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 39
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MEN OF NEW YORK-GENESEE SECTION
!ut both county and state politics have received the Benefit of his sagacious advice and efficient party services.
In recent years Mr. Hascall has devoted his time for the most part to the demands of a large legal practice. His fourscore years and more rest so lightly upon him as to be no burden ; and his men- tal powers are markedly vigorous and alert. He has the benefits of age, due to long experience and ripened judgment, without the drawbacks that some- times accompany advancing years. That he may continue for a long time to come in the full enjoy- ment of his physical vigor and rare mental gifts, is the earnest wish of a multitude of people in Genesee county and the country thereabout.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Hiram II. Hascall was born at Le Rov, N. Y., December 18, 1812; received a common-school and an academic education ; studied law in Le Rox, and was admitted to the bar in 1843 ; was clerk of Genesce county, 1856- 62, and collector of internal revenue, 1866-69; was fostmaster of Le Roy, 1867-83 ; has practiced law in Le Roy since 1843.
3obn JS. Dowe is still distant from the forticth milestone in the journey of life ; but he has already mastered a diffi- « ult profession, and has reached one of the higher positions therein. His prep- aration was rather limited in some re- spects, so that his progress is the more noteworthy and commendable. Born at Utica, N. Y., two years before the out- break of the Civil War, Mr. Howc received his early scholastic training in the Christian Brothers' School at Utica. Ile also attended the Utica Free Acad- emy, graduating therefrom with the class of 1875. His school work stopped at this point, as he was unable to take a college course.
Mr. Howe made an early start in his life-work by obtaining a position as proof reader on the Utica Observer in May, 1879. After serving several months in this capacity he became a reporter on the Observer, thus entering another de- partment of journalism, and one that was more in line with his ultimate aims in life. His advancement was not long delayed, since he became telegraph editor of his paper in 1881 ; and in the next year he succeeded Harold Frederic, now a
well-known foreign correspondent, as leading cdi- torial writer on the Observer. He continued in this position for about ten years, or until April 1, 1892, when he became editor of the Rochester Herald.
This paper is a stalwart Democratic organ, and as Mr. Howe is himself a firm believer in Democratic principles, his work has been congenial. He was a leading spirit in the Cleveland Democracy, and has been foremost among the younger Democrats of the city. He is a fluent and forcible writer. Though he has been in Rochester only a few years, he has already made an excellent reputation, and his circle of friends in western New York is rapidly widening. . Ilc is a member of Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church. He belongs to the Flower City Democracy, but has not otherwise connected himself with clubs or fraternal societies.
JOHN B. HOWE
Journalism is a most absorbing profession, and Mr. Howe has found little time for other pursuits. He has made one exception, however, to his usual practice concerning outside allurements : that is to
MEN OF NEW YORK - GENESEE SECTION
say, he has indulged his love for music. Ever since boyhood he has been interested in the subject, and he has made a thorough study of instrumental music and musical compositions.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY -- John Benedict Howe was born ai Utica, N. Y., March 21, 1859 :
FRANK PARKER. HULETTE
was educated at the Christian Brothers' School and Utica Free Academy : was connected with the Utica " Observer" as proof reader, reporter, and editorial writer, 1879-92 ; married Marietta Gartlan of Utica June 25, 1890 : has been editor of the Rochester " Herald" since April 1, 1892.
frank Parker poulette, editor of the Ivo- ming County Leader, has done much to increase the prestige of the country press in western New York, and to show that the dailies of the great cities do not monopolize all the ability and enterprising spirit in the journalism of the day. He was born in Berk- shire county, Massachusetts, where his grandfather; Josiah Hulette, died in 1890 at the unusual age of
101, having been the oldest man in New England to vote for President Cleveland two years before. Mr. Hulette's father, Dr. G. S. Hulette, moved to west- ern New York when a young man, and for many years practiced medicine at Warsaw. On his mother's side Mr. Halette is a grandson of Charles R. Parker, one of the early lawyers of Wyoming county, whose father, Silas Parker, and grandfather, Leonard Parker, were the first settlers of the town of Arcade.
Mr. Hulette began his education in private schools ; afterward attending the high school at Great Barrington, Mass., the Episcopal Academy of Connecticut at Cheshire, and other preparatory schools ; and entering Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., in 1879. He became a student in the Albany Law School in 1880. He also read law with his cousin, Judge Robert S. Parker of Bowling Green, Ohio, engaging at the same time with him in the brokerage and insurance business ; but he soon abandoned the law for the more congenial occupation of newspaper making.
While living in Albany Mr. Hulette acted as a reporter on the Albany Argus. He liked the work from the first, and ultimately determined to adopt journal- ism as his profession. After holding positions on the local staffs of various newspapers in Chicago, St. Louis, Den- ver, Buffalo, and other large cities for a few years, he became in 1882 associate editor of the Chautauqua Farmer at Dunkirk, N. Y. In connection with Parker & Hendricks, the owners of that paper, he established the Dunkirk Even- ing Observer, and became its editor and manager. Three years later he moved to Arcade, and became the editor and publisher of the Ilto- ming County Leader, which he has conducted most successfully for the past twelve years.
Mr. Hulette has taken an active interest in politics for many years, and has been on the stump in every campaign since 1880. He was a warm admirer of James G. Blaine, and is proud of the fact that his first vote was cast for that statesman. Notwithstand- ing this, he is a Democrat in politics, in a district where the fact means inevitable political defeat. But he belongs to the class that "never sulks and never surrenders "; and has been willing on several occasions to bear the standard of his party, and to make a good fight to lessen the opposing majority.
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In 1895 he was nominated for state senator from the 16th district, receiving a vote somewhat heavier than the head of the ticket ; and in 1896 he was his party's candidate for member of congress from the 30th con- gressional district. He received an unusually large vote, but was beaten by about 8000. Mir. Hulette's acquaintance with prominent politicians of both par- ries is very extensive throughout the state, but more particularly in the section west of the Hud- son river. Indeed, a distinguished senator once gave it as his opinion that no man of his acquaintance in western New York had a more intimate knowledge of public men and events in the Empire State than Mr. Hulette.
With the exception of a few dramatic composi- tions, songs, and short stories, which he deems of little importance, Mr. Hulette's writing has been entirely confined to matter for the press. Probably the editorial utterances of no other rural weekly newspaper in the state are more widely quoted or commented on by the city and metropolitan press, than are those of the Wyoming County Leader. In addition to his editorial work Mr. Hulette has writ- ten considerable news matter regarding politics in the western counties of the state for the Buffalo Courier, and for the New York World, Advertiser, Recorder, and other metropolitan sheets.
In 1891 Mr. Hulette took a leading part in organ- izing the Farmers' Alliance, which was for a time a
power in local politics in the state ; and he was chairman of the committee on permanent organiza- tion. For years he has been a member of the New York State Press Association, and has served as its vice president. He is now secretary of the Demo- cratic Editorial Association of the State of New York. He belongs to several fraternal societies, and is a member of the Episcopal church.
In October, 1897, Mr. Hulette became the junior member of the firm of Warner & Hulette, editors and publishers of the daily, semi-weekly, and weekly Argus, the only Democratic organ in the growing " Twin Cities" of Tonawanda, Erie county, and North Tonawanda, Niagara county. He did not, however, part with the ownership or control of the Wyoming County Leader.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Frank Par- ker Ilutette was born at Alford, Mass., March 31, 18633 : attended various preparatory schools. Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., and Albany Law School ; worked on different newspapers in large cities, 1880- 82 : was editor and manager of the Dunkirk " Even- ing Observer," 1882-85 ; married Frances Ibbotson Wright of Boston April 7, 1890; was Democratic candidate for state senator in 1895, and for member of congress iu 1896 : has been editor and publisher of the " Wyoming County Leader," at Arcade, N. Y., since 1885, and of the Tonawanda " Argus" since October, 1827.
THE DEPARTED
In this Section are contained the biographies of some of our distinguished citizens who died before the publication of the first portion of this work. Their lives are a part of the contemporary history of this State in the closing years of the century, and are essential elements in its composition.
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THE DEPARTED
Frederic William Bartlett, AD. D., one of the best-liked and most respected physicians of Buffalo, was born in Kingston, Mass., January 8, 1826. He was the eldest son of Uriah and Olive (Holmes) Bartlett. His father was of the Plymouth (Mass. ) branch of the Bartlett family ; and his parents were cach of old Pilgrim stock, both being lineal descendants of Elder William Brewster, Cap- tain Miles Standish, John Alden, and others of the " Mayflower " Pilgrims.
Dr. Bartlett was educated at the normal school at Bridgewater, Mass., and in 1845 took charge of the Lafayette Academy in Jeffersonville, Ga. He was originally intended for the ministry; but re- linquished this idea, and in 1846 became the pub- lisher and proprietor of the Atlanta Luminary. Unwilling to sacrifice his feelings upon the slavery question, he returned North in 1848, and in con- nection with Thomas Drew Stetson (now of New York city), established the Old Colony Reporter in North Bridgewater, now Brockton, Mass. Later he sold his interest in this paper to Mr. Stetson, and in 1850 began the study of medicine in New York city. He graduated February 28, 1854, from the New York Medical College, afterwards reorganized as Bellevue Hospital Medical College. In March, 1855, he went to Buffalo, and made that city his home until his death March 17, 1897. He was sur- vived by his wife and son, Dr. G. Hunter Bartlett of Buffalo, an only daughter, Daisy Lillian Bartlett, having died in childhood.
As a family physician Dr. Bartlett won the con- fidence and affection of his patients by his sympathy, his happy disposition, and his forgetfulness of his own convenience in attending upon the sick. The cares of a large practice never made him hasty or unsympathetic, his very presence in a sick room was
in itself a healing influence, and his lifelong kind- ness to the poor is well known. By many families in Buffalo his name will long be held in affectionate and grateful remembrance.
Dr. Bartlett was a frequent contributor to medical literature. His paper on diphtheria, advocating original methods of treatment, was reprinted in foreign journals. During the prevalence of the very fatal disease known as the epizootic, which attacked horses all over the United States, he made public a method of treatment that was adopted eventually throughout the country. In the epidemic of cerebro-spinal meningitis in 1868, he advocated and used an original treatment - the " hot pack " __ with the happiest results. His papers on accidental hemorrhage and scarlet fever called attention to original and successful methods of treatment. In 1883 he demonstrated the value of enemas of weak solutions of bi-chloride of mercury in treating dysen- tery, and later advocated the same treatment in typhoid fever and in ordinary cases of entero-colitis : and he published several articles that attracted wide attention, giving the records of some hundreds of these cases treated successfully by him. He also published several papers relating to his investiga- tions in the use of ozone in the treatment of zymotic disease, and the like.
Among the official positions held by Dr. Bartlett are the following : president Buffalo Medical and Surgical Association in 1884; president Mechanics' Institute (afterward the Polytechnic Institute ). 1889-91 ; president Buffalo Physicians' Protective Association, 1893-94 ; trustee Buffalo Academy of Medicine, 1893-96 ; vice president Medical Society of the County of Erie in 1894, and president in 1895 ; consulting physician to the Harbor Provident Mission, 1894-95 :. consulting physician to the
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MEN OF NEW YORK
Hospital of the Sisters of Charity in 1895. He was a member of the Buffalo Historical Soci- ety, and a communicant of St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY- Frederic William Bartlett was born at Kingston, Mass., Jan-
FREDERIC WILLIAM BARTLETT
uary 8, 1826 : was educated at Bridgewater ( Mass. ) Normal School ; was principal of Lafayette Academy, Georgia, 1845-46 : engaged in journalism in Georgia and Massachusetts, 1846-50 ; graduated from the Nere York Medical College in 1854 : married Adelia Hun- ter, daughter of Dr. James Ilunter of Whitby, Ont., December 28. 1855 ; practiced medicine in Buffalo from 1855 until his death, March 17, 1897.
Eric I. fhedstrom, who for over thirty years was actively identified with the coal, coke, and pig- iron trades in Buffalo, was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1835. His parents came to the United States when he was a lad, and settled in Illinois : and when he was twenty-one years old he began
business in the office of A. B. Mecker & Co., coal merchants in Chicago.
Mr. Hedstrom moved to Buffalo early in the '60's, and made his home there for the rest of his life. In company with the late Asa Packer he became the agent for the Lehigh Valley Coal Co. in that city. Messrs. Hedstrom and Packer bought a considerable tract of land on the Black- well canal and Buffalo creek, and erected . the first coal trestle in Buffalo. Subse- quently they built the Buffalo Creek rail- road, of which Mr. Hedstrom was elected president. About 1879 they sold out their interests to the Erie railroad, and Mr. Hedstrom allied himself with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Coal Co., with which he remained until his death in 1894. The Buffalo business of the company was conducted wholly by him and in his name. The business in Chicago was in charge of the firm of E. L. Hedstrom & Co., consisting of Mr. Hedstrom, John Il. Brown, and George W. Meeker.
In spite of the absorbing demands of his own business concerns Mr. Hedstrom found it possible to take a prominent part in public affairs in Buffalo, and to devote much time to the religious and charitable work of the city. He was an active member of the Buffalo Board of Trade and of the Merchants' Exchange, and served as president of the latter asso- ciation in 1884 and 1885. He was greatly interested in all kinds of philan- thropic work for many years -so much so that at one time he was president of no less than fourteen religious and char- itable organizations. He was elected president of the local Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation when it was a financial wreck ; and by his faithful and judicious management saved it from dissolution, and established it once more on a firm footing. His benefactions were innumerable ; and le possessed the traits of generosity, unselfishness, and magnanimity in a degree rarely united in one man.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY -- Eric L. Hedstrom was born at Stockholm, Sweden, August 21, 1835; came to the United States in childhood : began business life in a coal office in Chicago in 1856 : moved to Buffalo about 1869, and was at- tively engaged in the coal and iron business there until his death : was president of the Buffalo Young
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MEN OF NEW YORK
Men's Christian Association, 1871-16, and of the Merchants' Exchange, 1884-85; died in Buffalo October 17, 1894.
Gibson C. Williams, for many years one of Buffalo's wealthiest and most highly respected citi- zens, was born in New Hampshire in 1813. His father was a son of Benjamin Williams, a revolution- ary soldier who took part in the battles of Bunker Hill, Bennington, and Saratoga; and his early paternal ancestors were Welsh, while those on his mother's side were Scotch.
When Gibson T. Williams was eleven years old bis father moved to Franklin county, Vermont, where for the next five years the boy worked on a farm. He then spent a year at the academy in the neigh- boring town of St. Albans, after which he began his business life as clerk in a country store in the same place. After three years' experience there he determined to go West ; and accordingly set out for Buf- falo, accomplishing the journey by stage and canal in seven days. This was in 1833.
Mr. Williams first obtained employ- ment in a hardware store, and afterward became a clerk in the ship chandlery and grocery store of Kimberly & Waters on the dock. He remained with them three years, during which he saved sufficient capital to enable him to purchase an interest in the firm on the retirement of the original partners in February, 1837. This business was continued, with vari- ous changes in the firm, until 1850, when Mr. Williams sold out his interest therein. The next year, in company with Henry Roop, he built the lead works at the corner of Delaware avenue and Vir- ginia street, known afterwards as the Cornell works. Mr. Roop withdrew from the concern soon after ; and Sam- uel G. Cornell was admitted to the firm, which became a corporation, under the title of the Niagara White Lead Co. Messrs. Williams and Cornell carried on the business together with marked suc- cess until 1861, when Mr. Cornell bought out his partner's interest.
In 1862 the Western Insurance Co. was organized, with Dean Richmond as president and Mr. Williams as vice president : and on the death of Mr. Richmond, Mr. Williams became the executive head of the company. This organization enjoyed a
career of great prosperity, and did an immense amount of business for several years ; but the Chi- .. cago fire of 1871 swept it out of existence. When the Eric County Savings Bank was organized in 1851 Mr. Williams was one of the incorporators, and was chosen its first vice president. Later he became its president, and held the office until his death in 1891. He was always a controlling spirit in its management, and took great pride in its impregnable financial position. At the time of his death the institution had a larger surplus than any other bank in the state outside of New York city : and much of its success was due to his keen business foresight, and prudent and conservative management.
Mr. Williams was prominent throughout his long life in business affairs in Buffalo. He was one of the original members of the Board of Trade established
ERIC L. HEDSTROM
in 1844 : and he was a director in several banks, as well as in the Buffalo Gas Light Co. and other organizations. When the city's park systemi was adopted he was one of three commissioners appointed
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MEN OF NEW YORK
to take the necessary land for that purpose ; and his work in this line gave general satisfaction to all con- cerned. Positions of trust and responsibility almost without number were offered to him in the course of the half century and more during which he made his
.....
GIBSON T. WILLIAMS
home in Buffalo, and whatever duties he undertook were always faithfully and ably discharged.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY -- Gibson T. Williams was born at Charlestown, N. H., January 15, 1813 ; was educated in common schools and St. Albans (Vt.) Academy ; was a clerk in a country store, 1830-33 : moved to Buffalo in 1833 : married. Harriet C. Howard of Herkimer county, N. Y., in 1844 : engaged in the ship-chandlery business in Buf- falo, 1837-50, and in the manufacture of white load. 1851-61 ; was connected with the Western Insurance Co. of Bufalo, as vice president and president, 1862-71 ; helped to organize the Erie County Savings Bank in 1854, and was its president at the time of his death ; died at Asheville, N. C., April 14. 1891.
henry 3. Dates was a direct descendant of Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Peter Yates, who served in the revolutionary war, and whose original commissions, signed by John Hancock, President of the continental congress, were in Mr. Yates's pos- session at the time of his death. The Yates family have been residents of New York state for a century and a half, moving from eastern New York to Chau- . tauqua county in the carly days of its settlement. His mother's family came from Dover, Vt., and were the second family to settle in what is now the city of Jamestown.
Mr. Yates was born and educated in Jamestown, and in due time entered a grocery there as a clerk. He was less than nineteen years of age when the storm broke that threatened to wreck the ship of state ; but the blood of his revolutionary forefather stirred in his veins, and he threw himself eagerly into the conflict. April 26, 1861, he en- listed in company B, 72d regiment, New York volunteers. This was the first com- pany to leave Chautauqua county, and within a month he was on his way to the front. Enlisting as a private, he was made corporal before leaving James- town, and received successive promo- tions throughout his term of service until he reached the rank of first lieutenant (captain by brevet ). Later he was appointed adjutant of the regiment. Be- ginning active service at the siege of Yorktown, he took part thereafter in the battles of Williamsburg and Fair Oaks, in the advance on Richmond and the Seven Days' battle during the retreat to Harrison's Landing, in the battles of Fredericksburg, Chancel- lorsville. Gettysburg, Wapping Heights, Mine Run, and the Wilderness. At Gettysburg he commanded company D of his regiment, and in the battle of Mine Run he likewise commanded a company. His appointment as adjutant of the regiment followed soon after : and in the next engagement --- the bat- tle of the Wilderness -he was severely wounded through both shoulders. His term of enlistment expiring soon after, he was discharged from the service while still suffering from his wounds. In- deed, he never fully recovered from their effects : and his death, at the untimely age of fifty-four, was the result of these carly injuries received in his country's service,
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MEN OF NEW YORK
After his return to civil life Mr. Yates made his home in Jamestown, where he filled various posi- tions of importance. In May, 1869, President Grant appointed him postmaster of the village ; and he held the office until February, 1873, when he was elected justice of the peace for the town of Ellicott, in which the village of Jamestown was situ- ated. He filled this position until 1886, when, at the first election of officers of the newly organized city of Jamestown, he was chosen police justice, holding the office until his death. For six years. beginning in 1881, he was one of the coroners of Chautauqua county.
Mr. Yates possessed the confidence and respect of his fellow-citizens in a marked degree. He had endeared himself to them by an honorable and use- ful life enriched by many deeds of kindness to those in need, and by the able discharge of his duties as police justice of the city. He was an ideal man for this position - conscientious at all times, never daunted by threats, a terror to evil doers, merci- ful to those who deserved mercy. His clear and quick perception enabled him to reach decisions with a rapidity that seemed like intuition, and with an accu- racy of judgment seldom open to doubt. Under his administration the police court of Jamestown attained an unusual de- gree of dignity and efficiency.
inorality, to his steadfastness to the Union cause, to his unfailing courage. He was always ready for duty, confident of the eventual success of the Fed- eral arms, and by word and example did very much to inspire others."
A widow and five children survived Mr. Yates. Mrs. Julia Harper Yates and three daughters - Leonora Faith, Ellen Proudfit, and Anna Baker -- reside in Jamestown, while one son, Blinn, lives in Buffalo, and another, Henry Jones, in Mon- tana.
PERSONAL CHRONOLOGY - Henry Jones Yates was born at Jamestown, N. Y., September 23, 1843 ; was educated in common schools ; was clerk in a grocery, 1850-61 ; served in the Union army, 1861- 64 : married Julia Harper Blinn ( adopted daughter of Colonel Henry Baker) of Jamestown June 20, 1867 :
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