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 48
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He built up rapidly a valuable clientage, and obtained a wide reputation for adjusting disputes without litigation, and for winning his suit in con- tested cases. He acquired distinction, also, as a referee, and ever since his admission to the bar he has had an extensive business in hearing ref- erences.
Judge Norton has shown great aptitude for busi- ness, and has been strikingly successful as a pro- moter of business enterprises. He has been presi- dent of the Citizens' National Bank of Friendship since it organization in 1882. He was interested in the first oil well at Richburg, Allegany county, and devoted considerable attention to the develop- ment of the oil industry. He showed rare good judgment in withdrawing from his operations at an opportune time. He had an active part in the con- struction of the railroad from Friendship to Bolivar, holding a directorate in the company. As a prac- tical farmer conducting operations on a large scale. Judge Norton has likewise demonstrated his business ability. He owns a farm in Friendship of over 200 acres, which he personally superintends, and to
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which he turns for relief from the exhausting labors of his profession.
Judge Norton has always taken great interest in the affairs of his town and county. For three years, begin- ning in 1879, he was supervisor of Friendship, and was chairnian of the board during the last two years of his service. For a number of years he was a member of the board of educa- tion. He is an effective and entertain- ing speaker, and is in great demand on Fourth of July and other patriotic occasions.
In 1889, and again in 1895, he was elected county judge, and has faithfully discharged the duties of that office, and of the Surrogate's Court of the county. His decisions are characterized by strict integrity and judicial fairness. His thor- ough knowledge of the law was tested in the notable Miner will case. This was carried to the Court of Appeals, which sustained Judge Norton's decision. In the fall of 1895 he presided at Geneseo for Judge Nash during the fiercely con- tested Father Flaherty case, and won much approval for his conduct of the trial.
Judge Norton takes a deep interest in Masonry, in which he has attained the 32d degree.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - Sheridan McArthur Norton was born at Belmont, N. Y., May 1, 1848 ; was edu- cated in Friendship Academy and the Bel- mont graded school ; taught school at inter- vals, 1865-72; was admitted to the bar January 8, 1874, and began practice at Friendship, N. Y. ; married May Lilian Robinson of Friendship September 1, 1880 ; was supervisor of Friendship, 1879-81; has been president of the Citizens' National Bank of Friend- ship since 1882 ; has been county judge and surrogate of Allegany county since 1890.
Lewis 5. Payne has been one of the fore- most citizens of Niagara county, New York, for more than half a century. Born in the town of Riga, Monroe county, in 1819, he obtained such instruction as the imperfect common schools of the time afforded, his parents feeling unable to provide education at better schools away from home. Resolving, at the age of sixteen, to start out for himself in the world, Lewis proceeded to Tona- wanda, where an uncle lived, and there found
employment as a general-utility boy in one of the variety stores so common in the country. His aptitude for business was marked even at this early day, and by the time he had reached his majority he was able to buy out his employers and conduct the establishment on his own account.
SHERIDAN MCARTHUR NORTON
General stores in the country, managed prudently by men of character and weight in their community, have often become the basis of substantial fortunes : and Colonel Payne's career illustrates the general truth. Branching out into one enterprise and another as his means increased and experience broadened, he became long before the period of middle life one of the most successful business men in the county. Tonawanda had not then become the second greatest lumber market in the world, but its subsequent prominence in that industry was already foreshadowed ; and Colonel Payne, with many others, found it profitable to engage in the business. In 1847 he built the first steam sawmill in Tonawanda. He also engaged for several years
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in the forwarding, shipping, and commission busi- ness. In 1858 he turned his attention to farming, and has ever since maintained a large and beautiful estate in the town of Wheatheld.
When the Civil War broke out Colonel Payne was in the prime of vigorous manhood, and he threw
LEWIS S. PAYNE
himself into the contest with the same persistence and energy that had brought him success in business life. Raising a company of volunteers at his own expense in the fall of 1861, he ultimately reached McClellan's army, and took part in the famous Peninsular campaign. Enlisting as a private, he was promoted through the various grades until he reached the rank of lieutenant colonel. He par- ticipated in some of the hottest battles of the war, and in less than four months lost more than a third of his regiment. Williamsburg, Seven Pines, White Oak Swamp, and Malvern Hill were the scenes of some of his earlier battles. In the spring of 1863 he made many daring expeditions with his company, particularly distinguishing himself by able and suc-
cessful operations in Charleston harbor. In August, 1863, while attempting to intercept the communi- cations of the enemy between Charleston and Fort Sumter, he was attacked by a superior force, and after a desperate engagement was wounded and taken prisoner. Confined for a while in the hospital at Charleston, he was afterward taken to Columbia, S. C., where he was kept in close confinement until February, 1865.
With such a record in war and in the mercantile world, Colonel Payne has naturally been prominent in public life. Originally a Whig, he became, after the dissolution of that party, a Douglas Dem- ocrat. As early as 1844 he was elected one of the supervisors of Wheatfield, and served on the board for eleven terms. He was the first collector of canal tolls appointed at Tonawanda, holding the office in 1850-51. Elected clerk of Niagara county in the fall of 1851, he discharged the duties of the office effi- ciently and faithfully during the years 1852-54. Eleven years later he was again made county clerk, and held the office for the term 1866-68. In the fall of 1869 he was elected to the state assembly. He was made chairman of the committee on claims in that body, and was also a member of the committee on canals, and of that on military affairs. In November, 1877, he received the Democratic nomination for the office of senator from the 29th district. This district ordinarily went Republican by about 2000 votes, but on this occasion Colonel Payne was elected by a narrow margin. He was the first Democrat ever elected in the 29th senatorial district. In 1883 he was nominated for congress, but even his great popularity was unequal to the task of overcoming the usual Republican majority.
In recent years Colonel Payne has withdrawn from active pursuits, confining his attention to the oversight of his farm and the maintenance of his property. His memory has become somewhat uncertain with advancing age, but in most respects his seventy-eight years rest lightly upon him. His knowledge of pioneer conditions in western New York, his stirring experiences in the Civil War, and other eventful periods of his career, give unusual charm and interest to his reminiscent talks. He is widely respected in Niagara county, and holds a
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MEN OF NEW YORK-WESTERN SECTION
warm place in the regard of those who know him best. Everyone wishes him a twilight of life as long and as lovely as the fading of day in midsum- mer on the peaks of Ben Nevis.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-Lewis Stephen Payne was born at Riga, N. Y., January 21, 1819; was educated in common schools ; was clerk in a country store, 1835-40; married Mary Tabor of Ithaca, N. Y., November 22, 1840 ; served in the Union army throughout the war ; was elected a member of the Niagara-county board of supervisors in 1844, and served eleven terms ; was clerk of Niagara county, 1852-54 and 1866-68 ; was member of assembly in 1870, state senator, 1878-79, and candi- date for congress in 1883 : has been engaged in vari- ous mercantile enterprises at North Tonawanda, N. Y., since 1841.
William D. Proudfit has been identified with the city of Jamestown for more than half a century, and may almost be regarded as a native of the place. He was born, however, in Milwaukee, Wis., and was two years old when he was brought to western New York. He received his education in the Jamestown common schools and academy, but left school at the age of fifteen to begin busi- ness life. His first employment was that of clerk in a dry-goods store, and he subsequently served as cashier and finally as bookkeeper in dry-goods and clothing stores in Jamestown. By the year 1862 he had made a good start on a successful mercantile career : but he interrupted it, like so many other men in those fateful years, at the call of his country. Enlist- ing in company F, 112th New York vol- unteers, in August, 1862, he served until the close of the war, and was honorably discharged June 13, 1865.
Returning to Jamestown, he established the clothing house of Proudfit & Osmer in December, 1866, buying out the firm of Andrews & Preston. He has con- ducted this business at the original loca- tion ever since, and has become one of the foremost merchants of Jamestown. Mr. Osmer died in 1880, and from that (late Mr. Proudfit has been sole owner of the business, devoting his best energies to the enterprise, and achieving most gratifying and well-deserved success.
All public movements for the general good have received Mr. Proudfit's active support. He is a
Republican in politics, and takes a proper interest in party affairs ; but he has no aspirations for public office, and has never accepted a political nomina- tion. He is deeply interested in the growth and prosperity of the city that has been his home for so many years, and in its benevolent and charitable work. He is an elder in the First Presbyterian Church there ; and took a prominent part in the organization of the local Young Men's Christian Association, serving on its first board of directors. When the James Prendergast Free Library was established in Jamestown, as a memorial of the man to whom the city owes its name, Mr. Proudfit was appointed one of the first trustees of the institution. He is also a trustee of the Cemetery Association, a member and trustee of the Grand Army of the
WILLIAM H. PROUDFIT
Republic, and a director of the Chautauqua County Trust Co.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-William Henry Proudfit was born at Milwaukee, Wis., Decem- ber 15, 1841 ; was educated in the common schools
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MMEN OF NEW YORK-WESTERN SECTION'
and academy of Jamestown, N. Y .; was employed as clerk and bookkeeper in Jamestown, 1856-62; served in the Union army, 1862-65 ; married Ellen E. Hall of Jamestown October 2, 1866; has con- ducted a clothing house in Jamestown since 1866.
HARVEY S. SPENCER
harvey S. Spencer, one of the best-known and most respected citizens of the village of Ham- burg, was born in Lewis county, New York, fifty- seven years ago. His father, Stephen Spencer, was a farmer, and Harvey passed his early years after the usual manner of farmers' sons. As a boy he at- tended the district school in Turin, his native town. He continued his education at the academy at Low- ville, the county seat, and at the Fairfield Academy in the neighboring county of Herkimer, finally com- pleting his scholastic training at Whitestown Sem- inary, Oneida county. Like so many country boys, he was compelled to make persistent efforts and many sacrifices in order to obtain an academic education, and he availed himself with corresponding eagerness of all the opportunities that came within his reach.
Having qualified himself for teaching, Mr. Spencer gave several years to that work in various places in Lewis and Oneida counties. He had no mind to make this his life-work, however, and in 1865 he moved to western New York, and took up his resi- dence in Hamburg, Erie county, where he established an insurance agency. This business he carried on continuously for over twenty years, writing both fire and life insurance, and representing many of the leading companies of the country. In 1883 he helped to organize the Bank of Hamburg, and was made cashier of the new institution. He has filled this position ever since, and has proved him - self an able and efficient official, serving the patrons of the bank with uniforin courtesy, and guarding their interests most faithfully.
Mr. Spencer has identified himself thoroughly with the pretty village where he has lived so long, and every worthy enterprise designed to promote its growth and add to its business facilities has received his hearty co-operation and support. He has taken an active part in the organization of several local corpora- tions of this kind, notably the Hamburg Canning Co., the Hamburg Water & Electric Light Co., and the Hamburg Investment & Improvement Co., and is a stockholder in each. He is also secre- tary and treasurer of the two last-named corporations. His fellow-citizens appre- ciate his public spirit, and gave unmis- takable evidence of the fact by electing him to the office of supervisor when he was nominated by the Republican party in 1881. The peculiar significance of this election lies in the circumstance that Mr. Spencer is the only Republican who has won the office upon party issues in the history of the town.
Mr. Spencer takes the prominent part in the social life of Hamburg to which his high standing in busi- ness circles naturally entitles him. For many years he has been a member of Fraternal Lodge, No. 625. F. & A. M., and served several terms as Worshipful Master. He belongs, also, to the Royal Arcanum Council, the local lodge of Odd Fellows, and to the Ancient Order of United Workmen. He is at present a director of the Masonic Life Association of Western New York.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Harvey .S. Spencer was born at Turin, N. Y., July 15, 1839:
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was educated at Lowville and Fairfield academies and Whitestown Seminary ; taught school, 1863-65 ; established an insurance agency at Hamburg, N. Y., in 1865 ; married Julia A. Bunting of Eden, N. Y., October 12, 1870 : was a member of the Erie-county board of supervisors, 1881-82 ; has been cashier of the Bank of Hamburg since its organisation in 1883.
Edward JB. Vreeland occupies a prominent position in the town and county of his residence - a position that he has attained by force of native ability and elements of personal popularity. He was born in Cuba, Allegany county, N. Y., in December, 1857. He received his education in the public schools of his native town, and in Friendship Academy, from which he graduated in 1876. He then became a resident of Salamanca, N. Y., and for a period of five years was principal of the Salamanca public schools. He was a successful educator, and made an envi- able record as a disciplinarian and in- structor.
While teaching, Mr. Vreeland was also studying law, and he was ultimately ad- mitted to practice in the courts of the state ; but his tastes ran more to busi- ness than to the routine of legal practice, and he never engaged actively in his profession. In 1882 he opened an insur- ance office in Salamanca, and his skillful management and upright dealings con- verted the enterprise into a large and successful business. He is still con- nected with the agency. In 1891 he was elected president of the Salamanca National Bank, and yet holds the posi- tion.
Ever since early manhood Mr. Vree- land has taken an active interest in political affairs. He is a vigorous and entertaining speaker, and his oratorical services are sought not only for campaign work, but also on social occasions. Be- lieving heartily in the principles of the Republican party, he has done much, on the stump and otherwise, to explain and popularize those principles. He is thor- oughly informed on questions of the day. He was elected supervisor of Salamanca in 1893, and still represents his town on the county board. He is regarded as one of the most efficient members of that body. He has been president of the Salamanca Board of Trade for five years, and in that capacity has promoted the mate-
rial interests of the community in various ways. He was postmaster of Salamanca during President Harri- son's administration.
Mr. Vreeland has devoted himself principally to business, and has been eminently successful in that regard. He has excellent judgment, is conservative in his methods of thought and action, and has en- joyed in a marked degree the confidence and respect of his fellow-citizens. He is now in the prime of vigorous manhood, and it is the confident belief of his many friends that the future has in store for him a degree of success even higher than that already attained.
Mr. Vreeland has been interested in Masonry for many years, and has reached a high rank in that order. He was the first Eminent Commander of Salamanca Commandery, No. 62, K. T.
EDWARD B. FREELAND
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-Edward But- terfield Vreeland was born at Cuba, N. Y., December 7, 1857 ; was educated in common schools and Friend- ship Academy ; was principal of the Salamanca ( N. Y.)
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MEN' OF NEW YORK-WESTERN SECTION
public schools, 1877-82 ; studied law, and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1881; married Myra S. Price of Friendship, N. Y., July 27, 1881 ; established an insurance agency in Salamanca in 1882 ; was postmas- ter of Salamanca, 1889-93 ; has been supervisor of
DAVID J. WILCOX
the town of Salamanca since 1893 ; has been president of the Salamanca National Bank since 1891.
David 3. Vlilcor, like so many other successful sons of the Empire State. is of New England parent- age, his ancestors having been among the early set- tlers of Vermont. His father, Elihu Wilcox, left the Green Mountain State more than half a century ago, and became one of the pioneers of Cattaraugus county, New York. Born at Leon in that county, shortly before the middle of the century, Mr. Wilcox spent his boyhood on his father's farm, attending common schools in winter and working hard the rest of the year. He was ambitious to go to college, but had to practice great self-denial to gain his end. By teaching school, however, and making sacrifices
of various kinds, he managed to work his way along, taking preparatory courses at Chamberlain Institute and Fredonia Normal School, and attending Cornell University three years in the class of '77.
Having decided to make the practice of law his life-work, Mr. Wilcox began his read- ing in the office of King & Montgomery at Ithaca, N. Y., continued his study with Henderson & Wentworth at Ran- dolph, N. Y., and finished his legal edu- cation at the Albany Law School. He graduated from this institution in 1878, and was admitted to the bar at Buffalo the same year. The lawyers with whom he studied were exceptionally able attor- neys, and in their offices he enjoyed an unusually good opportunity to acquire a thorough knowledge of legal forms and procedure. When this practical experi- ence had been supplemented by a course of systematic study in a law school, he was excellently equipped for the attainment of honors in a keenly competitive calling.
Moving to Springville, Erie county, in November, 1878, Mr. Wilcox has fol- lowed his profession there continuously since. The practice of a country lawyer is likely to be varied, and to give one a wide knowledge of law, and of business and life in general. Mr. Wilcox has now received the benefit of such a calling for nearly twenty years, and he is natur - ally a lawyer of learning and ability. He has taken part in many important cases, besides transacting a large amount of routine legal business. In the famous controversy over the estate of David S. Ingalls, Mr. Wilcox was one of the coun- sel for the contestants, and had an important part in securing the compromise that ended the struggle.
In political affairs Mr. Wilcox has always espoused the principles represented by the Democratic party. His first public position was that of clerk of the board of supervisors of Cattaraugus county, which he held in 1873. A few years after taking up his residence in Springville he was elected to the state assembly. representing the southern district of Erie county in that body in 1883-84. In 1888 he was appointed by President Cleveland receiver of the United States land office at Walla Walla, Wash., and spent the next two years in the Evergreen State. He then returned to New York, and filled the position of financial clerk of the state assembly in the years 1890-91.
AF
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MEN OF NEW YORK-WESTERN SECTION'
Mr. Wilcox has long been interested in the Ma- sonic order, belonging to Springville Lodge, No. 351, F. & A. M. He is also an Odd Fellow.
PERSONAL . CHRONOLOGY- David James Wilcox was born at Leon, N. Y., October 27, 1847 ; was educated at preparatory schools and Cor- nell University ; graduated from the Albany Lawe School, and was admitted to the bar in 1878 ; married Happie H. Stowell of East Ashford, N. Y., August 22, 1878 ; was clerk of the Cattaraugus-county board of supervisors in 1873, member of assembly, 1883-84, and financial clerk of the assembly, 1890-91 ; has practiced law in Springville, N. Y., since 1878, with the exception of two years spent in Walla Walla, Wash., as receiver of the United States land office.
Egburt E. Woodbury, for the past two years surrogate of Chautauqua county, has had a remarkably successful career for so young a man. Though only thirty- six years old, he has had a seat in the state legislature for three years, and has also won distinction in his chosen pro- fession.
Born in the village of Cherry Creek in 1861, Mr. Woodbury spent the first eleven years of his life there, attending district schools when he became old enough. At the end of that time, his parents having died, he moved to Ran- dolph, Cattaraugus county, and there continued his education. He finished his scholastic training with a three years' course at Chamberlain Institute, one of the best and most popular schools in western New York. Having thus ac- quired as much education as his circum- stances permitted, Mr. Woodbury taught school for two winters, and worked as a farm hand for several years ; but he had no mind to devote his life to either of these occupations, and in 1880 he began reading law with Rodney R. Crowley of Randolph. His legal studies were com- pleted in the office of Lakin & Sessions at Jamestown, and in the spring of 1884 he was admitted to the bar.
It is always a compliment to the ability and zeal of a young lawyer when those with whom he has studied are glad to retain his services, and to admit him into partner- ship when he begins practice. Mr. Woodbury re- ceived this mark of confidence, and on July 1, 1884, the firm of Lakin, Sessions & Woodbury was organ-
ized. This association was destined to be of short duration, as Judge Lakin, the senior partner, died before the expiration of the month. Messrs. Sessions and Woodbury continued to practice together until July 1, 1885, when Mr. Woodbury formed, with George R. Butts, the firm of Woodbury & Butts. This connection lasted until the election of the senior member as assemblyman in the fall of 1890. For several years thereafter Mr. Woodbury practiced alone ; but in December, 1894, he associated him- self with Eleazer Green, at that time mayor of Jamestown, and since elected district attorney of Chautauqua county. The firm of Green & Wood- bury still exists, and naturally receives much of the legal business of Jamestown and vicinity.
Mr. Woodbury's political career extends over the last ten years. On the organization of Jamestown
EGBURT E. WOODBURY
as a city, in 1886, he was elected one of its first justices of the peace, and served for nearly four years, declining re-election at the end of that time. For three years, beginning in 1889, he was a member
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of the Republican county committee, acting as its chairman in 1889, and as manager of the cam- paign in 1891. In the fall of 1890, when less than thirty years old, he was elected member of assembly from the 2d Chautauqua-county district by a plural- ity of 1721, and his re-election in 1891 was effected
HENRY ALTMAN
by a plurality of 2669. In 1892, after the consoli- dation of the two Chautauqua districts, he was elected to represent the entire county. He was prominently mentioned as a candidate for a fourth term ; but refused to allow his name to be used, feeling that he could no longer make the sacrifice of business interests that the office required.
Mr. Woodbury's latest public service, of which he is justly proud, is the part he took in securing the nomination of Major Mckinley for President. One of the first champions of this cause in western New York, he became a candidate for the office of dele- gate to the national convention at the earnest solici- tation of the Mckinley men of Chautauqua county. Though he was defeated by a few votes in the
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