USA > Vermont > The Lake Champlain and Lake George valleys, Vol. III > Part 44
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Devoting himself fully to his work with the railway industry, Mr. Wallace has taken time, nonetheless, for active participation in the affairs of a number of organizations. He is a member of the Plattsburg Chamber of Commerce. He belongs also to the Protestant Episcopal Church. In spare time he is fond of the out-of-doors, taking especial delight in fishing, hunting and camp life.
In 1905 William Wallace married Ruth Moore, who was born in White- hall, New York. The children of this marriage were the following: I. W. Edward. 2. Ruth, wife of James Booth, of Plattsburg; she is a graduate of
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the Physicians Hospital School of Nursing. 3. Bernard F. 4. Donald. 5. Grace, a graduate of the Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, now super- visor of nurses at the Memorial Hospital in Albany. 6. Robert, attending Pennsylvania State College, where he is a member of the class of 1942. 7. Benjamin. 8. Howard.
F. CLAUDE O'CONNELL-One of the leading attorneys of Clinton County, F. Claude O'Connell, of Plattsburg, is widely known in his profes- sion. He was born at Plattsburg, March 16, 1899, son of James and Anna (Byrnes) O'Connell. James O'Connell, a native of Plattsburg, established himself in life in construction work, a field in which he was active until the time of his death. Anna (Byrnes) O'Connell, his wife, who was also born in Plattsburg, is now a resident of that city.
After passing through the public schools of Plattsburg and graduating from the Plattsburg High School, F. Claude O'Connell, selecting a career in the legal profession, entered the Albany Law School and received his degree of Bachelor of Laws from the institution in 1924. Admitted to the State of New York bar in 1926, Mr. O'Connell established himself in general practice the same year in Plattsburg, beginning as a partner with his brother, B. Loyal O'Connell (q. v.), under the name of O'Connell Brothers, but continuing independently through the present time since the death of his brother in 1936. Supporting his profession through membership in the Clinton County Bar Association, Mr. O'Connell has always taken a keen interest in local civic and political affairs and given generously of his time to community duties, such services including a two-year period when he was acting judge of the Platts- burg City Court. A member of St. John's Catholic Church, Mr. O'Connell, who finds a means of recreation from his professional duties in his favorite sports of golf and tennis, belongs to Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity and is a member of Plattsburg Lodge, No. 621, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and Plattsburg Council, No. 255, Knights of Columbus.
F. Claude O'Connell married, in 1927, Helen O'Meara, who is a native of Albany. Mr. and Mrs. O'Connell are the parents of three children: I. J. Byron. 2. Mary C. 3. Helen A.
B. LOYAL O'CONNELL-Although the years allotted to B. Loyal O'Connell, of Plattsburg, New York, were too few, they were marked by a progress in the study and practice of the law that made him outstanding in Clinton County and New York State legal circles. Quoting the words of a colleague :
He was a wonderful combination of a lovable man and legal genius. Many people recognized in him a forceful and inspiring orator, but we of the
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profession know that this was but one of the numerous qualities of intellect and ability which made him a great lawyer. I know of no trait to be admired in a man that he did not possess ; yet he was utterly lacking in affectation or self-consciousness. His career was one of rare distinction and achievement, but the importance and grandeur of his personal force were not as fully appreciated in the days of his life as in the hour when he has passed.
Mr. O'Connell was born August 25, 1897, at Plattsburg, New York, son of James and Anna (Byrnes) O'Connell, both natives of Plattsburg. His father was active in construction work almost to the time of his death. A brother, F. Claude O'Connell (q. v.), is a prominent attorney and former acting judge of the City Court, Plattsburg.
B. Loyal O'Connell, after attending the elementary schools of his birth- place, entered and, in 1914, was graduated from the Plattsburg High School. During the following crowded five years he was a student at Cornell Uni- versity and of the Albany Law School, returning to Plattsburg, in June, 1919, to initiate a law practice as a Bachelor of Laws. He first went with Thomas B. Cotter for some months of helpful experience. For some time he was a member of the firm of Gordon, O'Connell, and Long. In 1926 he was joined by his brother, F. Claude O'Connell, who that year was admitted to the bar, to form the firm, O'Connell Brothers, an association that was ended only by his own death, a decade later.
In public life, Mr. O'Connell had been active. As a very young man he was clerk of one of the committees in the New York Legislature, for three years while studying law in Albany. In 1927 he was elected district attorney, serving two terms. He kept in close touch with colleagues in his profession by memberships in several bar associations and societies, and the legal fra- ternity, Gamma Eta Gamma. Mr. O'Connell was affiliated with the Platts- burg Lodge, No. 621, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks ; was a mem- ber and Grand Knight of Plattsburg Lodge, No. 255, Knights of Columbus ; and was one of the organizers and the first president of the Kiwanis Club, of the same city. His church was St. John's Catholic, of Plattsburg. A friend over a period that extended back to school days, the Hon. Wallace E. Pierce, paid the following tribute upon the occasion of Mr. O'Connell's death :
There are three ways in which we mourn his passing: First, as a member of our bar. We took a great pride in him, in his standing and in the impres- sion which he made, both here and abroad, when in the courtroom. I have stood many a time and heard him conduct a case, and listened to him as he summed up a case, or pleaded with the court, and have had a sense of great pride that he belonged to the Clinton County Bar Association. It is a matter of pride to us that our bar association stands high in this State. It is a matter of loss to us that he no longer can help us maintain that position. Our mem- ory of him as a lawyer, brilliant, capable, learned in the law, will stay with us forever, and will be forever a part of the tradition of the Clinton County bar.
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As a citizen, he was outspoken, fearless, interested in every civic enter- prise, swayed and influenced only by what he thought for the best interest of the community in which he lived. Never fearful of taking a position upon an issue, never fearful of expressing that position, he always did it with courtesy and with kindness. There isn't a member of this bar association who ever heard Loyal O'Connell say an unkind or discourteous or unfair thing in the courtroom; nor is there any citizen in Plattsburg who can say he ever said an unkind or discourteous or unfair thing about anyone in the city.
And now as a friend we shall miss his winning personality. We shall miss the bright smile. We shall miss the figure and manhood of him. We shall miss the handclasp. We shall miss everything that makes one man dear to another. If we can only by this memorial here convey to the members of his family and those outside of the bar association what we thought of him in some enduring way, we shall have accomplished the object of this meeting.
In 1925 B. Loyal O'Connell married Marguerite A. Cogan, daughter of Joseph and Anna (Burke) Cogan, of Plattsburg, and they were the parents of two children : Marguerite Anne, born in 1926, and B. Loyal, Jr., born in 1928.
Mr. O'Connell died April 27, 1936. The Clinton County Bar Association placed on record the memorial :
The Clinton County Bar Association desires to express its sense of loss in the death of B. Loyal O'Connell, one of its most able and distinguished members, and adopts the following memorial :
We recognize his great ability and high standing as a member of our profession, and that recognition is State-wide; his clients will give testimony of his devotion to the causes which he served ; and his success as an advocate and counsel is a measure of his prominence in the legal profession. Of great ability, with a clear legal mind, with an outstanding gift of advocacy, which was both natural and perfected by training and practice, his career as a lawyer was preëminently successful and his clients and the people generally appreciate these attributes.
We, his brothers in the law, knew him as a lawyer devoted to his duty and the ideals of his profession and feel more keenly than others the loss which the community and this part of the State has sustained. We, who were his brothers, will not forget his charm or other virtues, his strong convictions, his original arguments, his independence of thought, his courtesy to the court and his legal opponents.
Young in years, his career as district attorney and in the public offices which he occupied and his prominence as a lawyer prophesied for him a fruit- ful future in the law and for the public.
We bow in submission to the judgment of the Highest Court and hereby record our great sense of loss, and we express our sympathy to his wife and family and his many friends.
LOUIS E. REOUX-As cashier and former president of the Emer- son National Bank, the late Louis E. Reoux was a prominent figure in the Warrensburg banking field for almost half a century. He was born here on February 26, 1872, son of William and Louise (Pelky) Reoux, both deceased.
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William Reoux, a native of Quebec, Canada, was engaged as a wheelwright at the time of his death. Louise (Pelky) Reoux was a native of Warrensburg, New York.
Louis E. Reoux received his early education in the Warrensburg public schools, and then entered Warrensburg Academy, from which he was gradu- ated in 1889. For the following two and a half years he was employed as a clerk in a store. In 1891 he became associated with Emerson and Company of Warrensburg, private bankers. In 1908 this institution became the Emer- son National Bank, and Mr. Reoux was appointed a teller, later becoming cashier and vice-president, and in 1925 was advanced to the presidency, in which capacity he served most ably for eleven years, relinquishing this post of his own volition in 1936, to assume his former duties as cashier and vice- president. Mr. Reoux was also a former president and treasurer of the Schroon River Pulp and Paper Company, a partner in the Thomas and Reoux Insurance Agency, and a recognized leader in the business and financial affairs of this community.
Mr. Reoux was a trustee of the Presbyterian Church, and a well-known member of the Republican party, having served for a term as county treasurer of Warren County, and for many years was chairman of the Republican County Committee. He also served for several years as a member of the Board of Education of Warrensburg Union Free School No. I, and he had been town clerk and justice of the peace. Fraternally, he was affiliated with Warrensburg Lodge, No. 425, Free and Accepted Masons and the Warrens- burg Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
On September 4, 1895, Louis E. Reoux married Adelia Thomas, a native of Warrensburg, and they were the parents of two children: I. Harry A., whose biography follows. 2. Mary, a graduate of Drew Seminary, who also took a secretarial course at Boston University ; she married Albert E. Beswick, of Glens Falls, New York, and they are the parents of two sons: i. Albert Louis Beswick. ii. Thomas E. Beswick.
The death of Louis Reoux occurred on September 11, 1938, at his War- rensburg home. The news of his passing was received by his many friends with a keen sense of personal loss. He had been devoted to business and to public affairs, but never to the extent that he neglected philanthropies or the aid of the unfortunate and needy. He was socially-minded, blessed with a sympathetic understanding of human nature and a sense of humor, traits which won him the esteem and affection of all those privileged to know him well.
HARRY A. REOUX -- Since his admission to the New York bar in 1926, Harry A. Reoux has been engaged in the practice of law at Warrens- burg. In a relatively brief period he has risen to prominence both in his pro-
Harry . Reaux
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fession and in public life and is today one of the most active and influential members of the State Legislature.
Mr. Reoux was born in Warrensburg on January 29, 1901, son of Louis E. Reoux (see preceding biography). He received his preliminary education in the public schools of Warrensburg, was graduated in 1917 from Glens Falls Academy, and in 1921 took the degree of Bachelor of Science at Union Col- lege. He prepared for his professional career at Albany Law School, where he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1924, and was admitted to the New York bar in 1926, entering practice at Warrensburg in the same year. Mr. Reoux's qualifications for success at the bar were quickly recognized and brought him important professional responsibilities which he has dis- charged with fidelity and efficiency. His gifts have been equally conspicuous in the sphere of public service, to which he has also given much of his time and effort. In 1931 he was elected as a Republican to the New York Assembly and has served without interruption as a member of that body during the intervening years. He has been very active in the lower house during his entire legislative service, and the influence which he commands and the im- portant posts he has been called upon to fill reflect the respect in which his abilities are held by his colleagues. Mr. Reoux has been a member of the Assembly Committee on the Judiciary since 1931 and is now its chairman. He was formerly chairman of the Committee on Aviation, the Committee on Claims and the Committee on General Laws, of which he is still a member. He is also a member of the important Committee on Rules, the Committee on Insurance, and the Joint Legislative Committee for Recodification of the In- surance Laws. In addition to these connections, he is a member of the Judicial Council of the State of New York, the Law Revision Commission of the State of New York and for several years was a member of the Tax Law Re- vision Commission of the State of New York. To these offices he has brought not only his wide professional knowledge and experience in government, but the industry and unfailing public spirit which have distinguished him.
Mr. Reoux is influential in councils of his party, both State and local, and for one term was a member of the Republican County Committee of Warren County. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association and the Warren County Bar Association. He has been chairman of the Father Isaac Jogues Memorial Commission since it was established. He is a director of the Emerson National Bank at Warrensburg and has his law offices in the Emerson National Bank Building. Mr. Reoux is affiliated with Warrensburg Lodge, No. 425, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is Past Master, and is a member of various higher Masonic bodies, including Warrensburg Chapter, No. 325, Royal Arch Masons; and Calvary Commandery, No. 69, Knights Templar, at Glens Falls. He is also affiliated with the Delta Phi Fraternity, and with Glens Falls Lodge, No. 86, Benevo-
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lent and Protective Order of Elks. He is a member of the Kiwanis Club and the Queens Village Golf Club and attends the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Reoux is fond of outdoor life and sports and finds his principal recreation in golf, hunting and fishing.
He married, on October 6, 1926, Rita Kettenbach, who was born in Chestertown, New York.
JOHN GARRET BURGESS-More than forty years ago John Gar- ret Burgess started in the printing business as a youth of Waterford, New York. In the years that followed his career took him to other and larger cities, but after a long detour he returned once more to the place of his begin- ning, where for the past two decades he has been the head of the Burgess Printing Company, with his only son as partner and co-proprietor.
Mr. Burgess was born at Glenville, New York, April 3, 1879, son of John K. and Katharine (Van Heusen) Burgess. His father bore a good Scottish name and his mother one that ancestors brought to America from Holland, so that their son was blessed with a good inheritance of blood and traits which combined to contribute to his success in life. His father was a machinist, and the force of circumstances ended John Garret Burgess' education before it had reached the college phase. He attended Waterford schools, and became identified with the "Waterford Advertiser" on May 29, 1895. After two years he went to North Adams, Massachusetts, where he remained until 1899. In 1900 he located in Troy, New York, where he engaged in his trade and business until 1918. Since the latter year he has been in Waterford where he went to school and became acquainted with printer's ink. He founded the Burgess Printing Company, which he has since operated with his son. This concern has a fine reputation in the field of commercial printing, having a plant equipped to fill almost any order. In the meanwhile his son, John K. Burgess, has grown to manhood and for some time has been associated with his father in business. Mr. Burgess, Sr., is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Presbyterian Church. Fraternally, he is affiliated with Phoenix Lodge, No. 58, Free and Accepted Masons, Lansingburg, New York; Chap- ter No. 133, Royal Arch Masons.
At Waterford, New York, on April 23, 1902, John Garret Burgess mar- ried Nellie Blanch Fredenbergh, daughter of Edward and Mary (Replogle) Fredenbergh, and they are the parents of two children: I. John Edward, born August 23, 1903, who is associated in business with his father. 2. Helen Katharyn, born June 6, 1905.
JOHN NEWTON HAYES-Since he was a youth of twenty years John Newton Hayes has been active in the field of education. In more recent years he became superintendent of schools for Mechanicville, New York, the post he now fills with great skill and ability.
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He is a native of Hensonville, Greene County, New York, born June 21, 1904, son of John Henry and Nellie (Ennis) Hayes and the grandson of Addison S. Hayes, also of Greene County. Grandfather Hayes, a veteran of the War Between the States, long engaged in farming. John Henry, the father, a retired school teacher, has been clerk in the State Legislature at Albany for many years. The son acquired his preliminary education in local schools ; was graduated from the Windham High School, New York, in 1919, and was a student at Union College during the scholastic year, 1920-21. He then entered Teachers State College, in Albany, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Science, with the class of 1924. He also holds the degree of Master of Arts, of Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City, received in 1934.
In 1924 Mr. Hayes began the practice of his profession at Valley Falls, New York, as principal of its schools. Two years later he went to North Creek where, until 1929, he held a similar position. In 1929-30 he was head of the mathematics department of the Saratoga Springs High School, and was principal of the Corinth, New York, schools until 1934. Since that year he has been superintendent of schools for Mechanicville. Mr. Hayes is a Republican in his political views, a member of the Rotary Club, of Mechanic- ville, and fraternally is affiliated with Lodge, No. 987, Free and Accepted Masons, of Corinth; Lodge, No. 1403, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Mechanicville, and Lodge, No. 756, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Hensonville.
At Albany, New York, August 25, 1926, John Newton Hayes married Marion Gurney, of Albany, born there January II, 1902, daughter of Andrew and Grace (Thompkins) Gurney. Andrew Gurney is employed by the Rem- ington Typewriter Company. Mr. and Mrs. Hayes are the parents of a son, Richard Edward, born May 29, 1932.
WILLIAM A. PAQUETTE-County clerk of Clinton County, Wil- liam A. Paquette, of Champlain, is not only one of the most active members of the Republican party organization in New York's northernmost county but is also an outstanding merchant of his community, having been identified with the retail hardware trade for nearly thirty-five years, being in business for himself since 1927.
William A. Paquette was born in Champlain, Clinton County, October 19, 1890, son of Edmund and Julia (Richards) Paquette. Edmund Paquette, who was born in Champlain, established himself in life as a boatman, a calling which he followed until the time of his death. Julia (Richards) Paquette, his wife, also deceased, was a native of Champlain, too.
After passing through the grammar schools of Champlain and graduating from the Champlain High School, William A. Paquette found his first regular
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employment in the retail hardware business, a field in which he was employed for the subsequent twenty-three years. Finally, in 1927, he established him- self in Champlain in the general insurance business, an activity in which he has continued through the present time. A member of the Republican party, Mr. Paquette has always been deeply interested in county problems as well as community concerns and has always given generously of his time and ability to the public service, being town clerk of Champlain from 1919 to 1936, since 1932 village clerk of Champlain, and, since 1931, a member of the Board of Education of the First School District of Champlain as well as becoming county clerk of Clinton County in 1936, a post which he has retained through the present time and district Republican committeeman for the Clinton County Republican Committee. A member of St. Mary's Catholic Church, Mr. Paquette belongs to the Union of St. John, the Baptist, and is also a member of Rouses Point Council, No. 2366, Knights of Columbus, an organization in which he holds fourth degree rank. Mr. Paquette, who is devoted to the twin sports of hunting and fishing, finds recreation from his private and public duties and responsibilities by indulgence in his hobbies.
William A. Paquette married, August 9, 1913, in Champlain, Margaret Matott, who is a native of Champlain. Mr. and Mrs. Paquette are the parents of a son : Lawrence.
ARTHUR SHARRON-One of the younger business leaders of Plattsburg, more particularly after he returned from World War service, Arthur Sharron, since 1936, has the added distinction of being postmaster of the city. He is the son of Albert Sharron.
Arthur Sharron, born December 17, 1891, after completing his education in the grammar and high schools of his birthplace, became associated with his father in the department store known as Sharron's. He had advanced far in experience when the United States entered the World War, and he enlisted in the United States Army where he was assigned to the Aviation Corps. He was overseas with the American Expeditionary Forces in France, and was a sergeant in rank at the time of his honorable discharge sixteen months later. Returning to Plattsburg, he again entered Sharron's, Inc., and since 1921 has been secretary of the company. Another business association is that of sec- retary of the Champlain Valley Oil Company.
In connection with civic affairs Mr. Sharron is prominent. He is a former president of the city Chamber of Commerce, and contributes support to movements and organizations undertaken for the advancement of the munici- pality and the welfare of its people. Fraternally, he is affiliated with the Plattsburg Lodge, No. 621, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of which he is a Past Exalted Ruler, and at present trustee; and the Plattsburg
Mark # Fish
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Council, No. 255, of the Knights of Columbus, of which he is a Past Deputy Grand Knight, and the Champlain Valley Council of this Order. His favorite club is the Plattsburg Country Club, and he finds recreation in golf during the summer and bowling during the winter. He attends St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church.
On July 3, 1926, Arthur Sharron married Ann Darrah, a native of Peru, New York, and they have a son, Paul Arthur Sharron.
MARK H. FISH-A well-known merchant of Chestertown, Mark H. Fish, manager and proprietor of T. J. Fish and Son, operates the oldest variety, newspaper and periodical store in the community. He has been engaged in business here since he began his career and has been an active figure in the political and civic life of the town.
Mr. Fish was born in Ticonderoga, New York, on February 10, 1904, son of Thomas J. and Susan P. (Smith) Fish and a descendant of an old American family. His great-great-great-grandfather was Jonathan Fish, born November 21, 1738, died after 1772; married, about 1761, Dorothy Butter- field, who was born at Westford, Massachusetts, in 1739 and died after 1772. Their son, Jonathan (2) Fish, was born on September 8, 1762, at Mason, New Hampshire. In 178I he enlisted in the Revolutionary Army and served as private and drummer boy in Captain Moore's Company of Colonels Shep- herd's and Jackson's 4th Regiment. He participated in a number of engage- ments and was discharged on June 30, 1784. About 1815 he settled at Loon Lake, New York, establishing the family in this State. Jonathan Fish died on April 15, 1842. He married, on April 5, 1793, Alice Russell, who was born in 1765 and died on August 5, 1838. Both are buried at Bolton, New York. Their son, Jonathan (3) Fish, great-grandfather of Mark H. Fish, was born on May 2, 1799, probably in Vermont, died on February 10, 1889; married Amy Marshall, who was born on January 29, 1798, and died on February 5, 1890. The grandfather, Ira Fish, was born in Chestertown on November 25, 1834, and died on June 29, 1910. He married, on May 11, 1858, Frances Taylor, born in England on January 21, 1838, died on April 6, 1896. Ira Fish served as assessor for Warren County during the course of his career. His son, Thomas J. Fish, father of Mark H. Fish, was born in Chestertown on February 16, 1872. He was employed first as a farmer and later as a clerk in a grocery business until 1906, when he entered the employ of the Faxon Grist Mill. In 1913 he established his own grain business and subse- quently operated a hotel and restaurant, continuing until 1923. In the latter year he became associated with his son in the variety and news business, a connection he still retains. He is also treasurer of the Chestertown Cemetery Association at the present time. Thomas J. Fish has been active for many
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