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 16
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Shenandoah valley ; and at the battle of Winchester. September 19, 1864, he was twice severely wounded, and left for dead on the field, with seven bullet holes in his clothes.
He was captured and taken to a rebel hospital, where he was recaptured by the Union army. For his gallantry in this fight he was promoted to the rank of major. Returning to his regiment before he was fully recovered, he served in
Georgia and North Carolina, and was present at the surrender of General Joseph Johnston. After being mustered out he received a complimentary commis- sion as colonel, signed by General Grant.
After the war Colonel MeNutt engaged for many years in the life-insurance business as general and special agent and as manager ; and in 1887 he took up the prosecution of government claims and pen sions, in which he has been very successful. For many years, also, he has been prominent as a lecturer and political speaker. He is an out-and-out Repub- lican and protectionist, believing in the doctrine of America for Americans ; and has taken an active part in every campaign since 1872. He has always been the friend of the workingmen, and in 1887 they showed their appreciation of his care for their interests by nominating him for state senator ; but he afterward withdrew his name.
Colonel MeNutt has written somewhat for publica- tion, in both prose and poetry. Some of the latter appeared in the Catskill Examiner in 1874-75 ; and he published several articles in the Saratoga Eugle in 1883, as well as discussions on the pension and tariff questions in Troy and Plattsburgh papers. In the lecture field his talents as a public speaker have had full play, and he has found therein an agreeable relief from the routine of business. His principal lectures are : "An Hour with the Poets": " An Hour with Burns": " Robert Einmet"; " The Tariff" ; "Protection vs. Free Trade" ; and " Biometry, or The Measure or Span of Life." Colonel MeNutt has been a Mason since 1858 ; and is a charter member of the lodge in his old home at Warrensburgh, and a life member of Apollo Lodge, No. 13, of Troy. In 1892-93 he was the president of the Veteran Boys in Blue. He attends the Presbyterian church.
Edward 3. Meegan, prominent for many years as lawyer and citizen at the state capital, was born there fifty years ago, and has always lived there. Ilis parents were among the early immigrants from
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Ireland, coming to the United States in 1824, and settling in Albany after a short stay in Boston, Mass. Mr. Meegan was studious and quick to learn from his boyhood, and his parents did all in their power to gratify his ambition ; but he was obliged to depend chiefly on his own efforts to secure the general and special training necessary for his chosen calling -- that of the law, upon which he had determined while barely in his teens.
Leaving St. Joseph's parochial school, therefore, at the age of thirteen, he en- tered the law office of Edwards & Sturte- vant as office boy and student. It soon became evident that he had made no mistake in choosing his profession. Everything relating to the law was deep- ly interesting to him, and he pursued his studies with delight, even the endless and tedious details of legal science fail- ing to dampen his ardor. He remained in the office mentioned for seven years, then studied for a short time with Isaac Edwards, an eminent attorney, and at the age of twenty-one was admitted to the bar.
Mr. Meegan at once opened an office on his own account in Albany, and has practiced there continuously since, al- ways without an associate. He had pre- pared himself with unusual care for the practical work of a lawyer : and his natural fitness for the calling, coupled with unflagging energy, brought substan- tial success in a short time. He has long enjoyed a wide reputation as a criminal lawyer, and has been retained as counsel in many important cases in Albany and its vicinity.
Mr. Meegan's connection with public affairs in Albany dates almost from the beginning of his professional career. He had practiced but two years when he was elected corporation counsel of the city, and he held the office by successive elections for nearly five years. He found an amount of accumu- Ited work and unfinished suits that would have dis- heartened many men ; but he set himself resolutely to clear up the affairs of the office, and accomplished much in a comparatively short time. His able and vigorous administration saved the city a large amount of money, and was most satisfactory to his fellow- citizens. In 1874 he retired from the office, and for twenty years devoted himself wholly to his private practice, though he continued to take an active inter- est in political affairs. Finally, in 1894, when the
attention of all good citizens was aroused to the demoralized condition of the Albany police force, and an effort was making for its purification, Mr. Meegan accepted an appointment as one of three police commissioners of the city. He labored earn- estly for three years, against fierce political oppo-
EDWARD J. MERGIN
sition, for the reorganization of this branch of the city government. This important work, performed gratuitously, was appreciated by the public ; and at the expiration of his first term he was reappointed for another three years.
Notwithstanding his lack of early educational op- portunities, Mi. Meegan is a man of broad culture, and is unusually well versed in general literature. His boyhood love of books has never left him ; and he is the owner of an excellent private library, and of one of the largest law libraries in the state. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church, and of the Catholic Club of New York city.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Edward Joseph Meegan was born at Albany September 28,
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1846 ; attended St. Joseph's parochial schoot, Albany ; studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1867 ; was corporation counsel of Albany, 1869-74; married Katie E. Welch of Albany June 5, 1878, who died January 10, 1884 ; married Mary MI. Mattimore of Albany September 29, 1886 ; has been one of the police commissioners of Albany since April 27, 1894 ; has practiced low in Albany since 186T.
FR.INCIS J. MOLLOY
francis 3. Molloy, mayor of Troy since 1894, and otherwise well known in both political and business circles, was born in Troy shortly before the middle of the century. His whole life has been spent in his native city, and he is thoroughly identified with its institutions. After attending the public schools of Troy he obtained instruction in the higher branches of learning at St. Joseph's Academy in the same city. He left school, how- ever, at the age of sixteen, having resolved to lead a business rather than a professional life.
This determination was made casier by the fact that his brother, James E. Molloy, was already well
established in a commercial career, and offered him an exceptionally good opportunity to learn business methods thoroughly. Entering his brother's whole- sale house, accordingly, Mr. Molloy worked hard and faithfully as a clerk and general assistant for five years. At the end of that period he had the busi- ness so well in hand, and had made himself so valu- able to his brother, that the latter offered bim an interest in the concern. This was in 1870; and ever since then the firm of J. E. Molloy & Co. has carried on a wholesale grocery business in Troy. The house is one of the oldest in the city, with high credit, and a large trade in Rensselaer and adjacent counties.
The general public does not commonly think of Mr. Molloy in connection with his business, but is more likely to asso- ciate him with the numerous public offices that he has filled from time to time. He began early in life to take an interest in political affairs, but held no important office in the public service until 1880, when he became an alder- man from the 1st ward in Troy. In that year a change in the city charter called for the election of two aldermen, one for a term of nine months, and the other for a period of twenty-one months. Mr. Molloy preferred to take the short term, ending December 31, 1880. He held no public office from that time until 1890. In March of that year the legislature passed a law debarring any person con- nected in any way with the sale of ales, wines, or liquors from holding the office of police commissioner. This act necessi- tated the resignation of one of the Dem- ocratie members of the board, and on April 15, 1890, Mr. Molloy was elected by the common council to fill the vacancy.
On March 9, 1892, he was appointed for the full term of four years. Before he had completed this term his capacity for public affairs was so much appreciated that his name began to be mentioned in connection with the office of chief magistrate of the city. Having received the Dem- ocratic nomination for the mayoralty in the spring of 1894, he was elected for the term 1894-96. In the latter year he was again nominated and elected, and is now discharging the duties of the office. His present term will expire December 31, 1897.
Mayor Molloy has been a member of the Demo- cratic state committee from the Troy district since
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1894. He holds directorates in the Troy Gas Co., and in the Manufacturers' National Bank of Troy. He is a member of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, and belongs to various social organizations.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Francis Joseph Moller was born at Trov, N. Y., March 21, 1849; was educated at St. Joseph's Academy, Troy ; was clerk in his brother's wholesale grocery house, 1865-70; was alderman from the 1st ward, Tror, in 1880, and police commissioner, 1890-94; has been mayor of Troy since March, 1894 ; has been a mem- ber of the wholesale grocery firm of J. B. Molloy & Co. since 1810.
Barvis D. O"Brien is prominent among the younger lawyers of Troy, where he has practiced since his admission to the bar several years ago. Born in Fort Edward, Washington coun- ty, New York, shortly before the close of the Civil War, he received an excellent general education, attending first a pri- vate school, then the union school, and finally graduating from Fort Edward Collegiate Institute in 1887. Two years later, having made choice of the legal profession as his vocation, he went to Washington, and became a student in the law department of Columbian Uni- versity. He graduated thence in June. 1891, but remained at the university another year for a postgraduate course. Returning North then, he took up his residence in Troy, entering the law office of Smith & Wellington as a clerk; and was admitted to the bar in September. 1893. Mr. O'Brien's preparation for his professional career had been unusually thorough, including both theoretical in- struction in a law school and practical experience in an office ; and he was well fitted to begin practice on his own ac- count. This he did immediately on his admission to the bar, and for nearly four years now he has been steadily making his way in his chosen profession, and winning for himself a place and a name at the bar of Rensselaer county.
Mr. O'Brien has long been interested in public affairs, and has been active in support of the Republican party. He has been a delegate to various political conven- tions, including the state convention of 1896. January 1, 1897, his public services and his legal ability were recognized in his appointment
by Wesley O. Howard, the district attorney of Rens- selaer county, to the office of assistant district attor- ney. He has taken up the duties of the position with much energy and skill, and the fact seems assured that he will discharge them ably and effi- ciently.
Mr. O'Brien has been wholly occupied with his profession and with public affairs, and has not inter- ested himself greatly in clubs or societies, which so many men find attractive. He is, however, a life member of the Firemen's Association of the State of New York.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - Jarvis P. O' Brien was born at Fort Edward, N. Y., May 24, 1834 ; wax educated at private and public schools and at Fort Edward Collegiate Institute : graduated from Columbian University Lars School, Washington, in
JARVIS P. O'BRIEN
1891, and was admitted to the bar in 1893 ; was ap- pointed assistant district attorney of Rensselaer county January 1, 1897 ; has practiced loro in Trov, V. Y., since 1893.
MEN OF NEW YORK - EASTERN SECTION
Lewis D. Cbayer, though still under thirty- five years of age, has occupied for more than two years the responsible position of sheriff of Albany county, New York. Born in Warren county in 1863, he was educated in Troy, where he attended the public schools, and afterward a business college.
LEWIS T. THAVER
He was an apt student, and made full use of these op- portunities, and when the time came to begin busi- ness life he was excellently equipped for active work.
Entering the service of the National Express Co. at Troy as an office boy in the cashier's department, he soon rose to more important positions in the office ; and afterward became express messenger on the railroad between New York and Montreal. The company recognized in him an employee who could be implicitly trusted, and soon placed him in charge of the money departinent at Troy ; and he subsequently managed the agencies of the company at Plattsburgh and at Glens Falls, handling large sums of money, of which he never lost a dollar. After several years of this office experience he
returned to his former position on the road between New York and Montreal, and continued so engaged until a serious railroad accident in 1887 nearly cost him his life. His injuries were at first supposed to be fatal, but after almost three years of helplessne -. and suffering he was entirely cured.
By this time Mr. Thayer had had enough of the dangerous calling of a railroad messenger ; and he determined to abandon the express business, in which he had made so excellent a record. and to make a new start. He formed. accordingly, with his father, the livery firm of 1. Thayer & Son. This venture was successful from the first ; and the business has steadily increased in volune until it is now one of the largest estab- lishments of its kind in Troy, or even in that part of the state.
Mr. Thayer has always been a stanch Republican and an earnest party worker. though never a professional politician or office seeker. In the fall of 1894, how- ever, he was enthusiastically nominated by the Republican convention of Albany county for the office of sheriff; and in the ensuing election received a majority of nearly 3000 votes, although it was many years since a Republican had been elected in the county, and the Demo- cratic majority in the previous year had been 6000. Mr. Thayer's, popularity is amply evidenced by the fact and the manner of his election, and his fitness for the office has since been fully demon- strated. His prompt and energetic dis- charge of his duties, and evident de- votion to the interests of the public. have won for him the approval of all good citizens without regard to party.
Since 1884 Mr. Thayer has made his home in West Troy, now Watervliet, and has taken a promi- nent part in the life of that thriving city. He has attained high rank in the Masonic fraternity, and belongs to numerous bodies of the order, including the Albany Sovereign Consistory of 324 degree Masons. He belongs to Albany Lodge, No. 49. B. P. O. E., and to the Improved Order of Red Men. He is a member of the Young Men's Chris- tian Association of Watervliet, and of the First Presbyterian Church of that city.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Lewis Fax Hoesen Thayer was born at Glens Falls, N. Y. April 28, 1863 ; was educated in Troy (.V. Y.
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public schools and business college ; married Elizabeth A. Humphrey of West Troy, N. Y., April 30, 1884; was in the employ of the National Express Co. in various capacities, 1870-87 : has carried on a livery business in Troy since 1890 ; was elected sheriff of Albany county in November, 1894, for the term 1895-97.
E. Drentiss Bailey has given almost all his life to newspaper work. He has identified himself with Utica and its journalism so completely that the mention of the city carries with it, to most hearers, a suggestion of Mr. Bailey and the Utica Observer. For nearly half a century he has followed public affairs with the microscopic eye of a trained writer for the press. He knows public men and current history as only an editor in chief with years of ex- perience and first-hand information can know them. He isa fine type of the mod- ern journalist -criticising, explaining, interpreting public affairs ; recording, guiding, and molding public opinion.
Mr. Bailey was born somewhat more than sixty years ago, in Onondaga coun- ty. He received some instruction in the Advanced School at Utica, and in Barrett's Latin Grammar School of the same place : but practical newspaper work constituted the chief part of his education. This work he began early in life by setting type at the age of twelve on his father's anti-slavery paper, the Liberty Press. Three years later he did his first writing for the press ; and at the age of nineteen he began his long service with the Utica Observer by assuming the position of local and news editor December 5, 1853. He con- ------ tinued to do this work until 1858, when he became managing editor of the paper, retaining that office for the twenty-five years following. Since 1883 he has been editor in chief of the Observer. He was an employee during the early years of his service, but became junior partner on January 1, 1867, in the firm of Grove & Bailey. A corporation of the same style was formed in 1873 with De Witt C. Grove as president and E. Prentiss Bailey as vice president. Ten years later Mr. Bailey purchased Mr. Grove's interest, and the corporation assumed its present style of E. P. Bailey & Co., with Mr. Bailey as president and Thomas F. Clarke as vice president. Mr. Bailey
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has exerted himself strenuously, at the cost of sey- eral libel suits, in the purification of local politics.
Under the circumstances thus summarized it was natural, if not inevitable, that Mr. Bailey shoukl enter political life. He was school commissioner of Utica for two terms of three years each, beginning in 1868. In 1886 he was appointed by President Cleveland a commissioner to inspect a part of the Northern Pacific railroad in Washington territory. In 1887 he became postmaster of Utica, and served four years. In 1892 he was appointed one of the state civil-service commissioners, and was elected president of the board. Ile resigned from this office on the inauguration of Governor Morton Jan- uary 1, 1895. In March, 1896, he was re-ap- pointed postmaster of Utica, and is still serving in that capacity.
E. PRENTISS B.HELY
Mr. Bailey has been a Mason for nearly thirty years, belonging to Faxton Lodge, F. & A. M., and Yah-nun-dah-sis Lodge of Perfection. He was an officer of the Utica Mechanics' Association for a
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quarter of a century, and was for seven years its president. He has held office in the New York State Associated Press for many years, and was president of the organization for four years begin- ning in 1887. Mr. Bailey has taken great interest in his profession for its own sake, aside from the
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SAMUEL J. BARROW'S
material rewards that it often brings to faithful followers. The Observer has become well known as a training school for young newspaper workers, and not a few journalists of distinction acquired their early training under Mr. Bailey.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- E. Prentiss Bailey was born at Manlius, N. Y., August 15, 1834 : was educated in the Advanced School and Barrett's Latin Grammar School, Utica ; married Julia S. Wetherly of De Witt, V. Y., September 23, 1857, and Hannah Chapman of Ctica June 24, 1868 ; was school commissioner of Ctica, 1868-23, and state civil-service commissioner, 1302-0} : was postmaster of Utica, 1897-91, and was re-appointed in 1896 ; has been connected with the Ulica " Observer."
as tocat and news editor, managing editor, and editor in chief, since 1853.
Samuel 3. Barrows, who has been for a long time one of the foremost figures of central New York in social, political, and professional life, was born in Chenango county about seventy years ago. His lineage is dis- tinguished, beginning on this side of the ocean in 1637. when John Barrus took his wife from their ancestral home in Yarmouth, England, to brave the hard- ships of pioneer life in Salem, Mass. The grandfather of our subject fought in the ranks of the Continental army at Bunker Hill, Trenton, Princeton, and Bennington ; and his father served in the war of 1812. The whole record is interesting and inspiring.
Mr. Barrows spent the early years of his life on his father's farm. Most of his time was necessarily devoted to farm work ; but he managed to obtain some schooling at odd intervals, and to attend for a few months the academy at Nor- wich, N. Y. By the time he was twenty- one he had acquired sufficient education to be intrusted with the management of a district school. He taught for only a short time, having his mind made up to study law ; and in 1848 he began his legal reading at Utica in the office of Joshua A. Spencer and Francis Kernan. He was admitted to the bar in the same city in 1851, and became managing clerk in the office of the late Judge Ward Hunt. A year of service in this capacity completed his preparation for his pro- fession, and in 1852 he opened an office in Utica on his own account. He has practiced there continuously since, always without an asso- ciate, and has attained a reputation as one of the ablest lawyers in the county. He has been un- usually successful as a trial lawyer, and probably few of his fellow-practitioners have lost so small a percentage of cases as he. It is needless to add that, with such a record, Mr. Barrows possesses an extensive clinentage. One secret of his success doubtless lies in the fact that he has, to use his own expression, "stuck to the law night and day " ever since he began practice. He has neither engaged in business enterprises nor yielded to the claims of Masonic and other societies : but has been unswerving in his devotion to his profession.
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The one notable exception to Mr. Barrows's con- centration of energy has been his public service, and even this has been for the most part directly in the line of his life-work. During a large part of his professional career he lias been employed in one or another official capacity in the city or county ; and the people of Utica, in particular, have cause to be grateful to him for much efficient service. As early as 1853, when he had but just begun to practice, Mr. Barrows was elected city attorney of Utica, and served for one term. In 1857 he became attorney and counselor for the board of excise of Oneida county, and held the position until 1870. In March, 1879, he was appointed corporation counsel of the city of Utica, and served in that capacity for five consecutive terms. It is worthy of note that he was first appointed to the office by a Republican council and later by a Democratic conn- cil ; but the efficient manner in which he cared for the interests of the city readily explains this unusual occurrence. During his entire term the city lost not a single suit that he conducted, and the costs and running expenses of the office amounted to about 8250, while the cost to the city during the three years pre- ceding his incumbency was over $4000. At the expiration of his term of office the Sunday Tribune said: "It is an undisputed fact that he was the most successful corporation counsel that the city ever had."
In 1889 Mr. Barrows was elected mayor of Utica, and served one term. Extensive public improvements were nn- dertaken during this time, notably the construction of a large amount of asphalt pavement, the betterment of the city sewerage system, the substitution of elec- tricity for horse power in the street railways, and the sale of the abandoned Chenango-canal lands at a profit of 86000 to the city ; and Mr. Barrows's record in connection with these and similar matters entitles him to a high place in the esteem of his fellow-citi- vens. His administration was marked by the application of sound business princi- ples, and by an active, progressive spirit that furthered the best interests of the city.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - Samuel Jones Barrows was born at McDonough, Chenango county, .V. Y., August 22, 1826 ; was educated in district schools and Norwich ( N. Y. ) Academy ; was admitted
to the bar in January, 1851 ; was city attorney of Utica, 18533-54, attorney anl counselor for the board of excise of Oncida county, 1857-70, corporation counsel of Utica, 1879-84, and mayor of the city, 1889-90 ; has practiced law in Utica since 1852.
Wlalton VOI. Battersball, for nearly a quarter of a century rector of St. Peter's Church, Albany, was born in the neighboring city of Troy fifty-odd years ago. His father was Ludlow A. Battershall, a prominent merchant. of that city, a bank president, and one of the founders and trustees of Troy University ; and his mother was Eustatia Ward Battershall of Dormansville, Albany county.
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