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 7
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Erastus C. Iknight attained his present high position in finance and politics by reason of undoubted merit and ability. His ancestors were New Englanders, of the revolutionary type, his great-grandfather, Seth Cole, having moved from Chesterfield, Mass., to the shores of Lake Erie near Dunkirk in 1805. Mr. Knight's grandfather, Erastus Cole, was a volunteer in the war of 1812, and was present at the burning of the eity of Buffalo in 1813. Mr. Knight's own father was a substantial business man of Buffalo, and very likely the son inher- ited some of his father's business capacity. At all events, Mr. Knight's career shows an unbroken chain of advancement such as unmistakably indicates some powerful and adequate cause in antecedent conditions.
A thorough education was one of the factors of Mr. Knight's success. Having taken a course in a commercial college, he had a theoretical and practical knowledge of business methods before he entered active business. On the completion of his studies, he accepted a position in the wholesale house of Bell Brothers, produce com- mission merchants, of Buffalo. Later he broadened his experience with men and places by going on the road as a traveling salesman for the same firm -- one of the finest schools of practical business knowledge. In 1880 he started in business for himself, and became senior member of the firm of Knight, Lennox & Co., produce commission merchants, with whom he was successfully engaged for seven years.
Usually a man is loath to change when once he has established himself in a profession or branch of
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mercantile industry. But Mr. Knight concluded that the opportunities were greater in a field different from that first chosen by him, and in 1887 he with- drew from the foregoing firm, and embarked in the real-estate business. To this he added the occupa- tion of a builder in 1892, when he formed a partner- ship with Oliver A. Jenkins, under the firm name of Jenkins & Knight. Mr. Knight is also a partner in the firm of Sloan, Cowles & Co., proprietors of ex- cursion steamers and summer resorts.
In politics Mr. Knight has been prominently iden- tified with the Republican party. Before the city of Buffalo was redistricted he was nominated for super- visor in the old 11th ward, and was elected ; and two years later he was renominated from the new 24th ward, and was elected. He was chosen for a third time in 1893, serving as chairman of the board dur- ing the session of 1894. In the fall of - that year he received the nomination for comptroller of the city of Buffalo, and was elected by a round majority, assuming the duties of the office January 1, 1895. The country is learning that the success- ful business man is most likely to manage wisely the affairs of a municipality. Ex- perience in commercial life is what we need in the administration of nearly all public offices, and it marks an advance in practical wisdom when a community selects a business man for what is essen- tially a business office. The city of Buf- falo, therefore, may well congratulate itself on Mr. Knight's accession to the office of comptroller. His administration has been marked by sound business judgment, faith- fulness to the interests of the public, and uniform courtesy to the patrons of the office In public and in private capacity alike, Mr. Knight has in large measure the respect and good will of his fellow-citizens.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Erastus Cole Knight was born at Buffalo March 1, 1857 ; attended the public schools and Bryant & Stratton's Business College ; engaged in the produce commission business with William C. Lennox, 1880-87 ; mar- ried Mary Elizabeth Cowles of Buffalo Mar 14, 1881 ; established a real-estate business in 1887, and formed a partnership with Oliver A. Jenkins in 1892 : was elected supervisor of the old 11th ward of Buffalo in 1889, and was re-elected in the newo 24th wird in 1891 and 1893. serving as chairman of the board in 1894 ; was elected comptroller of the city of Buffalo in November, 1894.
3obn . Lascelles, though a newcomer to Buffalo, is already. thoroughly identified with the business interests of the city. He is a banker of long experience and of great ability, and is so re- garded by his fellow-financiers. His career in the field in which he has won so marked a success began when he was eighteen years old. At that time he entered the service of the Lake Shore Bank of Dun- kirk, N. Y., his native town. Beginning in the lowly capacity of "trotter," where the power of literally "getting there" right on time is the one thing needful, he rose by degrees to more important posi- tions, serving in the various grades of clerkships, absorbing speedily a thorough knowledge of bank- ing methods, and acquiring a mastery of the science of finance. For eight years his connection with the Lake Shore Bank was unbroken, and he severed it
JOHN II. LASCELLES
only to accept a flattering offer from a rival institu- tion, the Merchants' National Bank of Dunkirk, which wished to make him its cashier. This was in 1882. Ten years of his active business life were
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spent with this bank - years fraught with success for both the bank and its cashier. During this period Mr. Lascelles became known in circles beyond Dun- kirk as a careful and conservative but shrewd bank manager. He had proved himself fully equal to every emergency and to all demands, and it was plain that the limit of his capacity was far from reached. Accordingly, when that old, solid institu- tion, the Marine Bank of Buffalo, stood in need of an assistant cashier, Mr. Lascelles was chosen for the place. He accepted the position, and moved to Buffalo October 15, 1892. His election to the posi- tion of cashier soon followed, and this place he now fills to the eminent satisfaction of the officers and directors of the bank and of its many customers. A bank cashier must be affable, yet firm ; must know when to acquiesce and when to refuse ; must at no time offend those with whom his bank has dealings : must be alert to protect the bank, and ready to listen to all propositions from its customers ; mast know the financial standing of those who come to him ; and must see that the machinery of the institution runs without jar. Mr. Lascelles has all the necessary qualities highly developed, and they make him an ideal man for the place he fills. He still retains a connection with the Merchants' National Bank of Dunkirk, of which he is vice president.
Banking has not absorbed all of Mr. Lascelles' time and attention. Having a broad outlook and a wide interest in men and all their affairs, he has to meet demands for his services in many directions. During his long residence in Dunkirk he devoted himself somewhat to politics. This was largely a labor of love, as he is a Democrat, and as Chautau- qua county is a hotbed of Republicanism. It is said, by the way, that there is more politics to the square inch in that county than in any other in the state of New York, and it is only natural that Mr. Lascelles became infected with the prevailing disease. Still, he is not a violent partisan, and does not place party above good government. His personal popularity in Dunkirk was evidenced by his triumphant election as city treasurer, an office that he held for several consecutive years. For six years he served as a mem- ber of the board of education, of which he was also treasurer at different times. When he ran for county treasurer on the Democratic ticket, he was, of course, defeated; but he received the largest vote of any of his party's candidates.
One who is willing to give of his time and energy for the benefit of others always has plenty of such oppor- tunities for self-sacrifice thrust upon him ; and so it has been with Mr. Lascelles. He has performed many duties cheerfully with no thought of recompense. One
of the organizers of the Dunkirk Savings & Loan Association, he served it as treasurer from the date of its organization until he moved to Buffalo. He is now serving his third year as treasurer of the Buffalo Board of Trade and of the Merchants' Exchange.
Mr. Lascelles is a member of various social organi- zations, including St. Mary's Lyceum of Dunkirk, the Buffalo Orpheus Singing Society, and the Buffalo Catholic Young Men's Club,
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-John Henry Lascelles was born at Dunkirk, N. Y., March 3. 1856 ; attended the public schools of Dunkirk ; was elected cashier of the Merchants' National Bank of Dunkirk in 1882 ; married Annie Moran of Buffalo on Thanksgiving Day, 1885 ; was elected assistant cashier of the Marine Bank of Buffalo in 1892 ; has been cashier of the same bank since 1893.
John Laughlin is a native of Erie county, N. Y., and a man to whom that county and the state as well is much indebted for public service. :After taking a four years' course in the Lockport Union School (an institution that has played a prom- inent part in the intellectual development of western New York ), Mr. Laughlin read law in the office of Richard Crowley of Lockport. In the spring of 1881 Mr. Crowley moved to Buffalo, and Mr. Laughlin, who had just completed his legal studies, accompanied him and was admitted to the bar in Buffalo. He at once became managing clerk in the office of Crowley, Movius & Wilcox, and two years later became Mr. Crowley's partner in the firm of Crowley & Laughlin. Soon after, Mr. Crowley went to New York city, and Mr. Laughlin formed a copartnership with Joseph E. Ewell. Wilbur E. Houpt was taken into the firm a little later, and the style became Laughlin, Ewell & Houpt.
In 1887 Mr. Laughlin was nominated for state senator to fill a vacancy on the Republican ticket, and was elected. He was re-elected in 1889, but was defeated in 1891, though he ran ahead of his ticket. He was a delegate to the Republican national convention in 1888, where he warmly advo- cated Depew's candidacy, and was the last man in the New York delegation to give up "our Chaun- cey." Mr. Laughlin's service in the legislature was marked by earnest efforts to effect needed and prac- tical reforms in different departments of the govern- ment. Like all men of advanced views, he rot infrequently found himself in a minority ; but on many points he has had the satisfaction of seeing his ideas prevail in the end.
Throughout his two terms in the senate, Mr. Laughlin was a member of the judiciary committee.
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He was also chairman of the canal committee, and advocated liberal appropriations for the improve- ment of the state canals, believing that they are an important factor in the prosperity of the common- wealth. . He prepared and introduced a revision of the police-excise laws of Buffalo, and of the Buffalo public school act; and these measures, though defeated when originally pre- sented, were subsequently embodied in the revised charter of the city of Buffalo, which passed the senate in 1891 chiefly through Mr. Laughlin's efforts.
Another of Mr. Laughlin's practical reforms has been more widely operative by reason of its embodiment in the new constitution of the state of New York. We refer to the change in the method of conducting elections whereby munici- pal offices, concerning which the " per- sonal equation " counts for so much, are filled in odd years, while state and national offices, in which great public questions play so important a part, are filled in even years. Such an arrange- ment obviously simplifies issues, promotes political purity, and generally serves the cause of good government.
While in the senate, Mr. Laughlin devoted much time and thought to the subject of text-books in the public schools. His own experience suggested to him the need of reform in this particular, and his later observation only strengthened the earlier conviction. He saw the lack of uniformity in the books used in different schools, and the frequent changes in- volved in the attempt of each school board to improve on the choice of its predecessor. All this he regarded not only as a serious hardship in a pecuniary way to people of moderate means, but also as a positive obstacle to the pupil's progress. His plan was thoroughly comprehensive in its scope, and provided for the creation of a commission to select books, purchase copyrights, and prepare originals when necessary. The books could thus be oh- tained by the state at the lowest possible rates. and were to be furnished to the pupils without charge ; and the books were not to be changed except at stated periods and for adequate cause. This measure was defeated in the senate; but one consequence of the movement was the adoption of free text-books by Buffalo and by some other places in the state.
Since his retirement from the senate Mr. Laughlin has devoted himself assiduously to the law, and has built up a large general practice in both the state and the United States courts. He has been especially successful as a trial lawyer, where his talent as a public speaker has come into effective play. Though out
JOHN LAUGHLIN
of active politics, Mr. Laughlin maintains his interest in public affairs. He is called upon in every cam- paign to deliver addresses, and usually does so.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-John Laugh- lin was born at Newstead, Erie county, N. Y .. March 14, 1856 : was educated in the district schools of Erie and Niagara counties, and in Lockport Union School ; was admitted to the bar in 1881 ; was elected state senator in 1887, and re-elected in 1889: has practiced law in Buffalo since 1881.
Loran I. Lewis has been prominent at the bar and on the bench of western New York for nearly forty years. During all that time his record
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·
has been one of which any man might well be proud, and which few men may hope to equal. Coming to Buffalo when it was little more than a large village, he has seen it grow and prosper, and has been a part of its growth and prosperity. While the law has claimed his first attention, he has been an active
4.
LORAN L. LEWIS
figure in various enterprises that have done much to build up and make great the Queen City of the Lakes.
Born in Cayuga county, N. Y., in the quarter- century year, Mr. Lewis spent his early life in the central part of the state, and his education was begun in the city of Auburn. He was quite a young man when he determined to study law, and was only twenty-three years old when admitted to the bar. Then, as now, the question of location was an im- portant one for the young lawyer to decide. Loran 1. Lewis, after looking carefully over the field, de- termined to come to Buffalo. He arrived in that city in 1848, and it has been his home ever since. He did not have to wait long for clients, and his
progress when once begun was continuous. He formed a partnership with C. O. Pool in 1854, and with several others afterward - with George Wads- worth, Wm. H. Gurney, A. G. Rice, Adelbert Moot, and with his own son, George I. Lewis. The firm name of Lewis, Moot & Lewis is best known to the younger generation of Buffalonians.
Polities at one time demanded much of Mr. Lewis's attention, and his services · to the Republican party were rewarded in the fall of 1869 with a nomination to the state senate. The voters of Erie county endorsed the nomination, and Mr. Lewis had a seat in the highest legislative body of the state of New York for four years, having been returned for a second. term in 1871. From the end of that period of service Senator Lewis, as every- one then called him, remained a private citizen until January 1, 1883, when he took his seat on the Supreme Court bench, to which he was elected from the 8th judicial district. For thirteen years he presided with dignity, fearlessness, impartiality, and unusual ability over many trials, some of grave importance, and others of slight interest to any but the parties at suit. For the last four years of his service on the bench Judge Lewis was honored with the appointment as a member of the General Term, and distinguished himself there by many val- uable decisions. During the period of his life passed at the bar, Mr. Lewis was known as a trial lawyer of the highest rank. His examinations were marked by a searching directness that permitted nothing to be left hidden ; his opponent always dreaded his shafts of sarcasm ; and his appeals to the jury were eloquent, logical, and eminently successful. It is still said among the lawyers of Buffalo that there has never been, in the history of the Erie county bar, any other advocate who won so large a proportion of his cases before the jury as Mr. Lewis, and that when he went upon the bench he was regarded as an advo- cate unequaled in persuasiveness.
Judge Lewis is interested in several of the banking institutions of Buffalo, being a director and vice president of the Third National Bank, and a director of the German-American Bank. He has found recre- ation in farming, and is the owner of a handsomely equipped farm at Lewiston, where he spends much of his leisure time.
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PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Loran Loddo- wick Lewis was born at Ments, Cayuga county, N. Y., May 9, 1825 ; came to Buffalo in the fall of 1848 : was admitted to the bar in 1848 ; married Charlotte E. Pierson of East Aurora, N. Y., June 1, 1852; was elected state senator from the Erie county district in 1869, and was re-elected in 1871; was elected judge of the Supreme Court in the 8th judicial district in 1882, and served as such until 1895, when he re- tired by limitation of age.
bardin beth Littell is a splendid type of a most important class of men - the class which bas had the largest part in the material development of our country, and which constitutes, together with nature and with inventive genius, the real cause of that development. These are the men who possess in a conspicuous degree what is known as executive ability-that rare and choice quality of brain matter which enables the owner to organize men and things into a perfectly-oiled, swift-running, and fric- tionless machine, performing immense amounts of work almost automatically.
Such a man in a marked degree is Hardin H. Littell. Educated very in- adequately -" nonc at all," as he says himself jocosely -- Mr. Littell was obliged to begin work when most boys are begin- ning their Caesar and their algebra. He essayed first the dry-goods business, and later, after the family had moved to Louis- ville, Ky., assumed a morc ambitious place in a jewelry store. Few men are fortunate enough to find at once the special kind of work for which they are best adapted, and our present subject offers no exception to this general rule.
At nineteen Mr. Littell really began his career, for it was at that age that he entered the service of the Louisville City Railway Co., as a clerk in the treasurer's office. In the following year he was promoted to the position of assistant superintendent, and at the age of twenty-two he became superintendent. Hc remained in charge of the Louisville city railways for nearly a quarter of a century, in which time the system was very much extended and im- proved. The change from horse to elec- tricity as the motive power was made in part in the later years of his work in Louisville.
In the decade 1880-90 the city of Buffalo grew beyond all precedent in many ways, and especially in
the matter of population. Such a period is particu- larly trying for a street-railway system, and the owners of the Buffalo street railways deemed it of the first importance to find somewhere a thoroughly capable man to cope with this state of affairs in the management of their property. Such a man they found in Mr. Littell. He was elected in May, 1891, president of the Cross-town Railway Co., vice presi- dent of the Buffalo Railway Co., and general mana- ger of both companies. Hc assumed the duties of these positions in the following month. Under his administration the prosperity of the companies has been marked, while the operation of the system from the standpoint of the public has been greatly im- proved and brought to a high degree of excellence. The service was doubled in mileage in three years, and all parts of the city and suburbs were brought
HARDIN HETH LITTELL
into close touch with each other through a network of electric lines.
Mr. Littell's time and energy have been given chiefly to the companies directly under his care : but
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numerous other enterprises have received the benefit -of his wide experience. For a number of years he has been president of the Cincinnati Inclined-Plane Railway of Cincinnati. He is director and vice president of the Buffalo, Bellevue & Lancaster rail- road. He is a director in the Bellevue Land Co., also. Notwithstanding his departure from Louisville, Mr. Littell has retained his position as director in the Louisville Railway Co., as well as a directorate in that highly successful institution, the German Bank of Louisville. He is also a director still in the Columbia Finance and Trust Co. of Louisville.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Hardin Heth Littell was born at Corydon, Harrison county, Ind., August 5, 1845 ; attended country schools until the age of twelve ; married Nellie Burton Green of Logans- port, Ind., April 26, 1876 ; entered the service of the Louisville City Railway Co. in 1864, and became superintendent of the company in 1867 ; has been gen- eral manager of the Buffalo street-railway system since June, 1891.
Daniel IR. Lockwood is a Buffalonian whose fame and reputation are national. He is known as a politician of great ability, as a legislator of keen intelligence, as a lawyer of deep learning, and as a shrewd man of affairs. He has long held a con- spicuous and honorable position at the bar of Buffalo and among the public men of the Empire State.
Born in a small country town, with none of the advantages of wealth, and bereft of his father at an early age, he found the usual difficulty which young men of limited means and high ambition experience in obtaining a college education. But he possessed such tenacity, determination, and persistency that he swept all obstacles from his pathway, and finally graduated from Union College in 1865.
Mr. Lockwood had early been attracted to the law, and shortly after graduation he entered the office of Judge Humphrey in Buffalo, and was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of New York in 1866. The wisdom of his choice of a profession soon became evident ; for to strong reasoning powers, forcible expression of ideas, and unfailing tact. he added capacity for work and untiring zeal in the preparation and presentation of cases. During the thirty years in which he has followed his profession many important causes have been entrusted to his care, and many notable victories have been won by him in the courts. That he is a careful, sound, and conscientious counselor. and an able, eloquent, and convincing advocate, is amply evidenced in the gratifying measure of professional success attained by him.
As a business man Mr. Lockwood stands high, and his shrewdness and good judgment, conservative yet fearless, are acknowledged by all. He has an active interest in a number of commercial enter- prises. He is president and manager of the Akron Cement Works, one of the leading industries in this line ; vice president and manager of the Buffalo Sewer Pipe Company ; president of the Buffalo, New York & Erie railroad ; and a director of the Merchants' Bank, and of the Third National Bank, both of Buffalo.
To the people at large, however, Mr. Lockwood is best known through his long connection with public affairs. He has always been a Democrat and an ardent supporter of Democratic principles .. He has a wide reputation as a campaign speaker of unusual force and eloquence. During his early days in party service, it was not unusual for him to make half a dozen campaign speeches to as many differ- ent audiences in a single evening. He is said to have a wider personal acquaintance with the people :of western New York than any other man in the . country.
Soon after coming to Buffalo Mr. Lockwood took an active part in political affairs. In 1871 he was nominated for district attorney of Erie county : and though he was defeated, his great popularity carried him 1,500 votes ahead of his ticket. Three years later he was again nominated, and this time was elected. Before his term of three years expired he was called upon to accept a higher honor - membership in the 45th congress. This body assembled in October, 1877, and was destined to figure largely in one of the most serious and momentous political contests in the history of the country. The Tilden-Hayes elec- tion controversy is still fresh in the publie mind, and is even yet hardly ripe for the pen of the historian : but the part played by the great actors in that scene stands out in higher relief with the passage of time, and to have been intimately connected with that event is an experience a man might properly covet. It was Mr. Lockwood's fortune to serve in that memorable congress. Though one of the youngest representatives, his speech on the Demo- cratic side of the question attracted the attention of his fellow-members, and is one of the really valua- ble contributions to the literature of the great controversy.
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