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 25
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Born in the village of Corbettsville, Broome county, thirty-five years ago, Mr. Bayless was taken to Binghamton by his parents in early childhood, and has ever since resided there. He was educated
in the Binghamton public schools, and afterward took a two years' course at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., from which he graduated in 1881 at the age of nineteen. After spending a year as clerk in the City National Bank, he entered upon his career as a manufacturer.
Establishing the firm of Bayless & Co., he began making ground and chemical wood pulp; and five years later the present style of the Bayless Pulp & Paper Co. was adopted, the plant enlarged, and the business extended to include the manufacture of paper as well as pulp. The prosperity of the concern received a check in January, 1893, when the mill was destroyed by fire ; but, though the loss was a serious one, Mr. Bayless immediately set about re- establishing the enterprise on a firmer basis. Larger mills were erected, and on March 16 the business was incorporated with a paid-up capital of $75,000. Mr. Bayless has held the offices of president and general manager from the beginning, and under his able and progressive management the business has prospered constantly. Various additions to the original plant from time to time have increased the output from 10,000 to about 40,000 pounds of fin- ished paper per day.
Mr. Bayless has always been an earnest Republi- can. In 1885 he was elected alderman from his ward ; and two years later, when less than twenty- five years old, he became mayor of the city. Although the responsibility was a heavy one for so young a man, he proved himself equal to the occasion, and discharged the duties of the office throughout his term to the satisfaction of his constituents. During this time the appropriation for the new public build- ing for the city was made, a matter of unusual inter- est owing to the difference of opinion as to the most suitable location for the structure. Another valuable
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improvement was the building of a new bridge at Washington street, at a cost of $37,000, to replace the old covered wooden bridge that had become unfit for further use. Mr. Bayless also secured for the city the state canal lands at the intersection of Chenango, State, and Pearne streets, on which was
GEORGE C. BAYLESS
erected the building of the Protection Hose Co., thus greatly improving the locality, and affording a needed increase in the fire facilities of the city. At the close of his term of office Mr. Bayless declined a renomination, and he has not taken an active part in public affairs since. In 1894, however, he accepted an appointment from Mayor Green as chairman of the excise board of the city, and held the position until the Raines law went into effect.
Mr. Bayless is generally and deservedly popular in Binghamton in both public and private life. He is a charter trustee of the Barlow School of Indus- trial Arts, an institution founded by Allen Barlow. one of Binghamton's wealthy and public-spirited citizens, for the manual training of boys and girls.
Mr. Bayless is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Binghamton, and of the leading clubs of the city.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- George Cor- bett Bayless was born at Corbettsville, N. Y., April 27, 1862 ; was educated in Binghamton ( N. Y. ) pub- lic schools and at Phillips Academy, An- dever, Mass .; was a bank clerk in Bing. hamton, 1881-8.2 ; began business as a manufacturer of wood pulp in Binghamton in 1882; married Georgie L. Healey of Brooklyn April 27, 1886 ; was an alder- man of Binghamton, 1885-S6, and mayor of the city, 1887 -- 88 : has been president of the Bayless Pulp & Paper Co., Bing- hamion, since 1893.
Derman Bergbolt3 was born in Vernamo, Sweden, thirty-three years ago. His father, Johan Ferdinand Berg- holtz, who died in January, 1897, at seventy-nine years of age, was a promi- nent inventor and capitalist, conspicuous in the industrial affairs of Sweden for half a century. He created, and until his retirement from active affairs con- trolled, the match industry, and other cnormous enterprises of his country. His father, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was surgeon-general of the Swedish army and court physician to King Charles XIV. In origin, the Berg- holtz family is of the Saxon nobility. their patents being of great antiquity and distinction. A signet ring given to his intimate personal friend and medical ad- viser by Bernadotte the King, is now worn by his grandson here.
Mr. Bergholtz received an excellent education in the schools of his native land : attend- ing first the elementary school at Jönköping. and afterwards a higher school in the city of Lund. He then took a course at Lund University, an ancient institution of learning that has maintained its pres- tige in modern times, and still numbers a thousand students.
His education completed, Mr. Bergholtz came to the new world prepared to follow the calling of an electrician. He soon became connected with the Edison Company in New York city, with whom he remained for about three years as draughtsman and electrical engineer. He devoted himself to this profession for about ten years in all, being associated in turn with the Mather, the Schuyler, and the
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Thomson-Houston electric companies ; and acting as general manager and consulting engineer of the Wightnian Electrical Manufacturing Co. at Seranton, Penn., for two years. During this decade he acquired a prestige in his profession that gave to his opinion and testimony as an expert high value and influence among capitalists and inventors. He is retained as the consulting engineer of several vast corporations and enterprises having electricity as their basis of operations.
In 1893 Mr. Bergholtz took up his residence in Ithaca, becoming secretary, treasurer, and general manager of the Ithaca Street Railway Co., the Brush-Swan Electric Light Co., the Ithaca Transfer Co., and the Lake View Cemetery Co. He is also vice president of the Electric Train Bulletin Co., the Cortland & Homer Traction Co., and the Cortland & Homer Electric Light Co. ; president of the Cortland Land Co. : and a di- rector in numerous other companies. He is equally interested with Edward G. Wyckoff, of Remington-typewriter fame, in the ownership of the " Renwick tract," an immense holding of valuable land in the city of Ithaca, comprising more than 600 acres, on which a vast lake-shore park has been laid out, and a new and model cemetery established ; and upon which steps are now being taken for redeeming a considerable amount of low land, and opening of villa sites, com- manding a view of Cayuga lake, and Cornell University campus upon the hill- sides. He has further joined the Messrs. Wyckoff in the acquirement of a large and sightly plateau of some eighty acres, immediately north of the Cornell cam- pus, which it is proposed to embellish with beautiful houses for professors, and for the wealthy, retired class of metro- politans who seek the educational advan- tages of Ithaca for their families.
In the short time that he has made his home in Ithaca, Mr. Bergholtz has be- come widely known, and has identified himself thoroughly and actively with the interests of the city. He belongs to the L City Club and the Town and Gown Club of Ithaca ; and to the Art Club of Phila- delphia. He is also a Mason and a member of the American Institute of Electrical Engineers.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Herman Bergholtz was born at Vernamo, Sweden, June 19,
1864 ; was educated in Swedish schools, and Lund University, Sweden ; came to the United States in 18833 ; worked for different electrical companies, 1883-93 ; married Adalina O. Thomson of Philadel- phia October 15, 1890 ; has made his home in Ithaca, N. Y., since 1893, engaged in a variety of business enterprises.
Melvin M. Conklin, postmaster of Elmira, N. Y., is a native of Cayuga county, having been born there in the town of Owasco somewhat more than fifty years ago. He moved to the western end of the state in childhood, and his early education was received in the district schools of Niagara and Orleans counties and the academy at Millville, Orleans county ; but at the age of seventeen he left school, enlisting in company A, 151st New York
MELVIN M. CONKLIN
volunteers, August 13, 1862. He remained in the army nearly three years, and was mustered out June 25, 1865. During about half that time he was on duty at the rebel prison camp at Elmira.
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After the war Mr. Conklin occupied himself in various ways for several years, and in 1878 he estab- lished in Elmira the grocery and bakery that he has since conducted. He has always carried on the business alone, depending on his own ability to ensure success ; and the result has justified his course
D.IVIEL B. CUSHMAN
in this particular. For a time he did a retail busi- ness only : but as he became more firmly estab- lished, he branched out into the wholesale trade, and he now does a large business of both kinds.
Mr. Conklin is an enthusiastic Republican, and has worked hard for the welfare of his party in a county where the Democrats as a rule have an easy victory. He has received the nomination for mayor of Elmira, and for treasurer of Chemung county : but on both occasions he was defeated. In May, 1897, his loyal party services were recognized by his appointment to his present position as postmaster of Elmira.
Mr. Conklin belongs to the Century Club of Elmira, to the Improved Order of Red Men, and to
Union Lodge, No. 93, F. & A. M. Hc is a trustee of the Masonic Temple, and vice president of the Southern Tier Masonic Relief Association. He is a member of the Park Church, Elmira, of which the Rev. Thomas K. Beecher, only less noted than his brother, the great Brooklyn preacher, has been the pastor for many years.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - Melvin Mott Conklin was born at Owvas- co, N. Y., October 15, 1844; was edu- cated in common schools ; served in the Union army, 1862-65 ; married Nettie J. Hutchins of Elmira, N. Y., February 24, 1869 ; was appointed postmaster of Elmira in Mar, 1897 ; has conducted a wholesale and retail grocery store and bakery in Elmira since 1878.
Daniel J6. Cusbman, one of the leading lawyers of Chenango county. is a direct descendant of Robert Cushman of Kent, England, who had an important part in the affairs of the Plymouth Pil- grims. In company with Deacon Car- ver, Robert Cushman carried on the early negotiations with the Virginia Company ; and finally obtained the patent from the King under which the Plymouth colony was established, collected subscriptions, chartered the " Mayflower," and con- ducted the preparations for the voyage. He subsequently returned to England to look after the interests of the colonists, and died there in 1625: but his son Thomas remained on this side of the water, and was the confidential friend of Governor Bradford, and ruling elder of the church after the death of Elder Brewster in 1649. Mr. Cushman's father, Danford R. Cushman, and his mother, Ruth Potter, were natives of Stafford Springs, Conn., and emigrated to Chenango county, where Daniel was born shortly after the middle of the century. His brother, George P. Cushman, who died in 1894. was well known throughout the state, having occu- pied the position of Master of the State Grange for several years, and lectured extensively in that capacity.
Mr. Cushman's general and professional training were unusually thorough, and were obtained in the very best educational institutions in the country. Beginning as a boy in the district schools of Che- nango county, he prepared for college at Norwich Academy, and entered Vale College in 1872. . flc
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graduated thenee in due time with the degree of B. A., and afterward spent two years at Columbia College Law School. In 1878 he received from this institution the degree of L.L. B., and was admit- ted to practice in the courts of New York state. In 1880 he opened an office in Norwich, N. Y., and has practiced there continuously since. He has never formed a partnership connection, but has conducted alone an important practice throughout his part of the state.
Though he has devoted himself closely to his pro- fession, Mr. Cushman has been prominent in public affairs in Chenango county for many years. He was a member of the board of supervisors from the town of Plymouth for seven years ; and served for three years, by appointment from Governor Flower, as a trustee of the State Insane Asylum at Binghamton. He is at present a member of the board of education of Norwich. In 1882 he was the Democratic candidate for district attorney of the county ; and though the normal Republican majority is 1500, he was defeated by only fifty-six votes. In view of his strong candidacy at this time, it is but natural that his party should சிலம் have wished to make further use of his name. . As a matter of fact, he has fre- quently been urged to accept nomina- tions for member of assembly and for county judge ; but he has preferred to keep aloof from active politics in order to have more time for professional work.
Mr. Cushman is a Mason, a member of the Psi Upsilon college fraternity, and attends the Methodist church. He is largely interested in real estate, holding extensive tracts of farming land in Che- nango county.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Daniel Burr Cushman was born at Ply- mouth, N. Y., December 18, 1852 ; grad- uated from Yate College in 1876. and from Columbia College Law School in 1818: was a member of the Chenango-county board of supervisors, 1882-89 ; married Sadie Van Cleft of Oneonta, N. Y., De- cember 3, 1891 ; has practiced laws at Norwich, N. Y., since 1880.
times. His parents, Richard and Caroline (Acker) Deyo, emigrated from Columbia county in 1850, and settled on a farin in Broome county ; and there Israel Deyo was born forty-odd years ago.
After attending the district schools in childhood Mr. Deyo entered the Binghamton High School, and graduated in 1875 as valedictorian of his class. In the fall of the same year he entered Amherst Col- lege, completing the course four years later, and receiving the degree of B. A. He then followed the plan adopted by so many ambitious young men, and devoted the next three years to work as a teacher. For a time he acted as principal of the Whitney's Point Academy, and he subsequently occupied a chair in the State Normal and Training School at Cortland, N. Y. He applied his spare time during these years to reading law ; and when, in the spring
ISRAEL T. DEYO
Israel C. Deyo, prominent at the Broome-county bar, and well known throughout the of 1882, he gave up teaching, and entered the office state from his long service in the legislature, is of David H. Carver of Binghamton as a law student. he was able to prepare himself in a short time for the bar examinations. These were successfully passed descended from one of the old Huguenot families that settled in Ulster county, New York, in early
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at Albany in January, 1883, and he was duly ad- mitted to practice.
Ever since he began professional life Mr. Deyo has been associated with Mr. Carver, with whom he completed his legal studies. The firm of Carver & Deyo lasted until January 1, 1888, when F. W. Jenkins was taken into partnership, and the present firm of Carver, Deyo & Jenkins was established. Although Mr. Deyo is most widely known as a legis- lator, and an active worker in the ranks of the Republican party, he occupies a leading position in professional circles in Broome county and the South- ern Tier. He enjoys an extensive practice through out that territory, and his services are largely in demand in the conduct of legal affairs. His firm are the attorneys for the Security Mutual Life Insur- ance Association of Binghamton, the Chenango Valley Savings Bank, the People's Bank, the Strong State Bank, and other corporations.
Mr. Deyo began his distinguished career in the state assembly in the session of 1890, having been elected thereto by a majority of about a thousand votes. He at once took a prominent part in the work of that body, and his re-election for a second term by a largely increased majority followed almost as a matter of course. It has become a widely accepted rule of political management that two years' continuous service in the assembly is all to which one man is entitled ; but, like all rules, it has its exceptions, and Mr. Deyo's service of four years is the most striking exception that has ever occurred in Broome county. Ilis constituents recognized in him not only a faithful and conscientious representa- tive, but an able and gifted legislator ; and they were proud to have him represent his district at Albany. He had membership in some of the most important committees in the assembly, including the judiciary committee, the committee on codes, and the ways and means committee. In March, 1892, he secured the passage of a tax bill that was highly complimented by Governor Flower as likely to remedy an evil that many legislators had tried in vain to correct.
In April, 1894, Mr. Deyo was appointed by Gov- ernor Flower a member of the commission to investi- gate charges against the management of the state reformatory at Elmira, the other members of the commission being Judge William L. Learned of Albany and Dr. Austin Flint of New York. Ile had an important part in the work of this commis- sion ; and its report, submitted to the governor in December, 1891, was in the main drafted by him, and forms an important contribution to current literature regarding the treatment of criminals. In
1892 Superintendent Draper of the state department of public instruction appointed him a member of the local board of the Cortland Normal School, and he still holds this position.
For upwards of ten years Mr. Deyo has taken part in every state and national campaign, and his efforts as a public speaker have contributed materially to his own popularity and to the success of the Repub lican cause in his part of the state. He is a Scottish Rite Mason of the 32d degree; and a member of Otseningo Lodge and Malta Commandery, both of Binghamton. He belongs to the Binghamton Club, and the Phi Beta Kappa and Delta Kappa Epsilon college societies ; and is a member and trustee of the First Congregational Clunch, Binghamton.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - Israel T. Devo was born at Union, N. Y., January 28, 1854 : graduated from Amherst College in 1879 ; taught school and studied hui, and was admitted to the bar in 1883 ; married Edith A. Weld of Binghamton, A. Y. June 26, 1889 ; was a member of the New York state assembly, 1890-93 ; has practiced low at Binghamton since 188 ..
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Valilliam J. 3enks, who has been promi nent at the bar and on the bench in Chenango county for upwards of forty years, is descended from old New England stock, his maternal grandfather having enlisted in the revolutionary anny from Hampton, Windham county, Connectient. He wa., born in Otsego county in 1831, and made his home there until he was twenty-two years old. He wa- brought up on a farm, and received the homely and practical training of a country boy of sixty years ago. After exhausting the resources of the country schools of the neighborhood, be completed his edu cation in select schools. In those days an claboude course in pedagogy was not needed in preparation for the work of a teacher ; and Mr. Jenks resorted to the familiar expedient of ambitions young men, and taught for four winters in the district schools. During this time he began reading law in the office of Gorham & Foster in his native town of Burlington, afterward completing his legal studies with Cutler Field of Cooperstown.
Admitted to the bar in the summer of 1858, Judge Jenks at once began practice in Friendship, Alle. gany county. In December, 1855, however, he took up his residence in Chenango county, forming a partnership with O. F. Matterson, and opening an office in the town of New Berlin. For the next twenty years he practiced there ; but at the end of that time his clientage throughout the county had become so extensive that he deemed it advisable to
MEN OF NEW YORK - CHEMUNG SECTION
establish himself in a larger place. In April, 1875, accordingly, he moved to Norwich,
Judge Jenks had served one term on the board of supervisors of Otsego county when a young man, and he had always kept up an interest in public affairs. During his twenty years of practice in .w Berlin he had become widely and favorably known in the county as an able lawyer and a good citizen ; and he had not been long in Norwich before he was elected county judge and surrogate on the Democratic ticket by a large major- ity, although the county was strongly Republican. This was in the fall of 1877 : and on the expiration of his term, in 1883, he was re-elected. Having discharged the duties of these offices efficiently for twelve years, he retired from the bench Jannary 1, 1890, and resumed the practice of law in Norwich. Since that time his services have been increasingly in demand, his long judicial experience having given him a store of valuable professional knowledge, and a deep and comprehensive grasp of legal problems.
Judge Jenks has taken an active part in various commercial enterprises, par- ticularly the Norwich Produce Company. He is a trustee in the Norwich Water Works Co., and a director in the Excel- sior Mutual Life Association of Oxford, N. Y. He has interested himself con- siderably in educational matters, serving in New Berlin as secretary of the board of trustees of the academy there, and for fifteen years as trustee and secretary of the board of education of the Norwich High School. He is a prominent mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Phoebus Lodge, No. 82, F. & A. M., of which he was Wor- shipful Master for nine years ; Harmony Chapter. No. 151, R. A. M. : and Norwich Commandery, No. 46, K. T. For two years he was District Dep- uty Grand Master of Masons in New York state. He is an Episcopalian, and senior warden of Emmanuel Church, Norwich ; and he belongs to the New York State Bar Association. Having been born and bred a farmer, he has always taken an active interest in the prosperity of the farming community.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- William Flint Jenks was born at Burlington, N. Y., August 229, 1831 ; was educated in public and private schools ; taught school and studied lar, and was admitted to the
bar in 1853 ; married Elisa Matterson of Burlington November 10, 1854 : practiced law in Friendshiit. N. Y., 1853-55, and in Nein Berlin, N. Y .. 1855-75 ; was county judge of Chenango county. 1878-89 ; has practiced tar at Norwich, N. Y., since 1875.
WILLIAM F. JENKS
Hustin Lathrop, superintendent of state prisons for the state of New York, and otherwise widely known in public life, was born at Covington, Penn., in 1839. After attending common schools until the age of sixteen, he entered upon a business career at Williamsport, Penn., as an inspector of Inmber. He remained in this position for about two years, or until 1857, when he left Williamsport and took up his residence in Lawrenceville, Penn. After working there for a year or more as clerk in a gen- eral store, he went to Corning, N. Y., which has been his home ever since.
Taking a clerkship in the hardware and lumber busi- ness of C. C. B. Walker in Corning, Mr. Lathrop made so rapid progress in mastering the business, and so
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favorably impressed Mr. Walker, that the latter took him into partnership in June, 1862, when he had been in his employ about three years. This associa- tion proved to be mutually advantageous, and the two men maintained a prosperous partnership unti! the death of Mr. Walker in 1888. Mr. Lathrop's
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AUSTIN LATHROP
chief business interests have been connected with this concern, but he has also been somewhat active as a railroad and public-works contractor.
For many years Mr. Lathrop has been prominent in political life. He began his public career in 1866, when he was made president of the village of Corning, holding the office two years. In 1869 he was elected one of the supervisors of the town of Corning. He held this office continuously until 1878, serving as chairman of the board during four years of that time. In 1882 he was appointed com- missary general of subsistence on Governor Cleve- land's staff, and in 1885 he was appointed quarter- master general under Governor Hill. For the last ten years Mr. Lathrop has been superintendent of
state prisons, having been originally appointed to that office by Governor Hill in 1887, and re- appointed by Governor Flower in 1893. In this responsible and difficult position he has displayed conspicnous executive ability, and has met the some- what trying conditions imposed by the constitution of 1896 with a skill that is greatly to his credit.
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