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. II > Part 15
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MEN OF NEW YORK -- EASTERN SECTION
which he held office was declared unconstitutional by the Court of Appeals. In 1895 Mr. Davenport was appointed by Governor Morton one of the state commissioners of prisons, to hold office three years from June 25, 1895. This commission is charged with grave responsibilities, and membership therein implies high standing in the community and uncommon ability. Mr. Davenport is also one of the court-house commissioners for Rensselaer county.
Aside from law and politics and gen- eral municipal affairs, Mr. Davenport takes special interest in one other sub- ject -agriculture. He owns and main- tains at East Greenbush a country place of 250 acres overlooking the Hudson. The estate was formerly owned and oc- cupied by the famous French diplomat- ist, "Citizen " Genet. Mr. Davenport is interested in many aspects of farm life, but takes particular pride in raising fine breeds of Jersey cattle.
Mr. Davenport is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Troy and a trustee of the Young Men's Associa- tion there. He contributes occasional articles to the local press, magazines, and agricultural journals.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY -- Nelson Davenport was born at Varna, N. Y., September 13, 1827; was du- cated in the Troy Conference Academy ; graduated from the National Law School, and was admitted to the bar in 1850 : married Heten Caroline Osgood of Troy, N. Y., November 25, 1857 ; has prac- ticed late in Troy since 1852; was ap- pointed one of the state commissioners of prisons in 1895 for a term of three years.
Isaiab fellows, 3r., recorder of the city of Cohoes, is of English birth, though he has lived in Cohoes ever since childhood. Born in Wednes- bury. England, less than forty years ago, he was brought to America by his parents when only nine years old. His education was received in the pub- lie schools of Cohoes ; but he left school at an early age, and obtained employment in one of the mills of the city. He eventually became shipper for the Parsons Manufacturing Co., and held the position for several years.
In 1882, however, Mr. Fellows saw his way dear to carry out his desire of becoming a lawyer ; and he accordingly entered the office of James F. Craw-
ford of Cohoes as a student. Devoting himself for the next three or four years to the task of acquiring a legal education, he was admitted to the bar at the September term of the Supreme Court in 1886. He at once opened an office in Cohoes, and soon became known as a rising young lawyer. During his early years at the bar he had a large criminal
NELSON DIPENPORT
practice, and attained a goodly measure of success in this line. In 1894 he associated himself with Daniel C. MeElwain in the firm of Fellows & Mc- Elwain, which still exists. Since the organization of this firm Mr. Fellows has devoted his entire attention to civil cases, in which his success has been fully equal to that formerly achieved as a criminal lawyer. He has been especially interested in railroad and life-insurance litigation, having met with flattering success in a number of important cases in these special lines. His firm acts as attor- ney for three insurance companies.
In polities Mr. Fellows is an earnest Republican and a public-spirited citizen. He was elected to
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the board of school commissioners of Cohoes from the 4th ward in 1891, and served two years. He was largely instrumental in introducing the kinder- garten system in the public schools of the city. He was a member of the original hospital commission of Cohoes, and served for three years, during which he
ISAIAH FELLOWES, JE.
acted as secretary of the commission. He was for some time attorney for the board of health, which accomplished a large amount of good work under his guidance; but in May, 1897, the pressure of official duties compelled him to resign the position.
On July 20, 1896, Mayor Mitchell appointed Mr. Fellows recorder of the city of Cohoes for a term of four years. The appointment was not altogether unexpected, as the other candidates for the office had recognized in him a formidable rival, and he was felt to be well qualified for the position, having been deemed for several years one of the most successful counselors and attorneys in his part of the state. It is evident already that the interests of Cohoes are not to suffer in his hands.
Mr. Fellows is a Mason, and a member of the Methodist church and of the Mystic Club.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Isaiah Fel- Jones, Jr., was born at Wednesbury, Eng., August 20, 1860; came to the United States in 1870, and settled in Cohoes, N. Y. ; was admitted to the bar in 1886, and has practiced in Cohoes ever since ; was appointed recorder of the city of Cohoes July 20, 1895, for the term 1896- 1900.
William Denry hollister, 3r., one of the prominent lawyers of Troy, was born in Greene county, New York, about fifty years ago. He is a direct descendant in the seventh generation of Lieutenant John Hollister, an officer in the English army, who came to this country in 1642 and settled at Glaston- bury, Conn. His mother's ancestors came from Holland.
Mr. Hollister had the benefit of a thorough education at excellent schools and colleges. After attending the dis- trict school and the academy in his native town of Coxsackie, he became a student at the famous old Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., and finished his pre- paratory conse at the Hudson River In- stitute, Claverack, N. Y. He entered Williams College in the fall of 1866, and was graduated thence in due course with the degree of A. B. Many appointments and elections in connection with his col- lege work testify both to his ability and to his popularity. He was elected Class Day president, and chosen junior orator in the prize contest. He was also elected one of the editors of the college maga- zine, the Williams Quarterly, and president of the Philologian Society. Ile was elected to member- ship in the Phi Beta Kappa society, and was ap- pointed one of the commencement orators at graduation.
After leaving college Mr. Hollister spent a year as a clerk in the census bureau at Washington, having been appointed by General Francis A. Walker after passing one of the earliest civil-service examinations ever held for such a position. Be- taking himself then to Troy, Mr. Hollister studied for three years in the law office of Edward F. Bullard, and was admitted to the bar at Binghamton, N. Y., in the fall of 1874. Mr. Bullard at once formed a partnership with his former pupil, under the name
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MEN OF NEW YORK-EASTERN SECTION
of Bullard & Hollister, that lasted for four years. Two years later Mr. Hollister associated himself with Nelson Davenport, an able attorney of long experience ; and the firm of Davenport & Hollister has ever since been prominent in the legal circles of Troy.
Mr. Hollister is a Republican, but has always reserved the right of individual judgment and inde- pendent action in political matters, refusing to submit to party dictation. He is an earnest advo- cate of clean politics, and has cast his whole influence in that direction. He believes heartily in municipal reform, and in the complete separation of municipal from state and national politics. He has never sought office, and his only public service was performed as school commissioner of Troy, a position that he held for three years beginning in 1878.
The time and attention that so many lawyers devote to politics Mr. Hollister has given to religious and benevolent work. He was elected a trustee of the Second Presbyterian Church of Troy in 1880, and has been president of the board of trustees since 1881. He was made an elder in the same church in 1884, and two years later was elected by the presbytery of Troy a commis- sioner to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian church at Minneapolis. For five years, beginning in 1878, he was the Sunday-school superintendent of his church. In 1895 he helped to organize the Young Men's Christian Association of Troy, and has since been one of the directors of the institution. He is especially interested in its educational work, and serves as chairman of the educational committee. In February, 1896, he was a delegate to the state convention of the association, and read a paper before that body on the financial problem of the educational work. He has been one of the trustees of the Troy Orphan Asylum since 1875, and the secretary of the board for nineteen years.
In 1875 Mr. Hollister took an active part in forming the Troy Vocal Society, one of the oldest and largest male musi- cal organizations in the country ; and he has been for many years its secretary and a member of its board of directors. In 1896 he was instrumental in establishing the Troy Daily Record, the only morning newspaper in the
city ; and he is at present vice president of the company publishing that journal.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - William Henry Hollister, Ir., was born at Coxsackie, N. Y., October 11, 1847 ; graduated from Williams College, Williamstorm. Mass, in 1870; studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1874 ; married Julia Frances Hillman of Troy, N. Y., October 16, 1ST8 ; was one of the school commissioners of Troy, 1878-81; has been vice president of the Troy Record Co. since 1896 ; has practiced law in Troy since 1874.
Galvin E. IReach, prominent at the bar of Rensselaer county as a criminal lawyer, was born in the town of Hoosick fifty-two years ago. After at- tending the common schools for several years in childhood, he completed his education at Ball's
WILLIAM HENRY HOLLISTER, JR.
Academy at Hoosick Falls, graduating there- from in 1861. Ile then studied law with his father, Briggs Keach, and in 1868 was duly ad. mitted to the bar.
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Mr. Keach at once began the practice of his pro- fession at Hoosick Falls, and has been actively en- gaged therein ever since with the exception of a brief interval from 1870 to 1873. He has never formed partnership associations, preferring to retain his freedom and independence entirely unhampered.
CALVIN E. KR.ICH
After several years in Hoosick Falls, he moved to Lansingburgh in 1878, and for nearly twenty years has carried on an extensive practice there and throughout the adjoining counties. He has always made a specialty of criminal law, and has been in- usually successful in defending persons charged with felonies. Out of more than three hundred such cases that he has conducted, only three of Mr. Keach's clients have ever been convicted and sent to prison. As might be expected, his services are in wide demand : and he spends much of his time away from Lansingburgh, though his home and busi- ness headquarters are still there. He is an exceed- ingly busy man, and devotes himself heart and soul to the interests of his clients.
Politics, which prove so attractive to many law- yers, have had little charm for Mr. Keach; or perhaps his engrossing professional cares have left him no opportunity to experience the fascinations of public affairs. At any rate, he has never held public office, and has never had any ambition in that direc- tion. He has written largely for the newspapers, and to some extent for the magazines ; his contributions including short criticisms and original articles on various topics connected with the science of government, politics, finance, tem- perance legislation, and criminal juris- prudence. Although confining his atten- tion almost exclusively to his profession, he has done some work in temperance organizations, the order of Odd Fellows, and similar societies ; and for two years be held the office of Grand Worthy Templar of the State of New York in the Temple of Honor, becoming thus the chief officer of the order in the state. Mr. Keach is liberal in his religious views, attending various churches, and contributing as he is able to the support of each ; but his sympathies are perhaps most strongly in favor of the Baptist denomination.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Calvin Edgar Keach was born at Hoosick, N. Y., October 2, 1844 ; was educated in common schools and Ball's Academy : studied loro, and was admitted to the bar in 1868 ; married Alice M. Waite of Waterford, N. Y., April 30, 1868 : prac- ticed law at Hoosick Falls, N. Y., 1868-69 and 1874-78 : has practiced loro at Lan- singburgh. N. Y., since 1878.
Jobn S. fRoster was born in the town of Lee, Massachusetts, on the banks of the beautiful llousatonic, in 1841. He attended the public schools of Palmer, Mass .. graduating from the high school there in 1857. Hle then learned the printer's trade in the office of the Springfield Daily American. Western Massachusetts has long been famous for the fine paper produced there, and Mr. Koster's father was one of the most successful men in the paper- making industry. Mr. Koster, therefore. soon found it worth while to leave the printing trade, and enter a paper mill in Palmer managed by his father. The latter died soon after this change, but Mr. Koster continued in the business until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861.
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Mr. Koster was in his twentieth year only when the bombardment of Fort Sumter echoed ominously- through the North. Enlisting at once in the 21st regiment, Massachusetts volunteers, organized in Worcester, he served in the army for the next three years and made a brilliant military record. He is now commonly called Major Koster, but was best known in the early years of the war as Sergeant Koster of company H. His regiment was one of the most active in the northern armies, and Sergeant Koster helped to make its fame. He brought his dying captain from the field on one occasion in the very teeth of the enemy's guns ; and numerous other instances of his bravery are cited by his com- rades in arms. He lost his right arm in a fierce charge at Cold Harbor June 2, 1864. On his return home after months of suffering in the hospital, Governor Andrew of Massa . chusetts gave him a major's commis- sion for meritorious conduct on the field.
For five or six years after the close of the war Major Koster was employed in the Boston post office. He rose to a responsible place in the postal service, but was ambitious to re-enter his old occupation of paper-making. In 1872, accordingly, he accepted an offer to go to Lancaster, N. Il., as superintendent of a paper mill. After a short experience there he went to Nova Scotia as man- ager for an English company about to manufacture wood pulp under a German patent. The paper there made by Major Koster was the first all-wood paper made in America. His success along the new lines of paper-making attracted attention in New York, and he was induced to take the position of super- intendent of the Herkimer Paper Co. The pulp works of this great concern, of which Warner Miller is president, are situated at Lyon Falls, N. Y., where Major Koster has lived since 1876. With new mills and improved machinery, the output of the plant has increased many-fold in recent years. Major Koster is a stockholder and one of the direct- ors of the company. The paper indus- try is his chief business concern : but he is also interested in a Kansas cattle ranch and in Denver real estate.
Primarily a man of business, Major Koster has nevertheless given some time and much thought to
public affairs. He might, indeed, have devoted himself-largely to such matters, since his fellow- citizens have always urged upon him more offices than he has cared to take. Ile has frequently been a delegate to party conventions, and in 1888 he was one of the llarrison presidential electors. He declined a nomination for the assembly some years ago ; but in 1895 consented to run, and was elected by a large majority. Renominated the next year, he was elected by a majority of nearly a thousand votes. He is chairman of the committee on mili- tary affairs in the assembly.
Major Koster became a member of the Grand Army of the Republic early in the history of that organization, and he was commander of his post in Boston for several years. He is now Junior Vice Commander of the department of New York, which
4
JOHN S. KOSTER
has a membership of almost 40,000 veterans. He is president of the 21st Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers' Association. He holds various posi- tions of honor and trust in his town and county.
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MEN OF NEW YORK- EASTERN SECTION
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-John S. Koster was born at Lee, Mass., June 21, 1841; was educated in public schools ; worked in a paper mill at Palmer, Mass., 1858-61 ; served in the Union army, 1861-64; was employed in the post office at Beston, 1865-72 : married Mary L. Kinsey of New York
WILL L. LLOYD
city April 6, 1865 : was engaged in the manufacture of paper in New Hampshire and Nova Scotia, 1872- 76 ; was elected to the state assembly in 1895 and re- elected in 1896 ; has been superintendent of the Herki- mer Paper Co. at Lyon Falls, N. Y., since 1876.
Vlill L. Lloyd of Albany, though still a young man, has had an eventful and interesting career. Born in the capital city in 1860, he received his early education in an Episcopal school. where he met the charges for tuition by serving as a choir boy in All Saints Cathedral at Albany. After that he graduated from the Albany Business College and from Walworth's Stenographic Institute. In 1872, at the age of twelve, he began his long career at the
state capitol, becoming a page in the assembly. Be continued to act in this capacity for seven years. This experience came at a time of life when the memory is like
" Wax to receive, and marble to retain " ;
and Mr. Lloyd then laid the foundation of his pres- ent extensive knowledge of political con- ditions in the Empire State. Becoming a messenger for the assembly in 1879, he was appointed superintendent of the wrapping department the next year. For two years after that he was the assembly correspondent of the Brooklyn Eagle. In 1883 he had charge of the United Press bureau at the capitol; and in 1884 he was the legislative correspondent for the New York Truth.
The foregoing summary of Mr. Lloyd's early life shows that he was connected officially with the New York legislature for thirteen years, ending in 1884; and during the twelve years since then he has likewise been connected, though un. officially, with the law-making bodies at Albany. Appointed a clerk in the law department of the Central-Hudson rail- road in 1884, he was stationed at Al- bany, and has ever since been intrusted with the important mission of guarding the legal interests of the railroad at the state capital. When Chauncey M. Depew became president of the road he ap- pointed Mr. Lloyd president's clerk. After holding this office until 1894, Mr. Lloyd received the appointment of assist- ant tax agent. He still holds that po- sition, having charge of the company's taxes on the Hudson, Putnam, and Har- lem divisions of the system. His long experience in the assembly, minute knowledge of legislative methods, and extensive acquaintance with lawmakers in all parts of the state, render him an extremely valuable official for the Central-Hudson company.
Mention has been made of Mr. Lloyd's journal- istic work as an Albany correspondent, but other achievements in similar lines should be recorded. He was the originator and the first compiler of the New York " Red Book," still brought out annually by James B. Lyon, to whom Mr. Lloyd sold his in- terest. This publication was the outcome of Mr. Lloyd's work entitled " Interesting Legislative Notes," which was followed by a volume called the "Legislative Record." Mr. Lloyd is also the
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MEN OF NEW YORK-EASTERN SECTION
author and composer of many popular songs and bal- lads. His earlier productions of this nature were published by Wendell & Co., Albany, and Brentano of New York : W. A. Pond & Co. of the latter city are his present publishers.
Mr. Lloyd takes great delight in collecting bric- a-brac, antographs, stamps, and the like ; and he has acquired a notable gallery of legislative portraits from 1860 until the present time. This is the only collection of the kind covering so long a period, and could not be duplicated. It is insured for 83000, and is, of course, becoming more and more valuable with the lapse of time. Mr. Lloyd probably has a larger acquaintance with the politicians of New York than any other man of his age in the state. He is a sort of connecting link between the public men of the past and those of the present day. Ile knows almost everyone of note in the political world within the borders of the Empire State.
Since 1890 Mr. Lloyd has been secre- tary of the Albany board of directors of the Co-operative Building Bank of New York city. He has taken much interest in the Masonic order ; and is a member of De Witt Clinton Council, No. 22, and a life member of all the Scottish Rite bodies, including Albany Sovereign Consistory of 32d degree Masons. He is an officer in the following bodies : Mt. Vernon Lodge, No. 3; Capital City Chapter, No. 242; Temple Commandery, No. 2; and Cyprus Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. Mr. Lloyd is a member of the Episcopal church, and one of the governors of the Albany Chib.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY -- William Lyman Lloyd was born at Al- bany May 27, 1860; was educated in Albany schools ; married Ida C. Hauptner of New York city February 21, 1884; was connected with the state assembly as page, messenger, and otherwise, 1872-80 ; was a newspaper correspondent at Albany, 1881-84 : has been in the employ of the New York Central & Hudson River rail- road since 1884, and since 1894 has been assistant tax agent of the company.
Joseph G. McfRutt has a most honorable and interesting lineage, reach- ing far back to the remote days of Scottish history. When Edward the Bruce, brother of King Robert Bruce, invaded Ireland in the early part of the four- teenth century, the clan MeNutt accompanied him,
and aided in his victories over the English. The Bruce, after being crowned king of Ireland in 1316, was killed in battle a few months later; but the McNutts remained, settling in Ulster, in the county of Armagh, and attaining a position of importance with the passing centuries. The crest of the family, representing a cock rampant, is significant of the vigorous leadership natural to the race.
Colonel MeNutt's first ancestor on this side of the water was William McNutt, who, about the year 1750, eloped with Sarah James, a granddaughter of Lord Elgin, and came to America. He settled in New Hampshire on the banks of the Merrimac, the present city of Manchester occupying a part of his original estate. Five brothers afterward followed him to the new world ; and these, with his two sons, took an active part in the struggle of the colonies for
- !
JOSEPHI G. MCNUTT
independence. On the death of William McNutt the landed property descended to his son, Elijah A. Me Nutt, the father of our present subject. Seized with the western fever in 1819, Elijah MeNutt. dis-
MEN OF NEW YORK-EASTERN SECTION
posed of his New Hampshire property and set out for New York state, where he settled in Herkimer county.
Colonel MeNutt was born in Amsterdam, Mont- gomery county, in 1833. He spent his youth on his father's farm, and received an excellent general education at common schools and academies. At the age of seventeen he became a teacher, and in the following year was appointed general agent for northern New York of a fire-insurance company, holding the position about seven years. During the greater part of this time he made his headquarters at Warrensburgh, N. Y., where, in the intervals of teaching and traveling, he read law with D. B. Stockholm. In 1858 Colonel MeNutt accepted the position of principal of a school at Green Island, N. Y .; and he was afterward principal of the union school at West Troy. This position he resigned at the outbreak of the Civil War in order to devote himself to his country.
Colonel MeNutt's war record calls to mind the brave and daring deeds of the old Scottish chieftains whose blood flows in his veins. Raising a company at the first call for troops, he was commissioned captain in the 2d New York volunteer infantry, and was among the first to set foot on Confederate soil. At the battle of Big Bethel, near Fortress Monroe, June 10, 1861, he rescued a wounded and dying soldier-Sergeant Goodfellow of the 1st New York infantry-amid the shot and shell of the enemy, and carried him back to safety. He then volunteered to go after the cannon left on the field when Lieuten- ant Greble was killed ; and succeeded in gaining possession of the cannon, and bearing the lieutenant's body off the field under the enemy's fire. He was afterwards detailed, with a handful of men, to pro- tect the retreat of the army : and this he did success- fully until they reached New Market bridge, nine PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-Joseph Gould McNutt was born at Amsterdam, N. Y., April 4. 1833 ; was engaged in the fire-insurance business, 1851-58, and in teaching, 1858-51 : served in the Union army, 1861-65 ; married Katie Riley of Greenfield, N. Y., April 28, 1852, who died June 18, 1892 : acted as agent and manager for a life-insurance company, 1865-ST : married Mrs. Mittie E. Conant miles away, which he tore down in order to stop the advance of the enemy. Colonel McNutt was men- tioned in general orders for gallant conduct in this, his first battle. He afterwards served in the Department of the Gulf, where he was twice rec- ommended for a coloneley, and once for the post of military governor of Florida, with the rank of brig- adier general. In 1864 he joined Sheridan in the . of Nassau, N. Y., March 7, 1893; has carried on the prosecution of pension and other government claims since 1SST, and has engaged in lecturing and public speaking.
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