in 1876. He had decided to follow the legal profession, and with that end . in view he entered an office soon after his graduation from the high school, and read law for three years. In 1879 he was admitted to the bar.
Mr. Marcy was only twenty-one years old at this time, but he determined to make an early start on his professional career, and opened an office at once in Buffalo for the general practice of law. He had no associate for the first four years, but by 1883 his business had as- sumed such proportions that he thought it desirable to form a partnership. He did so, accordingly, with Joseph V. Sea- ver, and the firm of Seaver & Marcy carried on a successful practice until 1886 .. Mr. Marcy then associated himself with Manly C. Green. The partnership of Green & Marcy continued until the senior partner was elected to the Supreme Court in the fall of 1891, when Mr.
Marcy formed a partnership with Emory P. Close. The firm of Marcy & Close has existed ever since, and has built up, from the substantial foundation afforded by the original clientage of the associating members, an imposing column of court litigation and general office practice. Mr. Marcy was ap- pointed assistant district attorney of Erie county by George T. Quinby, serving two terms or six years altogether, from 1887 to 1893. In that responsible position he confirmed his previous reputation as an able and trustworthy guardian of legal rights.
It is evident from all this that Mr. Marcy is a highly successful attorney : but he is a good deal more than that. From the beginning of his active career he has interested himself in various matters connected with the civic welfare, and has been a power for good in the endless struggle with the foes
WILLIAM L .. MARCY
of honest government. Believing that the ends sought by all good citizens may be most effectively secured through party co-operation, and convinced that the Republican party is altogether the best
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organization for the purpose, Mr. Marcy has been one of the leading advisers among the younger men who shape the policy of the Republican party. He is a member of the Buffalo Republican League, and has been vice president of the same. The cause of civil-service reform appealed to him powerfully, and he was appointed by Mayor Becker one of the civil- service commissioners.
Aside from his profession and from political and public affairs, Mr. Marcy has concerned himself with various forms of social life. He is a Mason, attend- ing Ancient Landmark Lodge, No. 441; and an Odd Fellow, attending Niagara Lodge, No. 25. He is a member of the Buffalo, Liberal, and Thursday clubs, and of the Idlewood Association. He be- longs, also, to the Buffalo Historical Society, and to the Sons of the American Revolution. He has been a trustee of the Buffalo Library, and is now a trustee of the Buffalo School of Pedagogy.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-William Lake Marcy was born at Peterboro, N. Y., August 26, 1858 ; was educated in the public schools of Lockport and Buffalo, graduating from the Buffalo High School in 1876 ; was admitted to the bar in 1879; was as- sistant district attorney of Erie county, 1887-93; married Carrie Childs of Medina, N. Y., October 7, 1885 ; has practiced law in Buffalo since 1879.
Charles D. Marsball, the son of a distin- guished lawyer, has inherited his father's legal talents, and has perpetuated the family fame in the annals of the Buffalo bar. His ancestors were French-Italian on one side and English on the other. Mr. Marshall's father, Orsamus H. Marshall, was not only a lawyer of ability, but also an histor- ical scholar of renown. How important his work in American history was may be seen in the circum- stance that Francis Parkman, in the later editions of his historical writings, changed numerous passages in consequence of Mr. Marshall's researches. It is hardly too much to say that Orsamus Marshall, in certain departments of American history, was the foremost scholar of his day.
With such a family prestige to maintain, Charles Marshall needed the best of educations. This he obtained. Thorough training in both public and private schools, added to the general culture uncon- sciously absorbed in the atmosphere of a cultivated home, enabled him to make the most of liis special professional preparation. The public schools of Buffalo, Springside Academy, near Auburn, N. Y., and the famous Hopkins Grammar School at New Haven, Conn., amply qualified him to take up the study of law without the interposition of a
college course. He went through the Albany Law School, accordingly, in the years that many young men now spend in college, and was admitted to the bar in 1864.
At that time Orsamus H. Marshall was carrying ' on an extensive practice at the Eric-county bar, and he was glad of an opportunity to receive able assistance by taking his son into partnership. The firm of O. H. & C. D. Marshall served many clients acceptably for about three years, or until the senior partner was appointed clerk of the United States District Court. After carrying on alone for a year both his own and his father's practice Mr. Marshall wisely sought assistance, and began his long associa- tion with Spencer Clinton by forming with him, in 1868, the firm of Marshall & Clinton. This was the style until 1873, when Robert P. Wilson was admitted to the firm, and the name became Mar- shall, Clinton & Wilson. This association was dis- solved in 1892, and for a short time thereafter Messrs. Marshall and Clinton practiced together as before. In 1893 they admitted to the firm Adolph Rebadow, who had studied law with them some years earlier ; and the present familiar style of Mar- shall, Clinton & Rebadow was thus acquired. The three attorneys so associated admirably complement each other, and constitute together one of the strongest firms in western New York. Mr. Mar- shall concerns himself more or less actively with all the business of his firm, but he has paid special attention for many years to the law of real property, and to the management of trust estates. He has been the attorney of the Buffalo Savings Bank since 1878, as his father was for twenty-eight years before that date.
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