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 61
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subject, Mr. Hoyt made rapid progress in his pro- fession.
After his admission to the bar, Mr. Hoyt was asked to become a member of the firm, which then assumed the familiar style of Humphrey, Lockwood & Hoyt. Additions have been made to the firin, but the original associates have continued to prac- tice together up to the present time, and have estal,- lished a wide reputation for responsibility and suc- cess. Mr. Hoyt does a large share of the court work of the firm, besides transacting a due amount of the office business.
In 1886 Mr. Hoyt was appointed assistant United States district attorney for the northern district of New York, holding the position until 1889. In 1894 he was appointed by Attorney-General Olney counsel to the United States interstate-commerce
WILLIAM B. HOYT
commission for the states of New York and Ohio, with the official title of assistant attorney-general. Aside from the two places mentioned Mr. Hoyt has not held public office. He is an earnest advocate
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of the principles of the Democratic party, and has for many years enjoyed the confidence of party leaders in Buffalo and western New York.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - William Ballard Hoyt was born at East Aurora, N. Y., April 20, 1858 ; prepared for college at East Aurora
JOHN D. LARKIN
Academy and the Buffalo High School, and graduated from Cornell University in 1881 ; studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1883 ; married Esther Lapham Hill of Buffalo December 20, 1887; was assistant United States district attorney, 1886-89, and was appointed assistant attorney-general in 1894; has practiced law in Buffalo since 1883.
3obn D. Larkin, one of Buffalo's successful business men and respected citizens, was born in that city little more than fifty years ago. His parents were English people ; and his father, Levi H. Lar- kin, was the founder of the Clinton Iron Works, now carried on by Bingham & Taylor. One of Mr. Larkin's first recollections is of the burning of the old
Eagle tavern November 14, 1849, when he was but four years old. This hostelry stood on Main street, on the ground afterward occupied by the American hotel, where occurred the disastrous fire of 1865. At the time of the earlier fire the work of fighting the destroying element was intrusted to the volunteer fire department, of which Mr. Larkin's father was a member ; and the apparatus at their disposal was extremely limited. When it was discovered, therefore, that brands from the burning tavern had lodged in the belfry of the old court house on Washington street, the building seemed doomed to destruction, as no water could reach the spot. But Mr. Larkin's father succeeded in climbing the slippery shingles and smothering the fire with his coat, thus saving the building, which was then deemed a most im- portant one.
After attending the public schools of Buffalo in childhood, Mr. Larkin began business life at the age of twelve by entering the employ of William 11. Woodward, a dealer in wholesale and retail millinery. He remained with him four years; and then, in 1862, began work in the soap manufactory of Justus Weller. For the next eight years he worked for Mr. Weller in Buffalo, learn- ing thoroughly the business in which he has ever since engaged, and becoming increasingly valuable to his employer. When Mr. Weller moved to Chicago in 1870 Mr. Larkin went with him, and the next year was admitted to partner- ship in the firm of J. Weller & Co. This connection lasted until April, 1875, when Mr. Larkin sold out his interest in the business to Mr. Weller, and returned to Buffalo.
Mr. Larkin was now intimately acquainted with the details of soap manufacture, and had no desire to lose the results of twelve years' experience by taking up a different occupation. Accordingly he established a small factory on his own account, and set to work to build up a substantial business. In 1878 Elbert G. Hubbard was admitted to a share in the enterprise, and the firm of J. D. Larkin & Co. was organ ized. This style continued until February, 1892, when the business was incorporated as a stock company, called the Larkin Soap Manufacturing Co., with Mr. Larkin as president and treasurer. Mr. Hubbard withdrew from the concern in 1893.
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Mr. Larkin has given his best energies to the under- taking during all these years, and has succeeded by persistent and well directed effort in building up one of the large and successful manufactories of the Queen City.
Mr. Larkin is a man of quiet tastes, and has never taken an active part in public affairs. . While inter- ested in politics, he has no desire to hold office, nor has he any of the qualities that make the practical politician. He belongs to no lodges or clubs, but is a member of the Prospect Avenue Baptist Church, Buffalo. He is particularly interested in young men, and is fond of helping them when they show a willingness to help themselves, preferring thus to make his charity private and personal, rather than to work through institutions, whose aid is not always discriminating.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - John Durrant Larkin was born at Buffalo September 29, 1845 ; was educated in Buffalo public schools and Bryant & Stratton's Business College ; was employed in a wholesale millinery store in Buffalo, 1857-61; was engaged in soap manufacture, as employee and partner, in Buffalo and Chicago, 1862-75 ; married Frances H. Hubbard of Hudson, Ill., May 10, 1874; has been the head of the business now known as the Larkin Soap Manufacturing Co., Buffalo, since its establishment in 1875.
Engene MD. Ashley is known throughout Niagara county, and indeed throughout western New York, as one of the brainiest, shrewdest, boldest, and soundest lawyers within that territory. He is more than that. He is a business man of large experience and much foresight, accustomed to the successful handling of immense interests. Further, he is directly and positively interested in all public questions, a hearty partisan in politics, and an active force in many social and other organizations in the city of Lockport.
Mr. Ashley had a variety of experiences before he adopted the profession in which he has won such signal success. He is a Genesee-county boy by birth, and attended the common schools of his neighbor- hood ; afterward taking a course at the Tenbroeck Academy at Franklinville, N. Y., and completing his education under private tutors. Then he taught school for seven years in Genesee county. But his nature was too restless and ambitious to be satisfied with the confines of the schoolroom. He was already taking an active part in politics ; and in 1875 he was appointed United States revenue agent, and on September 1 was assigned to duty in Lockport. He held this position for about a year. For the next
three years he studied law, and had the advantage of pursuing his studies in the offices of such men as I. F. & G. W. Bowen and Judge David Millar.
In January, 1880, Mr. Ashley was declared fully qualified to act as an attorney and counselor at law. He immediately launched out alone, but in 1882 he formed a partnership with D. E. Brong. Later Frank M. Ashley became a member of the firm. In 1886 Mr. Brong retired, and the firm of E. M. & F. M. Ashley continued until 1894, when the firm of Roberts, Becker, Ashley, Messer & Orcutt, with offices at Buffalo and Lockport, came into existence.
With all Mr. Ashley's interest in politics, he has not often held publie office. He was the very able district attorney of Niagara county for six years, being first elected to the office in 1880 and again in 1883. He was also the unsuccessful Republican nominee for member of assembly in 1892 in a Demo- cratic district. This has been about the extent of his political life, though he is a campaign speaker of much eloquence. He has preferred to devote his energies to the building up of a lucrative law prac- tice, and the development of the many commercial enterprises in which he is engaged. No litigation of great importance has occurred in Niagara county in the past ten years in which he has not appeared on one side or the other. This may seem a broad statement, but it is fully warranted by the facts. Mr. Ashley has been counsel for the board of super- visors of Niagara county, and for the board of edu- cation of Lockport ; and he successfully carried through the erection of new school buildings after two years of strenuous opposition.
A few instances of Mr. Ashley's connection with large business enterprises may be cited here as an indication of his natural shrewdness and willingness to do all that lies in his power for the material advancement of his city. With the late John Hodge of Lockport, he organized and owned the Lockport street railroad in 1886 and 1887. This road was for a time operated under great difficulties and many embarrassments, but the energy and ability of its owners finally removed all these. In 1892 the motive power was changed to electricity, and the road was started and operated as an electric line in August, 1895, just twenty days after the death of Mr. Hodge, whose interest in the enterprise had been most untiring. In company with James A. Roberts of Buffalo, Timothy E. Ellsworth of Lockport, and William M. Ivius of New York, Mr. Ashley organ- ized the Traders' Paper Co. of Lockport, one of the largest mills in the state. The organization was completed in 1895, and the plant was put in opera- tion in 1896. Mr. Ashley was also the projector of
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an electric railroad from Lockport to Olcott on Lake Ontario. He was a charter member of the Lockport Electric and Water Supply Co., which has a franchise to build a power canal from Niagara river to Lake Ontario.
1.
GEORGE W. BRIGGS
Mr. Aslıley is prominent in the club and social life of Lockport, where his many charming qualities make him highly esteemed.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - Eugene M. Ashley was born at Bethany, Genesee county, N. Y., June 1, 1850 ; received his education in common schools and Tenbroeck Academy, and from private tutors ; moved to Lockport, V. Y., September 1, 1875, as United States revenue agent ; was admitted to the bar in January, 1880 : married Elisa W'. Adriance of Lockport December 29, 1880; was cleeted district attorney of Niagara county in 1880, and again in 1883 ; has practiced law in Lockport since 1880.
George UI. Briggs was born in the town of Collins, Erie county, New York, less than fifty years
ago. He attended the common schools of the neighborhood in boyhood, and afterward spent some time at a select school, acquiring a good general education, and fitting himself for the work of a teacher. He followed this profession, indeed, for twelve years, though he had no inten- tion of making it his life-work.
In the spring of 1881 Mr. Briggs moved to Orchard Park, Erie county, where he has since resided. Two years later he began his present business as a dealer in farmers' supplies of all kinds. At first he sold goods on commission only, in a small way; but he soon became firmly established on a more satisfactory basis, and for a number of years now he has done a thriving business in his part of the county. During the greater part of this time he has conducted the under- taking alone ; but for several months in 1893 he was in partnership with C. N. Smith, in the firm of Briggs & Smith.
Mr. Briggs has long been interested in public affairs, and has served his fel- low-citizens in one capacity or another for many years. He held the office of justice of the peace for two terms, or six years ; and has represented the town of East Hamburg on the Erie-county board of supervisors ever since 1889. He has taken a prominent and active part in the work of the board from the first. In 1893 he was a member of the purchasing and auditing committee, and in 1896-97 he was the chairman of the board.
Mr. Briggs is a Mason, and belongs to several other fraternal societies, includ- ing the Knights of the Maccabees, Select Knights, and Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He has membership in the following Masonic bodies : Zion Lodge, No. 514, F. & A. M., Orchard Park ; Buffalo Chapter, No. 71, R. A. M. ; Lake Erie Commandery, No. 20, K. T., Buffalo ; Ismailia Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Buffalo ; and the Acacia Club, Buffalo. He attends the Presbyterian church.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - George II. Briggs was born at Collins, N. Y., October 10, 1850 ; was educated in common and select schools ; married Orcelia A. Pike of West Concord, N. Y., December 29, 1875 : taught school, 1868-80 ; was justice of the peace, 1883-89 ; has been a member of the Eric- county board of supervisors since 1880; has conducted a general store at Orchard Park, N. Y., since 18833.
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Eugene Cary, prominent in the legal and political circles of Niagara Falls, was born in Dun- kirk, N. Y., somewhat less than forty years ago. After attending the public schools of his native place, he obtained higher instruction at Cornell University, graduating thence in 1878 with the degree of B. S. He then devoted a year to business in his father's hardware store at Dunkirk, and the winter of 1879 -- 80 he passed as principal of a school at Sinclairville, Chautauqua county.
By this time Mr. Cary had decided to make the practice of law his life-work. Entering the office of Judge Thomas P. Grosvenor, therefore, at Dun- kirk, he applied himself with characteristic zeal to the task of mastering legal science. He continued his reading until August, 1881, when the position of superintendent of schools at Bedford, Io., was offered to him. He accepted this opportunity, and managed the public schools of Bed- ford with marked efficiency for the next three years. He found a little time for his law studies during these years in the West, and had no difficulty in passing the bar examinations at Buffalo in June, 1884.
From November, 1884, until October of the next year, Mr. Cary practiced law at Forestville, near Dunkirk, in part- nership with Daniel Sherman. Niagara Falls was already beginning to give promise of its later industrial supremacy, and Mr. Cary resolved to settle there. Associating himself, accordingly, with Henry C. Tucker, he practiced at the Falls in the firm of Tucker & Cary from October, 1885, until May, 1887. For the next six years he carried on a large practice without partnership assistance. Since May 1, 1893, he has been associ- ated with William C. Wallace in the well-known firm of Cary & Wallace. He has become a familiar figure in the courts of Niagara county, and is widely known as an able and trustworthy attor- ney.
Outside of professional work Mr. Cary has been especially interested in politics. He was a member of the executive com- mittee of the Chautauqua-county Repub- lican committee in 1884. In the fall of that year he edited the political columns of a Dunkirk newspaper. Since going to Niagara Falls he has been on the Republican city committee several times, and in the important campaign of 1896 he
was chairman of that committee. He was one of the alternate delegates to the Republican national convention at St. Louis in the same year. He has been a delegate to every Republican judiciary con- vention in his district for the last ten years, and was chairman of the convention in 1895. Notwith- standing his activity and importance in the counsels of the Republican party. he has never cared to hold public office. He has, however, been a member of the Niagara Falls board of education since March, 1896.
Mr. Cary has been somewhat active in the busi- ness life of Niagara Falls as well as in law and poli- tics. He holds directorates in the Power City Bank and in the Bank of Niagara ; and acts as attorney for these institutions, and for the Bank of Suspension Bridge. He is a trustee of the Niagara County
EUGENE CARY
Savings Bank, and president of the Niagara Falls Memorial Hospital.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Eugene Cary was born at Dunkirk, N. Y., November 21, 1857 ;
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MEN OF NEW YORK-WESTERN SECTION
graduated from Cornell University in 1878; was engaged in teaching and as superintendent of schools, and in reading law, 1879-84; was admitted to the bar in June, 1884 ; married Mary M. Waud of Buf- falo July 5, 1882 ; practiced law at Forestville, N. Y., 1884-85 ; was an alternate delegate to the Republican
FREDERICK A. FULLER, JR.
national convention of 1896 ; has practiced law at Niagara Falls since 1885.
ffrederick H. fuller, 3r., one of James- town's most public-spirited citizens, was born in Rutland, Vt., fifty-odd years ago. He was only two years old, however, when his parents moved to western New York and settled in Jamestown, where his father established a jewelry business. At the age of eighteen he graduated from the Jamestown Academy, and at once became an employee in his father's store. There he remained for the next nine years ; and then went to New York city, where he engaged for several years in importing fine watches and precious stones. In 1875, however, he returned
to Jamestown to assist his father once more, and three years later succeeded him in the charge of the business. This was nearly twenty years ago, and he has conducted the establishment ever since.
In the case of many men, a business life monopo- lizcs the largest share, if not the whole, of their attention ; and some such statement as that briefly given above comprises about al! there is of interest in their careers. But it is not so with Mr. Fuller. While devoting himself actively to his private affairs, he has given much of his best thought and most earnest work for many years to public matters, both political and educational. His fellow-citizens have special cause to be grateful to him for his interest in the schools of the city. He was first chosen a member of the board of education in 1884, and has served continuously since, having been annually elected president of the board for the past seven years. Much of the credit for the present admirable public-school system of the city of Jamestown belongs to him, since he has done more, perhaps, than any other man to create and maintain it.
Mr. Fuller has long been active, also, in Democratic politics in western New York, and has been a prominent member of the Democratic state committee. In the first Cleveland campaign he was a presidential elector ; and though the youngest of the New York members of the electoral college, he was chosen with Erastus Corning of Albany, to deliver the sealed electoral vote of the state of New York for President and Vice Presi- dent.
Mr. Fuller is well known in social and business life in Jamestown and beyond. He has been for many years a director of the City National Bank of Jamestown, and is a member of the Jamestown Club. He takes an active part in the work of the First Presbyterian Church, and is one of its deacons. He belongs to the Reform and Democratic clubs of New York city, and to the Sons of the American Revolu- tion. He has given considerable attention to the subject of his family genealogy, and takes a pardon- able pride in the fact that he is a lineal descendant in the eighth generation of Dr. Samuel Fuller, who came over in the " Mayflower." By virtue of this descent Mr. Fuller has membership in the Pilgrim Society of Plymouth, Mass.
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PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Frederick A. Fuller, Jr., was born at Rutland, Vt., April 10, 1839 ; was educated in the Jamestown (N. Y.) Academy ; was a clerk in his father's store in James- town, 1857-66 ; married Cornelia Ludlow Benedict of Brooklyn, N. Y., May 24, 1866; engaged in the jewelry business as an importer in New York city, 1866-75; was a presidential elector in 1884; has been a member of the Jamestown board of education since 1884, and its president since 1890; has con- ducted a jewelry business in Jamestown since 1878.
30bn S. Lambert, though he has been known as Judge Lambert for a long time, attained that title so carly in life that he has hardly yet reached the prime of his powers. He was born in the eastern part of the Empire State, in Rensselaer county, shortly after the middle of the century ; and received his education in the com- mon schools, and in Greenwich Acad- emy, Washington county. He then moved to the western end of the state, be- coming a law student in the office of Mor- ris & Russell of Fredonia, from which he was admitted to the bar in 1877.
Beginning practice at first in Mayville on his own account, Judge Lambert, in 1878, accepted an invitation from his former preceptors, who showed their appreciation of his ability by taking him into partnership. He continued a mem- ber of the firm of Morris, Russell & Lambert for four years, when Mr. Rus- sell withdrew, and the firm of Morris & Lambert was formed, which lasted until Judge Lambert's elevation to the bench of the Supreme Court. He proved him- self during this time to possess unusual talent as a legal practitioner, and he would undoubtedly have taken rank with the leaders of his profession in western New York had he remained at the bar.
Judge Lambert began to take an in- terest in public affairs early in his pro- fessional career, and served on the board of supervisors of Chautauqua county in 1880 and 1881 as the member from the town of l'omfret. In the fall of 1881 he was elected by the Republican party as county judge of Chautauqua county ; and his work in this position was so well regarded that his first term was followed by a second, beginning in January, 1888. He was not permitted to serve out this term, as he was elected a justice of the Supreme
Court of New York state in the fall of 1889. The judicial convention met in Buffalo October 3, 1889 ; and it was not until ten days had elapsed, and 151 ballots had been taken, that a nomination was made. The election, however, brought out the strength of the candidate, and showed the wisdom of the choice ; since Judge Lambert received a large majority throughout his district. His field of work is the 8th judicial district, which includes the counties of Eric, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Orleans, Niagara, Genesee, Allegany, and Wyoming.
Judge Lambert's career on the higher bench has justified his advancement to such a station of trust and responsibility. He was less than forty years old when his term as Supreme Court justice began ; but he had a natural aptitude for the judicial calling, and his training and experience in life were likewise
JOHN S. LAMBERT
factors in his success on the bench. He enjoys a high reputation with the legal profession of western New York. In social life he is noted for his affabil- ity and extreme courtesy.
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MEN OF NEW YORK-WESTERN SECTION
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-John S. Lambert was born at Johnsonville, N. Y., February 4, 1851 ; was educated at Greenwich ( N. Y. ) Aca- demy ; studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1877 ; practiced law at Mayville, N. Y., 1877-78, 'and at Fredonia, N. Y., 1878-89 ; married Winni-
J. C. MORGAN
fred Phillips of Cassadaga, N. Y., August 19, 1801; was a member of the Chautauqua-county board of super- visors, 1880-81, and county judge of Chautauqua county, 1882-89 ; has been a justice of the Supreme Court of New York state since January 1. 1850.
3. C. Morgan, though little more than forty years old, has been connected for nearly twenty years with the business of paper manufacture. Born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, he passed the years preceding his majority in the manner usual to coun- try boys ; attending the district school regularly until the age of eleven, and after that working the greater part of the time, and going to school for two or three months each winter when there was no work
to be done. When he was sixteen years old he left school, and went to work permanently. Several years later he took a short course at a commercial college ; but his successful business career, and present important position in the industrial world. must be ascribed to natural ability and close applica- tion rather than to any very thorough preparatory training.
In the spring of 1878 Mr. Morgan began business on his own account, forming a partnership with H. F. Watson of Erie, Penn., for the manufacture of roofing and building paper. At first they had a small mill at Fairview, Mr. Mor- gan's native place; but in 1880 they built a mill in the city of Erie. Two years later Mr. Morgan sold out his in- terest there, and moved to Battle Creek, Mich., where he built another mill, and continued the manufacture of building paper. For several years he carried this on successfully ; but in 1890 he dis- posed of the business to the American Strawboard Co., becoming assistant gen- eral manager of the concern, and having charge of their twenty-six mills in the manufacturing department, with head- quarters at Anderson, Ind.
Having obtained a thorough knowl- edge of the paper-making business, Mr. Morgan had been anxious for some time to engage in the industry on a larger scale than had at first been practicable. While carrying on his mill at Battle Creek he had formed a company in Chi- cago, under the style of the Soo Paper Co., to build an extensive mill at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. ; but this project had been subsequently abandoned on account of difficulties in obtaining a proper title, and in securing the necessary water power. Finally, in 1891, he resigned his position with the American Strawboard Co., and organized the Niagara Fall- Paper Co., one of the largest concerns of its kind in the country, of which he has been from the first secretary and general manager. The erection of the plant at Niagara Falls was begun in the follow - ing year, and the company has carried on an enor- mous business ever since. The mill has a capacity of 120 tons of finished paper per day ; and the product turned out includes manilla, newspaper, and book-finished paper.
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