USA > New York > Washington County > Washington county, New York; its history to the close of the nineteenth century > Part 60
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A staunch and active Republican as well as an able lawyer he soon became prominent in political as well as legal circles, and after hav- ing served two terms as County Clerk he was nominated by the Re- publican party for special County Judge in 1886 and was elected to that position for a term of four years in the fall of that year.
So satisfactorily and admirably did he perform the duties of this office that he was re-elected for two succeeding terms, making three terms in all which he occupied the bench, covering a period of twelve years from January Ist, 1887, to December 31, 1898.
Judge Arnold also takes an active interest in church and social affairs. He is a prominent Mason, being a member of Sandy Hill Lodge No. 372, F. & A. M., of which he has been Master, and is a Trustee of the Baptist church at Sandy Hill, which office he has held continuously since April 15, 1887. He is also clerk of the Board of Trustees of this church and has held that office since 1889.
On December 5, 1888. Hon. A. D. Arnold married Hattie E. Hand, daughter of Josiah and S. Jean Hand of Sandy Hill. They have one daughter, Miss S. Jean Arnold.
The Hand family came from Rhode Island to Sandy Hill in the early days and built the fourth house erected in this village. Mrs. Hand, Mrs. Arnold's mother, lived in Sandy Hill from 1812 until September 21, 1900, the date of her death, and the house in which she last lived was but a short distance from the original homestead.
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THE BENCH AND BAR.
Judge Arnold's parents were Levi and Eunice (Brayton) Arnold of Hartford, Washington County, N. Y. Levi Arnold died in 1886 and his wife Eunice died September 3, 1901.
ABNER ROBERTSON was born in Salem, Washington County, N. Y., December 13, 1848. He attended the common schools of his native place and continued his studies at the Washington Academy and at a private school in Greenwich, N. Y. Having a strong taste for the law, on leaving school he determined to make it his profession, and forthwith entered the office of Judge Gibson at Salem, where for several years he read law and was in 1870 admitted to the bar at the General Term of the Supreme Court at Schenectady, N. Y. He immediately entered upon the practice of his profession at Salem, N. Y., and from the first displayed such pronounced ability in the gath- ering of pertinent facts, in foreseeing distant contingencies, and with his clear and forceful language before a jury, his services have been widely sought, and his practice of the general and civil law has been one of uninterrupted and constantly increasing success.
Mr. Robertson has always been devoted to the best interests of the Republican party, and now holds the office of Justice of the Peace, having for the second time been elected to that position. He has for twenty years been a prominent member of Salem Lodge, No. 45, 1. O. O.F.
On September 3, 1889, Mr. Robertson was united in marriage to Mrs. Josephine Van Decar of the town of Crescent, Saratoga County, N. Y.
Mr. Robertson is the son of Abner C. and Eliza M. (Woodworth) Robertson of Cambridge. His grandfather was born in Scotland, but came to America before the Revolution, in which war he served with distinction as a commissioned officer.
HON. JOHN H. BOYD was born July 31, 1799, and was one of the foremost jurists of his day in Washington County, as well as one of the leading men of this part of the state. He practiced law in White-
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WASHINGTON COUNTY: ITS HISTORY.
hall for over forty years, was elected Justice of the Peace in 1828 and served as Special Surrogate from January 1, 1857, to December 31, 1859. He was elected to the State Senate in 1840, and sat in the United States Congress from March 4, 1851 to March 3, 1853. On January 6, 1830, he married Lucretia Adams, who died September 4. 1831. On November 20, 1834, he married Margaret W. Billings. Of her issue, Mary E., John Williams and William Thomas survived her. She died October 31, 1844. On June 30, 1849, Mr. Boyd mar- ried Catherine I. Bunce, who survived him by thirty years, and died July 2, 1898. Their daughter, Kate Lucretia, is the wife of Charles W. Harding, of Whitehall. John H. Boyd died July 2, 1868, at Whitehall.
ALBERT V. PRATT is the son of Myron and Elizabeth (Van Ness) Pratt and was born at Fort Edward, Washington County, N. Y., June 30, 1858. In January, 1884, he became a student in the law office of Robert Armstrong, Jr., of Fort Edward. In 1886 he was admitted to the bar and since then has built up a good practice, being active in his profession.
PART II.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
Nisam Allen
BIOGRAPHICAL.
HIRAM ALLEN .- The successful business man is the most important factor in the world of today, the tendency of which is so markedly commercial, and in which such vast numbers of men and families depend upon the industrial enterprises for their livelihood. What is the most popular politician, or the architect who plans a temple, to the man who builds up a great and permanent industry, maintaining scores of men and their families?
There is probably not in Washington County today another man, besides the subject of this sketch, who has built up a great industrial enterprise and still conducts the same.
Hiram Allen was born in the town of Galway, Saratoga County, N. Y., January 14, 1831, and was educated at the Rhinebeck Academy, under the late Prof. William McLaren, of Edinburgh University, Scotland.
Mr. Allen's father, Elihu Allen, owned a small farm in Saratoga County, but being desirous of extending his business, he, with a neighbor, began to make paper on a small scale at Stillwater. This was in 1846. Eleven years later his sons, Hiram Allen and his brother Loren established themselves at Sandy Hill and began paper making on a small scale, but from that nucleus the present large and expand- ing industry of the Allen Brothers Company has grown. They began business under the name of Allen Brothers, and so continued until 1890, when the incorporated company as it exists today was formed. The officers of the company are Hiram Allen, president, Loren Allen, vice president, and Marcus C. Allen, secretary. When Allen Brothers began operations at Sandy Hill they had one small machine with a capacity of 600 pounds a day. At the end of a year they were turning out 1, 300 pounds daily; now they turn out from sixty to seventy tons per diem, while their plant occupies eight acres of ground and is still expanding. Addition after addition has been added on to meet the
4
WASHINGTON COUNTY: ITS HISTORY.
ever increasing volume of business, the response to able manage- ment, and the last is a wing projecting out over the Hudson, almost upon the face of Bakers Falls. They are also putting in a switch from the main line to their mills, so as to facilitate the shipping of their product and bringing in of pulp. The mills are run night and day and 130 opertives are employed, and this concern is among the most important in its line in America. Allen Brothers Company are largely interested in the Alice Falls Company, which has a pulp mill at Keeseville, where forty hands are employed, and which supplies them with about one-third of the pulp for their paper mills, which consume over fifty tons daily.
Mr. Hiram Allen, the president of the company, has been the guid- ing genius of this great enterprise, from its inception in 1857 up to the present time. It has been his life work and its great success is a living tribute to his energy, executive ability and business capacity. It would naturally be supposed that the building up and constant supervision of such a business would wear a man down, but Mr. Allen has kept young, both in activity and appearance, a notable exception to the rule, generally stated, that business life in this country wears men out rapidly.
In politics Mr. Allen is a staunch Republican, but has never sought and never would accept office; the success and fostering of his own enterprise being his one great aim. He is a trustee of the Baptist Church, in which he takes great interest. He was Superintendent of the Baptist Sunday School for a period of nearly forty years and he still holds an abiding interest in the success of the school.
Mr. Allen's parents were Elihu and Laura (Cornell) Allen. His grandfather was John Allen, who came to Saratoga County from New Bedford, Massachusetts. The family is an old American one and the original progenitor was English.
HON. GEORGE L. CLEMONS, Ex-Treasurer of Washington County, and one of its most prominent men, is a native and lifelong resident of this county. He was born in the town of Dresden May 10. 1841, received his education in the public schools and was engaged in the occupation of farming until twenty years of age. Immediately upon the breaking out of the Civil War, Mr. Clemons enlisted to aid the
Georg L Clemons
5
BIOGRAPHICAL.
Union cause, on July 1, 1861. He was mustered into Company A, 87th Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, and in October, 1862, was promoted to the rank of Corporal for gallantry in the face of the enemy. He participated in all the operations of his regiment, inelud- ing a number of pitched battles, and was wounded in the great seven day fight. He received his honorable discharge at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, in November, 1862.
After being mustered out he returned to Dresden and engaged in boating and purchasing lumber and was so occupied until 1874, when he embarked in the mercantile business by establishing a general mercantile store at Dresden, and this house is today recognized as one of the leaders in its line in Washington County. One of the features of his place of business is a gas plant which furnishes the light both for his store and residence. Another interesting feature of his grounds is an old British field piece, which was found in the river after Burgoyn's surrender, presumably thrown there by the en- emy to keep it from falling into the hands of the Americans. Mr. Clemons takes a great interest not only in historic relics, but in archæ- ology generally, and is a student of everything relating to other days and all races of mankind.
His business premises comprise two floors, 57x86 feet, and a wing, also two floors, 24x26 feet. The establishment is equipped with a money carrier system and he also has a mill for grinding feed and sawing wood. Besides his mercantile business, Mr. Clemons is largely interested in the lumber and wood pulp enterprises, in which his operations average $75,000 yearly. He owns a telephone line twenty miles long, which extends to Lake George, and he is president of the Co-operant Telephone Company. He also owns a yacht on Lake George which he uses both for pleasure and towing purposes, and is himself a licensed engineer and pilot of the first grade.
In his business relations Mr. Clemons is noted for his integrity, fair dealing and honorable methods, and his record as a public officer shows him not only to be a man of fine abilites and high appreciation of public duty, but that record has ever been stainless. He has been postmaster at Dresden for nearly twenty years, having first received his appointment under President Garfield, and holding the office con- tinuously since then. He was reappointed by Cleveland, because of the lack of a competent Democrat. He has also been the agent of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad for about the same length of time.
6
WASHINGTON COUNTY: ITS HISTORY.
In politics Mr. Clemons is an ardent Republican, who has always been active and earnest in the support of his party, in which he is very prominent. He has held the office of supervisor for the town of Dresden for four years; he was town clerk for three years and county treasurer for three years. He also takes a warm interest in the Grand Army of the Republic and is a member of J. C. Lassen Post No. 642, G. A. R., of Dresden Center, which holds its meetings in his hall.
On February 21, 1867, Mr. Clemons married Lydia A., daughter of Abraham and Clarissa (Bartholomew) Chubb.
HON. JOHN HAMILTON DERBY .- The subject of this sketch com- mands particular notice in the annals of such an historic county as Washington, for not only has he attained prominence by his own suc- cess in life, but his ancestors were men of note from pre-Revolution- ary days while his grandfather and great-grandfather were pioneers in this country. He is the only son of George F. Derby and Jane F. ( Howland ) Derby and was born at Sandy Hill June 20, 1845.
At the age of sixteen he accompanied his father to western New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania where his father's business as a railway contractor called him. When located in Meadville, Pa., he met Mar- garet F. Stewart, whom he subsequently married September 6, 1870. To that union four children have been born, namely: George H., who died in infancy, Archibald S., born November 5, 1876, Anna Louise, born August 29, 1879, and John H. Derby, Jr., born February 18, 1886.
After an absence of twelve years Mr. Derby returned to Sandy Hill in 1873 where he has since resided.
When the firm of Howland & Company was formed to succeed Howland & Miller, paper manufacturers, it consisted of Amasa How- land, John H. Derby and Lansing M. Howland. In 1882 this firm was succeeded by the Howland Paper Company which sold out to the Union Bag & Paper Company in 1899. The company manufactured an enormous quantity of manilla paper and was said to be one of the largest mills of its kind in this country, a prestige the present com- pany maintains.
Mr. Derby was elected one of the first directors of the Union Bag & Paper Company when they came into possession of the business and
2 of Derby
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
this position he still holds, but excepting this he is at present practi- cally out of active business operations.
Besides the very active part which Mr. Derby took in the paper business for years he has been also associated with many other enter- prises and has always taken a deep and intelligent interest in public affairs. For more than twenty years he has been a member of the Board of Education and is now president of the Board. For three successive years he represented the town of Kingsbury on the Board of Supervisors and was chairman of that body during the last year of his service.
In politics Mr. Derby is a staunch Republican, whose views have always been sought by his party and whose voice is respected in its councils. In 1892-93 he represented the counties of Washington and Rensselaer, the sixteenth senatorial district, in the state senate, hav- ing been elected after a very close contest in an apparently Demo- cratic district, his opponent being Michael F. Collin of Troy. Besides holding these political positions he has also been a delegate to Repub- lican state conventions.
His enterprise and fine business abilities carried him into many enterprises that have been highly beneficial to his locality. He was one of the organizers and was the president of the Sandy Hill Power Company until it was absorbed by the Union Bag & Paper Company. He was a director of the Electric Light Company until 1899, when it was sold to the United Gas & Light Company, and he is now a direc- tor of the Spring Brook Water Company. For years he has been a director of the First National Bank of Sandy Hill and when the Glens Falls Trust Company was formed he was elected one of its first vice- presidents. Mr. Derby is also largely interested in mining operations in Colorado.
Socially Mr. Derby is a charter member of the Royal Arcanum Council of Sandy Hill and was for years a member of the Grand Council for the state of New York. For years, also, he was one of the financial committee of that body. He has been a member and communicant of the Presbyterian Church for many years and about eight years ago was ordained an elder, the highest honor to which a layman can attain in that denomination. He has also taken an active part in the business department of the church and was one of the board of trustees for years. He was for some time president of the board of trustees and is also treasurer of the church.
8
WASHINGTON COUNTY: ITS HISTORY.
Mr. Derby's great-grandfather, Benjamin Derby, came from Con- necticut shortly after the Revolutionary War, in which he participated. George F. Derby, (father of Hon. John H. Derby) was born in Glens Falls in 1817. He was a railway contractor, which business Hon. John H. Derby also followed for some time. He died in 1873. His wife was a sister of Enos and Amasa Howland. They were married in 1844 and she died in 1871. The original Derby in America came to Massachusetts from England about the year 1700.
FONROSE FARWELL .- The subject of this sketch was born at Pond Hill, Poultney, Vt., December 22, 1831. His father was a farmer and he was reared on the farm, receiving as liberal a public school educa- tion as the schools of that day afforded. On the Ist of April, 1855, he settled in Hampton on Dr. N. S. S. Beman's farm, and in company with his brother conducted that farm for about three years. In 1858 he hired the Mason Hulett farm and continued to work it until 1866, when he purchased it from the heirs of the late Mason Hulett, who was one of the early settlers of Hampton. This farm contains 300 acres and was owned by Mr. Bell before it was owned by Mason Hulett.
Since Mr. Farwell has resided on this farm, which he conducted with marked success, he purchased in 1881 what is known as the Dyer farm, about three-fourths of a mile north, making his estate altogether 600 acres, which is really one of the finest estates in the town, and the buildings he has erected on these farms are among the best in the county.
He is largely interested in manufacturing cider, and has a fine mill, with all modern conveniences. He is also one of the best known agriculturalists, and was at one time president of the Washington County Agricultural Society.
Mr. Farwell is a prominent Mason and has passed to the order of Knights Templar, being a member of Washington Commandery No. 33, K T., Saratoga Springs. His local lodge is Morning Star No. 37, Poultney, Vt., of which he is past master. In politics he is a Republi- can and has ever been interested in the success of his party.
On December 22, 1863, Mr. Farwell married Ida L. Dyer, daughter of the late Samuel E. and Julia A. Dyer, of Rutland, Vt. Mrs. Far-
Torron Farrell
9
BIOGRAPHICAL.
well's father was born in Rutland, Vt., January 24, 1814, and married Julia A. Arnold October 31, 1839. Julia A. Arnold was born in Clar- endon, Vt., December 23, 1818. Mr. Farwell's parents were John G. and Lucy Farwell. John G. Farwell was a native of Groton, Mass., and was born November 15, 1783, and settled in Poultney, Vt., in De- cember, 1798, with his father, Benjamin Farwell, who was a son of Daniel Farwell. Lucy (Laraway) Farwell, mother of Fonrose Far- well, was a native of Saratoga County, N. Y., and was born March 9, 1800, and died July 22, 1863, while living with her son, Fonrose, in Hampton. Her father was a native of the Isle of Jersey, and immi- grated to America during the Revolutionary War and settled in Sara- toga County.
Mr. Farwell is erecting a monument in the town of Poultney, dedi- cated in 'part to the memory of both grandfathers. Philip Laraway, the grandfather on the maternal side, enlisted May 3, 1779, in Captain Luke Day's Company, 7th Massachusetts Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel John Brooks, to serve during the war.
On General Lafayette's last visit to this country he met Mr. Lara- way at Sandy Hill, N. Y., and both being of the same nationality and having fought together for the same cause, over forty years before, the meeting was an affecting one. And his grandfather Farwell fought under Colonel Prescott at the battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775.
Mr. Farwell is deserving much credit for the loyalty and respect thus shown by him for his ancestors. He is an affable, genial gentle- man and has many friends in this and also his native state.
ADJUTANT EMMETT J. GRAY is an excellent example of the citizen soldier, for he is not only a prominent and successful business man, but has attained the rank of Adjutant of the Second Regiment, Na- tional Guard of the state of New York, and this as the result of the patriotism and the ability displayed by him on active duty in the Spanish-American War.
He was born in Glens Falls, Warren County, N. Y., December 7, 1865, and was educated at the Academy and Elmwood Seminary in his native town.
[ b ]
10
WASHINGTON COUNTY: ITS HISTORY.
After completing his education he accepted the position of clerk in the large clothing store of the Rochester Clothing Company at Glens Falls and remained with them in this capacity for more than two years, when he was promoted to the position of manager of the ex- tensive store at Rutland, \'t., for the same firm. For nearly three years he filled this position with ability and success and in 1890 resigned to come to Whitehall and form a partnership with the late R. M. Witherbee, his father-in-law. For some years they conducted a large and lucrative milling business which was discontinued in 1897, but Mr. Gray continued his association with Mr. Witherbee in his large general store.
Throughout all his business dealings Adjutant Gray has distin- guished himself for honorable methods and strict integrity, as well as for ability of a high order.
On November 26, 1890, Emmett J. Gray married Minnie E., daugh- ter of R. M. and Mary L. (Mclaughlin) Witherbee and they have a family of three children, namely: R. Gerald, Howard E., and Clay- ton.
Adjutant Gray takes a warm interest and an active part in military affairs, and legitimately comes by the martial spirit which is probably his distinguishing trait, for some of his ancestors were gallant soldiers who helped to build up and maintain this great union.
On February 11, 1884, Mr. Gray became a member of the 18th Separate Company of the National Guard of the state of New York at Glens Falls. He was made a corporal on June 6, 1885, and was pro- moted to the rank of Second Lieutenant January 2, 1888. On March 21, 1889, he received a full and honorable discharge from the National Guard of this state and on February 11, 1890, was commissioned Cap- tain of Company A, of the National Guard of the state of Vermont, at Rutland, where he then resided. On September 15, 1890, he re- signed this commission because of his removal to Whitehall, but at once connected himself once more with the National Guard of New York, and on October 3, 1893, was made First Lieutenant of the 9th Separate Company at Whitehall. Upon the breaking out of the Span- ish-American War April 21, 1898, he went out as First Lieutenant of Company I, Second Regiment, N. G. N. Y., to uphold the stars and stripes. He was with the regiment at Camp Black, Chickamauga, Tampa, Fla .. Fernandina, Fla., and Camp Hardin, N. Y., and through all the movements and trials of this regiment maintained and
EMMETT J. GRAY.
GEN. WM. H. HUGHES.
11
BIOGRAPHICAL.
increased his reputation for soldiery qualities, and his popularity as an officer. He was promoted to the rank of Batallion Adjutant June 15, 1899.
Adjutant Gray's parents were Enoch and Helen M. (Arnold) Gray. Two of his grand-uncles were soldiers in the Revolutionary War, one of whom was Sidney Gray; also two of his cousins served in the War of the Rebellion and one of them died upon the battlefield.
In politics Adjutant Gray is a staunch Republican and takes an ac- tive interest in the contests and successes of his party and has been trustee of the village of Whitehall for two years.
He is a member of Phoenix Lodge, No. 34, F. & A. M., Whitehall, and of Tancred Lodge, No. 303, Knights of Pythias.
GENERAL WILLIAM H. HUGHES .- Among the leaders in Washington County politics are some young men of more than ordinary ability. Of these it can be said that they have been the instruments of putting into office for the past few years men of integrity and ability, who have served the county conscientiously and acceptably.
General William H. Hughes, the subject of this sketch, is generally accorded the leadership in Republican politics in the northern part of the county, and his ability as a leader is well known in state, as well as in local politics.
William H. Hughes was born at Chapmanville, Pa., September 30, 1864; his father, Hugh W. Hughes, being at that time engaged in the slate business at that place. The Hughes family moved to Granville about the time of the great slate boom in this vicinity. Hugh W. Hughes soon controlled most of the land where indications of slate were apparent and immediately developed the same, with the result that he practically controlled the market.
William H. Hughes received his education in the public schools and at the North Granville Military Academy, then an institution of learn- ing for young men second to none in the state. At the age of twenty- four, and in the year 1888, he formed a copartnership with his father in the slate business, under the firm name of Hugh W. Huges & Son. This partnership continued until the death of the elder Hughes, which occurred February 8, 1890. From that time to the present day Wil- liam H. Hughes has not only carried on the enormous business suc-
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