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 60
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The county seat of Wyoming county is a delight- ful town to live in, with a social life and a degree of general culture not always attained in places of much larger growth ; but the professional opportunities of so small a community are necessarily limited, and Mr. Bartlett decided in the spring of 1896 to extend his field of practice. He formed a partnership, accordingly, with Greenleaf S. Van Gorder of Pike, Wyoming county, and Carleton H. White and Elijah W. Holt of Buffalo, for the general practice of law in the Queen City of the Lakes. The firm of Bartlett, Van Gorder, White & Holt was organized June 1, 1896, and has commodious offices in the Mooney- Brisbane building, Buffalo.
Although Mr. Bartlett's ambition for distinction in his chosen calling has left him little time or in- clination for the life of a professional politician, he has always been an uncompromising Republican ; and in 1886 his party elected him district attorney of Wyoming county. He protected zealously the legal interests of the district throughout his term, but declined to become a candidate for a second term, as his private practice required his whole time. In 1892 Wyoming county instructed its delegates to the judiciary convention to vote for Mr. Bartlett as the nominee for the office of justice of the Supreme Court.
In social affairs Mr. Bartlett has taken a position consistent with his prominence in law and in other relations of life. He believes in fraternal societies, and belongs to Crystal Salt Lodge, I. O. O. F .; Warsaw Lodge, F. & A. M .; Wyoming Chapter, R. A. M .; and Batavia Commandery, K. T. He is a member, also, of the Cataract Hose Company, Warsaw, of the Genesee Valley Club, Rochester, and of the Buffalo Club. He holds directorates in the Warsaw Gas and Electric Co., and in the Warsaw Water Works Co. He is also a member of the New York State Bar Association. In 1889 he built the finest business block in Warsaw.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-Eugene M. Bartlett was born at Warsaw, N. Y., March 19, 1855 ; attended Warsaw and Geneseo academies and Cornell University ; was admitted to the bar in January, 1880; was district attorney of Wyoming county, 188 ?- 89 ; married Grace M. Sheldon of Hornellsville, N. Y., January 23, 1895 ; has prac- ticed laty in Warsawo since 1880, and in Buffalo since June 1, 1896.
Ossian Bedell, whose name instantly suggests Grand Island to a multitude of minds, was born in Franklin county, Vermont, in 1832. He did not stay long in the Green Mountain State, as his parents moved to Tonawanda, N. Y., when he was six years old. There the lad attended the common schools of the town, and at the age of eleven commenced driving a team for his father on the Erie canal. He followed the canal most of the time for the next twenty years ; though he obtained some further edu- cation meantime at the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary.
Mr. Bedell lived in Tonawanda until 1846, when he moved to Grand Island. This has been his home during the half century since then ; and few men are more thoroughly identified with any locality than is Mr. Bedell with the interesting island above the Niagara rapids. By the time he was twenty-one years old he had a farm of his own on the island, to which he resorted between the canal seasons, and which he made the nucleus of large land holdings. The progress of the little colony on Grand Island was slow until 1874, when Mr. Bedell and others organ- ized a stock company to equip and operate a ferry from the head of the island to Buffalo. This service has been maintained ever since, and has been of great assistance in developing the island. Many people think of Grand Island as a summer and excur- sion resort merely ; but this conception is altogether incomplete. There are now about 1300 people there, three churches, eleven schools, and other institu- tions appropriate to an independent community.
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In 1876 Mr. Bedell built the hotel that has since been known as the Bedell House. This structure is three stories high, with a five-story tower, and broad verandas on all sides. Numerous attractions make the resort one of the most popular in western New York. ·
Mr. Bedell has been active in polit- ical affairs for many years. During Lin- coln's administration he was appointed inspector of customs for the district of Buffalo Creek. In 1862-63 he was the supervisor of Erie county from Grand Island. He was appointed on March 14, 1881, assistant superintendent of public works for the western division of the Erie canal, holding office until April 1, 1884. During President Harrison's term in the White House Mr. Bedell was appointed United States consul at Fort Erie, Ont., taking office July 24, 1890, and holding the place until the change of administration in the spring of 1893. In July, 1897, he was again appointed to the office by President Mckinley. Mr. Bedell has long been regarded by the leaders of his party in Erie county as a stanch supporter of the Republican cause. He has often been an active factor in political conventions, and has otherwise exerted a strong influence in behalf of the Republican party in the western end of the state.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY -- Ossian Bedell was born at Georgia, I't., June 6, 1832 ; was educated in common schools and Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, Lima, N. Y .; married Permelia Zimmer- man of Tonawanda, N. Y., March 28, 1854 ; worked on the Erie canal, 1843- 63 ; was inspector of customs at Grand Island, N. Y., under President Lincoln, and county supervisor from the town of Grand Island, 1862-63; was assistant superintendent of public works for the western division of the Erie canal, 1881-84 : was United States consul to Fort Erie, Ont., 1890-93, and was reappointed in July, 1897.
Charles A. Brunn has been prominent in railroad circles in Buffalo and its vicinity so long that it will be a surprise to many readers to learn that he is not yet forty years old. The explanation lies in the fact that he began his business career as a tele- graph operator when only twelve years old, and has risen steadily ever since.
Toward the close of the first half of the century Mr. Brunn's parents came to this country from Ger- many, and settled in Buffalo. There Charles was born in 1858, and there ·he has spent his life, bar- ring an interval of three years. He attended the public schools, and evinced there the same ability
OSSIIN BEDELI.
that has brought him success in later years, since at the age of twelve he had prepared himself to enter the high school. Circumstances prevented further school attendance ; but the active business life in which he has since been engaged has supplied abundant opportunities for acquiring the most practical kind of knowledge, and he has made good use of these.
As stated above, Mr. Brunn's first employment was that of a telegraph operator for the Western Union company at Buffalo. After spending two years with them he became operator for the Buffalo & Jamestown railroad, serving in this capacity and as train dispatcher until 1877. In that year he was made assistant superintendent of the road, known by
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that time as the Buffalo & Southwestern, and held the position until the line was leased to the New York, Lake Erie & Western road in 1880 under the designation of the Buffalo & Southwestern division. This position he has held ever since, though his duties have been largely extended from time to time
CHARLES A. BRUN
in various directions. July 1, 1886, he was sent to Meadville, Penn., as superintendent. of the eastern division of the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio railroad, of which the New York, Lake Erie & Western was the lessee. He operated this division, extending from Salamanca, N. Y., to Kent, Ohio, and from Meadville to Oil City in Pennsylvania, for three years, when his headquarters were again moved to Buffalo.
Since his return to Buffalo in 1889 Mr. Brunn has occupied a position of great importance in the manage- ment of the Erie road. In addition to the superin- tendency of the Buffalo & Southwestern division, running to Jamestown, he is superintendent of the Buffalo division, extending to Hornellsville on the
main line, and including the Lockport, Niagara Falls, and International Bridge branches. Notwithstanding his comparative youth, Mr. Brunn is the ranking superintendent as to years of service on the Erie sys- tem between New York and Chicago. Some idea of his varied duties may be gained from the statement that he has charge of the locomotive and repair shops of the Erie in Buffalo, its elevators and lake warehouses, and the enormous coal trestles and coal-ship- ping plant at East Buffalo. These last two works have been erected at an ex- pense of more than a quarter of a mil- lion dollars since the reorganization of the Erie, and their construction and management have added greatly to Mr. Brunn's already heavy cares.
Mr. Brunn has been interested in Masonry ever since he reached his major- ity. He belongs to DeMolay Lodge, No. 498, F. & A. M. ; Buffalo Chapter, No. 71, R. A. M. ; Lake Erie Com- mandery, No. 20, K. T. ; and Ismailia Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a member of the Acacia Club, and of St. James Episcopal Church.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Charles Augustus Brunn was born at Buffalo January 28, 1858; was edu- cated in public schools ; was telegraph operator for the Western Union company at Buffalo, 1870-12, and for the Buffalo & Jamestown railroad, 1872-17; 70as assistant superintendent of the Buffalo & Southwestern railroad, 1877-80 ; has been in the employ of the Erie railroad as divi- sion superintendent since 1880, with head- quarters at Buffalo during most of that time.
John I. Crosthwaite was born in Buffalo, and during the greater part of his business life he has been actively connected with the transportation trade on the Great Lakes. His education was received in public and private schools in his native city, and at the age of seventeen he left school and began business life. Going to Bay City, Mich., he engaged with his father in the building and running of boats. He continued in this occupation for the next five years ; but in November, 1876, he lost his vessel in a gale on Lake Erie. After this disaster hc temporarily abandoned his connection with lake commerce.
Becoming interested in politics, he devoted some time to that fascinating pursuit ; and in the spring
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of 1878 accepted a position under John Tyler as deputy collector in the customhouse, remaining in the government service for three years. During this time he took up the occupation of newspaper writing. He was correspondent for the Western Associated Press, the Chicago Inter-Ocean, and the New York Truth ; and he did the first marine reporting for the Buffalo Express after its reorganization in 1878. He acted as financial secretary of the Buffalo Press Club in 1879 during the presidency of the late Thomas Keene.
In 1881, after a lapse of five years, Mr. Crosth- waite returned to his earlier calling, and established a vessel-broker's office on the old Central wharf. This business he has conducted ever since, owning and operating several vessels on the lakes, and dealing in marine insurance as well. Of late years he has branched out into other activities. He was one of the original subscribers for the stock of the Niagara Falls Paper Co., and still retains his interest in the corporation, having full charge of their water transportation. In June, 1893, with George R. Howard, he organized the Niagara Radiator Co. of Buffalo. He is now associated with D. O. Mills of New York city, and Lewis A. Hall, president of the Export Lumber Co. of New York, in the construction of a steel ship for lake navigation that will be one of the largest ever used on inland waters.
Mr. Crosthwaite's business cares have of late years monopolized his attention almost to the exclusion of other interests. He has, however, reached the 32d de- gree in Masonry, belonging to Buffalo Consistory, and to Queen City Lodge, No. 358, F. & A. M. He is a member of the Country Club and the Ellicott Club.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- John L. Crosthwaite was born at Buffalo in 1854 ; was educated in Buffalo schools ; engaged in lake traffic, 1871-76 ; married Elizabeth Sherman Morgan of Buffalo April 12, 1816 ; was deputy collector of customs, 1878-81 ; has owned and oper- ated lake vessels since 1881.
Silas 3. Douglass is one of the many law- yers and real-estate men who have found in Buffalo a profitable as well as a pleasant field for the exer- cise of their talents. While he has been actively
engaged elsewhere at times, he has regarded the Queen City of the Lakes as his home for more than a score of years.
Mr. Douglass was born in a log house in the town of Busti, Chautauqua county. His parents were pioneers of western New York, having emigrated thither from Jewett City, Conn., early in the '30's. His education was begun in the district schoolhouse about a mile and a half from the farm where he was born. Later he spent one term in the Westfield (N. Y. ) Academy, and then took a three years' course in the Union School and Collegiate Institute at Jamestown, N. Y. By this time he had centered his ambition on the study of law, and to fit himself for that profession he attended for two years the law department of Columbian College at Washing- ton, D. C. From this institution he graduated in
JOHN L. CROSTHITHITE
1872. The next year he formed a law partnership with William H. Cutler in Buffalo, where he has prac- ticed much of the time since, though devoting some time to government work and to business.
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Mr. Douglass is known as an expert collector of census statistics, and his ability in this direction has received official recognition on several occa- sions. In fact, he has been connected, in one way or another, with the last three censuses of the national government - those of 1870, 1880, and
SILAS J. DOUGLASS
1890. It was while studying law at Columbian College, Washington, that Mr. Douglass received his first insight into the difficulties attending these great statistical undertakings. At that time he served, during 1871 and 1872, as a clerk in the Washington census office. When the time came for taking the tenth census, Mr. Douglass was ap- pointed by President Hayes a supervisor of census, having in charge the 11th census district of the state of New York. This district included the counties of Chautanqua, Cattaraugus, Niagara, and Erie. On the completion of his duties in connection with this position he was offered a clerkship in the office of the superintendent of census at Washington, where he remained two years. Before his return to Buffalo
he spent a year as assistant examiner of patents in the patent office. During his connection with the census office Mr. Douglass had displayed so much zeal, energy, and ability in the discharge of his duties, that President Harrison appointed him supervisor of census in 1890, and he was again assigned to the 11th census district. He displayed such fitness for the work, and so much energy in pushing it to a speedy completion, that the census offi- cials at Washington commended him highly.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - Silas Judson Douglass was born at Busti, N. Y., December 9, 1847 ; was edu- cated in Westfield ( N. Y. ) Academy and Jamestown ( N. Y. ) Union School and Collegiate Institute ; graduated from the law department of Columbian College, Washington, D. C., in 1872, and began practice in Buffalo in October, 1873; married Leonora Godwin of Buffalo May 8, 1879 ; was supervisor of census for the 11th census district of New York state in 1880 and in 1890.
Richard hammond has done his full share in building up the manufactur- ing industries of Buffalo, and in giving employment to many men. The present is often called the age of iron and steel, and the workers in this line perform the heavy labor that lies at the foundation of material prosperity. In the din and dust of shops that the dainty seldom visit, are wrought out the mighty ma- chines and ponderous engines that make modern life possible. Brawn and muscle and brain are all required in the pursuit of these laborious occupations. Just as there is no royal road to learning, so there is none to the trades. Personal contact with the work and long experience are necessary to master the details.
Mr. Hammond's career illustrates anew the power of one man with a strong will bent on the establish- ment of a business of his own. He had no ad- vantages of birth or early training beyond what came from healthy, honest parents, and an element- ary education. Born in a foreign land, he was twelve years old before he came to this country, and had the opportunity given to every American citi- zen to achieve whatever his ambition and talents can secure. None realize better than those born abroad how different are the conditions and the
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social customs of this country from those of the old world. Here the race, while not necessarily to the strongest, is to the man who will run and keep at it. A successful start does not necessarily imply a successful finish, and all that our institutions furnish is a start, the rest depending on the man himself.
The basis of every trade or profession is an apprenticeship, and the more thorough this is the better the workman. Thirty years ago one could not jump into a trade at a bound ; and to-day as a result we have better journeymen, better master mechanics, and better employers. Mr. Hammond served his apprenticeship as a machinist and boiler- maker in Troy, N. Y., where he lived from the time he came to America until 1871. He then went to Whitehall, N. Y., and engaged in business for himself, afterward moving to Frank- lin, Penn., where he remained until 1882.
In the latter year the advantages of a larger field, and the gradual but sure development of Buffalo into one of the great manufacturing centers of the coun- try, led Mr. Hammond to move thither. With John Coon as partner he started the Lake Erie Boiler Works ; and to this enterprise he added in 1890 the Lake Erie Engineering Works, the two con- cerns employing five hundred men and requiring eight large buildings for their operations. Together they constitute one of the big shops of the city, and by providing work and wages for so many they become real factors in the industrial life of Buffalo. The Lake Erie Engi- neering Works is a joint-stock corpora- tion, of which Mr. Hammond is presi- dent.
The active management of two such plants has kept Mr. Hammond closely confined to the office and shop ; and, though an ardent Republican, he has uniformly declined to accept office, re- tusing at one time a nomination for councilman. But he has none the less been a force with his influence and means in the counsels of his party asso- cuites.
While living in Troy Mr. Hammond was a member of the 24th regiment, N. G., S. N. Y., and he has always regretted that he was not old enough to go to the front in the Civil War. He is a member of the Catholic Mutual Benefit
Association and the Catholic Knights of America, and is a parishioner of St. Joseph's Cathedral. In his relations to society and the community he is noted for his cordiality, generosity, and strict integ- rity -a plain man, without ostentation, enjoying the respect and good will of his neighbors and townsmen, and of all with whom he is connected in business relations.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-Richard Hammond was born in Ireland January 27, 1849 ; came to the United States in boxhood, and learned the machinist's trade at Troy, N. Y. ; married Johanna Mahar of Troy April 25, 1870; engaged in business in New York and Pennsylvania, 1871-82 ; has con- ducted the Lake Erie Boiler Works at Buffalo since 1882, and the Lake Erie Engineering Works since 1890.
RICHARD HAMMOND
berman fennig, well known at the bar of Buffalo and Erie county, was born in Saxony about forty-five years ago. He was brought to America during infancy by his parents, who had relatives in
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Buffalo, and who went thither at once on reaching the country. There Mr. Hennig's father, also named Herman, lived until his death in 1871; and his mother is still a resident of that city. After attending the public schools, Mr. Hennig received further instruction from private tutors. His special
HERMAN HENNIG
training in the law was obtained in the office of Corlett & Tabor, famous attorneys of Buffalo, with whom he remained several years.
Having secured in this way a comprehensive knowl- edge of law as regards both theoretical text-book discussion and actual office experience, Mr. Hennig had no trouble in passing the bar examinations at Rochester in October, 1876. He began to practice at once in Buffalo, and has ever since followed his profession in that city and adjacent territory. He has never thought it desirable to specialize his work, preferring to utilize his broad training in the law by carrying on a general practice. This plan has been consistently followed, and he now conducts a large amount of legal business covering a wide range of
subjects. He does his work without partnership assistance.
Like so many other members of his profession, Mr. Hennig has devoted a good deal of attention to public affairs. Always until the fall of 1896 he was a stanch Democrat, prominent in the counsels of the party, and active in the dissemination and advocacy of Democratic principles. In 1883 he was elected to the office of city attorney of Buffalo, or, as it is now called, corporation counsel ; and filled the position with conspicuous ability during the years 1884-85. At the ex- piration of his term of office his adminis- tration was heartily commended, not only by the press and politicians of his party, but also by the Republican papers and some prominent Republican attor- neys. In 1894 he was nominated by the Democrats for the important posi- tion of district attorney of Erie county. In every campaign since 1872 Mr. Hen- nig has taken the stump. Most of his political speeches have naturally been made in Buffalo and Erie county ; but he has also at times made campaign tours in other counties, and occasionally out- side the Empire State. Up to the year of the Mckinley-Bryan campaign he spoke in behalf of Democratic candi- dates : at that time, however, he es- poused the cause of the Republicans on account of the money issue, and ren- dered potent aid to the cause of sound finance.
Mr. Hennig has a social nature, and belongs to various organizations designed to satisfy this healthy tendency of hu- mankind. For some time he was chair- man of the committee on laws of the Grand Lodge of the Ancient Order of United Workmen : and for three terms, beginning June 1, 1891, he was Grand Commander of the Select Knights. He belongs. also, to the Improved Order of Red Men, to the Knights of the Maccabees, and to the Odd Fellows.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY -- Herman Hennig was born in Saxony October 16, 1852; wea. educated in Buffalo at public schools and by private tutors ; studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1876 ; was city attorney of Buffalo, 1884-85 : ha. been twice married, the second time to Sadie G. Bowman of Buffalo May 23, 1893; has practiced law in Buffalo since 1876.
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William J6. fhoyt, one of the best-known and most successful practitioners at the Erie-county bar, has hardly yet emerged from the ranks of young men, as he is less than forty years old. He was born at East Aurora, Erie county, and has lived in that county all his life with the exception of the time spent in college. He obtained his early educa- tion in the academy at East Aurora, and com- pleted his preparatory studies at the Buffalo High School.
Choosing Cornell as his alma mater, Mr. Hoyt began his studies at that institution in the fall of 1877, graduating with the class of 1881. In college Mr. Hoyt followed a general course of in- struction, but gave especial attention to history and political science. He applied to his college work the same zeal and earnestness that have characterized his entire career, and acquired during his four years at Ithaca an exceedingly valuable foundation for his later profes- sional studies. While in college he in- terested himself a good deal in the Cor- nell journalism of his day. He was man- aging editor of the monthly magazine, one of the editors of the college weekly, and the founder of the Cornell Daily Sun -a prosperous organ of campus public opinion that has continued to shine for all ever since. Mr. Hoyt has always been a loyal son of Cornell, and has taken great interest in the welfare of the institution. The fact received proper and gratifying recognition in June, 1895, when the alumni elected him one of the trustees of the university for a term of five years.
Mr. Hoyt was one of the fortunate mortals who have a decided bent for a particular calling, and are thus spared the trouble of weighing the comparative advantages of various possible pursuits. - He decided in his college days to make the law his life-work, and with that end in view he became a student with Huin- phrey & Lockwood, and was admitted to the bar from their office in March, 1893. The firm mentioned was one of the oldest and busiest in Buffalo, and afforded a student all that could be desired in the way of practical experience in the dis- patch of legal business. Partly on that account, but more especially because of his previous mental discipline, close application to his work, and rare ability in grasping quickly the essential points of a
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