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 38
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services to the Continental hotel in the same city, where he remained until 1880. The position of cashier at the Grand Pacific hotel next occupied his time, and a similar position at the St. James hotel, New York city, took him to the eastern metropolis for a twelvemonth.
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ELMER E. ALMY
By the year 1882 Mr. Almy had learned thoroughly the difficult art of hotel-keeping. He had passed through a long apprenticeship in various capacities, and his experience included service in small hotels as well as in some of the largest in the country. He was amply equipped in all essential respects for the duties of a hotel proprietor - in general education, experience, knowledge of the business, tempera- ment, and character. He made no mistake, there- fore, in returning to his birthplace, Rochester, for the purpose of becoming proprietor and manager of the New Osborn House. lle has since conducted this hostelry with entire success, and has built up a large business with the best class of tourists and. business travelers. His high standing among hotel
proprietors is sufficiently attested by his election for the year 1896 to the presidency of the New York State Hotel Men's Association.
Many men in Mr. Almy's calling find it inconve- nient to take part in social life outside hotel limits. Mr. Almy, however, while availing himself fully of the social opportunities incident to his business, has at the same time associated with his fellow-citizens in various pleas- ant relations. He has interested himself actively in the Masonic order, having taken the 32d degree. He is a member of Younondio Lodge, No. 163, F. & 1. M., and of Monroe Commandery, Knights Templar. He belongs to the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Com- mercial Travelers' Home Association, Binghamton, N. Y. He has been vice president of the Commercial Travelers' Association.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Elmer Eugene Almy was born at Roches- ter, N. Y., April 28, 1852 ; attended the public schools and De Graff's Collegiate Institute ; engaged in the drug business, 1870-73; was a clerk and cashier in various hotels, 1873-82; married Nellie Bly Card of Rochester April 16, 1884; has been proprietor and manager of the New Osborn, Rochester, since 1882.
Myron E. Bartlett, one of the most distinguished attorneys of Wyo- ming county, New York, is directly descended from Adam Bartlett, who accompanied William the Conqueror from Normandy, and fought in the bat- tle of Hastings in 1066. William granted Adam Bartlett a tract of land in Sussex consisting of 5000 acres, which has been held and occupied by the Bartletts ever since. The family mansion was built in the thirteenth century, and is still in a fine state of preservation, situate in a beautiful park filled with trees, shrubs, flowers, and fountains. An old Norman stone church built by the family in 1809 still stands on the estate, and is regularly used. Mr. Bartlett had the pleasure of visiting the ancestral mansion and attending service in the old church in the summer of 1896. The property is entailed, and limited in descent to the male heirs, the present owner being Sir Walter G. Bartlett, Bart., the twenty-fourth of the line since the Norman conquest.
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Mr. Bartlett's first American ancestor was Richard Bartlett, who came from Sussex, and settled at New- bury, Mass., in 1636. His great-great-grandfather was Stephen, the elder brother of Josiah Bartlett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, governor of New Hampshire, and United States senator. Mr. Bartlett's father was William K. Bartlett, who died at Warsaw, N. Y., in 1869.
Born in Orangeville, Wyoming county, sixty-odd years ago, Mr. Bartlett obtained a good academic training. After attending the Genesee Seminary at Alexander, N. Y., and the Twinsburg ((. ) Insti- tute, he studied law. Beginning practice at Warsaw in 1861, he has ever since made that place his home. For the first three years he had no partner ; but in April, 1864, he associated himself with I. Sam John- son in the firm of Bartlett & Johnson. On January 1, 1866, Mr. Johnson retired, and Mr. Bartlett practiced with Beriah N. Pierce until April, 1868. After a brief part- nership with Leonard W. Smith, termi- nated by Mr. Smith's death in October, 1869, Mr. Bartlett carried on his profes- sional work without assistance until 1877. At that time the firm of Bartlett & Bart- lett was formed, consisting of Myron E. and his brother, Cosan T. Bartlett. This association lasted until 1881, when Mr. Bartlett formed with his son, Eugene M., the firm of M. E. & E. M. Bartlett. Father and son then carried on a highly successful practice for fifteen years. In January, 1896, Hayden H. Tozier was admitted to the firm, and the style of Bartlett, Bartlett & Tozier was assumed : the partnership still exists under that firm name.
Mr. Bartlett has now been practicing law in Warsaw for thirty-six years. He entered upon his professional work some- what later in life than the average age, but thereby brought to his labors greater experience and maturer intellectual pow- ers. He has given himself little relaxa- tion, and has engaged in no outside pursuits, so that he has been able to transact a large amount of legal business. Indeed, for many years he has been engaged in nearly every important ac- tion before the Wyoming-county courts. His high standing in his profession denced in 1897 when, on the death of Judge Lorish, he was appointed county judge and surro- gate by Governor Black, receiving without solicita-
tion the unanimous endorsement of the Republican county committee.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY -- MYron Eugene Bartlett was born at Orangeville, Wyoming county, N. Y., May 7, 1831 ; was educated at Gene- see Seminary and Twinsburg ( O.) Institute ; married Cordelia Elvira Mcfarland of Twinsburg, O., November 23, 1853 ; studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1861 ; has practiced law in Warsaw, N. Y., since 1861 ; was appointed county judge and surrogate of Wyoming county in August, 1897.
3obn Newton Beckley, one of the fore- most attorneys at the bar of Rochester, and known over a large part of the country as an organizer and manager of street-railway properties, was born in Orleans county, New York, at the close of the year
MYRON E. BARTLETT
was evi- 1848. His father, W. W. Beckley, was a native of Connecticut, while his mother was born in New York ; and back of them a long line of progenitors lived correct lives, and imparted excellent qualities
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to the common blood. Mr. Beckley's successful career, therefore, may doubtless be explained in part by ancestral influences for good. Another cause working in the same direction is the thorough education that he received early in life. After attending the district schools of Clarendon, his native town, he sought higher instruction at the Brockport Collegiate Institute in an adjacent county. There he obtained a partial preparation for college, fitting himself better at Genesee Wesleyan Semi- nary, Lima, N. Y. Having acquired there sufficient preparatory instruction to make a college course profitable, he entered Genesee College at Lima in September, 1868.
Obtaining an exceptional opportunity to teach school in the West, Mr. Beckley left college at the end of his sophomore year. He passed the winter of 1870-71 in Lanesboro, Minn., as principal of the public schools. The next year he spent in the same capacity in Rushiford, Minn. By this time he had reached the conclusion to which so many other teachers have come --- the conclusion that the law is better than teaching. He returned to western New York, accordingly, and studied law in the office of Wakeman & Watson, Batavia, making such progress that he was admitted to the bar in June, 1875. He then practiced at Batavia about two years, when he opened an office alone in Rochester.
The change of occupation was undoubtedly an excellent thing for Mr. Beckley, and the change of location was likewise a step in the right direction. His success in Rochester, at the bar, in political life, and in business, has been continuons and marked. Only five years after he settled there he had made a reputation sufficiently high to effect his election as city attorney. In that office his record was such that he was re-elected in 1884 and again two years later. By the latter date. however, his law practice had increased to such an extent that it was impossible to continue in the service of the city without sacrificing an important part of his own business. In the spring of 1886 he had become a partner in the law firm of Bacon, Briggs & Beckley, and their practice became so large that Mr. Beckley felt it necessary to resign the office of city attorney soon after his election for the third time. He has continued ever since to take a prominent part in the business of his firm, notwithstanding engrossing duties elsewhere. The firm is now Bacon, Briggs, Beckley & Bissell, and is one of the strongest in western New York.
In recent years Mr. Beckley has become a good deal better known to the public at large as a rail- road man than as a lawyer. He first began to interest
himself in the important field of street-railway management in the fall of 1887, when he was instru- mental in organizing a new company in Rochester. This movement, and his further efforts in connec- tion therewith, resulted two years later in the purchase of the plant and franchises of the old com- pany. The two organizations were then consolidated, Mr. Beckley receiving the office of vice president. The next year he was elected president, and has since retained that office. The corporation is one of the largest of its kind in the country, operating 100 miles of track and 150 cars. It employs per- manently about 800 men, and uses electric energy exclusively as motive power. In the last six years Mr. Beckley has extended his railroad interests con- siderably, having taken part in the organization and consolidation of street railways in Paterson, N. J., Fall River, Lawrence, and Taunton, Mass., and in other places. He has shown rare talent in the economical and efficient organization of such prop- erties, and has become well known as an expert adviser in questions relating to street-railway manage- ment. In 1892 he was president of the Street Rail- way Association of the State of New York. He is vice president of the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway Co., and president of the Rochester & Lake Ontario Railway Co.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-John New- ton Beckley was born at Clarendon, Orleans county, N. Y., December 30, 1848; was educated at pre- paratory schools and Genesee College, Lima, N. Y. ; taught school, 1870-72; studied law, and was ad- mitted to the bar in 1875 ; married Belle G. Corwin of Brighton, N. Y., June 23, 1875 ; practiced law at Batavia, N. Y., 1875-77 ; was city attorney of Rochester, 1883-87 ; has been president of the Rochester Railway Co. since 1890 ; has practiced law in Rochester since 1877.
Augustus S. Downing, supervisor of teach- ers' institutes and training classes in the office of the New York state superintendent of public instruc- tion, was born in Baltimore, Md., about forty years ago. He spent his boyhood in Pennsylvania, enter- ing the sophomore class of Muhlenberg College at Allentown, Penn., in September. 1871. The next year he entered the junior class of Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg, completed the arts course there, and graduated from the institution in June. 1874. Three years later he received the degree of Master of Arts from his alma mater.
In September, 1874, shortly after leaving college, Mr. Downing entered upon the educational work to which he has given most of his life thus far. He
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tonight first in a private institution at Arcadia, Wayne Greaty, New York, afterward taking charge for two years of the district school in the same place. He then went to Palmyra, N. Y., where he spent six sears a- assistant principal of the union school. For the next five years he was principal of a school - for three years at Fairport. Monroe coun- :. New York, and for two years there- after at Palmyra again. He then fol- lowed his calling for about a year and a hilf in the high school at Newark, N. J.
Mr. Downing had now been teaching for sixteen years, and had shown unusual aptitude for the work of a public edu- cator. He had risen from service in a village district school to a position in the high school of a great city, and had developed his powers and enriched his experience at every stage of his career. On September 1, 1890, his capacity was fittingly recognized by an appointment from Andrew S. Draper, then state super- intendent of public instruction, as state institute conductor. Mr. Downing held this position for five years, or until he was appointed by Charles R. Skinner, Superintendent Draper's successor, to his present office of supervisor of teachers' institutes and training classes.
Mr. Downing necessarily spends most of his time at the state capital, but he regards Palmyra as his legal residence, and has many cherished associations there. He is a member of Palmyra Lodge, No. 248, F. & A. M .; of Eagle Chapter, No. 79, R. A. M .; and of Zenobia Commandery, No. 41, K. T, He formerly paid considerable attention to stock farming, taking special interest in raising Holstein-Friesian cattle and Shropshire sheep. He is a member of the Lutheran church.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY-Augustus Sciss Downing was born at Baltimore, Md., October 18, 1856 : graduated from Pennsylvania College, Gettys- burg. Penn., in 1874; taught school in various places in New York state and in Newark, N. J., 1874-90; married Louise J. Brown of Palmyra, N. Y., July 17, 1889 ; was state institute conductor, 1800-95 ; has been supervisor of teachers' institutes and training classes in New York state since April, 1895.
FFred L. Downs, member of assembly from Orleans county in the legislatures of 1896 and 1897, has been a successful lawyer in Medina, his native
place, for nearly a score of years. Born in 1855, he may still be deemed a young man, and may look forward to a prosperous carcer in his chosen pro- fession.
Mr. Downs's life thus far has not been an event- ful one. In his early childhood his father died, and
AUGUSTUS S. DOWNING
the boy went to live with an uncle about three miles from the village of Medina. There he passed the next ten years, attending the district school, and leading the usual life of a farmer's boy, healthful alike for mind and body. When he was fifteen years old, having exhausted the resources of the country school without satisfying his desire for edu- cation, he returned to the village of Medina. and became an attendant at the academy there. After taking a full course at this institution he found him- self confronted with the question that presents itself to all young men sooner or later -- the choice of an occupation.
The legal profession scemed best suited to Mr. Downs's tastes and abilities, and in the spring of
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1877 he entered the office of Stanley E. Filkins, a Medina attorney, as a student. He remained there for three years, reading and observing diligently ; and at the end of that time was admitted to the bar . at Rochester, and opened an office in Medina. When other things are equal, a young lawyer naturally
I.RED L. DOWNS
advances more quickly among old friends and asso- ciates, who know him thoroughly and appreciate his worth ; and Mr. Downs's professional career goes to prove this assertion. He has practiced alone for the most part, though he was connected for a short time with Morgan L. Brainard, and for about a year with HI. B. Dayton, both of Medina.
In public affairs Mr. Downs has been actively engaged for many years, his first term of public service beginning shortly after his admission to the bar. In the spring of 1882 he was elected justice of the peace for the town of Ridgeway, Orleans county, taking office January 1, 1883, and holding the position for four years. Beginning in March, 1885, he served on the board of trustees of the village of
Medina for three years, and in March, 1892, he was elected president of the village. This honor was repeated in 1893, and again in 1894. The suc- cessive elections may be regarded as sufficient proof of Mr. Downs's ability and faithfulness in the dis- charge of the duties of the position. He has been on the Orleans-county Republican com- mittee, acting as member of the execu- tive committee and treasurer for three years. In 1895 his party showed their appreciation of his efforts by nominating him for member of assembly from Or- leans county, and the voters of the dis- trict confirmed the nomination by giving him a substantial majority on election day. In the legislative session of 1896 he received a place in the committees on judiciary, revision, and villages, and did such work for his constituents that he was re-elected for the year 1897.
Mr. Downs is a member of the lodges of both Masons and Odd Fellows in Medina, and of Genesee Commandery, No. 10, Lockport. He belongs to the Presbyterian church.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Fred Lester Downs was born at Medina, N. Y., August 14, 1855 ; attended dis- irict schools and Medina Academy : was admitted to the bar in 1880; was justice of the peace, 1883-86, trustee of the village of Medina, 1885-88, and presi- dent of the village, 1892-95 ; married Emma A. Hopkins of Medina February 11, 1890 ; was elected to the assembly in 1895 and 1896 ; has practiced law in Medina since 1880.
Robert Loudon Drummond is the son of James Drummond, who left the old fam- ily home in Scotland on the banks of the Tweed. and came to America about 1827. He married Sarah Loudon, a daughter of Robert Loudon of Del- aware county, New York ; and settled in New York city, where he conducted a successful business for many years. There Robert Drummond was born in 1842. Soon after that, however, his father moved to the town of Victory in the northern part of Cay- uga county, and the boy's education was begun in the district schools of that place. He afterward attended the union academy in the neighboring town of Red Creek, and at the age of nineteen became a teacher in the common schools of Cayuga county.
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This peaceful occupation was interrupted in August, 1864 ; when Mr. Drummond, becoming con- vinced that his country had need of his services in crushing out the Rebellion, enlisted in company H, 111th New York infantry. In the fighting before Petersburgh in October of the same year, he was taken prisoner, and for four months experienced all the horrors of prison life. He was confined at Petersburgh and Libby prisons : and afterward at Salisbury, N. C., where he was chosen by his fellow- prisoners to bring to the attention of the Confeder- ate general, Bradley T. Johnson, the wants and miseries of the men confined there. He was paroled March 2, 1865, and sent to the parole camp at Annapolis, and thence to St. Mary's Hospital, New York, where he received an honorable discharge. He continues to take an active interest in all that pertains to the "boys in blue "; and his many patriotic addresses on Memorial Day have been published, and eagerly read by the old soldiers and their friends.
In the fall of 1865 Mr. Drummond was elected school commissioner for the first district of Cayuga county, and filled the position for three years. He then resumed for a short time his work as a teacher ; but soon resigned, and entered the Albany Law School, having decided to follow the legal profession. He grad- uated thence in May, 1871, with the degree of LI. B. ; and was admitted to practice in all the courts of New York state a few days later. After serving in the legislative session of 1871-72 as clerk of the assembly committee on insurance and banks, he went to Auburn, N. Y., in the spring of 1872, and formed a law partnership with Edward A. Thomas. The firm of Thomas & Drummond continued until the appoint- ment of Mr. Thomas as United States judge, and after that Mr. Drummond practiced alone until his own election as district attorney in 1878. On taking up private practice again in 1888 he associated himself with George W. Nellis in the firm of Drummond & Nellis, but since 1890 he has conducted his business alone. He maintains a large general practice, but has gained special promi- nence from his connection with several important criminal cases, notably the defense of Jerry Morris- sey for grand larceny, that of Lee Hong for sodomy, and later the Burgess and Sheldon murder trials.
From the time he attained his majority Mr. Drum- mond has been interested in public affairs. In the fall of 1878 he was elected district attorney of Cayuga county on the Republican ticket, and was twice re-elected, serving nine years. His able dis- charge of the duties of the office is attested by his long-continued service, and by the fact that no con- victions secured by him were ever reversed. He always couducts bis criminal trials without notes or minutes of evidence taken, relying entirely upon his memory. For many years Mr. Drummond's polit- ical sympathies were with the Republican party ; but in Cleveland's first presidential campaign he trans- ferred his allegiance to the Democrats, and has ever since worked for the success of their cause. He was particularly active in 1896, when he took the stump for Bryan and Sewall throughout Cayuga county.
ROBERT LOUDON DRUMMOND
In that year, also, he was the Democratic candidate for representative in congress from the 28th congres- `sional district, comprising the counties of Cayuga. Cortland, Wayne, Ontario, and Yates.
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Mr. Drummond is a prominent member of Calvary Presbyterian Church, Anburn, serving as treasurer of the society and one of its elders, and as president of its Sunday School Temperance Society. He was formerly a trustee of the society, and of the Auburn
HIRAM W. HASC.IL.I.
Theological Seminary. He is an interesting public speaker, and his lecture entitled " Personal Remin- iscences of Prison Life in the War of the Rebellion," a stirring account of an episode that must forever remain vivid in his memory, was once delivered by him in a lecture course in the city of Boston. For the last ten years Mr. Drummond has given consider- able attention to farming, maintaining a dairy farm of 150 acres partly within the limits of the city of Auburn, which is stocked with Holstein cattle, and is a model establishment of its kind.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Robert Loudon Drummond was born at New York city August 21, 1842 ; was educated in common schools and acade- mies ; taught school, 1861-64 ; served in the Union army, 1864-65 ; was school commissioner in Cayuga
county, 1866-68 ; studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1871 ; married Anna E. Burke of Meri- dian, N. Y., October 14, 1872 ; was district attorney of Cayuga county, 1879-87 ; has practiced law in Auburn, N. Y., since 1872.
Diram Tl. Mascall has been an important factor in the legal, political, and social affairs of eastern Genesee county, and especially of Le Roy vil- lage, ever since that part of the state wa. opened up to civilization. He was born in Le Roy in Madison's first administra- tion, and has continued to live there for eighty-four years. His parents came from New England in 1808, and were among the carly settlers of Genesee county. His father, David Hascall, took part in the war of 1812 ; and his grand- father on the other side, Nathan Walden of Connecticut, likewise served his coun- try in the War for Independence, suffer- ing imprisonment for nearly a year in an old church in New York city. Mr. Has- call's father was widely respected, and held many positions of trust and impor- tance. He brought up his son on the farm, but realized the advantages of edu- cation, and gave Hiram the best train- ing that could be obtained in the local schools and academies. At the age of twenty the young man began the study of law in an office at Le Roy, and was soon admitted to practice in all the courts of the state.
An attorney in a country town is usu- ally much more than an attorney, as his profession brings him into contact with men in various relations, and paves the way for business or political connections of various kinds. So it was with Mr. Hascall. In 1855 he was clected clerk of Genesee county, and filled the position for two terms. In 1864 he was made col- lector of internal revenue -- an especially important position at that time because of the complicated and numerous taxes imposed in the course of the war. He was appointed by President Lincoln commissary of subsistence with the rank of captain. In 1867 he became postmaster of Le Roy, and hell the office for sixteen years. He is a firm believer in the principles of the Republican party, and has always had an important part in the counsels of political leaders. His influence, of course, has been felt most directly in the settlement of local questions,
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